Under Her Wing

Spike skipped down the streets of Ponyville with a joyous smile on his face, humming to himself.

“Today is the day. Today is the day I finally do it.”

He could barely contain his giddiness. He blushed as the beautiful Rarity enveloped his thoughts. He had spent years admiring her, following her without hesitation, and tending to her every need. His adoration had grown over time, and he was fully ready to show his commitment.

As he walked, he rehearsed what he would say when he confessed his love for her. “Okay, Spike, you can do this. No choking up when talking to Rarity. You’re a fourteen-year-old dragon. That’s about twenty in pony years… I think. Time to dragon up and tell her how you feel!”

“‘Hey, Rarity! I really like you and think we should be together.’ Naw, too straightforward. ‘Rarity, you are and have always been the greatest friend to me...’ Friend? I’m already signing my own rejection letter with that word! ‘Rarity, lookin’ foxy as ever.’”

Spike facepalmed at his last response. “My lines need work. Maybe I’ll think of some better ones while I buy her some things.”

Nothing good came to Spike, so he eventually gave up on the one-liners and focused on what he could get Rarity as a gift. He had already decided to give her some of his gemstones, so maybe some flowers would seal the deal.

“What! You mean you ponies actually charge this much for a piece of fruit?”

That voice sounded familiar. It was similar to the unwelcome and unlikable jerk with wings that flew off a few years ago. Spike turned towards the irate griffon, who was arguing with one of the market ponies.

“These are the finest pears in all of Equestria,” the merchant argued. “I will not lower my prices just because you want me to!”

“You call this fine quality?” Gilda pointed at the pear. “This clearly has a bruise on it. There’s no way I’m paying ten bits for these! That’s a ripoff!”

“A tiny bruise isn’t going to kill you! What, are you a little too uppity for bruised pears? If so, you can take your business elsewhere!”

Gilda began to grumble under her breath. She dug her claw into her satchel and pulled out enough bits to buy four pears. “You’re lucky these things are my favorite fruit.”

Spike wondered what Gilda was doing back in Ponyville. Last time he saw her, she’d left a bad taste in everypony’s mouth. He approached the agitated griffon before she decided to take flight.

“Um, Gilda wasn’t it?” he asked, tapping her on the back.

“What the…” She turned around and glared at the dragon. “And you’re supposed to be?”

“Weren’t you run out by Rainbow Dash a few years ago?” Spike asked. “What are you doing back in Ponyville?”

“I wasn’t run out, you brat!” Gilda snarled. “I left ‘cause everypony acted like dweebs. Wait… weren’t you the lame, little dragon at the party?”

“Yeah.” Spike narrowed his eyes. “I’m that lame dragon that you pushed out of the way.”

“Hey, shouldn’t have been in the way in the first place.”

Spike rolled his eyes at her response. “But like I was saying, why are you even here in the first place?”

“I moved here not too long ago,” Gilda said. “Or, technically, just outside of Ponyville.”

“What?!”

“You have a problem with it? ‘Cause last time I checked, there wasn’t anything saying I couldn’t live here if I didn’t want. As lame as you guys are, your cost of living is pretty cheap.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Spike said. “Sooo… now that you’re staying here, are you still going to be a… well… jerk?”

Gilda raised an eyebrow. “As long as you keep acting like total dorks, then I guess I’ll be a so-called ‘jerk’.”

The atmosphere became uncomfortable for Spike. The hostility of the griffon would have easily killed his high spirits if he didn’t have a mare to see and speak to today. He furrowed his brow and looked away. “Well, as much as I’d like to stand here and chat with you, I have an appointment with a beautiful mare, and I want to get her something nice for the occasion.”

“Oh, so you’re gonna get something for your little marefriend?” Gilda smirked.

Spike huffed, letting puffs of smoke expel from his nostrils. “Yeah… well, she’s not my marefriend yet. But soon I hope to make her mine. She’s beautiful—gorgeous even—kind, and very gentle with me. She’s just so—”

Gilda faked a gag as Spike swooned over the mare of his dreams. “Okay, I get it! I don’t want to hear all the details about your little crush!”

Spike snapped out of his lovestruck trance and turned back to Gilda. “Well that’s good, because now I don’t have to waste any more time talking to you! Now, to figure out what else to get her…”

“You could always opt for flowers,” Gilda said.

“I know that. I just have to figure out the right ones to give her.”

“Well, if you want my advice—”

“And I don’t.”

Gilda huffed at Spike’s snarky reply. “Well, fine then, squirt. I was gonna suggest you get her something that isn’t cliche or generic, like some dahlias or something, but go ahead. Get her those lame tulips or roses you were probably gonna buy.”

“Just… fly off somewhere, you winged lion!” Spike growled and turned away, mentally facepalming for the bad insult.

“Gladly.” Without further conversation, Gilda spread her wings and flew off.

Now that the griffon was out of the picture, Spike walked towards the floral stand. Gathering his thoughts, he tried to decide the flowers he would give to Rarity as he reached the countertop.

“Hi there, young Spike.” The shop owner waved a hoof to him and smiled.

“Oh, hi, Junebug,” Spike said. “I just need to buy some flowers.”

“Let me guess. They’re for Miss. Rarity, aren’t they?”

“You know it.” Spike chuckled.

“Well, little one, just say the flower you want and I’ll see what I can do for you.”

“That’s just the thing… I’m not exactly sure if I know what kind of flowers to get her.”

“Well, whenever you’re ready, let me know.” Junebug went and watered her flowers, waiting patiently for the dragon to make his decision.

He didn’t want to give her the same flowers most stallions gave a girl to show affection. Roses, tulips, daisies. They all seemed like boring, thoughtless attempts to woo the lady. He wanted to get her something different—something special.

I was gonna suggest you get her something that isn’t cliche or generic, like some dahlias or something, but go ahead. Get her those lame tulips or roses you were probably gonna buy. The statement rung in Spike’s mind constantly.

Dahlias… dahlias…

“Um, Miss Junebug, I think I know what I want.” Spike looked over to her.The mare put down her watering can and walked back to the counter.

“Alright then. What will it be?” she asked.

“Um, do you have any dahlias?”

“Dahlias?” Junebug was surprised that he was asking for such a distinct flower. “Well, aren’t we splurging today! I have a nice bouquet of them ready for purchase.”

“Nice!” Spike dug into his pockets, fishing for the bits he had. “How much will this cost?”

Junebug smiled. “For you, Spike, I’ll give you this for free.”

“Really? You’d do that?” Spike’s eyes widened as Junebug handed him the flowers.

“Not everyday do I see a young gentledrake trying to be original with his mare,” she said with a wink. “Consider it a good luck gift.”

Spike jumped up and hugged Junebug’s neck, nuzzling against her cheeks while doing so. “Thank you, thank you!”

She grinned. “No problem. Just make sure you win her over for me.”

“I’ll do my best.” Junebug wrapped the flowers in plastic and handed them to Spike. He once again thanked her for her charity before skipping off towards the boutique, ready to finally seal the deal.

He walked towards the Carousel Boutique slowly. His legs were getting heavier as he got closer to the door, his nerves getting the best of him.

“Come on Spike.” He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. “You practiced for this! Take a deep breath, stand up straight, and above all, don’t sound desperate.”

He exhaled, calmed himself down, and opened the boutique door.

“Who is it?” Rarity’s voice rang throughout her home when the bell above the door jingled. Spike could already feel himself slipping in a small trance just from hearing her voice. He shook his head and grabbed ahold of himself.

“It’s me, Spike,” he said, shaking. “I… I came here to—”

“Well, isn’t this a lovely surprise!” Rarity trotted towards Spike, smiling brightly. “How is my little Spikey-Wikey doing this evening?”

Spike couldn’t help but blush. His love, the beautiful Rarity, was greeting him with his pet name. This was nothing new, but it still sent his heart ablaze. “I… um… wanted to… g-get you these.”

Spike extended his claws to hand her the flowers, mentally berating himself for stammering over his words.

“These are for me?” Rarity gasped, levitating the flowers. She unwrapped the plastic and sniffed them. “These are lovely, Spike! How did you know I liked dahlias?”

“Just a hunch I had,” Spike said, scratching the back of his head.

“Well, you have a very good hunch then,” she said sweetly, smiling at him. “I absolutely love these! I’ll be right back, Spikey. I simply need to put these in the vase on the kitchen table.”

Spike rocked back and forth with delight. He was very happy that Rarity loved the flowers he picked out for her… or really the flowers that Gilda picked out for her. His rocking suddenly ceased and he frowned.

He didn’t get Rarity anything special. If it wasn’t for Gilda, he would have stuck with the same old roses that other stallions bought their mares.

Rarity watered her new plant, humming while she did so. This gave him ample amounts of time to think of what he was about to say.

Spike, listen to me. You can not mess this up. Once you fail, it’s over. Say what you want to say, do it correctly, and don’t choke again. She’s beautiful, but you can handle her. Show her you can handle her.

“Oh my, it’s that late already.” Rarity sighed as she returned to Spike in the living room.

“Spike, while I would enjoy having your company around, I have projects that have to be done by tomorrow afternoon. Could you save what you had to say until tomorrow, Darling?”

Spike frowned, sighing in both relief and disappointment. He now had more time to plan what he would say. “Um… yeah, no problem. I wouldn’t want to hold you back from completing your dresses.” He chuckled nervously. “I’ll, uh, just stop by later tomorrow.”

Rarity walked up to Spike and kissed him on both cheeks. “Thanks for being so understanding, Spike. And thanks for the flowers. Not too often does a guy try to be original,” she said with a smile.

“Yeah… not too often… Heh...” Spike mumbled, flushing from her kiss. He snapped himself out of it and grinned at her. “Anyways, see ya, Rarity.”

“Ta-ta!” Rarity waved at Spike as he exited the boutique. Spike walked back onto the streets of Ponyville and sighed.

“Why didn’t I just tell her then and there?” He knocked his fist against his head, aggravated with himself. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” His whole plan had fallen apart. Every time he tried to talk to Rarity, he would freeze up and break down. He was tired of failing to obtain what he wanted.

“I need help,” he admitted with a sad sigh, lowering his head. He was considering going back to the library and laying down when a crazy idea came to mind. A crazy, completely illogical idea.

“I need to find Gilda. She seems to know what it takes to win over a girl, ironic as that is. Maybe she could help! I just need to figure out where she lives…”

With a determined look on his face, he ran towards the mayor’s office to locate the griffon.

***

“Let’s see what we have here…” Mayor Mare looked through her paperwork as she worked on her schedule. “More complaints about how rigid the streets are. You’d think that ponies wouldn’t care about these types of things.”

Her thoughts were interrupted as the town’s dragon pushed the door open and ran into her office.

“Ah, if it isn’t Spike,” Mayor Mare said nonchalantly. “Good timing, too. I’m still getting complaints about you using up the town’s water for your baths. Could you please cut down on that?”

“Yeah, sure. Listen, I need to know where someone lives,” Spike said quickly, breathing heavily.

“Whose house do you need to find, and why?” Mayor Mare asked.

“Well, there’s a griffon who moved here recently named Gilda—”

“Oh yes, her. She doesn’t really have a good reputation around here from what I heard. What would you possibly want with her?”

Spike looked around nervously, sweating a little. “Well… it’s kinda personal. Look, I just want to know where she lives and be on my way! Could you help me out?”

“I don’t see why not,” Mayor Mare said in a calm tone, “but let’s make this quick. I have a busy schedule.” She pulled out Ponyville’s directory and located Gilda’s whereabouts. “Okay, it says here that she lives in a small house just outside of Sweet Apple Acres. It’s a pretty solitary area.”

“Great!” Spike rushed towards the door. “Thanks again, Mayor!”

“Oh, and remember, please don’t take your—” The door slammed shut before she could finish her sentence. “Six hour bubble bath…” She sighed and stacked the papers up, rereading the litany of what would surely be complaints.

***

The dragon made his way to the griffon’s household as quickly as possible. The mayor wasn’t kidding when she said that the house was practically in the middle of nowhere. The small, brown abode was located in a wide, empty field, with only trees for nearby company.

“Well, she definitely made her place noticeable,” he said, laughing a little. “Though I doubt anypony would ever go and visit. Still wondering if I should—”

He immediately kicked that thought out of his mind. “No! There’s no need to question it. I have to do this if I want a chance better chance at winning Rarity over.”

Spike sighed, walked towards Gilda’s house, and prepared himself for the worst. He knocked on the door and waited…

… And waited….

… And waited. For nearly two minutes, there was not a word from inside the house. He knocked again to confirm if she was truly gone or not. There was still no answer. She was either ignoring him or just not there at the moment. Either way, he wasn’t going to be able to talk to her that day.

“Should have known this would be a waste of time.” Spike groaned. “I’ll just have to find somepony who could give me some advice.”

As he turned around to leave, the door slowly creaked open, revealing a drowsy and grumpy Gilda. “Couldn’t you see the do not disturb sign on the door?” She growled, wiping away sleep from her eyes.

“Oh,” Spike said dumbly, just now noticing the wooden Go Away sign on her door. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention, and—”

“What the heck!” Gilda’s vision cleared and she finally noticed who was talking to her. “Oh, that’s right! You’re the little twerp I ran into this morning. What do you want?”

“Well,” Spike began nervously, “I remembered what you said about getting her those dahlias, so I bought them, and—”

“Oh, so the kid actually took some sound advice.” Gilda smirked and crossed her arms. “So tell me… what was her reaction?”

“She… she loved the flowers you suggested.”

“I’m sorry, couldn’t hear that.” Gilda put a claw against her ear, pretending to clean it free of wax. “Who suggested you get those flowers again?”

Spike clenched his teeth at her taunting and groaned in defeat. “You did...”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said,” Gilda gloated, rubbing it in. “Well, if all you wanted was for me to humiliate you, then my job here is done. Enjoy your life and goodbye.” She started to close the door.

“Wait!” Spike grabbed the door before Gilda closed it on him. “I need to ask you something.”

Gilda rolled her eyes and opened the door again. “What do you want?”

“Well, I was hoping that maybe…” Spike paused as Gilda stared down at him. He swallowed. “Maybe you could help me try to win over Rarity.”

Gilda let out a hearty laugh. “Oh that’s rich! The little dweeb wants me to help him woo a lady!”

Spike rolled his eyes and facepalmed. “Yeah, so... will you do it?”

“Of course,” Gilda said sarcastically, throwing up her claws as she mocked him. “I would love to help a tiny twerp win the heart of his crush and waste time I could’ve spent sleeping! I totally want to spend my time helping you get over your inability to do things by yourself.”

“You will?” Spike asked with high hopes.

“No. Now buzz off!” Gilda attempted to close the door again, but Spike kept prying it open. She scowled and narrowed her eyes at him as she tried to pull the door shut. “Kid, you’re starting to get on my nerves! I said, buzz off!”

“No!” Spike stood firm. “Not until you help me!”

Gilda groaned, rolling her eyes. “I already told you! It’s not gonna happen! Go bug somebody else who cares!”

Spike held onto the door,attempting to pry it open to prevent Gilda from slamming it in his face. “Please, Gilda, I’m begging you! I need your help. I’ll do anything for your advice!”

Gilda stopped trying to pull the door closed and softened her expression. She almost had pity for the desperate guy. “So, you’ll do anything?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes! Whatever you want!”

Gilda rubbed her chin with her claw, grinning deviously. “Okay then, squirt. How many bits do you have?”

“What?”

“You want my advice, you’re gonna have to pay up.” She extended her claw, expecting him to hand her the money.

“B-but I was going to save this for something to eat at Sugarcube Corner,” Spike whined.

“Well, if pastries are more important than impressing your mare, then I guess we’re done here.”

“NO! Okay, I’ll pay up.” Spike reached into his pockets and pulled out all his money. “Here. Now will you please help me?!”

Gilda counted all the bits in her hand and scrunched her face. “This is all you have?”

“Well… I get paid more today, if money is an issue. I could always bring you more if you need it!” Spike added, fidgeting nervously.

“Hmm…” Gilda mulled over the proposition for a few moments before saying, “Yeah, I could work with that.”

Spike jumped around Gilda’s feathery neck and squeezed tightly. “Thank you, thank you! You don’t know how much this means to me!”

“Trust me, I have a good idea.” Gilda grabbed Spike and pulled him off of her, brushing off her fluffy chest.

“So, when do we begin?” Spike asked eagerly.

“Well, kid, I think you should go home for now.” Gilda stretched out and yawned. “I’m going to go and get some sleep.”

“What? But you promised to—”

“I expect you to meet me here first thing tomorrow morning,” she said as she walked back inside the house. “I hate having to wait up on folks. You got that?”

Spike nodded.

“Good. Now scram!” With everything finally said, Gilda closed the door on Spike.

The dragon walked away from Gilda’s home and headed towards the Golden Oaks Library.

***

Later that night, Spike lied in his basket, sleep refusing to take him. His mind was too focused on other things.

Spike tossed and turned, mumbling questions to himself. “Is she really going to help me? What advice will she give me? Can she really help me win over Rarity?”

“Spike, what are you going on about?” Twilight asked, half-asleep.

“Oh, um, I’m was just trying to figure out what kind of cakes I want to get tomorrow with my money,” Spike said with a nervous chuckle.

Twilight gave him a small, tired smile and giggled a bit. “Isn’t that just like you, Spike. Always thinking with your stomach. Just keep your mumbling down. I’m very tired.”

“Will do, Twilight!” Spike watched as she turned away and went back to sleep, snoring as soon as her head hit the pillow. His thoughts immediately returned to Gilda and what she would do to help him.

Still can’t believe I was desperate enough to go to her. But Rarity is totally worth dealing with her. I mean, how bad could it possibly be? All I have to do is listen to what she says and then go for it.

Even with his mind focused on the coming event, his drowsiness finally took ahold of him and he fell asleep, anticipating the following day.

***

Spike woke up early enough to reach the griffon’s house on her time. He bought himself a few muffins to fill his stomach and wake himself up fully, making sure he had enough bits to satisfy Gilda.

He approached the house and knocked on her door. It didn’t take her too long to respond this time, but her head was a mess. She looked like she had just gotten out of bed. Gilda quickly straightened her tufted feathers and looked directly at Spike.

“So, where’s the rest of the money?” she asked, holding her claw out.

“It’s right here.” Spike sighed and pulled the remaining bits he had out of his pockets. “And good morning to you, too,” he added, irritation in his voice.

Gilda counted the bits and added them to the previous day’s pay. “So, that amounts to forty bits. Still chump change, but I’ll be generous and settle with this.”

You call taking all of the money I had being generous? “Okay, so what do we do now?” Spike asked.

“Well, the first thing I need to know is who is this mare you’re so sweet on,” Gilda said. “Can’t help you if I don’t know what she’s like.”

“Oh, that will be easy!” Spike immediately perked up. “Her name is Rarity. She’s the most amazing, beautiful, simply glorious—”

“When I said I needed to know about this mare, I didn’t mean throw a bunch of love vomit at me!” Gilda gagged. “I meant describe her characteristics—what she likes and does.”

“Oh,” Spike said. He tapped his chin with a claw. “Well, she’s the owner of the Carousel Boutique. She likes fine wine and opera. She absolutely loves cherry creme-filled chocolates and truffles.”

“Mmmhmm. So she’s a mare of refined taste. I see.”

“Yes… very…” Spike started swooning over the thought of Rarity again, making Gilda roll her eyes.

“And here you are, a tubby, little dragon without a single clue of how to pick up a chick by himself. At this rate, you only have a thirty percent chance of winning her over.”

Spike lowered his head, staring at the ground. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

Gilda shook her head, feeling pity for the poor dragon. “But with a little help from Gilda here, I’ll be able to raise your chances by about… I don’t know… twenty percent.”

“But... that’s still only half a chance,” Spike whined. “That’s lower than I expected.” His forehead scales drooped in disappointment.

“Hey, I said I would help you. I didn’t say I could perform miracles. You’re going to have to put in most of the work,” Gilda said.

“Fine. So, what should I do?”

Gilda facepalmed. “Gee, do I have to tell you everything? Why not take her to dinner at a place you know she likes?”

Spike paused for a moment before suggesting the first things that came to mind. “Well, she does like nice yet simple foods… or ‘cuisines,’ as she would call them. I’ve heard her talk about some restaurant called Le Creuset.”

“Ah, the only four-star restaurant in Ponyville.”

“Yeah, and it’s quite expensive,” Spike said, then smiled. “But she’s worth every bit.”

“Well, there you have it!” Gilda clapped her claws together. “You got a good start right there. Now, you just need to ask her out.”

“Was it really that simple?”

“Yep, and I got paid forty bits just to tell you something simple,” she said with a smirk, a laugh escaping her beak.

Spike scrunched his face in disapprovement as Gilda laughed at him. “You don’t have to rub it in, you know,” he said coldly, crossing his arms.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, since all you have to do is ask her out, I can add in some tips on what to do if she says yes.”

“Sure, why not,” Spike said, shrugging. “Might as well make the most out of the money you swindled from me.”

“Hey, you were desperate enough to give me your allowance,” Gilda corrected. “You did this on your own free will.”

“Whatever…” Spike rolled his eyes. “Well, I guess I should go ahead and ask her. I’ll come back and tell you how things went.”

“Don’t be too quick to come back,” Gilda said, flipping one of the bits in her talon.

Spike walked eagerly towards the boutique. All he had to do was invite Rarity out to dinner and he would be set. An easy task, right?

He stepped in front of the boutique, his legs shaking vigorously.

Not this again! It should not be this hard!

As he walked inside, he noticed Rarity reclining on her couch, encased in her warm, fluffy bathrobe. Spike’s cheeks flushed from the sight of his goddess.

“Spike?” Rarity turned towards him, making his blush deepen even more. “What are you doing here so early?”

“Well… I… um…” Spike couldn’t get a word in without fumbling over himself.

“Something wrong?” Her soft tone sent shivers down Spike’s spine.

“It’s just…. well… I wanted to—”

“Wanted to what? You can tell me anything, Spike.”

Once again, Spike found himself unable to speak to her properly. He needed to come up with something before he looked like a bumbling idiot.

“I… I just wanted to see how your projects were going,” he said. “I saw that you were so busy yesterday, and I wanted to see how the process was going!” He smiled awkwardly at Rarity, scratching his head.

“Well, wasn’t that thoughtful of you,” Rarity said. “I got done with the last of my projects last night. When the clients come to pick them up, I can enjoy the rest of my evening.” Rarity sighed dreamily, anticipating finally being free of her workload.

“Yeah, that’s nice,” Spike muttered, kicking at the floor.

Rarity tilted her head and eyed him curiously. “Is there something else? It looks like you have something on your mind.”

“No!” Rarity raised an eyebrow at his outburst. Spike covered his mouth. “I-I mean… there’s nothing else on my mind. I just came to check on your projects! Yeah, that’s it.”

Rarity could tell that something was on Spike’s mind, and she had a good idea of what it was. Not wanting to make this situation any more awkward, she decided to let it slide. “Well, aren’t you a good friend,” she said with a small smile.

“Yeah, friend. Just… friend.” Spike sighed in disappointment. It was time to cut his losses and report back to Gilda. “Well, I’ll be going now. See ya around, Rarity.”

“Well, okay, Spikey. But why don’t we—”

Before she finished her sentence, Spike rushed out the door. Rarity sighed and looked down, digging a hoof at the carpet. “I’m going to have to tell him sooner or later…”

***

Gilda rolled on the ground, tears welling in her eyes from laughter.

“Oh, that’s rich!” Gilda howled, holding her claw against her chest. “I can’t believe you choked up just because she was in a fancy robe!”

“Oh shut up!” Spike scowled. “I should have never even came here if you were going to make fun of me!”

“I just— I just can’t hold it in!” Gilda gasped and tried to catch her breath. “You… didn’t last even a second without choking up!”

“Fine, okay?!” Spike blurted, balling his claws into fists. “I can’t talk to her about this without messing up! There! Happy? I’m hopeless! There’s not a chance I’ll be able to win her over!”

Spike buried his face in his arms, sobbing in frustration. Gilda noticed how distraught the dragon was, and ceased her laughter, her expression softening. She extended one of her claws and patted Spike on the back to console him.

“Listen, kid, it ain’t the end of the world quite yet,” she said. “So what? You messed up. You still have time to try again.”

“But, how?” Spike lifted his head and stared up at Gilda.

“The problem is not your personality, or you not knowing what she wants, but rather your lack of confidence. If you keep acting like this, you’ll never win her over.”

“So, how do I solve it?”

Gilda licked the tip of her claw and rubbed her feathered fringe. “By practicing on me.”

Spike raised an eyebrow at her suggestion. “I don’t quite follow.”

“It’s simple, really. You talk to me like you would talk to this Rarity girl. So basically, when you look at me, think about her.”

“But, you’re nothing like her,” Spike said, shaking his head.

Gilda groaned. “I know that, Einstein! It’s just for practice!”

“I’m not so sure about this. It wouldn’t be the same.”

Gilda pinched her forehead and sighed. “Alright then. Well, since you aren’t willing to begin, I’ll take the lead and just act as her.”

Gilda patted her chest and let out a small cough, preparing to give her best haughty accent. “Oh, Spike, what brings you here? I was just sitting here, powdering my fat rump.”

Spike blinked. “Wait, what?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe how boring it has been around here. I’ve just sat around doing nothing but eat fattening cake and drone about how pathetic I truly am!”

Spike’s blood began to boil. How dare Gilda make a mockery of Rarity like that?

“Cut it out!” he shouted, blowing small puffs of smoke out of his nose. “You’re not taking this seriously at all!”

“Well, if you aren’t going to make an attempt, why should I?” Gilda folded her arms across her chest. “I’m perfectly able to take this seriously if you show me you’re willing to put effort in it.”

Spike was starting to regret going to Gilda for help; however, he did have to admit she had a point. Who was he to question or challenge her on the subject of winning the heart of his special mare? After all, she did suggest getting the flowers Rarity enjoyed so much. He would just have to grin and bear it.

“Um… Rarity?” Spike said, trying to play along.

“What is it, deary?” Gilda asked in the voice that grated Spike’s ears.

“I… um… wanted to… well….”

“Pause!” Gilda stopped the hoity-toity voice and returned to her normal tone. “From now on, I don’t want you going ‘um,’ and ‘well,’ while pausing every two words! That shows a lack of confidence, something she’ll pick up on immediately.”

“Okay, I’ll try,” Spike said quietly, kicking at the ground.

“You’re not going to try, dweeb. You’re going to do it,” Gilda said firmly. “Also, none of that kicking or arms behind your back stuff. Stand up straight, look me straight in the eye, and talk with confidence.”

Spike obeyed her orders. He straightened his posture and made direct eye contact with the griffon.

Gilda crossed her arms. “Okay, let’s try this again.”

Spike took a deep breath and stared back up at Gilda. “Oh hey, Gild— I mean, Rarity. How’s it going?”

Gilda facepalmed from his slip-up. “You’re still not envisioning me as Rarity.”

“How can I do that? You’re clearly a griffon!”

“Could you make an attempt to try?” She groaned. “Just forget that I’m Gilda. Think hard and imagine me as Rarity. It’ll make the exercise easier.”

“Fine, I’ll give it a shot.” He closed his eyes and thought long and hard, trying to form Rarity in his mind. Once he opened his eyes, he noticed that the griffon was no longer standing in front of him. Instead, it was the lovely Rarity staring at him with half-lidded eyes.

“Spikey…” Her voice was silky and dreamlike, making Spike blush furiously. “Is there something you want to tell me, dear?”

Words refused to escape Spike’s lips. It was as if her beauty had stolen his ability to speak.

“Spike?”

Her splendor hypnotised him, sending him into a trance.

“Spiiike?”

A dopey grin formed on his face.

“Hey! Spike! Snap out of it!”

Gilda tapped Spike on his head, bringing him back to reality. Instead of his sweet, angelic Rarity, he once again saw the face of the agitated, pain-in-the-neck Gilda. “Dude, you wonked out on me!”

“I was just trying to imagine you as Rarity!” Spike protested, defending himself.

“And in doing so, you slipped into that stupid, dopey trance.” Gilda shook her head.

“Sorry…” Spike grimaced, feeling disappointed in himself yet again.

“This is going to be a long day.” Gilda sighed.

The two spent the next several hours practicing and making sure Spike got a grip on his nerves. They made slow progress, inching their way towards building his confidence.

“Spike, what did you want to ask me, dear?” Gilda asked,l poorly mimicking Rarity’s voice.

Spike said confidently, “I just wanted to know if you wouldn’t mind going out with me to Le Creuset.”

Finally! The twerp finally got it. Gilda sighed dreamily and decided to play it coy. “Well, I don’t know…”

“If you don’t want to consider it a date, then that’s fine,” Spike said cooly, “but it would be an honor to take somepony as amazing as you out.”

“If you insist, Spikey…” Just uttering that pet name made Gilda want to throw up. “I’ll need to check my calendar, then I’ll get back with you for an answer.”

“Oh… so you’re busy then?” Spike asked, a bit confused.

“No, you got it all wrong, kid,” Gilda replied in her normal voice. “When a mare says she needs to check her calendar, that’s a sign that she’s considering it.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Really? It’s that simple?”

“Not entirely. Sometimes they’ll say different things. It’s still easy to pick up the signs, though. If they don’t directly tell you no, or don’t show any hesitation, they are at least considering it.”

“Ahh, that’s good.” Spike smiled widely, hope radiating off him.

“You seem proud of yourself, squirt,” Gilda said Spike nodded in affirmation. Gilda grinned. “Well, I don’t blame you. It took you a few hours, but at least you finally stopped acting like a dork.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Spike chuckled. His light laughter was interrupted by a rumbling in his stomach.

Gilda gave him an amused smirk. “Sounds like someone’s hungry.”

“Well, all I had this morning was two blueberry muffins,” he said as he rubbed his belly. “I haven’t had anything to eat since.”

“Well, it has been a long day, and I’m hungry myself. Tell you what, because I’m a nice griffon…” She heard Spike cover his mouth and chuckle, his claws muffling his snickers. Gilda raised an eyebrow. “Anyways, like I was saying— because I’m nice, I’ll get us some lunch at wherever you want to eat.”

“Using the money I gave you?” Spike asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.

Gilda just smirked. “Still counts. Now, either you can accept my charity, or I can change my mind and let you go hungry.”

Spike wasn’t the one to let free food fly by— even though she was technically using his money to buy them lunch. “Alright, Gilda. I’ll take you up on your offer.”

Gilda smiled and turned her back on him, spreading her wings. “Well, hop on, squirt. I like getting my lunch on the fly, and I don’t need you slowing me down.”

Spike didn’t hesitate. He lifted himself on Gilda’s back, petting her soft, fluffy feathers. “Wow, you’re soft,” he said, stroking her feathery back.

“Uhh… thanks?” Gilda clicked her tongue. “Now if you’re done being creepy, let’s get out of here and get some grub.” Gilda flapped her wings and kicked her talons up. She soared through the air at top speed, flying towards the town square.

“Whoa! We’re up high!” Spike looked at the tiny ponies below him in amazement.

“You act as if this is your first time flying,” Gilda said.

“Well, I’ve been in the air before, but not on a griffon’s back. This is exciting!”

Gilda couldn’t help but chuckle at Spike’s excitement. “Well, if you think this is thrilling, then how about this!”

“What are you talking abo— AAAAAAAAHH!”

Gilda turned upside down and folded her arms, back stroking in the air.

“Gilda! What are you doing?” Spike cried. He held onto her feathers and flailed his legs in the air.

She laughed. “Don’t panic, kid! Just relax.”

“How can I relax when I’m hanging on the end of your feathers?!”

“You worry too much. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Spike felt his hands slipping. “Um.. Gilda?” Gilda ignored the dragon and started humming to herself. “Gilda, this isn’t funny anymore!”

Spike’s panicking went unnoticed. His grip became weaker and weaker, until he eventually lost hold of Gilda and began plummeting to the ground below.

“GIIIIIIIIIIIIIILDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Spike flailed his arms and legs in panic, expecting the worse. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see himself splat on the hard surface. However, as time went on, he didn’t feel as if he was falling any more. In fact, it was as if he had landed on something.

“You can open your eyes now.” Gilda laughed. “We’re already on the ground!”

Spike pried his fearful eyes open and found he was perfectly perched on Gilda’s back. She grinned at the terrified dragon as he gasped heavily to regain his breath.

“Don’t— do that— again!” Spike said between breaths.

“Alright, if you’re that much of a chicken,” Gilda said with a smirk. “So, where do you want to eat at?”

After Spike was finished hyperventilating, he paused for a moment, tapping his chin. “I don’t know. I guess we could go somewhere simple. Maybe that sandwich shack down the street.”

Gilda nodded. “I’m down with that.”

***

The two sat at the table of the restaurant, waiting for their meal to arrive.

“Boy, I can’t wait for our food to arrive!” Spike licked his lips. “I feel like I’m going to die of starvation!”

“Not going to lie, I could use some food, too,” Gilda said. “Wish they had something like fish though, but I’ll make do with what I ordered.”

“Yeah, they don’t serve gems here, so I have to make do as well. It’s almost like they don’t try to make things more manageable for us non-ponies.”

“Wow, isn’t that the understatement of the century?” Gilda said, her words dripping with sarcasm. “Still, it’s cheaper living here than where I was.”

“And that was?” Spike asked.

“I used to stay in a two-story apartment in Manehatten. If I had to describe it two words, I would say ‘run-down’. The water always leaked from the faucets, the wallpaper kept peeling off the wall, my roommate was the junkiest waste of space, and the bed was jacked up! And how much did it cost? Six hundred bits a month, for that dump!”

Spike gasped. “That’s even more expensive than Golden Oaks Library!”

Gilda nodded. “So I ditched the trash heap and decided to move over here. Yeah, I have bad beef with some of the ponies here, but I figured none of them would care if I isolated myself from them,” she said.

“So that’s why you bought the house outside of Sweet Apple Acres…”

“You’re not as dumb as I thought you were, squirt,” she quipped, eliciting a small harumph from Spike. “Not that anypony here cares. If I’m out of the way, they probably won’t pay me any attention.”

“You know, you could always apologize to them,” Spike said. “I mean, you don’t seem like the big jerk we thought you were. No offense, of course.”

“None taken.” Gilda dismissed him with a claw. “And you aren’t the idiotic doofus I thought you were. But you’re still a dweeb though.”

“Hey!” Spike glared at her.

“It’s the truth, kid.” Gilda’s teasing brought a small smile to Spike’s face. “And as for your suggestion, I’d rather things stay how they are. Not really into being social with the ponies, especially not the pink one.”

“Pinkie isn’t that bad—”

Gilda scoffed. “She is the most annoying of the bunch! If she ever tried to become my friend, I think I would go insane!”

Spike couldn’t help but laugh at her response. “Well, if you feel so strongly about it, I guess I can let everypony think you’re a ‘big, bad, meanie’.”

“Thanks, Spike,” Gilda said with a grin. Spike’s eyes widened at her words. Gilda to looked at him, confused. “There a problem?”

“No, no problem…” Spike said, “It’s just this is the first time you’ve actually stated my name instead of a word like ‘twerp’ or ‘dweeb’.”

Gilda chuckled. “Ha, that’s all? Well, I can tell you I won’t be wearing it out anytime soon.”

The two held idle chit-chat until the waiter arrived with their food. Spike didn’t waste any time burying his claws into the stack of hay fries and shoveling them in his mouth.

“Slow down, kid!” Gilda said as she picked up her sandwich to take a bite. “You’re going to choke yourself trying to down all those fries!”

“No, I womph,” he mumbled, his cheeks puffy and filled with food.

Gilda rolled her eyes and looked at the ketchup on the table, smiling deviously. “Okay, I don’t want to see you chewing with a mouthful of food while I’m eating. Stop shoving so much in your mouth.”

“Mafe me!”

“Ooooh… So now Spike wants to act all big and bad!”

Spike smugly smiled at her, satisfied that he managed to talk back to her.

“Hey, what is that?” Gilda asked, pointing behind them.

“Hmm?” Spike turned and looked around. “I don’f see any—”

He heard a loud gagging sound and a sudden thud. He slowly turned around and was met with a gruesome sight. Gilda was lying face-first on the table, a red trail of what seemed like blood trailing from her neck.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Spike’s eyes bulged. “Gilda!! Wake up!” He shook her body, but it remained limp. He lifted her claw, noticing the tips painted with red.

“OH NO!” Spike exclaimed, tears welling in his eyes. “Gilda, I’m sorry! I promise to slow down! I didn’t mean to make you want to—”

“RAA!” Gilda jerked up and reached out for Spike, making him to jump back and fall on the ground. A hearty laugh escaped her throat.

“Gilda! Why in Equestria would you do that?!” Spike yelled, his face flushing in embarrassment.

“Hey, it got you to stop shoving your face, didn’t it?” She snickered.

“Yeah, while nearly giving me a heart attack! I thought you were really—”

Once again, Gilda let out a fit of laughter, drawing the attention of other ponies. “You are the most gullible thing on the planet! Look at this stuff. What does this remind you of?”

Spike dipped a claw in the substance and brought it to his mouth. An annoyed frown painted his face once he tasted it. He glared at her as he pulled his claw out of his mouth. “It was ketchup.”

“Ding ding ding! Look who’s smarter than a snail.”

Although Spike’s mood soured from her display, he was glad that nothing bad actually happened to her. For some unexplained reason, he was starting to enjoy Gilda’s company.

“Just don’t do that to me again,” Spike said with a groan, rubbing the back of his head. “You nearly scared me to death doing that.”

The sincere dragon gave Gilda wide, glossy eyes, softening her expression to a more serious face. “Sure, kid. Sure.”

The rest of their time there was spent eating the last of their food. Spike finished his plate earlier than she did and asked Gilda if she would pay for a piece of cake. Time went by, and soon both Gilda and Spike had finished their meal.

“Well, I’m good and stuffed,” Spike said, patting his tummy.

“You should be. You went through an entire plate of hayfries and a slice of carrot cake.” Gilda rolled her eyes.

“And it all went down smooth.” Spike let out a satisfied sigh and slouched in the chair. “Thanks for buying lunch with my money, by the way.”

“Ah it was nothing, literally.” Gilda finished off the last of her drink and wiped her beak. “I have to say— you really aren’t that bad. For a dweeb, that is.”

“Well, you aren’t too bad for a jerky, feathered lion.”

Gilda shook her head at his lame quip, smiling softly.

“Well, since my tummy is full, might as well go and try to ask Rarity out to dinner tonight,” Spike said.

“Now?” Gilda watched in shock as Spike dismissed himself from the table and started confidently walking towards the boutique. “You sure you’re ready?”

“Positive. I can’t wait around all day. I need to act now!” Spike declared, puffing out his chest.

“Well, if you think you can do it without choking, then go for it,” Gilda said. “Just remember what we went over and you should do fine.”

“Will do, Gilda.” Spike gave her a thumbs-up. He was finally ready to confess his undying love to Rarity.

***

Rarity hummed to herself as she powdered her face.“Well, tonight is the big night, Rarity,” she said happily to her reflection. “You have to look your best for this occasion.”

Rarity’s attention turned towards the door once she heard it creak open. “Who is it?”

A young voice called out, “It’s me, Spike.”

Rarity put down her face powder and trotted towards the young dragon. She noticed something different about him. He wasn’t shivering or showing any signs of nervousness. He was absolutely glowing with confidence.

“Well hello, Spikey Wikey.” She smiled warmly at him. “What brings you here?”

“Oh, I just wanted to ask you something.”

“And that is?”

A smile spread across Spike’s face. He cleared his throat and continued his statement. “Well, we’ve been friends for quite some time now, and surely nopony has to tell you that you are a beautiful young mare.”

“Spike, what is with all this flattery?” Rarity asked, putting a hoof against her cheek.

“Well, Rarity, I want to treat you like the lady that you are.” Rarity’s face contorted as Spike began to explain himself. “You seem to like this fancy restaurant called Le Creuset, so I figured I that we could go there together tonight!”

“Tonight?” Rarity asked.

Spike nodded.

Rarity’s happy demeanor began to wane. Oh dear. I have to tell him someday. Might as well make it now.

“Spike, we need to have a talk.”

“Sure thing, Rarity! What’s on your mind?” he asked in a chipper tone.

Rarity walked to her sofa and gestured him to sit down next to her.

Rarity took a deep breath before speaking. “Spike, I like you and all, and I’m glad to have you as a friend—”

“Sooo… is that a yes then?”

Rarity sighed. “Spike, I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your offer.”

“Oh…” Spike fidgeted with his claws, glumly looking at Rarity. “Well, that’s fine. After all, we could always reschedule for another day, right?

“Well, Spikey… as sweet as this is, I’m afraid I’m just not interested in going out with you.”

Spike felt as if his heart was about to burst. Small tears began to trickle down his face. “Bu—but why not?”

Rarity couldn’t bare to see Spike like this, but she needed to say it. “Spike, I’m dating somepony else. I’m planning on meeting up with him later tonight,” she said flatly.

Just like that, Spike’s heart snapped in two. Everything he had worked for, all the effort he had made to ask his affection to one simple dinner, was now a waste.

Rarity frowned. “Oh, please don’t take it so hard, Spike. It’s nothing against you. I just don’t see us working in a relationship—”

“Because I’m a dragon, right?”

Rarity shook her head. “NO! That is not the reason, and you should never think that way!”

“Then why?” Spike’s eyes were glossy, tears threatening to escape him.

“Spike, I’ve always considered you a really important part of my life. You’re kind, sweet, and loyal to a fault. It is an honor to have you as a friend, but I just don’t love you the same way that you like me.”

“But I don’t just like you! I lo—”

Rarity put a hoof on Spike’s lips, halting his next words. “You think you do, but in due time, you’ll find someone else, someone even better than I am.”

“But— but I don’t want anyone else!” Spike started to cry. “I want you!”

“I know you think that way, Spike… I know…” Rarity pulled the saddened dragon close and hugged him. “But, trust me when I say this is just a crush. You can, and will find someone else. I’m not the only beautiful pony out there, you know.”

Spike remained silent. He looked up pitifully at Rarity with red, puffy eyes. It tore Rarity up inside to have to hurt his feelings like that.

“Please, Spikey. Don’t let this ruin the relationship we already have. I will always care for you— like a friend, a friend. If you need some time to cope with this, I understand. But please, for me, try not to be too torn up about this, okay?”

Spike nodded softly and sniffled. They stayed in the embrace for some time as Rarity stroked Spike’s scales to calm him down. After a while, Spike broke away from her and walked towards the door.

“Spike, are you going to be alright?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, I’ll manage,” he said, his head hanging low. “I just need some time, that’s all.”

“Oh… I see…” She paused. “Well, please feel better later, okay?”

“Yeah… sure.” Spike waved goodbye to Rarity and left the boutique with a broken heart.

Spike’s heart was completely torn, his lips quivering as he trotted through the marketplace in Ponyville. His eyes never left the ground; he was practically a walking zombie, slowly dragging his feet and walking to nowhere in particular. The only thing that caught his attention was the flapping of wings and the descent of Gilda.

“Hey hey, what’s up with you?” Gilda flew down in front of him. “You look like someone had died!”

“I might as well have,” Spike replied dully. “Seeing how I’m dead on the inside.”

Gilda scratched her head, cocking her head to the side. “She said no, didn’t she?”

More tears forced their way out of his eyes. Rarity’s word buzzed through his mind, eating him alive. “I’m nothing more than a friend to her…”

Gilda sighed heavily. It was bugging her to see the poor dragon emotionally wrecked. “Listen kid, I know it sucks, but I did warn you that there was a chance you wouldn’t win her over.”

“Yeah…” Spike’s face was glued to the ground.

Gilda tapped her talons on the ground impatiently and groaned. “You know what? I can’t deal with this.” She grabbed Spike and planted him on her back.

“What are you doing?” Spike asked.

“Trying to get you to stop acting like a sad sap!” Gilda said as she spread her wings out. “If there’s one thing I hate more than dorks, that’s crybabies!”

“Okay,” Spike said, wiping the tears away from his face. “What are you going to do?”

“You’ll find out when we get there, dweeb.” Gilda grinned smugly and shot off into the sky.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

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Spike lied motionlessly on Gilda’s back, holding on tightly as the wind fought him.

“Yo, kid, you still alive back there?” Gilda asked. “You’ve been quiet since we hit the air.”

He didn’t respond to her question. Instead, he moaned inaudibly, showing no signs of recuperating from the rejection.

“Hello! Could you say something that tells me you aren’t dead? Otherwise, I’m going to get rid of the excess baggage.”

“Rarity…” was all Spike could manage to squeak out. He repeated her name constantly, choking up occasionally.

“Well… that’s something, at least.” Gilda groaned. “Still the most miserable thing I’ve heard, but at least you have energy to say something.”

Spike grumbled inaudibly, making Gilda roll her eyes in disgust. It was an eerily silent trip to their destination, made more unbearable by the fact she was carrying a sulking dragon.

She landed near a small plain, rolling Spike off her back. The miserable dragon lay on the ground, a lifeless shell of his former self.

“Hey, get up, kid!” Gilda demanded. “I need to show you something.”

Spike got up and followed Gilda, who was walking towards a small pond.

“Look in there,” Gilda said. “I want you to tell me what you see when you looked in the pond.”

Spike stared down at the rippling water. The contents of his misery were fully displayed: red eyes, dried tears along his cheeks, and a dead and soulless expression that signified loss. He sighed softly and continued staring into the water.

“Well?” Gilda tapped the ground impatiently. “Any day now!”

“I see me, Gilda,” Spike said. “What else did you expect me to say?”

“Well, you want to know what I see? I see a pathetic twerp that is tearing himself up over a petty crush not accepting his advances. Look at you! You’re a miserable wreck!”

“But I am miserable…”

“Well, you shouldn’t be.” Gilda walked towards the pond and smashed her claw in it, distorting the image of Spike in the water. “You see how quick the sappy face left in the water? I can easily do that to you with a few jabs! Either that, or you can try and straighten out on your own!”

Spike cringed at her threat. “I’ll try,” he said simply, looking at the ground. “Maybe if I go lie down a bit, I can—”

“Lying down ain’t going to help you, twerp,” Gilda said “You’re going to do something to clear your mind of that mare, whether you like it or not.”

“Okay,” Spike said. “So, was there a point in you bringing me down here other than to hit the water and use it as a metaphor for my face?”

Gilda was about to respond, but couldn’t come up with anything to contradict what Spike had stated. “Just get back on my back,” she said, completely ignoring his question. “We’re going to go somewhere I like to go when I need some time to unwind.”

Spike complied with the demanding griffon’s orders. It wasn’t as if he had a choice—she would just track him down and berate him for being so sulky otherwise. He climbed on her back and she took off to the skies once again.

***

When they finally landed, they were in front of Ponyville’s bowling alley, causing Spike to raise an eyebrow.

“You come here often?” Spike asked.

“Well, I used to bowl back in Manehatten when I got tired of being in my crappy apartment,” Gilda explained, walking towards the building. “I usually go by myself, but since you’re around, I might as well play a round with you.”

“I guess…”

The two walked inside the bowling alley. Gilda went against the counter to claim a lane. While she was registering their names, Spike sat on the stepped towards the bowling area, staring at nothing, tears beginning to well up in his eyes again.

It is an honor to have you as a friend, but I just don’t love you the same way that you like me.

The words were like poison, pounding their way into his skull until the least desirable phrases tormented him.

I just don’t love you the same way that you like me.

“But… I do love her…” Spike rocked back and forth with his hands against his head. He was on the verge of a meltdown.

I just don’t love you…

Don’t love you…

“She doesn’t… love me…”

“Hey, kid, we got lane four! Let’s get out there and get a few strikes on our belt!” Gilda grabbed Spike and pulled him to the appointed lane. She stretched out by the aisle, grabbing a red and black bowling ball.

“Alright, dweeb, we’re playing for ten frames,” she said. “Now, I want you to try and enjoy yourself. None of that sobbing and miserable look you’re pulling now. I paid too much for you to be wasting a shot!”

If Spike was in a better mood, he would have argued that she was using his money to pay for the game. However, he kept quiet and nodded his head.

“Good. Looks like I’m up first.” Gilda stuck her claws into the holes of the ball and lined up herself up in a good position to hit the pins. After angling herself appropriately, she rolled the ball down the lane, successfully hitting all ten pins.

“Striiiiike!” Gilda said, drawing the attention of the other participants in the alley. “First roll, too! Try and beat that, twerp.”

“Okay.” Spike grabbed a smaller, purple ball and slipped his claws inside. His misery intensified as he analyzed its color. It reminded him of the mare that stomped all over his heart. He slowly walked in the lane, not caring where he positioned himself, and lazily rolled the ball. It didn’t take long for the ball to roll in the gutter, avoiding every pin.

“Well, doesn’t look like I’m too good at this ga—OWW!”

Gilda struck the back of Spike’s head with her fist, giving him an irritated look. “What did I tell you about wasting a ball?”

“I tried to roll it, you jerk!” Spike rubbed the back of his head.

“No you didn’t! You lazily rolled it in the lane and didn’t care where it was going to end up!”

“Fine! I didn’t try, okay?! Spike said. “But how do you expect me to care when I’m miserable?!”

“You aren’t trying to stop being miserable, that’s the problem!”

The purple ball rolled back into the holder, giving Spike a second chance at hitting some pins.

“If you want me to stop being miserable, don’t hit me!” Spike glared at Gilda as he went to retrieve the ball. This time, he lunged the ball down the lane. It managed to hit one pin in the process.

“There! I hit one! Now will you—OOWW!”

Once again, Gilda punched him in the back of the head, this time with much more intensity.

“What is your problem?” Spike flared his nostrils furiously, blowing smoke . “I hit the stupid pin this time!”

“Yeah, but you’re doing it out of pent-up aggravation! You’re supposed to be unwinding!”

“Again, how can I unwind if you keep hitting me every twenty seconds?”

“Well, stop acting like a miserable sack of crap, and I might not hit you anymore!”

The two glared at each other, intense anger beaming in their eyes. It was once again Gilda’s turn to roll. She didn’t strike out that time, and instead got a split, eliciting a groan.

“Geez, I hate these,” she said, completely ignoring Spike’s agitation. “If you don’t hit the shot perfectly, you won’t get any of the pins.”

She lined up her final roll, attempting to hit the two pins. Instead, it only managed to get one down, the other jolting around slightly, barely avoiding the final push.

“Darn. Missed a pin. Your turn, twerp. And this time, put some effort into it.”

Spike once again grabbed the same ball, glaring at Gilda as he entered the lane.

Stupid Gilda, he thought, huffing to himself. The heartless jerk doesn’t care about my feelings! She’s just taunting me. Using my money to take her bowling… I don’t even like bowling that much. She could care less about me being miserable! I just got rejected! REJECTED!

He held the ball, preparing for another half-hearted roll. However, something stopped him from rolling—another voice had invaded his thoughts. The voice of his rejecter.

You’ll find someone else, someone even better than I am.

“No, I won’t.”

“Spike, you alive there?” Gilda noticed Spike standing motionlessly in the middle of the lane. “Hey! Hello?”

Spike’s attention was focused on the mare’s voice. “I can’t find anypony better than you…”

Because you won’t allow yourself to…

Spike jolted when he heard the unfamiliar statement.

You have to move on. I don’t want my little Spikey Wikey to be miserable because of this. You have to be stronger than this. You are stronger than this…

Spike sighed, realizing what the voice was. It was his conscience finally reaching him, knocking some sense into the dragon. Part of it was also fear of Gilda’s mighty claw, but he set that fear to the side to focus on the bigger issue.

Himself.

“You’re right,” he said to himself. “I have to get past this.”

“Um, are you talking to the ball that can’t respond back?” Gilda asked, thinking Spike had gone nuts. He ignored the griffon and lined up his shot, hoping to make a shot that would avoid a hard thrust to the back of his skull.

“I’ll do this for Rarity,” he said. “For my friends, so they don’t have to see me miserable. But, most importantly, I’ll do this for myself.”

He released the ball and shot it towards the pins. Unfortunately, he lined his shot up all wrong, and the ball went careening into the gutter. He turned towards Gilda and lowered his head.

“Go on, get it over with,” he said, closing his eyes and cringing. However, instead of a hard fist colliding with his skull, he received hefty chuckles from Gilda.

“Hey, kid, I’m not going to hit you,” she said, grinning softly.

“R-Really?”

Gilda nodded, causing Spike to look at her wide-eyed. “But, I missed the shot! I completely messed it up!”

“Yes, you did,” she said. “And while that was the most pathetic throw I’ve ever seen, you actually attempted to play the game. You tried to do it, instead of sulking and being a zombie. That’s all I wanted from you.”

Spike grinned slightly, wiping the one escaping tear that tried to leave his face. He was glad to finally have been able to somewhat get a grasp on his emotions.

“However, you do suck at bowling, kid,” Gilda taunted. “Seriously, what kind of shot do you call that?”

“It was my first legit try!” Spike defended. “You can’t expect me to get it right on my first try!”

Gilda stuck her tongue out at him. “Not like your other attempts will be any better.”

Spike clenched his fist and walked up to her, coming face-to-face with the griffon. “You want to bet on that, bird beak?”

Gilda smugly grinned at the fired-up dragon, saying, “Bring it on, dung for brains.”

For the rest of the game, Spike attempted to put Gilda in her place. He concentrated and took the challenge seriously, carefully lining up his shots to ensure his success. Every time Gilda watched him take his turn, she bobbed her head and grinned. This was the kind of energy she wanted the kid to show—the kind he needed. Oddly enough, it was also the kind she enjoyed.

Spike got up to take his final shot, glaring down the aisle with intense focus.

“Hey, twerp, the gutter is calling! It says it misses you!” Gilda laughed.

“Laugh it up all you want, Gilda. I’ll finally make you shut your trap.” With a concentrated throw, Spike sent his ball crashing into a roll of pins, ending the game.

“Yes!” Spike exclaimed, balancing himself on his tail in happiness. “Eat that, Gilda!”

The griffon put her claw to her beak and yawned, not too excited about his victory.

“You said I couldn’t do it. You said I didn’t have a chance. But I showed you! I actually hit five pins this time! Count ‘em: five pins!” Spike held his entire claw out, displaying his five digits for added insult.

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say,” Gilda said, rolling her eyes. “Just forget that it took you nine frames just to say that you were able to hit five more pins. Not only that, you still lost to me.”

“None of that really matters,” Spike said, too prideful of his accomplishment to let his victory go. “I did something you said I couldn’t do!”

The score finalized on the screen above. The apparent winner was Gilda, and she had beaten him by a landslide, but she decided not to point it out again. He was too into his little success for her to break his spirits.

“So, wanna play another round?” Spike asked, cracking his fist. “I bet I can beat you this time!”

“So you actually got into this game, I see.” Spike nodded his head. “Well, since you’re starting to like it, no.”

Spike’s eagerness died out as Gilda began walking out of the bowling alley. He trailed behind Gilda, flicking her tail to the side when it got in his way.

“So, basically you got me into this game just so you could lift my spirits up. Then, once I actually get into the mood and start having a little bit of enjoyment, you take that away from me.”

“Like stealing candy from a baby.” Gilda chuckled. “And, plus, I didn’t feel like paying for another game. Maybe we should do something that shouldn’t eat up my money.”

“You mean my money, right?” Spike corrected.

“If you want to walk all the way to our next destination, then yes.”

Spike remained silent. He climbed on Gilda’s back and she flew into the air instantly. This time, instead of laying on her back like a miserable pile of nothingness, he sat up and looked out towards the sky.

“So, where are we going now?” Spike asked.

“You really like to ask a lot of questions, don’t you, twerp?” Gilda replied. “You’ll find out when we get there.”

“Why can’t you just tell me where we’re going now?”

“Because, one, you keep asking me these mundane questions, and two, because I don’t feel like it!”

Spike groaned. “You know, I would say that you are being extremely rude to me, but I shouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

Gilda cocked her head towards Spike and raised an eyebrow. Spike cringed up, worried that he had said something to upset the griffon.

“Well, kid, looks like you’re finally catching on.” She gave a cocky smile and returned her focus to the air, piloting them towards the next location.

From behind the clouds, a mountaintop came into full view.

“Oh, the mountains,” Spike said once he realized where they were going. “I come up here all the time!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Normally I gather gems up for Ra—”

Spike paused as the barrage of memories came flowing back to him. He felt his spirits die down ever-so-slightly. Gilda became concerned that Spike had fallen silent once more. She wanted to get him out of it before he sank back into sadness.

And she had an idea on how to do it.

“Hey, dweeb, better hold on tight!”

“Okay.” Spike obeyed, grabbing on tighter to her feathered back. “But why?”

Gilda answered his question through action, diving towards the mountainside at increasing speeds. Spike was holding on by only his hands. If he was to let go, he would be sent plummeting towards his doom.

“Hey Gilda, slow down!”

“Nope! Not until we get towards the mountains!”

“At the speed you’re going, we might end up crashing into them!”

“That won’t happen if you stop talking and let me concentrate.”

“How is me talking distracting you from anything?”

“Because SHUT UP!”

If Spike could roll his eyes, he would. He remained quiet and hoped that Gilda knew what she was doing. The griffon looked confidently towards the mountains and continued accelerating towards them. It looked as if she was going to crash head-first into the rocks. However, at the last second, she angled herself straight and slowed herself down to land firmly on the ground.

Spike looked in awe at how skillfully Gilda maneuvered through the sky and onto the ground. “Whoa! That was awesome!”

“Yeah, I know,” Gilda said, straightening her fringes. “Not every day you come across anyone as awesome as me, huh?”

Spike rolled his eyes and walked towards the edge of the mountain. The town was a small speck to the two.

“You know, I always liked looking down on Ponyville from here,” Spike said as Gilda walked beside him. “When I’m up here, I like to imagine that I’m a big dragon, towering over the tiny town.”

“Wow, you have a limited imagination,” Gilda taunted, causing Spike to lightly punch her in the gut.

“You can’t let me have any fun, can you?” Spike chuckled.

“I’m a regular killjoy,” Gilda replied, sticking her tongue out at him. “But enough standing over the edge. If you fall off, I’m not going to come to your rescue.”

“Fine.” Spike left the mountain’s end, wandering aimlessly. “What did we come up here for?”

“What do you normally do up here?”

“Well, me and Rarity usually go gem hunting,” Spike said with a sigh. “Why do you ask?”

She began pushing Spike forward. “Well, get to hunting. We’re going to do something you like this once.”

“B-But we don’t know where the gems are! Normally, Rarity would—”

“Let me guess, she uses the magic from her horn to tell you were the gems were, didn’t she?” Spike nodded. “Ha! Leave it to the ponies to find a wimpy, easy way of doing things! And let me guess, she also made you do all the digging, right? She was too pretty to get her hands dirty, am I right?” Gilda asked.

“Well, not exactly,” Spike said, twiddling his fingers. He didn’t want to admit it, but in the back of his mind, he knew that most of what Gilda had said was true.

“Well, we’re going to do things the old-fashioned way. Dig and pray that we find some gems.”

“So, by we you mean—”

“Yes, me and you. Also, if I find more gems than the dragon that actually likes to eat them, I’m going to slap the everlasting crap out of you. Got it, squirt?”

“Y-Yeah, I got it,” Spike replied.

The two spent most of their time digging for the gemstones. Spike made haste with his digging, burrowing through the ground at the rate of a mole. Gilda dug as well, but at a much slower rate, making sure to look like she was attempting to find the gems while the dragon was looking at her. During the entire expedition, they found a grand total of thirty gems.

“Oooh…” Spike drooled over the delicate rocks. “They… look… delicious…”

“Well, then go ahead and eat them instead of salivating all over the ground,” Gilda suggested.

“You don’t have to ask me twice!” Spike planted himself on the ground and started crunching on the gems. Gilda watched as he ate his food. Spike noticed she was staring at him and held one of the gems out.

“You want one?” he asked.

“Does it look like I eat colored rocks?” Gilda scoffed. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t want to eat anything you slobbered all over!”

“Jeez, I was just offering,” Spike mumbled, stuffing his face with the gem he was about to offer. It took him only a few minutes to down the remaining gems, his belly sticking out from the amount he had eaten.

“Great, the kid’s getting fatter by the second. Eventually ,I won’t be able to fly you around, tubby.”

“Oh, be quiet! I can burn the rest of this off in a week.”

“Ha! I doubt that, twerp!”

They spent a lot of that day just relaxing and lazing about. They shared short conversations with each other (most just snarky quips and taunts), digging for more gems any time Spike had the munchies. The two seemed to get along more as they got they sat in each other’s company.

The sun was beginning to set, turning the light-blue sky into a yellowish-orange array. Gilda stretched out her talons and spread her wings, feathers ruffling in the process. “Alright, dweeb, you live at the library, correct?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I’m gonna take you back,” she said. “I’m done with you for the day. Besides, I’m about to go see something I don’t think you can handle.”

“What are you talking about? I can handle anything you can dish out!”

“Really?” Gilda asked, raising an eyebrow. “I must warn you now that what I’m about to do is going to be more intense and terrifying than diving towards a mountain. This thing will make your scales crawl, your blood turn cold, and make you wish you could erase everything you saw from your eye sockets. Now, tell me, are you truly prepared for that kind of terror?”

The vivid description caused him to gulp and shake a little, but he was determined. He wasn’t going to be driven away from Gilda— not that easily, at least.

“No problem,” Spike said coolly. His confidence caused Gilda to raise an eyebrow.

“Very well, twerp.” She lowered herself, inviting him on her back. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“No need to try to scare me off,” Spike replied, walking towards her. “I’ve dealt with you and your rotten attitude all day! What could be scarier than that?”

***

“No, please. Leave me alone!”

The masked pony remained silent, revving up a chainsaw and running towards the horrified mare.

“No! Stop! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—”

The audience squirmed as the chainsaw made contact with the mare. It was horror night at the Ponyville sit-in theatre, so the the field was filled with ponies screaming. Some couples nestled against each other, keeping themselves calm after seeing a gruesome scene.

Gilda and Spike sat in the middle of the crowd. Gilda looked wide-eyed at the projector screen, throwing a clawful of popcorn into her mouth and enjoying the gory madness happening on screen. Spike, on the other hand, wasn’t taking it too well. He had his hands over his mouth, shivering violently from the scenes.

“Okay, maybe there are things scarier than your poor attitude,” Spike admitted.

“Oh, so now you change your mind,” Gilda said, digging into the popcorn bag. “Well, you should have listened to me earlier.”

“I didn’t think you would take me to see a horror flick like thi—AAHH!” Spike covered his eyes as he saw the next terrifying scene and looked at the ground. “I want to go home now…”

“Too late for that, twerp,” Gilda said, popping more popcorn in her mouth. “I’m not missing a single moment of this movie because you’re about to piss yourself.”

“Fine,” he said, visibly upset. “I’ll just go home myself!”

“Okay, fine by me.”

“You’re not going to oppose? I mean, it’s dark, dangerous, who knows what’s out here at this time of night—”

“And I don’t really care. I’ll take you home after the movie is over, but until then, you either sit down and wait it out or walk home by yourself.”

Spike folded his arms and looked back at the screen. Two colts had decided to split up and look for the chainsaw-wielding stallion.

“What are you two doing?” Spike shouted at the screen. “He’s just going to get you both!”

He received a light tap on the shoulder from Gilda. “Hey, keep it down. This is the good part!”

Spike watched and hoped that nothing else disturbing would happen. His hopes were shot down immediately as the masked creep leapt from behind the shadows and began his work. The audience screamed once more and Spike buried his head into GIlda’s fluffy breast.

“Really, kid?” She groaned. He didn’t respond, nor remove his face from her chest. Gilda sighed loudly and stretched out her left wing, covering his body with it to shield his vision from the movie. He felt her warm, comforting wings encase him, causing him to flush lightly.

“Thank you, Gilda,” he said softly with wide, young eyes.

Gilda couldn’t bear looking into his sappy eyes. She immediately harrumphed and turned back to the movie. “Yeah, whatever! Just don’t follow me to the movies ever again.”

Spike smiled and nodded his head, snuggling against her protection. Gilda brought a claw to her face and dragged it down. “I should have just let you wallow in your misery…”

***

Spike was still shivering, walking beside Gilda and looking around occasionally.

“You’re pretty jittery,” Gilda said. “That movie couldn’t have scared you that much!”

“Well, I’m not the best when it comes to horror movies,” Spike admitted. “I wasn’t expecting you to have such a morbid interest!”

“Not my fault. You’re the one who said you could handle anything.”

“That was before I knew you were going to take me to see a film about that chainsaw dude.” Spike shivered just from the thought of the film.

“No one told you to come with me, you know.”

“Well, no. But for some reason, I just like being around you. I mean, yeah you’re a jerk, but you’re an awesome jerk. You helped me get over the Rarity situation, too.”

“Well, well, well. You can actually utter her name without being all sad sap,” Gilda said with a cheeky grin.

“Yeah… I can, can’t I?” Spike was absolutely glowing with pride. “Rarity! Rarity, Rarity, Rarity—”

“Gosh, kid, I heard you the first time! No need in getting all happy over being able to say an ex-crush’s name.”

“Oh, sorry,” Spike said, blushing in embarrassment.

Gilda, exhausted from looking after Spike the entire day, led him back to the library. Spike himself was getting a little sleepy, so settling in the bed would also be nice for him.

“Well, here you are,” Gilda said as they reached Golden Oaks. “Now that I’m done with you, I can finally go get some rest.” Gilda stretched her arms out and yawned heavily.

“Yeah, I could use some sleep myself. It’s been an eventful day, but one I enjoyed.”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a nice time, too,” Gilda admitted. “Just don’t expect this to happen too often. Or, better yet, don’t expect it to happen again.”

“Well, if you put it like that,” Spike said, “I’ll make sure to force you out of that house more often.”

Gilda chuckled at his response. “If you can, Spike. If you can.” She reached into her bag and pulled out some bits, dropping them into Spike’s hands.

“What are these for?” Spike asked.

“What do you mean what are they for?” Gilda replied, staring at him like he was an idiot. “You buy stuff with them! I didn’t think you were brain-dead.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it! I mean, why did you give me my money back?”

Gilda brought her talons on top of Spike’s head and rubbed it softly. “Because I kind of felt bad about taking a kid’s money when he had nothing to show for it, so I want to give you your stuff back. That, and now you can’t say I didn’t pay for everything tonight.”

Spike’s face reddened. He looked up and smiled softly at the griffon, who was acting a little more tender than normal. “Yeah… I guess not.”

“Anyway, I’m about to go hit the hay. Peace, twerp.”

“Yeah… peace…”

He watched her fly off into the moonlit sky, smiling and blushing even more madly than before. Once she left his eyesight, he walked towards the library door and entered.

“Spike, where have you been?” Twilight ran up to him and embraced him in a tight hug, confusing the dragon. “We’ve been worried sick about you.”

“We?”

“Is that Spikey?” A sniffle came from the living room. It was clear to him who the voice was, and, without hesitation, she darted into the room to embrace him.

“Oh, thank goodness! My precious Spikey Wikey is fine!” Rarity shouted in delight.

“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Rarity came over here as soon as she finished her date to make sure you were okay. I thought you were with her for most of the day.”

“We looked practically everywhere for you, darling,” Rarity said in an overly-dramatic fashion. “We even looked for you on top of the mountains where we usually go, but we couldn’t find you!” She pressed Spike’s cheeks together with her hooves. “Don’t ever scare us like that again! Where were you?”

“I was with Gilda for most of the day,” Spike said, much to the two mares’ confusion.

“Gilda?” Twilight asked. “Wait, that’s right. She moved here to Ponyville not too long ago.”

“Hmph! You mean that ruffian is living here now?” Rarity scoffed, still cradling Spike.

“Seems to be the case. What I’m confused about is why you were hanging around her, Spike.”

“Well… you see, I went to her earlier for some advice on how to win Rarity over—”

Rarity released the dragon and looked down glumly, remembering how distraught Spike was earlier. “Spike, I’m sorry about that, but I—”

“No, it’s completely cool,” Spike said, waving her off with a claw. “I totally understand.”

“You do?” Rarity asked in shock.

“You do?” Twilight asked as well.

“Yep. Admittedly, I was a little miserable once you dropped the news on me, but Gilda spent some time with me afterwards to take my mind off of it. I’m completely fine now.”

Twilight and Rarity stared at each other in awe. This was something that they feared Spike wouldn’t get over for weeks, yet he proved both of them wrong and got over it in a single night.

“Well, that’s great, Spike,” Twilight said with a smile. “I’m glad you were able to handle this in a mature manner.”

“Yep, I would say I’m pretty mature for my size,” Spike gloated, causing Twilight to roll her eyes and Rarity to giggle. “But… even a big grown dragon like me needs some rest. Time for beddy-bye…”

He rubbed his eyes and made his way up the stairs. “Night, everypony…”

“Goodnight, Spike,” Twilight said.

“Nighty night, Spikey,” Rarity said.

He walked up the stairs and entered his room, preparing for bed.

“Well… that went better than I imagined,” Rarity said “I can’t believe he got over it so quickly.”

“Me neither,” Twilight said, a hoof planted on her chin. “It’s certainly a miracle he’s not bawling his eyes out right now. However, I do wonder about something.”

“And that is?”

“Well, he seemed happy to have been around Gilda. As if he was starting to—”

“Starting to what?”

Twilight shook the idea out of her head. “Nothing. It’s just one of my silly assumptions.”

“I see,” Rarity said, smiling softly. “Well, whatever business Gilda had with Spike, I’m just glad it was a pleasant one, unlike the last time she was down here—”

“Yeah, I remember that day. Wonder how Dash will take the news.”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter how she takes it, now, does it? Spike is having fun with her, so Rainbow Dash might just have to be civil, even if Gilda is a very rude griffon.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Let’s just hope things don’t get too heated.”

***

“Hey… wake up…”

Spike groaned and kept his eyes sealed shut, ignoring the alluring voice.

“Get up, twerp…”

Spike slapped at the intruder with his claws, trying to convince the creature to go away. Once there was nothing else bothering him, he went back to his peaceful slumber.

That was, until a cold bucket of water fell on him, forcing himself out of the bed and onto the… pillowy clouds?

“What was that for?” Spike asked in agitation, his vision still blurry. “And why am I on a giant cloud?”

“Because I brought you here, stupid!”

Spike squinted his eyes and focused on the blurry figure in front of him. As his vision slowly came to him, he saw Gilda towering over him.

“You know, there are better ways at getting my attention than tossing freezing cold water on me,” Spike said with a frown.

“Well, you didn’t respond to the first attempt, so I just went onto the solution I’d knew would work.”

Spike rolled his eyes, still shivering from the cold water. “So, now you have my attention. What exactly do you want?”

Gilda brought a claw to her cheek and began to scratch it, blushing madly as she did so. “You know, I’m not the one to beat around the bush, so I’m just going to say it. I want you to kiss me.”

“Y-You what?” Spike couldn't believe his ears.

“What, do I have to repeat myself?” Gilda said in annoyance. “This wasn’t something I came to a conclusion on so easily!”

“It’s just that—”

“Just what?”

“Well… we just met each other, Gilda.”

“So?” Gilda approached him with half-lidded eyes. “You like me, don’t you?”

“Um… yes.”

“Then prove it,” Gilda said. “Unless of course, you’re chicken.”

Spike’s entire face was turning a crimson shade. Gilda pulled the dragon closer and parted her beak, leaning towards Spike for the kiss. This was a dream come true for Spike. His first kiss, his first intimacy, and with—

“Gilda!”

Spike gasped and leaned up in his bed. The situation he was in was only a dream. Just a dream.

So, why was he having the same one over and over again? He lied back down and looked up at the ceiling in confusion.

“Why can’t I get her out of my head?”

Soaring Hearts

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Spike didn’t get much sleep that night. Most of the time, he laid in his bed, trying to make himself forget about the weird dream he was having. His mind would always wonder back to the griffon who plagued his mind, refusing to stop grating at his dreams.

Once he actually was able to destroy the thoughts and get some sleep, the sun beamed through the windows, preventing any rest he could possibly have. He pulled his pillow over his head and groaned loudly into it.

“Well, might as well get up,” he said to himself. “Not like I’ll be able to sleep anyways.”

He went to the bathroom to freshen up. Looking in the mirror, he noticed that his eyes were baggy and red; his restless night had taken its toll on the dragon, and it was all Gilda’s fault.

The question was, why was he still thinking about her?

Spike splashed cold water on his face in hopes that it would wake him up. He dried his face and walked down the stairs to fix himself something to eat.

“Well, looks who’s finally up?” Twilight teased, watching as Spike drowsily walked towards the kitchen.

“Twilight, the sun just came up,” he duly replied. “Not everyone gets up at the crack of dawn like you do.”

Twilight noticed Spike’s raspy voice and his sluggishness, raising an eyebrow in concern. “Spike, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Just, you know, still kinda drowsy and all. I should be able to wake myself up soon.”

“Well, if you say so,” Twilight said. Spike softly smiled to assure he was okay and walked into the kitchen to grab himself some food.

He went to the cupboard and grabbed himself a bowl. As he made himself a bowl of honey flakes, his mind drifted, which he assumed was due to being deprived of sleep.

Hey dweeb, gonna share some of that cereal with me?

“Huh… wha?” Spike looked around for the source of the comment.

“I said, could you bring some of that cereal to me?” Twilight called from the living room.

“Oh, sure! No problem,” Spike replied clumsily.

Twilight eyed Spike as he brought her the box of cereal. His nervous, confused expression concerned her.

“So, um… I’ll go get the the bowls and milk, alright?” Spike spat out his response and swiftly went back to the kitchen.

“What’s going on with him?” Twilight asked herself.

Spike grabbed two glasses and the jug of milk, trying to clear his head of the griffon in the process.

“Okay, so you can’t get her out of your head. So what!” He tried to rationalize with himself. “That doesn’t mean anything. I mean, you’re always thinking about Twilight and your other friends all the time! Why are you sweating thinking about Gilda?”

Aww, ain’t that just pwecious? The little twerp has a crush on me!

“Ahh!” Spike jolted at Gilda’s voice, dropping both the milk and the bowls, which shattered all onto the floor.

“Spike!” Twilight darted towards the kitchen. Spike tried to clean up the bits of broken glass along the puddle of spilt milk. “What in Equestria happened here?”

“It’s okay, I can clean this!” he said as he hastily picked up the broken plate.

Twilight sighed and trotted towards Spike. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I’ll clean the mess up. You just go get us some more milk.”

“But…”

“I think going for a little walk could do you some good. You obviously have something on your mind.”

“What are you talking about?” Spike asked nervously. “I’m not even thinking about her!” He covered his mouth after realizing what had slipped out.

“See? That’s what I’m talking about!” Twilight patted Spike’s head. “I think you need some time to clear your head of whatever is bothering you. If you want to talk about it, I’ll listen.”

Spike huffed softly through his nose, blowing small puffs of ash out. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I could use a little walk.” He grabbed enough bits to purchase some milk and walked towards the door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

Twilight waved to him as he walked out of the library. “Take your time, Spike. I want you to come back with a clear head.”

Once he closed the door, he leaned against it and let out a loud sigh. “Man, what’s wrong with me?”

***

Spike walked along the streets, kicking at the ground. He couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t get Gilda out of his head. Throughout his walk, he was tormented by her voice.

Sup, dweeb, it said. Any reason you ignoring me?

“Leave me alone!” Spike grunted. “Why are you constantly following me?”

Because I just like messing with you! It’s fun teasing the little dragon who has a crush on me.

“But I don’t have a crush on you! We’re just friends!”

Spike realized there was a huge crowd of ponies littering the streets, so he did his best to avoid drawing attention of him talking to himself.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that. It’s completely normal to dream about kissing a “friend”.

Spike face went red. “Look, can you just back off?”

Not until you admit that you have a crush on me.

“Why the heck do you care?”

It’s called a conscience. I’m supposed to follow you until you come to terms with it.

“Well, you’re doing a terrible job at it.”

Spike walked towards one of the town’s benches and sat down, cradling his head with his claws to think.

“Okay, you’ve gotten over Rarity. That’s good. You don’t need any other hairbrained crush.” Spike closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “She’s just a friend, that’s it. A feathered, loud mouthed, witty, fun, fiery, cute…”

Spike’s words became more wistful as he droned on until he caught himself at the word “cute”. He brought his claws up to his reddened cheeks, rubbing his arms and smiling softly.

“Maybe visiting her wouldn’t hurt,” he said, reasoning with himself. “I mean, she did say she enjoyed spending time with me…”

Tapping his claw on the bench, he hummed lightly to himself in giddy delight, ready to see his friend once again.

“But, she also said that she didn’t want me bothering her all the time.” Spike frowned at this realization. He needed an excuse… no, a reason to go and visit her.

“Hmm… she does like fish,” he said. “Maybe I can bring her some lunch and just say that I want to hang out with her for a while! Only problem is… where am I going to get a fish?”

Ponies didn’t particularly cater to other species, so finding anything other than vegetables or fruit was a task on its own.

“There’s gotta be someone who knows where I can get some fish.” Spike brought a claw to his chin to think. “Now, where could I go to get some fish?”

Then, just as the question emerged, the answer did as well. “I got it! I’ll ask Fluttershy! She has a knack for animals, so most likely she could help me out.”

That was one issue fixed, but a new one surfaced. “But how should I tell her? ‘Yo, Fluttershy, I want a fish to feed a griffon. Can you help me out?’ I don’t think she would take that too well.” Spike leapt off of the bench and began walking towards her cottage.

“I’m going to have to handle this gently…”

***

Spike reached the front of Fluttershy’s home, knocking on the door lightly.

“Um… who is it?” the soft voice asked.

“It’s me, Spike. Can I talk to you?”

And while you’re at it, why not tell her you want to kill her fish to feed your love interest?

The voice was back again, much to Spike’s dismay.

I thought I told you to leave me alone! Spike thought to himself to avoid confusion with Fluttershy, who opened the door and smiled softly at him.

“Hi there, Spike,” she said cheerfully.“What brings you here?”

Spike gulped. “Well, I came here to ask you a favor.”

“Oh… a favor?”

Yeah, he wants to roast a fish of yours and give it to me!

Will you shut up?! Spike kept composure despite the voice in his head,and began to explain himself.

Spike nodded. “Yeah. After I let go of Peewee, I kind of… well… felt lonely.” Spike did his best to sell his performance, widening his eyes for extra effect. “I see everypony else with pets, and here I am, all alone with no one to take care of.”

Fluttershy looked saddened by Spike’s position. “Oh, you poor thing. Would you like to come inside and talk? Maybe I can find you a little critter to take care of.”

Spike gave a fake sniffle and smiled. “I’d like that, thank you.”

Spike followed Fluttershy inside. The home was filled with a wide assortment of animals of different shapes and sizes.

“So, is there any animal in particular you’re looking for?” she asked with enthusiasm. “If you’re looking for another bird to replace Peewee, might I suggest you pick out one of our birds? Chirpella the Swallow is very sweet.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Spike said “I’m looking for a pet that’s kind of easy to take care of. Even though I would like another pet like Peewee, with me having to work so much to keep it… you know…”

“I understand. You need a pet that you can manage easily.”

“Yeah. I was thinking something small… a pet you can keep in a container…”

Just get to the point and tell her what you want! I’m getting hungry.

Spike internally rolled his eyes and continued, “You know, something like…”

“Oh, a fish?” Fluttershy asked.

“Um, yeah!”

“Of course! There are plenty outside in the pond. How about you go and see which one you would like while I get a bag to put it in?”

Spike ran up to Fluttershy and hugged her. “Thanks, Fluttershy! You’re the best.”

“Oh, Spike, no need to thank me,” Fluttershy said. “Anything for a good friend.”

They exchanged short hugs before Spike went back outside and towards the pond. He sat by the water, looking at the fishes that swirled around. He couldn’t figure out which one he would pick; he didn’t really know what type of fish Gilda preferred.

You know, that blue one looks pretty tasty. Spike flinched as the voice returned. Only, this time, the silhouette of Gilda loomed over the water, pointing at the pond. Or what about the big whiskered one? Mmm, can already taste the fish…

“When did you get here?” Spike turned around to see Gilda, but no one was there. He turned back to the water and groaned, seeing the smirking vision of Gilda.

What’s the matter, ‘Spikey Wikey’? You act like you’ve seen a ghost!

“Oh great, now I’m seeing things.” Spike groaned, putting his claw against his skull.

You’re the one thinking about me. Not my fault you can’t stop thinking about my wide, fluffy wings, curved beak, purple-tinted eyeshadow, and…

“You’re not helping!” Spike shouted, annoyed with the voice.

“Um… I’m sorry Spike.” The voice this time was much softer. Spike turned and saw Fluttershy holding a plastic bag in her wing. “I should be more helpful than I am…”

“No, I wasn’t talking about you,” Spike replied awkwardly.

“Oh… so who were you talking to?”

Spike looked nervously at her, trying to come up with an excuse.

Just tell her you were thinking about me and get it over with already!

“I was… um… talking to the fish. Yeah! That’s it!” He turned towards the water and leaned towards the fish. “Hey, you’re not helping me make a choice! Be still so I can choose!”

Fluttershy giggled. “Well, if you need more time to pick, I’ll wait around.”

Spike concentrated on the fishes, a smug Gilda silhouette still smiling at him.

How… about… that one!

“Um, I’ll take the golden one,” Spike said, pointing at it.

“Ah, so you want Whiskers!” Fluttershy said with glee. “He’s an excellent fish to have.”

Great! I’m looking forward to eating it!

“Seeing how he’s your fish, I wouldn’t doubt that.” Spike smiled as Fluttershy dipped the baggie into the water and tied the fish in.

“There there, Mr. Whiskers. Spike will take good care of you.”

More like take good care of me…

Spike growled at himself. Don’t you ever shut up? “Um, yeah. I’ll take good care of it. So, how much do you want for it?”

“Oh, I’m not going to charge you for the fish, Spike.” Fluttershy him waved off. “I understand that you need a pet, and I don’t mind helping a friend out.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy,” Spike said, extending his free hand to to shake her hoof. “I really appreciate it.”

“Oh, no problem, Spike. Just take care of him, will you?”

“Of course!” Spike gave her a thumbs-up. “I would never think of harming the little thing.”

“That’s good to hear. Now, if there’s anything else you need—”

“No, I’m fine, Fluttershy. I should probably get Whiskers home and put him in a tank to be more comfortable.”

Spike waved at Fluttershy, receiving one in return, and walked off, a small frown forming on his face. He raised the bag up and stared at the fish he was soon going to cook.

“Sorry, Mr. Whiskers, but I have someone I want to have lunch with…”

***

Spike finished preparing the lunch that he had planned for himself and Gilda. All the food was there, and he even had it all neatly tucked into a basket for them. Now all he needed to do was go and get Gilda, a task that seemed harder for him than he previously thought.

“Right, now all I gotta do is knock on her door and ask her if she wants lunch!” he said to himself, walking in the direction of her home. “It shouldn’t be that hard.”

So, why are your knees all shaky then, loverboy?

“Why are you still tormenting me?” He growled. “I just want to go around in peace without my conscience following me and making me more confused than I already am!”

Confused about what?

“You know, the entire Gilda situation.”

What’s to be confused about? You starting to get a crush on her, aren’t you?

Once again Spike’s felt his face redden at the thought. “No!”

So, what’s to be confused about?

“It’s just… well, I want to remain good friends with her, and I’m not sure if she wants to bother being mine.”

Yeah, keep telling yourself that, kid.

Spike tried to shake the annoying voice out of his head, walking closer to Gilda’s door. With each step, he felt his legs grow heavier, as if they didn’t want to confront the griffon. However, he pushed on until he finally reached the front porch. He raised his fist to knock on the door…

… Which proved to be unnecessary, since she opened it before he had a chance to knock. Gilda raised an eyebrow, staring down at the shaking Spike.

“Um, hi Gilda,” he clumsily greeted, waving at her. “Um… how are you doing?”

Gilda noticed the big picnic basket that Spike was swinging in his hand and pinched her forehead with a talon. “You know, when I said don’t expect another day like yesterday, I wasn’t being sarcastic. I really meant don’t bug me too much.”

“Well, I don’t really want to bug you,” Spike said, gulping loudly. “I just wanted to… you know… thank you for your help yesterday.”

“Uh-huh,” Gilda replied, unconvinced. “And I’m assuming that basket is just your fancy way of saying, ‘I appreciate it’?”

“Well… I just… thought we could eat some lunch together. I mean, I know you—”

“Hold it right there, twerp.” Gilda held out her claw. “I was just about to go out and find me something to eat. The last thing I need is you coming along and ruining a nice, solitary day I could have.”

“Bu… but I got free food!” Spike protested. “How can you turn that down?”

“Well, let me ask you this: how is it free when I have to do something for you in order to eat it?”

Spike was about to open his mouth and reply, but words failed him.

“Mmm-hmm, can’t give me a straight answer, can you?” Gilda asked. “Well, hate to say it, dweeb, but today you just wasted your time coming here.”

Spike’s face flushed. There was something about her personality that sent his heart soaring. It was that fact that gave him the will to keep trying to persuade her to join him for lunch.

“I have stuff that you can’t get normally,” Spike said. “I know you will like it!”

Gilda folded her talons together in a smug manner, chuckling sarcastically at him. “Oh, and what could the little dweeb possibly have that I can’t buy from the—”

“How about fish?” Spike said triumphantly, catching Gilda off-guard.

Her eyes widened at his statement, her curiosity piqued. Hook, line and sinker. “Huh. Fish, you say?”

Spike nodded proudly, though his cheeks still were a soft shade of red. “Yeah. I even cut up some pears for you. Peeled and diced, too.”

Gilda thought about it for a second, licking her lips at the thought of eating fish. Spike smiled goofily at her gesture.

“You know what? I think I can join you for lunch for a bit.”

“YES!” Spike jumped up in excitement, only to be given a glance by Gilda. He ceased his jumping and coughed into his claws. “I mean, yeah, thanks for agreeing to have lunch with me.”

Gilda snickered. “Well, just my luck. I had to go ahead and have the kid imprint on me. Alright, I’ll eat with you, but I ain’t going anywhere but my front porch to have lunch!”

“Well… that’s fine,” Spike said. “I didn’t have anything special planned anyway.”

“Good.” Without another word, Gilda opened the basket, looking to see what was in it. Sure enough, there was a container filled with peeled and diced pears. There was also a baggy containing a sandwich, blanketing a roasted fish between its two fluffy slices of rye bread.

“Well well, looks like you went all out on this picnic,” Gilda said, which Spike could only assume was a compliment.

“Aw… well… I wouldn’t bring a friend something I couldn't bare to eat!”

Spike rubbed his arms nervously, pulling out his lunch, which was just a simple tomato and lettuce sandwich. He sat and watched as Gilda took out her sandwich and bit down on it. Her light hums of approval and puffy cheeks as she chewed brought a wide, swooning smile on his face.

“Um, what are you staring at?” Gilda asked.

“Nothing!” Spike jolted and turned away. Gilda simply shrugged his awkward reaction off and continued eating.

Smooth move, casanova!

Spike cuffed his claws against his forehead; the voice was still tormenting him. He did his best to ignore it. However, it kept grating at his skull, over and over again.

Why not just tell me how you feel? I won’t hurt your feelings… too bad.

The voice wasn’t really helping him any. He just became more nervous around her, scared to even tell her he had a hint of a crush on her.

“You know… this ain’t half bad,” Gilda muttered through the mound of food she had in her mouth. “Fish tastes really good. Could have done without the mayo, but it’s fine. Definitely better than the trash I was planning on eating.”

“Really? You mean that?” Spike smiled widely at the compliment.

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it, Spike.” She winked, continuing to eat her sandwich.

She called me by my name again! Spike felt as if he was going to faint.

That’s pathetic! You’re getting all happy over me calling you by your name. Great accomplishment!

And, of course, his conscience was there to remind him that it wasn’t going to let up until he admitted his feelings. Biting into his sandwich, he took periodic glances at Gilda’s form. Her feathers were perfectly fluffy. Her tail swished around, making Spike want to tug and play with it. She just screamed awesomeness…

And he could no longer deny himself. He was falling for her.

“Well, that was some good eats, kid,” Gilda said, throwing the bag into the basket. “Alright, that saved me a trip! Now I can go back and—”

Once Gilda suggested going back and leaving Spike, he jolted up and looked wide-eyed at her. “NO!” he shouted before composing himself. “I mean… why not just hang out with me for the rest of the day?”

Gilda looked at him with agitation. “Kid, you said only lunch. I don’t have the patience to deal with you today.”

“What if we just hung out for a little while?”

“And what’s your idea of a little while?”

Spike tapped his fingers together and looked down at her talons, which were clenching the ground a little. “I was just thinking… maybe a few hours. We don’t have to do anything special. Just walk around, talk, have you meet my friends—”

“Pause!” Gilda held her claws out with disapproval. “Who said I wanted to meet your friends?”

“But… they still think you’re a jerk.”

“Good! That just means they won’t bother me.”

“Well, don’t you think it would be nice to at least have your name cleared?”

“Look kid, I really don’t…”

Spike began to frown, looking up at her with wide, beady eyes. Gilda tried to pry her eyes away from the display, but he expertly drew her attention to his puppy dog eyes. She absolutely hated it.

“Okay, okay! Stop with the freaking sad face!” Gilda shielded her face so she could avoid looking at the pathetic sight. “Fine, I’ll hang out with you! But just for a few hours. We meet your friends, talk for a while, then I’m done.”

Her response was met with a giant hug. Spike buried his face into her fluffy chest and snuggled against it. “Thanks, Gilda!”

“Yeah, no… problem.” Spike stayed attached to her much longer than she had hoped. Gilda pulled him off her and shoved him off to the side for some room.

“Heh… sorry about that, Gilda.” Spike rubbed the back of his head. “I’m just a little excited to hang out with you, ya know?”

“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.” Gilda sighed.

“With pleasure!” Spike skipped off, humming to himself and urging Gilda to follow. His giddy nature confused Gilda. She looked quite dumbfounded at how much enjoyment Spike was having just being around her. Had she really left that big of an impression on him? Gilda straightened out her feathers and followed behind the energetic Spike.

“I should have let him stay miserable…”

Meet the Flock

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Spike skipped down Ponyville’s streets while humming to himself. His elation was apparent to anypony that passed him. With a heavy sigh, Gilda trailed behind him. She resisted the urge to turn away and walk back home while the dragon was preoccupied, knowing he would just follow her back to her house. The kid was persistent, something she both admired and loathed about him.

“I can’t wait until my friends see you!” Spike exclaimed. “They’ll be so surprised by how much you’ve changed!”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Gilda said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself. You aren’t that much of a jerk anymore. You helped me get out of my slump, remember?”

“Yeah, but that was because your whining was equivalent to having someone claw on a chalkboard.” Gilda’s feathers ruffled at the thought. “Besides, I already told you that I don’t care about meeting your friends.”

Spike turned towards Gilda and gave a bemused look. “Oh, come on, Gildy, it won’t be that ba—”

“Wait wait wait!” Gilda stopped and held out a claw. “Did you just call me Gildy?”

Spike nodded, blushing. “It… it has a good ring to it, you know? What, you’re afraid to be called something a little mushy?”

“I’m not afraid, twerp. I just don’t want to be called by that!” Gilda exclaimed as she balled her fist. “Now, if you call me that again, you’re going to be introducing me to your friends with a swollen eye!”

Spike was positive that Gilda was messing around. He doubted she would physically harm him. However, the griffon was also a wild card, and an irritable one at that. He didn’t want to risk it.

“Fine, whatever you say!” Spike rolled his eyes and continued walking. “Don’t want you to get a bad fir… erm… second impression, and me coming home with a black eye would definitely do the—”

Spike paused, being pushed forward slightly when Gilda bumped into him.

“What the—” Gilda gave Spike a look of agitation. “What did you stop in the middle of the street for?”

Spike snapped his fingers. “Darn! I almost forgot Twilight’s milk. Sorry Gilda, but we need to make a quick stop before we head to the library.”

Gilda dragged a claw down her face. “Are you serious?”

Spike nodded. “It’ll be real quick, I promise!”

Gilda shook her head. I really should have just said no. “Fine, but make it quick!”

Spike smiled and continued forward. The two walked together in the middle of the marketplace. Many of the ponies eyed the griffon, most being unpleasant glances. Gilda mumbled under her breath and ignored their gazes. It wasn’t like she cared much about it, but being around a group of condescending ponies when she could be sleeping instead was a pain.

It didn’t take them long to reach the dairy market. The merchant stood at her station, ringing the silver bell with pride. Spike walked up towards the counter and was greeted with a cheerful grin from the pegasi’s face.

“Ah, if it isn’t my favorite little shopper,” she said, pulling out a medium pint of milk. “You don’t even need to tell me what you came here for. You’re a regular after all.”

Spike chuckled, grabbing at the bottle. “You know Twilight well, then,” Spike said with a pearly smile. “Ten bits, right?”

She nodded. “That is correct, sweetie!”

Spike reached into his pockets and put down the required bits. “Not a problem. This is some of the best milk in town.” Spike turned towards Gilda, who looked at both of them with bemused, irate expression. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention her. This is my friend, Gilda!”

“Gilda, huh?” The merchant observed the griffon, puzzled by her. “Isn’t she the one that got ran out of here nearly a year ago for her rude behavior?”

“Up yours too, pal!” Gilda snarled, glaring at her. The merchant scooted back, shifting her gaze away from Gilda.

“Gilda, would you please—” Spike sighed and leaned onto the counter. “Look, sorry about her. She gets… a little cranky every now and then. She doesn’t mean anything by it.”

Gilda folded her arms and began to mumble. Spike brushed it off as one of her little fits and smiled at the merchant.

“Trust me, she isn’t as bad as she seems. She… she actually can be pretty nice at times.”

“Well, I don’t really see it, but if you say so, sugar.” She looked under the counter and restocked her diary. “I expect to see you in a few weeks with more requests?”

Spike smiled widely. “You know it.” With his business done, he turned towards Gilda. The disgruntled griffon looked down at Spike, tapping her claw against the concrete floor.

“Well, can we go now? I don’t have the patience to babysit you all day.”

Spike chuckled. Her snarky attitude came off more cute than agitating to him. The fact that she would even waste her breath and time to make a rude remark to him strangely warmed him. His face began turning a shade of red. Gilda flicked Spike on the snout, causing him to jolt and grab at it.

“Alright, I get it! Friends. Now.” Spike’s face still was flushed. However, he tried to straighten up and act serious enough so he wouldn’t be stricken harder by Gilda. Spike rotated back towards his determined path and continued walking with Gilda following behind.

Spike tapped his chin and hummed lightly. Okay, so what kind of first impression are you going to try to give? he thought to himself. My friends don’t really think highly of her, so convincing them she’s a better griffon might be hard, especially with the personality she still has.

Spike chuckled lightly. I’m going to start out with Twilight, that’s for sure, but who will I try to reintroduce to her then? I could go to Rarity’s. Yeah, that might be best. Then maybe Applejack, or probably Fluttershy. I should consider taking her to see Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, even though I know she might not like that much.

Gilda’s eyes widened. It had been five whole minutes of silence, not a single peep coming out of the dragon’s mouth. Normally, that kind of peaceful silence would be equivalent to sweet harmony to her. But she wasn’t in a normal circumstance. She was following an overzealous Spike to visit his friends in hopes they would accept her.

“You’ve been quiet for quite some time now,” Gilda stated. “That is unsettling. What exactly are you plotting?”

“Oh, nothing,” Spike answered in a silky, giddy tone.

“You’re lying,” Gilda hissed.

“Don’t believe me all you want, but that isn’t going to do you any good.” Spike turned around and skipped backwards, a coy smile painted on his face. “I got you to come with me to see my friends. Why would I need to trick you and make a big scheme over that?”

Gilda huffed. “Whatever.”

“Come on, Gilda. Why the long face? I’m not asking you to do anything too difficult. I’m just trying to help you get in clean with them.”

“Even though I’ve said a thousand times I don’t care about being friendly with your group of dorks!”

“You’ll like them when you actually get to know them better, I guarantee it!”

Spike turned back around and marched on. Gilda closed her eyes and sighed, accidently bumping into Spike who had stopped in his tracks.

“And there’s an opportunity to introduce you to one of them now!”

A yellow pesasus came trotting from the horizon. She held a list in her mouth and browsed over the different booths in the marketplace. Spike waved at while running towards her. Gilda slowly followed behind.

And so it begins.

“Hey, Fluttershy!” Spike rushed towards her and waved. “What are you doing out?”

Fluttershy gasped before looking up. Once she realized who had called her out, her confusion melted and was replaced by a warm, gentle smile.

“Oh, hello, Spike,” she greeted. “Nice to see you again. I was just out running a few errands for my animals. What are you doing… out… here…”

A shadowy, completely peeved figure loomed over Spike. Fluttershy began to shudder, stepping back in fear.

“What’s wrong?” Spike asked.

Fluttershy didn’t respond. She just pointed her hoof at the griffon. Spike turned around to see Gilda nonchalantly glaring at her.

“Oh yeah! How rude of me to not introduce my new friend.”

“Um… friend?” Fluttershy looked up with wide eyes.

“Yeah! Gilda just moved here a few days ago. She’s really nice when you get to know her.”

Gilda rolled her eyes. Fluttershy’s gaze was locked onto her, receding into a meek expression rather than that of fear.

“Oh, okay then. If that’s true, then welcome Gilda. Nice to meet you.” Fluttershy smiled and extended her hoof. Gilda sighed and held her claw out as well, gripping Fluttershy’s hoof firmly.

“The feeling isn’t mutual,” she replied.

Fluttershy stifled her whine. “Um… okay… I guess that’s alright—” She turned her head towards Spike. “Well, if you say she’s nicer, I’m okay with her. She just seems… well—”

Spike waved his claw. “Ah, don’t worry about that. She’s just a little grouchy pants sometimes. Nothing too threatening.”

Gilda clenched her fists and grumbled inaudibly.

“If you say so.” Fluttershy focused her attention on the ground. She kicked her hoof against it, leaving a unsettling atmosphere. Spike brought his fist to his mouth and coughed.

“So, what kind of errands are you running?” Spike said in a sad attempt to bring about a conversation. “Your animals need food or something?”

“Oh, that’s part of it,” Fluttershy responded. “I’m also going to find some of my animals some better bedding material. Poor things can’t sleep comfortably on what they have now.”

Gilda stood impatiently and listened to the two carry on with boring dribble. She tapped her claw against the concrete, waiting for the dragon to shut up so they could be on their way.

But he wouldn’t. He kept talking and talking and talking. Most of the conversation droned on for what felt like an eternity. Gilda tried to keep her comments to herself, but there was only so much she could hold in.

“Hey! Forget about me? The impatient, peeved off griffon that doesn’t want to be here?”

Spike turned around towards Gilda, who was pointing at her puffed chest. Those feathers. Those fluffy, pillowy feathers. Spike gave a dopey grin. His mind wandered, and the thought of resting on the mounds of feathers swam through his daydream. It was so delightful, so soft and warm…

...So painful? Just like a brick colliding into his chest, Spike felt the sting of Gilda’s fist press against him, knocking him to the ground.

“Look, I don’t have the patience for this! Can we just meet your other friends so I can go home, please?”

At least she said please. Spike clutched his stomach and wheezed. “Alright, alright!” Spike lifted himself back on his feet and dusted the dirt and grime off of him. “You don’t have to be so pushy about it.”

“H-he’s right, Gilda.” Fluttershy confronted Gilda on her action. Although she stood upright and confident, her knees shook with fear. “You shouldn’t treat your friend like that. E-especially not Spike.”

Gilda grabbed Spike’s head with her talons and rubbed it violently. “Ah, the squirt knows I’m messing around with him, right kid?”

Spike smiled and straightened his spines that were flattened. “It’s alright, Fluttershy. She doesn’t mean anything by it.”

“B-but she—”

“Look, Flufferwhy—”

“It’s Fluttershy,” she corrected, still avoiding the gaze of Gilda.

“Yeah, whatever. No offense, but I don’t really feel like dealing with you guys longer than I have to. I just want to say hi, bye, and go back home to let my lunch settle.”

“I’m sorry then,” Fluttershy murmured. “I didn’t mean to be accusational. I just thought—” Fluttershy’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that reminds me! Spike, I forgot to tell you what types of food Mr. Whiskers like!”

“M-Mr. Whiskers?” Spike felt as if his skin leapt from his body. He gulped loudly, sweat forming on his brow. “Oh yeah! The pet you gave me. So, what does he like to eat?”

Gilda’s eyes raised in curiosity. “Pet fish, huh?”

Spike turned towards her and waved his claws, gritting his teeth. The gesture caused some confusion in both of the girls, though Gilda was eye’s lit up when she figured out what he was implying.

“Yeah. I gave it to him a little earlier today. Said he was kinda lonely since Peewee left, so I gave him a little pet to keep him company.”

“Oh, you did, didn’t you?” Gilda smiled at Spike. Her devious nature was showing, making Spike fear the worst. Gilda rested her claw on top of his head and rubbed it. “Well, good for him. Wouldn’t want the runt to feel lonely, now would we?”

Spike’s worries were lifted as Gilda winked at him. His eyes twinkled and with the load off of his back, he sighed in relief. The pain of her talons pressing into his skull was overridden by his sheer happiness of Gilda’s generosity.

“Of course we wouldn’t. Spike deserves to have a nice little pet of his own. It isn’t fair that we have one and he doesn’t.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure the fish will be well fed under his care.” Gilda chuckled and nudged Spike. His comfort was draining. The fear of her spilling out what he had done started to assault his mind. Fortunately, Fluttershy didn’t catch on. Instead, she smiled warmly at both of them.

“That’s good. I’m just glad you made another friend, Spike. She… she isn’t as mean as she used to be.”

“I’m not that nice, either. I’m just glad you gave him something that would prevent him from acting like a complete sad sap since his crush rejected him.”

“Thanks for bringing that up, Gilda,” Spike groaned, face still flushed. “I really wanted others to know about that.”

Gilda chuckled. “You’re welcome, Spike.”

And there it was again. No dweeb, pipsqueek, or twerp. Just Spike, and it sent waves of joy through his body. Gilda caught onto his reactions, staring at him like he was some kind of insane creature, something she was beginning to believe to be true more and more.

“Well, sorry to have to leave so soon, but I really should be off now,” Fluttershy said. “I still have a lot of errands to do, and you two look like you were off somewhere.”

“Yeah, and hopefully we can get there without any further interruptions,” Gilda said, eyeing Spike.

“I hope so, too.” Fluttershy giggled and trotted towards Gilda. “Nice to meet you, by the way. I’m sorry we got off on the wrong hoof last time, but hopefully, we can be friends from this day forth.”

With a glowing smile, Fluttershy extended her hoof towards Gilda again. The griffon stared at it briefly. She didn’t have any intention of carrying on a conversation with the pegasus, and it was taking every fiber in her body to not tell her that she potentially ate Mr. Whiskers. However, there was a wide eyed dragon standing there, admirring her, and dragging her around the place until she was introduced to all of his friends. She extended her claw and gripped it, but with less intensity as the first time.

“Thanks, I guess,” Gilda said, feigning a smile.

“You’re welcome.” The yellow pegasus cocked her head towards Spike and exchanged a genuine smile. “Take good care of Mr. Whiskers. Though, I’m sure he’ll be in good hands with you around.”

Gilda brought her claws against her beak to hold back her laughter. Spike’s face reddened in both embarrassment and fear.

“Um… of course, Fluttershy,” Spike said. “You can count on me!”

Without anything left to discuss, and with Fluttershy needing to finish her errands, she trotted past the two and waved, receiving the same from Gilda and Spike. The air of pleasantries soon died down when Fluttershy was out of sight. With the pegasus gone, Gilda’s withheld laughter came flowing out of her.

“Oh man! This is too good! I can’t believe you, kid!” Gilda had to grip her stomach to prevent her from falling on her back. Spike sighed and glared at Gilda.

“It’s not funny, Gilda!” Spike protested. “What if she finds out?”

“Then who’s fault is that?” Gilda retorted, her laughter making parts of her speech inaudible and light. “I can’t believe you did that though! Of all the stupid things anyone could do, you fed me one of your friends pets!”

Spike looked down towards the ground in shame. The weight of his action was taking it’s toll, and Gilda just added to the baggage. “Look, this isn’t helping. I don’t want the entire town to know that!”

Gilda began to hiccup and clutch her chest harder. With a heavy sigh, she smiled smugly at Spike. “Geez, lighten up. I won’t tell your friend about the little meal I had.” Gilda stuck her tongue out, lapping it against her beak. “Though, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep my big beak closed with us standing here all day. Might just let all of your dark secrets spill out!”

Spike gulped and his irises shrank. The shift in power between them wasn’t too surprising to him, but it still did a number on Spike’s moral. He was practically at the mercy of a vengeful griffon.

Why in Equestria do I put up with you? “Fine, I get it. We’ll make this day as short as we possibly can. Just… please… don’t mention this to anypony. Please?”

Spike was grovelling on his knees, his claws cuffed together while he begged. Gilda frowned. She didn’t get any enjoyment out of his misery. It was actually a rather sad scene.

Something wasn’t right.

“Well first of all, you can get off of your knees. It’s pathetic!” Gilda demanded.

“Um, yeah, of course!” Spike tried to rebound and stand back up, but his clumsiness combined with his nervous attempts to please Gilda, for more than one reason now, sent him fumbling back on the ground. He rubbed the back of his head, blushing wildly.

“You really are a pathetic thing.” Gilda shook her head and lifted Spike up with her claw. “I really don’t know why I put up with you.”

Spike dusted himself off and looked into Gilda’s golden eyes. In an attempt to hide his affection for her, he contorted his dopey grin into that of a smug, confident one.

“Because I’m awesome and worth being around,” was the answer Spike gave, the answer that brought a faint smile on Gilda’s face.

“Whatever! Just drop off your milk so we can get this stupid meet-up with your friends over with!”

Spike chuckled as he continued towards the library. “Well, since Twilight is there, you might as well meet her. We could kill two birds with one stone doing that!”

“Uh huh. And exactly which one of these birds did you intend to kill first?”

Spike felt his body go numb at the realization of what he said and what it might have implied. He turned his head towards Gilda, her cold eyes piercing through him.

“S-Sorry about that Gilda!” Spike wavered his arms around nervously with Gilda still trotting behind him to keep him moving. “I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers… wait, that isn’t going to help… I didn’t mean to imply that I was… I—”

Gilda shoved a claw on Spike’s mouth. “Calm down! I was just messing around. I know what you meant, okay?”

Spike nodded, face flushed once again.

The rest of the trip went on in silence. Neither of the two said a word to each other. It was sweet music to Gilda’s ears. Every moment of silence was heaven to her, especially with her knowing she would have to deal with Spike’s bunch of dweebs. Not to mention a moment without Spike yapping his mouth off was nice. Still, there was something she liked about the little dragon. Something she couldn’t put her claw on, and something she brushed off for the sake of getting the day over with.

After what seemed like ages, the two stood in front of the giant tree Spike called home.

“Well, this is the place,” Spike said as he walked towards the window. Gilda raised her eyebrows when Spike pressed his face against the pane.

“Um, twerp, what in Equestria are you—”

Spike nodded to himself, making faint noises of affirmation. He got off of the now foggy window and walked towards Gilda. “Yeah, she’s still inside, nose deep in her books as usual.”

“Oh wow! Thanks for that completely useful information,” Gilda said, smacking her talons against her puffy cheeks. “I would have never come to the conclusion that somepony was sitting inside the place you want to introduce me at!”

“Heh, well I’m just a bag of surprises,” Spike said with pride. Gilda didn’t know whether Spike was being a smart alec or he legitimately didn’t realize she was being sardonic. Either one wouldn’t have shocked her. “Oh, you should probably wait out here for a minute.”

“What?”

“I need to talk Twilight into it a bit. You didn’t make a good impression the first time, and I want you to have a good start.

Gilda pounded a claw against the ground. “Oh great! More waiting!”

“Could you just be patient for a good three minutes? I just want to introduce you properly.”

Gilda glared at the dragon, tapping her talon against the ground. “Fine, but don’t—”

“Take too long. I know, I know.” Spike rolled his eyes playfully and walked towards the library door. The door creaked open slowly. Twilight cocked her head to the side as Spike walked into the library.

“Well that’s unusual,” Spike began. “You don’t normally stick your head up when you’re nose deep into a book. What, were you concerned about your little assistant?”

“Oh hush!” Twilight closed her book and placed it onto her bookshelf. “I guess I don’t have to ask you if your mind has cleared.”

“I guess not,” Spike answered. He walked towards the kitchen and placed the milk in the fridge. He quickly glanced out the window to make sure that Gilda was still there. She was resting on the grass, eyes half opened, as if she was intending to fall asleep on their very front steps. Lazy and impatient: good qualities to Spike. “I got the milk, if you hadn’t noticed. A thanks would be nice.”

Yep, he’s back to his old self, Twilight thought. What she couldn’t understand was why Spike was constantly eyeing the window. She was about to confront him about it before he rushed towards her.

“Okay, while I was out, I went to see someone,” Spike began, “and I kind of brought her over here for a bit.”

“Her?” Twilight put a hoof to her chin, a grin forming on her face. “I see. You made up with Rarity already? You work pretty fast for a little dragon.”

Spike glared at Twilight, not a single blush forming on his face. Unusual for Spike. “No, it’s not Rarity. Though I do plan on visiting Rarity and introducing my friend to her later.”

“Oh?” Twilight hummed softly. “So, is it anypony I know?”

“Well, technically she isn’t a pony,” he said, sustaining a giddy laugh.

“So who is it?”

Spike walked towards the door, staring back at Twilight. He sighed, looking up at a confused Twilight. “Okay, you might not like who you’re gonna see, but trust me, she’s cool. She’s a pretty awesome friend, actually.”

Spike grabbed his tail rocked back and forth with a grin on his face. Twilight noticed his face going red, fueling the confusion and speculations swimming in her skull.

“Why wouldn’t I like your new friend? I think it’s good that you’re making progress. You’re moving on and finding new… whoever she is, to hang out with.” Twilight wrapped her arms around Spike, a smile forming on her lips. “And from what it looks like, you’ve taken a liking to this new friend.”

Spike’s face went as crimson as it could possibly go. “Yeah. She such an amazing griffon.”

Spike’s voice was silky and dreamlike. A sigh of admiration escaped his lips, and his eyes swooned over his feathered friend. It was warming to Twilight to see Spike out of the rut. Still, she was still unsure about the friend Spike was talking about.

“Griffon?”

Spike nodded. “Could you just promise not to overreact when you see her?” Spike cuffed his claws together, practically begging Twilight to not make a fool out of himself.

“Of course, Spike,” Twilight agreed. “Whoever your friend is, you have my support.”

A confident smile formed on Spike’s face. “Great! Then I’ll go get her.” He skipped towards the door, failing miserably to hide his admiration of the new friend, and opened it. “Hey! You can come in now!”

Gilda lifted herself from the ground and stretched. With a quick preparation, she flapped her wings and flew towards the doorway. “It’s about time! I hate waiting around for others.” She wiped her talons on the hardwood floor and straightened her bangs. “So, what’s up?”

Twilight's jaw nearly hit the floor. She had some ideas about who Spike could be talking about. She even considered Gilda being that someone, but dismissed it on the grounds that she didn’t think he would ever find any good quality in such a brute of a griffon. Turns out, she was proven wrong.

“Um, hello?” Gilda snapped her claw in Twilight’s face. With that, Twilight shook her head and glanced at Gilda. “Oh good, I thought you went brain dead for a second. You know, for somepony who is supposed to be ‘smart’, you act like a nitwit when you see a face you don’t like.”

“Wait, what!” Twilight gritted her teeth at the insult, showing much disdain for Gilda’s behavior. Spike stood there and sighed. So much for making a good first impression.

“Hey, Gilda, why don’t you tell her what you did for me!” Spike said in a botched attempt at giving her a better reputation.

“What? I just helped you get over your silly obsession with a primadonna.”

“That ‘primadonna’ so happens to be my friend,” Twilight hissed, “and I’d suggest you act a little more civil than you—”

Gilda extended her claw and yawned. “Sorry, okay. Just, please, don’t talk me to death. I’m just trying to get through this day as quickly as I can.”

Twilight’s ears began to twitch. She put her hoof against her chest and exhaled. “Spike, can we talk in private?”

“Why? Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Gilda!” Spike walked towards Gilda and stood by her side. Twilight raised an eyebrow. For whatever reason Spike found interest to Gilda, she wanted to find out.

“Spike!”

The purple dragon flinched. Twilight was glaring at him, causing him much discomfort. With a heavy sigh, he submitted to Twilight’s will and left Gilda’s side.

“I’ll be back in a little while, Gilda. Could you just sit tight for a moment?”

Gilda groaned and planted herself near the counter. “Whatever you feel like, twerp. I just love waiting around for others to talk about me. So much better than being asleep in my cozy bed right now!”

Spike could tell that Gilda was being sarcastic that time, but chose to ignore it. While he did take Gilda’s agitation into consideration, there was nothing more scary than being scolded all day by the one you lived with. To avoid conflict with both of them, he smiled widely at Gilda to assure his return and followed Twilight upstairs.

Spike scratched his head as he entered the room. “So, what’s up?”

“What’s up?” Twilight huffed, pacing back and forth. “I’m pretty sure you know what’s up! And she’s sitting in our house now!”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “What about her? What did she do?”

“What did she do? Do you not remember how she acted when we threw her a party a few years ago?”

“So?” Spike refuted, arms folded. “That was a few years ago.”

“Yeah, but she hurt a few ponies by her actions,” Twilight reminded, staring at Spike sternly. “Her actions didn’t leave her with a good impression, and I don’t want you to develop any bad habits from her.”

The dragon’s stoic face turned into slight anger and annoyance at Twilight’s agitation. “Oh, so just because I decided to hang out with someone you might not like, you think that I’m going to pick up some bad habits from her!”

“I’m just asking you to not be influenced by her. She’s not…” Twilight tapped her chin, “how should I put this? She’s not, well, the most pleasant creature to be around.”

“What, and Trixie was?” Spike snapped, taking offense to her statement.

“She was different, Spike. She actually apologized to us.”

“Yeah, and that boded well with Discord, huh? He caused havoc even when he so called befriended us.”

Twilight couldn’t refute that fact. In fact, she was left dumbfounded by how well Spike pushed the topic back on her. “It was something Princess Celestia asked us to do,” Twilight explained. “We had to do it.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Twilight sighed. The dragon’s gaze didn’t leave her. Frustration was still apparent in Spike’s eyes. “Listen, I’m not telling you you can’t hang around with her though I would prefer you to not be around someone that doesn’t act like a complete jerk. I’m just telling you to be cautious around her.”

Spike waved his claws at her. “Come on. She never put me in danger before.” Spike paused for a moment and chuckled slightly. “Well, except for that time where she let me fall and nearly hit the ground, but other than that—”

“She did what!” Twilight lit up her horn and gritted her teeth. As she stormed towards the door, Spike blocked her path and pushed the door closed.

“No! It’s not like that. She caught me. It was just a small joke.”

“I don’t consider dropping someone to their death a small joke, Spike. That’s… dropping someone to their death.”

“But… this drop was different.” Spike kicked against the ground with his hands behind his back, looking up at Twilight with wide, innocent eyes. “I don’t know how to explain it, but hanging around her is like… something amazing. She’s just awesome. So headstrong. So… so…”

Spike gave off a dreamy sigh. He completely forgot that Twilight was in the room watching him, sighing and shaking her head as the realization of the situation struck her.

“Oh boy. I know what this is.” She trotted towards Spike and put her forehoof on his back. “I’m glad that you’ve gotten over Rarity, and decided to move on, but you might be moving a little fast. Are you sure this isn’t just a mourning stage that you’re going through?”

Spike cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, sometimes, when we’re dealing with sadness, we find an escape. Somepony, or in your case someone, to cling onto when we’re at our all time low.”

“I still don’t see what you’re getting at, Twi.”

She smacked herself in the face with her hooves and shook her head. After taking a deep breath, she began to explain herself thoroughly to Spike. “Spike, you have a crush on Gilda, don’t you?”

Spike’s face instantly grew red. “No! Of course not! What would make you think such a thing? That’s just silly! Me, with a griffon? Ha, you’re silly, Twi.” Twilight had to work hard to stifle her laughter. She pressed her hooves against her lips to prevent it, though Spike caught onto it really fast. He lowered his head. “Is it that obvious?”

“You were never the subtle one, Spike.” Twilight giggled much to Spike’s chagrin.

“So what? I have a crush on her!” Spike stood up on the bed and extended his arms. “But I’m not doing this out of spite. I’m not trying to find an outlet for getting over Rarity. I genuinely like her, and I don’t want her to think she’s not welcome around here.”

Twilight continued to listen to Spike ramble on about Gilda. Her initial disgust was melted, and replaced with understanding. Still, her concern for Spike and who he decided to hang out with came first.

“Are you sure that you really like her?” Twilight asked. Spike nodded, face still tinted with red. “Well then, if that’s the case, then I won’t give her such a hard time.”

Spike leaned into Twilight and wrapped his arms around her, nestling against her chest. “Thanks, Twi! You’re the best!”

“However, there are two conditions that you have to abide by.”

Of course. There was always a catch to these types of deals. Common when making a deal with Hades.

“What is it, Twilight?” Spike asked, still holding onto her.

“Firstly, you need to keep her attitude in check. If I hear about her causing problems with you or my friends, then I will forbid you from associating with her again.”

It was a heavy order for Spike to take in at the time. He gulped and shifted his eyes around nervously. It wasn’t going to be an easy task, but he didn’t want to lose his friend.

“Oh, that will be easy,” Spike assured. “She listens to me… mostly… so I’ll be able to make sure she doesn’t get in trouble with our friends.”

Twilight grinned. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“So, what was the other condition?”

Twilight lifted herself off the bed and opened the door. “Well, for the next few weeks, your chores will be doubled. That means you have to clean all of the dishes, sort the books week, and clean out the toilet every four days.”

“Ah, what?” Spike jumped off the bed and slouched in disappointment. “But I hate cleaning the toilet! When I used to have to clean them, the water would always splash me in the face!” Spike’s cheeks bulged and his face turned green just at the thought of it. “It hates me, Twilight.”

“Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to bring Gilda over here without telling me what was going on with you earlier.” Twilight snickered and walked into the hallway. “Now hurry up, Spike. Your friend is down there waiting, and it isn’t hospitable to leave them there for too long.”

Spike’s eyes began to twitch. Because of the small mistake of keeping Gilda a secret from her, he was cursed to weeks of some of the worst chores he could think of, and all because he wanted to give Gilda a proper chance. He sighed and followed Twilight, knowing that in the end, all of his efforts to impress Gilda and give her a good name would pay off.

Right?

Ruffled Feathers

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Twilight levitated three cups of cocoa towards the table. Spike sat as close as he possibly could to Gilda, smiling widely at her.

“Twilight makes some pretty good cocoa,” Spike said. “She doesn’t really make it that often, but when she does, I always have her put like ten marshmallows in it.” He licked his lips and turned towards Gilda. His grin receded a little when he saw her glare at the cocoa. “Wait, do you not like cocoa? I could always ask Twilight to make something else if you don’t like this!”

Gilda continued staring at the cocoa. “Well, I’m not too big on marshmallows honestly.” She looked at Twilight and pointed a claw in the swirling hot chocolate. “You didn’t put any marshmallows in this, did ya?”

“No,” Twilight responded coldly. “I only put it in Spike’s. I figured you would get your own if you wanted.”

Gilda chuckled. “Great. So you aren’t as dumb as I thought you were then.” Gilda brought the mug towards her beak, downing the hot content almost instantly. She lowered the glass down on the table, ignoring the agitated Twilight in front of her.

“Woah, I thought only I was able to drink something that hot so fast,” Spike said, eyes widening even more. “How’d you do it?”

“Takes a little practice, and learning your limits,” Gilda boasted. “Though, you could say I’m a natural at it. Bet it would take years for the purple pony—”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, Twibutt over hear to be able to drink even a quarter of the mug without burning herself.”

Spike snickered, holding his gut with one hand and the mug with another. “Ha, Twibutt! That’s a good one, Gilda.”

Twilight shot a glance at Spike. His chuckles slowly began to die out, and he cleared his throat, looking away from Twilight.

“So, Gilda, you said that you helped Spike get over his depression, correct?” Twilight asked, sipping some of her drink between conversations. “I can’t thank you enough for helping him with that. It’s not a pretty sight when Spike is upset.”

Gilda nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t want to deal with the constant sobbing and sulking all day, so I kind of twisted his scales. That, and a little drop from the sky probably scared him out of his fear.”

“Yeah, I’ve been told.” Twilight lifted her mug up and sipped it to hide her disdain. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could deal with having such a menace in her library, but she sat and bore it for Spike’s sake.

He was sitting there, rocking and drinking his cocoa in absolute bliss, absolutely delighted that both Gilda and Twilight seemed to be meshing so well with each other. Or at least he was convinced that was the case.

“So, what do you do for a living?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing yet,” Gilda responded. “Mainly just lazing around and looking for somewhere to work. Might try to apply for the weather team here, but that would mean working along a bunch of annoying ponies.”

“We’re not all that bad, you know?” Twilight said. “If you have such a problem with working with a group of them, you could...” Twilight froze, shuddering and then bearing a forced smile. “You could always work here at the library.”

“Great idea, Twilight!” Spike exclaimed, blushing. “We could always use another helping claw, and Gilda has the versatility to get around. She’d be perfect to have around.”

While the two seemed keen on the idea, Gilda gagged, sticking her tongue out. “What, and work in a boring building with nothing but droll books to keep me company. Yeah, no thanks.”

Spike shrugged and brushed it off much better than Twilight did. He noticed that her eyes were twitching slightly. She was trying her best to to not get frustrated with Gilda, but the griffon wasn’t making it easy for he.

He knew as well as anypony what would happen if Twilight got upset, so he tapped Gilda’s side to gain her attention. “You two have already gotten to know each other a little better,” he said with a small grin. “Why don’t we go meet the others now? I’m sure they would like to meet a new friend of mine!”

Twilight’s expression softened. Spike smiled at her, and she smiled back. It was as if she was thanking him with her eyes.

“Yeah, I was getting bored of this place anyways,” Gilda said, stretching and displaying her wings. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can finally get a break from you dorks.”

Dorks. That was a new one. Being graced with another nickname made Spike even more giddy, while Twilight seemed to be getting more and more annoyed by it. Setting down her mug, she trotted towards the door and opened it.

“Well, I appreciate you dropping by,” Twilight said, forcing a smile. “You’re... welcome here whenever you want to come and hang out.”

Gilda stopped in front of the door and brushed her bangs. “Yeah, thanks for the offer, egghead, but I don’t think I’ll be dropping by too often. Nice cocoa though.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. If she were any less polite, she would have had the mind to just shout out Good! and slam the door in her face. But then she would never hear the end of it from Spike. He was following Gilda around like a lovesick puppy, something Twilight couldn’t understand but accepted for the moment.

Gilda walked out of the library with Spike trailing behind. He stopped and turned towards Twilight, his arms folded with smug triumph.

“So, care to alleviate that toilet duty for me getting Gilda out of your mane?” he asked.

Twilight rolled her eyes and snickered sarcastically. “Oh har har! Just make sure you two don’t get into any trouble, okay?”

Spike pointed his thumbs up. “Like I said, I got this all under control.”

Spike waved and continued after Gilda. Twilight waved as well, but with more concern. She couldn’t help but worry about Spike. Going from Rarity to Gilda almost instantly? It was a drastic leap, and one she wasn’t quite sure on. Regardless, she let him do what he thought was best for himself, and shut the door.

Spike ran up to Gilda’s side, clenching his hands together.

“So where to next, kid,” she asked. “I’m growing tired of this game of ‘Get Acquainted with the Locals.’”

“I know, I know, but be a little more patient.” Spike grabbed onto Gilda’s back and planted himself on her pillowy shoulders. “Next location is Sweet Apple Acres. It would be a lot shorter if you flew there.”

“Quick and painless? Just my kind of thing.” Gilda flapped her wings and levitated in the air. “How many more of your friends do I have to meet anyways?”

“Oh, just a few more,” Spike reassured her as they soared through the skies, heading towards the next lucky ponies to meet Spike’s new friend.

“Well, that should just about do it!”

One last apple fell into the bucket Applejack had placed below the tree. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled at her handiwork.

“Now this oughta keep the farm fed for a good month, wouldn’t ya say, Winona?”

Winona barked, running around before trying to get to face level with Applejack, attempting to lick her.

“Calm down, girl. I know you’re all excited and all, but ya need to save your energy, otherwise, you might lose your appetite! I can see an apple fritter with your name on it!

Winona wagged her tail and barked constantly, running around Applejack in excitement.

Applejack grabbed Winona and giggled, her dog wasting very little time for the opportunity to lick her master. “You’re easily excitable today. So much energy wound up in a big ol’ ball, huh?”

Winona continued lapping at Applejack’s face, barking with great enthusiasm. This continued for minutes on end, until she saw an unfamiliar shadow looming over them. Winona stopped, her ears perked as she gazed at the sky. Setting herself up in a defensive stance, she flared her teeth and snarled.

“Something wrong, girl?”

Winona didn’t let up, beginning to yelp louder and louder as the creature began to descend. Applejack looked where Winona was growling at, watching in disbelief as a birdlike figure began to descend from the skies.

“What in tarnation?” Winona began to run towards the intruder, before Applejack whistled at her. “Down, Winona! Stay put for now!” Applejack squinted her eyes, trying to make out what Winona could possibly be yapping at.

She shortly got her answer, though the sight was just as shocking. Gently heading towards the ground was Spike riding on top of…

“Gilda?!”

Gilda waved awkwardly as Winona still continued to growl and bark at her.

“Sheesh. You think a mutt like that would have seen a griffon flying around every once in a while, but I guess not.”

Applejack glared at Gilda. “Care ta run that by me that?”

Spike jumped off of Gilda and frantically ran up to Applejack. “Hey, AJ! How ya been?”

“Ah was doin’ alright until that winged lion started spouting things about mah dog.”

Gilda brushed off her bangs. “It’s griffon. Say it with me: grif-fon. I’m sure they taught you that in elementary school, assuming you were smart enough to actually go.”

Spike sighed, tapping Gilda on her side. “Uh, Gilda, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Gilda glared at him. “Why? I thought you were going to make this quick and painless, not drag it out longer than it needs to be.”

Applejack stood confused. “Uh, what is she talkin’ about?”

“I’ll explain it to you in a minute, AJ,” Spike said, turning back towards Gilda. “Right now though, I need to speak with you in private.”

Gilda could see the urgency in Spike’s face. His eyes glistened, making her want to vomit her lunch right then and there. However, she just sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, alright,” Gilda said. “But don’t keep me too long. I have to make friends with the town hick, remember?”

“Yeah, and fat chance that’ll happen,” Applejack retorted, still showing a face of concern.

Gilda stuck a tongue out at her, and followed Spike behind a shade tree. When he was sure they were out of Applejack’s line of hearing, he immediately grabbed her face and pulled her closer, much to Gilda’s disdain.

“You know, if I weren’t so friggin desperate to get you off my back, I’d deck your little face for grabbing me,” Gilda hissed.

“Sorry, Gilda,” Spike said, a small hint of red showing on his face. “But I have to get your attention somehow, otherwise I think you would just decide to look away and ignore most of what I’m saying.”

“It’s because I know what you’re about to say,” Gilda said, “and no, I don’t care what you say, I’m not going to apologize for what I said. If she didn’t want any problems, she would have kept that mutt under control.”

Spike ran a claw down his face. “Look, I understand that you’re frustrated by Winona’s… defensive nature, but you have to at least try to be friendly, otherwise they’ll never know how sweet and awesome my Gilda is!”

Gilda looked at Spike with disdain, holding a claw out. “Okay, let me set the record straight, you little shrimp. First of all, I’m not your anything, so don’t even start talking like that. Second, I never wanted to meet your stupid friends in the first place. You’re the one who wanted me to be all social with them because ‘making friends is so important to you!’”

Spike sighed, leaning against the tree. “Gilda, you’re going to have to try a little bit harder to be social. It’ll do you some good if you actually try and make friends.”

“Oh great, and now I’m being lectured by the kid that was crying like a little filly because his crush didn’t have feelings for him.”

Spike flushed in both embarrassment and frustration. “That’s not the point, Gilda. The point is that you need to at least try to be social, otherwise I’m going to paint your feathers black and white and start calling you Emolda.”

Gilda pressed her claw against her face, trying hard not to laugh at Spike’s pun. Unfortunately, it failed. “You’re lame, you know that? But you got a giggle out of me, so I guess I’ll play along, lest I wanna actually have to dress as that for Nightmare Night.”

Spike smiled. “That’s the spirit! Now let’s hurry up and get back before Applejack start wondering what’s taking so long.”

Gilda shook her head, smirking. “Trust me, kid, I’m pretty sure that what’s-her-face won’t be that upset with me taking all day to show up.”

Gilda and Spike walked back to Applejack. Gilda wasn’t too far off from the truth. Applejack hadn’t wait up for them, and instead focused her attention on bucking some of the trees, seemingly forgetting that Gilda had even insulted her.

“Yo, AJ, we’re back,” Spike called out, waving at her. "Sorry about earlier. Gilda can be a lot to handle at times."

Gilda raised a claw to smack Spike in the back of the head, but restrained herself, deciding to wave instead. "Um, yeah. Guess my feathers were a little ruffled by the dog, I guess."

Applejack looked at Gilda, raising an eyebrow. Winona continue to snarl, but Applejack shook her head, getting Winona to lay off.

"Well, it's alright," Applejack said. "Ah suppose Ah'd be a little antsy if someone's pet started yappin' at me. Though Ah am kinda confused on why you two are hangin' out with each other."

Spike tapped his fingers together, smiling nervously. “Well, it’s kind of a long story—”

“So I’ll shorten it for ya!” Gilda rested her arm against Spike’s head. “See, basically the kid wanted help trying to sweet talk the purple-maned mare, but then got shut down, and now that I buttered him up with some attention yesterday, he’s kinda attached to me.”

Spike’s face went red, and his eyes shot directly towards Gilda. “H-hey! It wasn’t exactly like that!”

Applejack couldn’t help but snicker, coughing and straightening up when Spike glared at her. “Well, that was mighty nice of you, Gilda. Didn’t peg you to have a soft spot for… well… anything really.”

“I don’t have a soft spot for the little twerp,” Gilda said, pressing her claw against his skull harder and harder until he started to cringe a little. “I just didn’t want to hear him crying all day, so I decided to help Spike a little so he would shut up.”

Spike was still a little agitated, but still blushing all the way through. He looked at Applejack, trying to hide his embarrassment and nodded.

“Ah see,” Applejack tapped her chin, then shrugged. “Well, Ah’d love to stay around and talk, but Ah gotta make sure all these apples get back to the farm. Nice knowin’ that Gilda ain’t the sourpuss Ah once thought she was. Though she is still kinda mean spirited. No offense.”

“None taken,” Gilda said, feigning a smile. “I’m just glad to finally get this off my chest. Anyway, I don’t want to bother you while you’re busy. I think we’re done—”

“Are you sure you don’t need any help, Applejack?” Spike asked. “Gilda and I would be happy to help.”

Gilda shot a strong glare at Spike. Her puffing feathers pretty much set the tone of what she wanted to say to him.

“Well, Ah don’t want to burden ya’ll with busy work, so don’t worry ‘bout it,” Applejack said, tipping her hat out of respect. “Me and Winona got this handled.”

Gilda gritted her teeth and wrapped a claw around Spike. “Yeah, little buddy. They can handle this all by themselves. I don’t think they need us intruding on them.”

Spike shook his head. “Nonsense! It’ll be a good way for you guys to get to know each other better. Also, I’m sure you would appreciate this work getting done a lot faster, right?”

Applejack looked at Spike, wide eyed, and then towards Gilda, whose expression was painted with both agitation and worry. Applejack tapped her chin, smirking.

“Ya know, Ah’d actually like that. We have about five buckets full of apples to haul back. Gilda, you can help me take them back while Spike picks up any apple that falls. Sound good?”

Gilda mumbled to herself, trying her best not to show a look of disgust. “Yeah… that sounds just, peachy.”

Applejack chuckled and trotted towards a basket. She lifted it on her back and urged Gilda to follow.

Gilda began to follow Applejack, but not before smacking Spike in the arm with her front talon. “Quick and painless, huh?”

Spike bit his lips and chuckled nervously. “Well, I just thought it would be better if you actually lent a claw to help for a bit. I mean, I’m helping out, too.”

“That wasn’t the point of me meeting your friend,” Gilda snarled. “Do this again and a punch in the arm is going to be the least of your worries.”

Spike gulped, sweating and giving an awkward smile. “Sure thing, Gildy. I won’t do this again.”

Gilda stared at Spike for a few more minutes, and then swiftly turned her head. “Good. And stop calling me that. It’s annoying.”

Spike nodded and followed behind Gilda. When they caught up with Applejack, Gilda grabbed on of the nearby baskets, straining to lift it up.

“Not as light as ya thought it would be?” Applejack asked. “Those apples do put on quite a bit of pounds when they’re stacked up.”

“No, it’s fine,” Gilda said, her voice straining as she lifted the basket. “I got this, no problem.”

Applejack raised her eyebrows. “Are ya sure about that? Cause it looks like ya is havin’ a bit of trouble there.”

Gilda lifted the basket and began to flap her wings. She levitated only inches from the ground, wobbling a little. “I said I got this.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Alright. Whatever ya say.” Applejack walked towards Spike and leaned into her his ear to whisper. “Yeah, stay close by her. Ah have a feeling she’s going to drop quite a bit.”

Spike snickered and nodded, as he trailed behind Gilda to pick up any apple that she would drop. Gilda did her best to speed through, but ended up lagging behind Applejack. Not only that, but she constantly tilted the basket slightly, causing several of the apples to fall out. Spike happily picked them back up and tossed them into the bucket.

Gilda tilted her head to the side everytime he threw them. “Hey, watch where you’re tossing those, kid!”

Spike continued throwing the apples into the basket. “Relax a little, Gilda. I have a really good throwing arm. I’m not going to hit you!”

And right on cue, the next apple he threw was misaimed and smacked Gilda right in the back of the head. Gilda cringed and let go of the basket, glaring at Spike.

“What the heck!” Gilda shouted. “That hurt, you little brat!”

Spike jolted at the combination of the basket falling to the ground, and Gilda’s yelling. He blushed and began kicking his feet. “Heh, um… you dropped the basket.”

Gilda clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. Her feathers were ruffled and it seemed as if her face was fuming red.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it too much, Gilda,” Applejack said, suppressing her laughter. “Ah’ll just load up some of these apples into mah basket to lighten up the load."

Gilda groaned, folding her arms and puffing her lips. "Yeah, well I don't know why you stacked them so high to begin with."

“Ah did say Ah would carry it if you thought it was too heavy,” Applejack corrected, causing Gilda to flush in embarrassment.

“Yeah, whatever.”

Spike and Applejack helped tote the apples into her basket, leaving Gilda with a partially full basket. Gilda would have been more insulted if not for that fact that she didn’t want to help Applejack out in the first place, so she just took it for what it was worth and carried the bucket. It was much lighter than it was before, but she still couldn’t lift herself off the ground as much as she wanted to. Regardless, she powered through, able to keep up with Applejack a lot easier than before.

“So, Gilda, what brings ya to this part of town?” Applejack inquired. “Got any relatives around here?”

“Actually, she just moved here not too long ago,” Spike said. “I met her just yesterday.”

“Spike, I can speak for myself,” Gilda said, nearly losing her grip on the bucket. “I didn’t want to stay in that lame apartment I used to stay in, so I decided to go somewhere quiet where I could be left alone. But of course, I couldn’t even be given that.”

She shot a glance at Spike, giving him a intensive glare. She still couldn't make out why he was smiling and blushing like a bafoon. Whatever the reason, she wanted to wipe that smug grin off his face.

Keyword "wanted". For some reason Spike's annoying nature started to grow on her. She couldn't help but wear a faint smile when watching his childlike innocence.

"So, how are ya likin' the town, Gilda? "

Gilda's head snapped back towards Applejack. "Huh?"

"Ah mean, are ya likin' the town alright? Ah personally think it's the best town in Equestria. Not much of the hustle and bustle of the city.'

"Eh, it's alright," Gilda said. "Though at the city, there is much more to do."

"Ah guess Ah can understand that. Where'd ya live before ya came here?"

Spike's eyes widened. "You know, I want to know that to. Was it somewhere like Manehatten? Fillypelphia? Los Pegasus?"

Both Gilda and Applejack gave Spike a confused look.

"Okay, maybe that last one was a stretch." Spike chuckled, picking up the apples that were still tumbling out of the basket.

"Where do most griffins live, dweeb?" Gilda waited for Spike to respond, but after what felt like hours, she sighed and gave the answer. "I'm from the Griffin Empire, alright?"

“Makes a whole lick of sense to me,” Applejack said. “What part? Ah can safely say Ah know very little about the Empire myself.”

Gilda frowned, remaining silent for a while.

Spike looked up at her with concern in his eyes. It wasn’t like her to shift into a melancholy griffon so quickly. “Gilda, you alright?”

Gilda quickly straightened her face. “Eh, it’s nothing really. I don’t really feel like talking about it much.”

“You sure, Gildy… erm… Gilda?” Spike asked. “I mean, we’re all ears if you need to—”

When Gilda glared at Spike this time, it was filled with fiery venom. It pierced through his soul, and distilled fear for the griffon for the first time since they met.

Spike gulped. “Or, we can just leave the subject alone. Whatever works best for you!”

Gilda snorted and regained her focus on the task at hand. “And I assume that you’ve been here for most of your life?”

Applejack nodded. “Eeyup! Ever since Ah was a tiny filly, me and mah siblings have lived on this farm. When we get done haulin’ the apples, we can sit down and Ah’ll introduce ya to the family.”

Spike smiled. “We’d love to, Applejack! I’m sure she’d like to—” His eagerness got the best of him yet again. He quickly covered his mouth and looked up at Gilda, his eyes telling her that he was sorry for speaking out for her.

Gilda rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that actually.”

Spike’s eyes widened.

“It wouldn’t hurt to get to know your family a little bit. Plus, I know it’s gonna make Spike happy if I try to be ‘social’ for once.”

Spike couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He felt like leaping and giggling with glee right there, though he was certain that she would change her mind if Gilda felt embarrassed by him.

“Ah think that would be good for ya, actually,” Applejack said with a smile. “Ah’m all willing to forgive and forget that little incident ya had a few years back. You’re workin’ that off right now anyways!” Applejack chuckled.

Gilda raised an eyebrow. “I’m what now?”

Spike chuckled. “She’s just joking, Gilda. Calm down a little.”

Gilda groaned. Her balance with the basket was more steady, and eventually, none of the apples were falling out of the basket. Gilda liked to believe it was because she was finally getting a grip of the annoying basket, however both Spike and Applejack knew it was because most of it had been switched to Applejack’s basket.

They carried conversations briefly with each other as they carried the rest of the baskets towards the barn. Spike was surprised how well Gilda was taking the busy work. He was well prepared for the likely outcome of her just gripping and being mean spirited about everything. However, she was taking the gathering surprisingly well. She even tried to hold a conversation with Applejack all on her own.

Spike smiled smugly while she wasn’t looking. Everything is going well. he thought to himself. All I have to do is get her on good terms with everypony else and things will be golden! His blushing intensified, and he held his head down lower. But should I tell her? What would she think? She’d probably think I was just some weirdo that has a crush on her. Then again, I think she already thinks I’m a weirdo.

Spike took a deep breath, speeding up to stand next to Gilda. She glanced at him and smirked. “I thought you were supposed to be trailing behind to make sure I didn’t drop anything.”

“Yeah, well I figured that you had the hang of it already, so I don’t need to stand behind you,” Spike said. “Not a single apple has dropped since the first basket.”

Gilda smirked. “Really?”

“Yeah. I think you’re doing just fi— OWW!”

Gilda laughed as a ripe, hard apple dropped on top of Spike’s head. He rubbed his scales and groaned.

“Oops! Looks like I dropped one,” Gilda said, sticking her tongue out. “Guess you’ll have to make sure you do your job right.”

Spike glared at Gilda. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Gilda just whistled and continued carrying the basket, ignoring Spike’s question. He couldn’t do anything but just grin and bear it, which he was perfectly comfortable doing.

“GIlda, could ya try not to waste mah apples?” Applejack requested. “We need most of these for our bakery sale later this week.”

“Huh, so you’re planning on making some kind of desserts with these?”

Applejack nodded. “That’s right! Apple dumplings, fritters, pies, and all the works. We even have some leftover fritters if ya like.”

Gilda shook her head. “Nah. I don’t like apples much. I prefer pears over any fruit really.”

Applejack stopped, and turned towards Gilda, putting the basket towards the barn. “Really? Ah think pears taste a little bad myself. They just don’t have the same kick as apples, ya know?”

Gilda set the last bucket of apples down by Applejack’s and snickered. “I’d expect that from someone who grew up around the things.” Gilda looked at the shiny apple, and then let it drop back into the bucket. “Anyways, are we done now?”

Applejack nodded. “As far as Ah can tell, we got done a lot faster than Ah would have by myself. ‘Preciate the help, Gilda.”

Gilda brushed her bangs and shrugged. “Like I said, only doing this to shut the kid up.” She looked at Spike, who was grinning from ear to ear. “Not that I care what he thinks about my decisions, though.”

Applejack smiled. “Sure. Whelp, Ah’m goin’ in to alert the family that we’re going to have guest. How about you guys stay over for lunch, and we’ll fix ya something nice. Ah even got some leftover pie just waiting for ya, Spike.”

Spike began to salivate. “Thanks, Applejack!"

"Not a problem, bud. You're welcome to some lunch as well, Gilda. I'm sure we can scrounge up somethin' non appley for ya."

Gilda shot a look at Spike. There was that dopey smile again. It’s as if someone stretched his mouth out and forced it to smile. That or he actually had that look painted on his face at will. Whatever the case, it was becoming dangerously contagious. She had to fight the smile that was creeping onto her.

“Yeah, why not,” Gilda said. “Free food is free food afterall.”

Spike squeezed Gilda’s neck, causing both confusion between her and Applejack. “Nice! I’m sure you’ll like what Applejack has in store. She's a really good cook!"

Applejack chuckled. "Aw come on. Ah'm not that good at cooking really. Ah just do some of the baking, s'all."

"Still some of the best baking I've ever had."

"Well, if ya think that way, Ah might have a little somethin' extra for ya."

Spike's lips were moist, tongue lolling out. "Great! I can't wait to chow down! Come on, Gildy! Oops. I mean, 'Gilda'."

Spike followed Applejack in the house, starting to talk to her. Gilda just stood there, bemused and dazed. Why was Spike being so clingy all of a sudden? Had she really left that much of an impression on him that he had imprinted on her? His actions, while charming, were starting to get a tad tiring for her. She blew her bangs out of her eyes and sighed.

“Note to self: next time I find a crying kid in the middle of the day, just let the little twerp wallow.”

Helping the Dweeb

by Draconian Soul

Under Her Wing

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Soaring Hearts

Meet the Flock

Ruffled Feathers