Perfect Timing
The dragon awoke the next morning, but he even more exhausted then when he had fallen asleep. However, he was a bit relieved to see Twilight had calmed down and was back to studying and scheduling. But his uneasiness was not fully settled, as his thoughts slowly drifted back to his dinner date with Rarity.
He felt a bit of nausea as he remembered his words from that night. It was something he said in an emotional flare; his feelings about her actions were perhaps exaggerated. Either way, he knew what he said had cut deep into the white unicorn’s heart. Rarity had apologized for her attitude towards him in the incident with Photo Finish. Now it was his turn to go and apologize for his unnecessarily rough outburst, though he could feel a nervousness building in his stomach. He did not know if he was ready to apologize, but whether or not he was, he knew he had to do it soon.
He worked diligently and finished his daily chores as quickly as he could. However, he lingered in the library a good while longer. Rarity was not the only one probably still hurting from last night. Spike made sure to spend at least some time as Twilight’s assistant before informing her of his plans. Of course, this meant telling her of the events from the dinner date, which concerned her. But she saw that he knew what needed to be done and sent him off with a proud smile.
Opening the library’s front door, he found Applejack on the other side, holding out a hoof ready to knock on the door. For a moment neither said anything as they awkwardly stared at each other. Word had traveled swiftly about Twilight’s date and her results, from Fluttershy to Rainbow Dash and finally to Applejack. She knew if she did not make some effort to win this little contest of theirs, she would surely lose out. Though not the usual date, she planned to invite him to a family dinner.
“Hey there, Spike,” Applejack finally said. “I was just wonderin’… if you ain’t got any plans today. I wanted to have ya over for dinner.”
A new dilemma was exactly what the dragon did not need right now. Spike could refuse the invitation, but it would mean breaking the promise he had made to himself that he would give each a fair chance. Accepting it meant putting off apologizing for his harsh words from the night before, though he had no idea how to apologize for his outburst. His anxious look had the apple farmer becoming a bit hesitant.
“I guess you’re a might busy… Maybe some other time,” the blond mare said.
“No, I’ll come,” the dragon finally responded. Though his conscience raked at him, he also wanted to avoid the overwhelming feeling of guilt he knew he would feel when finally did face Rarity again.
It was a bit of an awkward walk to the Apple Farm, as neither broke the silence the whole way there. As they entered the farmhouse, the dragon saw Big Mac with an unusually tidy mane, combed to either side of his head at the top. Next to him was Applebloom, uncomfortably fidgeting in a short dress, stopping only to smile at their guest. Finally, Granny Smith with her usual shawl stood behind them.
“Howdy, Spike!” Applebloom greeted him, happy to see her occasional playmate again.
“Well Spike, it seems that you’ve taken a likin’ to our lil’ Applejack,” Granny Smith said. “But I don’t understand why ya had to ask him to dinner, Applejack. Back in my day, it was the stallion that had to pitch woo!”
“Granny Smith!!!” Applejack whined, a deep blush overtaking her face. Her comment did manage to lighten up the dragon’s mood, making him laugh. Their little party moved to the dining room as each took a seat, the two potentials sitting next to each other. It was not long before Spike found himself bombarded with questions.
“Now, Spike, do ya think ya can handle Applejack?” the elder mare asked. “That stubborn attitude of hers has been a handful over the years.”
“I-“ the dragon answered, before being interrupted again.
“Are ya gonna marry her, Spike?” the red-headed filly gasped, imagining the would-be marriage.
“What are yer intentions with our Applejack?” Granny Smith asked.
“Um…” Spike stuttered, blushing hard.
“Ya know, Applejack always said she wanted a big family. I hope yer ready for that, Spike,” Applebloom giggled.
Looking to the blond mare, Spike could see that she was completely and utterly mortified. The blush on her face deepened in its intensity. But she was not the only one—he could practically feel the heat radiate off his face.
“Hey, Spike,” Applebloom began. “How come ya started likin’ Applejack? I always thought ya liked Rarity like that.”
With mention of the white unicorn’s name, the dragon seemed to lose his embarrassment and begin to grow solemn and silent. Excusing himself from the table, he exited the farmhouse, claiming he needed fresh air. As he left, Applejack looked over to the only pony at the table that had not said a word throughout the whole meal.
“Ya got anythin’ to add, Big Mac?” the exacerbated mare asked. “I’m sure it couldn’t make things worse.”
“Nnnope,” the red stallion simply replied, continuing to eat his hay.
“Well, I hope y’all are happy. Ya scared him off,” Applejack said angrily. “What do ya got to say for yerselves?”
“Can I take of this dress now?” Applebloom asked back, pulling at the collar.
Outside, the dragon sat alone on the fence. Night had fallen already as Spike tried to take his mind off of Rarity, but the silence of the countryside made it difficult to distract himself with little more than his own thoughts as he stared intently at the grassy fields surrounding the farmhouse. He was hoping to use this dinner as a bit of an escape before facing her once more. But he knew that if the mere mention of her name made him fall apart as the guilt seeped back into his head, it was best to avoid it no longer. However, his backbone faded as he ran scenarios of the possible outcomes of his apology through his head.
“Spike?” he heard a voice call back to him. Applejack had followed him, taking a seat next to him as well. “Sorry about that Spike. Someponies just don’t got no manners.”
“It’s fine… It wasn’t really their fault,” the dragon said. “It’s when Applebloom said Rarity’s name…”
“Oh… oh,” the apple farmer interrupted, believing she understood what he was implying. “I know I can’t compete with her on looks. I mean, I’m just an ordinary farmer and she can pull off any dress she wears. But it don’t mean I ain’t got other things going for me. I can cook mean apple pie and…”
“No, Applejack,” Spike stopped her. “It’s just… I said some really mean things to her and… I made her cry. I feel so bad… but I don’t know if I can apologize to her. I just keep remembering what I said to her and…”
“Well, a wise pony once told me that the first step to apologizin’ to someone is to forgive yerself,” Applejack told him. “Until then, ya won’t be able to face her.”
“Forgive myself? How do I do that?” the dragon asked.
“Luckily, the same pony also told me how…” the blond mare answered. “Ya just gotta realize that there ain’t nobody who’s perfect. We all make mistakes, Spike. The best thing to do is to learn from ‘em.”
“That… actually makes a lot of sense,” Spike said, disengaging his gaze from the floor. “But who was the ‘wise pony’ who told you all of this?”
“Granny Smith,” Applejack replied simply. “She has a lot of experience under her belt and is chalk full advice… when she ain’t being nosy, that is.”
“I want to go apologize to her, but I’m still a little nervous,” the dragon stated. “Would you mind coming with me, Applejack?”
“Why, I wouldn’t mind it one bit, Spike,” the apple farmer answered, giving him a reassuring smile.
Though it was the dead of night, there seemed to be a bit of movement in the small town. The Changeling Queen had finally decided to make her move, arriving where her scout had informed her the confessions had occurred. Though going to the trouble of waiting until night, she was still almost discovered by the dragon and mare traveling to the town’s boutique. Using her shapeshifting, she quickly took the form of a guard, hoping to be dismissed as just a night watchman. She smiled as they walked past her without a second glance. She waited patiently in under the guise, passively observing the situation.
The dragon walked up to the white unicorn’s door. He held out a trembling fist, only to withdraw seconds later. Looking back at the blond farmer, she urged him on.
“Ya can do it, Spike,” she said, waving her hoof fowards.
“Hmph,” the dragon puffed, gaining a new backbone. Knocking on the door, he received no answer. He knock a bit louder, but still received no response from inside. With slumped shoulders, he turned around with a defeated look on his face. He began to imagine that the unicorn’s sadness had turned to spite, and that it was that spite that made her deaf to his knocks.
However, inside the boutique, Rarity had indeed heard the knock at the door, but her current emotional state had made her sluggish to answer it. She slowly descended from her bedroom, stopping once she no longer heard the knock.
“Don’t give up, Spike,” Applejack told him. “Keep tryin’!”
Though his mind raced with unpleasant thoughts, his conscience ached at him to try once more. Knocking a third time, he still received no answer.
Inside, the unicorn had finally dragged her hooves to the opposite side of the door. Just as she reached for the handle, she paused as she heard a voice call to her from the other side.
“Rarity! Rarity… I’m sorry…” the dragon began. “I didn’t mean what I said. You worked hard for the date and I ruined it all… I want to make it up to you… if you’ll let me. I just wanted to say… For whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry… You’re the last pony I’d ever meant to make cry…”
Turning around, he left the boutique’s doorstep and walked towards the apple farmer, who gave him a proud smile.
“Don’t worry, Spike,” she patted him on the back. “It’s late. She’s probably asleep, and you know how seriously she takes her beauty sleep. Ya can try again tomorrow.”
He nodded as they walked off, leaving the Queen by herself once more.
“Tomorrow, eh?” Chrysalis spoke to herself. A new plan hatched in her mind as she waited for the two to be out of earshot. Allowing her disguise to fall, she walked up to and knocked on the boutique’s door herself.
“Spike!?” Rarity excitedly opened the door, gasping at the sight of the Changeling Queen.
“Would like another guess?” the black bug-like Queen asked.
“I’m sure she’ll forgive ya, Spike,” Applejack comforted the nervous dragon. “You and Rarity are as close bark on an apple tree.”
“I’ll go see her first thing tomorrow,” Spike told her as they arrived at the library. As they did, he realized his problem with Rarity had now cost Applejack her entire date with him. He found himself owing another apology. “Hey, Applejack. I’m sorry about all this. I guess you really didn’t get your date either.”
“It’s fine. If ya stayed, I’m sure it would’ve only gotten more embarrassing,” the apple farmer replied. Though she said it was fine, he could not help but feel like he owed her something.
“Hey, Applejack?” the dragon called her. Her lips met his as she turned to look at him. The blond mare opened her eyes wide and stared at the dragon with shrunken pupils, taken back by his forwardness, but still did not separate their lips.
After what seemed to the mare like an eternity, Spike finally broke the kiss. Applejack still gave him the same blank, wide-eyed stare, mouth agape, cheeks flushed. Her silence had him feeling a bit nervous. Maybe he had been a little too bold and she was not ready for this step. But, at last, the initial stun wore off and her mouth stretched into smile.
“Didn’t think ya had that in ya,” Applejack told him. “But I’m glad ya did. I do like a dragon that knows what he wants…”
Spike blushed at her comment as he waved her good-bye. He found himself feeling guilty once more, realizing how easy it would have been for Twilight to walk in on them. He knew it would have broken her heart to see them like that, after they had shared their first kisses with each other. It was moment that he knew was special to her, as was he to her. And she was special to him too.
But Applejack was also important to him, as was Rarity. The way Applejack accepted his kiss and the way Rarity felt after what he said to her both revealed how they felt about him. He did not want to hurt anyone he cared about, but he saw no other way this would end. But he also realized that a choice would be inevitable. His conscience weighed heavily after hurting just one; he could not imagine the guilt he would feel after choosing one above the other two. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that this choice was coming very soon.