//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Thoughts // Story: Together Forever // by CodenameOne //------------------------------// Foreword: right, so a while back I said that I'd write a shipping fic, so here it is! Note to my normal readers: The Last of what's Up There has finally been finished and the rest of the chapters will be posted shortly; your wait is finally over. I had to tell my boys at fanfiction(dot)net this because they wouldn't know and you guys don't really need to be told this but I'll say it anyway; there will be gay shipping in this story between two boys(duh). Now, I'm bi(and a boy, if you were wondering) so if I get any serious comments bashing me, gays, or the story content that shit will be deleted and the offender will be blocked; this is your only warning. I will NOT tolerate homophobia on my stories. Please enjoy, and be sure to leave a comment telling me what you think. Together Forever Written by Codename: One Chapter One Thoughts *-*-* "Hurry up, Spike! You're going to be late!" Twilight Sparkle called out from the lower part of the two floor bedroom she shared with her dragon assistant, Spike. Spike had been growing for the past six years was now about five feet tall, sporting a slender body. Today the Dragon was to go help Applejack pick apples on her farm. "Hmm, yeah OK, Twilight. Just give me a minute" Spike replied, slicking his head spines back and hopping down from the upper level where his and Twilight's beds were, landing gracefully on the lower floor in front of Twilight. "Now it shouldn't take too long to help her, and since this is the only thing you have to do today I think you should try to have some fun later; maybe you could go see Rarity?" Twilight said, the last part coming out kind of coy. "Yeah, maybe" Spike replied, stepping past the Unicorn and heading downstairs; truth be told he didn't really feel all that much for Rarity anymore. Maybe it was because his crush had just been a kid thing, and he grew out of it. Eating a quick breakfast and giving Twilight his goodbyes Spike left the library and headed across Ponyville, most of the townsponies greeting him along the way. He had returned their hellos with curt nods and hellos of his own. While in town the Dragon had also seen a few of his close friends, like Snips and Snails and Lickety Split, who were all congregating around Sugarcube Corner and talking about how beautiful most of the fillies were in their class; now that they were all in high school and had known most of the fillies all their lives they had all taken a fondness for several of them. Except for Lickety, who just nodded and said "yeah they're pretty, but none of them really strike my fancy." Spike left them after that, not wanting to hear the argument that would surely ensue between the three of them as Snips and Snails struggled to understand how he couldn't find interest in any of the young mares they knew. I do wonder why Lickety doesn't find any of the young mares in their class attractive; he used to have a crush on Twist, why didn't he ever go through with that Spike wondered as he began to exit Ponyville proper and near Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack's farm. Hopefully Applebloom won't be there to pester me about helping. Spike liked her to be sure, and she was fun to be around, but once she got an idea in her head she wouldn't stop going after it until she lost interest or failed. Reaching Sweet Apple Acres Spike began to search for the Stetson-wearing country pony herself, which didn't take long. "Howdy, partner! Ready to start bucking?" Applejack asked with enthusiasm, wearing her signature hat of course. She also looked like she had not yet showered, which was understandable considering it'd be pointless to shower before doing the work she did. "I don't buck, Applejack. Remember?" Spike replied with a smile, toying with the mare. "Well fine, smart-aleck; picking and bucking" Applejack corrected, returning the smile and shaking her head. "There ya go. And yes, I'm ready" the young dragon said, rubbing his hands together in preparation of the work he was about to do. "Well alrighty then; you take the west side and ah'll take the east" Applejack told him, venturing off to the respective side of the apple orchard while Spike did the same for his, grabbing the empty baskets he would need for the task. Setting them under the first tree Spike began to work, reaching up and picking the apples off the branches and placing them in the basket. As he worked the Dragon began thinking about the discussion he heard his friends having on his way over here. I may not be attracted to Rarity anymore but I can still say she's very beautiful. If she's not the one then which mare in Ponyville would be for me? The old Cutie Mark Crusaders? Maybe... Or perhaps Twist? Nah, Twist was pretty and all, but I don't think she's for me. Maybe one of the other young mares. Applebloom was cute, as were Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but they might be a little much to handle. They're older now, but they're still pretty active. Plus I don't think the other two would appreciate it much if the third one was spending less time with them for me. I'll have to look somewhere else. Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree. Spike froze at this thought, not knowing where it came from; did it mean what he thinks it does? Nah, there's no way, that was just a weird thought that just came out of the blue. Nothing else to it. Satisfied with this decision Spike continued picking the apples on his side of the orchard, humming a tune to himself as he did so. Much to his dismay Applebloom did show up at some time and tried to offer help and was declined by Spike; being as stubborn as her sister the young mare didn't take 'no' for an answer and tried to plead with the Dragon, who eventually caved and allowed her to help. To his surprise she didn't mess up and in fact proved to be very useful. A few hours later Spike finished around the same time Applejack did thanks to Applebloom's help, meeting up with the older sister around the center of the apple orchard. The farm mare wiped a sheen of sweat from her brow and said "ah'll right, let's get these baskets back to the house." "Sure thing, AJ." On the way back the three talked idle chatter but the thing on Spike's mind the most was the out-of-blue thought of barking up the wrong tree. If it means what I think it does then what if...what it it's true? It can't be, right? I've never looked at colts that way before, so why did I think that? The teenage dragon couldn't answer his own questions, and he didn't want to bring them up with anypony else right now. Especially not Applejack, though her honest nature might help. Reaching the farmhouse Applejack put the baskets inside and bid her goodbyes to Spike, who returned them curtly and headed back into town, wondering what he could do on his day off. Heading back to Sugarcube Corner Spike found that his friends had departed and could now be anywhere in town, and the dragon didn't feel like searching all of Ponyville to find them. Well hanging out with them is out of the question; might as well go to a pond and skip rocks Spike mused, heading out of town to the nearest pond to do just that. *-*-* After reaching the pond and collecting a pile of flat rocks Spike began, trying to keep his mind clear. He couldn't though, and his thoughts always drifted back to the same thing: what if he's not really attracted to mares? I must be straight; I still think Rarity's beautiful, even though I'm not attracted to her anymore. And I still think that plenty of the other mares in Ponyville are pretty, even if I'm not attracted to them either. So I must be straight if I think mares are pretty the dragon tried reasoning with his mind, hoping that it was somewhat logical. Ah, but there's the catch; you're not attracted to any of them. ANY of them. Rose, Lily, Derpy, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Scootaloo, Twist, none of them. You may think they're pretty or beautiful, but you're not attracted to them. You don't view them as anything more than friends his mind retorted. That much was true, but that didn't mean he was gay, did it? Spike didn't know, and skipping rocks across the water certainly wasn't giving him the answer. I've never looked at colts like that before; sure, some of them are handsome, but I've never looked at any of them in either a romantic or sexual capacity the Dragon thought. Sure, but most individuals don't start seeking themselves until their teenage years; you've reached yours, and you've reached that stage in life where you begin to wonder who you are and what your place in the world is his mind declared. Sighing in resignation the young dragon stood and returned to Ponyville, heading back to the library to get some rest; picking apples all morning had tired him out. What if you're barking up the wrong tree? *-*-* A/N: this chapter is so rushed, in fact what I've got done so far of this story is kind of rushed, so I added in some extra lines and such to flesh it out. I probably failed, but with every shipping story I've read there's always bullshit lead up and character development for characters we already know, so I figured 'why not just skip ahead to the good stuff, the conflict over his sexuality and what-not'. Legal note: Spike the Dragon, Applejack, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro.