Our Souls Blossom
"Thanks again for letting me stay here, Granny Smith," Spike gratefully commented once more. He was sitting at the Apple Family dining table with Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. Big Mac and Applejack were busy attending Trixie's show. Though, Trixie deemed him mature enough to attend as well, Spike had turned the offer down. He'd seen enough of her magic at home to last a lifetime. Beyond that, he needed a break from the horrible, awkwardly silent environment she and Twilight were creating around the library. Two weeks was too much!
Generally, his first choice to hang out was Button Mash, but he and Sweetie Belle were going on a date that night. That wiped both of those options completely off the table. Spike knew, without a doubt, that Love Tap would be "Chaperoning" said date.
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Love Tap stared at her son and his marefriend from across the dimly lit restaurant, watching like a hawk. She wore a poncho, a sombrero, and her husband's fake moustache. Her eyes narrowed and she spoke lowly in a foreign, gutteral tongue to herself, "He is not ready, She-devil..."
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Normally, Rarity wouldn't object to Spike hanging around Carousel Boutique with her all night, but she too was attending Trixie's show. Scootaloo lived in the orphanage, so that left one choice. "Oh it's no burden, Young'n. Yer no stranger 'round these parts." Granny Smith responded. She was finished with her dish, so she stood up and took it to the kitchen. She let it soak to be washed later. "Granny has to rest 'er ol' tired bones. Y'all play nice now, ya' hear?"
"Yes Granny!" They both responded, nearly on impulse. Spike grabbed both their empty plates and dropped them into the sink. Briefly, he took a moment to enjoy the simple feeling of freedom he felt when he didn't have to do the dishes. He spun on his heels and smiled warmly at Apple Bloom. She smiled back in kind.
"Wha'do ya wanna' do first?" She asked, just before he opened his mouth to ask the same question. The situation flipped on him, he had no idea.
With a shrug, he replied, "I dunno'. Anything's cool with me, I guess." As soon as the words left his lips, he remembered he was speaking to a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and he immediately regretted the wording of his statement.
"How 'bout tag?" She asked. Spike gave a sigh of relief.
"Potential disaster diverted!" He high-fived himself internally. Outwardly, he just smiled at his filly friend and replied, "Yeah!" It came out more excitedly than he had anticipated. He ran past her and out the door, tagging her on the way. "You're it!" He called behind himself.
"Hey! No fair!" Apple Bloom responded, giggling as she ran after the purple dragon. In all honesty, she knew he didn't stand a chance against her natural earth-pony stamina. She was gaining on him fast.
Spike panicked. He could sense he was losing, and had to think of something fast! He spotted the barn and hatched a plan. He changed course, risking a bit of what little lead he had on the mare left, and made a bee line toward the open double-doors. Sprinting as fast as he could, he made it to the barn several seconds before Apple Bloom. She slowed to a walk as she entered the dark, suddenly cavernous, barn. "Oh, spike!" She called in a sing-song voice, "Where are you~?"
"Welcome to the thunder dome!" Spike shouted as his yellow adversary ventured deeper into the barn. Apple Bloom's head shot up. Somehow, Spike had made his way to the second level. He grabbed a rope in his purple claws and jumped, swinging from it and landing far behind her. He bolted out of the barn before she could even turn around.
With one brow raised, she smirked, "Smart cookie!" She bolted after him, galloping through the orchard as fast as she could. Spike was getting tired. She could see it in the way he ran. Far ahead of her, he stopped and turned, admitting defeat. That wasn't going to cut it. Slowing down, Apple Bloom stalked her prey. She crouched down, ready to pounce, and she did. She pushed Spike to the ground and toppled over on top of him, screaming, "You're it!!!" The pair of them laughed and hugged for a bit, but all went silent when Apple Bloom raised up onto her forelegs. She became immediately aware of the close proximity she was in with the strangely alluring dragon. She stared straight into his big, emerald eyes. She never knew how lost she could get in them. They seemed to glow in the coming darkness. Celestia had begun to lower the sun, and the sky was painted with an array of oranges and reds. The sun's final rays seemed to make his purple scales glisten.
"Uuumm, Apple Bloom?" Spike interrupted her thoughts, a small blush breaking through the scales on his face. "Think you could get off me now?" He asked sheepishly.
Apple Bloom's blush darkened and grew, threatening to blend with her hair. She jumped off of him immediately. "S-s-sorry," She stammered. "I-It's gettin' dark, w-we should go inside now." Spike nodded and they made their way back to the house.
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After much needed showers, the pair found themselves staring at the bed before them. "I-I only have one, s-so we're gonna' have ta share," Apple Bloom stuttered, all the awkwardness of their earlier situation racing back to the foreground of her mind.
"Y-yeah. That's c-c-cool." Spike stuttered back, refusing to make eye contact. He was beginning to understand what Twilight had been going through with Trixie. The way Apple Bloom had been looking at him in the orchard made him feel strange, like butterflies in his stomach. "It wouldn't be the f-first time we've...shared a bed." He gulped and took a leap of courage by climbing onto the bed first and claiming his side. Apple Bloom exhausted the candles and slowly slinked her way onto the bed. She kept her distance from the dragon for awhile, staring at his back. She sighed heavily.
After several minutes of strange silence, Spike felt a hoof wrap around his torso and a barrel squeeze against his back. Apple Bloom's hot breath tickled his ear as she whispered into it, "I had a good time today, Spike." She gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek that left his face burning like hot embers and nuzzled into the crook of his neck to sleep.
"Best. Sleepover. Ever."