Hearts and Hooves

by Gemini Sparkle

Chapter 4 - Stitching Things Together

“Here we are. See, you didn’t lose them. They were right were you left them.” Fluttershy smiles to the little squirrel next to her. She keeps digging, revealing the rest of the acorns, “You really do need to keep better track of where you hide these, though. It should not have taken you this long after Winter Wrap Up to find them. I’d hate to think of you starving because you weren’t able to get your food.” The squirrel chitters happily at the butter-yellow Pegasus and dives into his stash, leaving her to giggle, “You’re quite welcome.”

She heads back up to her cottage home only to find a certain purple dragon wandering up the road with a backpack on. Not wanting to appear rude by going inside as he approaches, she instead decides to stand there and wait for him. The dragon seems quite unfocused. Or perhaps too focused. She couldn’t tell which as he was looking down and mumbling to himself, talking to himself about something. He’s so preoccupied with whatever he’s doing he doesn’t seem to realize he’s about to bump into her, so she tries to get his attention.

“Ahem, um, excuse me, Spike. You might want to stop. Please Spike?”

He doesn’t seem to respond and, sure enough, he almost bumps into her. Shy steps aside and watches him go right up to her cottage door and knock a bit. She clears her throat and tries to speak again.

“Spike? I’m right behind you. All you have to do is turn around.”

Once again he doesn’t seem to react, still muttering. She slowly reaches a hoof over, and very gently pokes his shoulder with it to get his attention, “Spike?”

“AHH!” He jumps up, suddenly startled. “AHHH!” She screams back, suddenly flying up into one of the branches of her tree home. The dragon blinks a few times before he looks up, “Oh! Fluttershy, why didn’t you tell me that you were already out here? Can you come down; I need to talk to you about something.”

The Pegasus was shaking a little as she clung to the tree branch, looking down at him. She slowly stopped her shaking and let go, fluttering back down to the ground. “I did try to tell you that I was here, but you didn’t listen. You looked like you had a lot on your mind.”

He nods, “Yeah, that’s because I do. I just got back from Canterlot and so far everything is coming together perfectly.”

“For what, Spike?” Shy asked, tilting her head a little in curiosity.

Spike smiles, “I’m planning the perfect Hearts and Hooves Day for Rarity. I already got the first part all planned out, but for the next one, I really need your help.”

“My help?” Shy asked, even more confused, “What could you possibly need my help for?”

“You know how to sew, right?” Spike asks, getting a nod from the Pegasus, “Well, I was thinking that maybe I could make an extra special outfit for her to surprise her with. But I don’t know anything about sewing. So I was thinking that maybe you could…I don’t know, teach me or something so I could do it.”

“Oh don’t be silly Spike; I’m not going to teach you.” Fluttershy says, smiling as the dragon’s ear fins start to droop down, “I’m going to help you ma-.” She suddenly has a clawed hand in front of her face to stop her.

“No can do, Fluttershy. I already told Twilight and I’m telling you now. I’m doing as much of this as I can on my own. Just show me how to do it, and I’ll do it.”

Shy peeks around the claw in front of her, “Um, no offense, Spike, but sewing isn’t something you just learn. It can take days if not weeks of practice just to get the techniques down right. There’s no way you could learn in time to make a full dress by Hearts and Hooves day.”

Spike gives a huff as he pulls his hand back, “Well…fine, you can teach me along the way and let me help as much as possible. At the very least, I’ll be more useful to Rarity when I’m in there to help her from now on.”

Shy beams at the dragon, “That’s a wonderful idea. Come inside, I’ll make some tea and we can talk about the dress.” She opens the door to let Spike in. She goes to follow him only to have a blur of blue and rainbow rush up to her door. The trailing wind blows her mane and tail back a bit, making Shy shut her eyes. She opens them to see Rainbow Dash flapping in front of her with a…peculiar look on her face, “Hey Fluttershy! You got some time? I wanna talk to you about something.”

“Um, sure, Rainbow. Come right inside. Spike and I were just about to have tea. You’re more than welcome to join us.”

Dash looks in the door to see Spike wave at her. She straightens up in the air and rubs the back of her neck a bit, “well, actually…you know what? It’ll have to wait. I just remembered I have…s-something…to do…th-the thing at the…place….” She gives an awkward smile and then rushes off, blasting shy with more air that almost knocks her back from how fast Dash takes off.

Confused and a little worried about her friend, Shy walks inside and heads to the kitchen to make tea. “What’s the matter with her?” She hears Spike ask from her living room. She gives a little sigh as she puts the kettle on, “I’ve no idea…I hope she’s alright.”

Shy walks back into the living room to Spike giving a shrug, “She’ll be fine. She’s Rainbow Dash. She always comes back alright.” The Pegasus sighs as she sits down next to him, “I sure hope so. She’s been acting really strange lately.”

“Strange how?” Spike sits back on the couch as Shy shrugs this time, “I…I don’t know how to explain it. She just…she’s around here all the time. Much more than usual. Every now and then she even asks me if I want help with tending to the animals. She almost never asks to help with stuff unless it’s, you know, really physical or competitive. It’s so weird.”

Spike stares at Shy, the dragon wondering how she’s not reading it the way he is. Figuring he shouldn’t get too deep into this, though, he decides to change the subject, “Well, like I said, I think she’ll be just fine. I, however, still need your help.”

Shy shakes her head to snap herself out of it and smiles at Spike, “Oh! Of course, the dress. Sorry. So, do you have any ideas?” Spike nods and reaches into the backpack, pulling out a couple of pieces of parchment and laying them down, “While in Canterlot I drew some ideas, even got Hoity Toity to help me with some of them already. I was really hoping to make something that would go with the fire ruby I gave her.”

The Pegasus looks over the drawings, having a more focused look on her face. “Oh dear. No way you could have done these with only a week of practice. They’re so complex. Wait…” She pulls one particular dress out, and smiles, “If we simplify it a bit, we could easily make this one. Here…” She goes and grabs something to write with and comes back. She looks between the drawing and the paper as she sketches out a simple yet elegant dress, similar to the one she was talking about. “Here Give it red and gold coloring, it’ll go really well with her white coat and purple mane. She’d love it.”

Spike jumps up and hugs her tight, “That’s great! We should get started right away!” He lets go of her and hops off the couch, smiling at her, “What all do I need to get?”

Shy rubs her chin and hums as she stares at the pic. She gets another paper and writes a short list before giving it to Spike, “Here. And you’re keeping this a secret, right?” He nods and she smiles, “if anypony asks, tell them I’m trying to improve the chicken coop. they’d believe it.” With that Spike chuckles and rushes out the door.

=============================================================================

While Shy and Spike are having their tea together, Rainbow Dash is up on a tree branch by the road, smacking her head against the tree itself. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” She gives a heavy sigh and plops back onto the tree limb, “I should have just asked her then and there. The timing for it doesn’t have to be perfect, after all. Gah, I’m so stupid!”

She grumbles a bit more as she lies on the limb, staring up at the sky. Her mind starts to drift and she stays silent for a while. Eventually she’s right back at talking to herself, “With all the insane things I’ve gone up against, how is it that THIS manages to be so difficult for me? I fought a Manticore, a dragon, Discord, even a whole freaking changling army for Celestia’s sake. And yet I can’t ask one mare out on a date?! It’s not like I’m proposing to her, it’s just a date. Gah!” She rubs her hooves over her face and lets them flop to her sides, “I’m pathetic.”

“Not really.” Dash practically jumps out of her skin at the sudden voice underneath her, causing her to tumble out of the tree and to the ground with a heavy thud. She groans as her vision comes back to her and she looks up to see Spike standing over her and looking down at her with concern. “Hey, are you alright…?”

Rainbow shakes her head and regains her focus, “Uh, yeah, I’m fine…” She slowly sits up and looks at the dragon, “Hey…how-how much of that did you hear?”

Spike gives a shrug, “Just that last bit, but I kinda figured it out already.”

“You did?! How?!”

Spike gives her a funny look then starts counting on his claws, “Let’s see. Increasingly spending more time at her place and with her in general. Offering to help her with her work and other things. Watching her as much as you can without trying to seem creepy. Any of this sound familiar?” He asks, indicating to himself.

Dash rubs her foreleg with the other, “It’s that obvious, huh?”

“Only because I know you and how much time you’re spending with her. But somehow, Fluttershy is…downright oblivious to it, actually. It’s kind of weird. I mean, you aren’t exactly a master of subtlety.”

“Hey! I can be subtle if I want to.” Dash folds her forehooves in front of her chest in a huff, “I just don’t see the point of it. I mean, what’s wrong with being known?”

“Oh, nothing, though if you CAN be subtle, I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

Dash puts her hooves down and looks at the dragon again, “Sure thing. What do you need help with?”

“Well, I don’t know what the weather is supposed to be like for Hearts and Hooves day, but I was wondering if you could maybe clear the skies that night around the stargazing hills. I was thinking of taking Rarity there after our dinner.”

Rainbow’s eyes get a bit bigger and she looks at him with a bit of concern, “Woah there, Spike. You actually think Rarity’s gonna go out on a date on Hearts and Hooves day? Do you have any idea how she feels about that day?”

“That’s exactly why I’m doing this.” Spike says insistently, “I’m going to show her that she can enjoy Hearts and Hooves day just as much as any other mare, if not more! Besides, the date is only if she wants to. I got other things happening for her that I know she’ll like before then.”

She looks at him with suspicion and curiosity, “Okay, Spike, if you say so. I’ll try to keep most clouds clear of that hill for ya, but I’m not making any promises….about that or about Rarity.”

Spike grins and stands proudly, “Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash. I know exactly what I’m doing.” He continues to head to Ponyville only to stop and look back, “Oh, and as a personal expert on not saying how you feel, I don’t think you should hold back. Trust me, I wish I didn’t before now.”

Rainbow is left contemplating as the dragon wanders off, tapping her chin with a hoof.

=============================================================================

Spike wanders back into the cottage, his backpack filled with fabric swatches, spools of thread and other sewing supplies. “Fluttershy, I’m back! I got everything we might need from that store! Stitch even gave me a discount since it’s supposed to be for…Rari…ty…” He stops as he finds Shy sitting on the couch, staring off into space with a bright red blush on her cheeks. Concerned, the dragon rushes over to her and gently shakes the Pegasus, “Fluttershy, are you okay?”

The shaking knocks Shy out of her little trance, blinking as she looks down at him, “Oh, hello Spike. I didn’t know you came back already.”

“I just came in the front door.” He says back, “Are you okay? What happened.”

She shifts a little, “Well…uh…Rainbow Dash came to see me while you were gone.”

Spike resists the urge to smile as he nods, “And?”

“And…well…she-she told me that…that she wanted to go out with me for Hearts and Hooves Day. I…I had no idea that she felt that way about me. I didn’t know what to say. So when she asked for an answer, all I could think of was to just nod in agreement. That…that’s when she…well…” Spike nods, scooting closer to hear her whisper, “She kissed me…”

Spike smiles and hugs her, “Great! I knew she had it in her!” Shy looks at him, “You knew?” The dragon lets go of her and shrugs, “Sort of. I only knew for sure after I talked to her while I was gone. But I told her she should ask you out and she did! Oh, you’re going to have a great time with your special somepony.”

“There’s just one problem, Spike.” He stops smiling as she looks at him, “I don’t know if she IS my special somepony.”

His jaw drops as he hears that and stares at her. She sighs and looks down, “I’ve never considered mares to be an option for a special somepony. I mean, I-I never thought of them as something I might be…interested in. Oh, not-not that there’s anything wrong with it, I just…I never thought of mares that way.”

“Well…are you going to back out of the date then?” Spike asks cautiously.

“Oh, goodness no. I’d hate to hurt Rainbow Dash just because I’m not entirely comfortable or used to the idea. I’ll go on the…date…with her, but if she doesn’t convince me, I'm sorry to say that I'd have to tell her that I don’t feel the same way.”

Spike gives another shrug, “well, there’s only one way to find out, so I guess it’s good that you aren’t saying no. ANYWAY!” He says loudly enough to make Shy jump, “Different subject. I got the stuff, so let’s get to work.”

Shy smiles and nods, glad to have something else to focus on. The thought of hurting Dash because she doesn't feel the same to her was hard to think about. “Good. Lay everything out and we can get started.”

Author's Note:

Like I said I would, I took more time on writing this one than on Chapter three...and yet I feel like it's somehow weaker than the previous one was. Any critique would be helpful.

Comments

[OmniFox]

Ohhhhhh FLUTTERSHY!!!!!
DON'T YOU DARE BE SOUR!!!!
CLAP FOR CONFIDENCE!!!!!!
AND FEEL THE POWAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!