> Never Really Thought About It
>  by Purplescales42
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Interview
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was a sunny afternoon in the Crystal Empire. The Equestria Games had concluded the day before and everypony was talking about the events that had transpired. One event in particular involved a small purple dragon saving the empire for a second time. Said dragon quickly found himself the center of attention even more so than when he had arrived a few days ago. There was even a reporter who wanted to do an interview on the empire’s hero.
So, here Spike found himself on this day outside a café wearing sunglasses and a fancy black vest. Twilight told him before he left that he was overdoing it to which he replied that he wanted to look the part. Twilight just rolled her eyes and told him not to get carried away. Spike took a bite out of his jewel encrusted bagel while he waited for the interviewer to show. 
“Excuse me?” Spike looked over his shoulder and saw an orange mare with a blue mane and tale and a Cutie Mark of a notepad and pencil.  She wore a brown coat and fedora with a piece of paper that read “Press” on it. “Are you Spike?” she asked.
“That’s me,” replied Spike happily. The mare shook his hand. 
“Oh, this is such a pleasure, Sir,” she said. “My name is Scoop.” She sat across from Spike and pulled a pencil and notepad from her coat pocket. “I promise I won’t take up too much of your time.”
“I’m no rush,” said Spike. “Interview away.”
“Alright then. So let’s start some things about your past.”

***

About half an hour later, Spike had given his life story, what is was like in Ponyville, some of the adventures he had had, and some thoughts on the Elements of Harmony. Well, except one.
“Alright, just one more question,” said Scoop. 
“Fire away,” said Spike. He had been playing it cool the whole time but inside he was having a blast. He almost wanted to stay in the empire forever, but he knew he didn’t need any more of an ego boost.
“What exactly is your relationship with Princess Twilight Sparkle?” asked Scoop. Spike raised a brow and took off his sunglasses.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Well, what does the princess actually mean to you?”
“Well,” began Spike. Scoop picked up her pencil to start writing but Spike didn’t continue. “I guess. . .” Still no follow up. “It’s, wait, no.” Scoop spat out her pencil in mild annoyance. “You know something? I never really thought about it.”
“Is she not important to you?” asked Scoop.
“What? No! That’s not it all!” Spike shouted waving his hands in front of his face. He sat back in his chair. “I’ve just never actually sat down and thought about it.”
“Well, how long have you known her?”
“Forever,” said Spike. “I mentioned that she was the one who hatched me from my egg. After that, I was raised by Princess Celestia for a while but I still saw Twilight all the time.”
“So she’s a close friend?”
“I guess you could say that, but that almost seems to be putting it lightly.”
“How so?” asked Scoop picking up her pencil again.
“When I really think about it, Twilight has been the one constant thing in my life,” said Spike. “Every fond memory I have includes her at least in some small way. I remember that day Celestia said I would be staying with Twilight permanently. I was so excited.”
“Why was that?” asked Scoop, her voice slightly muffled by the pencil in her mouth.
“I don’t know exactly,” admitted Spike. “It just felt right I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fond of Princess Celestia but I always felt like I belonged with Twilight.”
“You seem very close to her,” said Scoop. Spike smiled softly.
“Yeah. I really love her.”
“Like a romantic-”
“No!” shouted Spike. Scoop jumped in her chair a little at the sudden burst in volume. “Heh. Sorry. But, no, it isn’t like that. That’d just be weird.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“It’s more like a love you would feel towards a mother or sister.”
“So that’s what she is to you?”
“I suppose in a sense,” said Spike. “Again, I never really thought about it.” Scoops sighed. She thought his answer would be more straightforward. “I’m sorry,” said Spike. “I’m not trying to beat around the bush.”
“Oh, um, it’s no problem,” said Scoop with a nervous smile. “Well, let me ask a direct question.” Spike nodded. “How important is Princess Twilight to you?”
“She’s my hero,” said Spike. “I mean she takes care of me, she puts up with my antics, she protects me, and she’s always there to try and cheer me up when I’m sad. I would do anything for her.”
“So, I’m sure you take her job as her assistant very seriously?”
“Absolutely!” Spike stood up in his chair and held a fist to his chest. “I’m her number one assistant! I’d do anything for her!” Scoop chuckled at how open Spike was about his loyalty towards his friend.
“Anything?”
“Yeah,” said Spike sitting back down. “I mean, she probably doesn’t really need my help but I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try. When she went to find the Crystal Heart or went to the parallel world, I just couldn’t make myself stay behind. She could become so powerful that she could vanquish all the evil in Equestria on her own and I would still be right there next to her to back her up.” Scoop was moved.
“May I ask what brings such loyalty to the princess?” she asked.
“Because I know she would do the same for me,” replied Spike confidently. “We might get on each other’s nerves sometimes, but deep down I know she would do anything to protect me. There are times when it doesn’t seem like we like each other but that’s true with any family. When it counts, we can rely on each other.”
“So, what’s your biggest fear concerning Twilight?” Spike grabbed his tail and started pulling on it nervously.
“This is probably going to sound selfish but. . .” He took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking. “I’m afraid a time might come when Twilight doesn’t want me anymore. Not need me, want me. She probably doesn’t need me around, but I can live with that. However, if she said that she didn’t want me anymore.” He quickly rubbed away a tear that threatened to flow down his eye. “I don’t know what I would do.” Scoop almost felt like crying herself. 
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have asked such a personal question.”
“It’s okay,” said Spike. “Any chance you could just not include that part? It’s kind of embarrassing.” Scoop nodded.
“Can I ask one more thing?”
“Sure.”
“Have you ever actually told Twilight any of this and has she ever told you what you mean to her? You seem awfully confident about her feelings toward you.”
“We actually don’t talk about it much,” said Spike. Scoop looked surprised and a little confused. “There really isn’t any need to,” Spike added. “We’ve known each other for so long that we can just tell how much we care about each other. I guess that’s why I had such a hard time describing it. I’ve never needed to. Does that answer your question?” Scoop smiled and nodded. 
“It does.” She put her notebook and pencil back into her pocket. “Thank you very much for letting me interview you.”
“My pleasure!” said Spike happily as he shook her hoof.
“And if you don’t mind my saying. You might not need to tell her, but maybe you should anyway,” suggested Scoop. “It might mean a lot to her even if she already knows.” Spike nodded.
“Yeah. That’s true.”

***

Twilight finished putting the last of her belongings in her bags. She was starting to wonder how long Spike was going to take with his interview. 
“I hope he didn’t get somepony that’s going to twist his words around,” she whispered to herself. She heard the door to the room open and saw Spike standing in the doorway staring at her. “Hey, there Spike how did-oof!” She grunted and nearly stumbled back as Spike slammed into her and embraced her in a tight hug. He buried his face in her chest and could hear light sobs coming from him. “What happened?” she asked immediately worried. “Are you alright?” Spike looked up at her and smiled.
“Yeah,” he said. “I just wanted to say I love you, Twilight.” 
“Oh,” said Twilight taken aback. “I know you do. What brought this on?”
“I just thought I should say it. Even if you already know.” Twilight smiled and wiped away his tears.
“Thank you, Spike,” she said softly as she hugged him tightly. “That means a lot. I love you too.”
“I know. But thanks for saying it.”