Chapter 2: The Coolest Room in the Castle
“Now, this room will really knock your socks off. Figuratively speaking, of course.”
“That’s what you said for the last three rooms,” Apple Bloom grumbled.
“And the closet,” Sweetie Belle added helpfully.
“Hey, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t there the last time I was in that room.”
“Are you sure you live in this castle?” Apple Bloom asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.
“I’m sure! Really! I just don’t go into that part very often. There’s not much over there.” Spike chuckled nervously.
“I noticed,” Apple Bloom grumbled. “So why did we go into that half of the castle?”
“Uhh… because we were facing that direction to begin with?”
Apple Bloom rubbed her face with her hoof.
“But this room really is cool!”
“All the rooms have been really pretty,” Sweetie Belle said as she stepped forward, “but kind of… empty?”
“Sweetie Belle’s right. I mean, I never thought I would get tired of seein’ rooms in a crystal castle, but—”
“I really mean it! This is probably the coolest room in the whole entire castle!”
“Fine,” Apple Bloom said, sighing. “It better not be another broom closet.”
“Nope! This room is…” Spike paused for dramatic effect as he leaned forward, flinging open the doors. “The library!”
Apple Bloom squinted. “Uh, it’s dark.”
“What?” Spike whirled around, his shoulders dropping. “Oh come on. Stupid magic castle.” Grumbling, he stepped into the room, stomping his clawed foot on the floor a few times before the room lit up, scintillating with the light of a thousand diamonds.
Shelves covered the walls of the room, rising up three stories high, their smooth, angular forms gleaming with a faint blue light. Others stretched across the floor, semi-transparent shelves revealing hallways wide enough for two ponies to walk side by side between them. Colossal archways stretched across the ceiling far above, buttressing the great crystal walls from inside. Three great balls of crystal hung suspended from the arches, shedding pale blue light over the walls as they rotated slowly on their chains.
Spike smirked as he stepped back to the two fillies, putting a claw under each of their chins to push their mouths shut with a click. “So, better than a closet?”
“Mm-hmm!” Sweetie Belle bobbed her head rapidly.
“I gotta admit, Spike, this place is pretty neat.” Apple Bloom said as she stepped around past the dragon, turning her head to slowly scan the shelves. “Big shelves, nice construction.” Hooking her hooves over the edge of a shelf, she stood up on her hind legs. “Seems awful empty, though. Where are all the books?”
“Eh, they haven’t arrived yet. These are pretty much the late returns and a few books Celestia sent us after… you know.”
“Oh, right.” Apple Bloom’s ears drooped. “Sorry about that, Spike.”
“Yeah, we didn’t mean to remind you that all your stuff got blown up.”
Apple Bloom shook her head at Sweetie Belle. “You’ve sure been practicin’ your flexibility to let your hoof shake with your tonsils.”
Sweetie Belle flinched.
“Nah, it’s alright. I mean, it’s just stuff. Books, notes, letters from Princess Celestia, all my comic books, my b-basket, the bits of my shell that *sniff* Twilight had been keeping…”
“Aw, it’s alright,” Sweetie Belle said, stepping forward and putting her hoof around Spike’s shoulders. “It’s not like you lost everything, right?”
Apple Bloom stared at her friend.
“Oh. Well, uhm…” Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “…You got a new castle?”
Spike laughed weakly. “It’s really Twilight’s castle.”
“But you live here.”
“Well,” Spike rubbed at his face with the back of his claw as he straightened, “I did get my own room!”
“See!” Sweetie Belle gave Spike a squeeze, before pausing. “Wait, you didn’t have your own room?”
“Nah. I always slept with Twilight. I mean, it’s not like the library had more than one bedroom.” Spike rubbed the back of his head.
“Oh, well… I guess I didn’t get my own room until my big sister moved out…”
Spike rocked back and forth on his feet awkwardly. “Yeah, uh, just part of growing up.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.” Sweetie Belle leaned forward, looking into Spike’s eyes. Her snout inches away from Spike’s, Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened before she abruptly pulled away, jerking her hoof from around the blushing dragon’s shoulders to return to all fours.
Spike shuffled a few steps away from Sweetie Belle. “Er, yeah, right. So like I was saying, the library isn’t full yet, but it will be.”
“Well, it is still kinda neat to see what books you’ve got,” Apple Bloom said, strolling over to one of the few shelves which was filled with books. “Alkahest’s Advanced Alchemy. Lucky this survived the fire, huh?”
“Oh, no,” Spike said, shaking his head. “Twilight had to order that special from Celestia. She said you’d need it for when Twilight Time started again.” Spike pointed his thumb towards his chest. “I read it a couple years ago.” He glanced quickly from side to side. “Just between you and me, I could barely keep my eyes open past chapter three.”
Apple Bloom blinked. “Ain’t that a bit advanced for somepony your age?”
“Heh, I should be asking you the same question. Though, I guess you’re probably about the same age as I was when I read it.”
Apple Bloom gave the dragon a strange look. “You were hatched when Twilight got her cutie mark, right?”
“Right.”
“And that was when my sister got her cutie mark, right?”
Spike scuffed his foot on the floor. “I guess. That’s what Twilight told me.”
“Then it ain’t too much for me at all, on account of my bein’ older than you.”
Spike laughed.
“I’m serious!” Apple Bloom stomped her hoof. “I’m almost a year older’n you are. Be pretty hard for me not to be, on account of my parents passin’ ’fore my sister got her cutie mark.”
Spike stopped laughing. “What?”
“You didn’t know? I thought everypony knew about my parents.”
“I knew about your parents!” Spike said a bit too loudly before he lowered his voice. “Or, I guessed, I guess. But I thought it was, you know, recent.”
Apple Bloom shook her head. “I never knew ’em. That’s why my sister went to Manehattan in the first place.”
“But… you can’t be older than me!”
“Sure I can. And am. Heck, if I’m older’n you are, so’s Sweetie Belle.”
Sweetie Belle blinked. “Huh. I just thought dragons aged slower or something.”
“But you’re just kids!” Spike said, waving his stubby little arms.
“Well, Twilight always called you a baby dragon. I always figured that was a bit weird, but I guess you really are a baby.” Apple Bloom smirked, leaning forward to pat Spike on the head with a hoof. “Just a itty-bitty cutie, aint’cha?”
“Stop picking on him, Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle stomped her hoof. “He’s just a little kid!”
“A little kid you kissed.”
“He’s not that little!”
“I ain’t the one who called him that first!”
“Yeah, that’s because you called him a baby!”
Spike sat down on the floor between the two arguing fillies, clutching his head between his claws as he stared down at the floor.
Apple Bloom opened her mouth to shout at Sweetie Belle again, then stopped. “You alright there, Spike?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“You sure?” Apple Bloom set her hoof on his shoulder. “We’re just funnin’ ya.”
“I just can’t believe you two are actually older than I am.”
“Ooh, and Scootaloo is too!” Sweetie Belle said, clapping her hooves.
“Gee, thanks.”
Apple Bloom gave Spike a gentle pat. “Aw, don’t be like that, Spike.”
“Yeah, we still like you!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
“Right. It don’t matter none that you’re just a kid, we don’t mind you hangin’ out with us.”
Spike sighed loudly.
“I know what you need! A nice warm cup of cocoa! That always cheers me up!” Sweetie Belle beamed at the dragon.
“Well, cocoa does sound pretty good,” Spike said, lifting his head. “But I haven’t finished showing you the library yet. The kitchen was going to be the next stop.”
Apple Bloom glanced around for a moment before smiling. “I know! You can show Sweetie Belle the library and tell her about all the neat books you have while I go get the cocoa!”
“But you just said the library was empty. Besides, I thought—” Sweetie Belle squeaked as Apple Bloom bumped her with her shoulder.
“’Scuse us for a moment,” Apple Bloom said, pushing her friend down the aisle of empty shelves before rounding on her. “Now’s your chance!”
“My chance to what?” Sweetie Belle asked, blinking.
“Ya know, be all romantic or whatever.” Apple Bloom waved her hoof.
“Alone?” Sweetie Belle’s voice rose, drawing a wince from Apple Bloom.
“Well, yeah. Ain’t that the point?”
Sweetie Belle drug her hoof across the crystalline floor. “I don’t know…”
“What’s not to know? C’mon, ya like him, don’tcha?”
“Of course I like him! I just… you know…” Sweetie Belle sat back on her haunches, rubbing her hooves together. “It’s embarrassing!”
“Oh come on, don’t be shy. I bet he likes you too. He’s probably pinin’ for ya right now.”
The fillies both looked over at the small dragon, standing some distance away with his arms crossed, watching the pair impatiently as he leaned against one of the empty crystalline bookshelves.
Spike arched an eyebrow. “What?”
Apple Bloom turned back to the other filly. “Alright, so maybe he ain’t.”
Sweetie Belle buried her face in her hooves.
“But that’s no reason to give up!”
“Of course it’s a reason to give up! I kissed him and he didn’t say anything! What am I supposed to do, just shout that I like him?”
Apple Bloom rubbed her chin. “Now that you mention it, why don’tcha just tell him you’re sweet on him?”
“Are you nuts?” Sweetie Belle leapt to her hooves. “I can’t tell him!”
“Why not?”
“A lady has to be approached,” Sweetie Belle said, tossing her head and pawing at her mane with her hoof.
“You’re takin’ advice from Rarity?” Apple Bloom shook her head. “No offense, but she ain’t exactly swimmin’ in stallions.”
“Huh? How could you swim in a pool full of ponies?”
Apple Bloom rubbed the bridge of her muzzle with her hoof. “What I meant was, your sister ain’t doin’ too good either in the datin’ department. Not to mention, I remember when that fancy feller Trenderhoof or whatever his name was came to town, she weren’t exactly subtle in showin’ her interest in him.”
“And she didn’t end up with him! See?”
“Hm. Ya got a point.” Apple Bloom tilted her head to the side, glancing over the gleaming shelves in thought.
“What is it?”
“I was just tryin’ to think, that’s all. You know, let my eyes wander. It always seems to work for Twilight. Works better when there’s books on the shelves.”
“Ugh, what’s the use? He’s just going to keep chasing after my sister.” Sweetie Belle flopped to the floor, hiding her head underneath her hooves.
Apple Bloom trotted forward to put a hoof over her friend’s back. “C’mon, nopony ever bucked an apple without plantin’ a seed first.”
“I thought you said that your parents planted most of the trees at Sweet Apple Acres, but Applejack bucks them all the time!”
“Whatever. Look, point is ya gotta do somethin’ to impress him.”
“What am I supposed to impress him with?” Sweetie Belle sat up and waved her hooves around. “My great magic? My awesome cooking skills? My perfect designs? Being pretty?” Sweetie Belle smoothed her mane down for a moment, posing for a moment before her hair sprung back into place. “Let’s face it, the only reason he’d even pay attention to me is because Rarity told him to.”
“Y’all danced at Princess Cadance’s weddin’. Did Rarity tell him to do that?”
Sweetie Belle dragged her hoof across the crystalline floor. “No. I just asked him, and he was like, ‘Sure!’ Probably because Rarity was already dancing with somepony.”
“Well, Rarity ain’t doin’ nothin’ right now. Ya kissed him and ya asked him to dance. Why don’t you just go ask him to go do somethin’ romantic? Whatever ponies do on dates.”
Sweetie Belle glanced from Apple Bloom to Spike, then back again, ducking her head a little when Spike raised his eyebrow again. “But I’d have to say that I like him. It’s different!”
“Ugh. You’re makin’ this way harder than it needs to be.” Apple Bloom sighed.
“I’m sorry,” Sweetie Belle said, her eyes locked on the floor.
“Well, what can you do to get his attention? There must be somethin’.” Apple Bloom turned her head, staring off blankly through the semi-transparent shelves before her eyes widened. “Hey, Spike helps Rarity out, don’t he?”
“Yeah, because he has a crush on her.”
“But he helps Twilight, too. And he always made us food when we came over for Twilight Time.”
Sweetie Belle lifted her head. “So?”
“So…. Maybe he just likes helpin’ ponies! If we could find somethin’ for him to help you out with, maybe he’d spend more time with you.”
“Helping me do what? Find my cutie mark?”
“I was thinkin’ somethin’ a little more immediate, like helpin’ a wounded lady ’round the library after she hurt her hoof. You just gotta have a little accident first.”
Sweetie Belle retreated back against the bookcase. “But I don’t want to hurt my hoof!”
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “It’s just pretend. I won’t really hurt ya.”
“Oh. Okay. So what are we—”
“WELL I GUESS I SHOULD GET GOING THEN,” Apple Bloom shouted, turning back towards Spike before deliberately stumbling into Sweetie Belle, knocking her back into the empty bookcase.
“Hey!”
Spike jumped forward. “Are you two alright?”
Sweetie Belle popped back up to her hooves. “I’m fine.”
Apple Bloom shot a glare at her friend. Sweetie Belle stared for a few moments before her left leg visibly gave out.
“I mean, ouch! I think I hurt my leg.”
Spike crouched down on his knees to examine it. “It looks okay.”
“Yeah, but, uhm… it hurts when I stand on it.”
“Sorry, Spike. Looks like you’re gonna have to help her ’round the library while I go get some drinks from the kitchen.”
Spike shook his head. “She really should stay off her hoof if she hurt it.”
“But I really want to see the library.” Sweetie Belle crouched down to look the dragon in the eye. “Please?”
Spike sighed. “Alright. But you really should go get some ice for it, Apple Bloom.”
“But then I won’t be able to carry the drinks!”
“The kitchen is in the next room,” Spike said, waving his claw towards the far end of the library. “You can just make two trips.”
“Oh.” Apple Bloom glanced towards the indicated door. “Well, alright then. Just uh… don’t wait up for me, okay? I might be a minute.”
“We have ice in the freezer. Just stick some in a bag and come back.”
Apple Bloom’s eyes slid away from Spike’s face. “What I meant to say was our sisters might want to know what happened, so I may have to talk to them for a spell.”
Spike crossed his arms across his chest. “Really?”
“Yup!” Apple Bloom nodded her head with conviction before she turned to trot off.
“Well, that was weird.” Spike glanced over at Sweetie Belle, who immediately lifted her leg back up off the floor. “So, I take it you need help walking?”
“If that’s alright,” Sweetie Belle said, her ears falling back against her mane as she blushed.
“It’s fine.” Spike stepped up next to the filly, pressing up against her shoulder. “Come on, I’ll show you the books we brought back from the forest.”
“Alright,” Sweetie Belle said, biting her lip as she hobbled along awkwardly on three legs, leaning against the small dragon.
“Sweetie Belle?”
“Yes, Spike?”
“You’re limping on the wrong leg.”
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This is cute and silly and I love it.
That last line...
media.giphy.com/media/G1Zu26ae7mZr2/giphy.gif
I knew I made a good decision to favorite this.
Ha, Spike knows what's up.
5604162
Oh, Grunkle Stan!
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Glad you enjoyed!
You won't have to wait ages for the next chapter this time, either.
This really, really feels just like the show. So much so that it's actually filling my hiatus-void while I wait for season five. Well done! Will wait with baited breath.
Sweetie Belle should just be herself not be Rarity.
The fillies will play as the tree burns away,
Ah sis . I want to be with Spike
you?
Wut?
We all love Spike!
This story is too good!
Busted!
Oh this is adorable. Now how's Spike gonna take this act, 'cause it sounds like he's onto Sweetie. He's usually pretty smart.
Ouch.
Well of course elaborate shenanigans are better than just being straightforward about your feelings.
So Spike is younger than the CMC?
I thought they were almost exact age (Given the times when the Mane 6 got their cutie marks was the time Spike was hatched and the CMC were born just before or after the event)
Busted! Silly Belle
I love how Apple Bloom's first thought is to look at how the room is put together. You can almost see the faint glimmer on her hips.
...That sounded a lot less creepy in my head.
Wow. If Apple Bloom was impressed by Sweetie's flexibility before, she must be astonished now. Think she can fit all four hooves in her mouth?
This whole sequence is just one glorious mass of awkwardness. Looking forward to more.
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Well, we know who won't get a job babysitting anytime soon.
It won't take a month to get another chapter this time; chapters 3 and 4 are both in editing (or more accurately, I've gotten editorial feedback and now need to fix them), and chapter 5 is partially written, but they're all being worked on. I'm going to be doing more work on chapter 3 tonight and see if I can't get it into publishable shape by mid-week, but we'll see.
Buuuuuuurn.
wow, even best pony's sister is best pony
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I'm assuming you're talking about Rarity and Sweetie Belle, of course.
5606011 Just saw the Cutie mark episode the CMC fillies were not around yet when Spike popped. . .
Yea . I fibbed a little.
th05.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2015/029/c/a/marked_cmc_x_spike_by_hillbe-d8fxzwg.jpg
Still a fun read. . .
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I'm glad it was a fun read for you.
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Apple Bloom is definetly older than Spike, I never got why people assumed otherwise. Sweetie and Scootaloo could be either older or younger, but they are still close.
Spike, however was raised as and received the education that is proper for a royal page-boy in Canterlot Castle pretty much since he was born, and as he was Twilight's personal assistant, his education took a more scholarly focus than normal. Since he spent most of his childhood in the courts, surrounded by mostly adults and with tasks and chores of his own, he never did develop the carefree child personality the CMC have, he pretty much skipped that part.
5627663
Gotta leave the audience with a smile every chapter, if possible!
Oh my goodness that's right, spike must actually be younger than the cmc. I would never have noticed that on my own. You sir/madam have a good eye.
5778417 If his age is measured from the day he hatched that is. It could be like Eragon, where dragons are awake and alive inside their eggs and stay there until they find someone worth hatching for. If that's true, he could be thousands of years old. It would explain how he managed to grow to the size of Ponyville.
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I don't get it.
I think my mind exploded, I always thought spike was older then the cmc, but now my mind is blown
If you look at facts from the show spike is older than applebloom.
1.When applejack goes to manehattan applebloom isn't there saying bye.
2.Spike was born during this period Which means.
SPIKE IS OLDER CHANGE IT OR ELSE!!!!!!!
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Pfft nah, of course he means Apple Bloom and Applejack
Great chapter. It's like I'm reading an actual episode. And it's really cute and funny.
Also, while I don't exactly agree that the CMC are older than Spike, I can see how it could be assumed. So, I won't put my two cents in this theory.
6439465
Glad to hear you've been enjoying the story.
The last two chapters and the epilogue are as yet unpublished, but they're actually written and in editing, so they should be along soon (TM) - I'm hoping to get chapter 5, at least, posted this weekend.
i.imgur.com/heD3n91.jpg
These are them humor words like I like.
Rarity enforcing her sexist gender roles as usual. -.- :p
@#$%&*!
I'm going to have to sit down and rethink my entire headcannon on how old everypony (and dragon) is.
Because you're absolutely correct; there's no way Applejack's parents wouldn't have been there to see her off if they had still been alive.
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This chapter seems to have that effect on people sometimes.
Hope you've been enjoying it!
Hahahahaahah