The waltz

The waltz of the belle and the drake.

Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's wedding sure was special for many reasons, everypony who heard of the wedding were thrilled to see not only a princess getting married, but also a captain of the royal guard; on the other hand, absolutely nopony was expecting said princess to be replaced by a changeling, the QUEEN of the changelings, no less. Luckily, Shining Armor, the captain of the royal guard was able to blast the changelings away with Princess Cadence by his side, and the wedding had gone according to plan afterwards.

However, this wedding was about to be special to a certain dragon and a white coated filly for another reason; the unicorn filly named Sweetie Belle was pacing much like Twilight Sparkle would right before entering the hall with her friends and the bride herself, while Ponyville's resident dragon Spike sighed with a sad tone on his voice on the altar. There were just a couple of minutes before the ceremony began and both were too lost on their thoughts to focus on the ceremony or anything else.

The other crusaders noticed Sweetie Belle's pacing, and after some moments of awkwardness, the pegasus filly finally decided to break the silence.

"Alright, Sweetie Belle, this is ridiculous."

"What do you mean? We're fine, I'm fine, everything's fine!" Said Sweetie Belle glancing at her friend with a nervous grin on her face.

"I agree with Scoots, yer jus' overthinking stuff." Said the Earth pony named Apple Bloom.

"Who, me? Noooo, you're the ones who look nervous, why would I be nervous? You girls should calm down, there's no reason to freak out!" Said Sweetie Belle as a drop of sweat slid across her cheek.

"Listen, Sweetie Belle, we know you're nervous about asking him out, but you're making a big deal out of this! Just suck it up and do it! If he accepts hooray, if he says no, it's his loss!" Said Scootaloo almost out of patience.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were the one asking somepony out! But I'm not just asking somePONY, I'm asking someDRAGON out!" Said Sweetie Belle as she finally lost her composure and laid on the floor like her older sister would next to a fainting couch. Luckily, the foor was spotless, so Sweetie didn't need to worry about her dress getting dirty.

"We get it, yer asking Spike out after this, what's the big deal?" Asked Apple Bloom with her eyebrow raised. Sweetie Belle got back on her hooves and decided to elaborate further.

"My sister is the problem! He fell in love with her! He is always around the Boutique just to help her! I'm sure I'm not enough for his standards anymore! Why would he go for me when he has the most beautiful mare in Ponyville and maybe all of Equestria next to me?"

"Calm down, Sweetie Belle, I don't think Spike is one of THOSE kind of guys. I'm sure he'll accept you just how you are, besides, didn't you say he's been appearing less and less at the Boutique? And surely your sister already knows how you feel about him." Said Scootaloo, regaining her patience.

"Well... Maybe so... But I'm still not sure..."

"How so? Does yer sister know or not?"

"That's just it, she has so many stallions fawning over her she probably can't tell who is being generous and who is trying to win her over... I can't tell if she is using him or if she really doesn't know. As for me, I did tell her one time." Said Sweetie Belle, rubbing her forehooves together. "She seemed surprised at first, but then she gave me this talk about how she wouldn't go on a date with him because he is a kid and a dragon, and that if I would ever confess to him she wouldn't get on my way..."

"Well there ya go! That should settle it!" Said Apple Bloom happily.

"I still don't trust her."

Apple Bloom facehoofed. "Why in Equestria would yer sister lie to you?!"

"I don't know, okay?! I guess I'm just more nervous than I thought. If I don't ask him out I can just ask him out later, right? Maybe I should just wait for my chance when it comes."

"Well, whatever you choose, we'll be there for you. Just calm down for now, y'hear me?" Said Apple Bloom, offering her friend her hoof.

Sweetie Belle hugged Apple Bloom instead. "Thanks, girls."

"Look, I agree with Apple Bloom and all, but I also think you should continue talking about this thing later, we'd better be ready!" Said Scootaloo from behind, pointing at the doors behind her. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded and grabbed the basket of flowers with their mouths, waiting for their signal to enter the hall.

Spike was not having a good time, even though he was gifted with the honor of being the best colt (or drake in his case), he had a sad expression on his face which didn't go unnoticed by his friends. Twilight decided that maybe she should be the one to speak to him since she was the one closest to him both in friendship and in distance.

"Spike... Do you want to tell me what's wrong before the ceremony starts?" Asked Twilight, lowering her voice.

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about it, Twilight, I'm fine..." Said Spike, still with a sad expression.

"The only other time you looked like this is when..."

"... When you told me I wouldn't end up with Rarity?" Spike finished Twilight's sentence. "Yeah, I remember. I'm kinda sad because I'm a dragon, that's all."

"Why would you feel sad about that? You should be proud of who you are, Spike." Said Twilight with a warm smile.

"Yeah, it's awesome that I can breathe fire, I can swim in lava and have sharp claws and fingers, but I'm so ugly that I doubt I'll find somepony special at all." Said Spike, tearing up.

"Why? You're kind, loyal, honest, why would you say something like that?" Asked Twilight, genuinely surprised at the fact that Spike thought so poorly about himself.

"I'm still a dragon. I'm pretty sure Rarity just thought of me as some errand boy."

"And there's nopony else who you're interested in?"

Spike thought about Rarity's little sister, but even though Sweetie Belle was more open minded, younger and funnier than Rarity, he was still a dragon and maybe she didn't like dragons. Maybe one day he'd gather the courage to ask Sweetie out, but not tonight.

"W-well, there is somepony, but that doesn't matter. Let's just get this over with so I can start planning the bachelor party with Pinkie." Said Spike, turning away to get the rings ready.

"Spike, I just want you to know that nopony thinks that you're ugly. You're a very kind little dragon, and I'm sure whoever you choose will not turn you down, and they'll be very lucky to have you in their lives like we are." Said Twilight, making Spike let out a small but genuine smile as he turned around with the rings.

Finally, it was time for the ceremony to begin. Everypony felt safer now that the threat was erradicated, and the real princess Cadance was back. The doors opened to reveal the CMC hopping towards the altar with the basket of flowers on their mouths. Everypony's attention turned towards Cadance when she came into view, but Spike and Sweetie Belle were focused on each other.

Sweetie Belle looked at Spike and the way he looked in that tuxedo; he looked really handsome, the way his green eyes sparkled through the dark aspect of his suit made her feel butterflies in her stomach. 'Wow, he looks incredible.' She thought as she continued to hop with her friends.

Spike just took one glance at Sweetie and he almost dropped the rings due to him losing his focus. The way her dress complimented her coat and mane, the flowers on her mane and her emerald green eyes; everything about her was perfect. To Spike, Sweetie Belle glistened like an angel. 'Woah, she is beautiful.' He thought as the CMC and Cadance came closer to the altar.

After what seemed like an eternity to both of them, the CMC finally made it to the altar. Sweetie and Spike wanted to get closer to each other, but each of them decided that maybe it could wait until the ceremony was over to not disturb the happy couple. The rest of the ceremony went smoothly, Shining Armor and Cadence made their vows and said the very words they wanted to hear the most after the changeling battle.

'I do.'

Everypony cheered after they kissed.

The party was going great, right after Princess Luna arrived, Pinkie Pie made sure that the party was absolutely exciting. With some help from DJ PON-3, everypony danced the night away. There were only two lonely souls on this party who refused to dance due to the lack of a partner, Spike and Sweetie Belle.

Spike was getting some punch by himself, while Sweetie Belle was beside the dance floor by herself. Her crusader friends decided to dance with each other, but Sweetie had rejected their offers to dance with them. Both of them were glancing at the other every so often, wondering if they should make the first move or if they should wait until the wedding was truly over and they were back in Ponyville.

Spike's mind wandered back at the altar, and Twilight's words of encouragement resonated at the back of his mind. Maybe Twilight was right, maybe he just needed to try... But then again, how should he do it? Giving her a gift back in Ponyville would be nice, but maybe he needed to do something better. Asking her out until Shing Armor and Cadence parted would be sweet, but that would be too sudden, and it still wouldn't be good enough.

Then, as if were on cue, Vinyl Scratch and Pinkie Pie stepped down and stopped the music to take a little break, and Octavia Melody, the well known cello player stepped up to play a softer piece. The lights on the dance floor stopped glowing in various colors and the spotlight was on more refined ponies, who took the lead to step on the dance floor and dance to the slow rhytm to the waltz that started to play.

Spike's mental dilemma was now more intense. Should he take the opportunity to take her to the dance floor or should he wait instead? Maybe he should wait until the wedding was all over and keep being her friend until the right opportunity presented itself...

But then again, if he waited more maybe Sweetie could find somepony else to date. The thought of Sweetie Belle dating somepony else sent a shiver down his spine. This was the last chance he had, and he knew it.

'You know what? Screw it!'

After saying this to himself, Spike emptied his punch and calmed down, then, he started walking towards Sweetie Belle, who inmediately noticed it.

'W-what the...? Is he walking over to me?... No... Maybe there's somepony behind me who he wants to ask to dance. Yeah, that must be it.' Sweetie thought as she looked down sadly. But then, she noticed someone stepping right in front of her. There, she saw Spike standing right in front of her with a smile on his face.

"Hi, Sweetie Belle." Said Spike in a friendly manner, which was enough to make Sweetie's heart skip a beat.

"Umm... Hi, Spike." Said Sweetie Belle, trying her best to look him in the eye.

"Umm... Shall I have this dance with you?" Asked Spike. Sweetie Belle froze, she couldn't believe her ears, Spike had just asked her to dance with him? She thought it was a prank at first, but before jumping to conclusions, she took another good look at him; he was still smiling and he had offered her his claw, this was proof enough to her that this was genuine.

"Y-yes." Said Sweetie calmly, even though she was screaming internally.

She took Spike's claw delicately, and he guided her to the dance floor, oblivious to the attention they got from some other guests, who found a dragon dancing with a filly simply bizarre. However, they didn't just get the attention from those guests, they also got the attention of two certain fillies and two mares in particular.

"Scoots, look! Sweetie Belle actually did it!" Exclaimed Apple Bloom.

"I know! I'm looking at them!" Replied Scootaloo with excitement.

"Oooh, so it was Sweetie Belle! I'm glad Spike found somepony so sweet!" Said Twilight, proud of her little assistant for overcoming his insecurities.

Rarity smiled at the sight before her, ever since the little dragon appeared in her life, she knew he had a crush on her, because the dragon was not good at hiding it. However, she knew she couldn't reciprocate those feelings mostly because of his age. Maybe if he was older...

However, once her little sister had told her of her crush on Spike, the fashionista decided that it was best that she played it off until her little sister confessed to him. It felt wrong using her dear Spikey-Wikey for this long and not being able to be generous to him in return, and she hoped that giving him gems would make her feel a little bit better, sadly it didn't. Now she was relieved that they had made the first move, her sister could finally stop being low key jealous of her and Spike could move on from his old crush on her, no more lying, no more pity generosity.

As for the couple, they didn't care about the world around them, with each note Octavia played on her cello, the more focused on each other they became. The waltz didn't last very long, but to them, every second they spent in each other's embrace was pure bliss. Spike, now seeing Sweetie Belle up close, noticed how precious her eyes were; almost like emeralds, they put him on a trance. Her fur was soft, carefully groomed and white like a marshmallow. Sweetie Belle, now fully examined the dragon before her, his green eyes were both scary but hypnotizing, his scales were a bit cold, but strangely enough, his chest felt warm, probably due to his fire.

Eventually, the waltz stopped, and the couple was too focused on each other to notice that the waltz had already changed and a different piece was now playing. Spike thought that maybe it would be a good idea to break the silence now that they were more comfortable with the other.

'Alright, it's now or never' "Sweetie Belle..."

"Yeees?" Replied Sweetie Belle with high expectations.

"...Would you...?"

"Yeeeees?"

"...Please go out with me?"

Sweetie Belle couldn't take it anymore. "Of course!"

Then, Sweetie pulled Spike's face close and captured his lips with her own. Even though Spike was surprised and a little bit confused at first, he decided to give in to her kiss. After a few seconds, the drake melted into Sweetie's kiss and started kissing back.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Twilight and Rarity's jaws hit the floor as they watched the scene before them unfold. After a few seconds of processing the event, Twilight shed out a tear while Rarity tried holding back her own tears; Apple Bloom and Scootaloo cheered.

"Yeah! We knew you could do it, Sweetie Belle!" Exclaimed Apple Bloom. "Now Scootaloo is the only chicken in the group!"

"Wooho-HEY!" Shouted Scootaloo as Apple Bloom laughed.

Spike and Sweetie Belle ignored them as they continued to kiss. As they kissed, their worries started to melt away, Sweetie Belle started to forget her anxiety was even there, and Spike started to forget all about Rarity, now, he had another pony to please. The couple separated as they ran out of air, and they looked at each other's eyes; knowing that their lives would change after today, they smiled.

This wedding sure was special.

Author's Note:

Sooo... I'm not dead... Again!

I have been away from this site a lot in these few months, I graduated, I've taken my first dose of the vaccine, and I've moved house, but now I'm trying to get back at it. This story is a pretty simple one since I'm regaining my habits of writing.

This story was requested by chazkopa, who also wanted me to credit 13mcjunkinm for a drawing that made this idea happen. This is the first requested story I've ever made, so that's that.

Sorry if some of these wedding terms are wrong, but I've never been to one so I don't really know how it goes