//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Dinner // Story: Applebloom Is Pregnant // by Nesfex //------------------------------// It had been two days of digging for Spike since he’d went to the hospital, and took a look to the little foal who will change their lives. While Applebloom and her friends kept their usual routines of going to school and being with their families, Spike went to the gems field. Every day he woke up early, even before Twilight did, and left his home to work. Sweetie Belle came after school with water and a snack. Once he considered his work was done, he took the bucket and leave the gems at the treehouse with Applebloom and went home. Twilight is always there waiting for him, and he always gave the same excuse “I was with the Cutie Mark Crusaders” Even Though this was an unusual conduct on Spike, Twilight didn’t questioned him as long as he did his chores at home. Spike found himself on the field and gazed upon the multitude of holes he had dug. His muscles remembered them too. His whole body hurt, his claws were twitching in pain, and he was so sleepy his eyes were half open. He kept going when the image of his foal came to mind. Passing by the old holes he and picked a new place to start. Putting the bucket down, he began digging. Dirt and fragments of rock flew and hit his face as he placed another claw on the land, but thankfully due to the dragon scales he didn’t feel a thing. After a few more minutes of his work, he reached the limits of what he could climb back, he took another peek to the bottom of the hole looking for a sign that a jewel was there, only to make sure that the was nothing only dust and dirt. “Another stinker,” He thought. Some spots didn’t have jewels and he doesn’t know until he was on the bottom. For him, doing so much work and not finding something was the worst waste of all. Climbing up, he took a few steps to his right and started a new hole. His eyes focused on the bottom looking for the slightest shine of a gem. The dirt became darker as he approached the limits of what he had established, however, he saw nothing but dirt. He repeat the process three more times, selecting a place, digging a hole and finding nothing. But those attempts turned to be in vain. He stumbled on the ground breathing heavily, his arms feeling like if they had pulse on their own and his claws pained as if they will break in any time. He was covered in sweat and as always he forgot to bring something else besides the bucket. Looking to the sun, he noticed it was high in the sky. Turning his attention to the path leading to Ponyville, he expected to see his friend, but found nothing "Sweetie Belle should be here by now. Where is she?" He wondered. He would have to return soon, and the bucket was still empty. He clenched his teeth and curled his claws into fists "Come on Spike. Just one more hole. You have to make it count!" He told to himself, getting up on his feet and moving to the next spot. He decided to make this one count. His arms moved slower but stronger and his eyes were wide open. Spike went deeper and deeper, and upon reaching the limit he saw nothing but more dirt. There was no gems there. He stared at the darker ground beneath him looking for something, anything. He turned around and scanned the pile of dirt behind him in case he accidentally dug up a gem between the dirt. But no matter how hard he looked there was only dirt, stones, and his own sweat. Heartbroken he let out a sigh “All this work for nothing. You are going to be a great father,” He told himself. He didn’t want to leave, he wanted to be there until he found at least one precious stone, however, if he arrived home late Twilight will get suspicious. For today all he could do was to leave the place. Dragging the empty bucket at a slow pace he walked back to Ponyville. Plodding down the path with his head down and looking at the road, he felt too embarrassed to face anyone at that moment. Arriving the outskirts of the town, Spike found himself on a crossroad. On his left side was Sweet Apple Acres, ahead the town square and his home. The days before he stopped at the treehouse to greet Applebloom and leave the jewels previously going with Twilight. But today he had no jewels to leave “I probably shouldn’t go, there’s nothing I can give her,” He thought, but before heading off, he thought again “But… At least I should stop and say hi… I’m probably going to be yelled at by her… And Twilight…What the hay.” Spike turned to his left and walked the road heading to the apple farm. His eyes were empty aside from his mind which was filled with thoughts "What am I going to tell her? Sorry, didn't find any gems... At the gems field?" With so much things inside his head he felt like there was an itch inside that he tried to relief it with scratching it, however no matter how much he tried to make the itch go away it didn’t seize. Spike arrived under the tree and took a small look to the clubhouse, he noticed something weird about it. The windows were covered with what appeared to be black curtains, it was something small but very strange considering that the cutie mark crusaders had never covered the place aside from the movie nights they sometimes have. For the first time Spike felt the necessity of knocking the door before entering. He approached the door and knock it once… Twice… Three times. A soft voice could be heard coming from it saying “Come in” The accent was unmistakable, clearly it was Applebloom’s but there was something odd about it.   Spike pushed the door open, letting himself in. The first thing he noticed was the darkness inside the place due to the curtains, everything inside was pitch dark but a small candle in the middle on the room illuminating over a round table. On the other side of the table   there was Applebloom sitting with her hooves folded. She was wearing a golden bow with colorful strings around and a blue sapphire on the middle of it, one of Rarity’s best works according to Spike, also she had eye shadows and a little bit of lipstick. “Welcome home, dear,” Applebloom said with a gentle and feminine voice. “Err… Hi… What’s all of this, Bloom?” Spike felt a little nervous about what it was something new to him. Suddenly there came a thought “Wait… Are we celebrating an anniversary? ... When is our Anniversary?! I knew I should have kept track of it. I don’t have something for her!” Appleboom giggled a little and explained “Ah just-“Before proceeding the little filly cleared her throat. “I just wanted to do something nice for you. Please have a sit” Her voice was sweet and and she tried as hard as she could to hide her way of speaking. Spike was still a little confused, but he accepted her invitation. He came near, pull out a chair, and sit with her “What now?” He asked. “Now… We eat” She said while standing up, and leaving the sit behind her. He went to another table at the right that had five dishes in a silver cover. She took one with her mouth and placed it in front of her date. “We’ll have a three course meal cooked by the crusaders,” She introduced and took the silver cover from the dish revealing a bowl with soup “First, mushroom soup made by Sweetie Belle. Bon appetite.” “Really?” He asked “What? You don’t like it?” Applebloom raised a concern. “No, no, it’s not that. It’s just that nopony have ever done something like that for me. Thanks” Spike was touching his hands nervously, it was a tic for him he couldn’t get rid of. “You are welcome. Now eat it while it's hot.” “Alright!” He couldn’t hide his excitement. He took the spoon next to his right hand and shove it in the bowl, he took a slip and put it in his mouth. The moment the soup touched his tongue he knew something was extremely wrong.  The water had no taste aside the pepper and what it seemed to be milk, the mushrooms were not done making them squishy from the outside but hard in the inside, on top of that there were other hard things on the soup he couldn’t identify but he hoped they were croutons. Taking a deep breath he let the liquid slide through his throat. He succeeded drinking one spoon of soup, but there was a whole bowl of it still waiting for him. He looked up and noticed Applebloom staring at him with a smile and not a bowl of soup on her side of the table “Hey, aren’t you going to eat some soup?” Spike asked. “Nope, I don’t really like mushrooms,” She answered Spike looked at the bowl and hesitate, the spoon on his hand danced around from the shaking he couldn’t control. He put the spoon down, took the bowl and pour its content to his mouth and directly into his stomach, that might give him a tummy ache later but for now his job was done.   “Wow, you really are hungry” Said Applebloom. She then stood up and went to the table where the rest of the meals were. She took now two dishes and placed them on the table, one for her the other for Spike “Course two, hay sandwich made by Scootaloo” She announce while revealing the next dish. “A sandwich! That’s simple, there is no way somepony screw this up,” Spike thought after seeing it. Spike took it and gave it a big bit, he then regret it. Somehow, Scootaloo found a way to make the worst sandwich ever. The bread was burned, it was almost pure ashes, but the inside and the cheese was not done. Scootaloo obviously tried to hide this by adding pickles, onions, celery, cucumber, and avocado; all this ingredients combined with the mustard, mayo, and ketchup. It was uneatable, but because it was Applebloom who planned all this for him he took all his courage and swallow it. Spike looked to front and noticed Applebloom didn’t have a sandwich on her plate, instead there was a bowl of salad, he noticed the different ingredient like cranberries, strawberries, apple slices, and something else he couldn’t spot, also it contain some seasoning that smell sweet. Compared to the sandwich that salad looked like the most delicious thing ever. “Hey, why aren’t you eating a sandwich like mine?” Spike asked “I didn’t feel for a sandwich, I’m not really hungry. That’s why I decided I should eat a salad,” She responded happily“So anyway, how’s work?” Spike tried to look away, but the lack of light made it difficult to spot something in the dark “Um… Err… I didn’t find any jewel. I dug like a dozen holes and got nothing” After hearing this Applebloom smiled. “It’s okay Spike. We got plenty for now, although I don’t know how many we need, but it’s okay I know you are working very hard.” This was not the response Spike was expecting. “I promise I’ll find more tomorrow. I’ll bring a bucket full” He said “I’m sure you will. Now, eat up before it gets cold” Spike hoped she would forget about the dinner and he could threw up the sandwich before she notice, but sadly that wasn’t the case. He stared at the rest of his meal for a couple of minutes while Applebloom devoured hers. He took a deep breath, gathering every drop of courage inside of him, took the rest of the sandwich and put it in his mouth. He closed his eyes and deposited the rest on his mouth and made it slide through his throat trying to taste as little as possible. He felt tired, even more so than after spending the day at the gems field. Applebloom has just finished her salad “I hope you are ready for the last course,” She said when she stood up and went for the two plates remaining. “Sweet Celestia, just take me now!” He thought when he saw his ordeal was not over yet. “Tada!” Applebloom said while revealing the content of the silver cover “Apple pie made by yours truly.” The slice of pie was still steaming hot. It looked really good, but he was fooled before. However, this time Applebloom had a slice of pie for herself. When Spike saw this he felt a little more confident that the pie was at least eatable. He took the fork, took a very small piece of the desert and without a second thought he found a place for it inside his mouth. Reluctantly tasting the pie, he opened his eyes in amaze. Not only was the pie good, it was really good. The bad taste of the last meals that lingered in his tongue had vanished. It was crispy, on the inside, but really soft in the inside; the apples were sweet scent and it was clear something was added to the recipe to make it taste better “Sugar? Honey?” Spike wondered, but he didn’t really wanted to know. In that moment they didn’t exchange a word, they just enjoyed the sweetness. The plates on the table suddenly were empty, leaving the dragon and the filly feel satisfied “Wow that was amazing. Did you really make it yourself?” Spike asked. Applebloom shook her head answering “Yup-“She cleared her throat again to get back into her former self “Indeed. Granny taught me that recipe a long time ago.” “Thanks again for the dinner. But, could you go back to your true self?” “I thought you like this.” “I do, but I like you more” Applebloom cheeks became red when she heard this. It wasn’t that often when Spike compliments her, and even though their relationship have reached a level further of just flirting and fooling around, she still felt a little nervous whenever something like that happens “O-okay… Thank you,” She said. “And… Honestly, why did you make dinner?” Spike asked. “Ah was bein honest. You’ve been workin so hard lately that I thought you deserved something nice,” Appleboom answered while taking away her bow and letting her mane down. With a swift move she shook her head and wave the mane around. Spike let out a small “whoa”, he watched how she moved her hair as if he was hypnotized. He then woke up when he noticed Applebloom was staring at him with a grin on her face “Err… Well that was great… Err… Thanks again” Suddenly an image of her purple friend back home came into his mind, reminding him he promise not to come back later “Twilight!” He yelled “I’m sorry, Bloom, but I think I have to go now” “It’s okay. Ah ran into Twilight earlier and asked her if it was okay if you came and be a little late… That is if you really wanna go” Applebloom replied with a soft voice, kind of apologetic. Spike felt tired from all his work and his head was filled with the idea of laying down on his bed, but he also wanted to stay for a while with Applebloom. He looked down thinking of his option, but then something caught his attention, something white and small that was curled and hiding in the corner of the room “What is that?” He said pointing at the object. Applebloom turned and saw what the dragon was speaking of “Oh… That’s my futon,” She answered. “Why do you need a futon here?” “Sometimes when I have a lot of things in my mind I like to get out of my home and come here and just lay down.” Spike related to what she said. Even he sometimes likes to go to the balcony of his house and look at the stars when he felt disturbed. Suddenly an idea came to mind to find a solution to his dilemma “Do you wanna see the stars?” He took the futon and placed it outside of the treehouse. The apple trees went really high and because of their leaves and branches they didn’t see the whole sky. But thankfully the area where the treehouse Is located had trees around it, instead of alongside it, making it like a window where you can see the night sky. Cleaned the ground from rocks and branches that could make them uncomfortable. Spike stumbled upon the futon and put his hands behind his head “Come on, Applebloom,” He invited his marefriend. Applebloom hesitated for a moment, but eventually she gave in. She laid down and settled her head between Spike’s chest and his chin and put her hooves around him, cuddling him. Even though their relationship has become more mature, she still feels nervous. They focused their attention up in the sky and gaze upon the beautiful image that Princess Luna made for them.  The stars shined brighter like Hearth’s Warming decorations, only they were prettier. Applebloom felt the heartbeat and breathing of Spike “It’s going faster. He’s nervous too?” She wondered. And just on that moment Spike raised his hand pointing to some stars. “L-look there! That’s Leo’s constellation,” He said. Applebloom raised her eyes and looked at the place Spike indicated “Really?” “I don’t know,” He said “Twilight tried to teach me where the constellations are, but I never picture them the same way ponies see them” The earthpony giggle when hearing the explanation “Ya know, I don’t get constellations either. But when Ah was little Ah used to identify things in the stars… Like this” Applebloom raised her left hoof and pointed to some stars, she then pointed to other as if she was connecting them “See that star and line it up with that one, and with those over there, and those over there, and… What do you see?” Spike followed the patron with his eyes and noticed they made a figure “Is that… An apple?” “Correct!” Applebloom cheered. Spiked giggle, the image of the apple that the filly spotted was more precise than the image of the constellations “Okay, let me try” He raised his right hand and imitated the way Applebloom connected the stars “See that star, and connect it with that one, make a line here, then link with that, and those… And, what is it?” Applebloom followed the patron as well, she found the answer to the mystery very quickly “A diamond!” Spike gave a big snored for little, he didn’t think she would guess it that fast “That’s it.” They played that game for three more turns, guessing whatever they saw on the sky. A present, a hay burger, an opened can, a fishing rod, a window, and a sofa. They learned to enjoy the game, and Spike had forgot about how exhaust he was before. Finally, it was Applebloom’s turn once again. “Okay, this will be a little hard,” She expressed before she moved her hoof around. Spike’s eyes moved along side with the hoof. The image was kind of abstract and, as Applebloom said, hard to identify. But with some thought and a little imagination he finally guessed what the image was. “It’s… A… Babycrip,” He answered with a very timid voice. Applebloom look directly into Spike’s eyes and gave him a smirk “Nope, it was a boat” Spike startle from finding his answer wrong, and from telling his answer out loud “Oh… First strike. My turn”          Spike focused his eyes and the stars in the sky and pointed with his finger at on of them, but before he could start linking the Applebloom put her hoof on his hand and place it down “Wanna talk about it?” She asked “About what?” Spike replied. Applebloom put her hoof on her belly and rubbed it a little bit, giving the indication that she was speaking of the baby “Oh… That?” He said nervously. “Are ya scare ‘bout this?” Applebloom asked. Spike’s eyes didn’t look into the filly’s eyes once “It’s just that I don’t have a father. I do what I do because of what Sweetie Belle told us and from what I gathered in books. What if I make a mistake? What if I’m not a good dad?” Applebloom cuddle him more, hugging him tighter “The fact that you’re worrying about it proves that you are going to be a great father. I’m so happy you are with me. I love you” Spike’s eyes opened widely, in all of the time he’s been with her she had never once say something like that. Actually, the only pony who said was Twilight and that was every once in a while. He looked into his heart looking for the correct answer, but he didn’t find it. But he couldn’t just stay there mute, he had to say something “I-I….” Once again, he was interrupted by Applebloom who put her hoof on his mouth “You don’t have to say it. Ah’ know you don’t love me” She said, her voice was weak “I know you don’t feel the same way. But Ah’m happy you stayed anyways and you try to help me” Tears began to roll through her eyes and fell onto Spike’s chest, he felt the cold drops. “Don’t say that!” Among the tears Spike spoke “Applebloom, there is no other pony in all of Equestria I would like to be with other than you. You are my best friend, and you are my marefriend, it’s just that I have never told that to anypony. It’s just hard for me.” Appleboom stopped her sadness and began her confusion “What about…?”   It was Spike’s turn to interrupt “Rarity? It was a childish crush. Nothing more than that. Don’t worry, Bloom.” There were still a few more tears on Applebloom’s eyes, but these lingered from her sadness before. She placed her hooves on Spike’s face touching his scales softly. She closed her eyes while she moved her head forward placing her lips against Spike’s. Their hearts moved slower until it felt like if they have synchronized. The sweet breeze in the apple orchard and the smooth sound the wind made just made the perfect moment for two lovers kissing. They broke the kissing once the lack of air forced them to breath, they were still new to this. Applebloom returned to her cuddling position and Spike put his claw on her mane and began brushing it. Applebloom was biting her lower lip, there was something else bothering her “Ya know, we haven’t think of a name yet. Got anything in mind?” Spike raised an eyebrow “What about Spike Jr? Sounds good, right?” “Nah, Spike is not a name for a girl” Applebloom answered. “Are you sure is a girl?” “Positive.” Spike decided to remain silent about that topic and prefered suggesting a name“What about Jewel?” He suggested “Nah, we need something better” “Okay, how about Jade?” “It doesn’t sound good enough” “How about Diamond?” “NO!”          “I’m not good at this,” Spike said. “It’s okay, we don’t need to think about it yet, let’s just stay here and relax” The time stopped for them, the night sky and the light of the moon gave them the perfect spectacle for them, and the wind on the trees was like music to their ears. In that moment there was nothing on the world but them and the little one.