A small purple and green dragon was dragging his heels through Ponyville. Pulling a wagon filled with all sorts of stuff, the reptile was busily running errands for Twilight Sparkle, but that didn’t mean he was enjoying his work. Instead, he was both bored by the task as well as annoyed. This wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend such a bright and sunny day; he rather be out running among the fields, go exploring, or just about anything else than running errands. However, giving in to the reality of the situation, he trotted to the next stop on his long checklist.
Parking the wagon outside, the dragon entered the front door of Sugarcube Corner. The exact moment he stepped his foot in the door, he was greeted by a bubbly voice.
“Hiya, Spike! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! What can I getcha?” the voice came from a pink pony with seemingly boundless energy and optimism.
Spike, however, didn’t match her enthusasim, “Hi, Pinkie Pie. Can I get half a dozen blueberry scones? There what Twilight wants. And….can you get me a ruby muffin? I kinda need it right now.”
Pinkie Pie nodded as she began to fetch the order, “Coming up! So, what’s got you so sour? Did you eat a lemon thinking it was a cupcake? Cause I did that once and let me tell you, it’s no fun!”
A small smirk appeared on Spike’s face as he thought about Pinkie doing such, but it quickly vanished, “No, nothing like that. I’m just doing a lot of work lately and I don’t think Twilight is giving me enough credit for all of the work and stuff I do around the library and what not.”
Pinkie started placing the scones into a box, “Really? Like what kind of work? Important work? Super important work? Super-duper important work?”
“No….well, yes it is important work, but it’s….I don’t know, important in it’s own way? Like right now with me running all of these errands for her. Picking up quills, groceries, potions, and sweets like right now,” the dragon explained, “And around the library like sorting and organizing the shelves, cleaning the entire building, and running the library when she’s out doing whatever. It just gets exhausting, especially when it seems like she doesn’t even notice when I am doing stuff.”
Closing the box of scones and placing it on the counter, the pink mare placed her front limbs on the counter and supported her head with them, “But isn’t that your job as her assistant? Doing stuff for her when she is busy and what not?”
Spike was caught, “Well, yeah, it is. But all I’m asking is for a little sympathy and just a simple ‘good job’ every so often. Is that too much to ask?”
“I’m sure Twilight loves everything you do, Spikey, even if she doesn’t say it!” Pinkie’s words were both lively and loving as she looked at the dragon from behind he counter.
“I’m not convinced sometimes,” the dragon’s voice was depressing.
“Chin up, Spike!” Pinkie stated with energy, “It will pass! Even the most heaviest and most downiest parts of life will pass by and make way for the brighter things in our lives! Even the smallest things can be the bestest things!”
“I guess,” Spike replied, still with a defeated tone in his voice, “But I still have to drag that dumb wagon filled with her stuff around.”
Continuing with her working and fulfilling Spike’s order, Pinkie spoke on, “You can’t let it keep getting you down. Tomorrow is always a brighter day! Never forget that!” The mare turned around for a few moments and faced Spike again with a closed, brown bag. She placed in on top of the box of scones and pushed it forward to him, “Order up! Six scones at five bits and one muffin at one bit. That will be six bits, please!”
Spike pulled out the coins and placed them on the counter for Pinkie to take, “Thanks, Pinkie.” He reached up and pulled the box down for him to carry.
“Of course! And remember what I said, Spike!” she called out to him as he headed towards the door.
Shrugging, Spike called back, “Yeah, yeah, I will.”
Placing the baked goods on the wagon, Spike returned back to the library. After unloading everything he had gotten, putting them away in their proper place and what not, Spike took the bag of his food from Sugarcube Corner and to eat. Opening the bag up, he noticed something strange. Reaching in, Spike pulled out two ruby muffins. Confused, Spike reached in the bag again and pulled out a single napkin. On it, there was something written with fanciful and whimsical writing:
This too shall pass. –Pinkie Pie
The little hearts that dotted the ‘I’s seemed to be a very Pinkie-esqe touch, just like the hoofdrawn smile in the corner. Spike gave a warm smile at the small act that Pinkie did for him as he took a bite of one of the muffins.
The next day, Spike returned to Sugarcube Corner. Grateful that Twilight gave him the day off, he decided to spend it the way he wish he spend yesterday; outside and doing whatever he wanted. However, he wanted to visit the bakery for one reason before he went off.
Opening the door to the bakery, the sound of a bell rung as he entered. He was a bit surprised he wasn’t welcomed the moment he entered. However, it didn’t take long for a certain pony did just that.
“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie Pie literally popped her head up from behind the counter to see the familiar purple and green dragon, “Oh, hiya Spike!”
“Hey, Pinkie. How are ya doing?” he asked as stepped closer to the counter.
“Oh, I’m doing great! I woke up this morning and it was still dark out, so I took Gummy and we went out to a hillside just outside of town and watched the sunrise! It was beautiful, seeing Celestia’s sun rise up like that! It was all like….WOOSH!” Pinkie moved her hooves up above her head to enact the rising of the sun, “And I was all like….WOW! And Gummy was all like….WOW! And then we both were all like….WHOA!”
Listening and watching Pinkie describe the rising of the sun and her reaction was really amusing to Spike. He covered his mouth, trying his best not to laugh, but a few snorts escaped.
“Then, Gummy and I came back to here to start baking for the day. I got to make double chocolate cupcakes today!” Pinkie continued detailing her day, “I licked the batter out of the bowl when I was done, and it was super chocolately! Then Applejack stopped by to deliver some apples for baking, like making apple turnovers! Then we had a lot of customers come in to get breakfast, and then it was slow with business, so I went back to help roll some dough for pie crusts later. And then you showed up and I started talking to you and telling you about my day! Like how I woke up early this morning and went to watch the sunrise! I went with Gummy you see an-“
Spike stopped Pinkie Pie before she could repeat her entire day again, “I get it, I get it, you had a very eventful morning.” He couldn’t help but smile at the energy that seemed to literally be shining off of Pinkie Pie.
“Yes, I did! And today’s not even over yet! Who knows what else could happen!” Pinkie mused as she swayed back and forth like a metronome, “By the way, how did Twilight like the scones? I made them myself yesterday!”
“It seemed like she really liked them. It is her favorite treat after all,” the dragon explained.
The pink mare clapped her hooves together, “Wonderful! I love it when ponies like what I make! It makes me feel so happy!”
“Speaking of yesterday’s order, did you give me two ruby muffins on purpose? And write that stuff on the napkin in my bag?” Spike asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.
Pinkie Pie unabashedly answered, “Yup yup! You looked so down and mopey that I had to do something to make you smile! So I gave you a little something extra to brighten your day. Something small, ya know?”
Spike was still a little unsure about the gesture, “I guess, but won’t you get in trouble for giving that to me?”
“Nah!” Pinkie Pie replied, “I won’t get in trouble, I paid for it!”
“Huh?”
“Well, I obviously can’t just give stuff away for free, what kind of business would that be? A bad one that’s what! So I just paid for it myself and figured it could just be a little gift for you!” Pinkie smiled brightly and sincerely to the dragon. In fact, it caught him a bit off guard.
“Oh….uh….well, thank you, Pinkie Pie….” Spike nervously looked away as he rubbed the back of his head with one of his claws, his face growing slightly flushed.
“Of course! What are friends for?”
“But, one more thing,” the dragon edged as he looked back to the pink mare, “What exactly was with that little note? With what was written and what not.”
Pinkie continued her smiling, “It was to cheer you up!”
The dragon was still puzzled, “I don’t get it.”
“It’s to help you smile! I wrote it as a little reminder that even when things seem their most down, it won’t last forever! Remember, I really want everypony to smile! And don’t think dragons are excluded from that!” the pony leaned forward from her position from behind the counter and used her hoof to tap Spike on his nose. This caused him to raise his claws up to his nose and cover it after she made contact.
Spike smiled, “Well, thank you very much for that, Pinkie Pie.”
“Did it make you smile?” she returned back to her position on the other side of the counter, but she leaned on the counter as they continued.
“Well, yeah, it obviously did. It was really nice of you to do that and all.”
Pinkie’s face beamed, “Then I did what I wished, I made you smile! Yay!”
Spike covered his mouth again, trying not to laugh at Pinkie Pie.
“So, now what are you up to?” the mare asked.
“Huh? Uh, well, I was thinking of going out and exploring or something. It seems like a good day for it,” Spike thought about what he planned to do.
“Ooo! That sounds super fun! Can I come too? Huh? Can I? Can I?” Pinkie leaned more on the counter, almost as if she was inching herself closer to Spike as she begged to join him.
This caught Spike off guard, “Wha? Um….don’t you have work and stuff?”
“But my shift is almost over! If you wait just like two minutes, I’ll be done and we can totally go out and explore the wonders of Equestria!” Pinkie Pie seemed to be getting more excited about the supposed adventure.
Spike tried to clear up what the plan was to the mare, “Well, the exploring will be more of the landscape around Ponyville, not all of Eques-“
Pinkie quickly interrupted as she jumped up on top of the counter and started to proclaim as if she was giving a soliloquy in some sort of play, “We shall venture far through Equestria. Exploring any and all places that might interest us through our journeys! From Seaddle to Baltimare, from Manehatten to Las Pegasus, and everything in between! We will travel across the land, searching far and wide. Each new wonder to understand, the power that’s inside!”
Looking around Sugarcube Corner, Spike noticed that every single pony, from the customers to the employees, including Mr. and Mrs. Cake were all staring at Pinkie Pie as she gave her speech.
She continued, “We shall explore from one shore to the other, from the Crystal Mountains to the north, to the Palomino Desert in the south. And nopony, nay, nothing shall stand in our way! And mark my words….we shall be….victorious!” Taking a moment to pausing, with all of the eyes still on her, Pinkie knelt down, bowing her head, “And….scene.”
With the entire occupancy of the bakery staring at Pinkie Pie, Spike quietly whispered to the pink pony as she stood high upon the counter, “Yeah….meet me outside when you’re done.”
From that day, Spike and Pinkie Pie began to hang out with each other more often. The two would often play games that Spike would find both silly and amusing, explore the areas in and around Ponyville (including areas of Sweetie Apple Acres, which caused them having to explain to Applejack why they were sneaking around on her property), watch the weather patterns in the sky and talk just about any and everything that came to mind.
Spike really enjoyed Pinkie Pie’s company. Over the past two and a half weeks, Spike found a kindred spirit in the pink party pony. While she was often a hoofful, or a clawful in the dragon’s case, she was pony that could always bring a smile to his face no matter how bad of a day he might have had, and Spike seemed to have quite a few since. Pinkie’s sunny and optimistic attitude was something Spike envied about her. How she was able to find the joy and happiness in the littlest things was extraordinary in his eyes.
One night, Spike was returning home from Sugarcube Corner where he was chatting it up with Pinkie Pie. Opening the door, he saw the purple unicorn sitting on the couch, reading a large book.
“Welcome back, Spike,” she greeted with a warm smile, looking up from her reading material.
The dragon nodded as he smiled back, “Hey, Twilight. Sorry I’m a little late getting back.” He closed the door behind him, stopping the cool night air from entering the library.
“It’s alright. I’m sure Pinkie Pie had a very good reason to keep you from me,” Twilight jested as she tried to imagine what Pinkie Pie’s mind might have came up with for the two of them today.
“She did! We were playing this really cool game called ‘Cards Against Equestria’. It’s such a fun game and so weird and awesome!” Spike was very animated as he described the game.
Twilight held back a chuckle, “It seems you really have taken quite a liking to Pinkie Pie.”
“Of course! She’s so cool! We like the same stuff, like the same kind of sweets like cupcakes and ice cream, we both love playing games, and getting dirty when we go on adventures, she’s really fun!” Spike described.
“And she seems to always get you to smile,” the unicorn added.
Spike nodded, “Well, duh! She’s super fun!”
Twilight rephrased her statement, “That’s not exactly what I mean, Spike. I’m saying that you really seemed to have grown really attached to Pinkie Pie. As if you have grown really fond of her.”
“I don’t understand what you mean….”
“Love, Spike….I’m saying it’s almost as if you are in love with her,” Twilight was quite blunt with the statement, “You spend an awful lot of time with her lately and she seems to share the same feeling about you.”
Spike’s face blushed violently at the mare’s words, “Wha-What?! No! It’s not like that, not at all! We’re just friends! Good friends!”
Twilight spoke, “That’s how it usually starts. Just as friends and then it grows from there.”
The dragon’s face was still flushed, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked down at his small body. He let out a sad sigh.
“Are you okay, Spike?” Twilight asked concernedly, “This there a problem?”
“I don’t know….” he admitted, “Maybe I am in love with Pinkie….”
The purple mare stood up from off the couch and started to trot over to Spike in silence.
“How do I stop it?” he asked.
This statement surprised Twilight, “Stop it? Spike, it’s not something you can just turn on and off like a light.”
“But….I don’t want to feel like this. Pinkie Pie’s my friend, and I don’t want anything to mess that up,” he continued to explain, “There’s gotta be some sort of spell to cure it, right?”
“It doesn’t work like that, Spike. You can’t simply just not be in love with somepony because you just don’t want to,” Twilight explained as she stopped right in front of her assistant.
Spike’s bothered expression seemed to reflect that he already knew such. Walking towards the stairs, he spoke, “I’m….gonna go to bed….”
Twilight was worried as she watched him walk away, “Alright….sleep well. And don’t forget that I’m here if you want to talk, Spike….”
“I know….” he replied as he walked up each step of the stairs.
Upon reaching his bed, Spike fell onto his and quickly wrapped himself up in his blanket, burying himself in the process. After wrestling with the blanket, he popped his head out and looked out to the window of the room, seeing Luna’s moon shining light into the darkened room. Quietly, he asked himself a question:
This new feeling was bothering Spike quite considerably. It wasn’t just him not understanding his feelings that bothered him, but also how they would affect Pinkie Pie. Spike was determined to not let it encompass him, however it was all he could think about. Because of it, Spike kept his distance from Sugarcube Corner and Pinkie Pie in general for a few days. In his mind, Spike came to the conclusion that it’s for the best for both of them because this way, it won’t be weird. That’s what he thought anyway.
Early one evening, Twilight spied the troubled dragon hiding behind a large book, “Spike, what are you doing?”
“Looking up something about….science….” he lied. The truth of the matter was that he was trying to get lost in a random book so he wouldn’t think about the feelings that vexed him so. It wasn’t working.
“Uh huh….” the unicorn was not buying it, “What kind of science?”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight spoke on, “Well, how about you take a break from your ‘research’ and go out for a bit? It’s a very lovely evening.” Using her magic, Twilight levitated the book away from her assistant, closed it, and placed it on the table.
“But I really don’t wanna….” he whined almost like a little filly.
“Why not? It’ll be good to get out. A little trip around the town might do you a world good,” the mare continued, “We’re lucky not to have any clouds right now. You can look up in the sky and see a lot of the constellations tonight.”
The dragon sighed, “Sounds like that’s more up your alley of interest instead of mine.”
Twilight lightly giggled, “Well, true, I certainly do love astronomy, but I still mean it when I say you should get out for a bit.”
“Why?” Spike echoed.
“Because for the last few days, you have done nothing but mope around the library during your free time,” Twilight’s tone grew stern and motherly, “I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” Spike looked away from Twilight, not wanting to get caught in her gaze.
The expression on Twilight’s face was filled with doubt about her assistant’s statement, “Spike, I don’t want to play the bad pony here, but I really want you to get out of the library for a bit. I’m almost positive that it can help you a great deal. Okay?”
Sighing as he stood up, he agreed, “Alright, alright….just don’t expect me to be out there long.”
A warm smile appeared on Twilight’s face, “Just walk around and enjoy the evening a little, okay? I promise it won’t kill you.”
Dragging himself to the door, Spike responded with a sigh, “Alright, I’m off.” He opened up the wooden door and took a step out into the evening.
Once on the other side of the door, Spike looked up at the night sky. It was apparent that Celestia’s sun had just set beyond the horizon. The glow, however was still visible, causing the sky to be painted a mixture of all the colors in the rainbow. Without noticing it, Spike had a content smile on his face as he looked at the beautiful sky.
Spike began to walk and move about Ponyville. He watched on as a number of different ponies in town began to chat amongst themselves together, laugh, enjoy each other’s company, and trot about town. Again, Spike had a small smile on his face as he watched the other citizens of Ponyville continue with their routine.
The sky grew darker as glow of Celestia’s sun faded away and Luna’s moon and the star were the only lights in the sky. On cue, the lampposts turned on to light the streets of Ponyville. Seeing a bench next to one of the lampposts, Spike walked up to it and took a seat. Taking a deep breath of the evening air, Spike looked up to the night sky, watching the stars in the sky.
As he stared upwards, he heard a familiar voice, “Spike?”
Returning his gaze back down to Equestria, he saw a figure lit up by the lamp. It was a pink pony with a extremely frizzled mane.
“Oh, hey, Pinkie Pie….” Spike’s voice was a bit depressed.
Pinkie didn’t seem to take notice, “What’cha doing? I haven’t seen you in, like, forever!”
“It’s only been a few days,” Spike pointed out.
“But that’s forever times forever in Pinkie Time!” the pink mare stressed.
Spike wasn’t sure about how to respond to Pinkie’s statement, “Uh….anyway, I was busy with….stuff….”
“What kind of stuff? Fun stuff?” the party pony asked as she took the seat next to Spike on the bench.
“Well, it wasn’t really anything like that….it was something a bit more….serious….”
“Serious? Like Queen Chrysalis coming back?” Pinkie quickly gasped, “Did Queen Chrysalis come back?!”
“What? No….not that serious. It was having to do with me and….stuff….”
Pinkie Pie still had a pleasant smile on her face as she continued to ask, “Well, are you gonna tell me what it is or do I have to keep on guessing?”
Sighing and looking away from Pinkie, Spike answered, “I….I was thinking about how I feel about you and what we are….”
“Well, we’re friends, duh!”
Spike continued, “I meant more than that….I….I think I love you, Pinkie Pie.”
After a few moments of silence, Spike turned his head back to look at Pinkie. Expecting to see a confused mare, the dragon was surprised to see that Pinkie Pie had almost not changed her expression from when he had taken his eyes off her. Her smile was as big as ever.
“Pinkie?” Spike edged on.
With a squeal of delight, Pinkie wrapped her front hooves around Spike’s body, hugging him tightly. She pulled him close as she spoke, “Oh, this is wonderful~! I’m so happy! And here I thought that you didn’t like hanging out with me anymore! Silly me, am I right?”
The dragon was struggling to breathe as he was hugged tightly. With his claws, he tapped on Pinkie’s limbs and struggled to speak up, “Pinkie…..I can’t….breathe….ease up….please….”
“Oh, hee hee, sorry!” Pinkie relinquished her hug on the dragon.
Catching his breath, Spike asked a question, “Now that you’re not trying to kill me with a hug….what do you mean?”
“Well, when you didn't stop by lately, I thought it was because you didn’t like being around me anymore, and it made me sad because I really like being with you, Spike!” Pinkie beamed as she spoke.
Spike was piecing the puzzle together, “Wait, does that mean that you-“
“Yup! I totally love you, Spikey!”
“I don’t get it….why?”
Smiling largely, Pinkie looked up at the night sky, the light of the stars reflecting off her wide eyes, “Well, I feel like we totally get each other, ya know? We like the same kind of stuff! And even when we don’t like the same stuff, we still have fun!” Spike looked on as Pinkie continued, “Ya see….I can’t explain it that well, but when we are together, it feels like I’m floating in a giant pool of water. Water all around me, but I can breathe, that way so I don’t drown. But yeah, it’s like I’m floating underwater, surrounded by this warm fuzzy feeling….and I like it a lot! And I only get that feeling when I’m with you, Spike.”
The dragon was speechless. “I….don’t know what to say….” he admitted, “I never knew you felt that way about me, Pinkie.”
Turning her head back to Spike, the mare still had the smile on her face and it was as if the stars in the sky were shining out of her eyes themselves, “Well, I do! I’ve always liked ya a lot, Spike! And when you started to hang out with me, it made me really, really happy! And since you love me too, it makes it even more great!” Her face seemed to grow pinker than normal.
Spike also became flushed as he listened to Pinkie speak. Smiling back, he agreed, “Yeah, it really is.”
“But there’s one thing I don’t understand, Spike, why do you like me? I mean I thought you had a crush on Rarity,” Pinkie added.
“How did you know that?” Spike was confused.
Giggling, the pink pony replied, “Duh, ya told me! And I didn’t break my promise, no pony knows!”
Spike couldn’t help but chuckle a little, “Well, when we were together, I kind of forgot about all of that. I could only think about you. Just how you find the beauty in all of the small things in every day life, it’s something I envy about you. While I really can’t do it all the time, I really love it when you show me how to do that, like with exploring around Ponyville, playing games, whatever….I just really like it.”
Pinkie chuckled as well, “And I love it too!”
Rubbing his arm with one of his claws, Spike asked a very pressing question that was on both of their minds, “So….what do you think this make us, Pinkie? Best pals? Coltfirned and marefriend?”
Smiling, Pinkie scooted closer to Spike on the bench and wrapped one of her front limbs around him, pulling him close to her body, “How about we be super-duper good friends who really, really like each other? Then we can go from there when we’re ready, okay?”
“Okay,” Spike nodded with a smile, his face blushing red.
Both Pinkie and Spike looked back up at the night sky. The night continued on as they watched the stars in the sky and enjoyed being with each other.