The sun radiated warmth and bright light all over Ponyville. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo were all strolling down the long dirt path from school to the Golden Oaks Library. Several ponies greeted them as they walked by. They passed all the familiar sites as they discussed their next course of action.
"Sweetie Belle, Ah thought you were supposed ta think of the next thing we try," Apple Bloom chided.
"Sorry, Apple Bloom, I was just busy, I didn't have time." Sweetie Belle stated apologetically.
Scootaloo responded by slapping her face with her hoof. "You didn't have time? You always talk about how bored you always are, and now you're busy?"
"Maybe we could think of something. How 'bout we try an' be teachers?" Apple Bloom suggested.
"Who would take lessons from us? Maybe Sweetie here, she's the smartest of us, but not me."
They continued brainstorming until an idea came to Sweetie Belle, one that excited her. "Hey, I have an idea!" She jumped into the air.
"What is it?" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at her with interest.
"We could be jewelers! My sister knows everything about gems, and so does Spike at the library. We could talk to them."
Apple Bloom burst out laughing while Scootaloo snorted in derision, then joined Apple Bloom. Not only did they know of Sweetie's crush, they playfully teased her every time Spike came into the conversation.
"What's so funny?"
Apple Bloom is the first to stop laughing. "Either you're excited to talk to Rarity, or to see Spike. Ah think it's the former."
"I think you mean latter. If you're going to tease me, at least do it right."
"And once again, you prove that you're a walking dictionary." Scootaloo laughed.
Now it was Sweetie's turn to bring her hoof to her face. "Girls, hear me out. Don't you think it would be nice to have jewelry for a cutie mark? Besides, jewelry is expensive, that probably means that jewelers make a lot of money."
"All right, fine. We'll play along. C'mon, Scootaloo. We'll go to the library to get what we need."
Scootaloo shrugged. "I guess the idea isn't so bad."
They inhaled deeply. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS JEWELERS!" They all shouted in unison. The three raised their hooves and did a three-way high-hoof.
Apple Bloom was the first to make it to the library, and she immediately barged through the door, followed by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
"Apple Bloom!" Sweetie scolded, "You really should have knocked before entering!"
"This is a library, Ah don’t have ta knock," Apple Bloom responded.
Twilight was standing near one of the many bookshelves in the room, looking for a book to read; one she hadn't already read a few times over."Hey, girls, nice to see you," She gave the CMC a friendly smile. "Do you need something?"
"Twilight, we need a book on jewelry. Do you have any?"
"Yes we do, Sweetie. Actually, I was just looking for a book to read myself," Twilight glanced up at the shelves. "Spike!" She walked to the stairs and called up to Spike. "Come down here and help me find some books!"
A few seconds later, a loud groan sounded from the room, followed by a tired looking Spike trudging down the stairs. He yawned loudly. "What do you need?" He muttered groggily. "If you need me to find a book, there are plenty of those around here." He points around the room to show all books in the library. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish my nap." He began his trip back up the stairs.
"He's a real charmer isn't he?" Scootaloo sniggered, along with Apple Bloom.
"You're not done yet, Spike." Twilight picked him up and levitated him down the stairs. "Find a book on gemstones and jewelry for these girls." She set him down at the bottom of the stairs and motioned to the CMC.
"Those are over there." He pointed his claw to a shelf close to the CMC. "I'll get them." He rolled a nearby ladder to the shelf. "Oh, hi, Sweetie Belle." He said as he climbed up the ladder, looking for the books.
"Hi, Spike." She greeted cheerfully. She suddenly felt something weird in her chest. She then realized that her heart rate increased slightly. She never had that problem with Spike before, so she just shrugged it off.
"Hey! We're here too ya know!" She joked.
"I know, I didn't forget about you two, Apple Bloom."
"Well ah'm sure she did." Apple Bloom pointed a hoof to Sweetie.
"I'd forget too if I were her and I was in Spike's presence." Scootaloo and Apple Bloom laughed lightly.
Spike gave Sweetie a confused look and she just responded with a shrug. What confused Spike was that she was starting to blush slightly. She looked away from everyone as an attempt to hide her face. I'm starting to regret telling them about Spike.
"So are you girls gonna try to earn a gem related cutie mark?"
"Yep, it was Sweetie Belle's idea. She really looked forward to talkin' to you about it."
"Spike knows quite a bit about gems. Maybe he could show you what you're looking for." Twilight suggested.
Spike continued searching the expansive shelves on his ladder. "Yeah, you may not think I know a lot, but I really do. I was interested in knowing more about the gems I eat, so a while ago, Rarity taught me everything I know about them." He looked over shelf one last time and pulled out a book. "Here it is." He stepped down the rungs of the ladder and placed the book on Apple Bloom's back. "This'll tell you everything you need to know. If you'd like, I can go over it with you."
"Great, let's read it."
"Alright, gimme a second." Apple Bloom, with bit of struggle, lugged the huge book across the room and laid it on the table with a loud thump. She quickly opened it to the first page.
"Now, the first part of the book talks about the different types of gems..."
"... And that's it. Everything you need to know." Spike took about ten minutes to go over the general ideas of the book with the CMC.
"Thanks, Spike." Apple Bloom readjusted the book so it wouldn't fall off her back.
"No problem."
"You know who’s really thankful? Sweetie Belle is very thankful, aren't you?" Scootaloo nudged Sweetie slightly.
"Yeah, I am, I guess." Sweetie put her hoof behind her neck nervously.
"Uh, Scootaloo, what are you and Apple Bloom talking about? I've noticed you two acting kinda weird since you came in."
Sweetie groaned inwardly. "Alright, we should be going now. We need to learn all the information we can."
"Well Spike, to answer your question, we-"
Sweetie gasped and threw herself at Apple Bloom, shoving her hoof into her mouth. "We really need to leave now." She pulled out her hoof and pushed both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom out the door.
"Remember, if you ever need anything else, you can–"
The door slammed shut, cutting Twilight off. "–always come back."
"That was weird," Spike stated. "I dunno what was weirder, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's behavior, or Sweetie Belle's embarrassment towards it."
"What are you talking about? They acted just fine to me."
"No offense, but you're socially awkward. You can't even tell when somepony's acting normal." Spike remarked.
Twilight responded by giving Spike a light glare.
"But um... it suits you quite nicely. He he... oh, here's that book you were looking for."
Spike pulled a fairly new book out of the shelf and laid it down in front of her. It was labeled, "How to be Social."
"Anyway, I'm gonna go back to sleep." He briskly walked back up the stairs and into his room before Twilight could respond. He jumped into his bed and snuggled in. His tiredness, paired with the warmth of the bed, made him quite comfortable.
He was almost asleep when thoughts about the CMC crept in to his mind
All three of them were acting weird today, weren't they? It's like Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were implying something about me... and Sweetie Belle. And Sweetie was embarrassed to talk about it. Do they think... Realization and fear hit Spike like a truck. What if they think I have a crush on Sweetie Belle? Oh no, they must have heard about my crush on Rarity and got her confused with Sweetie! This is bad, I like Sweetie Belle, but not like that! His respiration increased slightly. It's okay, they wouldn't think that. There must be something else they meant... but there isn't anything else they could imply. They do think I have a crush on her, don't they? Oh no...
"Ugh, I cannot believe you two! Do you know how embarrassing that was for me? Those jokes were not funny!"
"Come on, Sweetie Belle, we were just having fun."
"Quiet, Scootaloo! You two are my friends, when I tell you about my personal secrets, I trust you with them. I expect you two to help me out and support me, NOT MAKE JOKES AT EVERY CHANCE YOU GET!" Sweetie's voice was cracking very badly with all the yelling.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked guilty after Sweetie explained to them why what they did was wrong. "Ah didn't think about it like that. Sorry, Sweetie Belle." Applebloom looked down at the ground.
"I'm sorry too."
"And now Spike's gonna know how I feel about him for sure."
"If he does find out, you two could get together. You two are perfect for each other."
Sweetie sighed "No! I can't, it's not that simple! He's a good friend, I don't wanna risk losing him because he doesn't like me the same way. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go." She huffed and walked away.
"Where are you going? This jeweler thing was your idea!" Scootaloo shouted, pointing to the book.
Sweetie kept on walking. In fact, she sped up to a trot, and shortly thereafter, she was gone.
"Uh... Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked with the heavy book weighing her down. "What do we do now?"
"We go talk to her."
"Of course we will. Ah meant what are we gonna do about this book?" She was already working up a sweat. "Ah can't carry it any farther."
"Alright, let's drop that off at the clubhouse first. We can use it later."
"Okay then."
Sweetie Belle sat in her brightly decorated room on her pink covered bed. She buried her face into her pillow, and was about to yell into it when a knock, followed by Apple Bloom walking in, interrupted her.
"Howdy." She greeted cheerfully, not realizing the mood Sweetie Belle was in.
Sweetie lifted her face off the pillow and looked at Apple Bloom, fixing her eyes into a glare. "Where's Scootaloo?" She was slightly irritated at the presence of her friends.
"Right here!" Scootaloo stepped out from behind the doorway. "We're here to-" she stopped when she saw the condition Sweetie was in. The glare fixed on both of them deterred Scootaloo slightly, but she persevered. "Well we just wanted to cheer you up. He he." She smiled sheepishly, along with Apple Bloom.
Sweetie's expression softened. "Just leave me alone. I'm not in the mood to talk." She laid her head back on the pillow.
"But Sweetie Belle-"
"What you two were doing was humiliating. Do you even know what I was going through when we were at the library? No, because you've never had a crush before. Spike may not be the smartest dragon, but I bet even Twilight could figure this out."
"Does it really matter?"
"Yes, it does matter! If Spike knew how I felt, there's no way he'd feel the same way."
Now Apple Bloom and Scootaloo started to look guilty. "But maybe-"
"Maybe what? Even if he still wants to be my friend, things will never be the same between us. And a relationship between us would never happen. I want to be left alone so I can accept this fact, so please, just go."
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's head drooped and they looked at each other dejectedly, then back at Sweetie. "We're sorry Sweetie Belle. We didn't know what we were doing to you I guess if you can't forgive us yet, then we'll go. C'mon, Apple Bloom." They turned around and walked towards the door.
"Wait," Sweetie Belle said before they left the room. They stopped and turned around. "I'm not mad at you two. I know you were just teasing me. I just came home because I was embarrassed. But now that I've thought about it, I was finally able to figure it out. I just feel kind of sad that I can't be with Spike. I didn't have any intention of trying to be with him, but just the thought that he doesn't want to be with me is upsetting. It's also a bit frustrating."
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom wanted to stay, they wanted to say some encouraging words to help her through the trouble she was in. They couldn't unfortunately, so they both nodded and turned back to the door. They close the door behind them, leaving Sweetie Belle alone.
She was so frustrated she wanted to just scream. So she screamed into her pillow, hoping to get rid of the frustration.