"So, Spike... Twilight's not home?"
"Nope. She's out of town for the next few days."
Flitter slowly walked past Spike, dragging her tail against his side. "Well, Cloudchaser is gone, too. Wonderbolt something or other. I don't suppose I could just, you know, stay here for a night... Or two?"
Spike tried to take a breath of air to clear his mind, but was instead greeted with the mild scent of perfume that was lingering from Flitter's mane.
"I, um, I don't have a problem with that."
"Good," she said, lightly brushing his cheek with hers. "It'll be nice to finally get some alone time with you. I really don’t feel like we get to spend enough time together anymore, what with you working or our families getting in the way."
Spike tried to avoid looking at her but it became rather difficult when she wrapped her front legs around him and pressed her nuzzle right into his ear.
“You know, Spike, I’d really like to see your bedroom,” she whispered. “You always tell me about how comfortable your bed is, so I’d really like to see for myself.”
Spike could feel his head heating up. Flitter slowly released him from her embrace and slowly walked toward the stairs.
“Let’s say we go check it out, together. Okay?”
Spike tried to speak, but could only utter one word.
“Okay.”
*****
A Few Hours Earlier...
"Spike!"
Spike shook his head and snapped out of his stroll down memory lane.
"Please say something. Anything?"
Spike looked up at the tear-stained face of the mare sitting across from him. "What? What am I supposed to say? What you're implying, it's... It's not even possible. I don't think..."
"It is possible. It has to be." Flitter looked him in the eyes as more tears began to fall. "I know it is."
Spike felt a weight drop into his stomach. He wanted to say something, anything to clear things up. To make everything go back to normal. Something to take back what he'd just heard. But the sobs and cries filling his ears took away any hope of that happening.
This was serious. This was real.
"This can't be happening."
“Spike, please, I really need you right now. Please.”
*****
"Spike held his head low as he slowly knocked on the door of the Carousel Boutique.The afternoon sun hung in the sky, signaling the nearing end of the day.
"Hey, Rarity? Rarity, you home?" He paused, awaiting a response. Half of him wanted everything to stay silent, that way he'd have an excuse to go home and just roll under his blankets and forget the world and the problems it just threw on him. But another part, the responsible part he wanted to ignore, knew he needed some advice, despite how tough it might be to accept. Either way, he needed to tell somepony and his best friend in the world was far and away the best option.
The door handle began to jiggle and it slowly pulled open revealing the friend in question.
"Spike? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be well on your way to your show with Vinyl, aren't you?" Rarity scanned his form for a brief moment and instantly realized all was not well. "Spike, what's wrong?"
"Rarity, can I come in? I really need to talk to you."
:Y-yes, of course." She slowly stepped out of the way allowing Spike to enter. "Please, Spike, tell me what's wrong."
Without response, Spike walked inside and collapsed onto her couch. Rarity followed behind, but not before quickly switching her open sign to closed.
"Look, dear, I'm going to go put on some tea while you collect yourself. I'll be back in just a moment, I promise."
Rarity looked back at Spike with a frown adorning her face before exiting the room, leaving Spike to his own devices for the time being.
Spike felt his head swimming with a mixture of pain and memories. Neither were what he wanted in his head at the time, but he had little choice in the matter. His thoughts kept bouncing between his present situation, what happened in his past and what it meant for the future. All three were nothing positive in his current frame of mind.
And it all started with that conversation. It kept replaying in his head:
"Flitter, what's up? I'm really pressed for time right now."
"Spike, you have to promise to listen. And please don't get mad."
"Alright, alright, i promise."
It was giving him a headache just thinking about it.
Luckily, Rarity returned with tea and was able to distract him from his thoughts, temporarily.
"Alright, dear, I brough some herbal tea with gem dust, your favourite." She strolled over and sat next to him, handing him the tea. "Here you are."
Spike took the tea from her and slowly sipped it. It always had a calming effect on him. "Thanks, Rarity, I really appreciate it. Sorry to just kind of intrude like this."
"Oh, Spike, I've gotten used to it at this point in our friendship." Rarity chuckled to herself but quickly silenced after seeing Spike's deadpan reaction. "Er, um, it's no problem at all, Spike. You know i love seeing you."
Spike nodded and slowly sipped his tea, trying to figure out the best way to approach the impending conversation. Should he just let it out, try and avoid the base of the subject, or maybe try and get her to figure it out so he never had to say anything.
It was all so nerve wracking!
"Now, Spike, whenever you're ready, I'm completely open to hear what you have to talk ab-"
"I'm going to be a father!" Spike immediately covered his mouth and collapsed back into the couch. The sound of a teacup hitting the floor immediately greeted his ears, followed by his eyes taking in the sight of Rarity, mouth agape.
“W-What? What are you talking about Spike?” Rarity tried to regain herself, but it was to no avail. “Did I hear you correctly?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Flitter said she’s pregnant. And apparently, I’m the father.”
“But Spike, is that, you know, even possible?”
“Apparently.”
An air of silence developed between them, both unsure of what to say to the other. Rarity, stunned into silence and Spike, just wishing he could wake up from a bad dream.
After a short time and few more sips of tea, Spike finally spoke his mind.
“Rarity, I’m scared. I don’t know what to do.” He could feel tears starting to form around his eyes and did everything he could to hold them back. “I mean, how am I supposed to know what to do. How do I tell Twilight? What am I supposed to do with Flitter now? And… and how can I possibly explain this to Vinyl? I mean, what is this going to mean for us? I don’t want to screw this up!”
Rarity leaned over and pulled Spike into a tight hug.
“Look, we’ll figure it all out. I promise, darling. For now, just relax and let it out.”
Spike buried his head into Rarity’s soft coat and let the tears flow. He had never been as scared as he was at this moment.
And unfortunately, the ride was just beginning.