It wasn’t the best-kept secret in Ponyville that was for certain.
The way that I looked at her and did everything that could possibly be done for her, the way I was unable to talk to her. Everypony in Ponyville knew that the small dragon had a crush on Rarity, though nopony said a single word about it. Not even Rarity reacted, it seemed as though she was completely oblivious. That was how I, or Spikey-Wikey as she called me, liked it to be. All of the time that I had known her, I had been trying to pull up the courage to be able to actually come out and tell her exactly how I felt. Each and every day, I planned and I plotted.
Today was going to be the day.
Alright, is everything ready? Flowers? Check. Poem? She’s totally worth it! Reservations at one of the best restaurants in Ponyville? Check. Tuxedo? Check. Eyes moved between each item, aside from the reservation of course, finally stopping on the outfit that I had decided I was going to wear for the evening. You know what? I think I’ve been around Twilight for too long. Too much worrying, preparing, and a mental checklist? Really? No need to worry, she’s going to say yes. Everything was set out in front of me, ready for what was going to be the greatest night of my life.
Eyes looked at the mirror in front of me.
There was something missing, it took a few moments for me to figure it out.
“Looking good, Spike. Looking real good!” It always helped my self-esteem, my self-confidence, when I started to do this in front of the mirror. Only one pony knew about this, though the fact that I had told her came to my mind occasionally. Why did I have to tell Pinkie about this? Oh well. She hasn’t told anyone else. She knows that some things are secrets. And losing a friend’s trust is the quickest way to lose a friend-
“Forever!” The pink mare seemed to appear from in the mirror. “Good luck, Spike.”
With those words, Pinkie Pie disappeared again. Part of me was now curious, wanting to figure out how she could have done something like that. After all, normal ponies didn’t have the ability to appear in mirrors. The idea that Pinkie Pie was hardly a normal pony, though, was the only thing that dissuaded me from trying to figure it out. Its just Pinkie being Pinkie. I don’t think she knows how to be any other way. Heck, she might not even know how she does it herself. That thought aside, I had a couple of hours before I was going to ask her out on the date. I needed to finish a few chores, likely take a bath. I do have a bit of a stink after doing the chores. If I’m going to get somepony as beautiful as Rarity.
That distraction was the thing that helped me out through the rest of my chores. It wasn’t as if they were mighty brain work, anyway. I had to clean the library, as well as the bedrooms and the kitchen. Sweeping, dusting, washing dishes, and making the beds were basically enough to make sure that the place was clean. Twilight generally didn’t make much of a mess, aside from the books that I would likely have to put up by the time that I came back from my date. After the cleaning, I had to make sure that the fridge had certain items that Twilight liked to use to make her snacks. After that, I would be done for the day. If Twilight hadn’t been spending a lot of time recently with her friends, there might have been a lot more for meme to do. But, right now, I was completely done.
After my bath, I would be able to head to meet my destiny.
-30 Minutes Later-
I stood one more time, in front of the mirror. This wasn’t the time to flex, wasn’t the time to get any semblance of self-esteem. I didn’t need it this time, the tuxedo was helping a lot more than I thought. This time, I was running through the short list of things that I needed to say, and the things that I needed to have with me. The reservations are made; I don’t have anything to carry with me for that. I have the poetry in my mind, but having it written down is probably a great idea. I don’t want to get anything wrong. I’m wearing the tuxedo, and I think I look nice in it. The flowers are on the table, ready to be picked up when I leave. Everything seems to be perfect, and it’s time for me to head out. There should be… Eyes looked up to the clock, and two hours remained before they could go to the restaurant.
Now it was time for me to head out, and make my way to Carousel Boutique.
Several ponies said something to me along the way, mostly some version of ‘hi’. The only difference was Vinyl Scratch, DJ PON-3 as others called her, who gave me a high-hoof before saying ‘awesome look, Spike’. It would have been enough just to walk over there in silence, but that was something that made it even easier. Even though I didn’t know her that well, everypony loves to hear something like that. Mostly, though, my trek to the boutique was uneventful. The only thing that I really noticed was that there seemed to be a growing amount of clouds.
I really hoped that I hadn’t messed up and planned this date during a storm.
Around ten minutes later, I could finally see my destination in the distance. I assumed that the sun was setting, though I couldn’t be sure. By this time, the sky was filled with the dark clouds that gave the bad news.. Yep, that figures. I should pay more attention to what Twilight says about the weather. She probably told me all about this, and I just didn’t listen. Oh well, I’m not going to let something like this stop me. I just have to hope that it’s a light rain. Maybe it’ll let up long enough for the two of us to go to- I stopped, puzzled by what I thought I saw in the window. Eyes blinked a few times as a couple of drops of water fell from the sky.
That was Rarity, I could tell that from the mane.
That was Fluttershy, I could also tell that from the mane.
They were kissing, I could also tell that from simply looking at them.
At this point, I started to hyperventilate. There had been a lot of things that I knew would stand in my way. I was no prince, though I had vowed to treat Rarity as though she was my princess. There was also the age problem, with her being around five or ten years older than me. There was also, apparently, Fluttershy. This had been the one obstacle that I hadn’t foreseen, and that there was no amount of courage could change. Another few drops hit me, a simple mask for the tears that started to follow with each drop.
I wanted her to be happy, but I had never thought that her happiness would make me so miserable.
The rain started to come down faster as I turned to walk away. There was no point going to the door now. I doubted I’d want to see Rarity anytime soon, actually. I was certain that she hadn’t meant to hurt me on purpose; it didn’t seem like something she would do, but that didn’t matter at this point. Right now, I just knew that I felt almost as bad as when I had destroyed Ponyville.
My walk was quick, trying to get away as fast as I could. The sooner I could do anything else to get my mind off of this night, the better I would be. There was one thing that hindered Spike’s retreat, though, and it was a rock. I had been halfway back to the library when it happened, and I tripped. Mud covered what had been my best tuxedo, and the rest of my body didn’t fare much better. Worst. Night. Ever.
The clouds above me seemed to part, the raindrops no longer hitting me, and down swooped a Pegasus.
Down swooped Rainbow Dash.
“You alright there, Spike?” The question seemed to be mocking, but it was likely my bitterness clouding that. A hoof reached out, which I gladly took. When I finally stood up, covered in mud from head to toe, I tried to look at Rainbow Dash. She was trying to be a friend, just like she had tried to be a friend before, and I had to try to be strong.
“I’ve been better.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
That seemed a little weird to me. I knew that she had feelings, everypony had feelings, but this seemed off. Rainbow Dash didn’t seem like the type that actually talked about feelings, they were some of the most uncool things that I could come up with right now.
“It’s just… I don’t know what to do now.” Rainbow continued to look at me, though a slight look of confusion appeared on her face. “I went and got these flowers.” A hand motioned to the flattened bouquet on the ground. “I even wrote this.” I pulled out a muddy piece of paper, the one that once had poetry on it. “I even booked a table at a fancy restaurant.” The look of oblivious was still on her face, and it was actually kind of cute. “And so I went over to Rarity’s, trying to see if I could finally get her to go out with me.” That was when it all came together for my chromatic friend; I could see that she finally saw it. “But when I was walking up to the door, I thought I saw something. When I looked, it was Fluttershy… kissing Rarity.”
By now, I was crying again. I hated it when I cried, it made me feel so weak. Dragons are not supposed to be weak.
“Oh.”
Is that it? Is that all she’s going to say about what could be the worst thing to happen to me? Oh? I had been looking down at my ruined supplies the entire time, my eyes now looking up to see that Rainbow Dash was clearly doing more than saying a simple ‘oh’. The rain had stopped around them, thanks to the fact that she had kicked the clouds before coming down there, so it couldn’t be that. Was she actually crying for me?
“I’m sorry, Spike. I shouldn’t have given you that advice…”
She had been the one that told me to do this, hadn’t she? It was now time for me to feel bad again, but about something else. My friend was blaming herself for something that was outside of her power. I knew that she would have never done something like that on purpose. Maybe it was also something that could help me get my mind off of the fact that Rarity would never be there for me. Either way, a hand moved to pat Rainbow Dash on the shoulder. I had to make myself stop crying. Soon enough, with enough effort, I had finally done it.
“It’s not your fault, Rainbow.” That didn’t sound convincing, or at least she didn’t look convinced. I have to do something to make her feel better. I can’t just walk away, knowing that she blames herself for this. A few bad ideas came to mind, mostly focused around hugging her or offering to get her something. I didn’t know what she liked, aside from the Wonderbolts, so that idea was quickly shot down. There was, really, only one thing left that I could think of. Nah, she’ll probably just say no anyway. But there’s no harm in asking, right? “Hey, there’s no reason for that reservation to go wasted. How about we go there?”
Two friends went out to eat sometimes, I was sure of it. After all, I ate with Twilight all the time. Twilight went on picnics with her friends all the time. This would just be a small token of my appreciation for her always being there for them, and to help make sure that she knew she wasn’t at fault here.
The look of sadness quickly disappeared from her eyes, being replaced by what could only be described as pure joy. The quick change was a bit concerning, but I put it down to her being hungry. It was either that, or she was just happy that I was going to try to make something of the night. After all, she had appeared just at the right time to try to console me. I really am lucky to have such a good friend. “Are you sure you’re okay with that, though? I mean, I know this was supposed to be some big romantic dinner for Rarity.”
“I insist.” I countered, my best attempt at ignoring the problem of the evening failing with every passing second. “I mean, I don’t spend enough time with my friends. This is the perfect opportunity.” It had made perfect sense to me, so there was a shock when her happiness faded for a split second. Soon enough, it was back again, though. Maybe I’m just seeing things. I mean, I’m disappointed right now. What was that thing that Twilight said to me? Psychologists say that ponies see themselves in the world around them? Yeah, that has to be it. I reasoned to myself that the smile had returned anyway, which I used as evidence for my hypothesis.
“Sure. Two good friends sharing a dinner.” Something sounded off about it when she said it, but I didn’t give it any more thought.
“Oh, it’s a pretty fancy restaurant.” I suddenly remembered one of the reasons why I had put on the tuxedo. “So… I think we have to dress up for it. I’ll get this washed, and then we’ll head over.” Where could they meet up? I didn’t know a lot of places that would be good; there was a lot of chance for me to get the tuxedo dirty again. “Would you mind meeting me at the library? I need to get a couple of things before we head over to there, and let them know that we’ll be late by about ten or fifteen minutes.”
“Sure thing, Spike.”
Something about this whole scenario just seemed strange, but I wasn’t likely thinking clearly.
“Alright, I’ll see you in about half an hour.”
What do you know? I looked up at the clouds. They were still there, but the rain had almost quit entirely. Well, okay, that’s just eerie. First we have a rain that I don’t know about, though that isn’t completely unbelievable. The weird thing is that it was so… small. Oh well, don’t question it Spike. This is one good thing tonight. A deep breath, I had to make sure that I didn’t let my bad night ruin Rainbow’s any more than it already had. This wasn’t going to be easy, but I was going to have to go a whole night without thinking about the fact that I had just seen Rarity and Fluttershy kissing.
Yep, that was enough to make my eyes water a little.
The entire time back, I was fighting myself. I didn’t need to cry, I just didn’t. It took some effort, but. was even able to convince myself of that. It took the entire walk back to the library, though. Maybe the idea of washing the tuxedo in the remaining twenty minutes, and drying it of course, was enough to focus on for me. As long as I stayed busy, I would be able to get through this.
Wash, wash, wash the tux. Wash, wash, wash. I hummed a tune as I did it, as I always did when I worked, the mud being removed quite easily. My years of cleaning turned out to be a good thing, since it helped to make sure that I could actually accomplish this task. The drying part was even easier, taking the remaining five minutes to make sure that I had gotten it nice and dry. Okay, so maybe I should thank Twilight for helping me out. I mean, it’s because of her that I know how to do all of this. I mean, most dragons just know how to hoard. I know useful talents…
Three knocks on the door told me that my date for the evening was there. All I need to do is have this nice friend-date, go to sleep later tonight, and tomorrow will be great. Well, at least tomorrow will be better. “I’ll be right there.” Around a minute later, tuxedo on, I answered the door. I really didn’t know what to expect. Rainbow wasn’t the type that wore fancy dresses, or really anything that could be described as pretty. I couldn’t even remember if she wore clothes most of the time, it never really seemed to be very important. As I opened the door, though, I was more than a little surprised.
Was that her dress from the Grand Galloping Gala?
It wasn’t just that, there was more to her new look than merely a dress. It seemed as though she had gotten her hair fixed up. I couldn’t help but stare at her for a few moments. Wow, she really looks good. I think she might have taken it a little too seriously when it came to dressing up. Now I look like I didn’t take it seriously enough. Crud. My expression, over the course of that thought, had gone from awe to worry. “I think I might be a bit under dressed.” A weak chuckle, I had to try to recompose myself in a few moments. After all, this wasn’t what I had expected from my friend-date.
“Ah, don’t worry about it Spike. You look awesome.”
Well, it is Rainbow. I don’t think she uses many other words to describe things.
“Thanks. You look… amazing, really.” A blush showed up on her face, which made sense. I hadn’t seen her in dresses, so she was probably just embarrassed at the idea of somepony else seeing her in one. By the end of the night, she would probably not be blushing at a compliment. “Alright, everything is ready. We should have about fifteen minutes to get there. It isn’t that far, so we don’t have to-“The sound of a carriage coming up interrupted me, and I looked over to see that it actually stopped in front of the library. Was Twilight supposed to be coming back in a carriage? I wasn’t aware of that.
“Actually, Spike, I thought we might go there in style. No reason to get our awesome clothes dirty, right?”
That logic was undeniable. Man, I’m really lucky to have a friend like her. She put more thought into this than I did, dressed up even though I know she hates it. This might just turn out to be an alright night. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“Well, duh. But I wanted to.”
The two of them walked over to the carriage, I quickly pulled the door open and motioned for her to get in first. “Ladies first.” I was a gentledrake, after all, which meant that I was supposed to hold the door open for whoever I was with. Not only that, but I actually really enjoy this sort of thing. Without a second thought, I got in soon after she did. “So, do you know where we’re going?”
“Rainbow actually looked down at me with a deadpan expression. “There’s only one restaurant where we’d have to dress up in Ponyville.”
Sadly, that was true.
“Oh, right.”
A few minutes of silence passed, neither of them sure about what to say. Rainbow seemed to be fidgeting with her dress. That makes sense. She’s a flier, she likely doesn’t feel right being cooped up in something like this. Not only the clothes, this carriage is likely not something she’s used to either. She’s being really nice tonight. I really am lucky to have such an awesome friend. Everything seemed to be focused on me. I kind of felt bad, since the idea was making sure that Rainbow stopped blaming herself for something she didn’t have any control over. Another part of me didn’t want to say anything, since she seemed to really want to do all of this.
“Soooo… what’s it like to fly?” Even when I had been a giant dragon, I hadn't been able to fly. Rainbow simply looked at me and smiled, I knew that this was something that was something that she liked talking about.