The Purest Hearts

It was a brisk day in Ponyville as Spike walked through town, running some errands for Twilight. Recently Spike had started going out without Twilight more often, usually picking up various things such as quills, paper, and the like. Another reason why he was going out so much was because Twilight decided to implement a book delivery service. Requests to check out books had increased tremendously as of late; most likely due to a new release of “The Adventures of Daring Do”.

Due to so many requests for books, Twilight decided to create a waiting list for ponies who wanted to checkout boots that had already been checked out. As soon as the book came in, Twilight would send a letter to the next pony on list to let them know that their book was on the way. Due to this service, Spike spent quite a bit of time running back and forth delivering books.

“Finally, I’m down to the last book.” Spiked said with an exasperated tone. “This whole ‘Book Delivery Service’ is cool and all, but it’s got me bushed!”

As Spike walked up to the last house on his route, something unexpected happened. Spike was just about to knock on the door when a random Pegasus crashed into him and the door. Upon regaining his senses he recognized the mare as none other than Derpy Hooves, Ponyville’s ditziest pony.

“Oops’ my bad.” Derpy said with her iconic voice. Goofy, yet endearing.

Immediately the door swung open.

“What in Celestia’s name!? Oh; it’s just you Derpy. Oh and Spike too! What can I do for you two?”

“Package for Miss Lyra Heartstrings!” Derpy said with a wide grin as she handed Lyra her package.

“Oh thank you Derpy! I’ve been waiting for this package for a while now!” Lyra said excitedly. “Now what can I do for you Spike?”

“I have your book that you requested; ‘The Intricate Studies of Pony Mythology’.” Spike said with a curious look on his face as he read the title. “I didn’t know you were interested in pony mythology Lyra.”

“Oh I love pony mythology! I have always been interested in one mythological creature in particular!”

“And that would be?”

“They’re called humans! I really wonder what went through the minds of the ponies that created this myth!”

“Umm…cool…” Spike said confusedly, not having the slightest idea what a ‘Human’ was.

“Thank you so much guys!” Lyra said with glee as she received her items.

“No problem!” Spike said, giving her a thumbs up.

“Bye Lyra!” Derpy said cheerfully.

As the door shut the two of them walked for a bit, conversing with each other.

“I didn’t know you delivered stuff too Spike!” Derpy said, still wearing a smile on her face.

“Oh I just deliver books for Twilight, that’s all; it’s been a ton of work lately.” Spike retorted grabbing his shoulder as it ached from carrying so much. “Thankfully Lyra was my last stop, so I have the rest of the day off!”

“I have to visit some more ponies. Gotta’ make sure they get their stuff!” Derpy said.

“I don’t know how you do it Derpy. That bag must weigh a ton!” Spike said in astonishment.

“Oh it’s not that bad.” Derpy said happily.

“I’ve only been delivering books for a week and my back is killing me!” Spike exclaimed. “I just wish it wasn’t so much work!”

“Ooh I know! Since you deliver stuff too, we can be delivering buddies!” Derpy said, beaming with excitement.

“Delivering buddies huh? Well I guess that’s not a bad idea. Sure!” Spike replied, liking the idea more and more.

“Yay! We get to deliver stuff together!” Derpy exclaimed, displaying her cheerful and optimistic nature.

Spike merely chuckled at the grey mare and her disposition. Derpy may not have been the brightest pony or have any common sense whatsoever, but she really did have the biggest heart.

“Well sadly I’m done with my route for today, so we can start being delivery buddies tomorrow!” Spike said happily.

“Okeydokey! See you tomorrow Spike!”

And with that, Derpy took off to deliver more mail to the residents of Ponyville.

“Well today was kind of odd. Oh well, I got a partner for delivering stuff! I can’t wait to tell Twilight!”

Spike made his way back to the library after his encounter with Derpy, brimming with energy that was previously absent. His exchange with the grey pony had renewed his vigor as he quite enjoyed the prospect of having a delivering buddy and having somepony to talk to; instead of having to deliver books by his lonesome self. He opened the door to find Twilight sitting down and reading a book, as she usually does.

“Hey Spike!” Twilight said pleasantly. “Sorry that today’s list was so long. A lot of ponies have been reading more books lately, though I’m happy that more ponies are reading more!”

“It’s no problem!” Spike said energetically. “Are there any more books that need to be delivered?”

“Actually, no there aren’t. Today has been a relatively slow day, so there aren’t anymore books that need to go out. You can finally get some much deserved relaxation, my number one assistant!” Twilight said with a smile as she patted Spike’s head.

“Oh man, that’s a relief!” Spike exclaimed as he took a seat. “I’m happy more ponies are reading too, but this delivery thing is killing me!”

“So, did anything interesting happen while you were out today?” Twilight asked inquisitively.

“Oh; yeah!” Spike said excitedly as he remembered his talk with Derpy. “I ran into Derpy today!”

“Oh that’s nice. How is she?” Twilight asked.

“Huh? Oh; she’s doing well. But guess what?” Spike said, the eager tone in Spike’s voice growing stronger and stronger with every passing second. “We’re going to be delivery buddies!”

“Delivery buddies?” Twilight said; a slightly confused look on her face.

“Yeah; she was delivering a package to Lyra at the same time I was delivering her book to her! We started talking, and we decided to be delivery buddies!” Spike said gleefully.

“I see. And what exactly is a delivery buddy?” Twilight asked, confused as to what Spike meant by such a term.

“I…don’t really know actually…” Spike said with a puzzled look on his face, also unsure of what being a delivery buddy entails. “I was just thinking that maybe we would talk or something while we delivered stuff…”

Twilight still had a puzzled look on her face. “But don’t you two have different delivery routes?”

“Well…I…” Spike said, trying to find a way to refute this fact. “I don’t know. But we’ll figure something out.”

The next day…

Spike was once again on his route, delivering books for Twilight. The sun beating down on his brow, Spike stepped into a café to purchase a cold drink to cool his scales.

“I know I’m cold blooded, but this is too much heat!” Spike exclaimed as he sipped his drink.

As Spike was taking a break from his route and relaxing in the café, a familiar grey mare entered. Her wall-eyed face beamed when she happened upon Spike and rushed to hug him.

“Hey Spike!” Derpy said as she hugged him tightly.

“Oof! Derpy!? What are you doing here??” Spike said as he tried to keep his drink from spilling.

“I was wondering where you were! I was look all over Ponyville for you!” Derpy said as she let go of the little purple dragon.

Spike was befuddled at such a thought. “You were?? Why would you do that??”

“Because~! We’re delivery buddies!” Derpy replied simply. “We gotta’ stick together y’know!”

Spike finally took this chance to ask the ditzy pegasus his question. “Um, Derpy; what exactly do delivery buddies do?”

As Spike posed this question, Derpy stopped drinking her soda, tilting her head in thought. Then, she quickly gained a surprised look on her face, as if a light bulb had be turn on over her head.

“I have no idea!”

Spike was not surprised by this answer at all. “I figured as much. So if either of us doesn’t know…”

“Then we have to make a reason!” The grey pony said as she smiled gleefully.

This quick and happy response made Spike smile. It was one of the reasons he liked Derpy so much. She really didn’t have a lot going through her head when she talks. No constant thinking and revising like Twilight does, Derpy just says what comes to her mind first.

“Okay then, what’s going to be our reason?” Spike said, becoming more jovial as he continued to chat with Derpy. “We obviously have different routes, so we can’t meet up while we’re delivering.”

Spike rubbed his chin in thought for a while, and then suddenly an idea struck him. “Hey! How about we just meet up after our routes are over and hang out?”

“That sounds like a great idea! I’m going to go and finish my deliveries right away so we can hang!” Derpy said as she finished her drink and zoomed out of the café, but not before missing the door and hitting her head.

“Heheh, oops.” Derpy said with a blush, then taking off.

With this excitement fueling his morale, Spike took off to finish his delivery route. He quickly and efficiently delivered every book on the list within the span of a few hours, though not without cost. This super-accelerated delivery speed tired Spike out greatly, so much so that by the time he was to return to the library, Spike was practically crawling back.

“Hey Spike! Welcome ba- What happened to you??” Twilight said, surprised at Spike’s exasperation.

“Was… Delivering… Books…” Spike said, panting with every word as he fell on the floor.

“Why on earth were you delivering books that fast??” Twilight asked confoundedly, wondering why he was doing his task at breakneck speeds.

“I wanted to hang out with Derpy afterwards…” Spike said as he turned over. “That’s right!! Derpy!!” Spike exclaimed, jumping up and running out the door in a flash.

This just left Twilight standing alone in the library with a completely dumbfounded look on her face. “What was that all about??”

Spike zoomed like a rocket towards the town center, hoping to catch Derpy. It was their first time hanging out as delivery buddies, so he was really excited to spend some time with his new partner. After rushing at the speed of light for a minute or so he slowly came to a stop as he realized something.

“Wait a minute...” Spike said as he came to a stop with an annoyed look on his face. “What am I doing? Derpy probably isn’t even done with her delivery route yet!”

Suddenly finding himself with free time, Spike decided to grab a gemcake and a muffin from Sugar Cube Corner. As he entered into the bakery, he was intoxicated by the sweet aroma of various sweets and treats that filled the shop. The sweet scent of cinnamon, sugar, and various berries; Spike always loved spending time here. As he soaked up the saccharine balm of the dessert filled confectionary, he walked up to the counter, the glass window displaying a number of delectable sweetmeats, he found that the counter was being worked by his very good friend Pinkie Pie, partier extraordinaire.

“Oh, hey Spike! What are you doing here?” Pinkie asked with a sprightly tone.

“Hey Pinkie! I just finished my delivery route for the day and I was hungering for a treat!” Spike said jovially as he was always pleased to exchange words with the pink pony. “You have anything for a dragon; preferably something gem-encrusted?”

Pinkie pressed a hoof against her chin and looked upward; trying to figure out if they have the items needed to make a gem cake.

“Hmmm… I think we can make one… But I’d need to get some gems from Rarity!” Pinkie said as she broke her stance of deep thought. “I can make you one, but you’d need to wait a little bit so I can make it!”

Upon hearing the fact that he can have a gem cake again, Spike just said “Aw yeaaaahh!” in his head, but said “Oh awesome! I don’t mind waiting either; I’m actually waiting for somepony anyways.”

“Oh? And who might that be?” Pinkie inquired.

“I’m gonna’ be hanging out with Derpy once she’s done delivering stuff!” Spike said excitedly, anticipation apparent in his voice.

“Derpy??” Pinkie asked; confused as to why the little dragon would be meeting with the bemused grey mare.

“Yeah, Derpy and I are delivery buddies now! Though neither of us really knew what that meant…” Spike said abashedly as he scratched the back of his head.

This caused Pinkie to look as if she was intense thought for a good while, to the point where Spike was just about to ask if she was alright.

“Hmmmm…” Pinkie said as she was locked in contemplation. Finally she broke from her transfixion rather abruptly with an “Okey Dokey Loki! Lemme go get those gems then!” And with that Pinkie departed from Sugar Cube Corner.

As Pinkie was walking away from the bakery, she felt something.

Her tailed twitched.

Twilight was putting away books when all of sudden a pot that was hanging on the window sill suddenly fell and hit her smack dab on the head.

“OW!!” Twilight exclaimed in pain. She looked up at the window above her in puzzlement. “Where did that come from??”

Meanwhile, back at Sugar Cube Corner…

Spike was sitting at a table munching happily upon a regular cupcake. Though not nearly as good as a gem-cake, the rainbow colored cupcake was certainly delicious. The myriad types of flavors managed to blend together into a delectable taste that roused his entire palette. This cupcake also reminded him, he hadn’t seen Rainbow Dash in a while.

“Y’know I wonder where Rainbow Dash is… I haven’t seen her around lately…”

Spike merely shook his head and pushed that thought aside as he proceeded to devour the rest of his tasty treat. As Spike finished his succulent sweet, he was finally joined by Derpy, muffin in hoof.

“Hey Spike! I just got finished with my route!” Derpy said warmly, pleased to see her partner in delivery.

Spike beamed as he saw Derpy, eager to talk to his new pal. “Hey Derpy! How did you know I was at Sugar Cube Corner?”

“I talked to Pinkie Pie on the way over here and she told me that you were here waiting for me!” Derpy said as she sat down at Spike’s table and started to eat her muffin.

“Mmmf; so what do you want to talk about?” Derpy queried; her mouth full of blueberry muffin.

“Hmm I’m not too sure…” Spike said uncertainly. “What do you think delivery buddies should talk about? Delivery stuff?”

Derpy just gave a shrug and an “I dunno’.” She thought about what they should talk about for all of two seconds before coming to a simple answer. “Why don’t we just talk about anything on our minds?”

Spike thought about this, and found that he couldn’t really disagree with that answer. “Okay! Where should we start?”

Just as they we’re about to begin conversation though, Pinkie intervened and brought Spike his gem-cake. A dazzling heart ruby gem had been used to make this dessert and its luster had caused the gem-cake to give off a radiant sheen.

“Is that a heart ruby??” Spike said, surprised that pinkie would use such a rare gem for a gem-cake.

“Yup! Rarity gave it to me when I told her you were meeting with Derpy!” Pinkie said gaily. “I hope you like it!”

“Like it? Oh I’m going to love it!” Spike said as he salivated at the thought of consuming such a lustrous confection.

“Well I gotta’ get back to the counter, so I’ll just leave you two!” Pinkie said as she turned and hopped away, humming a lighthearted tune.

As Spike held the glistening delight, his attention was drawn away by Derpy asking “So, why do dragons eat gems?”

Spike was ready to give an answer right away, but found himself at a loss for an answer. He actually wasn’t sure exactly why dragons ate gems.

“I… I don’t know…” Spike said speculatively, then giving a shrug. “All I know is they taste awesome!”

And with that, Spike was about to devour his cake in a single bite, but stopped himself mere moments before he tossed it into his mouth.

“Okay Spike, think. This isn’t just any gem-cake. This is a heart ruby gem-cake. This is something you need to savor, buddy. Plus, if you don’t eat it all, you have something to snack on while you talk to Derpy!”

Instead, he took a small bite of his gem-cake, and was sent on a gem-cake lift to pony heaven. The taste was like no other.

“Mother of Celestia…” Spike said in sheer awe of the deliciousness of the morsel.

“What?” Derpy asked curiously.

“This…” Spike took another bite as he looked down at the marvelous cupcake. “This…”

Spike slowly looked up at Derpy with a look of sheer amazement “It’s as if I’ve never tasted a gem before…”

“Well, it looks like we’ve got something to talk about!” Derpy said pleasantly.

Spike stopped as he realized this. They actually did have stuff to talk about.

“Yeah… Yeah! I can actually tell you a lot of stuff! Like the time Twilight tried to go back in time or the time when we saved the Crystal Empire… or the time…” Spike said as Derpy and him continued to converse.

The two ended up just sitting at Sugar Cube Corner and talking for what seemed like hours upon hours. It was almost past dusk when the two delivery partners decided to part ways.

“Ahhh that was fun!” Spike said as he stretched his arms. He was quickly taken aback by how dark it had gotten while they were inside, chatting in earnest. “Whoa! It sure got dark fast! How long were we in there??”

Derpy merely gave a shrug. “I dunno, pretty much just all day.”

“Wow. I knew we had stuff to talk about, but I didn’t think we had that much!”

“Yeah! It was tons of fun though! Derpy said with a large smile on her face.

“Yeah, it was! I totally can’t wait to do this again!” Spike said gleefully. “Though where do you want to hang out next time?”

“Hmm… How about we hang out at the Ponyville Park? I heard it’s going to be a nice day!” Derpy replied, excited to hang out with her awesome buddy again.

“Alright! Then it’s settled! We’ll hang out there tomorrow!” Spike said, eager to hang out with his new friend some more. “Well it’s getting dark. I’ll see you tomorrow Derpy!”

“Bye Spike! See you tomorrow!” Derpy said as she took off to fly back home.

And with that, the two of them finished their first day of being delivery buddies. It was also the start of something much more than being simple delivery buddies…

Three months later…

Spike was out and about again as he delivered books to a number of different ponies, eager to spend yet another day with his delivering buddy and dear friend, Derpy. He finally delivered the last book, and made his way back to the library.

“Hey Twilight!” Spike said merrily.

“Oh, hey Spike. Out for another day with Derpy?” Twilight asked curiously.

“You bet!” Spike said as he got various things together and groomed himself, making sure he looked nice. “We’re going to lunch today!”

This made Twilight chuckle a bit. She was so endeared at Spike’s closeness to Derpy and how he had yet to realize it.

“What?” Spike asked, curious as to why Twilight was laughing.

“Oh nothing, it just seems like Derpy has become quite the marefriend huh?” Twilight said with a smug grin.

“What??” Spike exclaimed, shocked at such an idea and blushing deeply. “Derpy’s not my marefriend! She’s just a friend I love to hang out with!”

Twilight also laughed a bit at Spike becoming so flustered at her proposition. “Whatever you say, loverboy.” Twilight said jokingly.

Spike was flabbergasted at the thought of Derpy being his marefriend. He didn’t like her that way at all. Didn’t he? Twilight’s comment got him thinking about everything that’s happened between him and Derpy during these last three months, and was shocked with the conclusion.

He did like Derpy.

He loved her ditzy manner. He loved her simple way of thinking. The way that the two of them were able to have fun without having to plan every single thing out like Twilight does. Everything that she did was so cute. Her just being next to him, talking, was amazing to him. He could no longer see Derpy as nothing more than just a good friend to hang out with. He loved that adorable grey pegasus.

Naturally, this caused Spike’s mind to temporarily shut down. Spike started to become dizzy and unbalanced as he was coming to grips with this shocking truth. He steadied himself as his brain started to reboot. Now that he realized his feelings for his delivery buddy, he became extremely nervous at the though of lunch and spending the day with her. He quickly started zooming around, grooming himself to make sure he looked as good as he possibly could be.

“Ohhh man, I don’t know how I’m gonna’ be able to have lunch with her now!” Spike said, now completely nerve-wracked. “Alright I’m going to head out! Bye Twilight!”

Seeing Spike’s reaction to her revealing the closeness of the two, Twilight felt a little bad. “Oh, I hope he’ll be alright.”

Soon, a flower pot dropped out of nowhere, but twilight dodged it in the nick of time.

“HA!” Twilight said, pointing at the flowerpot boastfully. Just as she said this though, a second flowerpot fell and hit her on the head, causing her to let out a frustrated growl!|

“WHY!? WHY FLOWERPOTS!?”

Spike walked up to the café hesitantly, trying to act normal while inside he was panicking. Slowly he started to calm down and approached his lunch date logically.

“Okay Spike. Now is NOT the time to be freaking out! Just treat this day like every other day that you’ve spent with her! There’s no sense in getting so worked up!”

Slowly, but surely, Spike managed to calm his anxiety down to the point where it wasn’t very noticeable, but it still remained there; in his psyche.

“Hey Spike!”

Spike’s heart skipped a beat as he heard this. Her voice, as always, was unmistakable. He turned around to find his love standing there, waving a hoof and wearing a pleasant smile. Spike froze as he saw her, his newfound realization exemplifying all of her features. He was soon caught into a daydream of everything that could possibly happen between the two of them that left him in a daze, oblivious to all reality around him.

“Uhh, Spike; you there?” Derpy asked, curious as to why her delivery buddy seemed entranced.

This broke Spike from his dream and put him pack to reality as he shook his head. He felt abashed at being caught in a daydream in front of Derpy, causing him to blush slightly.

“Sorry about that…” Spike said embarrassingly, grabbing his shoulder and looking downwards. “Well; wanna’ find a table?”

“Sure!” Derpy said happily as the two of them found a table and sat down.

The two of them sat at the table and Spike could not avert his eyes from Derpy at all. He was absolutely captured by her, much to Derpy’s confusion.

“You okay Spike?” Derpy asked, puzzled at Spike’s behavior. “You sure are acting funny…”

Upon hearing this, Spike snapped back to reality and hunched his head between his shoulders in embarrassment.

“W-what? No I’m fine!” Spike said, blushing furiously. “I-I was just a little distracted… that’s all…”

This caused Derpy to raise an eyebrow in suspicion. Derpy may have been a ditz, but she wasn’t an idiot. Nevertheless, Derpy pushed it aside and decided to focus on lunch.

“So what are you going to get Spike? They don’t have gems here so you’ll have to get something else!” Derpy said, trying to steer the conversation back to normality.

“Yeah I figured as much…” Spike said as he perused the menu, looking for something that could be appetizing to a dragon.

“So, what’s on your mind?” Derpy asked, giving Spike a curious look.

“Oh not a whole lot, I’ve been pretty much thinking about-” Spike stopped mid sentence as he realized that he was about to end that sentence with ‘you’. Spike immediately pulled the menu over his face to cover his beet red face.

“Thinking about what?” Derpy asked, questioning his odd behavior yet again.

“Uhhhh....gems~?” Spike said nervously, looking for an excuse. “Since I’m really hungry?”

“Hmmmm~” Derpy said as she eyed the purple dragon carefully. This had caused Spike to quickly start shifting his eyes back and forth, worried that Derpy might find out about his true feelings.

“Okay!” Derpy exclaimed as she leaned back and flashed a bright smile. “I know I’m starving!”

Spike let out a sigh and wiped the sweat from his brow after averting a possibly disastrous moment. “Well I think I know what I’m going to get, how about you?”

As Spike finished his sentence, a waitress walked up to the table, ready to take their orders.

“Now what can I get for you two?” The waitress asked with a courteous smile. “I’m guessing muffins as usual Derpy?”

“Yup!” Derpy replied quickly with a smile.

“Well that’s one order taken care of.” The waitress said with a soft laugh. “And how about you Spike?”

“I’ll have some hay fries please!” Spike said politely.

“Alrighty then.” The waitress then smirked and teasingly asked “And would you two like to share a shake as well?”

This caused Spike to blush and stammer, not knowing how to respond. While Spike was stuttering like a fool in love, Derpy replied with a jaunty “Sure!” causing Spike to look at Derpy beamingly.

The waitress, endeared at the two’s adorableness, just smiled and said “A shake for two it is then!” and trotted off.

Spike stared blankly, dumbstruck at what had just occurred. Noticing this Derpy looked at Spike yet again quizzically.

“Are you sure you’re okay Spike?? You seem really off today!” Derpy asked, concerned at what might be bothering her scaled friend.

Spike slowly raised a claw and smacked himself across the face to bring him back down to earth from spacing out for the umpteenth time this afternoon. Derpy was surprised as Spike struck himself, adding to her concern. Spike shook his head and turned back to his grey companion and seemed to have returned back to sanity.

“Sorry about that Derpy. I haven’t really felt like myself today…” Spike said abashedly.

“I can tell.” Derpy replied curtly, but smiled and said “But it’s okay!”

This caused Spike to chuckle and remind him that Derpy wasn’t one to read into things very deeply and preferred to just have fun. It was one of the things that Spike loved about her so much. Smiling happily, Spike finally felt like he can just be himself around her and not worry so much about anything deeper.

“So did I ever tell you about the time that Applejack saved my life?” Spike asked excitedly, which was met with a monotone “Yes~” from Derpy as she rolled her eyes.

“I guess I might have told that story one too many times huh?” Spike asked sheepishly.

“Only if you consider fifteen times ‘one too many times’!” Derpy replied laughingly. “It’s all right though, I know you like talking about your ‘dragon code’. Derpy smiled gently.

“Well it feels like it’s the only thing that makes me feel like I actually am a dragon…” Spike said gloomily as he looked down at the table. “Without the dragon code, I don’t think I could ever be called a ‘dragon’…”

Derpy stretched across the table and lifted Spike’s chin up and looked at him in an affirming expression. “Spike, I think if other ponies think of you as a ‘dragon’ then you should be one right? Dragon code or not, all of us think you’re a dragon, so is that just as good?”

Spike looked into Derpy’s golden, wall-eyed eyes and could see them filled with sincerity and concern for him. He started to ponder her words, thinking if that everyone else thinks he’s a dragon, would that be just as good of a validation as the dragon code?

“Thanks Derpy…” Spike said, smiling gently at his token of affection. “You’re an awesome friend.”

Derpy smiled warmly at this sentiment and gave Spike a hug to show her appreciation for her delivery buddy; causing a slight tinge of red to come over Spike.

“I think you’re awesome too Spike! I haven’t spent as much time with anypony else than I have with you, and I’m okay with that!” Derpy said as she let go and sat back in her seat.

“Am I interrupting anything?” The waitress asked as she walked up to the Spike and Derpy’s table, aware of the affectionate aura emanating from the two of them.

Both of them stood straight up in their chairs and gave a simultaneous “Nope!” which caused the waitress to let out a giggle at the two’s cute synchronization.

“I have… Muffins for Derpy, hay fries for Spike, and a strawberry shake for both of you.” The waitress said as she placed each item in front of them, with the shake in the middle and two large straws jutting out of the glass.

“So, do you guys have anything planned after this?” The waitress asked slyly. This prompted both Derpy and Spike to look at her confusedly, then at each other.

Seeing this, the waitress let out another giggle. “It’s okay. You two enjoy your meal!” The waitress said jestingly before walking away.

“Well… I guess we should dig in huh?” Spike said awkwardly, sensing the strange mood in the air.

“Yeah, I guess we should…” Derpy said in hesitant agreement.

The two quietly began to eat their food as well as drinking their shake, slightly embarrassed at sharing a drink in such a romantic manner. They sat and ate awkwardly for quite a bit before Spike tried to break the silence.

“So lately Twilight’s been getting hit with flowerpots left and right for some weird reason.” Spike said, trying to settle the awkwardness.

“That’d be funny if she was magnetic to flowerpots!” Derpy said without sparing a second to think as per usual.

This caused Spike to laugh at the sheer absurdity of Derpy’s statement. “Yeah that would be! Twilight has always had a knack for accidents!” Spike said as he laughed along with Derpy.

Before they knew it, the conversation started up again like a wildfire from a simple quip. They began to discuss a number of different things in earnest, including Twilight and her friends, Ponyville, and their jobs as delivery buddies. All the awkwardness from before had completely dissipated and they were able to do what they loved most; enjoying each other’s company.

Before they knew it the day had flown by like it often does when they spend time with each other. By the time they had left the café, the sun was getting ready to take its rest.

“Wow, time sure flies when you’re having fun huh?” Spike said cheerfully.

“Yup it sure does! I had a great time!” Derpy said, agreeing with Spike. “Hey, there’s still some time left in the day, wanna’ go watch the sunset near Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Sure, that sounds fun!” Spike said, not realizing exactly what he agreed to.

Spike and Derpy made their way to Sweet Apple Acres’ outskirts and settled down on a relatively large steppe; perfect for watching the sun set. As they sat down on the grassy knoll, Spike soon started to notice the atmosphere that was surrounding them. They were together, alone, on a grassy hill, watching the sun set. Spike soon started to panic, his feelings for Derpy resurfacing due to the romantic nature of what was occurring.

Derpy on the other hand, seemed to be watching the horizon with a rather carefree expression. This caused Spike to panic even more, as he wasn’t too sure of Derpy’s feelings and apparent lack of being able to read the mood.

“Hey are you okay Spike?” Derpy said, looking at her purple scaled friend with a puzzled look.

This nearly gave Spike a heart attack, for something even as simple as hearing her voice sent his heart racing. As Spike wracked his mind on what to do, he realized that it was now or never. He needed to let her know; but how?

“Hey Derpy?” Spike said as he turned to the yellow-maned mare.

“Yeah Spike?” Derpy replied, looking at Spike with a kind expression.

I…I’ve been thinking….And…” Spike said, trailing off and unable to voice his feelings.

The gray pony looked at him curiously and smiled. “What is it Spike? You can tell me anything!”

This made the mulberry dragon gulp as he steeled himself; ready to finally express what he realized earlier.

“I…I think I love you Derpy.”

Spike then closed his eyes in the hopes he wouldn’t see her reaction of rejection and disgust.

What he got was something very, very different.

Spike felt another set of lips pressing against his own, the feeling as soft as a cloud. Without even opening his eyes, Spike wrapped his arms around the ditzy mare as the held each other in a passionate embrace.

Finally, they broke apart and Spike opened his eyes to see Derpy wearing the goofiest smile ever.

“I love you too Spike!” Derpy said with a joyous expression etched upon her face.

This caused Spike to freeze, as he felt as if there were hundreds of fireworks exploding in his mind, celebrating the wondrous event of Derpy reciprocating his feelings. Spike had been elevated to such levels of bliss that it had caused him to dislocate himself from reality for a moment, soaring amongst clouds of happiness.

Eventually, Spike found himself back on the grassy knoll with Derpy, at a loss for words.

“So… Where do we go next?” Spike said shyly as he twiddled his claws.

“I dunno’.” Derpy replied simply. “Maybe the lake? Or if you want, I can take you up to Cloudsdale!”

This response took Spike by surprise, as he was expecting something entirely different. “No I mean, what do we do now that we know how we feel about each other??”

Derpy just met this with confusion as she tilted her head. “Can’t we do the stuff we always do?”

“Well I thought you might want something a little more… y’know, romantic.” Spike said, blushing deeply.

Derpy merely gave an affectionate smile and said “It’s what we do now that I love the most.”

“What I want is for you to always be there, by my side…” Derpy said as she leaned in to give his a soft and gentle butterfly kiss.

Spike finally understood what Derpy was trying to say. It didn’t matter if it was romantic or not, just being with the one you love and doing the things you love together is what really matters. They were best friends, and discovering their mutual love for each other only made their friendship all the more sweeter.

Fin.

Author's Note:

It's finally done! I apologize to all of my followers for being so late with this story. Real life has kind of taken up most of my time and I've found little time to actually do writing. However, I wanted to make sure that I got this done since I promised to release this and even though I'm late, I'm really happy with how this story turned out. A bit heavy on the italics maybe, but I'm not sure. Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed reading this story and look forward to my next work!

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