> The Twilights of Spike's Heart > by The Fields of Ice > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter One: Forgetting Love > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike was sitting in the corner of his and Twilight’s bedroom, angrily writing in his journal. Small fire plumes emanated from each nostril as his quill threatened to rip the page to pieces with each strike. “How can she do this to me?! After all I’ve done for her she goes and does this! It’s like she just wants to see me get hurt. That fat, insensitive, cow!” Suddenly, in a burst of anger, the little dragon took his book and launched it across the room. Spike had never been this mad in his life; even that time everypony kept babying him paled in comparison to this. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to torch the whole library, but he just sat there; holding an explosion of anger inside. “Spike? Are you okay?” asked a familiar and somewhat soothing voice. The little dragon’s head instantly shot up to see his lavender friend standing in the doorway. She had a truly concerned look on her face as she eyed the fuming dragon. “Spike?” she asked as she took a step forward, “Is something wrong?” As the lavender unicorn trotted towards her lifetime friend, her hoof stepped on something. Quickly she looked down to see Spike’s journal. It had several mangled and torn pages protruding between the covers. Twilight carefully lifted her hoof off of it and began to levitate the book with her magic. “Oh my,” she said as she examined it more carefully. The lavender mare slowly levitated the book over to a nearby shelf and walked over to Spike, who was slightly less angry. “What’s wrong Spike?” The little dragon just turned away in reply. “Come on Spike I only want to help you, but I need to know what’s eating you up first.” Spike let out a light sigh. “It’s Rarity.” Twilight’s thoughts were a bit less confused after hearing those words. “Ohhhh. So what did she do this time?” Spike instantly snapped his head towards Twilight. “She’s dying to meet some new prince! I swear after all of these years of me bending over backwards for her, you’d think she’d at least give me a second thought! But no! She wants some stupid snobby colt she read about in a tabloid! Why does she think everypony is just dying to meet her! They’re not! If she’d open her eyes and realize what’s in front of her maybe she’d actually be happy! But of course she’s freaking out over prince what’s his name!” As the little dragon finished his rant, a small tear of frustration and anguish escaped his eye. Twilight was almost shocked by Spike’s sudden outburst of emotion. She had no idea it was so bad. However she did know that she needed to help. So the lavender mare sat down next to Spike and gave it her best shot. “Spike, I’m sorry. I really am, but you need to hear me out on this. I know you’ve been after Rarity for over five years now, but I think you should move on to somepony else. I know it sounds impossible, but there are plenty of other mares in Ponyville who I bet would be more than happy to be with you. Besides you’re not a baby anymore, so you just need to try.” As much as Spike wanted to tell her to be quiet and to go away, he knew she was right. It was just hard for him to see it before now, but thanks to his anger, nearly all of his feelings for Rarity were pushed to the back of his mind. Twilight observed his expression closely and thought to herself ‘Please don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me!’ The little dragon let out a tiny sigh and looked over to Twilight. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. Deep down I’ve always known you were right, but I didn’t want to face it. I guess you could say I was love blind; if that makes any sense.” “It does Spike. Trust me it does. We’ve all had our fair share of love blindness at one point in time.” The little dragon leaned against the lavender mare’s coat and said “Thank you Twilight. I needed to hear that.” Twilight smiled a little and slowly placed a foreleg around her friend. “You’re welcome Spike… Just don’t start with Sweetie Belle.” Spike couldn’t help but chuckle at Twilight’s words. “Oh trust me I won’t.” Twilight had missed sharing time with Spike like this. After all he was almost seventeen and until now he’d always been finding ways to spend time with Rarity. About the only time she saw him was usually right before bedtime or just before dawn, but now she hoped that things would finally change back to the way they used to be. As Twilight sat with her best friend she decided to sing a little song that seemed fitting for the occasion. She started out almost whispering, but it gradually grew louder. “Grew up in a small town And when the rain would fall down I'd just stare out my window Dreaming of what could be And if I'd end up happy I would pray Trying hard to reach out But when I'd try to speak out Felt like no one could hear me Wanted to belong here But something felt so wrong here So I'd pray I could breakaway I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly I'll do what it takes til' I touch the sky And I'll make a wish Take a chance Make a change And breakaway Out of the darkness and into the sun But I won't forget all the ones that I loved I'll take a risk Take a chance Make a change And breakaway.” As Twilight finished she looked down at Spike to see that he was mouthing the words as she sang. This caused her to smile slightly. When the little dragon was sure Twilight was done singing he looked up at her and said “Hey Twi, I think I’m going to call it a night. I’ve had quite a long day.” Twilight chuckled slightly. “Yeah I guess you did.” Spike smiled a little and slid out from under Twilight’s hoof. However before he walked over to his bed, he turned around and wrapped his arms around Twilight, who was already standing. “Thank you,” he said quietly. The lavender unicorn was a little surprised by her friend’s sudden embrace, but she soon leaned into him as well. “You’re welcome Spike.” After a few more seconds, Twilight broke the embrace and just smiled at Spike. “Wow! You’re a little taller than me now. I guess I didn’t notice because you’re always away.” Spike smiled a little as well. “Yes, I am actually quite a bit taller. And don’t worry; now that I’m done trying to please Rarity you’re going to be seeing me a lot more often. So prepare to have your library destroyed on a daily basis.” “I can’t wait,” Twilight replied, with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. The small dragon looked over at his bed and back to Twilight. “Alright, well good night Twi,” he said with a slight yawn. “Good night Spike.” ---------- Spike was lying in bed next to Twilight, just smiling at her. She had about the same expression on her face. “Hey Spike?” she said soothingly. “Yeah?” “There’s something I’ve always wanted to say.” Spike smiled a bit more, assuming he knew what it was. “What is it?” The lavender mare wrapped her hooves around Spike, before she pressed her lips to his. The kiss lasted several seconds, and Spike enjoyed every bit of it. Slowly, Twilight pulled her lips away from Spike’s. “I love you.” The little dragon quickly wrapped his arms around the lavender unicorn, looked into her eyes, and said “I love you t-“ ---------- Spike’s eyes flew open as he gasped for air. Quickly he sat up and looked around. The small dragon could feel a cool sweat running down his scales as he did so. “What the hay was that?” he said to himself. As he spoke, Twilight let out a light moan in her sleep. Instantly Spike looked straight at her. Thankfully she was facing away from him, fore he didn’t think he could handle seeing her at the moment; not after that. The little dragon placed his claws onto his forehead and wished he could just dig out his memories with them. ‘Come on Spike. Pull yourself together’ he thought to himself, ‘It was just a dream. An incredibly vivid and scary dream.’ Feeling as though he were going to be sick, Spike jumped out of his bed and quietly ran out of the room. He raced down the stairs, trying to beat his stomach. The little dragon rounded a corner and saw the kitchen trash can. ‘Close enough’ he thought. Spike lunged over the trash can, expecting to lose his stomach, but nothing ever came. In all actuality, his stomach was beginning to feel a little better. After a few more seconds, he felt perfectly fine. ‘Thank god’ he thought as he backed away from the trash can. Suddenly Spike heard a noise from behind him and he quickly turned around. “Hey Spike, are you okay?” asked a sleepy Twilight. Spike just froze in complete terror. Wide eyed and mouth agape. Twilight tilted her head slightly in confusion. “Spike? Is something wrong? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” “Uhhhhhh, no. I-I'm okay,” he replied, nervously. “Are you sure? I saw you run out of the bedroom and I was a little worried.” “Ummm, I just felt… sick.” “Oh, in that case let me get you something for that. I think Zecora gave me some mint medicine stuff.” “That’s okay. I’m starting to-“ Suddenly Spike put his hands onto his stomach, feeling as if the nervousness had brought back his queasiness. “You know what I will take you up on that offer.” Twilight trotted over to a cabinet and opened it with her magic. She began scanning over the various bottles and glasses until she found it. “Ah here we go,” she said to herself, in an accomplished tone. Her horn flared up and a bottle containing a pink liquid floated in front of her. The label read ‘When your stomach is sick this will do the trick.’ ‘Wow, she really does have to rhyme everything’ she thought. “Here you go,” said Twilight as she floated the bottle over to Spike. The little dragon snatched it from the air and eyed it for a moment. “This looks like cupcake frosting.” Twilight giggled slightly. “Trust me Spike, it’s not.” Hearing Twilight’s giggle only fueled Spike’s already worsening bodily discomforts. So wasting no time at all, Spike yanked the cork out and began to drink the thick liquid. It tasted like something bitter had been mixed with some mint candies. After a few more swallows, he outstretched his arm to Twilight. “Man that tastes weird!” For no apparent reason, Twilight put a hoof to her mouth and tried to hold back a laugh. Spike had a slightly confused look on his face. “What?” Despite Twilight’s best attempts to conceal her laughter, a few giggles escaped. “G-Go look in the mirror.” Wanting to see what was wrong; Spike placed the bottle onto the counter and walked over to the bathroom. “Oh come on!” yelled Spike as he looked at his pink medicine mustache. That was the tipping point for Twilight. She just busted out laughing. The little dragon quickly turned on the water and began to wash the pink liquid away. As the cool water washed away the medicine it also woke him up. There was no chance of him possibly getting back to sleep now, and to be honest, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to; not after that weird dream. “Hey,” called Twilight. “It’s starting to get light out, so do you want to get an early start on destroying everything?” she joked. Spike smiled slightly as he dried off his face with a nearby towel. “No, I have to go to Rar… Oh.” His smile instantly faded as the rest of his memories poured into his mind. Twilight let out a light sigh as Spike exited the bathroom. “Hey it’s ok Spike. You can go see her if you want.” “No, I said I was going to stay here with you and that’s what I’m going to do,” argued Spike. The lavender mare smiled slightly; happy that she’d get to see her friend, for today at least. “Well if you change your mind-“ “I’m not going to change my mind Twi. I’m staying here.” Twilight smiled a bit more. “Well I’m going to get an early start on studying. So if you’d like to learn about the greatest spells of Starswirl the Bearded, feel free to join me.” Spike laughed sarcastically. “And that my friend is why teenagers invented comic books.” “Hey I was a teen too you know.” “Twilight, you’re twenty two and I’ve been your best friend since you were six. Trust me I saw your teen years and it lasted a total of five minutes.” “No they didn’t! I was a crazy teen too you know!” At those words, Spike lost it. He laughed harder than he had in a very long time. “I was!” declared Twilight. Spike wiped away a tear from all of the laughter. “N-No Twilight you were not. Not at all.” “Yes I was! When I was thirteen I was reading really big books while everypony else read the little books and when I was fifteen I was reading books with over two thousand pages! That’s crazy!” Spike laughed a bit more. “Twilight, please stop. You’re going to make me die over here.” Twilight just rolled her eyes at Spike. The small dragon chuckled a little more. “I missed this.” Twilight smiled at Spike as memories from years ago began to come back to her. “I missed this too.” > Chapter Two: Giving In > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike was walking along the streets of Ponyville with one arm around Twilight. They both kept looking over at each other with about the same grin on their faces. “You know what I can’t believe?” asked Spike. “What?” replied Twilight. “That it took me so long to realize it.” “Realize what?” “That you were the one.” Twilight could feel tears of joy beginning to form in her eyes, but before she could let one escape, she closed her eyes and kissed Spike. She couldn’t help but cry; after all that was the nicest thing anypony, or dragon, had ever said to her. After a moment Twilight pulled away and said “Spike, you have no idea how much I love you.” Spike lifted up a hand and slowly began to wipe away Twilight’s tears. “Trust me. I’m pretty sure I love you more.” Twilight chuckled slightly and sniffled. Suddenly she threw her hooves around Spike and pulled him into a tight embrace. Spike smiled and kissed Twilight on the cheek. “I’m never going to leave you,” he whispered. Twilight couldn’t talk. She was trying too hard not to break down crying, so she did the next best thing to show Spike what she was feeling. The lavender mare pulled back from the embrace just enough so that their eyes met. Then she pressed her lips to his and wrapped the young dragon into an even tighter hug. ---------- Spike suddenly returned to consciousness and almost immediately, he lifted his head out of the comic book that it was resting on. As the memories of his dream came back to him, Spike’s face had only one emotion present; confusion. “Holy crap,” he whispered. “And you thought studying was boring,” joked Twilight. Spike looked around the library to find his lavender friend standing next to a bookshelf, eyeing him with a slight smile. This caused the young dragon’s face to turn white. Twilight’s happy expression quickly changed to that of concern as she looked over at her scaly friend. “Spike, are you ok.” The little dragon couldn’t reply; he was just petrified with fear. Spike could feel his heart racing as she looked at him. There was no way in Equestria that Spike was ready to see Twilight after a dream like that. Twilight began to grow worried as she looked at Spike’s blank expression. “Spike, what’s wrong?” The little dragon slowly began to regain his composure, and said the only word he could. “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” Twilight began to trot towards the little dragon; convinced that something was truly wrong. “Spike, do I need to get Doctor Hoof?” “N-No,” stuttered Spike, “I-I-I’m okay.” Despite Spike’s answer, the lavender mare proceeded to walk over to him and placed the back of her hoof to his forehead. “Well you don’t seem to have a fever.” The purple dragon almost wanted to jump out of his scales when she touched him. Twilight looked into the young dragon’s eyes and placed a hoof onto his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay? I’ve never seen you act like this. Did something happen?” “N-N-No, nothing happened. I-I-I-I’m fine.” Suddenly it almost seemed as if a light bulb had gone off in Twilight’s head. “Hey, did you dream of something? Is that why you’re freaking out?” “N-No, I don’t remember my dream,” lied Spike. Twilight took her hoof off of Spike’s shoulder and said “Well okay, but promise me you’ll tell me if something’s wrong. I don’t want any of my friends to feel bad, especially not my best friend.” “Okay Twilight. I promise.” Twilight smiled slightly. “Thank you Spike… Oh while you were sleeping, I took it upon myself to fix up your journal.” Spike’s eyes widened and he immediately jumped up to his feet. “You did what!?” Twilight giggled slightly. “Relax Spike. After having an assistant who breaths fire I’ve learned more than a few spells on repairing books. Some of which don’t involve me opening them.” “Did you use one of those spells!?” Twilight giggled a bit more. “Yes Spike, I did. I promise you that my eyes never saw one word.” Spike instantly let out a, well needed, sigh of relief. “Thank you Twi.” “You’re welcome Spike. I left it upstairs on your bed.” The little dragon began to walk towards the staircase, but before he started up them, he turned towards the lavender unicorn. “Thanks again Twilight.” And with that the dragon ran up to their room and over to his bed. Spike quickly snatched up his book and went over to Twilight’s pedestal for the ink and quill. Almost instantly he placed the book onto the pedestal and opened it up. Spike looked over the sheets of paper and saw that each one looked just as new as the day he received it, besides the fact that he had written on most of them. As Spike continued to turn the pages, he quickly found a blank page in the book. Wasting no time, the young dragon picked up the quill and began to write. “March, 18th Last night I had a rather odd dream about Twilight. In it we were apparently dating or something, because we were lying in bed together and she said that she loved me! Then she kissed me! But that’s nothing compared to the dream I had this morning. In that one, Twilight and I were walking down the street and for some reason I said that she was the one. Then we both said a bunch of other romantic stuff and she kissed me several times. Why do I keep having these dreams! Twilight is my best friend after all! This is just really weird for me. It’s not like I have a crush on her now, right?” The young dragon slowly closed his journal and placed the quill back into its ink jar. As he sat at the pedestal he continued to think about that last sentence. “I don’t have a crush on her… Do I?” > Chapter Three: Spike's Revelation > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike was lying on his bed, thinking about all that had happened that day. He wasn’t sure if he should write about it, due to the risk of Twilight accidentally, or purposely, finding it in his journal. ‘Maybe I do like her’ he thought, ‘No! I can’t like her. She’s my best friend and that’s it.’ Suddenly, Spike heard the sound of hoofsteps from outside of the room. The little dragon quickly regained his composure just as Twilight trotted through the doorway. “Hey Spike,” she said in her usual happy tone. Instantly the little dragon sat up and looked over to her. “Oh hey Twi. What is it?” The lavender mare’s expression turned somewhat unamused. “Why does there have to be something? Can’t I just say hi to my best friend?” “Yeah, of course you can, but there is something isn’t there?” “Uhhhh, that’s not the point.” Spike let out a slight chuckle. “What is it?” “Well I was wondering if you could go to Sugar Cube Corner and pick up some cupcakes.” Spike tilted his head a little. “Why did you buy cupcakes?” The lavender mare just shrugged. “I thought you might like some.” “For me? Twilight you didn’t have to do that.” “Um, they’re for me too you know.” The little dragon’s cheeks began to turn a bright crimson. “Yeah, I knew that.” Twilight giggled softly. “So, do you think you could go get them?” “Sure thing!” said Spike as he began towards the door. The lavender mare smiled faintly. “Thanks Spike.” --------- As Spike walked down the streets of Ponyville, he continued to ponder his thoughts. However they only seemed to be pointing to one conclusion; a conclusion which Spike intended to fight with every fiber of his being. ‘No, I can’t like her!’ he thought, ‘If she even found out that I was thinking this she’d probably never want to see me again. I mean she’d probably hate me forever! I can never tell her about any of this!’ Suddenly Spike heard a loud crash. “Hey Spikey!” called a familiar voice. The little dragon quickly looked over to see Pinkie Pie standing at the doors of Sugar Cube Corner. While Spike thought to himself, he must have missed the bakery completely. “Oh hey Pinkie,” replied Spike. “Well come on in Spike! I’ve got Twilight’s cupcakes all frosted and ready to go!” ---------- Twilight was sitting in the middle of the library with her quill and journal levitating in front of her. She thought a moment about what she was going to write, then after a few more seconds, she began to mark away at the page. “March, 18th Today has been rather odd, to say the least. To begin with, Spike has been acting rather strange around me. He seems to be scared or very nervous, especially right after he wakes up. I believe he may be having bad dreams or something along those lines, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s it. I’ll try to get more out of him, so I can try to help him out. After all I think I have a few books on dreams, if that is what the problem turns out to be.” --------- “Well here’s your cupcakes!” exclaimed a cheerful mare as she handed Spike a small plain white box. The young dragon happily took it from her. “Thanks Pinkie.” “Don’t mention it!” “Okay,” replied Spike as he began towards the door. However just before he walked of the store, he turned back to Pinkie. “Hey Pinkie Pie, could I talk to you about something?” “Sure Spikey!” The young dragon began to walk back to the counter. “But I need you to keep it a secret.” “Okeydokey!” “Promise me you won’t tell anypony.” “I Pinkie Pie promise! See? Watch! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” she said as she did the motions of the promise. “Okay… I keep having weird dreams about Twilight.” The pink mare tilted her head slightly. “What kind of dreams?” Spike began to blush. “Uhhh, the kind where we’re… Together.” Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her chin. “Well you used to always be together, so why are you so worried about it Spikey?” “Um, not that kind of together.” Pinkie’s eyes widened and her mouth threatened to drop. “Oh.” “I just really need someone to talk to so I know what the hay is going on. And I can’t go to Twilight about this, so can you please help me?” “Um, I’ll try Spike.” “Thank you so much Pinkie! I just want to know why I keep having them.” “Oh! Well that’s simple Spikey! Do you have a crush on her?” “Um, I don’t know.” “You don’t know! How can you not know! Knowing if you have a crush on somepony should be one of the easiest things to know!” “Well, I’m not sure if I like her and I’m not sure if I don’t like her…” “Ohhhhh! I see! You’re in the fifty fifty kinda kinda situation!” Spike tilted his head in confusion. “Huh?” “It means that you’ll know soon enough!” “How?” “Duh! With your heart silly! You’re on the verge of having a crush on her and also not having a crush on her! Sooner or later you’ll get a push in the right direction and then you’ll know for sure!” “Oh, that actually, kind of, makes since.” “Well your auntie Pinkie Pie said it, so of course it makes sense!” Spike began to smile somewhat “Thanks Pinkie. But remember, don’t tell anypony. Okay?” “My lips are sealed! But let me know when you two are dating so I can throw the biggest party yet!” The little dragon shot the pink mare a rather unamused look. “Pinkie, I’m not even sure that I like her, so slow down.” “Okeydokeylokey!” The young dragon then turned and began for the door, but before he left he looked back to Pinkie Pie once more. “Just don’t tell anypony. Ever.” “Oh don’t worry Spikey! You can trust Pinkie Pie!” --------- As Spike walked down the streets of Ponyville, he noticed that the sky was beginning to grow dark. Not wanting to give Twilight reason to worry, the little dragon began to quicken his pace. ‘I wonder why Twilight wanted cupcakes’ he thought, ‘I know that she said they were for me and all, but why? Wait! Could she be doing this because she has a crush on me? Wait a second; don’t get ahead of yourself Spike. She did it because you’re her best friend.” “Yoo hoo!” called a feminine voice. The little dragon quickly turned to see a white unicorn approaching him. “What is it Rarity?” he asked, sounding a tad bit annoyed. “Spikey, I was wondering why you didn’t show up today.” ‘I didn’t show up because you’re an insensitive jerk!’ he thought. “Oh I’m sorry Rarity, but I just need to help Twilight. That’s all.” “Oh that’s perfectly fine deary. Might I ask when you’ll be coming back?” ‘Never!’ he thought. “Oh I’m not sure. Twilight does have a lot of work to do.” “I completely understand. Just let me know when you’re ready.” “Will do!” ---------- Spike opened the door to the library, just as the last few beams of sunlight vanished over the horizon. He was rather glad to be home, mostly because he didn’t feel like seeing anymore ponies for the rest of the day; well any except for Twilight that is. Spike closed the door behind him and looked around. “Twilight, I’m back!” he announced. The lavender mare trotted out of the kitchen and smiled at her scaly friend. “What took you so long? I was starting to get worried.” Spike began to walk towards her and replied “Oh, I’m sorry Twi. Pinkie and I had a little conversation and then I ran into rarity.” Twilight’s eyes widened slightly, in a questioning manor. “You did? What did you two say?” “Oh nothing much. She was just asking when I’d come back.” “Well what did you tell her?” “I told her that I’d come back when I finished helping you around the library… So start giving me work! Please!” The lavender unicorn giggled softly. “We’ll see, but right now I want cupcakes.” “Me too,” agreed Spike as he looked down at the box he was holding. The little dragon walked past Twilight and placed the box onto the table, but before he tore into it, he went over to the sink and washed his hands. In the time it took him to do that, Twilight had already opened the box and was munching away. “Geeze Twi. I guess you weren’t kidding.” Twilight let out a faint giggle. “What? I was hungry.” As the little dragon walked over to the table, he saw that three out of the six cupcakes had several diamond sprinkles and sapphire shavings atop them. “Wow Twilight. How much did that cost you?” Twilight just threw a hoof forward. “Don’t worry about it Spike. Just enjoy them.” The little dragon shrugged as he sat down. “Will do!” Twilight swallowed the cupcake she was eating, and looked over at Spike. “So, do you have any ideas on who you might want to go out with?” Spike almost choked on his cupcake when he heard this. “Uhhh, sort of, but not really…” The lavender mare tilted her head slightly. “Sort of but not really? What’s that supposed to mean?” “Um, it means I’m not sure-ish.” “Uhhhh, okaaay. So who is it?” “Uhhhhhhhh, no pony.” “Oh come on Spike you can tell me.” The young dragon could feel his cheeks beginning to grow warm, but before Twilight could notice, he jumped out of his chair and quickly said “Hey, look at the time! I’m pretty tired! I think I’m going to call it an early night! Good night Twilight!” “But I…” Before Twilight could get another word in Spike darted up the stairs. “That was… Weird.” ---------- Spike was lying under the sheets of his bed with his head buried into his pillow. ‘Oh good god!’ he thought, ‘She must know that I have a crush on her now! But I don’t! But I do! But… I don’t know.’ Suddenly Spike heard the sound of hoofsteps outside of the room. “Spike?” asked Twilight in a sympathetic tone, “Are you still awake?” The little dragon quickly closed his eyes and let out a light snoring noise. “I guess I’ll take that as a no.” As Spike laid there motionless, he could hear his lavender friend climbing into bed. ‘Great’ he thought, ‘Now I really do have to go to sleep.’ “Spike, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m sorry. If you don’t want to tell me who it is that’s okay. Good night Spike.” The little dragon wanted to say good night back, as well as several other things, but he just remained still. He assumed that it would be easier to face her in the morning. Then, all of a sudden, it was almost as if a light bulb had gone off in Spike’s head. ‘If I heard her right, she doesn’t think it’s her! Thank god!’ he thought. Spike continued to think of Twilight’s words, as well as many other things about her, for a while after that. However, after a short while, his thoughts began to slow and soon after, his dreams began to take hold. ---------- Spike was sitting next to Twilight on a bench, somewhere in Ponyville Park, just smiling at her. “You know what I’ve never really noticed?” asked Spike. “What?” replied Twilight. The young dragon slowly extended a hand and brushed part of Twilight’s mane out of her face. “How beautiful your eyes are.” All the lavender unicorn could do was smile and blush. “Really, I swear it’s like looking into the most beautiful night sky that you can imagine. Or like looking into the deepest and most pristine ocean in all of Equestria.” Twilight’s eyes began to fill with tears as she listened. “Spike, that was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.” The young dragon smiled and placed a hand onto one of Twilight’s hooves. “It’s only the truth.” Twilight sniffled a little and wrapped her forelegs around her scaly friend. “I love you Spike.” In turn, the little dragon wrapped his arms around the lavender mare. “I love you too Twilight.” ---------- Slowly Spike began to open his eyes to see a sleeping Twilight lying in her bed. The young dragon groggily sat up in his and continued to look over at her. She had a slight smile on her face, which caused Spike to return one. “I can’t fight this anymore. I do like Twilight.” > Chapter Four: Changes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight slowly opened her eyes and groggily sat up in her bed. She let out a light yawn as she looked over to where Spike should be sleeping. To her surprise, the young dragon was nowhere to be seen, and what surprised her even more was the fact that his bed was already made. ‘This is… Different’ she thought. “Spike?” called the lavender mare. Her only reply was silence. “Spi-“ she began to call again, but quickly she realized where he must be. A slight frown began to form on her face as she let out a soft sigh. ‘He’s at Rarity’s house’ she thought, ‘I guess I really did upset him last night.’ Slowly the lavender unicorn began to trot towards the door, with the same depressed look on her face. As she walked, her sad eyes never left the ground. “I’m sorry Spike,” she whispered. Suddenly, a scent of lemon and toast hit her snout. So, quickly she looked up, and let out a gasp of complete shock. The library was shining it was so clean, the books were all lined up so straight that she swore Spike would have needed a ruler to do it, and there wasn’t a single speck of dust in the entire room. As Twilight stared in awe at the spotless library, a young dragon came walking out of the kitchen. He was holding a tray with a plate of toast, scrambled eggs, and daises; along with a glass of orange juice. Quickly the little dragon looked up at her and said “Aw man! I was hoping that you’d still be asleep when I brought this up to you. Oh well.” Twilight blinked a few times out of sheer shock. “Sp-Spike? What is all of this?” The purple dragon let out a light chuckle. “Oh Twilight, I just thought, after all that you’ve been doing, I should do something in return.” “B-But Spike this is just… Wow.” Spike smiled a bit. “It’s the least I could do Twi. Now come on down here and get your breakfast.” Twilight began to smile slightly. “Oh, yes.” ---------- As Twilight trotted into the kitchen, she couldn’t help but notice how clean it was, just like the rest of the library. She was still having trouble figuring out how Spike managed to do all of this while she was asleep, and furthermore, why did he do it? “Well, sit down,” said Spike, who was already sitting at the table, with his own breakfast. He was eating a plate of eggs with sapphire shavings mixed in with them. “Oh, of course,” replied Twilight as she pulled out a chair. Spike continued to eat his breakfast, but he couldn’t help but feel curious about Twilight’s expression. “Are you okay? You seem… off.” “Yeah, I’m fine it’s just… Why did you do all of this Spike?” “Well, it’s like I said; you have been being really nice to me and I wanted to return the favor.” “But Spike, this is just so much more than what I’ve done.” The young dragon just threw his hand forward. “Don’t worry about it Twilight; just enjoy your breakfast.” Twilight had almost forgotten about the plate in front of her. Quickly she looked down and replied “Oh, right.” As Spike was beginning to finish off his eggs, he looked up at Twilight and asked “So, are you doing anything tonight?” The lavender mare swallowed a mouth full of eggs and looked at her scaly friend with a very confused look on her face. “What? Why?” Spike just shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just thinking maybe we could do something.” “Us? Do something? Spike, I’ve been your best friend for sixteen years, and not once have you ever asked me that.” “Well I just figured why not? Let’s just say that it’s a celebration of me getting over Rarity.” Twilight shrugged a little. “Sure, why not? I’m free anyways. So what were you thinking of doing?” The young dragon took his, now empty, plate and went over to the sink. “Oh I don’t know. A movie or dinner maybe?” Twilight let out a small laugh. “Dinner? Spike I swear if any of our friends see us they’re going to think we’re on a date.” Spike’s cheeks turned a bright crimson, and he tried his best to hide it as he washed his plate. “Oh, well I was just thinking of that because we have a lot of catching up to do. Hey, maybe we should do that instead of a movie; I mean you can’t talk in one of those.” Twilight giggled a bit. “Okay, fine we’ll go to dinner, but I am not explaining this if we run into one of our friends.” The young dragon forced a fake laugh as he placed his plate on its rack. “Oh don’t worry; I’ll do the explaining. Besides I think the only pony we might run into is Rarity, and I think it’d be a little fun to mess with her.” The lavender mare let out a small laugh. “You’re terrible Spike. You know that?” Spike smiled slightly as he walked back over to the table. “Oh I’m all too aware of this Twi.” Twilight just smiled. “So where were you thinking?” “Well I was thinking about that new fancy place in downtown.” “Spike that restaurant costs a fortune. How are we going to afford this?” “Oh Twilight, did you think that I was working for Rarity out of love?” The lavender unicorn let out, yet another, laugh. “Wow, you’re terrible and evil.” “Oh I only learn from the best.” Twilight eyed Spike with a questioning look. “What’s that supposed to mean?” The young dragon’s face instantly began to burn a bright red. “Oh no! I meant Rarity!” The lavender mare couldn’t help but bust out laughing. “Oh.” Spike let a few chuckles escape himself. “Okay, well you go ahead and finish up your breakfast. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.” And with that the young dragon left. ---------- Spike was sitting upstairs writing in his journal about what had just happened. He couldn’t help but have a wide grin painted across his face as he wrote. “March, 29th I just asked Twilight out on a “friend date” and she said yes. I can’t wait until tonight. I’m going to try to act casual, but I’m thinking about dropping subtle hints. Hopefully she’ll begin to figure it out without me screaming I love you. But then again, Twilight has never been one to figure these kinds of things out on her own. Honestly I don’t think she’s ever been on a date period. But just because I haven’t either doesn’t mean that I haven’t been trying; I’m just a little upset that I’ve been trying for the wrong one.” ---------- Twilight was standing downstairs at her pedestal, smiling as she wrote in her journal. “March, 29th This morning Spike did a lot of things I couldn’t believe. First he cleaned up the entire library and arranged all of the books. I swear the place has never look this clean in the entire time that I’ve owned it. Then he made me a delicious breakfast. I never really knew that Spike was such a talented cook until today. Oh and one more thing, he asked me out on a friend date. I couldn’t believe it. We’ve never done anything together in all of the years I’ve known him. And of all the places he could have chosen; he picks the fanciest restaurant in all of Ponyville. I swear, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was trying to take me out on a REAL date.” As she closed her journal and placed her quill back in its ink jar, Twilight let out a slight laugh. ‘Spike and I on a date? Yeah right!’ she thought as she giggled a bit. The lavender mare then trotted over to her bookshelf and began looking over its contents. “Ah, here we go,” she said as she levitated a book out of its place. ---------- Spike stepped out of his room and over looked the library to see that Twilight was sitting in the middle of the room. Quietly, he walked down the staircase and made his way over to her. “What are you doing Twi?” asked a curious dragon. The lavender mare quickly looked up at him and replied “Oh, I was just reading one of my stories.” As Spike walked over to her side he looked over the pages. “What’s it about?” “Um, it’s a romance novel. I doubt you’d like it.” “Well, could I still read it with you?” Twilight instantly had a very confused look on her face. “Uh, sure, but I’m telling you that you’re not going to like it.” The little dragon laid down on his stomach and began to read the first few lines. “Well we won’t know until you let me try.” “Um, okay. If you say so.” As Spike began to read along with Twilight, he could immediately tell that she was indeed right about him not liking it. The page Twilight was on seemed to be about these two unicorns that have to go their separate ways, despite how much they cared about each other. However Spike wasn’t quite sure why they had to leave. He just assumed that it was on some other pages from earlier. Despite how dull the story seemed to Spike, he decided to scoot a little closer to Twilight, because in all honesty, the little dragon couldn't care less about the book, he just wanted to be closer to the mare that he cared about. Twilight felt Spike moving up beside her, so she turned to him and asked “Uh, Spike? What are you doing?” “I couldn’t see,” lied Spike. Not thinking much of it, Twilight just went back to reading. The little dragon continued to read along with her, but as he did so the words began to blur into one another as his eyes kept threatening to close. Spike tried to fight it, but the only way he could was to move and he did not want to do that, considering how close he was to Twilight. ‘Come on Spike. Stay awake!’ he thought. However, the young dragon’s battle for consciousness was ultimately a losing one. ‘Must stay awa…’ thought Spike as his eyes slowly closed. ---------- The little dragon was still lying next to Twilight, when he looked up at her and tapped her on the shoulder. She slowly closed the book they were reading and looked over to him, with a puzzled expression on her face. “What is it Spike?” The purple dragon blushed and smiled at her. “Twilight, there’s something I need to tell you.” “What?” The little dragon looked down and quickly looked back up. “Twilight, I kind of have a crush on you. I don’t know what you think of me, but I just really think that you should know. It’s just that I-” Suddenly Spike was cut off when the lavender mare pressed her lips to his. His eyes instantly widened in shock, but he slowly closed them and leaned into the kiss as well. After a few more seconds, Twilight pulled away from Spike and smiled. “I was worried that it was just me.” “S-S-So, you like me too?” stuttered Spike. Twilight let out a slight giggle. “Yes, Spike. I’ve always liked you.” Quickly, the little dragon jumped up and pulled Twilight into another kiss. ---------- As Twilight continued to read her book, she could feel Spike snuggling up next to her. Quickly, the lavender mare looked over to him. “Spike, what are you… Oh.” ‘I told him he wouldn’t like it’ thought Twilight as she looked down at the sleeping dragon. He had a wide smile on his face as he slept, which caused Twilight to return one. ‘You know I don’t get it’ she thought, ‘Why would Rarity turn him down. I mean he’s actually turned out to be a very handsome dragon. If I were her I surly would have said yes.’ > Chapter Five: Small Moments > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike was upstairs putting the finishing touches on his suit. ‘Stupid tie!’ he thought as he muddled with it. “Spike, are you coming?” called Twilight from downstairs. “Just a second,” replied the young dragon. As Spike continued to play with the knots, he eventually found one that worked. “Finally,” he said to himself. Not wanting to waste any more time than he already had, Spike turned and ran out of the bedroom. Instantly he looked down the steps to see Twilight looking up at him with a surprised expression on her face. She was wearing a red dress, a pearl necklace, and her mane was curled. Spike’s eyes widened as he looked at his lavender friend. “Wow,” they both said quietly. “You look amazing Twilight.” The lavender mare smiled and did her best to hide a blush. “You look great yourself Spike… So, shall we head out?” “Well I don’t see anything else keeping us.” ---------- As Spike and Twilight walked down the dim streets of Ponyville, Spike kept glancing over at her. Thankfully she didn’t seem to take notice. ‘Wow, she is just so beautiful,’ he thought. “Hey Spike?” asked Twilight. ‘Oh good god!’ he thought, ‘Please tell me she didn’t catch me!’ “Yes?” “I was just wondering, out of all of the restaurants why did you pick this one? I mean it just seems like it’s more of a place for coltfriends and marefriends; not friend friends.” Spike let out a mental sigh of relief. “Oh I don’t know. I just wanted to take you to someplace that you’ve never been. Plus Rarity would never shut her snout about this place so I figure that it must be good.” “I know, but to be honest Spike I’m starting to think that it’s me you have a crush on.” The young dragon’s eyes widened in complete terror when he heard this, but then Twilight began to laugh. ‘Oh thank god!’ thought Spike. “A-Are you kidding? That’s silly,” he replied in an uneasy tone. Twilight began to giggle a bit. “I know I know. I was just messing with you… So anyways how expensive is this place?” “Oh, it’s probably about fifty bits.” Twilight’s eyes widened and her mouth almost dropped. “Fifty bits!? Spike, there is no way I can let you spend that much.” “Twilight, don’t worry about it. I can afford it.” “I brought some money Spike. I can pay for my half.” “No, this is for you and I’m not going to let you do that. This wouldn’t be much of a gift if I had you pay for it.” “B-But I-“ “Twilight no, just enjoy your night. Please?” Twilight let out a sigh of defeat. “Okay fine, but I’m going to find a way to pay you back if it’s the last thing I do.” “Okay, but promise me that you’ll just enjoy yourself.” Twilight smiled slightly. “I promise Spike.” ---------- As the young dragon sat down at his table, a mare wearing a red vest placed two menus onto it. “I’ll be back shortly,” she said with a smile. Spike opened the menu and almost instantly he realized that there weren’t very many things for dragons. ‘Great’ he thought as he continued down the page. “Everything on here looks good,” said Twilight, who was levitating the menu in front of her. “I think I’ll have the daisy noodles with lemon grass… Wow! Never mind.” “What is it?” asked Spike as he sat his menu down. “It is really expensive.” “Don’t worry about it Twi.” “No, I don’t want you to spend that much. I’ll just get the sunflower and ryegrass salad.” “Okay, fine.” At about that time the same mare from earlier trotted over to their table. “Are you ready to order?” she asked happily. Spike looked up to her and replied “Yes, I’ll be having the pasta with emerald shavings and she’ll be having the daisy noodles with lemon grass.” The moment those words left Spike’s lips, he could feel the lavender mare eyeing him. “And what will you be having to drink?” “I’ll just have water,” answered the young dragon. “Water’s fine,” replied Twilight. “Okay, I’ll have that right out to you,” said the waitress as she took the menus. Spike just sat there, trying to hide a mischievous smile as he awaited her lecturing. And sure enough, the scolding began just as he expected. “Why did you do that?” asked Twilight, in a somewhat demanding tone. Spike chuckled softly. “Because I knew that you wouldn’t. Also I specifically told you to enjoy yourself.” “Enjoying myself doesn’t include making you go bankrupt.” “Twilight, I live with you, which means I don’t have to pay bills.” “Yeah, but… That’s actually a really good point… How much more money do you have?” Spike couldn’t help but chuckle a bit more. “I’m not kidding. I’m still paying for that seven hour bath you took,” Twilight said in a joking tone. Just as Spike was about to say something, the waitress brought their order over to them. “Here is your pasta with emerald shavings, here are your daisy noodles with lemon grass, and here’s the check when you’re done. I hope you enjoy your meal and let me know if you need anything.” “Okay, thank you,” replied Spike. The young dragon looked down at his plate and could feel his mouth watering. He was just about to take the first bite when he heard Twilight let out a sad sigh. The young dragon looked over to her with a confused look. “Is something wrong?” “Spike, what’s this really about? You’re being too nice, you’re acting differently, and you bought me one of the most expensive things on the menu. Is there something I should know about?” “What? No Twilight, I’m doing this because you’re my best friend and I care about you. What did you think all of this was for?” “I keep thinking that you’re doing this because you’re about to leave.” “What? Twilight, I’m never going to leave you.” “But I thought you were mad at me after last night.” “Oh gosh no! Twilight, why would I be mad at you for something like that?” “I don’t know, it’s just the way you were acting.” Spike could feel his cheeks begin to grow warm. “Twilight, I was acting like that because I had a lot on my mind at the time.” “Like what?” “Uhhh, can we just talk about something else? I’m over it now; it doesn’t matter.” The lavender mare eyed Spike with a questioning look for a moment. “Um, okay?” “Now go ahead and eat your dinner before it gets cold.” “Oh, right.” Once Spike thought he had convinced Twilight that nothing bad was about to happen, he dug into his dinner, but he was still thinking about what she said. ‘Does she really think I’m leaving?’ he thought, ‘Maybe I should start dropping hints now.’ “Hey, there holding a formal ball in the next room tonight, so do you want to go?” asked Spike. Twilight’s eyes widened and she almost choked on her food. “What!?” The young dragon let a slight laugh escape. “I’ll take that as a no.” “No, it’s just I never thought I’d hear you ask me that.” “Well, you never thought I’d take you to a place like this and yet here we are.” Twilight smiled slightly. “And yet here we are.” “So, would you like to dance after we finish?” “Sure, I’d love to, but I’m still a little shocked that you’re asking me.” ‘That makes two of us’ thought Spike. ---------- Spike and Twilight were standing in the middle of the ball room, along with several other couples. The lighting was rather dim and a slow classical song was playing. “Okay, so how do we do this? Remember this is my first time.” said Spike. Twilight couldn’t help but let out a light giggle. “Put your arms around me.” Spike’s eyes widened. “Do what now!?” The lavender mare giggled a bit more. “Just do it.” “Okay?” said Spike as he began to wrap his arms around his friend. “Now what?” “Now you sway with the music.” “Huh? How do I do that? It’s music.” “Just do what I do.” Slowly, twilight began to sway from side to side, so Spike attempted to do the same. Surprisingly he was actually able to do so without tripping over his own feet. “There you go,” Twilight said happily. “Huh, I actually haven’t done a face plant yet.” The lavender mare couldn’t help but laugh. After a few more moments of watching his feet, Spike looked up at Twilight to see her smiling at him. This instantly caused him to return one. ‘I’m surprised I haven’t woken up yet’ thought Spike. As the pair continued to sway with the music, Spike began to slowly pull Twilight closer to him. Twilight felt this and began to lean closer herself. After only a few more seconds, the two were almost in a complete hug. “Hey Twilight?” Spike said softly. “Yeah?” “I think that I-“ “Hello you two!” said a familiar, and feminine, voice. Instantly the pair jumped away from each other and looked to where the voice had come from. Quickly, they sighted Rarity trotting towards them. “Oh my, I had no idea that you two were… together,” said the white unicorn in a slightly surprised tone. “Oh no,” began Twilight, “Spike and I aren’t dating.” ‘OH COME ON! REALLY?! REALLY?! WHY?!’ thought Spike. “Well, it just appeared that you two seemed to be a bit more than friends.” “I know how it looks, but that’s not it at all,” explained Twilight. “Ah, well I just thought I’d say hi. I truly hope that I didn’t interrupt anything.” “No, it’s quite alright. Spike and I were just about to head home.” “Oh, well it was nice seeing you two.” “You too Rarity.” ---------- As Spike and Twilight walked down the dark streets of Ponyville, the young dragon had a rather usual look on his face, but inside he was exploding. ‘Why!?’ he thought, ‘I was so close! I mean two words away! Is this some kind of sick joke!? I mean really why!?’ “Well I had a good time,” Twilight said cheerfully as she smiled at Spike. The moment that the young dragon saw Twilight’s smile, all of his angry thoughts seemed to vanish. “I’m glad to hear that.” “It’s kind of funny that you said we’d run into Rarity and sure enough…” “Yeah that is kind of funny.” ‘God I hate being right!’ thought Spike. “So, did you have a good time?” Spike smiled a little. “Well I was with my best friend in the world, so of course I did.” The lavender mare couldn’t help but smile a bit more when she heard this. “That’s really sweet of you to say Spike.” “You know we should do this more often. It actually wasn’t a bad idea.” “I’d like that.” The little dragon let out a light yawn and said “I don’t know about you, but when we get home I’m going straight to bed.” Twilight giggled a little. “Yeah I probably will too… Hey, what were you going to say when we were dancing?” Spike could feel his cheeks begin to grow warm. “Uh, don’t worry about it. It’s nothing really.” “Come on, tell me. I want to know.” “Um, let’s just talk about something else.” “Why? I promise I won’t be mad or anything.” The young dragons cheeks felt like they were on fire they were so hot. “Ummmmmm, I had to go to the bathroom.” The lavender mare immediately threw a hoof over her mouth and tried her best not to burst out laughing. “That’s it?” “Uh, yeah.” Twilight continued to giggle. “Um, okay then.” ---------- Spike was positioning the sheets on his bed as he slid into them, when Twilight trotted into the room. She wasn’t wearing her dress anymore and her mane looked about the same way that it normally did. “Hey Spike,” she said happily. The little dragon looked to her and asked “Yes?” The lavender mare trotted over to him and said “I just wanted to say thank you. Tonight was wonderful.” “Oh you’re welcome Twi. It was the least I could-“ Suddenly, as Spike spoke, Twilight leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. The little dragon could feel his blood run cold when her lips touched him. ‘Is this really happening?’ he thought. Twilight pulled back and smiled. “Thanks again Spike.” “You’re welcome,” Spike said nervously. Twilight just giggled a little and went over to her bed. The little dragon slowly laid down and let his thoughts explode. ‘Does she like me!? What was that!? Holy crap! That was even better than I thought it would be! That was… whoa!’ ---------- Spike slowly sat down on Twilight’s bed and placed a hand onto her shoulder. The lavender mare instantly awoke and smiled at her friend. The young dragon returned the smile and said “Hey Twilight?” “Yeah?” she replied. “What I was really going to say is… I think I love you.” Quickly, Twilight sat up and wrapped her forelegs around Spike. “I love you too.” After a momentary embrace, Spike pulled away from his lavender friend, slightly, and looked into her eyes. Seconds later he pressed his lips to hers. Twilight enjoyed every second of the kiss and didn’t wish for it to end, but she knew it had to eventually. Slowly, Spike broke the kiss and just held Twilight in a tight embrace. “Twilight, I don’t think I love you anymore; I know I love you.” ----------      Twilight's eyes flew open as she sat up in her bed, gasping for air. As she did this, it was almost immediately apparent that her sheets were completely covered in sweat. "Not again," she said to herself.      As Twilight sat up in bed, Spike heard the noise of her mattress moving, which caused him to instantly awake. "Are you okay?" he asked in a sleepy tone. The lavender mare quickly looked towards him, still with a great deal of shock present on her face. “Uhhhhh, yeah I’m fine. I just had a weird dream is all.” “What about?” “Uhhh, nothing; forget it. Good night Spike,” she said quickly. Then, less than a second later, she laid back down in her damp sheets. She found this very uncomfortable, but the thought of facing Spike at the moment was far more uncomfortable. > Chapter Six: Accidents > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A young lavender mare was sitting in the library, looking over one of her books, when her scaly friend came walking over to her. He wasn’t interested in conversation, he wasn’t interested in reading, he just wanted to be near the mare which he cared for so much. “Hey Twilight,” Spike said with a smile. Quickly, the lavender unicorn looked up to him and returned the smile. “Hey Spike, what is it?” “Oh nothing,” Spike said as he sat down. “I just wanted to be with my best friend in the world.” Twilight couldn’t help but blush. “What has gotten into you Spike? It’s like you’re a completely different dragon.” Spike made a slightly mischievous grin. “Is that necessarily a bad thing?” “Oh no. I love it, but I just want to know what’s making you act like this.” “It’s nothing really. I’m just glad to be seeing you more often.” “Well that’s kind of obvious,” smirked Twilight. Spike jokingly rolled his eyes. “So what do you want to do today?” “That’s not random at all,” teased Twilight. “I was actually thinking about saying hi to Fluttershy. It feels like ages since I’ve last seen her.” “Oh could I come? I wanna see her too. I mean she’s been a good friend of mine since day one.” Twilight smiled and replied “Of course. After all I’d love to have my best friend in the whole world with me.” The young dragon let a smile escape his lips and tried to conceal a blush. However, just before Spike could speak, there was a knock at the door. Twilight quickly stood and levitated her book onto its shelf. “I wonder who that is.” Spike stood as well and turned to Twilight. “It’s okay. I’ve got it.” However, a certain pink furred pony had a different idea. Fore just as Spike took his first step; a cheerful mare burst through the door and began bouncing in their direction. “Hi Spikey! Hi Twiey!” Pinkie pie exclaimed. “Oh hi Pinkie,” Twilight greeted. “What is it?” “Oh nothing much. The Cakes just can’t find a certain cook book, so I figured that if anypony had a book that I needed it would be you, because you are the book pony after all. Well more of a librarian, but I just like how book pony sounds. Book pony. Book pony. Book pony!” The young dragon leaned over to Twilight and whispered “Looks like we’ll be going to Fluttershy’s in a few hours instead.” Twilight let out a faint giggle and looked back to Pinkie Pie. “Well I’ll see what I can do. What’s the book called?” “Oh it’s called The Big Book of Cakes, Candies, and Biscuits.” “Uhhh, I’m not exactly familiar with that title, but I’m sure we could find it.” “Yay!” exclaimed Pinkie, as she cheerfully clapped her hooves together. “Well,” began Spike, “I’ll be upstairs if anypony needs me… For anything… At all…” Twilight looked over to him and replied “Oh okay Spike. We’ll let you know.” As the young dragon walked away he thought to himself ‘Gah! Why can’t I just tell her how I feel already?!’ However, unknown to him was the fact that Twilight’s eyes were tracking him until she was sure he was out of earshot. The lavender mare looked back to Pinkie Pie and quietly whispered “Hey, can you keep a secret?” ---------- A little purple dragon was sitting on his bed, writing away in his journal, and smiling as he did so. He couldn’t help it after all, every time he would think about Twilight he’d try his best not to smile. “March, 30th I just love Twilight so much! I mean she’s pretty, she’s smart, she’s cute, and she’s the nicest pony I’ve ever met! She’s perfect! Why hadn’t I figured this out sooner? I only wish that I had spent my time going after her instead of Rarity. Now I’m not very good at poetry, but I think I’ll give it a go for her. Every time I look into her eyes I feel like I could fly, Not once has she ever made me cry, But every time I want to tell her, I feel like I could die, So I’ll just leave her with a sigh And do my best to lie.” Spike smiled a little and didn’t care when a blush ran across his face. ‘I love Twilight so much’ he thought. ---------- After a few more pages of poetry, the young dragon began to grow bored with writing, despite the fact that he was displaying his unrequited love for Twilight. So he decided to go downstairs and see if she was ready to go to Fluttershy’s cottage. As Spike crept down the staircase, he could hear Twilight and Pinkie Pie talking. Not being one to eavesdrop, Spike was about to walk into the kitchen and make himself known, but when he heard Twilight say just four words; he stopped dead in his tracks. “I don’t like Spike. So why am I having these dreams?” asked Twilight. Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her chin and said “Hmm. Maybe you do like him, but it’s just in your subconscious.” “No way. He’s like a little brother to me. I mean can you imagine what everypony else would think if they knew we were even talking about this?” “Twilight, I don’t think it matters what everypony else thinks. I think what matters is what you think.” “What I think is that Spike would freak out if he knew I was dreaming about him like this.” “I wouldn’t say that Twilight. Who knows? He may even be flattered by it.” “Pinkie, I know my best friend. He’d probably run away or something.” “I don’t think so. I think you should really keep more of an open mind to this sort of thing.” “No, I don’t like Spike, I never did like Spike, and I need these dreams to stop. It’s too weird.” The young dragon was just leaning against the wall, with tears running down his face. He wanted to start screaming, start bawling, or punch the wall, but he couldn’t make a sound. ‘She’ll never love me?’ he thought. Spike couldn’t stand hearing this for another second, so he quickly turned around and shot up the stairs. As he ran a trail of tears followed his every step. “Twilight, stop being so harsh about it. He’s not the same baby dragon you used to know,” pleaded Pinkie Pie. The lavender mare let a sigh escape her lips and said “I know. I know. It’s just I don’t want to like him. I can’t like him.” “So you’re denying everything so you won’t think about it?” “Yeah, pretty much.” “Twilight, if you always deny how you feel, then you’ll never find true love. Trust your auntie Pinkie Pie just this one time.” The lavender mare smiled slightly. “I know, but if I told him I liked him he’d probably run away.” Pinkie Pie tilted her head slightly. “Well, do you like him?” “No. I don’t know. I don’t think so.” “You don’t think or you don’t want?” “I-I-I don’t know,” stuttered Twilight. Pinkie put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and kindly said “Twilight, if there’s one thing you should never do it’s fight love. So don’t deny it. If you like him you like him. If you don’t you don’t. You’ll know soon enough… And you do have to admit that he did turn out to be rather cute.” Twilight couldn’t help but giggle. “Yeah he is kind of cute.” Pinkie Pie smiled and jokingly shoved Twilight’s shoulder. “See you do have a crush on him you liar!” Twilight blushed slightly and jokingly said “Oh shut up Pinkie Pie.” ---------- Spike was curled up in his sheets crying his eyes out. ‘Why!?’ he thought, ‘What did I do wrong? I tried everything to get her to like me! She hates me! God why does she hate me!?’ The little dragon pulled the sheets over his head and used them to dry up some of his tears. However, they were quickly replaced by new ones. “I just love her so much,” he said to himself, in between a sobbing fit. “Hey Spike,” Twilight said happily, but this happiness was quickly replaced with concern, fore as she trotted towards him, it became immediately apparent that something was very wrong. “Oh my gosh Spike! What happened?” The young dragon quickly took his sheets and threw them off of him. He then turned to Twilight and screamed “Shut up and get out!” Twilight had a look of utter shock and disbelief on her face. “Spike?! What’s wrong?! What happened?!” “You! You’re what happened! All you ever do is lie!” Twilight began to put a hoof out towards Spike, when suddenly he swatted it away. “Don’t touch me you selfish jerk!” Twilight couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She’d never seen Spike this upset in her entire life. “Spike please! What’s wrong?!” As Twilight pleaded with Spike, the first tears were beginning to form in her eyes as well. The young dragon quickly jumped out of his bed and stood right in Twilight’s face. “After all I’ve done you go and do this! You’re just like Rarity!” “Spike, what did I do!? Please just tell me!” “I heard every word of you and Pinkie’s conversation! If you hate me so much why didn’t you just tell me!?” “Spike! No! I don’t hate you! I do lik-“ “More lies Twilight! Really!?” “No Spike!” Suddenly, the little dragon ran over to the door, but before her ran out he turned back to Twilight. “I cared about you! I cared about you so much! And look where it got me!” “Spike please!” “No! I don’t feel like listening to anymore of your lies!” And with that Spike shot down the stairs. “Spike! Please wait!” pleaded Twilight, but by the time she reached the staircase Spike had already left the library. ---------- The young dragon slammed the door shut and looked over to see Pinkie Pie staring at him with a very confused look on her face. “I took your advice Pinkie! And look at what happened!” screamed Spike, still with tears streaming down his face. Pinkie Pie couldn’t believe what she was seeing, but before she could speak, Spike ran down the street as fast as he could. ---------- Twilight was sitting on her bed, looking over at Spike’s bed, and trying to stop crying. She had no idea what to do or what to say. No book was going to help her with this either. “Oh god why did I have to say those stupid things!? I do like you Spike! I do!” she yelled to herself. As she looked over at Spike’s bed, she caught sight of his journal through her tears. Twilight always promised never to read it, but she had to know what was going on in Spike’s head, despite the fact that she had a pretty good guess. So she slowly made her way over to it and flipped to the last few pages. “Oh my gosh.” > Chapter Seven: Coming Clean > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinkie Pie burst through the doors of the library and instantly began her search for Twilight. “Twi?” she called as she poked her head into the kitchen. Seeing that it was empty, Pinkie Pie decided to check upstairs next. “Twilight?” she called as she bolted up the stairs. The pink furred pony then stuck her head into Twilight’s bedroom. “Twilight are you…” Her voice trailed off when she cast her gaze upon the lavender mare. She was sitting on her bed with a small book open on her lap. Occasionally a teardrop would land on the page she was reading. The pink coated pony slowly began to trot over to her lavender friend, until she was standing right in front of her. Twilight seemed to pay no mind to the extra presence in the room; she only seemed to focus on her book. “Twilight?” Pinkie asked softly, “What happened?” The lavender unicorn slowly closed the cover of the book, and placed it at her side. She then looked up at Pinkie Pie with bloodshot eyes and a tear soaked face. “Spike heard everything.” ---------- A young dragon was walking through the streets of Ponyville, with no real destination in mind. He only wished to be away from the library, away from Pinkie Pie, and most of all away from Twilight. He just couldn’t handle seeing them after this; not after having his heart broken twice “Howdy Spike. What seems to be the matter with ya?” asked a kind and familiar southern voice. Quickly, the little dragon looked up to see that he had ran all the way to Sweet Apple Acres. The next thing he noticed was an orange furred pony with a blond mane walking over to him from an apple tree. Spike sniffled slightly and said “Oh hi Applejack. It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” “Pony feathers! If one of my friends is sad I’ma do everything I can to help. So what’s wrong with ya? Do I need to go buck some sense into a colt or two?” Spike smiled faintly. “No, it’s just… Something happened.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Well what happened?” The young dragon let out a slight sigh. “Can you keep a secret?” “Of course I can.” “I-I-I have a crush on Twilight,” Spike stuttered. Applejack had a very surprised expression. “Well how is that a bad thing?” “B-Because I think she hates me.” “What? Now listen Spike, Twilight doesn’t hate you. She never has and she never will.” “No, AJ. I heard her talking to Pinkie Pie. She does.” “Huh? What in Equestria did she say?” “I really don’t want to talk about it. Not right now at least.” “Ah, I see. Well I’ma head over to Twi’s and see just what in the hay she’s said.” “No! Then she’ll know I’m here. Please don’t go!” Applejack backed up slightly. “Whoa, calm down partner.” The young dragon regretfully looked down and said, “I’m sorry AJ. I’m just…” Spike’s words trailed off and a moment later he let out a soft sigh. The orange coated mare looked down at the dragon with sympathy and slowly placed a hoof onto his shoulder. “Ah it’ll be okay Spike. I’m sure this mess’ll get sorted out one way or another.” Spike looked up at her with watery eyes and replied, “I hope you’re right AJ.” Applejack couldn’t stand to see her friend on the verge of tears, so quickly she wrapped a foreleg around him. This in turn caused Spike to wrap his arms around her. “Aw Spike, don’t worry. I’ll make sure that everything’s okay.” “But how could you?” The orange furred pony smiled warmly. “I’m one of the elements of harmony; which means I could get my little necklace thingy and blast things back into order if I have to.” Spike smiled faintly at Applejack’s joke. “Thanks AJ, but I’m not sure if that’ll help me too much.” Applejack smiled as well. “Heh, well I promise to only use it if talkin doesn’t help.” “Hey AJ, do you mind if I stay here for a little while? Just until everything cools down.” “Ah not at all Spike, but I best be off to Fluttershy’s right now. I promised her I’d bring some apples for her critters and you know how they can get… Especially that little white one.” “Oh It’s okay. I understand.” Applejack then began to trot over to the tree which she was standing by earlier. Then she turned to Spike and said “Hey, how about you and Applebloom catch up while I’m gone. She hasn’t seen you in a while and she ain’t been doing much crusading since she got her cutie mark. Besides I’m sure she could give ya some advice.” “Oh okay AJ. It would be nice to see some old friends anyways.” ---------- Rainbow Dash was zooming over the streets of Ponyville on her way to the library. She had just finished the last of her Daring Doo books, and was eager to know if Twilight had gotten anymore. As the library came into sight, the blue coated Pegasus began to slow herself on her descent. Moments later she came to a gentle landing at the library’s front door. Rainbow Dash opened the door, while trying to conceal an eager smile. “Hey Twilight do you-“ “He hates me Pinkie, and it’s all my fault!” screamed Twilight. The blue furred mare just stared in shock. “Uhhhhhhhhh, Twilight?” The lavender mare quickly turned to Rainbow Dash, as Pinkie Pie shot down the stairs. It was immediately apparent that she’d been crying, due to the obviously tear soaked fur under her eyes. “I’m sorry Rainbow,” Twilight said in a much more calm tone. “W-What happened?” Rainbow Dash stuttered. Just as those words left her lips, Pinkie Pie jumped in front of Twilight and almost screamed, “Uh, not right now Rainbow! Twilight’s really upset because Spike likes her and she likes him, but he thinks that she hates him even though she doesn’t!” Twilight then stepped out from behind the pink furred pony and nodded. “Yeah, that’s about right.” Rainbow Dash just blinked. “Uhhh, I think I’ll just come back later.” “I’m not trying to be rude Dashie, but yeah that may be best right now,” concurred Twilight. “Well, uh, later guys,” the blue furred Pegasus said as she awkwardly waved a hoof. And with that she left. ---------- Applejack was trotting down the streets of Ponyville, with a basket of apples on her back, when she passed a very confused looking Rainbow Dash. Normally she would have greeted her, but she needed to get to the library and have a talk with Twilight. As she approached the large tree, she looked on her back and said to herself “Why the hay am I still carryin this?” So quickly she grasped the basket’s handle in her mouth and set it down on the ground. She then continued her trot. ‘I’m sure all of this can be fixed real easily’ she thought. The orange coated pony knocked her hoof against the door and almost instantly Pinkie Pie answered it. “Sorry AJ, but Twilight’s really upset because Spike has a crush on her and she has a crush on him, but Spike thinks she hates him! Could you come back later please?” Applejack just blinked in confusion, but after a moment a smile began to form on her face. “Y’all two are about as backwards as a chicken in a doghouse.” “Huh?” Pinkie Pie asked with a confused expression. “Let me have a word with Twilight.” ---------- Spike sat down on a picket fence next to Applebloom and said, “I just don’t get it. I try so hard to get somepony to like me and it always ends with me alone and a lot of time wasted.” Applebloom rested a hoof on Spike’s shoulder and smiled warmly at him. “Hey now don’t be like that. I’m sure there’s somepony out there who likes ya.” The young dragon let out a sigh. “It doesn’t seem like it Applebloom. I mean it was practically Rarity all over again.” “Honestly I never thought Rarity was right for ya in the first place. She was always too-” “Stuck up, arrogant, annoying, dumb!” Spike interrupted. Applebloom had a rather shocked expression on her face. “I was just gonna say posh.” Spike smiled slightly, thinking Applebloom’s innocence was somewhat amusing. “Oh.” “But in all seriousness I think there is someone out there who likes you, you just have to look.” “Yeah, Twilight told me the same thing after Rarity.” “Well she’s right. After all Twi is a smart pony.” Spike looked down and tried to hide a blush from Applebloom, as thoughts of Twilight began to fill his head. Then his crimson cheeks quickly went back to their natural color when one thought in particular came to mind. This caused the young dragon to let out a sad sigh. “Hey AB? Do you ever think you’ve made a mistake?” “Well I think we all have at one point or another.” “Yeah, I guess it’s only natural. But do you ever feel guilty after it’s all said and done?” The young filly didn’t even need to hear the rest of Spike’s story; she already knew what he was talking about. “Ya feel guilty about what you said to Twilight don’t ya?” Spike placed his hands onto his knees and looked over to Applebloom. “I don’t know what I think. I’m mad, upset, sad, and… guilty.” “Well Spike, there is one way to make that guilt go away.” “Yeah, I know, but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.” “Well how do you think Twilight feels right now? It’s not just you ya know.” “But she said-“ Applebloom quickly cut Spike off. “Spike she doesn’t hate ya. From what you’ve told me it sounds like she just doesn’t have a crush on ya.” Applebloom’s words caused Spike’s heart to sink once more. “Yeah, I know.” “Are ya sure about that? Cause it seems to me that you think she can’t stomach ya. Are ya sure that ya ain’t making this bigger than it seems?” “I-I, but she-“ “Spike, it’s not what she did,” she interrupted, “it’s what you’re making of it.” The young dragon hung his head and sadly said “Yeah, you’re right. You’re absolutely right.” Applebloom smiled comfortingly and put a foreleg around Spike. “But hey, just because she doesn’t like you don’t mean that she doesn’t love you.” Spike looked up at the yellow filly with a confused expression. “Huh?” “Spike, she’s your best friend so of course she loves ya. I mean I love Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, but that doesn’t mean I wanna date em.” Spike couldn’t help but chuckle. “I see what you mean.” “What I mean is that ya should get off your tail and go talk to Twilight, because nothing is going to change things between ya two; not even this.” “Dang Applebloom, you sure are mature for a fourteen year old.” “Girls mature faster than boys, don’t ya know?” Spike rolled his eyes at the young filly. “Yeah right!” Applebloom just smirked. “Point proven.” ---------- “You mean Spike doesn’t hate me?” Twilight asked. Applejack placed a hoof onto her shoulder and said, “Twilight, there is nothin in all of Equestria that would make that boy hate you. He may not be too happy, but that’s what friends do; they fight. Now come on before I have to buck your flank over there.” Twilight smiled slightly. “I still can’t believe that you lied to him.” The orange coated mare chuckled lightly and replied, “Yeah, well honesty has it’s exceptions if love is involved.” “Alright, let’s go then.” Suddenly Pinkie Pie shot up between the pair from seemingly out of nowhere. “And I can throw a make up party! Well not like Rarity’s makeup parties, more like a kiss and make up party, but I don’t know if you guys are going to kiss, but if you do let me know so I can throw you a first kiss slash make up party!” “Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said in a rather unamused voice. “I don’t think-“ Before Twilight could finish, Applejack leaned over to her and whispered “Let her have some fun Twi.” The lavender mare sighed and forced a small smiled. “Go crazy Pinkie. Make it the biggest party yet.” The pink pony instantly let out a shocked gasp. “The biggest one yet!? Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I finally get to use my party bomb, party cannon, and party dynamite!” Twilight just blinked. “I’m not sure if I should be horrified or excited.” ---------- Spike and Applebloom were walking down the path to Ponyville on their way to the library. Despite the fact that she had convinced Spike to go see Twilight he was still rather hesitant about the whole idea. “But what do I say?” Asked Spike. “Well let’s start with I’m sorry.” “Well yeah, but then what? What do I do if she’s mad? What do I do if she never wants to see me again?” “What do you do if she’s a giant rampaging dragon!?” Applebloom joked. “Spike, you’ll figure it out, I promise.” “How can you be sure?” “Because you don’t have time to think about it anymore.” The young dragon looked at Applebloom with a rather confused look on his face. “Huh? What are you talking about?” Instead of replying, the young filly just lifted up a hoof and looked straight ahead. Spike followed it and wanted to run in terror when he saw what, or rather who, was a head of them. There before the pair was Twilight and Applejack. Twilight had about the same look on her face as Spike, but despite that, she was the one to take the first step forward. “Hi,” she said sheepishly. “Hi,” replied Spike in a similar tone. After a moment more he added “I-I-I’m sorry Twilight.” The second those words left Spike’s lips she could feel the tears beginning to form. Then suddenly she galloped over to Spike and wrapped him up in an embrace. “I’m sorry too! I’m so sorry!” Spike was rather surprised by the sudden embrace, but that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy it. However, this moment of joy was quickly replaced with a moment of confusion. “What are you sorry for Twi? It’s my fault.” “No Spike! I’m sorry for not telling you.” “Telling me what?” Twilight looked into Spike’s confused eyes with her own tear filled ones and smiled. “Spike, I love you!” “What!?” Spike and Applebloom yelled in unison. Twilight and Applejack couldn't help but chuckle when they heard this. “It’s true Spike,” began Twilight, “I just didn’t want to say anything because I was scared of what you’d think. It’s funny how that worked out.” Spike just stared at Twilight flabbergasted. “S-S-So you like me too?” The lavender mare giggled slightly. “I think it’s a bit more than like now.” The young dragon stared in shock for a second more, when suddenly he wrapped his arms around Twilight and pressed his lips to hers. > Chapter Eight: The End of a Begining > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Twilight and Spike walked back to the library, the young dragon just seemed to have one question on his mind. “But do you like me too?” asked Spike. Twilight giggled slightly. “Yes Spike, for the fiftieth time yes.” “But you said you loved me. Does that mean you like me or you like me as a friend or maybe you-“ Spike’s seemingly endless babbling was quickly cut short when Twilight suddenly planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Does that answer the question, Spike?” Twilight asked with a warm smile. As soon as Twilight’s lips met his, Spike froze. The only sign of life in his shocked face was a quickly growing blush. After a few more seconds the purple dragon spoke. “Uhhhhhhh, yes?” Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at Spike’s innocent answer. “Okay then. Shall we continue back to the library now?” The young dragon, who was still in a bit of a daze, shook his head and began to walk alongside the lavender mare once more. “But I do have one more question,” said Spike. “It’s not if I like you again, is it?” teased Twilight. “Yes, well no. Kind of,” answered Spike. “Well what is it?” “It’s just… I’ve been wondering… Why do you like me Twilight?” “Well it’s kind of a long story, Spike,” replied Twilight. “We have time. Besides anything you have to say I want to hear.” The lavender mare blushed slightly. “That’s really sweet, Spike.” “It’s only the truth Twiley.” Twilight smiled at her best friend for using her old nickname. “Okay, remember all those years ago just before you started leaving and how I seemed to be acting… Different?” “Yeah,” answered Spike. “You kept giving me a whole bunch of chores to do around the library. That’s part of why I did it.” Twilight looked away from Spike in dismay at the memory of those days. “I’m sorry Spike.” As soon as he noticed the sad look on the lavender unicorn’s face, the young dragon stopped walking and wrapped an arm around her. “Hey, what’s wrong Twilight?” “Nothing,” replied Twilight, who was still refusing to make eye contact with Spike. “Twilight, really what’s wrong?” pleaded the young dragon. The lavender mare sighed softly. “I started doing those things… Because I liked you.” Spike’s eyes widened. “You did!?” Twilight nodded. “I just wanted to spend more time with you, but you were always worried about Rarity. I would always want to tell you, but I knew you didn’t feel the same way, so I didn’t see the point. I just thought trying to keep you close was the right thing to do, but all I did was push you away… That’s why when I started to like you again I fought it so hard. I just needed a reason to stop it from happening again. I needed an excuse.” Slowly Spike laid his claws onto Twilight’s cheek and carefully turned her head towards his. As soon as he could see her eyes he could see the tears that lined them as well. “Twilight,” he began, “I want you to know that I love you. I love you more than anything and nothing will ever change any of that. And now that I know this there isn’t a shadow of a doubt that makes me think you don’t feel the same way.” “Really?” Twilight asked with a shaky tone to her voice. “Really,” assured Spike. “And do you want to know something else? I promise you I’m going to make up for every second I didn’t have my arms around you, starting now.” At that moment Spike gradually leaned forward until his lips met Twilight’s, and as soon as they did the lavender mare pulled Spike into the tightest embrace he’d ever been in. The lavender mare reluctantly broke the kiss only to say one thing. “I love you, Spike” The young dragon smiled as a bright red blush began to show. “I love you too, Twilight.” ---------- A bright pink blur raced around the library in a frantic rush, and in its path it left a trail of streamers, balloons, paper hearts, and numerous other party supplies. Suddenly there was a clop at the front door. The pink blur instantly stopped at the door so quickly it seemed almost impossible. But once the blur came to a complete stop it was revealed to be Pinkie Pie. Pinkie opened the door to see Applejack standing at it. “Hia Applejack!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “Do you like what I did with the place?! I personally think there needs to be more done for a “hey we’re friends again party” but I think that’s just me. What do you think!?” The orange furred pony just blinked as her brain processed all that had just been said. “Uhhh, sure Pinkie. Whatever ya say. I just came by to say that Twilight and Spike had their first kiss today and they’re probably dating too, so ya might wanna hang up a few more hearts is all.” As soon as those words left Applejack’s mouth the pink pony gasped so much that Applejack began to worry her lungs might burst. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie lifted the orange mare off of the ground and held her above her head. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THIS MEANS!?” screamed Pinkie Pie. The orange furred mare made a somewhat scared face. “Please put me down,” Applejack pleaded in a worried voice. “Applejack, it is time for the friendship nuke,” declared Pinkie, who seemed to ignore Applejack’s statement completely. Suddenly the pink mare threw Applejack into the library, which was followed by a loud crash. “Be back in a few minutes!” announced Pinkie Pie as she waved a hoof at where she had thrown Applejack. And with that she sped off to Sugar Cube Corner. There was a brief moment of silence, before one word left the library. “OW!!!” ---------- “Where is it!? Where is it!?” shouted Pinkie Pie as she frantically looked threw her closet. Then, as she moved some cloths out of the way, she saw her old toy box, or at least that’s what it looked like to anypony else. Carefully, the pink mare pulled back on a toy baseball bat. As soon as she did this a large door opened up in the back of her closet. Inside it were several party machine guns, hundreds of party canons, thousands of friendship grenades, and even a black hawk party chopper. ---------- Meanwhile down stairs… Mrs. Cake and Mr. Cake were sitting in the living room reading the morning newspaper. Several machine gunshots could be heard from downstairs. They were soon followed by a series of large explosions. Mrs. Cake tilted her ear to the ceiling then looked over to her husband. “What do you think she does up there?” Mr. Cake just turned the page in his paper and answered, “Just look the other way deer, just look the other way.” Suddenly there was another large explosion, similar to that of an airstrike, followed by a loud “I FOUND IT!” After only a few seconds more, Pinkie Pie came prancing by wearing a black tactical vest, several small friendship grenades, and a small silver cylinder with red blinking lights on both ends. “Bye Mrs. Cake! Bye Mr. Cake!” greeted Pinkie Pie as she pranced out of the door. The pair simply waved at her as they continued to read their newspaper. “Are we still charging her for damages dear?” asked Mr. Cake. “I never stopped honey.” “That’s good to know.” ---------- Applejack slowly uncovered herself from the debris of her crash when she could hear hoof steps from outside. “Oh good, maybe it’s Twilight and Spike,” she thought as she pulled a large chunk of an undetermined material off of her back. Suddenly there was a loud “Fire in the hole!” followed by a metallic clinking noise. The orange mare quickly looked up to see a small cylinder with two red lights blinking faster and faster. “OH WHAT THE-“ “BOOM!!!!” Applejack was suddenly thrown against the nearest window of the library, as her back, and everything else, was covered in a thick layer of pink paint and glitter. The Pink furred pony at the door, who was no longer wearing her vest, began to walk inside the library and smiled at her work. “I think we’re ready to party!” she announced to no pony. Just as she finished speaking, there was a loud sliding noise, like that of rubber sliding against glass. Pinkie Pie looked up to its source to see Applejack slowly sliding down the window until she hit the floor. “You okay Applejack?” asked a seemingly regretful Pinkie. The orange, and now pink, pony glared at Pinkie Pie. “Peachy,” she replied in an angry tone. At that moment, Twilight and Spike walked into the library to see everything painted pink with several streamers, balloons, hearts, piñatas, and other party supplies, scattered all about the library. The pair was amazed at what Pinkie Pie could accomplish in only half an hours’ notice. “Wow Pinkie, you did all of this?” “Sure did!” she happily declared. “Trust me, I was there,” Applejack added, sounding quite frustrated. The pair hadn’t even noticed the pony, due to all of the paint covering her. “Whoa Applejack! Are you okay?” asked Twilight. “Yeah, I’m good. Hey Twi, would ya mind if I used you’re shower real quick.” Twilight shook her head. “Not at all AJ. Right upstairs on your left.” “Thanks Twi,” replied Applejack, before she left for the bathroom. “Hey Twilight, I hope you’re not mad about me painting the whole library,” said Pinkie Pie. “Oh, don’t worry about it, I think it looks nice. Besides, one time Applejack pulled a tree through my bedroom and nearly split the library in half… I have no idea how we cleaned it up so quickly.” “I said I was sorry!” shouted Applejack from the shower. Twilight quickly stopped talking after realizing Applejack could still hear her. “Anyways Pinkie, did you remember to invite everypony?” The pink furred mare threw her hoof over her shoulder and replied “Oh don’t worry about that. I sent gummy out with the invitations.” Just then Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy trotted through the door. “I hope someone left me some cake!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “Right over here Dashie!” answered Pinkie Pie as she began to trot towards the kitchen door. Quickly Rainbow Dash flew over to Pinkie Pie and landed in the kitchen alongside her. “I hope I’m not too late,” Fluttershy whispered quietly. “Oh not at all,” assured Twilight. “You’re right on time. Would you like some cake?” “Oh no thank you, Twilight. I’m fine.” “Well okay, but just ask if you need anything okay?” “Will do,” replied Fluttershy. “I’m so happy for ya two!” exclaimed the voice of a young filly. Twilight and Spike took their gaze away from Fluttershy, who was already beginning to walk towards Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, to see a small red haired pony bouncing over to the couple. As soon as she reached them, she wrapped her hooves around the pair and pulled them into a tight group hug. “Ya two are gonna be great together! Like bread and butter! Or peanut butter and jam! Or syrup and pancakes!... Oh, now I’m hungry. Where’s the cake at Twi?” Twilight broke Applebloom’s embrace only to point to the kitchen, which was seemingly beginning to become the only gathering place in the entire library. “In there,” she said. “Thank ya Twi,” thanked Applebloom. And with that she continued to bounce to her destination. “I hope I’m not too unfashionably late,” called a familiar and quite feminine voice. Once again the couple looked towards the door to see another, and final, party guest. This time it was a white unicorn with a beautifully curled mane. “Oh don’t worry Rarity. Everypony else just got here,” said a rather cheerful Twilight. Spike on the other hand was no wear near as happy about seeing his former crush. “Oh, well if you don’t mind me asking, what is this party for anyways?” asked Rarity. “Twilight and I just started dating,” proclaimed Spike. Rarity’s eyes widened. “You are!? Since when!? Oh you simply must tell me more about it darling!” Spike couldn’t help but be a bit surprised by Rarity’s reaction. He had at least suspected a slight hint of jealousy. “Well we just started today,” he explained, “But I’ve just found out Twilight’s thought about it for a while.” “Aw! That’s so sweet! I always knew you two would make a perfect couple. That’s partly why I never paid much mind to many of your “hints” Spike.” Twilight and Spike were shocked at what they had just heard. “You knew!?” they shouted in unison. Rarity chuckled in her usual feminine manor. “Of course I knew. I’ve always known. It doesn’t take a genius to spot a crush. But I always knew you two had a special connection, much more than Spike and I could ever have. I would just feel dreadful if I were to come in between such a thing.” Spike and Twilight’s mouths hung agape as they listened to Rarity. Suddenly the pair lunged forward and wrapped their hooves and arms around their pearl white friend. “Thank you!” they shouted in unison. Rarity was a bit surprised at the sudden embrace, but none the less she decided to partake in it as well. However, after a few more seconds, she decided to break the hug. “Well,” began Rarity, “I’m quite parched, so I think I’ll be off to get some punch.” “Oh, okay Rarity,” Twilight said with a smile. Rarity returned the gesture and began to trot towards the kitchen, but before she entered the doorway, she turned towards the pair and said “If I may say, you two do make an absolutely adorable couple. My best wishes dearies.” Twilight and Spike couldn’t help but blush when they heard this. However their brief moment of taking in all that Rarity had said was cut short when Spike looked over to Twilight and took her hoof into his hand. “Hey Twi,” he said softly, “Could you come with me for a second?” Twilight blushed a little more and smiled at her new love. “Of course, Spike.” ----------- In the kitchen several ponies all piled on top of each other, all trying to catch a peak at Twilight and Spike. Needless to say it was rather uncomfortable. “Stop shoving,” whispered Rarity. “I wouldn’t have to if you’d get your precious hooves out of my face,” replied Rainbow Dash. “Will you two hush up!” snapped Applebloom. At just that moment Applejack came trotting up next to the group. “Did I miss anything?” Applejack’s question was met with a loud “Shhhh” from everypony in the group. “Well dang,” thought the orange mare as she took her place beside the mares. ----------- “Need a hand?” Spike warmly asked as he extended a claw to the lavender mare. Twilight gladly took it and leaped off of the balcony and onto the tree branch on which Spike was sitting. “I don’t see why we couldn’t just sit on the balcony Spike,” commented Twilight. The young dragon grinned as he pulled Twilight closer to him. “Because, then I couldn’t hold you as close as I’d like,” joked the young dragon. The lavender mare rolled her eyes as she smiled at Spike. However, even though she wouldn’t admit it, she was happy he was holding her as well. “Hey, look. The stars are starting to come out,” said Twilight as she pointed a hoof to the dimming sky. “They sure are beautiful,” said the young dragon as he looked to the heavens. Then he looked back to Twilight and smiled. “But there’s nothing more beautiful than you.” Twilight blushed as she laid her head onto her lover’s chest. “I love you, Spike.” Spike leaned down and gently kissed the lavender unicorn. “I love you too, Twilight.” ---------- Meanwhile in Canterlot… Princess Cadence was peering through her telescope at the two lovers as she sat atop the Canterlot castle. She couldn’t help but grin for two very good reasons. The first was her sister in law had found true love, and the second was that she had just won fifty bits. “Ha! Pay up Shining! I told you I could make those two fall in love!” shouted Cadence as she threw her hoof out expecting to receive her award. Shining Armor however was too preoccupied with reading his wives magic journal. For though the spell had worked something was puzzling him. “Wait a second. This is the spell you used right?” Cadence looked to the page and nodded. “Well,” began Shining, “It says here that this spell is supposed to work on two mares; not a dragon and a mare.” “What!” yelled the pink princess. “That’s impossible!” “Well it says right here that it works on two mares and nothing else. Maybe all it took for those two was a little time alone.” “Wait a second. I cast the spell just right, so it must have worked on somepony.” “Then, if not Twiley, then who?” asked Shining Armor. “I love you so much, Luna,” said a familiar voice. As soon as those words left Celestia’s lips Cadence and Shining Armor’s pupils shrank to almost invisible specks. Slowly the terrified couple turned around to see Celestia and Luna staring deeply into each other’s eyes. “I love you too, Celestia, more than anything.” “FIND THE BREAK UP SPELL! FIND THE BREAK UP SPELL!” frantically screamed Princess Cadence. “I’M WORKING ON IT!” shouted Shining Armor as he flipped through page after page. “Say Luna, would you like to go someplace a little more private?” asked Princess Celestia, in a somewhat seductive tone. Princess Luna blushed faintly. “Oh sis, I thought you’d never ask.” As soon as Shining Armor heard those words he dropped Princess Cadence’s journal onto the ground and stared at the two princesses. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? FIND THE SPELL!” screamed Cadence. “In a minute,” replied Shining Armor. “WHAT!?”