Spike wasn't sure what to expect when he sent out those letters out, and regardless of what they were, reality had proven itself far better.
"Hey-ya, Applejack!" Spike exclaimed with a wave of a claw, coming to a stop before a wooden basket filled with water.
A second later, an orange head emerged from the surface of the water, teal eyes blinking at him.
Applejack smiled at him with an apple in her mouth, turning to spit it out into a smaller bucket.
"While I'll be," Applejack began to say as she turned back around, "ya sure know how to throw a party. Ya even got a bucket deep enough to play bobbing for apples properly."
"What can I say? I know how to plan my stuff." Spike wiped a claw against his chest, inspecting them afterward. "We still on for tomorrow?"
"You can bet your tail on it." Spike would have kept admiring his claw were it not for the pull of his friend's arm, which tugged him into a hug. "You're mighty good at keeping everything organized on the farm. The thing would dang near fall apart if it weren't for your help."
Spike wasn't sure how to respond at first, so he pushed himself further into the hug, feeling her fur rub against his face. "I... you don't..." A sniffle. "Th-thank you."
"Nothing to be thankful for, hun." Applejack rubbed his head one last time before glancing at the rest of the lobby. "But now ya got other ponies to tend to. Don't wanna be a bad host now, do ya?"
Spike shook his head as he stepped away from the mare, looking up at her with watery eyes. She was blurry now, though still very much there.
He turned around to face the other mares in the lobby, all the other friends that came to visit him. They were all blurry too, but he could see the images, the idea of them—all huddled together, all talking and laughing, playing and having fun.
Spike wanted to be a part of that too, and so, he walked in their direction—until a knocking from the library's door stopped him.
He stood still, one eye set on his friends, the other on the door. He was so close now to being with them. But someone was at the door.
He'd agree that was his responsibility to watch over the library—that was the condition set by Twilight for him to have his party.
And so, he honored his side of the deal, and with a sigh, began toward the door. With a sharp click, it unlocked and swung back to reveal a gray pegasus standing outside.
"Spike the Dragon?"
Spike nodded. "Uh, yeah?"
"Letter for you!" the pegasus said, dipping a wing into her satchel and pulling out a letter. She held it out to his open claw. "Last one too!"
Spike took the letter, and using his claw, tore off the envelop.
"The last one was my last one, but Rarity was asking me if I could do her a favor, and I said okay!" the mare contained as the drake read the letter. "She had all of her friends over and asked me: 'Depry dear if it's not too much to ask, can you deliver this letter from Twilight to Spike?'"
Spike claw dropped to his side, nearly dropping his letter as he did so.
"She asked me to peek inside..." Spike looked over his shoulder at the same time Depry peered into the lobby, both sighing for different reasons. "Though it looks empty!" She smiled down at him. "Must be nice to have the library all to yourself."
"You'd think that would be the case," Spike said, looking down. "But to be honest, I'd rather be at the slumber party."
"Slumber party?"
"Yeah, Rarity's having one right now at her boutique." Spike lifted his head. "She begged me to watch over the library while she threw an all-girls slumber party."
Spike held out the letter. "This was just Twilight thanking me for surprising her... and to make sure I hadn't set anything on fire."
Depry read the note in front of her. "Hmm."
Spike stood around and did nothing. There wasn't much for him do—except for taking down all the streamers and dumping the basket of water and apples outside.
"It says here you could invite some friends over!" Derpy said, tapping a hoof against the page. "Why don't you try doing that? Don't want all those decorations going to waste, do you?"
"That's the problem," Spike replied, "I don't have any friends. I have Twilight's friends, and I tried making them my friends, but it never worked out in the end."
"Have you tried making new friends?"
"N-no." Spike finally let the paper slip through his digits. "Didn't think I'd have to. I was around the girls so long... and I thought... that..."
"Hey, its okay, I understand!" Depry said, wrapping an arm around the small dragon. "I have a lot of friends too! The kind where you spend a lot of time with them, but you're not that close."
Spike sniffled at that.
"You should be proud in trying to bridge the gap, but at the same time, you should try to find ponies that enjoy spending time with you."
Spike nodded his head, wrapping his stubby arms around her barrel. "So go out and make new friends then? But that sounds... scary."
"Because it is." Depry pulled out of the hug, smiling. "You're putting yourself out there with the intent of ponies like you, and they can end up doing the opposite."
Spike frowned. "Is it even worth trying to make friends?"
"Of course it is," Derpy replied. "The pain of rejection hurts less than the pain of loneliness. And this, Spike, I promise you: there are ponies out there that want to be your friend, even if only they don't have friends themselves."
Spike chuckled. "Others who are equally as pathetic, huh?" He nodded. "I guess I'll take that then. Thanks, Derpy."
"Not a problem kiddo."
She went to leave but felt a tugging at her tail. Looking over her shoulder, Spike was standing with his legs crossed.
"Don't suppose you're lonely enough to come to a party?"
Derpy was still for a moment, then giggled. "That depends."
"On what?" Spike let go of her tail.
"Just one thing." Derpy turned around and stepped inside the treehouse. "Does that basket have apples in them?"