Spike Snuggles Everypony

by B_25

Applejack

~ Applejack ~

"Yeesh," Rainbow said as she leaned back in her seat, hind-hooves, of course, already up on the table. "Yeah, I gotta slide with Fluttershy on this one—you are acting a like a pansy."

Spike sighed and rolled his eyes, leaning back into his seat, and, just like his counterpart, with this feet up on the table. It no longer felt alien to him now, neither did the mare on the other side of the table, which was part of the reason why he rolled his eyes instead of breaking out of tears at the criticism.

"Great boost of confidence, Dash," he said, only slightly fazed he was talking back to the likes of someone like her. "Now I'm really sure I can win Twilight back." He blinked, realizing his words. He promptly shook his head. "No, that was wrong of me to say." He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "I just...I wanna become good enough like you girls are for Twilight."

"Spike," Rainbow droned, and when the drake opened his eyes, he caught an icy glare from her rosy eyes, "the whole point of last night about not needing to be good enough just to be somepony's friend. Just relax and talk to her."

Spike came forward, pulling down his legs and placing his claws on the table. "I will, and I promise that I've taken everything you said to heart, and I will talk to Twilight." The sincerity in his voice caused Rainbow to lose the glare, her lips even adopting a small smirk. "But I don't want this to end just yet. I've been afraid of you girls all this time, and now, because I've finally begun talking to you all, I'm learning so much, not just about myself but you as well."

He dipped it his head, finding it hard to make eye-contact as he spoke so truly of his feelings. "You girls are all so amazing, so unique and so cool, that I just want you all out in any way I can. But now, now that I have this confidence that we're all equal, then maybe, just maybe I can get the other to open up as well, and I'll become as awesome as the six of you."

Rainbow stared at him from across the table, head slightly tilted in thought, eyes scanning his face. Then she chuckled, a single shake of her shoulders, as she later rolled her eyes. "Ya ever wonder if you're overthinking the whole thing?"

"All the time."

They shared a chuckle.

"Well," Rainbow began, bouncing her head left and right, "since technically, you're tacking your fears head-on instead of letting them lock you away, I guess you get a pass in my books." She slid her hind-hooves off the table and let fall to the cloudy fall. "But tone the struggle back if ya can. You'll hit it off a lot better with ponies if you don't have some objective in mine—makes you sound a little creepy if I'm being honest."

"Once again, thanks for the confidence boost, Dash."

"Oh C'mon! Would you like it better I lied to you?"

Spike turned from the table, preparing to hop down from his seat. "Suppose not, but I guess dealing with the truth is something I gotta get better at."

Spike hopped down onto the floor; Rainbow Dash stood up from her seat. The two turned their heads to one another.

"Hey," Rainbow began, stepping towards the drake. "Since we're on the subject of truth and honesty and some other third thing, I know who you should visit next!"

"Applejack?"

Rainbow nodded her head. "Mmmhmm! She's been going on and on about the number of no-shows on the farm as of late. If you were to offer her a claw, then I'm sure she would show you the ropes—maybe even literally."

Spike raised an eyebrow in confusion; Rainbow only laughed.

"Do you think she would even accept my help a second time?" Spike asked. Her laughter ceased immediately. "Because I don't want to waste her time if I know the answer's already going to be no."

"The answer isn't 'already no,' Spike, and no amount of thinking will make it so." Rainbow fell to her rump before him, and even then, she still towered above him. "But if you keep this up and tell Applejack all the reasons why you shouldn't help out on the farm, then you shouldn't be surprised with the answer ya get."

She laid a hoof on his shoulder, looking deeply into his eyes. "Confidence is key. Instead of focusing on your past mistakes, show instead how much you've improved from them. I know that'll jive with Applejack."

"A-And what if she still says no?"

"Then she says no. Trust me; the word isn't scary as you think: watch." She inhaled deeply. "No no no no no no no no." She then hunched forward, dropping her muzzle next to his, gasping for a few breaths, before looking back into his eyes. "Now try this on for size: yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes."

Spike narrowed his eyes and pulled back his head.

"See?" Rainbow said, pulling her head back up. "They're just words, nothing to be afraid of! But not giving it your best and not trying at all?" She blew out her lips as her head inched back. "Now that's something to be afraid of."

Spike was still, thinking ever more, the mare's words echoing in the forefront of his mind. Then, he closed his eyes, chuckling and smiling as he did so, feeling like the world's biggest goof. "You're right, Rainbow Dash."

"Of course I am," she said, "because I'm Rainbow Dash."

That elicited another round of chuckles. It wasn't before long that finished off any remaining chores in the house, before heading to the front door. Rainbow opened it, looking back to her charge. "I've been fancying some apple-cider since last night, so I'll drop you off if that's alright."

"Really?" Spike said, quickly running up to her side. "You'd do that for me?"

"Who said I'm doing it for you?" she replied with a smirk. "I'm just thirsty for some cider, plus, I owe Twilight some after stealing her last batch. I'll tell her what's up with you when I drop it off."

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash!"

"I already told you, there's no need to thank me because I'm doing it for myself." She lowered herself on all fours, shaking her barrel. "Now hop on. We're wastin' sunlight!"

Spike didn't hesitate, smiling as he clambered onto her back, his fear of flying with her cured in a single instance. Once he was seated, Rainbow rose up, stepping out the door and closing it with a kick. Her wing unfurled, catching the first rays of sunlight, before she leaped forward, and begun to soar through the blue skies.

---

The sun buzzed overhead, its heat heating down on the ponies scattered across the green field, all of whom were already sweating due to their work of bucking the nearby trees. Applejack wiped her brow, her hindlegs bucking the tree behind her, as the all too familiar sound of apples falling into her cart filled the air.

Applejack panted. Then, the heat became more tolerable, and the light less harsh, causing her to look up to what had gone wrong. Happiness and pleasure were something to be suspected in the Apple family, and the earth-pony herself would first suspect that the moon was falling than a slow cloud passing her by.

Which is precisely why she was delighted to just what was hovering above her.

"Well, I'll be." Applejack reached up a hoof to take off he hat, holding it to her chest as her body was blanketed in the shadow of her descending guests. "This is certainly a combination I wasn't expecting to see today." Rainbow Dash landed before her, the drake on her back quick to clamber down. "What brings ya to Sweet Apple Acres?"

Rainbow kept silent and still, unsure of the course of the conversation she wanted to take. The seconds ticked by, the sun continued to beat down, and then she stopped thinking and trusted her mouth instead. "Just out for my morning flight, figured I'd try my luck at scoring some cider if ya have some lying around."

"And here I thought ya wanted to help out," Applejack said, rolling her eyes, but smiling all the same. She tossed her glance downward. "It's quite a sight to see ya without Twilight. Don't tell me Rainbow has got you up to mischief."

"Not at all!" Spike raised his claws up in defense, his brow beginning to sweat. "I just did her taxes and cleaned her house, honest!"

Applejack glared back to Rainbow. "Gosh darn it, Dash! You stole Twilight's assistant on his day off just to clean up your messes?"

"Whoa whoa whoa," she too held up her forehooves in defense, relying on her wings as she hovered back into the air, "I didn't force him to do anything: he offered to help. Besides, he helped Fluttershy the night before, and I bought him pizza, so it makes everything okay in the end."

"She's not lying!" Spike said, stepping out from pegasus shadow, and into the light, standing exactly before the orange earth mare. "You girls have done a lot for Twilight and me, and, well, I wanna pay you all back somehow." He gulped, then stared up, directly into bright green eyes. "Which is why I wanna help out on the farm, at least, just for today."

Applejack looked down at him, face stoic as always, never yielding the mare's thoughts and expression.

Spike became worried, as he was prone to do, about what the other pony thought about him. That she was pulling up all the reasons, all the dastardly memories of his failures, and then finding the most careful words to put him down. Had this been yesterday, Spike imagined, he would have just kept silent, nodding in agreement to the fact of his ineptitude.

But this was today, and Spike had learned from yesterday.

"The last time I helped out on the farm, I know I was a bit much," Spike said, braving the gazes of the two mares as he once again exposed himself. "But this time around, I promise to take everything slow. If you show me how the job is done, I swear I can learn to get the job done well." He clasped his claws together, fluttering his eyes. "So please let me work for you?"

Applejack's head recoiled back, eyes blinking a few time as she looked down at him, mouth open but only strange sounds coming out. The drake wasn't sure if this was a rejection or just pure confusion on her part, but, after a few seconds later, the answer became clear, once she had laid a hoof on his head and gave it a soft rub.

"Well, I'll be, a boy that fancies work over comic books!" Applejack pulled him into a quick embrace, one he immediately recuperated. "Of course ya can help out, assumin', of course, Twilight's alright with it."

A thought struck Spike, one that caused him to shiver despite the wall of fur, something that made him look down in shame. It'd been two days since he'd seen Twilight, their longest time apart since Canterlot, and by offering to help her friends, he couldn't help but feel like he'd betrayed her in some sort of way.

"Of course Twi's cool with it!" Rainbow said, earning the duo's gaze as they slowly broke away. "She let him help me and Fluttershy after-all." She brought herself up to Applejack's side, lips hovering just before her ear. "I was even thinkin' of seeing her today, but only if I had some cider to share. The little guy is itchin' to stay the night in order to help you out, and I know I could get Twi to agree easily."

Applejack's eyebrow never lowered during the bribe, inching ever higher with every introduction of a clause, coming to sigh once the deal was over. Her eyes wandered west, to where the drake stood, eyes shimmering and clews trembling, it looked like he wanted to stay.

"You'll find Mac in the house," Applejack said, turning back to Dash as she spoke. "He'll let ya have what's left in the last keg."

"Awesome!" Rainbow propelled her hoof through the air. "That's everything I came here for." She then turned to the smaller drake, giving him the biggest smile she could manage, it even catching some sunlight. "Guess this is where you and I part ways."

Spike opened his mouth to speak, to talk of how much fun he had last night, how his new-found confidence was because of her, or how much he was going to genuinely miss her once she was gone. Try as he might, no words could express all that he felt towards this mare—towards this friend.

Which is why relief washed over him when a cyan hoof lifted up his jaw, closing his mouth. Before he could be granted a moment of confusion, a wind of the same color wrapped around his body, concealing himself and it's owner's muzzle and granting them privacy.

"Remember," Rainbow said, her face just before his, "above all, be confident. Be confident that you can do the job, and have the confidence to confide in her without any shame. You can do this, Spike, I believe in you." Her forehooves reach around his waist, pulling him against her, as she rested her muzzle on his shoulder. "And next time? Don't sweat needing to help me just to come over; my couch is always available for your butt."

Spike blinked, feeling his eyes beginning to burn with tears, all of which he wiped away upon rubbing his face against her chest. She giggled at how much his muzzle tickled—the wonderful sensation causing her to hold him closer to her chest.

"Thank you," he said.

"Don't mention it," she said, squeezing the embrace for all it was worth, before reluctantly pulling away. "You know how to keep quiet during a motive, and you enjoy vintage comedy, so our lazy butts were made for each other."

Spike smiled.

"Anyway, it's time I got a move on," she said, beginning to pull up, "and for you to get to work. Oh, and if you tell anyone about that hug of ours: you're dead."

Spike smiled even more, nodding his head as sunlight filled all around him once again, the cyan wing retreating to its host.

Rainbow Dash walked past the drake, flashing him one last smirk for good luck, her trajectory set for that of the distant house. Before she could trek away, an orange hoof barred her path, causing her to look to its owner.

"What is it yer plotting?"

"Surprisingly, it's not me this time around," Rainbow replied with a smile, pushing down the orange hoof. But, instead of trekking forward, she instead brought her muzzle to Applejack's ear and whispered, "but take it easy on the sport. He only wants to do good."

And with that, Rainbow was on her way, another mare, another friend that Spike had made, leaving him once more. He knew it wasn't fair to get upset, that he'd been left for the likes of Applejack, and anything could happen between of them. But he almost felt that Rainbow would forget him, of their new-found relationship, and things would go on as they did before.

But all those fears were quelled the moment Rainbow raised a hoof, waving back to the drake while she focused head, showing just indeed, she would never forget. Spike smiled, wanting to cry all over again, but that wasn't in the cards at the moment. He turned around, looking up to Applejack with a confident grin and open claws.

"So, where do we start?"

---

During his flight, whenever he wasn't being assaulted by whipping winds and the sharp turns of his host, Spike was thinking just what kind of job awaited him on the farm. Would he be alongside the other workers as they bucked the trees? Perhaps pushing a wagon full of apples or plowing the lands for seeds?

What he wasn't expecting, however, was to be given a clipboard and thrown into a dim room, filled with nothing but crates and barrels and bags and other such things.

"I don't get it," Spike said, turning to the door. Applejack half-way through leaving it when her ears flicked up, and she looked back at him. "I thought you said I could help."

"And ya are helping us, Spike," Applejack replied, turning fully around to face him. "Our numbers have been outta whack since Granny Smith last threw out her back!"

"And...and that's important?"

"Is that important?" Applejack tasted the words in her mouth, promptly spitting them out moments later. "Why, part the reason why I gave you job is because of how well you are with numbers for Twilight! We've been orderin' seeds despite having plenty and not ordering tools because the number tell us otherwise."

Spike let his claws droop as he looked away. "I guess I get it." He looked back to her, his tone unsure. "But isn't there, I don't know, something more important I can do to help you?"

"I'm not sure I read ya there, Spike," Applejack said, her tone taking concern as her rump hit the floor. "Just what do ya mean by that?"

"I don't know," he said, feeling as though he had made a fool out of himself. The previous two times, Spike was able to make some sort of connection with Twilight's friends, but here, he felt as though he had hit a brick wall. "I just thought I'd be out there on the fields, with all the others, working hard to help the farm."

"Right,' she said, "and those who can't do physical labor, like Appleboom or Granny Smith, they aren't helping the farm when they do inventory for us?"

"I...I didn't mean it like that!" Spike said, his breathes becoming quicker as the room began to grow blurry. "It's just that...I..."

"Listen, Spike, and listen close," Applejack said, her expression set in stone. "Just because one job is harder, just because on job looks cooler, it doesn't mean that the other jobs suddenly become less important." She stood up, walking to the wall situated with many shelves, where she then pointed to the bags lineing them. "If we miscount these and order too few, we'll run out of seeds in less than a week." She turned to him. "Do you know what that means?"

"Um...that something bad with happen?"

"We'll catch the error by the time it's too late," she said, stepping forward. "It'll take a few days for us to request more, and in those few days, we won't have anything to grow crops with. Our schedule goes back, workers don't get paid, and ya can very well guarantee they'll be a shortage of food throughout the town."

"I'm...I'm sorry, Applejack," he said, trying desperately to keep his voice from cracking. "I never considered that before."

"It's very easy to overlook the small things, Spike," Applejack said, her features softening. "But they always matter, it just ponies only realize they do when it's too late. A job, no matter how small or how big, helps you, everyone around you, as well as the farm itself. Never neglect the small things, Spike."

He nodded his head, not trusting himself to speak, hoping the act itself would prove to her that she understood.

"Good." Applejack turned back around, intent on the door. "Now, I've got to tend to my own chores and check up on the other workers. Since you're offering to help, ya can work at your own pace—I'll be back soon enough to check on ya."

Spike nodded again, doing his best to smile, but he imagined she'd seen it falter. She didn't make any mention of it as she left the room, leaving him the space and the time to compose himself after the embarrassing situation. Things had turned out the absolute worst for Spike, leaving him so pent-up inside. He felt as though all that had happened before was meaningless—that he was just going to make the same mistakes and had lied to and wasted the time of Applejack.

Should he just give up? Tell her it was a waste and go home? What would have been the point of it all, then? Spike sighed, the negativity welling inside him, feeling his body bloat with the unpleasant feeling. He just wanted to shut down, but that wouldn't be possible here—he couldn't just back away after offering his claw.

That triggered it. Spike looked to his claw, to the clipboard he was holding, a list running down through the papers attached. It had the icon of the item, the brand, and the purpose, where it was supposed to be stored, and it's quantities.

A shiver ran through the claw holding the clipboard, it shaking with the weight it carried behind it. Mess this up, Spike thought, and the farm shuts down, and there's a shortage of food. Such a simple task possessed severe consequences, ones he wasn't sure he could bear the shame of. The task simple task became impossible—a more responsible pony should have been given the reigns over this.

Before he could drop a clipboard, another voice spoke inside of Spike, one recently ignited and just as true. Haven't you've done this before, the voice asked, hasn't this been what you've been doing all your life?

Spike looked to the clipboard, and what he saw caused his arm to stop shaking. Instead of seeing bags and seeds, of tools and tin buckets, he saw books and shelves, of filled-cabinets instead and stressed out lavender mares. It then clicked, Applejack's comment on why she had given him the job.

"You've done this before," the voice of Rainbow Dash said, "and you'll do it again."

The room surrounded the drake. On a farm far away from home, tasks different yet the same, with something inside himself to prove, but only if he trusted himself enough to carry out the job. He knew the neglecting the small things could leave to devastating consequences, yet he had the confidence to carry out the task anyway.

It wasn't easy for him at first. The bags for the seeds all looked akin, except for different shading and the icon the middle of the bag. He ended up second-guessing what he had recorded to a point, worried he'd mistaken a bag for something else, and would go back and examine each bag more thoroughly. He hated himself when he did it, it cost time and progress, but it was worth the price of doing the job right the first time.

It took a little while, but the drake began to get into the groove of things, and when he did, the most peculiar thing happened to him. He'd still been pent-up with his last encounter with Applejack, unsure how to deal with those emotions, but he felt them begin to fade the further he got into his work.

The work started to go by faster. He was still careful to ascertain an item's true identity and resolve any lingering discrepancies, but he'd gotten better at recognizing the different items that he didn't need to expend as much effort as before. In fact, he was making fewer mistakes, and attaining more progress and at a speed far quicker than before.

Before knew it, Spike had finished the first stock room, smiling in glee, his tongue struck out, as he signed his name below the papers. He fell to his rump, enjoying the bliss of doing absolutely nothing after doing a hard task, and simply enjoyed being free from the throes of work.

At least, free until the door opened back up.

"Well I'll be, you're taking a break already," Applejack said, causing the drake to look over his shoulder at her. She closed the door behind herself. "How far did ya get in before givin' up?"

Spike grinned. Never before in his life had he been so happy to tell somepony they were wrong. "I didn't give up at all," he said. "I finished the whole room!"

"Ya gotta be pulling my leg," she came next to the drake, picking up the clipboard from the floor. She flipped through the pages, her smile growing wider with every signature she saw. "You really weren't foolin'! Ya really got all that work done in such a short time." She then narrowed her eyes and lowered the clipboard. "Ya didn't make any mistakes on this, did you?"

"Only one way to find out" he replied, grin still on his lips. "Quiz me."

Applejack continued to stare at him, searching for any cracks in his expression, finding none. She slowly walked to the wall again, never breaking to the eye-contact, as she pointed to a bag.

"Apple seeds."

She pointed to another.

"Corn."

She went to another, but instead of pointing, she held her hoof over the icon.

"Sunflower seeds."

"How do ya know?"

"Because it's a lighter shade of yellow," Spike said, rising to his feet and waddling to the other side of the wall. He began pointing at all the tools. "Shovel and stake, harness and plough—I've memorized it all."

Finally, after trying to fight it off all this time, Applejack began to grin as well. She walked across the room, chuckling lightly as she did so, coming to lay her hoof on the dragon's shoulder. "You did good, Spike, ya did good."

Spike's grin turned to a smile of pride, delighting in her contact. "Wait till I get started on the next room."

"I don't think that'll be necessary, Spike." Applejack stood back up and turned around, nodding her head towards the door. "Come with me; it's about time we worked together."

Spike was confused by the request, but followed it anyway.

---

Applejack bucked a tree. She had done this many times in her life, doubtless that she would do it many more, but this was the first time she could say she had a dragon helping her with the task. Dragon's were known to be pesky creatures—burning crops and workers—but this creature was anything but.

"So all I have to do is carry the buckets to the wagon, dump em, then bring them back?" Spike asked, standing to the right of the tree.

Applejack bucked the aforementioned tree. Apples fell from their branches, knocking on the wood of the bucket as they collected inside of it. "Ya got it." She panted from the exertion. "But if the weight is too much, ya call me, and I'll help ya out."

Spike nodded before carrying out the task, squatting before the bucket and wrapping his claws around it, lifting with his knees as he carried the bucket back to the wagon. He struggled, his breaths strained, yet he followed through on the task.

"So this is what Granny Smith had to put up with," Applejack said at her breath, chuckling at the irony of her situation.

"You say something, Applejack?!" Spike shouted over the sounds of apples pouring into the wagon, turning around the moment the bucket was empty and dashing to the mare. She chuckled at hard he was trying to impress her.

"Just talkin' to myself.'

"Oh, okay." He set the buckets back next to the tree, but instead of backing away, he looked to her. "Say, how come you're letting me help out in the fields now instead of before?"

"Well, there's several reasons for that," Applejack said, coming closer to the tree. "First one is that I wanted ya to get comfortable with the job. Give ya somethin' you're used to so you don't feel the need to try."

"Feel the need to try?" Spike repeated, moving out of her way.

"You put too much thought into trying, somethin' I'd rather you not have picked up from Twilight." Applejack turned around, readying her hind legs. "Ya overthink what ya gotta do so much, that you put too much weight behind it, and ya just end up getting overly nervous and screwing the whole thing up."

Spike opened his mouth for a response, only to find her words absolutely right.

"So give ya an easier task and build up from there," she said, cracking her neck and her back. "I also get the benefit of having you familiar with the trades of the farm. Not much help if ya can't tell the different types of bags and tools."

"I guess that's true," Spike said, looking up at her in slight surprise, "is that all?"

"And there's one last reason." She bucked the tree. Apples fell. The knocking and tilting of wood never grow old to her. "It was to humble ya."

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm." Applejack eyes him expectantly, and it took him a few moment to catch on, going to the bucket and working while they talked: a cardinal rule when it came to the farm. "Don't take it personally—I would have had a few choice words if I was shoved into inventory. But Celestia knows we all need to be taken down a peg at times, Dash and Twilight included."

It was weird for Spike to hear that. That these mare, which he regarded so highly, were just like him in needing to learn this lesson. It made them feel more approachable, more like him in a few days, that they no longer felt out of his reach—that everypony was capable of getting a little too cocky and that no one was perfect as he so imagined.

"But how do you know they're not just being confident?" Spike finally asked her, and she accompanied him on his way to the wagon.

"There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance, Spike," Applejack said, "the former is having faith in your abilities, and the latter is thinking your better than what you are and everypony else."

Spike thought about that as the apples poured from the bucket, a feeling he was starting to get used to, for, as soon as the bucket finished, he was already back on his way to the tree. He placed the bucket on the grass before looking at Applejack. "How do you mean?"

"Take this tree for example," Applejack said, moving away from it, and singling for a hoof for the drake to stand before it. He hesitated but complied. "Now, when ya first came here, ya thought you were going to be bucking trees and plowing fields, right?"

"Sorta."

"Now, I want ya to buck the tree—go on and give it your best shot."

Spike stared at her, waiting for her to laugh and say it was a joke, but she only nodded towards the tree. He shrugged his shoulders and complied with the request, snapping his foot into the bark, and promptly hopping away in pain.

"Ya alright?"

"Yeah," Spike said, hopping around some more, before finally putting his foot back down. "Didn't expect it to hurt so much." He turned around, seeing only a single apple in the bucket. "And I thought there would be more apples."

"Ya didn't consider just how much work goes into being on the farm," Applejack said, resting a hoof on the drake's shoulder, "and even though ya didn't mean to, that's a bit of arrogant thinking."

Spike looked downward. "So I guess Rainbow was wrong about being confident then."

The hoof lifted up his chin so that he was staring into green eyes. "Rainbow Dash may have her heads in the clouds from time to time, but whatever she told ya about confidence, she's probably right. Because look at me."

Spike did so. From the sweat on her brow to the muscles in her legs, he tried to take her all in for whatever he was supposed to find on her.

"Do ya think I could always buck tree this well?"

"Uh..."

"Lil' Applejack bucking a tree like all the other workers on the farm?"

"I guess not."

"So should she have given up then?"

"No," Spike said, looking back into her eyes as he began to catch on. "Because you're able to do it now. If you had given up, then you wouldn't be able to do it now."

"Exactly," Applejack said, removing her hoof and standing up. "Confidence is just the belief that everything will be okay for you in the end. Just because ya can't buck a tree now doesn't mean you never will. Ya gotta build your way up, and have the confidence to do so."

Spike thought about it for a moment, then it clicked, causing him to stand straighter. "I'm thinking I'm starting to get it now. Just because I've done something wrong doesn't mean I'll always be bad at it, but I need to have confidence in myself in order to learn from it and improve?"

"Now you're thinking straight."

Spike felt as if he was learning all natural things, stuff he'd know most of his life, but never have the courage to given voice to. But now, he had these mares, these mares that scared him so much giving him voices to aspire to. He knew how Twilight could take the criticism from her teachers, and how he had been neglecting to be able to do the same with her.

"Since we've got that out of the way," Applejack said, looking up to the remaining apples on the tree, "say we finish this lot and go in for supper?"

Spike nodded his head. "I'm game."

---

The rest of the day went much better than how it began, but it was precisely because of how the day began that it got better for Spike. He still hadn't hit that connection with Applejack, but slowly, he stopped caring about such things—the work at claw was taking precedence over that.

Not only that, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Working itself was nice, that he was actually doing something and helping others, instead of just lazing about in his room and feeling guilty about doing so. Plus, Applejack was the greatest co-worker he could have asked for—striking up a conversation about her past or just her views on life.

Before he had known it, the sun was setting, and the work was done and became more surprised when he was paid for his efforts. Applejack praised him for how much work he had gotten done, and saw genuine potential in the drake if he ever wanted to come by again.

But, for now, they were inside the main house eating supper. The Apple family didn't mind having a dragon at the table—in fact, they took delight in it. He chowed down like never before, replenishing a stomach he had burned while at work, and the family would laugh whenever he joined in on cracking jokes.

Spike had never felt so warm, so welcomed before than with the family. They all ate at the table, telling stories of their day and the days before, the subjects turning and gags beginning to run, until the kitchen just became a laugh fest. And, as Spike dug into his second servings, he wondered if this was what family was supposed to be like.

'You're my first friend," Twilight said, pulling him from the present moment, 'and my best one at that.'

Spike blinked, sitting back in his seat keeping silent throughout the meal. He couldn't help now but watch the family differently, of their jointed laughter and of exposing their every little secret, something that Twilight and he used to do all the time. He and Twilight had a family, of course, but they were never like this, and no one had gotten closer to him than Twilight herself.

Spike tried to picture the lavender mare in his head, only for the picture to be blurry. He had seen her almost every day of his life, and yet, after only a few days away, he couldn't be entirely sure of her every detail. That, combined with how they used to be close as this family was, sent Spike into a deep sadness.

It wasn't before long that supper was finished, that the dishes were silently washed, and everypony and every-dragon went to their rooms for bed.

"Hey Spike," Applejack said, stopping him in the upper floor's hallway. He stopped before the guest room, turning around to face her. "During dinner you got quiet, and I don't think I've heard you speak since then. Is everything alright?"

It wasn't, but he wasn't about to waste her time with such trivial thoughts. "Yeah, everything's cool."

"Spike," she began again, her voice almost pleading, "you know you can trust me with anything, right? I'll listen to whatever's on your mind and keep my lips shut if that makes ya feel better."

"I know, I know." He looked away from her, grabbing at the handle to his room. "It's nothing big; I'll get over it on my own."

He pulled open the door. Just a few steps and he would be taken by darkness, where he can indulge in his thoughts and be left in estranged peace. But before he could make the step, he heard her voice speak once more.

"Have ya ever wondered why ya never seen me cry?" Applejack said, earning the drake's attention immediately. "It's because I can't. Have ya ever wondered why I'm not as emotional as the other girls?"

Spike thought about it for a seconding, coming to close his door, and stepping away from it. "Why?"

"Because I have a farm to run," she said,"with Granny Smith to take care of and Applebloom to look over. The moment I falter, it all begins to fall to paces—it's the reason why I don't think too much."

Spike began to walk towards her, surprised to see, that for once during this whole crazy ordeal, he wasn't the one exposing himself to another pony—it was the other way around. But why would Applejack go through all this for him?

"I can't afford to lose my head over conflicts that can be avoided, or to worry about somethin' that's outta my control." Applejack kept standing in the dark, her eyes casting a glow of their own. "I've gotta lock everything in, my feelings and my thoughts, or I wouldn't be able to rise for work in the morning."

Spike was only a few steps from her now, coming slowly out of the dark and into her presence.

"I've gotten good at lockin' away the small things, Spike, but remember what I told you?" she asked. "That stuff builds up; it boils inside you, and, no matter how strong will ya think ya are, it's going to come bursting outta of you in a breakdown."

Now, Spike was standing before her, looking up into her eyes.

"The only reason why I haven't broken down is because I've found an outlet through all those things," she said, smiling softly down at him, "from talking to Big Mac to the work itself, I never let those small things fester. So trust me in that, whatever has got ya down, isn't going to go away so easily, and that I'm here to help you no matter how silly it sounds, because you and I are good friends."

Spike continued to stand there, not smiling back at the mare as her words rang inside his head. He thought about them, he felt them, and then, once it could no longer be held back, he wrapped his arms around her neck and began to cry his eyes out.

"I miss Twilight!"

Applejack was startled by the sudden change in events, but was quick to support the dragon's weight with a fore-hoof, quickly leaving the hall and entering her bedroom to avoid waking up anyone else. She didn't have table or anything to sit on for that matter, so she merely came before the bed.

"Do ya mind if we share this tonight?"

She repressed chuckling as she felt his face wipe across her chest, and just like that, she clambered onto the bed and brought the sheets over them. She was careful to keep it that his head was still above the blanket, her fore-hoof still holding his close to her orange fur.

"So what exactly has ya missing Twilight?"

Spike pulled his head back, his eyes climbing her warm chest to find their owner's eyes and lock with them. "I haven't seen her in a few days, since the picnic in fact."

"Oh? I see."

"But, even before that, I've been missing her more and more," he said, sniffling as he spoke, "missing the way we used to be. Before Twilight had friends, it was just her and I back in Canterlot, and we used to be like your family downstairs."

"Is that so?" Applejack said, feeling his body shift against her coat. "Knowing what Twilight was like before, I guess she had you as her only friend. You two must go pretty deep."

"We used to," he replied, moving his claws to try and wrap it around her barrel, "but ever since Ponyville, I can't help b-but feel we're moving further away. At first, I thought you girls would come in and take her away from me, but Fluttershy showed me how foolish it was to think that."

"And she was darn right about that," Applejack said, raising her hoof to wipe the tears from the corners' of his eyes. "Twilight has a connection with ya that none of us can interfere with, but I get the feeling nonetheless."

"I-I was just worried that you girls could give her more than I ever could, and she would no longer need me." Even now, he knew how foolish that sound, but it still wounded him all the same. "It's the reason why I started helping you girls, so I could become your friends as well, and maybe learn something that will make me as good as you all."

"Spike," Applejack almost whined, hugging the baby dragon close, "you don't have to be like anybody else for Twilight to love ya."

"I know," Spike replied, his voice rumbling against her coat, "but there's so much more I want to be able to do for her, and I thought, that no matter how hard I tried, that I'll never become good enough." He snuggled closer to the warmth, finding every rise and fall of the mare's chest calming, trying to match his own breathing to hers. "But because of today, I have the confidence that I'll become good enough, that I just have keep doing instead of trying."

"And being, Spike," she added. "The moment ya try the moment ya set yourself up for failure. You shouldn't try becoming someone else, rather just be yourself. We all like you for you, and no other would do."

Spike felt his eyes begin to close. "You think?"

"Yes, Spike," Applejack said, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. "You can't compare yourself to us, you can't compare yourself to anypony else—we all go about our own things our own way. It's just like how I'm not better than Dash and Dash isn't better than being, and anyone who says differently is just talking from preferences."

"...hey, Applejack?"

"Yeah, Spike?"

"You know a lot."

"Only I don't let it get to my head." She smiled, watching the creature slowly drift to sleep. "But Spike, if ya wanna get close to Twilight again, going through all this isn't gonna solve the problem. Ya still need to talk to Twilight, and reestablish that spark you two once had."

It was too late. Spike had already fallen asleep.

"Oh, well," Applejack said to herself, watching the slumbering creature, lighting stroking his scales. "That's another lesson I can teach ya in the morning."

Applejack didn't know how long she stayed up for, stroking this dragon that was now in her bed. It was weird to think, that just a few days ago, he was just tag-along dragon whose identity was interconnected with Twilight. But now, she felt as if she finally met the dragon on his two own legs, and she couldn't have been more proud to see how far he was coming.

"...I love you...Twilight..."

Applejack smiled, and bringing her lips to his ear, whispered.

"And she loves you too."

Comments

[B_25]

Blargh. Wrote this sleep-deprived, so sorry for the dip of quality.

This story has derailed a bit from its roots. Not too proud of this chapter but at least its done. The next chapter is Pinkie, and I'm hoping for mostly snuggles. This story should be wrapped up by Sunday.

Bedtime, nighty!

[LunaFan183]

static.fjcdn.com/gifs/Manly_ec0dbd_2233872.gif
best ever story!!!!!!!

[gchamp89]

8597508
Dude, this story is great.
I can relate to Spike about a lot of things here.

[B_25]

8598217
Thank you for the kind words.

[DarkDMan]

So loving this!