//------------------------------// // Meet the Flock // Story: Helping the Dweeb // by Draconian Soul //------------------------------// Spike skipped down Ponyville’s streets while humming to himself. His elation was apparent to anypony that passed him. With a heavy sigh, Gilda trailed behind him. She resisted the urge to turn away and walk back home while the dragon was preoccupied, knowing he would just follow her back to her house. The kid was persistent, something she both admired and loathed about him. “I can’t wait until my friends see you!” Spike exclaimed. “They’ll be so surprised by how much you’ve changed!” “Don’t get your hopes up,” Gilda said, rolling her eyes. “Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself. You aren’t that much of a jerk anymore. You helped me get out of my slump, remember?” “Yeah, but that was because your whining was equivalent to having someone claw on a chalkboard.” Gilda’s feathers ruffled at the thought. “Besides, I already told you that I don’t care about meeting your friends.” Spike turned towards Gilda and gave a bemused look. “Oh, come on, Gildy, it won’t be that ba—” “Wait wait wait!” Gilda stopped and held out a claw. “Did you just call me Gildy?” Spike nodded, blushing. “It… it has a good ring to it, you know? What, you’re afraid to be called something a little mushy?” “I’m not afraid, twerp. I just don’t want to be called by that!” Gilda exclaimed as she balled her fist. “Now, if you call me that again, you’re going to be introducing me to your friends with a swollen eye!” Spike was positive that Gilda was messing around. He doubted she would physically harm him. However, the griffon was also a wild card, and an irritable one at that. He didn’t want to risk it. “Fine, whatever you say!” Spike rolled his eyes and continued walking. “Don’t want you to get a bad fir… erm… second impression, and me coming home with a black eye would definitely do the—” Spike paused, being pushed forward slightly when Gilda bumped into him. “What the—” Gilda gave Spike a look of agitation. “What did you stop in the middle of the street for?” Spike snapped his fingers. “Darn! I almost forgot Twilight’s milk. Sorry Gilda, but we need to make a quick stop before we head to the library.” Gilda dragged a claw down her face. “Are you serious?” Spike nodded. “It’ll be real quick, I promise!” Gilda shook her head. I really should have just said no. “Fine, but make it quick!” Spike smiled and continued forward. The two walked together in the middle of the marketplace. Many of the ponies eyed the griffon, most being unpleasant glances. Gilda mumbled under her breath and ignored their gazes. It wasn’t like she cared much about it, but being around a group of condescending ponies when she could be sleeping instead was a pain. It didn’t take them long to reach the dairy market. The merchant stood at her station, ringing the silver bell with pride. Spike walked up towards the counter and was greeted with a cheerful grin from the pegasi’s face. “Ah, if it isn’t my favorite little shopper,” she said, pulling out a medium pint of milk. “You don’t even need to tell me what you came here for. You’re a regular after all.” Spike chuckled, grabbing at the bottle. “You know Twilight well, then,” Spike said with a pearly smile. “Ten bits, right?” She nodded. “That is correct, sweetie!” Spike reached into his pockets and put down the required bits. “Not a problem. This is some of the best milk in town.” Spike turned towards Gilda, who looked at both of them with bemused, irate expression. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention her. This is my friend, Gilda!” “Gilda, huh?” The merchant observed the griffon, puzzled by her. “Isn’t she the one that got ran out of here nearly a year ago for her rude behavior?” “Up yours too, pal!” Gilda snarled, glaring at her. The merchant scooted back, shifting her gaze away from Gilda. “Gilda, would you please—” Spike sighed and leaned onto the counter. “Look, sorry about her. She gets… a little cranky every now and then. She doesn’t mean anything by it.” Gilda folded her arms and began to mumble. Spike brushed it off as one of her little fits and smiled at the merchant. “Trust me, she isn’t as bad as she seems. She… she actually can be pretty nice at times.” “Well, I don’t really see it, but if you say so, sugar.” She looked under the counter and restocked her diary. “I expect to see you in a few weeks with more requests?” Spike smiled widely. “You know it.” With his business done, he turned towards Gilda. The disgruntled griffon looked down at Spike, tapping her claw against the concrete floor. “Well, can we go now? I don’t have the patience to babysit you all day.” Spike chuckled. Her snarky attitude came off  more cute than agitating to him. The fact that she would even waste her breath and time to make a rude remark to him strangely warmed him. His face began turning a shade of red. Gilda flicked Spike on the snout, causing him to jolt and grab at it. “Alright, I get it! Friends. Now.” Spike’s face still was flushed. However, he tried to straighten up and act serious enough so he wouldn’t be stricken harder by Gilda. Spike rotated back towards his determined path and continued walking with Gilda following behind. Spike tapped his chin and hummed lightly. Okay, so what kind of first impression are you going to try to give? he thought to himself. My friends don’t really think highly of her, so convincing them she’s a better griffon might be hard, especially with the personality she still has. Spike chuckled lightly. I’m going to start out with Twilight, that’s for sure, but who will I try to reintroduce to her then? I could go to Rarity’s. Yeah, that might be best. Then maybe Applejack, or probably Fluttershy. I should consider taking her to see Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, even though I know she might not like that much. Gilda’s eyes widened. It had been five whole minutes of silence, not a single peep coming out of the dragon’s mouth. Normally, that kind of peaceful silence would be equivalent to sweet harmony to her. But she wasn’t in a normal circumstance. She was following an overzealous Spike to visit his friends in hopes they would accept her. “You’ve been quiet for quite some time now,” Gilda stated. “That is unsettling. What exactly are you plotting?” “Oh, nothing,” Spike answered in a silky, giddy tone. “You’re lying,” Gilda hissed. “Don’t believe me all you want, but that isn’t going to do you any good.” Spike turned around and skipped backwards, a coy smile painted on his face. “I got you to come with me to see my friends. Why would I need to trick you and make a big scheme over that?” Gilda huffed. “Whatever.” “Come on, Gilda. Why the long face? I’m not asking you to do anything too difficult. I’m just trying to help you get in clean with them.” “Even though I’ve said a thousand times I don’t care about being friendly with your group of dorks!” “You’ll like them when you actually get to know them better, I guarantee it!” Spike turned back around and marched on. Gilda closed her eyes and sighed, accidently bumping into Spike who had stopped in his tracks. “And there’s an opportunity to introduce you to one of them now!” A yellow pesasus came trotting from the horizon. She held a list in her mouth and browsed over the different booths in the marketplace. Spike waved at while running towards her. Gilda slowly followed behind. And so it begins. “Hey, Fluttershy!” Spike rushed towards her and waved. “What are you doing out?” Fluttershy gasped before looking up. Once she realized who had called her out, her confusion melted and was replaced by a warm, gentle smile. “Oh, hello, Spike,” she greeted. “Nice to see you again. I was just out running a few errands for my animals. What are you doing… out… here…” A shadowy, completely peeved figure loomed over Spike. Fluttershy began to shudder, stepping back in fear. “What’s wrong?” Spike asked. Fluttershy didn’t respond. She just pointed her hoof at the griffon. Spike turned around to see Gilda nonchalantly glaring at her. “Oh yeah! How rude of me to not introduce my new friend.” “Um… friend?” Fluttershy looked up with wide eyes. “Yeah! Gilda just moved here a few days ago. She’s really nice when you get to know her.” Gilda rolled her eyes. Fluttershy’s gaze was locked onto her, receding into a meek expression rather than that of fear. “Oh, okay then. If that’s true, then welcome Gilda. Nice to meet you.” Fluttershy smiled and extended her hoof. Gilda sighed and held her claw out as well, gripping Fluttershy’s hoof firmly. “The feeling isn’t mutual,” she replied. Fluttershy stifled her whine. “Um… okay… I guess that’s alright—” She turned her head towards Spike. “Well, if you say she’s nicer, I’m okay with her. She just seems… well—” Spike waved his claw. “Ah, don’t worry about that. She’s just a little grouchy pants sometimes. Nothing too threatening.” Gilda clenched her fists and grumbled inaudibly. “If you say so.” Fluttershy focused her attention on the ground. She kicked her hoof against it, leaving a unsettling atmosphere. Spike brought his fist to his mouth and coughed. “So, what kind of errands are you running?” Spike said in a sad attempt to bring about a conversation. “Your animals need food or something?” “Oh, that’s part of it,” Fluttershy responded. “I’m also going to find some of my animals some better bedding material. Poor things can’t sleep comfortably on what they have now.” Gilda stood impatiently and listened to the two carry on with boring dribble. She tapped her claw against the concrete, waiting for the dragon to shut up so they could be on their way. But he wouldn’t. He kept talking and talking and talking. Most of the conversation droned on for what felt like an eternity. Gilda tried to keep her comments to herself, but there was only so much she could hold in. “Hey! Forget about me? The impatient, peeved off griffon that doesn’t want to be here?” Spike turned around towards Gilda, who was pointing at her puffed chest. Those feathers. Those fluffy, pillowy feathers. Spike gave a dopey grin. His mind wandered, and the thought of resting on the mounds of feathers swam through his daydream. It was so delightful, so soft and warm… ...So painful? Just like a brick colliding into his chest, Spike felt the sting of Gilda’s fist press against him, knocking him to the ground. “Look, I don’t have the patience for this! Can we just meet your other friends so I can go home, please?” At least she said please. Spike clutched his stomach and wheezed. “Alright, alright!” Spike lifted himself back on his feet and dusted the dirt and grime off of him. “You don’t have to be so pushy about it.” “H-he’s right, Gilda.” Fluttershy confronted Gilda on her action. Although she stood upright and confident, her knees shook with fear. “You shouldn’t treat your friend like that. E-especially not Spike.” Gilda grabbed Spike’s head with her talons and rubbed it violently. “Ah, the squirt knows I’m messing around with him, right kid?” Spike smiled and straightened his spines that were flattened. “It’s alright, Fluttershy. She doesn’t mean anything by it.” “B-but she—” “Look, Flufferwhy—” “It’s Fluttershy,” she corrected, still avoiding the gaze of Gilda. “Yeah, whatever. No offense, but I don’t really feel like dealing with you guys longer than I have to. I just want to say hi, bye, and go back home to let my lunch settle.” “I’m sorry then,” Fluttershy murmured. “I didn’t mean to be accusational. I just thought—” Fluttershy’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that reminds me! Spike, I forgot to tell you what types of food Mr. Whiskers like!” “M-Mr. Whiskers?” Spike felt as if his skin leapt from his body. He gulped loudly, sweat forming on his brow. “Oh yeah! The pet you gave me. So, what does he like to eat?” Gilda’s eyes raised in curiosity. “Pet fish, huh?” Spike turned towards her and waved his claws, gritting his teeth. The gesture caused some confusion in both of the girls, though Gilda was eye’s lit up when she figured out what he was implying. “Yeah. I gave it to him a little earlier today. Said he was kinda lonely since Peewee left, so I gave him a little pet to keep him company.” “Oh, you did, didn’t you?” Gilda smiled at Spike. Her devious nature was showing, making Spike fear the worst. Gilda rested her claw on top of his head and rubbed it. “Well, good for him. Wouldn’t want the runt to feel lonely, now would we?” Spike’s worries were lifted as Gilda winked at him. His eyes twinkled and with the load off of his back, he sighed in relief. The pain of her talons pressing into his skull was overridden by his sheer happiness of Gilda’s generosity. “Of course we wouldn’t. Spike deserves to have a nice little pet of his own. It isn’t fair that we have one and he doesn’t.” “Well, I’m pretty sure the fish will be well fed under his care.” Gilda chuckled and nudged Spike. His comfort was draining. The fear of her spilling out what he had done started to assault his mind. Fortunately, Fluttershy didn’t catch on. Instead, she smiled warmly at both of them. “That’s good. I’m just glad you made another friend, Spike. She… she isn’t as mean as she used to be.” “I’m not that nice, either. I’m just glad you gave him something that would prevent him from acting like a complete sad sap since his crush rejected him.” “Thanks for bringing that up, Gilda,” Spike groaned, face still flushed. “I really wanted others to know about that.” Gilda chuckled. “You’re welcome, Spike.” And there it was again. No dweeb, pipsqueek, or twerp. Just Spike, and it sent waves of joy through his body. Gilda caught onto his reactions, staring at him like he was some kind of insane creature, something she was beginning to believe to be true more and more. “Well, sorry to have to leave so soon, but I really should be off now,” Fluttershy said. “I still have a lot of errands to do, and you two look like you were off somewhere.” “Yeah, and hopefully we can get there without any further interruptions,” Gilda said, eyeing Spike. “I hope so, too.” Fluttershy giggled and trotted towards Gilda. “Nice to meet you, by the way. I’m sorry we got off on the wrong hoof last time, but hopefully, we can be friends from this day forth.” With a glowing smile, Fluttershy extended her hoof towards Gilda again. The griffon stared at it briefly. She didn’t have any intention of carrying on a conversation with the pegasus, and it was taking every fiber in her body to not tell her that she potentially ate Mr. Whiskers. However, there was a wide eyed dragon standing there, admirring her, and dragging her around the place until she was introduced to all of his friends. She extended her claw and gripped it, but with less intensity as the first time. “Thanks, I guess,” Gilda said, feigning a smile. “You’re welcome.” The yellow pegasus cocked her head towards Spike and exchanged a genuine smile. “Take good care of Mr. Whiskers. Though, I’m sure he’ll be in good hands with you around.” Gilda brought her claws against her beak to hold back her laughter. Spike’s face reddened in both embarrassment and fear. “Um… of course, Fluttershy,” Spike said. “You can count on me!” Without anything left to discuss, and with Fluttershy needing to finish her errands, she trotted past the two and waved, receiving the same from Gilda and Spike. The air of pleasantries soon died down when Fluttershy was out of sight. With the pegasus gone, Gilda’s withheld laughter came flowing out of her. “Oh man! This is too good! I can’t believe you, kid!” Gilda had to grip her stomach to prevent her from falling on her back. Spike sighed and glared at Gilda. “It’s not funny, Gilda!” Spike protested. “What if she finds out?” “Then who’s fault is that?” Gilda retorted, her laughter making parts of her speech inaudible and light. “I can’t believe you did that though! Of all the stupid things anyone could do, you fed me one of your friends pets!” Spike looked down towards the ground in shame. The weight of his action was taking it’s toll, and Gilda just added to the baggage. “Look, this isn’t helping. I don’t want the entire town to know that!” Gilda began to hiccup and clutch her chest harder. With a heavy sigh, she smiled smugly at Spike. “Geez, lighten up. I won’t tell your friend about the little meal I had.” Gilda stuck her tongue out, lapping it against her beak. “Though, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep my big beak closed with us standing here all day. Might just let all of your dark secrets spill out!” Spike gulped and his irises shrank. The shift in power between them wasn’t too surprising to him, but it still did a number on Spike’s moral. He was practically at the mercy of a vengeful griffon. Why in Equestria do I put up with you? “Fine, I get it. We’ll make this day as short as we possibly can. Just… please… don’t mention this to anypony. Please?” Spike was grovelling on his knees, his claws cuffed together while he begged. Gilda frowned. She didn’t get any enjoyment out of his misery. It was actually a rather sad scene. Something wasn’t right. “Well first of all, you can get off of your knees. It’s pathetic!” Gilda demanded. “Um, yeah, of course!” Spike tried to rebound and stand back up, but his clumsiness combined with his nervous attempts to please Gilda, for more than one reason now, sent him fumbling back on the ground. He rubbed the back of his head, blushing wildly. “You really are a pathetic thing.” Gilda shook her head and lifted Spike up with her claw. “I really don’t know why I put up with you.” Spike dusted himself off and looked into Gilda’s golden eyes. In an attempt to hide his affection for her, he contorted his dopey grin into that of a smug, confident one. “Because I’m awesome and worth being around,” was the answer Spike gave, the answer that brought a faint smile on Gilda’s face. “Whatever! Just drop off your milk so we can get this stupid meet-up with your friends over with!” Spike chuckled as he continued towards the library. “Well, since Twilight is there, you might as well meet her. We could kill two birds with one stone doing that!” “Uh huh. And exactly which one of these birds did you intend to kill first?” Spike felt his body go numb at the realization of what he said and what it might have implied. He turned his head towards Gilda, her cold eyes piercing through him. “S-Sorry about that Gilda!” Spike wavered his arms around nervously with Gilda still trotting behind him to keep him moving. “I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers… wait, that isn’t going to help… I didn’t mean to imply that I was… I—” Gilda shoved a claw on Spike’s mouth. “Calm down! I was just messing around. I know what you meant, okay?” Spike nodded, face flushed once again. The rest of the trip went on in silence. Neither of the two said a word to each other. It was sweet music to Gilda’s ears. Every moment of silence was heaven to her, especially with her knowing she would have to deal with Spike’s bunch of dweebs. Not to mention a moment without Spike yapping his mouth off was nice. Still, there was something she liked about the little dragon. Something she couldn’t put her claw on, and something she brushed off for the sake of getting the day over with. After what seemed like ages, the two stood in front of the giant tree Spike called home. “Well, this is the place,” Spike said as he walked towards the window. Gilda raised her eyebrows when Spike pressed his face against the pane. “Um, twerp, what in Equestria are you—” Spike nodded to himself, making faint noises of affirmation. He got off of the now foggy window and walked towards Gilda. “Yeah, she’s still inside, nose deep in her books as usual.” “Oh wow! Thanks for that completely useful information,” Gilda said, smacking her talons against her puffy cheeks. “I would have never come to the conclusion that somepony was sitting inside the place you want to introduce me at!” “Heh, well I’m just a bag of surprises,” Spike said with pride. Gilda didn’t know whether Spike was being a smart alec or he legitimately didn’t realize she was being sardonic. Either one wouldn’t have shocked her. “Oh, you should probably wait out here for a minute.” “What?” “I need to talk Twilight into it a bit. You didn’t make a good impression the first time, and I want you to have a good start. Gilda pounded a claw against the ground. “Oh great! More waiting!” “Could you just be patient for a good three minutes? I just want to introduce you properly.” Gilda glared at the dragon, tapping her talon against the ground. “Fine, but don’t—” “Take too long. I know, I know.” Spike rolled his eyes playfully and walked towards the library door. The door creaked open slowly. Twilight cocked her head to the side as Spike walked into the library. “Well that’s unusual,” Spike began. “You don’t normally stick your head up when you’re nose deep into a book. What, were you concerned about your little assistant?” “Oh hush!” Twilight closed her book and placed it onto her bookshelf. “I guess I don’t have to ask you if your mind has cleared.” “I guess not,” Spike answered. He walked towards the kitchen and placed the milk in the fridge. He quickly glanced out the window to make sure that Gilda was still there. She was resting on the grass, eyes half opened, as if she was intending to fall asleep on their very front steps. Lazy and impatient: good qualities to Spike. “I got the milk, if you hadn’t noticed. A thanks would be nice.” Yep, he’s back to his old self, Twilight thought. What she couldn’t understand was why Spike was constantly eyeing the window. She was about to confront him about it before he rushed towards her. “Okay, while I was out, I went to see someone,” Spike began, “and I kind of brought her over here for a bit.” “Her?” Twilight put a hoof to her chin, a grin forming on her face. “I see. You made up with Rarity already? You work pretty fast for a little dragon.” Spike glared at Twilight, not a single blush forming on his face. Unusual for Spike. “No, it’s not Rarity. Though I do plan on visiting Rarity and introducing my friend to her later.” “Oh?” Twilight hummed softly. “So, is it anypony I know?” “Well, technically she isn’t a pony,” he said, sustaining a giddy laugh. “So who is it?” Spike walked towards the door, staring back at Twilight. He sighed, looking up at a confused Twilight. “Okay, you might not like who you’re gonna see, but trust me, she’s cool. She’s a pretty awesome friend, actually.” Spike grabbed his tail rocked back and forth with a grin on his face. Twilight noticed his face going red, fueling the confusion and speculations swimming in her skull. “Why wouldn’t I like your new friend? I think it’s good that you’re making progress. You’re moving on and finding new… whoever she is, to hang out with.” Twilight wrapped her arms around Spike, a smile forming on her lips. “And from what it looks like, you’ve taken a liking to this new friend.” Spike’s face went as crimson as it could possibly go. “Yeah. She such an amazing griffon.” Spike’s voice was silky and dreamlike. A sigh of admiration escaped his lips, and his eyes swooned over his feathered friend. It was warming to Twilight to see Spike out of the rut. Still, she was still unsure about the friend Spike was talking about. “Griffon?” Spike nodded. “Could you just promise not to overreact when you see her?” Spike cuffed his claws together, practically begging Twilight to not make a fool out of himself. “Of course, Spike,” Twilight agreed. “Whoever your friend is, you have my support.” A confident smile formed on Spike’s face. “Great! Then I’ll go get her.” He skipped towards the door, failing miserably to hide his admiration of the new friend, and opened it. “Hey! You can come in now!” Gilda lifted herself from the ground and stretched. With a quick preparation, she flapped her wings and flew towards the doorway. “It’s about time! I hate waiting around for others.” She wiped her talons on the hardwood floor and straightened her bangs. “So, what’s up?” Twilight's jaw nearly hit the floor. She had some ideas about who Spike could be talking about. She even considered Gilda being that someone, but dismissed it on the grounds that she didn’t think he would ever find any good quality in such a brute of a griffon. Turns out, she was proven wrong. “Um, hello?” Gilda snapped her claw in Twilight’s face. With that, Twilight shook her head and glanced at Gilda. “Oh good, I thought you went brain dead for a second. You know, for somepony who is supposed to be ‘smart’, you act like a nitwit when you see a face you don’t like.” “Wait, what!” Twilight gritted her teeth at the insult, showing much disdain for Gilda’s behavior. Spike stood there and sighed. So much for making a good first impression. “Hey, Gilda, why don’t you tell her what you did for me!” Spike said in a botched attempt at giving her a better reputation. “What? I just helped you get over your silly obsession with a primadonna.” “That ‘primadonna’ so happens to be my friend,” Twilight hissed, “and I’d suggest you act a little more civil than you—” Gilda extended her claw and yawned. “Sorry, okay. Just, please, don’t talk me to death. I’m just trying to get through this day as quickly as I can.” Twilight’s ears began to twitch. She put her hoof against her chest and exhaled. “Spike, can we talk in private?” “Why? Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Gilda!” Spike walked towards Gilda and stood by her side. Twilight raised an eyebrow. For whatever reason Spike found interest to Gilda, she wanted to find out. “Spike!” The purple dragon flinched. Twilight was glaring at him, causing him much discomfort. With a heavy sigh, he submitted to Twilight’s will and left Gilda’s side. “I’ll be back in a little while, Gilda. Could you just sit tight for a moment?” Gilda groaned and planted herself near the counter. “Whatever you feel like, twerp. I just love waiting around for others to talk about me. So much better than being asleep in my cozy bed right now!” Spike could tell that Gilda was being sarcastic that time, but chose to ignore it. While he did take Gilda’s agitation into consideration, there was nothing more scary than being scolded all day by the one you lived with. To avoid conflict with both of them, he smiled widely at Gilda to assure his return and followed Twilight upstairs. Spike scratched his head as he entered the room. “So, what’s up?” “What’s up?” Twilight huffed, pacing back and forth. “I’m pretty sure you know what’s up! And she’s sitting in our house now!” Spike raised an eyebrow. “What about her? What did she do?” “What did she do? Do you not remember how she acted when we threw her a party a few years ago?” “So?” Spike refuted, arms folded. “That was a few years ago.” “Yeah, but she hurt a few ponies by her actions,” Twilight reminded, staring at Spike sternly. “Her actions didn’t leave her with a good impression, and I don’t want you to develop any bad habits from her.” The dragon’s stoic face turned into slight anger and annoyance at Twilight’s agitation. “Oh, so just because I decided to hang out with someone you might not like, you think that I’m going to pick up some bad habits from her!” “I’m just asking you to not be influenced by her. She’s not…” Twilight tapped her chin, “how should I put this? She’s not, well, the most pleasant creature to be around.” “What, and Trixie was?” Spike snapped, taking offense to her statement. “She was different, Spike. She actually apologized to us.” “Yeah, and that boded well with Discord, huh? He caused havoc even when he so called befriended us.” Twilight couldn’t refute that fact. In fact, she was left dumbfounded by how well Spike pushed the topic back on her. “It was something Princess Celestia asked us to do,” Twilight explained. “We had to do it.” “Yeah yeah.” Twilight sighed. The dragon’s gaze didn’t leave her. Frustration was still apparent in Spike’s eyes. “Listen, I’m not telling you you can’t hang around with her though I would prefer you to not be around someone that doesn’t act like a complete jerk. I’m just telling you to be cautious around her.” Spike waved his claws at her. “Come on. She never put me in danger before.” Spike paused for a moment and chuckled slightly. “Well, except for that time where she let me fall and nearly hit the ground, but other than that—” “She did what!” Twilight lit up her horn and gritted her teeth. As she stormed towards the door, Spike blocked her path and pushed the door closed. “No! It’s not like that. She caught me. It was just a small joke.” “I don’t consider dropping someone to their death a small joke, Spike. That’s… dropping someone to their death.” “But… this drop was different.” Spike kicked against the ground with his hands behind his back, looking up at Twilight with wide, innocent eyes. “I don’t know how to explain it, but hanging around her is like… something amazing. She’s just awesome. So headstrong. So… so…” Spike gave off a dreamy sigh. He completely forgot that Twilight was in the room watching him, sighing and shaking her head as the realization of the situation struck her. “Oh boy. I know what this is.” She trotted towards Spike and put her forehoof on his back. “I’m glad that you’ve gotten over Rarity, and decided to move on, but you might be moving a little fast. Are you sure this isn’t just a mourning stage that you’re going through?” Spike cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” “Well, sometimes, when we’re dealing with sadness, we find an escape. Somepony, or in your case someone, to cling onto when we’re at our all time low.” “I still don’t see what you’re getting at, Twi.” She smacked herself in the face with her hooves and shook her head. After taking a deep breath, she began to explain herself thoroughly to Spike. “Spike, you have a crush on Gilda, don’t you?” Spike’s face instantly grew red. “No! Of course not! What would make you think such a thing? That’s just silly! Me, with a griffon? Ha, you’re silly, Twi.” Twilight had to work hard to stifle her laughter. She pressed her hooves against her lips to prevent it, though Spike caught onto it really fast. He lowered his head. “Is it that obvious?” “You were never the subtle one, Spike.” Twilight giggled much to Spike’s chagrin. “So what? I have a crush on her!” Spike stood up on the bed and extended his arms. “But I’m not doing this out of spite. I’m not trying to find an outlet for getting over Rarity. I genuinely like her, and I don’t want her to think she’s not welcome around here.” Twilight continued to listen to Spike ramble on about Gilda. Her initial disgust was melted, and replaced with understanding. Still, her concern for Spike and who he decided to hang out with came first. “Are you sure that you really like her?” Twilight asked. Spike nodded, face still tinted with red. “Well then, if that’s the case, then I won’t give her such a hard time.” Spike leaned into Twilight and wrapped his arms around her, nestling against her chest. “Thanks, Twi! You’re the best!” “However, there are two conditions that you have to abide by.” Of course. There was always a catch to these types of deals. Common when making a deal with Hades. “What is it, Twilight?” Spike asked, still holding onto her. “Firstly, you need to keep her attitude in check. If I hear about her causing problems with you or my friends, then I will forbid you from associating with her again.” It was a heavy order for Spike to take in at the time. He gulped and shifted his eyes around nervously. It wasn’t going to be an easy task, but he didn’t want to lose his friend. “Oh, that will be easy,” Spike assured. “She listens to me… mostly… so I’ll be able to make sure she doesn’t get in trouble with our friends.” Twilight grinned. “I’m glad to hear that.” “So, what was the other condition?” Twilight lifted herself off the bed and opened the door. “Well, for the next few weeks, your chores will be doubled. That means you have to clean all of the dishes, sort the books week, and clean out the toilet every four days.” “Ah, what?” Spike jumped off the bed and slouched in disappointment. “But I hate cleaning the toilet! When I used to have to clean them, the water would always splash me in the face!” Spike’s cheeks bulged and his face turned green just at the thought of it. “It hates me, Twilight.” “Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to bring Gilda over here without telling me what was going on with you earlier.” Twilight snickered and walked into the hallway. “Now hurry up, Spike. Your friend is down there waiting, and it isn’t hospitable to leave them there for too long.” Spike’s eyes began to twitch. Because of the small mistake of keeping Gilda a secret from her, he was cursed to weeks of some of the worst chores he could think of, and all because he wanted to give Gilda a proper chance. He sighed and followed Twilight, knowing that in the end, all of his efforts to impress Gilda and give her a good name would pay off. Right?