Their Date

by Blueninetails

Chapter 3

"Finally! It took us longer than I think it should've, but we finally finished cooking Sweetie and Button's meals." Spike stated as he and the others patiently awaited Scootaloo to come back, then let out an exhausted sigh.

They had finally finished Sweetie and Button's food, and had set it up on a tray, ready for Scootaloo to take to them. All they had to do was wait for her to return from checking in on the couple and have her deliver it to them.

"Took the words right outta mah mouth." Applejack agreed as she took a seat at the dining table.

"All issues and distractions aside, I'm just glad we managed to pull it off." Twilight remarked, "We just have to remember, it's only our part that's done, Applebloom and Scootaloo still need to play their part until Sweetie Belle and Button Mash finish their dinner and leave."

"We understand." Applebloom rang in, "Scootaloo an' I know we're still workin' till then."

"Well, it ain't like the two of ya are gonna be waitin' on 'em hoof an' wing. Once Scootaloo comes back, an' finishes givin' Sweetie and Button their dinners, all of us should enjoy a bit of dinner ourselves." Applejack remarked, patting her stomach as if to further express her words.

"Agreed." Twilight rang out before turning her attention towards Spike, "Do we have any leftover sauce or pasta noodles from Sweetie and Button's orders, Spike?"

"You mean, after Scootaloo practically dropped their food earlier?" Spike asked while rolling his eyes, "We still have plenty, especially on the marinara sauce since we had to cook way more than needed after Applejack accidentally put more spices into the mix than normal. Unfortunately, we probably only have enough for one medium serving of the feta sauce."

"I can't believe this!" Scootaloo shouted as she came stomping into the homestead and taking a seat at the table.

"What happened?" Twilight asked.

"Get this. Button Mash and Sweetie just left!"

"What?!"

"Yeah, I was going to the barn like you guys wanted me to do and check on them, when I saw Button come out with his saddlebag followed by Sweetie Belle. I asked them what was up and then Button said, 'You took too long. You girls did a good job with everything, but it's getting late. Bye.'." Scootaloo stated in a mocking tone, and crossed her hooves over her chest, "Didn't even get to tell them their food was done." she grumbled.

The others all looked at each other, before Twilight asked, "They...didn't fight did they?"

"No..." Scootaloo replied in annoyance, though it was with considerably less frustration than earlier, "After Button's little explanation, I saw Sweetie mouth 'Sorry' to me before rushing off to catch up with Button. So, if I had to guess, they probably just got tired of waiting and decided to leave."

"Well, that's a gosh darn waste." Applejack remarked as she looked at the tray of food that had been intended for Sweetie and Button.

"So all this has been for nothing then." Spike stated as he let out a frustrated sigh.

"Not entirely. I'm guessing the two of 'em at least appreciated the effort or the...uh, ambiance -Yeah, I think that's the word for it- to at least leave a tip." Scootaloo remarked.

"Really?"

"Yeah, after they left, I got annoyed that we put so much to make this happen for them to just leave, so I went into the barn to get a drink from the bottle we left for them. It looked like they took that with them and a few apples as well from what I can tell, but it looked like they at least paid for it. I found about 14 bits left on their table."

"Can't say ah would've charged 'em that much fer a few apples and a bottle of cider, but ah suppose ah appreciate that they left somethin'." Applejack stated.

"Especially considering we left them hungry for a long period of time." Twilight added.

After a moment of silence, Scootaloo got back up and turned towards the door, "Whatever. I'm going home. I'll see you all later."

"Wait!" Applebloom rang out, causing the young pegasus to stop and look towards her friend, "Before ya go, ya might as well get a bite to eat."

"We do have the leftover pasta and sauces, on top of Sweetie and Button's food that they left behind." Twilight explained.

As if that was the words her body was waiting to hear, they heard Scootaloo's stomach grumble. Scootaloo gave a nervous chuckle at that, and said, "Sure, I guess it would be bad if we let all this food go to waste."

It only took a few moments for them to decide amongst themselves who would eat what, and for Twilight to cast the counter-spell to remove the mustash from Spike, Applebloom, and Scootaloo's faces. It was decided that Applejack and Twilight would get to eat the feta sauce, as both took interest in trying it out, and Applebloom and Scootaloo seemed to prefer the marinara sauce. Spike, since he was the chef, didn't question the decision considering with a little effort he could probably replicate the feta sauce anyway.

Spike decided to eat his food near the barn, mostly to enjoy the extra work that Twilight, Rainbow, and Princess Luna had put in to make the night sky beautiful that night; but, it was also because he really wanted to eat while enjoying the starry night sky. Being Twilight's assistant typically left him little chance to eat under the night sky, and he didn't really have that chance either when he visited the Princesses in Canterlot as it was a formality that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had to eat their meals in their main dining hall, and to that extent, any guests of their's also had to adhere to this rule. Not that it seemed to stop either Princesses from occasionally eating a quick snack outside the dining hall though.

Spike quietly sat with his back against the barn door, occasionally taking a small bite of his meal. Usually he would have just tipped the plate near his mouth and used a fork to shovel the food into his awaiting jaws without much care for his table manners or appearances, especially since he was alone and out of sight of anypony, but there was just something about being out under a perfect night sky that seemed to urge him to do otherwise, to take the time to properly savor his meal in the tranquility of the night.

"Spike...?" he heard Applebloom call out before she turned the corner to see him in front of the barn, "Oh, there ya are."

As he looked at her, he noticed that she had a plate of spaghetti sitting on top of her head. He'd never quite understood how ponies seemingly have this innate ability to balance stuff on their heads; and, if he was honest with himself, he doesn't think he would ever understand how they do it.

"You were looking for me?"

"Ah saw ya come out a few minutes ago. Ah was thinkin' ah'd give ya some company." She explained as she carefully placed the food on the ground next to his, "Hope ya don't mind."

He shook his head, "I just figured I'd enjoy the clear night while I ate. After all the extra work the Twilight, Rainbow, and your sister put in to helping, figured it would be a waste to not take a chance and enjoy it, even if it was just for Sweetie and Button's date."

Applebloom nodded as she took a seat next to him, "Ah understand ya."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Spike asked, "So...um, where's Scootaloo. I thought you would've at least hung out with her while you two ate."

"Scootaloo already headed home. She quickly ate her food before leavin'." She then gave a short chuckle, "Ah hope Miss Rarity doesn't find out Scootaloo got spaghetti sauce all over her outfit."

"As long as Scootaloo get's that outfit into some water before it permanantly stains, I think Rarity might forgive her." Spike remarked with a snicker.

As the time went by, Spike and Applebloom continued to enjoy their food and each other's company as they simply talked and laughed at the stories the other had to tell. During the middle of one of their conversations, Applebloom left for a moment to grab the two of them something to drink since neither of the two had come out without a drink. The barrel of cider they had put aside for Sweetie and Button's date was the obvious choice for Applebloom to pour their drinks from, as it was close and at the very least they can ensure it wouldn't go to waste; and, Applebloom would periodically get up to refresh their drinks when their mugs were empty. Aside from one point when Twilight had come out to check on them, the duo had been left alone to their own devices.

It was now getting late, and if either had to guess, it was probably a little past midnight.

"Ah think ah can see Twilight through the window in the living room. Ah think she might be sleepin'." Applebloom remarked.

The young earth pony mare was currently looking towards the house, with her back turned to Spike, who was still seated on the ground.

"I guess that explains why Twilight hasn't come out yet since we last saw her. What about your sister? Where's Applejack?"

"Ah can't see her, but ah think she's in her room. Ah can see the light on in her bedroom."

"Do you think she's probably still awake? I mean, it's gotta be past midnight by now." He stated before taking another gulp of his cider.

"Ah wouldn't be surprised if she is, but ah wouldn't be surprised either if she's sleepin' in her room. Settin' up all this wasn't as easy as the Crusaders or I thought it would be." She replied as she turned back around and took a seat next to Spike again, "Even with all the help ya'll gave us."

"To be fair, we didn't exactly have the experience or the level of coordination a professional restaurant staff would have. But at least you tried, and it was a pretty good attempt if I may say so." He remarked and shot her a toothy grin, to which she just returned with a quick giggle, "Just do me and the others a favor and don't try doing the same for you or Scootaloo when you girls ask somepony out. Just find a nice restaurant to go to, with a real experienced staff."

"Ah doubt Scootaloo would be the one ta go askin' a pony out fer a date, she'd probably think it is 'uncool' fer her ta be the one ta do the askin' out. As fer me, Ah wouldn't mind bein' on date like this: no big fancy restaurant, and no need ta know those fancy rules about which fork o' spoon ta use, just me an' my special somepony eatin' good food and enjoyin' a clear, bright night."

"Yeah, and I get to be infuriated again at the lack of coordination between Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo as we try serving you and your date food." he chuckled.

"If yer gonna be like that, ah won't go askin' you for yer help then."

"Good, it'll save me from the problems later." he joked before drinking what's left of his cider.

Applebloom snorted in his direction before relaxing again and took a couple more gulps of her drink as the two fell into another silence. Both looking out towards the moonlit orchard. Their food had long since finished, as the two were just enjoying the rest of the night before they had to sleep and go their separate ways. While neither were saying so, both were having a fun time just hanging out together and talking.

Applebloom quickly drank what was left of her drink before giving a light belch, being proper enough to cover her mouth with a hoof.

"Ya want s'more cider? Cause ah'm thinkin' of gettin' a refill fer mahself."

"Yes, please, I wouldn't mind a little bit more."

Applebloom merely nodded in acknowledgement before getting up and picking both their mugs up. It didn't take too long for her to refresh their mugs of cider, though Applebloom did notice that the barrel seemed rather easy to almost knock down as she filled it, probably running low on cider now.

"Thanks, Applebloom." Spike said, as he accepted his mug back from her.

Applebloom silently sat back down, automatically scooting closer to Spike without much of a thought, close enough that both could almost feel the body heat of the other next to them. As both took a sip of their drinks, neither showed any signs that they had noticed they were now seated closer to each other.

"The cider tastes pretty good." Spike complimented, smacking his lips a little bit on the lingering taste of the cider, "It does taste a little different though, not in a bad way, but in a good way. Did you or your family change the recipe for this batch?"

Applebloom shook her head, "Nope, this here is the same cider we always serve. It was the same as last years batch too, and ah know you drank some o' that."

"It tastes different though. Are you sure?"

"As certain as yer a purple dragon." She stated firmly, "Though...Ah do admit, yer right about the taste, it does taste a might bit different from the usual."

"We can probably ask Applejack a bit later." He stated before taking a big gulp of his drink.

Applebloom nodded in agreement before doing the same as well, "So...um, what about you? Think ya'll would like havin' a date on a night like this one?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Cause ya got me ta tell ya 'bout how ah wouldn't mind havin' a date like Sweetie and Button did, now it's yer turn ta talk. It's only fair, right? Ya think ya'd do a date like this one?"

Spike looked at her, noticing the interested look in her eyes when she looked back at him, then sighed "That's easy: no. I wouldn't take my date on something like Sweetie Belle's and Button's date tonight. I mean, no offense to you or your family, but I don't think it'd make for a good impression if I took my date out to your barn to eat dinner with."

"What if she was okay with it? Ah know ya got a crush on Sweetie's sister, Miss Rarity, and ah've seen her come by every now and again." She remarked, earning a surprised look from Spike.

"Okay, two things: One, Rarity doesn't really like getting dirty, she avoids it as often as she can, so I very much doubt she'd be okay having a romantic dinner in a barn. Secondly, how do you know that?!"

"Sweetie told me. She said yer always swoonin' over her."

"I don't...I mean...." He blushed and sighed, "Also, I kinda got over my crush on Rarity a couple years ago."

"Really...?"

"Yeah, I just kinda got older and the whole 'madly in love with her' thing just seemed to die down." He explained, "Which is actually fine with the both of us. Over the years, Rarity never really showed too much interest in me anyway, and always looked to stallions as potential love interests. Still, she and I do have a strong bond, and I still come visit to help her as often as I can."

Applebloom merely nodded in acknowledgement before taking a few sips of her drink. His answer somewhat making her heart beat harder in her chest, though she merely excused the feeling. There was a long moment of silence before Applebloom asked, "So that don't bother you at all...? Ah mean losin' yer crush and all?"

"Like I said, I got over it." Spike replied calmly, "Still, I'll admit, it did hurt a little. Felt like I wasted precious time and energy, only to land back at the beginning."

"Hm..." Applebloom then looked at her drink, swishing the drink around briefly in thought.

"Now it's my turn." Spike looked at her, "You got somepony you've had a crush on?"

"What...?!" She asked, blushing as she looked at Spike.

"You know mine, now I wanna hear about yours? It's only fair, right?" He remarked as he gave a smirk.

"Ah-ah...Ah don't have ta tell you."

"Well, that doesn't seem fair."

"Ya can't go askin' a mare if she's gone an' had feelin's fer somepony before."

"Still doesn't seem fair to me."

"It don't gotta be fair."

Spike scoffed and turned his attention back to the scene in front of them, "Fine, have it your way, then."

A long moment of silence past between the two, as Spike kept his view facing forward, while Applebloom stared at him from the corner of her eye. Something about his expression had changed, and it was making the young mare feel bad. She didn't quite understand it, but somehow she felt like it was wrong she didn't answer when Spike had told her, and it would only remedy itself if she spoke. Finally, after a bit of thought and giving a loud, frustrated sigh, she conceded and answered.

"It's Snails."

"Pardon?" He asked, turning only half way to look at her.

"Snails. Ah had tiny crush on Snails some years back."

"Wow..., I never would've guessed you liked Snails."

"Unlike ya'll, ah knew how ta hide mah feelin's. Ah just sorta liked him really. Not too much of our class had thought too much of 'im, especially since he didn't seem like he'd be the type you'd readily rely on when ya needed somethin' done; but, he jus' had this sort of charm about him that ah found like-able."

Spike remained silent for a moment, not quite understanding why he would hesitate in speaking, before turning to fully look at her again, "Well, if it's any consolation, I know for a fact he's still single. So if you want-"

"Thank ya kindly, but ya don't gotta worry about it." She interrupted him, "Like ya asked: 'Who did ah use ta have a crush on?' Well, there's yer answer. Ah use ta have a crush on Snails."

"What changed your feelings for him?"

"Like ya'll, ah grew outta it." She remarked with a shrug, "He nevah seemed ta take interest in me, and after a while, ah started ta thinkin' that maybe he ain't the one fer me."

"Well, at least you didn't get found out. If what you told me is true, then my crush isn't as big a secret as I thought it was. Thanks for sharing with me by the way."

"Think nothin' of it, just glad ya trusted me ta explain how it is." She then offered a friendly smile to him, which he seemed to return, and lightly elbowed him.

Spike then looked up at the sky, by now a small number of stray clouds had started coming into the area, but the sky was still quite a sight to behold. The ambient temperature had also dropped by this time of the night to a mild chill that wasn't discomforting, but it wasn't comfortable either, especially once a light breeze blew by.

Applebloom shivered as the breeze blew by, her fur fluffing up slightly in response. Feeling the slight source of warmth just beside her, she didn't think much of it and attempted to scoot closer to the source only to feel her flank bump up against the source, which was Spike's leg.

Both looked to each other, noting just how close they had gotten, particularly how their hind legs seemed to be touching now, before Applebloom immediately apologized, "Sorry, a-ah didn't mean ta bump ya, Spike." and scooted away from him.

Spike let out a nervous chuckle as he blushed, "Don't worry about it."

He then watched as Applebloom give another shiver as another breeze blew by.

"Are you cold?" He asked.

"What?"

"Are you cold? I just saw you shiver."

Applebloom seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, the cool air's havin' an affect on me."

"Do you want to go inside? It's probably warmer in there."

Again, she hesitated before shaking her head, "Ah'm fine. Ah wanna stay out 'ere with ya fer a bit longer."

He remained quiet for a time, before gingerly scooting closer to her, "Here, m-maybe this will help." He then scooted closer to her till their sides were in contact again. Part of him was telling him that doing this was a terrible idea, and he should apologize and widen the gap between them once again, but the other part argued that sitting that closely to his friend was rather...pleasant.

"S-Spike..., what are ya doin'?!" Applebloom exclaimed, though she made no attempt to move, with a bright blush.

"Helping you stay warm. Applejack would be furious if she found out I was to blame for you getting sick." He explained, a blush burning his cheeks as well.

"Yer makin' it sound like ah'm a lil' kid." She grumbled silently, but accepted the explanation.

The two then fell into silence once again, back to admiring the beauty of the scenery around them, as well as the comfortable warmth that came from their contact. At some point, Applebloom seemed to be dissatisfied with the amount of warmth, and pressed herself up closer to the drake. Only a nearly-unseen eye contact at the very edge of their visions being the only confirmation that Spike was okay with her action.

Both knew the level of contact they were currently having surpassed what would be acceptable to a pair that were 'just friends', but chose not to dwell on the matter, as the action felt right to them at the moment. Just as Applebloom was feeling her eyelids getting heavy, and threatened to fall asleep, she heard Spike give an audible yawn.

"Gettin' sleepy?"

He nodded, "It's getting late. I was probably suppose to be sleeping over an hour ago now." Then pulled away from Applebloom's side and got up, before stretching out all of his limbs, "I think I better go wake Twilight up so the two of us can get going."

Applebloom already missed the warm contact they had been sharing and responded with, "Oh..., alright then..." Incidentally sounding little more sullen than she would've liked, which wasn't lost to the young drake.

"What's wrong? You sound sad all of a sudden."

"I...I dunno." She paused before giving another shiver, looking right at him, "Ah suppose it's cause...cause it was startin' ta feel...nice."

Spike didn't say anything, but he did seem to agree as he smiled shyly and a blush painted his muzzle again.

"I guess I can say that I agree with you, it did feel totally nice; however, we can easily hang out again in the future."

Applebloom remained silent as her ears pinned back and she looked directly at Spike with a sad expression on her face. While Spike was indeed correct, there was just something that seemed to pull at her, telling her it wouldn't be the same.

Spike seemed to share the same thoughts as well as, as he thought about when they could possibly just hang out again and noting that what he pictured in his head seemed less interesting as a whole.

The two of them remained still, unmoving from their current positions as the two stared right at the other. Applebloom even more so as her mind commanded that she keep her eyes glued to the drake's face, allowing her to really notice much of Spike's facial features, including how the moonlight was shining in just the right way to properly accentuate how mature he had gotten since they first met.

After several minutes of stillness between the two, and Applebloom's gawking, a single thought seem to register to the young mare and it brought a new, vibrant blush that rivaled her brother Big Macintosh's red coat in color to appear on her face. Was she...Was she becoming attracted to Spike? Did she just fall in love with her dragon friend? At first she tried excusing the idea, reasoning how ridiculous the idea of her and Spike, together. It was almost laughable to even think of it; but, slowly her mind started reminding her of Spike's qualities such as his loyalty to his friends and his strength, and slowly started to accept the possibility. The longer she thought about it, the more it made her heart soar at the idea of her and Spike, which brought a happy smile on the young mare's face.

"A-Applebloom?"

She then looked at her friend in finality, got up, and proceeded to position herself so Spike was between her and the barn.

"Uh, Applebloom...?" He asked in an uneasy tone, quickly becoming nervous about not only her change in attitude, but how he could not read the looks she gave him.

She slowly approached him, making sure to keep eye contact with him. Eventually, she had him with his back against the barn, and a mere few inches between them. She then pushed her head forward so the very tip of her muzzle made contact with the scales on his chest.

"Applebloom?! W-what are you doing...?!" He silently exclaimed, stunned by her actions.

She remained undeterred as she took a step forward, and proceeded to nuzzle against his scales, before moving up to nuzzle at his collar bone. The effect appeared to be immediate as Applebloom felt a jolt go down her spine to her tail, causing her tail to slowly whip from one side to the other. Emboldened by the fact her actions have yet to be rebuked, she began nuzzling around his neck.

Spike's breathing became jagged at the rather intimate contact, especially as the nuzzling Applebloom was giving him seem to add to the warmth that Applebloom renewed once her chest came in contact with his, and pushed away the thoughts of trying to get her to stop or pushing her away.

Again, building off of that, Applebloom pressed even more into him so she could properly nuzzle the underside of Spike's chin. He seemed to respond in kind by leaning his head back for her. With one last confidence boost at his reaction, Applebloom pursed her lips and closed her eyes as she gently kissed Spike just below his lower lip. Pulling away, she slowly opened her eyes to see herself staring directly into the dragon's emerald ones, which carried a look of shock, confusion, and a glimmer of hope behind them.

Hesitating briefly to allow his brain to process what just happened, Spike suddenly found himself mentally at war. With Applebloom giving him a peck, he found himself questioning: What now? Did she actually feel that way towards him? Did HE feel that way towards her? and What in tartarus were they gonna tell the others if he did feel the same? Looking right into her eyes though, he could practically see the hopeful look in her eyes, hoping for a return of her feelings.

Honestly, he didn't know how to answer any of those questions at the moment, but he knew one thing for sure. He felt happy, undisputably happy at the thought of having somepony like Applebloom being his special somepony. The side of his lips tugged into a gentle smile as he leaned his head and gently nuzzled the top and sides of Applebloom's head.

Applebloom lightly giggled as she thought about their situation and current position. They were chest to chest with one another while Spike was affectionately nuzzling her. She reveled in the contact a moment longer before finally pulling her head back just enough to allow her to look directly at him once again and asked, "Spike..., ya mind if ah pretend this was...was, ya know..., a date?"

Spike hesitated to answer, but found little reason to dislike the idea. Wrapping his arms around the young mare, he replied back by giving her a gentle peck on her cheek.

Author's Note:

Here's the next chapter, which concludes what happened that Friday Night for the two of them. There's still one more chapter to this story, hopefully I'll get it done soon enough.