//------------------------------//
// Crushing; or, One-Sided, Other-Sided 
// Story: Odds 'n' Ends 
// by TheAncientPolitzanian 
//------------------------------//

"Rari—" Spike jolted awake, only to slam his head against his cave's ceiling. "Gah!"

The gargantuan dragon massaged his aching cranium, pondering the dream that'd startled him so. He hadn't dreamt about Rarity like… like that for centuries, for Celestia's sake!

"Wanna explain digging up my first crush, Luna?" Not like she can answer, he lamented.

"Aha!" a decidedly un-Luna-like voice cheered outside. "Someone is in there!"

A purple unicorn — no older than the Elements once were, aeons ago — skipped into Spike's shadowy abode. Her frizzy blue mane bobbed as she pronked to a halt beneath him. "Hi there!" She waved, her bracelet jingling. "You must be the 'Spike' Sunny mentioned! My name's Iz—"

Mid-introduction, the sunrise struck Spike's face, allowing "Iz" to actually see it. 

Her reaction? Instantly familiar: helplessly smitten.

"—zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzy," Izzy droned, blushing.

"…"

"…"

"…Crud," Spike grumbled. "That explains it."