Love is a Seven Letter Word
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo exited Ponyville Schoolhouse, laughing and talking about what happened in that day as they trotted down the road toward ponyville proper. Even as the afternoon class of teenagers came.
Nopony truly understood how hard Cheerilee worked for the education of ponyville. After a full 7 hours of teaching the littler ones, she held a second class after dedicated to the older minors of Ponyville. It was shorter, only taking up 3 hours on the weekdays. Cheerilee never really did allow herself a break, except for holidays, sundays, and only after grading the papers for any given day. But she did it all with a grin as she shaped their futures.
The young stallions rough housed with each other, and flirted with the young mares who rolled their eyes and gossiped in groups. All of that attention turned to the boisterous laughing of the trio as they passed. It was crazy to think that next year, the younger crowd would be taking their place.
Well, two of them were laughing, at any rate.
"W-what evin happened?" Applebloom struggled to talk over her laughing fits as they walked. Scootaloo was staring at the ground, fuming.
Sweetie Belle struggled to reign it in long enough to give a detailed explanation. "So I saw Scootaloo napping during math, right? And Miss Cheerilee didn't see her yet, so being the good friend I was, I thought I'd wake her up and save her from getting in trouble. So I throw a paper ball at her when Miss Cheerilee's back was turned, and she just w-wakes up and-and blurts..." Sweetie Belle was actively struggling to breath at this point; and Applebloom was holding her stomach with one hoof as they walked, holding back tears. "TWENTY FOUR!" The two burst laughing again. "T-the question was, 'What’s one-hundred-fifty-two multiplied by sixteen!' "
"She wasn't going to notice," Scootaloo rolled her eyes and finished under her breath, "No one really does..."
Neither of the other two heard the heartfelt statement. Whether that was fortunate or not,Scootaloo wasn't sure.
Sweetie Belle shook her head, calming down. "She caught you napping last week during lunch hour."
Scootaloo was flabbergasted. "That doesn't count! I'm allowed to do what I want durring lunch and recess! She was just making sure I was okay! The only one who did I might add. You two just kept on chatting!"
Sweetie Belle scrunched her nose, and Applebloom wore a worried expression. "Are y'all alrigh', Scoots? We thought ya jus' needed sum more sleep."
Scootaloo looked back to the floor dejectedly. "It's whatever," she raised her head again with a better expression, "Are we still helping out that grey colt with his Cutie Mark problem today? I'd rather just focus on that."
Sweetie Belle suddenly wore a guilty expression and stopped. "Oh, feather. I'm sorry, girls. I just remembered I promised to hang out with Spike today. You'll have to help him yourselves."
Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at each other and grinned. Scootaloo's definitely seemed more genuine now. "Ooooh!"
"Looks like ya didn' even need our help after all," Applebloom giggled.
Scootaloo shuddered. "After the entire love poison thing, just... I think it’s best if we let these things handle themselves."
Sweetie Belle was blushing but nodded with a determined glare. "I definitely don't need you two trying to help unless I ask for it, okay? I think I can do this... I hope."
Applebloom grinned and nudged her friend in the side. "Ya gonna kiss 'im?"
Scootaloo rolled her eyes even as Sweetie Belle covered her burning face. "Don't be stupid, Applebloom. You don't just start a relationship with a kiss out of nowhere. That only happens in cheesy romance tales and to really, really lucky people.First you gotta be their friend. And then You gotta ask them out first on a date! Then you gotta see what you have in common and then have a good time, and THEN you kiss them!"
The farm filly tilted her head. "That seems like... almos' good ahdvice. Where'd you get so knowledgeable about datin'?"
The pegasus fumed and hid her own blush. "I don't check out good romance novels from the library and you can't prove it! The only good books are Daring Do!"
Applebloom looked back to Sweetie Belle. "Wait a tic'. Y'all asked to hang out with 'im... Isn't this a date?"
Sweetie Belle looked unsure of herself. "Is it? Neither of us really said,'date...' "
"Better kiss him at the end to be absolutely sure, then," Scootaloo nodded sagely.
Sweetie Belle struggled to find her voice. She felt like a fish out of water. "I-I can't just do that! Besides, isn't it the colts job to start things?"
"Nope!" Scootaloo grinned. "Another stupid cliche. If you wait for him to make the first move, you might wait forever. If you got feelings, show it filly!"
Applebloom squinted. "It's like ya somehow raided Rarity's bookshelf."
Sweetie Belle groaned to herself. "I still don't know if I can..."
Scootaloo got a dirty grin on her face. "Well fine. I guess we know who the new group chicken is now..."
The unicorn filly glared at her friend. "I am not a chicken."
Applebloom joined her friend with a grin of her own. "Bawk bawk bawk!"
They circled her in a manner reminiscent of sharks. "Chiiicken~" Scootaloo whispered in her ear.
"Grrr.... ALRIGHT, FINE, I'LL DO IT!"
"Wha'?
"What?"
The other two stopped their chicken act with raised eyebrows. Applebloom looked at Sweetie Belle with surprise. "But we hadn't even really started ta mock ya. Why’d ya give in so quick?"
Sweetie Belle grimaced. "It's not like I could actually tell him. That's way harder! Words and feelings are just really difficult to express. A kiss is simple, clean, and gets the message across. And maybe if he doesn't mind it, I'll have the courage to tell him.
Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and put on a determined expression she didn't quite feel. Her stomach fluttered as she answered them. "If we have a lot of fun today, I'll do it. I-I'll kiss him."
~*~*~*~*~
The morning after the picnic left Spike with less than stellar feelings. And it wasn't just the hangover.
Yes, Spike still had a hangover, despite Celestia's efforts. She was able to lower his blood alcohol content enough to make him coherent enough to talk, but she was unable to flush his system entirely. Or if she had the power to, he figured that the ramifications for doing so were too unwieldy to attempt. It was hard for Spike to imagine there was anything impossible for Celestia. Over six-thousand years old and able to move a celestial body millions of times bigger than their planet with just her magic.
But she apparently couldn't or didn't want to spare him entirely from the headache that now throbbed in his head as he worked, dusting. Twilight had given him some kind of aspirin over breakfast. She mentioned he should take the day off, but he refused. The work was good. It kept his mind off the real hurt.
Rarity.
Apparently, based on the hints she was dropping, Rarity loved him in the same way he loved her, but to have a relationship was illegal. After finishing every chore in the castle he could think of, Spike was lying in his bed, feeling rather bleak. He wanted to go do research on these kinds of things in the library but ever since he laid down he didn't really feel like getting up again. He had felt somewhat fine after hanging out with Sweetie Belle, and yesterday. But now? It was as if the depression took a day or two to hit.
He thought over her words. 'It wouldn't be proper' she had said. 'I could go to Tartarus.' The fact that you could get thrown in Celestia's Special Hell-on-Equis for loving someone sounded ridiculous to Spike. But maybe he just wasn't seeing the bigger picture.
He rolled over as he thought. Pedophilia wasn't rampant in Equestria. No crime was. But it still happened, albeit very, very rarely. Spike picked up enough mentions from books to know they were the most hated individuals on earth. Past even Serial Killers and torturers. He tried to think of an adult stallion and a twelve-year-old filly in the same situation, and immediately felt squeamish. Maybe he really didn't know what he wanted. But then again, Spike figured he wasn't really par-for-the-course as far as these things went.
Spike sighed and looked back up to the ceiling. It's for the best, He repeated to himself. It's for the best... It's for the best. It's for the best.
He started thinking about her other words. 'Find somepony else. Somepony your own age.'
Somepony his own age... But who?
He thought over every filly he knew, which wasn't many. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon came to mind first. He immediately blanched over that idea. Even with their now better attitudes, they used to be bullies. Spike adamantly believed everypony deserved a second chance, but they had offended him personally one time by mocking him. He didn't have that much an issue with them, but...
~*~*~*~*~
"Hi! What are your names?" Spike the Dragon said cheerily to the two fillies in front of him. He was exploring the town on his own after Twilight had said it was okay, and that she was studying something, when they had stepped in front of him. One was a pink much Lighter than Pinkie Pie's, and was wearing a diamond encrusted tiara on her two tone lavender and white mane. A similar tiara rested on her flanks. The other was a deep grey, with silvery hair, and an elaborate and expensive looking spoon made her cutie mark. She wore cute glasses, he decided.
They were only here for a few days and he was already making new friends!
The two looked at each other and back to Spike with rather nasty expressions. The pink filly lead with a posh, better-than-you tone. "I'm Diamond Tiara," the other one started to speak up, but was rudely silenced by her friend. "And this is Silver Spoon. What's yours?" Silver Spoon seemed slightly put out by her friend, but then wore a resigned expression.
"Those are pretty names. I'm Spike!" he smiled.
"Pfft... PFfahhahahaha! Spike! L-like a dog, can you believe it, Spoony?" Diamond laughed cruelly. Silver Spoon seemed a lot less amused, but laughed anyways for Diamonds benefit. Spike looked at them, bewildered.
"W-why are you..."
Diamond Tiara cut him off and looked his still diminutive form up and down. "So, like, do you belong to the new librarian? I didn't even know you could keep a lizard as a pet."
Spike looked hurt. "I-I'm not a pet! I'm Twilights..."
Diamond Tiara took advantage of his hesitance with a sneer. "You sure, Spike? You sure look like one. You smell like one too. I'd even be willing to bet you eat dog food. How disgusting."
Spike looked like he was on the verge of tears. He never had to deal with anypony saying anything near as cruel to him in Canterlot. "Shut up! I don't eat dog food! I'm not a pet! I'm a dragon!"
Silver spoon started circling him like a shark as Diamond Tiara stepped forward, pushing him back. "Well you certainly aren't a pony. And I've seen Dragons in picture books before. They have wings, Dumbass," Spike's eyes widened at the expletive. "So I have a lot of trouble believing you're a dragon. This is a pony town. And you? You're just a big. Overgrown. Stupid. Lizard."
She punctuated each word with a stomp forward. She finished it with a shove. Silver Spoon had stopped behind him, and stuck out a hoof, making sure he tripped backwards into the mud that was made from the rain the previous day. He sat up, propping himself with his arms after the nasty fall, and looked down at his now filthy self. Spike desperately looked around for somepony to help him, but nopony was on the less-than-busy back street they were on.
"You'll never fit in around here,"Diamond Tiara said coolly. Before it was a nasty teasing tone, but now... It was filled with such conviction and malice. The only thing colder than her tone was her eyes as she stared down at him with loathing. "You're not a pony. You aren't even a second class mule. You're an oddity. Even less than a pet. You're a nobody. And that's all. You'll ever. Be," She spat on his face. It was like an exclamation mark for everything leading up to this point.
Spike couldn't hold it anymore. That was the last straw. Tears started streaming down his eyes as he got up and ran. Diamond Tiara just laughed at his crying and torment. "Cry lizard boy, cry!" she taunted as he ran for the safety of the library.
Except he stopped after turning the corner and peeked back around to check if they were following him.
Silver Spoon was staring at her with a dumbstruck expression. Diamond Tiara turned to her and snapped. "What." It wasn't a question. It was a challenge.
"D-Diamond... That was pretty harsh, even for us..."
She glared at her friend. "So?"
Silver Spoon glanced after Spike. "N-nothing! It's just... Why did he deserve that much? You weren't even that rude to the pool-colt who spilled the tea on you..."
She narrowed her eyes and looked back to where he was. Spike immediately went back around the corner for safety. "He's a dragon. Bloodthirsty stupid animals. The lot of them. I'll never forget what they did to Grandma Rich..."
Spike just heaved and bawled, trying to silent himself. He made his way back to the library.
~*~*~*~*~
Okay. So maybe he still had plenty of issue with them. And from what Diamond had said at the end, it sounded like she'd still have issue with him anyways. He was willing to try friendship once again, but he promised with a glare at the roof that he would never consider dating them. He also promised to himself that if they were to try bullying him again, they would see why you don't Bully a Dragon. Literally.
Other than that, there weren't that many fillies he knew, and Spike was confident enough in his sexuality that he knew he wasn't gay or bi. There were many fillies in the village due to the three to one mare/stallion ratio, but he was friends with a select few of them.
He supposed there was Pina Colada, a pink coated and mauve maned earth pony, daughter of the town drunk Berry Punch. Berry, despite her alcoholism, was a very loving and kind mother, and it showed in her daughter. Pina Colada was friends with everyone and shared her mother’s love for grape punch; Berry Punch made wines that were famous throughout equestria, but she had been known to make a fruity punch as well. She was who Pinkie had often employed for her parties drink catering. Pina Colada had made punch once and brought it into the class for show and tell, the Crusaders told him. They said it was excellent. Spike loved to cook. Maybe he could teach her how, and she could teach him how to make punch.
There was Dinky, daughter of the wall eyed Derpy Hooves. She was a grayish purple with a golden blonde mane, very like her mother in appearance. Except she was a unicorn where her mother was a pegasus, and her eyes always moved together. Dinky was kind, if a bit shy. She loved to learn and, when you got her to open up, wouldn't stop talking about anything and everything. A true curiosity that only a wonderstruck child could have, but about everything. Spike could see him having conversations with her. He loved to think.
There was also Sky Tempest, who had moved here from Cloudsdale last month with her parents. A pure white pegasus filly, both in coat and mane. He didn't know much about her yet, but greeted her at her family's Pinkie Pie Welcome to Ponyville Party™. She seemed nice enough.
And of course, who could forget about the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
The Crusaders...
Applebloom was a hard and diligent worker, and it showed in her work. She nearly single handedly rebuilt their clubhouse from scratch. He was almost certain she would be a carpenter before she got her mark in being a Cutie Mark Therapist with the other two. He really liked her determination to better herself and others around her. Also, the bow was pretty cute. He had to consider all the positives here.
Scootaloo was pretty. Pretty brash, that is. She looked fine, but her personality was a bit too... Rainbow Dash for him. She was a very good friend, but he couldn't really see himself dating her. The wanna be athlete would probably try and say that extreme roller blading was a good first date, and include a fire ring and shark pit while she was at it. Spike really liked keeping his scales on his body.
And finally, Sweetie Belle...
Spike felt his throat catch. She was probably the prettiest he knew. Sparkling green eyes, a coat nearly as white as Celestia's, and a curly mane. Sister of Rarity, the most beautiful pony he knew. Spike was envious of their obvious superior genes. She also had a really pretty smile that she wore nearly constantly; Despite her worrying two days ago, he was sure she was the optimist. She definitely lived up to her name. “Sweetie." Boy was she ever sweet. One of the kindest he knew. 'Belle' meant beauty, and he couldn't fault that. She was pretty smart too. His mind recalled the conversations they had recently.
Spike suddenly shot up in bed. "Crap crap crap! I'm late!" While thinking of their talks, he remembered what he said about meeting up with her today after she got done with School. His new alarm clock said 2:40. Twenty minutes after she got out. He quickly got up and opened the door, running through the halls until he made it to the massive castle main entrance. Twilight was standing at the open door, and she looked back at his approach and smiled. "It's for you," she said as she backed to the side.
Sweetie Belle was smiling and greeted Spike, who walked up to the door. She backed down the steps as he walked out. "Hey, Spike!"
Spike put on his own smile and finished the steps to the ground. "Hey, Sweetie Belle," Sweetie went straight to his side.
"Just a moment, Spike!" Twilight said before they had taken any steps. He looked back and she waved him back up.
"I know it's my turn to cook but I really don't feel like it tonight. I have a lot to do. Could you pick up some take out? You know the restaurant. Starlight just wanted a salad. Get me a couple of those Veggie Burgers," her eyes rolled to the top of her head and stayed there, and she rubbed her stomach. "Sooo good!"
Spike snickered at her expression. She really loved the restaurant's veggie-burgers. She blushed and immediately took a neutral pose. "Sure, Twilight."
She passed him a decent sized bag of bits. "Should be more than enough in there. Why don't you treat yourself and Sweetie Belle while you're out too?" She gave him a sly smile. "A gentlestallion always treats the mare."
Spike blushed lightly. It had only been a day since they had all learned of Spike and Rarity's confrontation, and she was already teasing him about hanging with girls! He turned and quickly walked back to Sweetie's side.
Twilight waved after them with a grin. "Be home by 8 Spike! Have fun!"
"Will do!" he called back. He nudged Sweetie Belle while they walked. "So where are we going?"
Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I didn't really have any ideas. Why don't we walk around and see what's up?"
Spike nodded. "Sure."
As they walked, Sweetie Belle thought over how easy it was to talk to Spike now. Over the past couple of days when she realized her crush, she could barely speak to him without blushing up a storm and stammering. But after two nights ago when they had bonded, she had realized how easy it was. Just as easy as before she realized her crush.
They walked through town and chit-chatted, looking for something to do.
While they were walking through the main square, they walked past Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, laughing to themselves, and Spike warily watched them. Normally, before they changed, Spike did his absolute best to avoid them. When he walked with Twilight or the girls, he always made sure to hide before their larger forms. Now though? He was with Sweetie Belle, and he didn't want her to worry.
Besides, for some reason now he was feeling disgusted over his previous interactions with them. Twilight hadn't taught him anything about fights, and he had never been in one. He thought that running away was the right thing to do at the time, but... Something in him was different now. Ponyville was his home and he had just a right as any to walk through it. If they thought they could push him around now, they were dead wrong.
There were lights in their eyes and they seemed to generally find something funny. This didn't seem like their cruel laughter.
The two fillies spotted the other duo, and smiled and waved at Sweetie Belle who waved back. Silver Spoon also shot Spike a smile, which he returned half-heartedly. But as soon as Diamond's eyes wandered over his face from Sweetie Belle's , her smile dropped. It wasn't a look of anger, sadness, anything really. Just a pure blank look, as if she couldn't decide what to feel. Or as if she felt absolutely nothing about him. Somehow this felt even worse than blind hatred; her look made it seem as though he wasn't even worth considering. Did she remember and feel bad about hurting his feelings now that she changed? Or did she still hold malice for dragons and dragons only? Or did she feel simply nothing at all where he was concerned?
The moment passed them, as did the two fillies. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon started talking to each other again while Sweetie Belle and Spike went in the direction the fillies had just came from. Spike felt extremely uneasy as he remembered that blank look. Just... nothing. It was an extreme contrast from the carefree giggling only seconds before she saw him.
Sweetie Belle glanced up at Spike and noticed his expression. "Hey... Are you doing alright?"
Spike grimaced. On top of the hangover that was still making him wince in pain every few minutes, and the feelings of depression over Rarity, he didn't want to add 'upset by a few ex-bullies' to the list. He didn't really have the energy to lie to Sweetie Belle either. "Not really. But I will be. Let's find something fun to do, yeah?"
Sweetie Belle nodded and got a determined look on her face. If Spike didn't want to talk about what was troubling him, that was fine. She was going to make sure he had the best day ever.
~*~*~*~*~
Sweetie Belle suggested they should go find Rainbow Dash and see if she had any new tricks for them. Spike thought that was an excellent idea. A private showing from Rainbow Dash sounded fun.
"Where would she be, though?" Sweetie Belle pondered. It wasn't a misplaced question. Finding the prismatic mare in ponyville was like finding a polychromatic needle in a thatched-roof haystack.
It didn't help that she had a penchant to nap anywhere that she felt was suitable. Spike had found her in every random tree at Sweet Apple Acres, various clouds over ponyville, and once even in the library, on one of the tall book-cases. Luckily, he had practice in finding the mare.
Spike quickly pulled a gold pocket watch from a pocket in his scales and checked the time. 2:52. Rainbow Dash had quit her job as Manager for the Ponyville weather team when she joined the Wonderbolts. She should be free right now. And based on her previous sleeping habits...
He looked directly overhead. There was a singular solitary cloud in town, and Spike could see a rainbow falling off the side. Jackpot.
He looked to the side to Sweetie Belle, whose face was scrunched up with confusion. "Where'd you get that Pocket Watch?"
Spike blinked. "Uh, from Celestia. It was a gift."
"No, I mean... You just pulled it from... Uh, Nevermind."
Spike shrugged and placed the pocket watch back in his scales, earning a twitch from Sweetie Belle. He shouted up at the Cloud. "Yo, R.D!"
The rainbow tail flicked, before pulling itself onto the cloud. Then the entire cloud lowered itself to about ground level, Rainbow Dash lazily pushing it down with her wings. "Yeah, what's up, Squirt?" she looked at Sweetie Belle and amended. "Squirts."
Spike grinned. "Got any new tricks to show us? You know how much I love seeing you perform."
Rainbow Dash thought about it and stood on the cloud, stretching out as she did so. "Yeah, I guess I got a few. It was about time to end my power nap and start training anyways. Alright, meet me out by the fields in about ten minutes. I'm gonna go home and get my water gallons. And don't be late 'cause I'll start without you."
Without even waiting for a reply, the Roy G. Biv herself flew off to prepare.
Spike and Sweetie Belle grinned to each other. This was going to be cool.
~*~*~*~*~
"That was so uncool..." Rainbow Dash shivered to herself as Spike and Sweetie Belle busied themselves by picking thorns out of various areas of her body. It sounded as if she was more upset that she failed her performance than she was injured. Knowing Rainbow Dash, Spike wouldn't put it past her.
"Well... I thought it was awesome until you crashed," Sweetie Belle interjected helpfully, pulling a thorn from Rainbow Dash’s wing with her magic, earning a yelp and a glare from the mare. The filly grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah! The way you turned from a barrel roll into a downwards corkscrew spin and pulled out at the last second was amazing!" Spike explained. He quickly pulled another thorn from her foreleg to get her attention on him.
The colorful Scootaloo NEO grimaced at the feeling of the two adolescents pulling brambles from her in places she couldn't reach, before smirking at Spike's choice of words. "I'm sure you know allll about how awesome pulling out is, Spike."
Spike immediately lit up red and punched her in the shoulder with all of his strength. Before it probably wouldn't have hurt her, but now with his increased size, it left her arm sore, and it was already covered in bruises from the thorns. "Hey, hey, easy. It was a joke," she hissed. "Like you could get laid anyways ya dweeb."
Spike looked concerned. "Woops. Sorry."
Sweetie Belle looked over at the thorn patch that Rainbow Dash had fallen into in thought. "I don't get it."
Spike and Rainbow Dash looked at eachother, as if asking who was going to explain it. Eventually, they both just stared at Sweetie Belle expectantly.
Sweetie Belle frowned, sitting on her haunches, and thought. Then she blushed as well. "Oh. OH."
Rainbow Dash snickered and stood. "Yeah, oh. A'ight, did you get them all?"
Spike glanced over her form, and Sweetie Belle swallowed and did the same. "Yeah, that's all- Oh, wait," he pulled one last thorn from the side of her flank, directly on the tip of the Lightning Bolt in her cutie Mark. The flying gay pride advertisement yelped and jumped in the air, not expecting that one. Her wings snatched open.
"AARGH, I hate thorns, Please PLEASE Tell me that was the last one!"
Spike looked over her athletic and toned form carefully, eyes lingering on her muscles longer than they needed to. "Yeah, you're good."
Rainbow Dash grinned. "Great. I'm gonna go hit up a shower then. Show's over." She stretched and took off for her elaborate cloud-house.
Spike called after her. "THANKS FOR THE SHOW, DASH!"
Sweetie Belle looked after her colorful trail as it followed the fastest creature alive. "Does she always leave without waiting for goodbyes?" Sweetie Belle had talked to Rainbow Dash plenty of times, but always part of a group with her sister and her five friends, or with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. This was the closest the filly had spent to one-on-one time with the blue speedster.
Spike shrugged. "Yeah, that's kind of her thing. Well that was a good way to kill..." He checked the pocket watch. "An hour and a half. What next?"
Sweetie Belle hummed, glancing around the field. "Well, I picked the last one, so you pick."
Spike noticed her humming and smiled. That was right! Sweetie Belle had such a lovely singing voice. He was almost certain that she'd become a world-famous singer before she became a Cutie Mark therapist. "I'd like to hear you sing."
Sweetie Belle flushed and covered her face. "W-what? You want to hear me sing? It's... It isn't that good, Spike."
Spike frowned. "Yeah it is, and I'm not gonna sit here and listen to you defame yourself. If you don't want to sing in front of people that's fine, but trust me when I say that I really, really love hearing your voice."
Sweetie Belle felt that if any more blood went from her brain and into her face, she'd pass out. She was already pretty dizzy. He really likes my voice that much? Oh jeeze... I really don't like singing in front of anypony else, but... Well, he asked. And if you won't do it for Spike, who will you do it for?
Spike watched her expectantly, and she cleared her throat. "A-alright. If... If you really want me to..."
"I do." He said quickly with a grin that put butterflies in Sweetie's stomach. She imagined those exact same words coming from his mouth in an entirely different situation. Her in the prettiest white gown her sister could make, him in a tuxedo so dashing that Rainbow would have to change her name. She quickly cleared her head and gulped, making sure nopony else but Spike was near the field.
She thought of something to sing. Spike smiled encouragingly, sitting in the grass.
Eventually, she opened her mouth...
"I've been starin' at you again...
Tryin to find out where I fit in...
I really like bein' your friend...
But half written love notes fill the bin..."
Spike's smile ever widened as memories of the familiar tune played from radio's speakers. He decided it sounded much better from her voice.
"And I just want you to know...
I'll always be there for you...
And I just really hope that one day you will feel it too..."
When the chorus hit, Spike closed his eyes and just let the waves of her melodic voice crash over his bay.
"So where you wanna go?
How much you wanna risk?
We can bet our friendship on a magic kiss...
And we can share it all through the hits and miss...
I want to say, 'I love you' but I think you get the gist...
Do doo doo, do doo dooo...
Do do doo do dooo...
Do doo doo do doo dooo...
Do do doo do dooo..."
Sweetie Belle finished with a shy smile, finally opening her eyes to see Spike's reaction.
Spike started clapping and whistled. "Sweetie Belle, that was great! I wish you could hear what I hear when you sing. It's absolutely beautiful."
Sweetie Belle rubbed one forehoof with the other, and smiled at the ground. She felt on top of the world.
"So why that song?"
Sweetie Belle immediately looked up and cringed at his curious face. "U-uh, well, h-heh, everybody loves Coltplay! I just really liked the song... It had no special underlying messages or anything..."
Spike's face scrunched up. "Yeaaah... Uh, I like it too. They're one of my favorite bands."
Sweetie Belle's false grin hid her inner turmoil as she inwardly screamed. 'AHHHHHHHH'
She coughed into a hoof and pushed past the awkwardness. "So, uh... I really like Green Hay too... What else do you like?"
Spike's face returned to its neutral smile. He absently picked at the grass as he thought. "Oh, I have a favorite band from every genre, but I personally like classical music the most." He cracked his fingers. "Don't know if you ever knew, but I can play a mean piano."
Sweetie giggled. "Rarity told me how well you played after you all came back from Appleloosa. She said you were the best part of Pinkie's performance."
Spike let loose a tittering laugh and shrugged. "Well, when you have fingers, and a piano built for a minotaur, it's a lot easier to make songs sound good. Ponies only have two hooves to work with."
"Well, I'd love to hear it sometime," Sweetie offered.
Spike grimaced. "I'd love to, but I still haven't found a minotaur piano like the one in Appleloosa. The music store in town only has the big ones built for hooves."
Sweetie Belle pouted. "That's too bad."
Spike sighed, "Yeah."
Sweetie Belle frowned. It didn't seem like Spike had any ideas, and it seemed like he was getting discouraged again, so she decided to take the reigns.
"Wanna play video games again?"
~*~*~*~*~
"Dear Equinity. We regret being alien bastards. We regret coming to Equis. And we most definitely regret that the corps just blew up our raggedy-ass fleet!"
"HOORAH!"
Rarity grimaced at the brutish language, looking at the metropolis that made Manehatten look like Ponyville. The unicorn on the television wore a green suit of armor and was levitating what appeared to be a streamlined canon in his aura. All of it was displayed on the magically powered TV, gritty colors dancing across its crystal display.
"I really regret buying you this, Sweetie Belle. It's so uncouth."
Sweetie Belle huffed and rolled her eyes, controller levitating in her magical aura. Spike gripped another in his claws
"Come on, Rarity. It's all fake and good fun. It's no different from reading a book. Admittedly, a really gory and science-fictiony book, but still."
Rarity grimaced at Spike's description. "It's not the video games I find uncouth, Spike. Sweetie Belle gets out enough that I don't mind her playing them when she stays with me. But I just don't understand why it has to be so... So drab! Why, all you do is kill aliens! How either of you find this entertaining is beyond me."
Sweetie Belle sighed. "It isn't about the gameplay in this one, sis, although that's good too. It's the story! It's so good."
Rarity picked up the case for the game in her aura and lifted to her face. She grimaced as she read the description. "Oh absolutely. Because the imminent destruction of all life makes such a good plot device," it didn't take a genius to hear the sarcasm in her voice. "If I find you emulating any of this, I'm giving all your games and the Xtrot to our parents, and they can lock it up when they get back."
Sweetie Belle was exasperated. "I'm not a child anymore, Rarity!"
Rarity pursed her lips and glanced between her and Spike. It was obvious she didn't want to make this an issue. "I suppose not. Are you staying for dinner, Spike?"
Spike glanced at his pocket watch again. 7:30 PM. Half an hour. He wilted a little. Spike didn't realize he was having so much fun. The time was passing by way too quickly. "No. I'm supposed to bring dinner back home around 8."
She gave him a small smile. "Very well. Will you be free within a day or two? I'm finally making those dresses and I could use the assistance."
Spike furrowed his brow. She almost sounded... hesitant. Did she think he wasn't going to help her simply because of their talk the other day?
"Of course, Rarity... You didn't think I was helping you just because I thought we could be in a relationship, did you?"
Rarity laughed nervously. "Now, Spike, why would you say something like that? I may have been a tad worried I might have to conscript Sweetie Belle again because you were busy, but I know you aren't that selfish... Now, I must return to dinner posthaste," she trotted back into the kitchen.
Sweetie Belle paused the game and yawned. Spike looked over at her. "Tired?"
She shook her head. "Just a little bored. We've been at this for a few hours now... Want to go for a walk? You gotta go pick up dinner at that new restaurant anyways, right?"
Spike gave a confirming nod and stood. He and Sweetie Belle left the Carousel boutique and began walking in the direction of the restaurant..
The sun was lowering in the sky, almost touching the horizon. The sky slowly melted from its normal blue to a soft dull orange as time passed. The air was chilly and crisp, and Spike could taste Autumn around the corner. The sunset was beautiful today, he decided.
Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle was nervously shuffling while she walked. "So... Did, uh, did you have fun today?" the nerves were back in full force at the thought of what she was about to do.
Spike looked over at her. Her green eyes caught the light from the sun, making them sparkle. Golden light spilled over her white frame, painting her in a Variegated of colors, and Spike realized that the sunset wasn't the only beautiful thing out tonight. He thought over the day they had. He really did have a great time. Sweetie Belle was a lot of fun to hang out with. They shared a lot of common interests. They both loved music, and talking about anything and everything, and Spike did like video games too. He felt his heart fill with a warmth that it only had with Rarity before. He'd love to just keep hanging out with her all night.
"Yeah. I had a great time. How about you?"
Sweetie Belle blushed and nodded. In the dripping orange light, it seemed like Spike's scales shined.When he talked and grinned, his pearly white dagger-like teeth gave her goosebumps when she looked at them. The light filled his draconian eyes, filling them with amusement, and Sweetie knew he was being truthful about enjoying himself. He even really loved her singing. She watched as he brought his claws over his head, cracking them all the while. She wondered if she was weird for liking Spike despite all his differences. He wasn't a pony. When he looked at her again, wondering why she wasn't answering, and she stared into those beautiful orbs of white, green and black, she realized that she honestly didn't care if she was weird. She beamed and answered him. She just wished she could tell him the extent of it.
"Yeah... Me too."
The restaurant came into sight. Before that, though, Spike saw an ice-cream vendor packing up for the day, and a bench. He remembered what Twilight told him.
She gave him a sly smile. "A gentlestallion always treats the mare.”
He smiled and ran for the vendor. Sweetie widened her eyes as he ran ahead and picked up her pace to follow him. When he got to the vendor, he pulled out the bag of bits Twilight gave him. "Before you go, can we get something?"
The mare lowered her parasail and smiled down at the pair. "Sure. What can I get you?"
Spike looked over the flavors on the magical cooling-cart and pointed at one picture. "Double fudge. How about you Sweetie?"
Sweetie Belle looked up at Spike, as if to make sure it was okay. When he nodded encouragingly, she looked back down to the flavors and pointed with a hoof. "Rocky Road."
The mare used her magic to quickly scoop the flavors into a pair of ice-cream cones, which she held out to the duo. "Two bits, please."
Spike took the cone in his hand, and pulled the bag out of his pocket, and opened the sack.
The mare frowned and leaned in to Sweetie Belle, who had replaced the orange aura on the cone with a light green one. She whispered to the filly, "Does... does he have pockets?"
Sweetie Belle giggled airly, heart still fluttering, a silly smile in place. "I've been wondering that all day."
The mare chuckled to herself and accepted the money that Spike passed to her, placing it in a bulging bag on the cart. "Dragons," she shook her head and walked to the side of her cart, pushing it home.
Spike lead Sweetie Belle over to the bench and sat on it, watching the sun dip ever below the buildings. Sweetie joined him, and they both went to town on their ice-cream cones.
While she ate, Sweetie Belle mustered her courage. This is it... In just a minute he'll pick up their food and we'll go our separate ways... It has to be now...
She quickly finished, and waited for him to finish, too. The suspense was killing Sweetie Belle as she twitched in place. If he didn't finish soon, she might lose what courage she gathered.
Finally, finally, Spike finished his ice-cream, cone and all. He smiled over to Sweetie Belle, about to explain that he had to go and they should do this again.
Instead, he couldn't get a word out, in no small part to the lips that suddenly found themselves pressed against his. Spike's eyes widened as he stared into Sweetie's now closed eyelids, and her muzzle pressed against his face. Her fur tickled his cheeks, and he tasted the cold still on her lips, the sensation adding to the shivers now flowing through him for an entirely different reason. It was a stark contrast with the warmth that billowed through him as she pressed her breast against his, both hooves planted sideways on the bench.
A torrent of thoughts flew through his mind and he had no idea which to focus on. Surprise at what was happening, and surprise that Sweetie Belle was doing it. He never imagined she would have feelings for him. Wonder at the thought that this was his first kiss. And a fire that filled him to his core. It felt... Right.
Sweetie's mind was blank as she simply lost herself to the sensation of his scales. Despite the ice-cream they just ate, he was burning hot against her mouth, and her stomach was doing flips. Indeed, it seemed as if all her internal organs had decided to host a circus. Apparently, her stomach had experience as a butterfly tamer, too, as she felt light and giddy inside, butterfly's tickling her all the while.
Eventually, she realized the world around her,and the fact that Spike hadn't moved once since she pressed herself to him. He hadn't returned her affections in the slightest. The warmth drained out of her, replaced with cold sadness. Her breath hitched, and she released Spike with a shudder, keeping her eyes closed all the while. She sadly backed her head away.
Only to moan in appreciation as Spike closed the distance again, mashing his lips against hers. He deepened the kiss, and her inner circus had obviously decided to start an act with rings of fire, as she felt her blood boiling all over. She tasted a myriad of flavors as she opened her mouth to accept his. The chocolate that he had eaten only moments prior mixed with the minty taste of toothpaste. Spike wrapped his arms around her barrel, and Sweetie Belle reciprocated the gesture, placing her hooves around his shoulder.
Eventually, they broke away, panting all the while. Sweetie Belle had a look of pure happiness, and Spike had a goofy grin on his face. They made up for lost air, just enjoying each other's embrace.
Spike broke the silence first. "W-wow. I... Sweetie, I had no idea."
Sweetie Belle struggled to find her voice. Her voice was almost cracking with how dizzy she felt. "N-neither d-did I unt-til a few days ago."
Spike released her except for the one arm he kept over her shoulder, and pulled her closer. He thought about checking his pocket watch, but realized he really didn't care about anything else at the moment except for their conversation. "Since... Since the growth spurt?"
Sweetie Belle turned forwards on the bench again and leaned against Spike. "Y-yeah... But if I'm being completely honest, I think even before then, too. Remember a year ago when we danced at Princess Cadence and Captain Armor's wedding?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah," he smirked to himself. "I learned to shuffle for it... That long? Really?"
Sweetie Belle giggled, "I thought that was so cool, the way you danced. I didn't realize it was a crush, but I definitely felt funny whenever I was with you after that."
The two sat even as the sun was three quarters of the way down now. Sweetie Belle frowned and shuffled nervously in his embrace. "S-so... Where does this leave us? I mean, I know I'm not my s-sister, but..."
Spike thought for a while. And then he smiled.
He smiled a lot today. For a lot of different reasons. Amusement. Encouragement. Happiness. But this? This was a smile of contentment. He wanted to feel that smile for as long as he lived. He squeezed Sweetie Belle to him.
"You know what I realized, today? I don't want you to be Rarity. I'm just happy to be with you just the way you are."
The tears that streamed down Sweetie Belle's face were that of pure, unadulterated joy.
~*~*~*~*~
Spike walked home, feeling lighter than air. A few bags of veggie-burgers and a salad were stacked in his claws. The sun had since fell below the horizon, and Spike knew if he checked his Pocket Watch it would probably be well over 8. He simply couldn't muster any reason to care, though. It was well worth whatever punishment Twilight might have had in store.
When he reached the castle, he opened the doors and walked in through the quiet entrance hall. It being dark wasn't very weird.
What was weird is that the map room was dark. Twilight didn't turn out all the lanterns and such until at least midnight. Spike made his way through the inky blackness to where he knew the table was. He suddenly jumped as a spotlight opened up onto Twilight's throne. The lavender mare herself was sitting in the chair, seeming quite serious.
Spike wandered up to where he'd thought the table to be and set the food down on top of it. "Uh, Hey, Twilight.... What's going on?"
The alicorn greeted him neutrally. "Hello, Spike. Take a seat."
Another light opened up onto his throne, on the opposite side of Twilights from the table. Somepony had moved it into the empty spot there. The lights were odd in the fact that they literally only revealed what was directly beneath them. They seemingly stopped when they hit the ground and didn't reflect off any other surfaces, leaving the rest of the room in a magical darkness. Spike gulped and sat down in the throne opposite Twilight. Was she really that upset for him being a few minutes late?
"You're late." she said without any sort of tone.
Spike rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah.. I was out with Sw-"
"You almost missed the presentation." she interrupted.
Spike scrunched up his snout. "Presen...tation?"
Twilight's mouth finally took a grin as the entire room flooded with light. Behind her, a massive whiteboard filled the chamber, nearly touching the remains of the Golden Oaks Library tree stump at the top. Discord was above even that on metal scaffold that weren't there before, holding a now deactivated spotlight in his paw/claw. Grinning and with a snap of a claw, the metal railing disappeared, as did he. Spike sat alone in front of a very happy Twilight.
"It's time we had a talk," Princess Twilight Sparkle said with glee.
~*~*~*~*~
BONUS SCENE
~*~*~*~*~
Scootaloo stepped inside her house with a sigh.
The day hadn't been a very bad one. She and Applebloom had managed to help a Colt get his Cutie Mark. That was the highlight.
Now it was time to hit the worst part of her day.
The young pegasus walked through the moderate house's hallway into the Kitchen. Her mother, a cream pegasus with a purple mane glanced up from the the finance book in front of her with a frazzled smile. Her mane stuck up in a million places. "Hello, dear... How was school?"
Scootaloo faked a smile and stepped up to the fridge, taking a glance inside. She stopped pretending and glanced at the daisy sandwich with distaste as soon as her back was turned. Another simple flower sandwich for dinner. Surprise, the rest of the fridge was empty. "Hey, Mom. Good. How was work?"
"It was work." She stared back down at the finance book with a pen in her mouth and let out a slightly distressed noise.
Scootaloo abandoned the food for now and trotted into the living room, where her father, an orange pegasus with brown mane sat in a chair, staring at the newspaper. He lowered it and glanced at his daughter when she came in, putting on a smile. "Hey, champ. How was school?"
"Hey, Daddy," she sat in front of his recliner at looked up at him. I don't know why I even bother... He isn't going to say yes. "It was fine. Do you have time to go play hoofball today?"
Scootaloo's father looked down at her in sympathy. "I know I promised, but..."
"Yeah, I know," she said with a frown on her face. She knew she was being unreasonable, but that didn't make her feel any better. "Manual labor is killer on your back. Whatever."
Scootaloo's father felt a jolt of pain in his heart as she started trotting away to her room, content to wallow in self pity over her emotional neglect. The worse part was she couldn't even blame her parents. They were trying their very best. "Scootaloo, wait!"
Scootaloo paused without turning around. "Yeah?"
He pointed to a package that sat in the corner. "Somepony sent mail for you."
Scootaloo furrowed her brow and turned, trotting over to the box he pointed out. Nopony's ever sent me mail before...
She opened the lid, and saw a large amount of burlap sacks inside. There must have been a dozen, each bigger than her head. Resting on top was a letter. She picked it up, opened it, and began reading.
Dear Scootaloo,
Forgive me if this is presumptuous, but after you told me about your financial problems, I may have done a little bit of digging. Being a princess gives you a lot of leeway with things like that. As you probably know, your parents took out a loan a while ago to buy the house you're living in at the moment. It's very difficult clawing your way out of debt, isn't it? I have no doubt that after a few years of scrimping and saving, your family would have come out on top again. But I also took the liberty to check with both of your parents places of employment and pulled their work history.
That's a lot of hours not being spent at home. I can't allow that.
Inside you will find the approximate sum of 5,000 bits. I don't spend it on much anyways. It was all just lying in the castle coffers. It'll be full in a few weeks again anyways, and I'm going to start looking into charity organizations soon so it doesn't get that way again. So I don't want to hear a single word about not being able to accept this from you or your parents.
Your friend,
Princess Twilight Sparkle.
By the time she had finished, the page was covered with tears, and the ink began to flow. "MOM, DAD!"
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8366313
That's good, griffons need brain food.
I really enjoyed this, and that bonus scene brought me to (Nonexistent) tears, keep it up please.
this chapter was amazing in every way shape and form
Dawww, that ended adorably. Yay SweetieDrake :p
Also Roy G. Biv needs to be a character in the show. Should have been Dashs dads name
This was an adorable chapter, I loved the terms you used to describe Dash in this. Probably one of the first times I have seen someone do that. Can't wait for more, keep up the great work!
Awww Twilight <3
Will you do a chapter on wet dreams? Those are part of puberty as well, right?
Spike will have to make amends with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
Wonder how Opal reacts of Sweetie and Spike going steady?
8366389
LOL. You're funny.
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8366575
Thanks!
8366632
I was worried they were over the top but glad you liked them!
8366726
Already in the itinerary. In fact, already half written. Thats set for 3 chapters after this one.
8367213
I've never written for a semi-sapient cat before... That'd be interesting.
8367611
There's a huge page break in the beginning of the chapter. It's separating the word 'burst'
Well, that was a sweet chapter for, Spike and Sweetiebelle. Nice job!
On another note, if the next chapter is going to be about, Diamond Tiara's, back story with dragons, then that is going to be interesting.
Looking forward to the sex talk. Just one thing about that that I would like to see, hope we see the whole talk, either in the present or as a flashback, would be nice. I mostly see, Spike with a blank stare at the dinner table with Twilight smiling and Starlight, looking between the two of them for a while before she starts making small talk and asking questions. It's just a funny scene that won't leave my mind now, sorry!
Again, good job! Later.
Excellent chapter, I enjoyed it!
Nah, I'll admit that the setup felt mildly rigged, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was forced.
Actually, it was the scene with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and the bullying that seemed sudden and forced, but really only because we had no previous setup for it. It's just suddenly there. Also unsure how it will be relevant for the rest of the story, so I also wonder if it was necessary, but then again, I don't know everything you have planned for future chapters, so take that with a grain of salt.
Oh dear god Twilight roped Discord into it.....This is going to be good.
Well enjoyable. I just wonder what bookhorse and the Lord of chaos have planned.
Buck it's done for now. Man, I was really getting into to. Great, the god of chaos is in on this....this is going to go so badly. I love how you wrote both Spike and Sweetie Belle though, very in character and it's great you're not treating them like kids, I really hate when people do that. My advice again is to go for Big sister/little brother for Spike and Twi since it's much more believable, but that's only my option, you do you. Personally I suggest Spike meeting more fillies and colts in the town and being friends with them, they are all real characters with names even if they have very little personality and even better, there are no OC's. But again that's just an option, personally don't like it when Spike only has a few friends, he's a dragon prince, he should be able to make friends. I'll be waiting for more, great job. Here if you need me, my friend.
It was hardly the dragon's fault! She was wearing so many gems he got confused and thought she was a food mobile! And he DID complement her good taste afterward! Manners are important!
The romance in this chapter was sooooooo cute. Good stuff
8516079
What do you mean WTF? Did we read the same chapter?
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8516079
Technically no. I removed the chapter due to a number of people criticizing it for both pacing issues and having nothing to do with previous chapters in the story. I'm going to tweak it a bit, but as it is, that chapter doesn't exist for now. If you'd like to read it, click this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kpQI3dmpkgELGT-JtibfCMUG8fe-Ugo9ooxyNfzvcpc/edit
I'll be posting it in the authors note with an explanation in the next chapter.
8516987
Ah, that makes sense. I never saw the new chapter, so I was commenting on chapter 6.
Update soon?
8807597
Been working on it slowly. I have a job now which is eating up a LOT of my time. I'll try to get it out within the next week. Sorry for the wait.
Update please?
Hey author? You ok.?
9632736
Check the main description for the story.
9634443
Ah, ok. I'm an oblivious derp. Thanks. :)