Secret Crowds
Spike stared at the large castle door. He had his claw pressed against it, ready to leave.
“Spike… Please don’t do this.”
He let out a sigh and turned around to face Starlight who was standing a few feet away. “Do what? Get some fresh air? No offense, but I kinda need some time to get out for a bit, anyhow.”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” she said. “You can’t just keep quiet about this and expect me to do the same! That’s not right.”
Spike shrugged. “What’s so wrong about not wanting to get our friends worked up over nothing? Things happen sometimes and it’s no big deal. Whatever happens, everyone will move on and be hunky-dory just like before. Like I said, it’s no big deal.”
Starlight’s face was strained as she tried to hold back a few stray tears. “It’s a big deal to me, Spike.”
Spike took a moment to respond. “Yeah, well, it shouldn’t be. But look, you’re probably my best friend these days. Please, for the love all things holy, keep it to yourself. I’m calling in a bro favor here. You can’t break that.”
She turned her head away from him. “Whatever. But I’m telling you, this isn’t cool.”
“Well, it’s not like I’ve ever been cool before anyway.” The dragon chuckled, waiting for her sarcasm to let loose.
Well, he thought she was going to respond, give him a little jab, but all Spike heard was silence, a response that told him it was time to go. He turned, and exited through the castle doors.
It was a nice day. The sun was out in full force along with a myriad of various creatures. Spike took a deep breath of the fresh, early afternoon air, taking in all the usual aromas: flowers, grass, a few stray smells that escaped from the food carts in town. He finished off his exhale with a simple smile before continuing his trek.
He legitimately had no idea where he was headed. He just wanted to get away for a little bit. Everypony needed time to think and just chill for a bit and Spike was no different.
He moped around town for awhile, walking here and there. Again, no destination in particular, he just wanted to get away and clear his head. He waved to the occasional pony, said hi to any friends he passed, and even gave the casual nod when appropriate. But, eventually, he found himself in the park, the park where things really kicked into gear. Underneath a shade tree in particular.
From where he was seated beneath the gently rustling leaves of the tree, he could see the walkway just a short ways away. He remembered spending time with Derpy there on their first date. Well, their first kinda date. But either way, it was the first time he really started realizing he had feelings for her.
He felt his heart jump just a tad as he thought about it. A warm smile spread over his face, the morning’s stress rolling away with the wind. He really wished Derpy could be here with him right now: her head laying in his lap, him gently brushing his claw through her mane… the two of them just enjoying life together.
That’s what he wanted. That’s what he really, really wanted right now. More than anything. But… he just couldn’t do it. Not right now.
Right now, he needed to be alone.
“Hi, Spike!”
He wasn’t quite batting a thousand on getting what he wanted so far today.
He flipped his head around to see none other than Twilight standing next to him. “Oh, hey Twi. What are you doing here?”
“Well, I didn’t really have anything to do this morning, so I went and visited some friends around town,” she said with a bright smile. “It’s been way too long since I’ve gotten to do that. You mind if I join you?”
Spike wanted to say no and that he just needed some time to think, but he never could say no to Twilight. Besides, getting time with her wasn’t exactly an easy thing to come across… and it probably wouldn’t be getting easier in the near future.
“Yeah, of course.” He scooched over a bit, motioning for Twilight to sit down, which she did in short order.
“Thank you,” she said, snuggling into the grass. “I know you like your alone time.”
“Eh,” Spike said with a shrug. “I resigned myself to not getting my way anymore when I let my life get run over by a bunch of mares. Heard it doesn’t get any better when you’re married.”
“I’ve heard the same,” Twilight said with a giggle. “Although, if things keep going the same way with you and Derpy you might just find out firsthoof.”
Spike shook his head and released a half-hearted laugh. “Yeah, one can only hope, right? I’m still not ready to ditch the idea I’ll do something unbelievably moronic to ruin it. It’s like, I hate retreading the same thoughts over and over again, but as things keep getting more serious… I guess I’m just getting more and more worried and keep wondering if things are actually gonna work out or not.”
Twilight’s face was still, with only a blink or two interrupting her look of confusion. “Um, are you okay?”
Spike waved a claw. “Forget it, sorry. I kinda go off on tangents sometimes. My mouth just spits out words before my brain can filter them sometimes.”
“Oh, okay,” Twilight said. “Well, I’m always here if you need to talk, you know? I may not be the most knowledgeable about relationships, or so Cadance so eloquently told me, but I’m always willing to help if I can.”
“Of course,” Spike said with a sincere smile. “That’s what family is for, right? You listen to me whine, moan and second-guess myself, and I listen to you cry and have panic attacks about being a princess. It’s a two-way street we’ve got going on here.”
“Hehe, yeah, no doubts there.”
Spike smiled and nestled back a bit, leaning against the tree trunk. “So, enough about all that for now. What were you up to this morning? I’m glad you’re getting out and all, but it’s not exactly a common occurrence.”
“I’m glad you asked!” Twilight said, clapping her hooves. “So, when I got up this morning, my first thought was to ask you how your appointment went. You were asleep when I got home last night, but you were still sleeping when I got up, so I decided to get out for a bit. But…” Twilight smiled at him. “I guess now’s as good of a time as any to ask how it was. So, how was it? I know they were concerned about some things.”
Spike immediately shook his head. “No, don’t worry about it. It was nothing. Just a few tests, waiting around forever, and then it was time to go. Trust me, it was about as exciting as watching a behind-the-scenes documentary about a sloth’s personal life.”
“Okay, then. I take it you didn’t exactly have a great time, then?”
“Your hypothesis would be correct,” Spike retorted. “But, enough of all that. What else did you do this morning?”
“Oh, right!” Twilight’s confuzzled face immediately turned into a smile once more. “So, I went out and met up with Rarity for the morning and we went to the spa. I completely forgot how relaxing it could be to just sit there and do absolutely nothing!”
“A favorite pastime of mine, I will admit,” Spike said with a nod. “What about after that?”
“Well, it was still early, so….”
Spike closed his eyes and just took in the sounds of her voice. As she continued to ramble on, it became less about what she was saying and more about the fact she was saying anything to him. He really missed being able to have these moments with her. No worries, no stress, just family.
He didn’t want these moments to stop.
“...but then when I realized the flowers were actually fake I—”
“Twilight?” Spike cut in, opening his eyes and turning to her.
“Oh, uh, yes Spike?” she responded.
“I love you. I really don’t say it as much as I should.”
Twilight paused for a moment, looking at him. “I love you, too, Spike. Was… Was there something I said in particular that brought this on?”
He shook his head. “No. Like I said, I just don’t really say it enough and I wanted to remind you. We are family, after all.”
She happily nodded. “Definitely.”
There was a bit of a lull in the conversation. There was no such thing as awkward between the two of them after all they had been through together, but it was a nice silence. Just the two of them enjoying the beautiful day, even if only for a moment.
“So,” Twilight stated, finally picking the conversation up again. “How was your day so far? Did you and Starlight get into any shenanigans while I was out? Hopefully none that will result in more paperwork..”
Spike opened his mouth to respond but immediately shut it after remembering the argument he and Starlight had that morning…
She just didn’t get it. She had to think she knew best. He turned to her when he needed her most, and instead she just had to make a big deal about it when all he wanted to do was drop it. Why couldn’t she just not care like he did? Why couldn’t she just let it go? Why did she—
“No!” Spike shouted, immediately covering his mouth.
Twilight’s jaw held open for just a moment. “Um, Spike? Is everything alright?”
He took a few breaths before relaxing his body again. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I just... I didn’t have the best morning. That’s why you found me out here instead of at the castle. But yeah, it’s all good, and no, we haven’t caused any trouble for you. I promise.”
“Well, that’s always good to hear,” Twilight said, putting on her brightest smile in a genuine, but poorly executed attempt to lighten the mood. “And you know what else is good to hear? Something that will make your day way better?”
Spike levitated an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
“Derpy’s coming over for dinner tonight! With all of us!” Twilight jumped in the air, wings poofing out with excitement.
Spike followed suit, his eyes wide open. “What? Derpy’s coming over? Tonight?”
Twilight rapidly bobbed her head. “Yep! Aren’t you excited!”
Spike couldn’t respond. This… This was not what he needed to happen. At least, not today. But how in Equestria can he possibly say that to Twilight and especially to Derpy?
Twilight continued. “You see, after the spa, I ran into her on her mail route. We talked for just a minute, she had some very nice things to say about you by the way, hehe, but then I realized that I really don’t spend enough time with her and invited her over! It’s gonna be great!”
On one claw, it made Spike happy that Twilight had gotten so much more relaxed in previous months and especially weeks. What made him even happier is how much effort Twilight had been putting in to making Derpy feel like part of their family. They had even hung out together, just the two of them.
She was really becoming part of their family.
But on the other claw, company of any kind wasn’t something he wanted right now. Especially not from somepony he loved as much as Derpy. And what with Starlight and that situation, he just knew for a fact something was going to go south.
And he really, really, really didn’t want Derpy to be there when it did.
But, of course, he didn’t quite have a choice at this point.
“Yeah, Twilight, definitely,” Spike said, forcing a smile. “It’s gonna be great. Just, you know, make sure to cook something light. I’m not feeling like eating too much, today.”
Twilight nodded. “No worries. I was just thinking I’d buy some of those hoof-sized hay and cheese sandwich things. That way it’d feel more casual than anything.”
“That’ll work,” Spike stated.
“Excellent!” Twilight replied. “Now, I told her to be over around seven so make sure your washed up and—”
“Yes mom, thank you,” Spike said with a playful eye roll.
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Twilight responded, her cheeks a light shade of red. “You can get ready on your own these days, I suppose.”
“If I couldn’t, I suppose I wouldn’t have figured out how to get a girlfriend in the first place, right?” Spike chuckled lightly. “But, yeah, I’ll be ready. No worries.”
“Perfect.” Twilight took a few steps away. “I guess I’ll leave you to it then. I still want to go visit Fluttershy before heading home. Apparently she has some new kind of bird seed that all her birds are in love with. I want to get a sample for Owlowiscious.”
“Tell her I said hi,” Spike said with a wave as Twilight trotted away. Once she was out of earshot, he let out an exasperated sigh and slumped back to the ground.
He had no idea how things were going to go down. But, honestly, he knew that the night probably wouldn’t end well. If nothing else though, he would at least have a few hours to himself to enjoy the beautiful day.
He took another deep breath, the scents and sounds of the temperate summer afternoon filling his senses. He only wished he had more time to enjoy weather like this.
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8903927
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This saturday i suppose? Would be on my Birthday.
Almost forgot, Great Work as always!
Oh no, is Spike sick? I might be mis-reading this situation but there's talking about hospitals and there's arguing over "keeping things secret" so does Spike have some sort of terrible illness that Starlight knows about?
Gah! You authors and your horrible powers of making me feel emotions...
Yeah, I had a feeling. Then again, I've seen you pull some twists, so maybe I shouldn't make assumptions just yet...
8903984
So, you're feeling may or may not be right. But, you are also indeed correct that a major twist is coming. It just might not be when you expect it.
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Twilight, your pet is an obligate carnivore. Stop trying to feed him birdseed. I know finding owl pellets all over the castle isn’t fun, but turning a bird of prey vegan isn’t the solution.
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aw shit he's dying
8904116
Or he could be ridiculously overplaying the fact that he has acne. Either one is a possibility.
Spike dying. Spike dead. Spike so dead. Spike ultradead. Megadead. RIP spike.
While the scene with Twilight was sweet, this paragraph is making me anxious. She's acting unusual, a sure sign that she's distraught over something. Did the doctor have more to say than we've been told?
Spike has an STD and only one mare he could have gotten it from is my guess.
8903996
No no no, major twist! He's actually going to be a mother. Starlight caught him laying an egg!
You damn tease! I hope it's just something like his about to take a long sleep, and nothing really serious.
Fingers crossed!
With how things ended in this chapter, I can guess that something medically is wrong with Spike.
I was wrong! It’s not lupus!
It’s turbo lupus!
8904714
Spike was bitten by a rheumatoid condition carrying radioactive Dr. House.
(Yes I know that’s not how it works)
My bad feeling intensifies.
Spike has Cancer...
He's trying to keep the fact he's the first one in the group that's no longer a virgin?
It's the 100 year sleep isn't it?
im guessing terminal disease or very long sleep
8905045
Nah, that's already been revealed to Starlight. I think it's either terminal disease or 100 year sleep. And I'm leaning more towards the latter
8907061
I'm not sure what side I lean on. I guess it's whatever one my fingers decide to type up.
Don't you hurt best pony waifu
"hehe" I'm concerned
So umm can they even have a baby? I mean it has to be related to something about their chromosomes right? I completely forgot.
Some dragon woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.