“Dear diary”, Spike read aloud as he wrote. “It’s been nearly 2 months that I’ve been at this school. My reputation is trending in a good direction but I guess not enough. Rarity still doesn’t seem to have any feelings for me. She still ignores me unless she wants something from me. In math class though mostly everyone chats with me. Not just about how to do homework problems but about other things too. Usually people laugh when I talk but I feel like they are laughing with me instead of at me for the first time. If only Rarity would give me a try. “
Spike sighed and then sat his diary down. He was in his room with the door closed for privacy. He laid back flat in his bet looking up at the ceiling. He lived in a tree house so he got to see the rings of the tree from inside the tree. Often he would count the rings and guess at how old the tree was. He had a smallish window with no glass but a small curtain to either side of it. He had a bookshelf filled mostly with Twilight’s book, although he had a small section for his own comic book collection. He also had a desk and a small pile of gems he could snack on. The floor was wooden, (What do you expect he lives in a tree) but Spikes tough dragon hide feet could handle it with no problem. Spike usually wrote in his diary at the end of the day so he curled up in his bed and started snoring till morning.
In the morning school started as usual. In math class Spike said “Hello” to most of the ponies that were talking with him as they entered the class and they all said “Hey”, or “Yo”, in response. Rarity still ignored the greeting and took her place. Spike wasn’t sad, he was used to this. He felt it was his job to impress her not the other way around and if he let up on his gentlecoltly charm even for one day she would be even more disinterested than she already is.
Starswirl ended class early because the day’s lecture was short but he gave extra homework. This left more time to get the homework done. A few ponies gathered at Spike’s desk to ask a few questions. Spike quickly answered them and while everyone worked on homework he pulled out a Shining Knight comic and started to read. Rarity looked over from her own group that gathered at her desk and saw the comic and made noise while trying to suppress a laugh. Spike’s group looked up at the noise and saw his comic.
“Whoa is that Shining Knight? I haven’t read that in years. I used to be so into that comic”, said Time Turner. He looked over Spike’s shoulder at the comic. “You still read these things?” he asked.
“Yeah I’m a big fan! Shining Knight is so cool. He always outsmarts the bad guys and is a perfect gentlecolt. All the mares love him”, Spike exclaimed.
“That’s just like you Spike”, Time Turner laughed. “You didn’t stop reading them though?”
“No way, he’s too cool to stop reading. I always want to know what happens in the next issue. Like in this one Shining Knight is having an epic match against the Jester. The Jester found his girlfriend and took her hostage and is threatening to tell her bad jokes if Shining Knight doesn’t take off his mask and reveal his true identity”, Spike explained.
Everypony seemed to lean in and try to get a glimpse. It looks like all the colts in the class had read Shining Knight at one time or another. Time Turner considered why he stopped reading Shining Knight himself and couldn’t quite remember. He thought it was probably because reading comics got less popular and he wanted to be cool around middle school. Seeing how many ponies wanted to read Spike’s comic though he figured he might pick up the newest issue on his way home today. “That’s pretty cool Spike. Maybe I’ll read up where I left off.”
“Cool!” spike exclaimed. “There are a bunch of older issues in the library. You might check out a comic at lunch.” As Spike mentioned lunch the bell went off to signal the start of lunchtime. Everypony left and a few trotted faster and faster towards the library.
Spike decided he wanted to sit with his friends Snips and Snails in the cafeteria today and chat. He did this every once in awhile. As he sat down with his buddies he brought out his Shining Armor comic to glance at as he waited for them to eat. After a few minutes Time Turner came over to the table and asked if he could eat lunch with them. Snips, Snails, and Spike all looked at each other then nodded at the same time. Time Turner then smiled looking a bit relieved and pulled out a Shining Armor comic he rented from the library.
After a few more minutes a few more ponies asked if they could sit down and also pulled out Shining Armor comics. They were the ponies that seemed more interested in Math class. “I got an issue with The Scarepony in it. He is my favorite villain. He’s so creepy it’s fun to see how he messes with Shining Knights head as he robs banks. What do you think Mac?”, asked Braeburn.
“Yup”, replied Mac.
“No way, Crocapony is the best villain. He just has so much raw power, how could anypony compete”, countered Time Turner. With this argument going on a few heads turned at a few different tables in the cafeteria. Suddenly ponies were walking over from other tables and there was a crowd of ponies talking about which villain was the best.
Principal Mare saw the crowd and came over to see what was happening. She was expecting to see a fight or some rough behavior but instead just saw ponies talking about a book. Confused, she said, “Break it up here. We only have room for about 6 ponies at a table. You can talk about your comic books after school.”
Everypony left the table and finished lunch before going to their next class. In Art class Grim saw his comic and asked what it was. Grim had been living in an underground cave and they didn’t sell comics there. As Spike explained the comic Grim got over excited. Grim always seemed over excited about anything Spike said these days though. He seemed very attached to Spike and had even invited him over to hang out after school. Spike was a bit wary about hanging out underground all day though and usually said he was busy. Today though Spike felt like spreading the word about his hero Shining Knight so when Grim asked he said "OK".
"Really?!" Grim asked excitedly. "I can't wait, I can't wait!"
"Just make sure I don't get eaten while I'm over ok?" said Spike laughing nervously.
"We don't eat dragon, silly! Dragon hide is too tough", said Grim, although that didn't make Spike feel any better.
After school Spike told Twilight he was going to a friends house and ran over to the hills that Grim made his home in. He met Grim at the entrance to the cave and was led in a small tour of his city. Spike was given a soft glowing rod so he could see in the cave without blinding everyone else. Most goblins spend an average of 22 hours a day in darkness, so their eyes have evolved to see in dark. As they walked along Spike could see whole gems just embedded in the wall and ripe for the picking. Spike's mouth was practically drooling as he walked along. It took a little bit but Spike realized that the gems in the tunnels were used to help light them. It was a soft light but a bit of sunlight could travel the whole cave reflecting off the gems.
Grim introduced Spike to his mother and father as they were preparing dinner. The smiles of the adult goblins looked more like fanged grins. Spike didn't know whether to be scared or relieved. He sat down to dinner wondering what goblins eat. Well he found out as several spider dishes were brought out. Spike looked sick with his face turning a green shade of purple. Grim looked at him. "What's the matter Spike? You are not looking well. Are you sure you are hungry?" asked Grim.
Spike looked up at the ceiling seeing the delicious gems just hanging there. "Um Grim, do you think I could have some of the gems up there?"
Grim and his family looked very confused. "Gems? You think they taste good?", he asked.
"Gems are my favorite food", Spike replied. "All dragons love gems."
Grim's father shrugged and said, "I guess we could afford to feed you a few." With that he dug a few gems out of the wall of a rainbow of colors and set them on a plate in front of Spike. Spike's eyes went wide as he saw the feast in front of him.
He decided he would savor the gems slowly, but then couldn't help gobbling down the delicious meal. After finishing he looked around at the goblins watching him eat. They were interested in how something could devour gems. Grim picked up a gem and licked it. He gave an approving face and decided to take a bite. As he did though he chipped his tooth. He no longer wanted to eat gems though and tossed it.
They then went to Grim's room and Spike showed him several Shining Knight comics. Grim seem enthralled. Spike didn't really want to leave his comics in Grim's careless hands so he stayed a bit late so Grim could finish. Grim walked spike back out of the tunnels. The tunnels were darker at night of course. The path was a bit rocky but mostly a flat dirt path with some stone steps. Spike still didn't mind because of his hide being so thick. As he reached the entrance he waved goodbye and walked home.
After his trip home it was pretty late and Spike went straight to bed. The next morning as soon as he got to school ponies were saying "Hi" to him in the hallways. As he got to History class the ponies that sat next to him said "Hi" then were asking if they could borrow any of the Shining Knight comics he might have. Apparently the library had rented them all. Spike was about to say he was sorry but as he reached in his bag for his text book he realized all the books he took to Grim's home were still in his bag. He was so sleepy last night that he never took them out. Spike didn't like to say no so he grinned and handed out 1 comic at a time. "Please please please take good care of them. They are in perfect condition still", Spike said pleadingly.
With this Spike reputation rose in every class. In math class more people hung around Spike talking about comics than that hung around Rarity. Even a few mares were around the outside the group. Rarity started to notice and Spike noticed that Rarity noticed. Spike started feeling more comfortable and kidded around with everyone.
At lunch Time Turner found Spike's table and sat down with him. They had a friendly little discussion about Shining Knight. Afterwards Time Turner asked a surprising question to Spike. "So Spike, I've noticed you have your eye on a certain mare. Want to fess up?"
Spike immediately blushed and looked away. He didn't want to admit it but Time Turner seemed to know something. "Well ... yeah I guess I do have a crush. Are you friends with Rarity? Do you know what I should do to get her attention?" Spike asked.
Time Turner chuckled to himself. "Well you have her attention, but really the best thing for you would be to walk away. I know you don't to hear it but you should." Spiked looked a bit hurt and Time Turner could see it. "Well, here is what I could tell you. She is looking for someone popular to go out with for her own popularity and social status needs. Be famous and she will find you more attractive." Time Turner seemed to have advice like a wise old colt. He also seemed to have some sort of foresight, like he saw into the future.
Spike thought about it and with the increasing crowds around him he thought he was getting pretty popular. He had a plan for Asking out Rarity and he was going to try it out. The next day he brought almost all of his comics and on the school grounds in front of the entrance he started lending them out to anypony who wanted one. This caused a large crowd and many happy ponies cheering for Spike. As Rarity walked in Spike spotted her and broke away from the string of ponies. All the ponies left and Spike caught up to Rarity.
"Hey Rarity", Spike called out but Rarity ignored him like usual. Spike ran again to catch up to her after being passed by. "Hey wait a second."
Rarity stopped and looked back at Spike with a glare. Spike was cautious but decided to proceed. "Well, uh, so you might of noticed I've started getting more friends and have become pretty popular. Everypony thinks I'm pretty cool now and I was hoping I'm cool enough to go out with you."
"Oh Spike. I'm sorry but you aren't cool darling. You are a dork. You might be the king of dorks but you aren't cool. You just are a popular dork and you might be turning a few other colts into dorks with you. You just aren't up to my standards of a hunk that I would date. I don't see why we can't just be friends." With that Rarity left and Spike was frozen like a statue. His confidence faded with every sentence she said and the last sentence was the nail in the coffin. The last word echoed over and over in his mind. Tumbleweeds rolled by as Spike took it all in. He wasn't sure where to go from here but he would take some time to think about it.