> Love IS in Bloom > by underrated Drake > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Love IS in bloom > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “...I now pronounce you, husband and wife… you may kiss the bride!” said Celestia as Shining Armor and Princess Cadence kissed consummating their marriage. The whole crowd erupted into cheers and applause as the two newlyweds walked back down the aisle towards the reception hall so that the party could begin. “Congratulations my son,” said Night Light as he and twilight Velvet walked up to them to give them a hug and kiss “I am so proud of you both, now we’re only missing that your sister and Spike find their other halves,” said Twilight Velvet This comment made Twilight turn fully red, making all of her friends laugh. As Cadence and Shining continued to walk down the aisle, they received congratulation after congratulation; “Good luck to the 2 of you,” said Luna as they walked past her, to which they reacted by giving a respectful vow. “It was a lovely wedding, don’t you think?” said Fluttershy “Yeah, I feel so happy for Shining and Cadence, they deserve each other,” said Rainbow Dash “WHAT DO YOU MEAN “WAS” THIS PARTY IS JUST GETTING STARTED!!” said Pinkie Pie as she dashed towards the “Ah must admit, ah actually found this wedding planning to be mighty entertaining, even with the whole Chrysalis spectacle,” said Applejack “Indeed, but we were all able to work our magic to save it… and I have to say it… Princess Cadence’s wedding dress is one of my finest works, even though I did it in 6 hours,” said Rarity as she and her friends began to follow the newlyweds into the Palace Gardens to continue the party. Right before they merged with the crowd, Rarity said “Twilight, Dear, pardon my intrusion but… do you think you can introduce me to some of your brother’s friends?” “Sure… but why don’t you go talk to them?” asked Twilight “Oh, darling, I doubt that any of the important guests will care to talk to me,” said Rarity “What are you talking about?” asked Twilight “Twilight, it’s a no brainer, Rarity, over here, is clearly “husband hunting”, so she is asking you to introduce her to the rich and popular guests at the party,” said Rainbow dash This made Rarity turn red and get angry “No, I’m not, I’m just… shy around…” she began to say “Rich, handsome, and powerful men,” said Rainbow Dash “Dash, stop! You’re making it sound dirty!” Rarity exclaimed “Hey, I know how it feels to be single… but now I have Soarin, so I’m good,” said Rainbow Dash as she showed Rarity a picture of the 2 of them on her cellphone. This caused Rarity’s eyes to tick and became green with envy “Don’t listen to her Rares, I know you’ll find your soul mate, just like I and Discord found each other,” said Fluttershy “Yeah, Rarity, there ain’t nothing wrong with being single at 25,” said Applejack “Easy for you to say, you’ve been engaged for over a year,” said Rarity “I sustain my thought,” said Applejack “Why is it so important to be married at this age?” asked Fluttershy “Age isn’t important, Fluttershy… But, Rarity can’t stand that, apart from Twilight, she is the only one of us that is single,” said Rainbow Dash as she began to laugh hysterically Rarity looked at her with such anger, that her eyes twitched “Just ignore them Rarity, they want you to be jealous due to their own insecurities,” said Twilight “You are right dear, thanks,” said Rarity as she gave Twilight a hug Then Pinkie appeared out of nowhere “But, aren’t your parents right? About the fact that you should find a husband and start a family?” she said scaring the girls half to death “Pinkie! Don’t do that!” said Twilight “Hehe, sorry… but I really want to know why you aren’t interested in marriage?” said Pinkie “Oh, Pinkie, she is, she is in love with that Guard… what was his name?” said Rainbow Dash “Flash Sentry!” said Twilight, the second she did this she covered her face with her hands “Oh, so you know his name, huh?” said Rainbow Dash in a teasing manner “It… it… it was just out of… manners… yeah… manners,” said Twilight as she began to sweat bullets “Oh, that’s how it is?” said Pinkie as she walked up to Rainbow Dash “What is?” asked Twilight “Twilight and Flashy sitting on a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!!” they sang irritating Twilight “CAN WE JUST GO BACK TO MAKING FUN OF RARITY’S LOVE LIFE!!!!” she screamed “Wow, thanks for the “Moral” support… darling,” Rarity said as she gritted her teeth Twilight and her friends continued having a small discussion until they reached the gardens, in time to see Cadence and Shining have their first Newlywed dance. Before they began, Celestia came over to Twilight and whispered “I think this party could use some… fun,” Twilight looked at Princess Celestia and then at Pinkie, Pinkie noticed this and smiled, Twilight nodded and she ran for the DJ booth “HEY EVERYBODY, IT’S TIME TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!” she screamed as introduced DJ-Pon3 and the music started “TWILIGHT, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!” Pinkie said as she tossed her the mic. Twilight caught it and started to sing. When the song ended, everyone began to cheer and clap for the newlyweds and Twilight, making her blush a bit. “Thank you Twilight, that song was beautiful,” said Cadence as she walked over and gave her a hug. “Yeah, I didn’t know you could sing like that little sis,” said Shining “Well, I learned from the best,” said Twilight “Oh, that reminds me… Spike, that’s your queue,” said Shining as he and everyone turned to look at Spike how was eating a cupcake, not paying attention to the stares he was receiving After a few milliseconds, he moved his eyes and noticed the stares he was getting from everyone “What?” he asked “It’s now!” Shining said behind his teeth Spike then realized what was going on, he dropped the cupcake and dashed to the DJ booth to talk with Pinkie and Vinyl. “Sorry about that folks… anyway, Cadence, I wanted to give you something special on your special day… so I stayed up all night with Spike composing this for you,” said Shining as Spike reappeared with a guitar. When the song ended, Cadence was in tears, she quickly went over to her husband and gave him a kiss, making everyone cheer at the scene “Wow, Spike, you and my brother really outdid yourselves,” said Twilight as she walked over to Spike “Yeah, well, he wanted to give her something special, and I figured I should help since I never do much,” said Spike “Oh, Spike, that’s where you are wrong, You do way more than what you allow yourself to,” said Twilight “You think so?” said Spike “Absolutely, now, why don’t you go and have some fun,” said Twilight as she gave Spike a hug. Spike then fixed his tux and headed for the party, avoiding the dance floor as much as he could, he didn’t want to be shoved into it just to be punched and kicked around by wild dancers. He did a bit of everything, he ate some cake, he talked with various people, friends or not, and even participated in various of the strange “Wedding games” Pinkie had invented for the party. Until he had the urge to head deep into the gardens to get some fresh air and, much-needed privacy. After about a minute of walking, he arrived at the back part of the gardens, a place where you could overlook the city perfectly, but at the same time, was far away from the party. Spike then proceeded to sit down in one of the stone sits placed around the area, and look up at the night sky. “Everyone seems to be having fun, and Shining and Cadence look so happy, I’m glad for that, they do make a nice couple… I wonder what it feels like to be loved in a romantic way? Will I ever?” thought Spike as he looked back down to the ground and then forward. And that’s when he noticed a female silhouette sitting not far from him, this surprised him and intrigued him a lot, so he decided to walk over to the figure. As he got closer and his eyes adjusted to the dim light coming from a nearby lamp, he noticed that the figure belonged to, not other than, Scootaloo. “Scootaloo?! What are you doing here?... alone,” said Spike as he walked up to her Scootaloo looked up and quickly moved her hands to her face in a “brush away” motion “Spike! I didn’t expect to see you all the way back here, got tired of the girls’ attention?” she said as Spike sat down next to her “Nah, I just wanted to be… alone, for a while,” said Spike “You?” “Same,” she said At this point, Spike had noticed that her voice was a bit cracked as if she had been crying, he then decided to trick her into admitting her true thoughts “Lovely wedding, I am so happy for Cadence and Shining Armor,” he said “Ye-yeah, I’m happy for them too,” she said “Too bad I didn’t get to ask someone to join me here today,” said Spike “O-oh, yeah… I wasn’t able either,” said Scootaloo “Really?! I thought that you and Rumble were an item!” said Spike in a fake surprised tone When Scootaloo took to long to answer he said “I take it I’m wrong,” said Spike The second he finished, Scootaloo began to cry again, making Spike really uncomfortable, and feel responsible for it. “I take it I touched a nerve,” said Spike as he slowly wrapped his arm around Scootaloo It took Scootaloo a full 5 minutes to calm down from crying. “What happened?” asked Spike “He… he rejected me,” said Scootaloo “Huh?” said Spike in surprise “It happened a month ago…” Scootaloo began Scootaloo and the CMC were all gathered at the clubhouse, coming up with a plan, a plan to change a life. “So, do you girls know what you have to do?” said Sweetie Belle “Ye,” said Applebloom “Yes,” said Scootaloo in a nervous voice “Scootaloo, is that doubt I hear in your voice?” said Sweetie Belle “N-no!” said Scootaloo “Oh, come on, Scootaloo, you’re only asking him out, you’re not asking him to marry you,” said Applebloom “I fail to see how that is going to help her relax,” said Sweetie Belle “Well, I fail to understand, how asking your older sister seduction tricks are going to help her,” said Applebloom “Well, she needs a plan B, just in case!” Argued Sweetie Belle “GIRLS!!! I’m ready,” said Scootaloo “Operation CUPID begins!!!!” said Sweetie Belle as she ran out of the clubhouse followed by Applebloom, leaving Scootaloo behind with her thoughts “What’s the worst that can happen?” thought Scootaloo as she walked out and closed the door. HALF AN HOUR LATER “Well, the letter says to come to the park at 5:30, so here I am,” said Rumble as he walked over to one of the benches and sat down. A few seconds went by, and he began to feel irritated, thinking that someone had played a trick on him, when he was about to leave he heard “Hi, Rumble,” He turned to his left and saw Scootaloo walking up to him, she was wearing a very nice sundress wish accentuated her body. “Oh, hi there, Scootaloo,” said Rumble as she walked up to him “Fancy meeting you here,” she said using the lines that Rarity taught her “Yeah… Are you on your way to a date? Because you look beautiful,” he said Scootaloo blushed at Rumble’s comment but quickly answered “Oh, no, I’m not dating anybody… yet,” said Scootaloo as she sat down next to him “Oh… I see,” said Rumble starting to feel uncomfortable “Rumble… I know that you and I have been very good friends since elementary school, and that I hold you in high esteem,” said Scootaloo “And I have the same thoughts about you… you’re a great friend, my best friend, as a matter of fact,” said Rumble making Scootaloo blush and smile warmly Scootaloo then went silent for a few seconds, making Rumble feel nervous “Rumble… I was the one that sent you the letter,” said Scootaloo “Really? Well, I’m here, what can I do for you?” asked Rumble “Well, I called you here today to tell you… That I love you… and I would like to ask you to be my boyfriend,” said Scootaloo, her face redder than a tomato Rumble remained silent for a few seconds before saying “I’m sorry… I can’t reciprocate your feelings,” he said with a sad face “What?” said Scootaloo as her smile turned to sadness “I’ve been dating Lilymoon for over a month already… so I can’t reciprocate your feelings… It wouldn’t be fair to either of you,” said Rumble Scootaloo went silent, she didn’t know what think much less what to say “I know this is going to sound selfish, but, I would like us to remain good friends… if it’s still possible,” said Rumble Scootaloo came out of her self-inflicted trans and looked at Rumble “Sure… I’d love that,” she said, her eyes becoming watery Rumble placed placed his hand on Scootaloo’s shoulder and said “Hey, just be patient, you’ll find your love soon, I know it, and he will be 10 times better than me,” said Rumble as he got up and left the park. “He was my first love, and I lost him to one of my best friends,” said Scootaloo Spike just remained silent, listening to everything she had to say “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not desperate to have a relationship like Rarity, but… I just want to know what love feels like,” said Scootaloo “I can understand who you feel,” said Spike “What do you mean, you have many girls crushing over you, including Rarity, you have options, I don’t!” said Scootaloo Spike remained silent for a few seconds and said “No, I don’t, what you see as “attraction” is just friendship, and, as for my relationship with Rarity, well… It’s a lost case,” said Spike “What do you mean “a lost cause”, you guys are really close,” said Scootaloo “Yeah, like most FRIENDS are,” said Spike Scootaloo just looked at Spike, awaiting an explanation “I’m not going to lie… I did have a MASSIVE crush on Rarity… but,” Spike began ONE MONTH AGO "Today is the day, today is the day I man up and tell Rarity how I fell," thought Spike as he walked towards Carousel Boutique It was a beautiful day, the temperature was perfect, the skies were blue and, all around town Spike could see everyone having a great time. “Today really is a perfect day,” he thought with a smile as he rang on the door of Carousel Boutique “Coming!!” came Rarity’s voice from the inside of the boutique Spike quickly began to fix his shirt and male sure that his clothes were presentable Then he heard the door click and open, and out came Rarity, Spike’s jaw immediately dropped to the floor. Rarity was wearing a very stylish dress, combined with the perfect amount of makeup and jacket and heels; she looked like a goddess. “Oh, Spike, Good morning to you! Ready for our little trip to Manehattan?” she said as she closed the door. “You bet!” said Spike as he began to escort her to the train station A FEW HOURS LATER Spike and Rarity had talked the whole way to Manehattan, they talked about the weather, the landscape, fashion, their friends, and almost about feelings, but Spike got cold feet and changed subject to something else. Once they arrived at Manehattan, Rarity and Spike began walking to the center of the city “SO, we are here to get new ideas for your next line of clothes right?” said Spike “That’s correct Spike, I need new, fashionable, and fancy creations for my next line, not to mention, I also have to get ideas for the dresses for Princess Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding,” said Rarity “So, any ideas where you would like to begin?” asked Spike Rarity was about to answer, when to pegasus, built like models, walked by, causing Rarity to lose focus of the conversation Spike saw this and felt sad, but at the same time determined “Would you like to start at the park?” he asked “That sounds… beautiful,” Rarity said, her eyes still glued to the boys that just passed by. Spike and Rarity walked all the way to the park, talking about work, laughing from an occasional joke, or did some minor window shopping as they walked past stores. When they finally reached the park, Spike quickly began to take pictures of the landscape, the grass, the flowers, the birds flying in the sky… anything that would inspire Rarity to create her dresses. “Anything good on your side?” asked Spike “Oh, yes, Spike, plenty good,” said Rarity Spike turned and noticed Rarity staring at a nearby gathering, he didn’t think much of it at first, but then he noticed that all of the people attending the gathering were wearing really expensive outfits and seemed to be royals in some way. “I take it you have many ideas for your dresses from here?” asked Spike “Oh!... yeah, yes I do Spikey-Wickey… where to next?” said Rarity as she kept looking at the fancy looking attendees Spike looked over and thought to himself “Rarity seems to like this type of life a lot,” but then he rubbed it off and said “We should head to Heighton beach, that way you can also gain ideas for your summer line for next year,” said Spike with a smile “That’s a lovely idea Spike, the beach is one marvelous place for inspiration,” said Rarity as she began walking behind him towards the beach. This time since the beach was not at a walking distance from the park they decided to take a taxi and arrive there faster. After a few minutes in the taxi they finally arrived at the beach, and it was buzzing with life. Rarity quickly dashed towards the sand and began to look around like crazy, Spike, on the other hand, paid the taxi driver and walked up to her. “Any good ideas?” he asked when he reached her “Many, I can combine those sandals with that bikini… or I can combine those short shorts with that tank top and change the colors a bit,” said Rarity as she rambled on and on about ideas Spike then decided to take even more pictures and help her out to remember all of her ideas; he was so into it, that he didn’t even realize that she had stopped talking and had wandered off on her own. When he turned around and noticed she was gone, he became concerned “Where is she? Did someone kidnap her? Is she ok? Who should I ask for..” Spike began to think frantically in his mind, when he noticed Rarity’s distinctive hairstyle a few feet away. He relaxed and walked over to where she was “Rarity?” Spike said But she didn’t answer, she was staring forward, like if she was in some sort of trance When Spike looked forward, he was finally able to understand the reason for her trance. Her eyes were glued to a bunch of stallions who were working out in an outdoor gym, her eyes followed their movements as she paid close attention to every muscle in their bodies; she was so deep in her trance, she had even started to drool. “She also seems to love guys with big muscles… I’m at a loss there too,” thought Spike with a sad face. He then walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder ‘Oh, Spikey, sorry, I lost track of what i was doing,” said Rarity “It’s ok Rares… but there is one final place we should go to before it gets late,” said Spike “Oh, and where would that be?” asked Rarity “Magenta hills,” said Spike “MAGENTA HILLS! THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, MOST PERFECT BOTANICAL GARDEN IN THE WHOLE EQUESTRIA!!!” said Rarity “The one and only, come on, if we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to admire the perfection,” said Spike Rarity then grabbed his hand and rushed all the way to the street, almost as fast as Rainbow Dash, even though she was wearing heels. After a few minutes, they finally managed to stop a taxi, and get to the botanical garden. “Well, we did it, and right on time too, the sun will be going down soon,” said Spike “Indeed, come on, let’s go and get ideas,” said Rarity as they both entered the botanical garden. Spike and Rarity took many pictures and wrote down many new ideas for dresses, until Rarity’s booklet was full. After a few more minutes Rarity and Spike arrived at another attraction in the garden “Lovers hill”. It was said that, if some confessed their love to someone there, their love would be eternal. This caused Spike to sweat, this was the right place for him to confess “I’ll sit here for a few minutes,” said Rarity “Right!” said Spike Spike then began to have an internal conflict “Come one dude, this is the perfect place for you to confess to her… but, think about it, what can you, a dragon, give her? You know you can’t give her the life she wishes for… the life she deserves, not to mention, the union between the 2 of you will be ridiculed by everyone and tarnish her image… or, set the stage for interractial couples to occur, come on man, opportunities like this don’t happen twice in a lifetime,” thought Spike With a determined face, Spike turned and said “Rarity!...” but was interrupted by a female voice “Rarity! Is that you?” said the voice Rarity and Spike both turned and saw Prim Hemline walking towards them “Ms. Hemline, it’s a pleasure to see you again!” said Rarity “The pleasure is all mine, I take it you are here for the show,” said Prim “Show? What show?” asked Rarity “Coco Pommel’s first modeling gig, it’s happening in about an hour… I have an extra ticket, would you like to go, it might be a great way to make your business and reputation grow,” said Prim Rarity’s eyes lit up, but then she noticed Spike and said “I’d love to but… I’m here with a dear friend of mine and I wouldn’t like to leave him alone,” said Rarity Spike was about to agree with her, when a realization hit him and caused him to change his words “Oh, don’t mind me Rares, go, this might even be one of the best ways to gain inspiration for future dresses,” said Spike with a warm smile “Are you sure?” she said “Opportunities like this, don’t happen twice in a lifetime… don’t let this one walk away… plus, I can take the train back to Ponyville on my own,” said Spike with a warm smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder “Oh, thank you Spikey-wickey, you are a true friend,” said Rarity as she hugged him and walked away with Prim “That’s what friends are for,” said Spike with a smile as he saw the girl of his dreams walk away. “So, what was the realization?” asked Scootaloo “I’ve known Rarity for almost 10 years… and during those 10 years, I had a crush… no, obsession with her, I was always there to help her, I never cared about the massive amount of hard labour I was doing for her, carrying all of her bags, helping her make her dresses upto the wee hours of the morning… heck, she even used me as a pin cushion, but I never cared… until that moment… I realized that… no matter what I did, I was never going to be a man in her eyes… and to be honest, I kind of knew I was not the man she deserved… so I decided that staying friends would be the best course of action,” said Spike “Really… so, you never confessed your feelings?” said Scootaloo “No… I didn’t want her to feel obligated to love me back… or to feel responsible for breaking my heart… plus, I knew that, I will always be there for her, just like she will always be there for me,” said Spike “How can you believe that?” asked Scootaloo “Well, if you truly love someone, you have to let them go, if they come back to you, then that love is yours, if not… well, the least you can do is be happy for that person,” said Spike “Yeah… I guess you’re right,” said Scootaloo “Not to mention, she’s 25, and I’m 20, maybe the age difference isn’t that big, but, I don’t think she is into younger guys, plus, she seemed happy as she talked with Fancy Pants,” said Spike “Ok, now that is just ridiculous,” said Scootaloo, as both she and Spike burst into laughter After a few seconds, a moment of uncomfortable silence fell upon them, until Spike heard the music and said “Care to dance,” as he mimicked proper etiquette Scootaloo looked at him for a few seconds and said “I’d love too,” as she also mimicked etiquette. Spike then took her hand and escorted her to the dance floor, in time for the slow dance part. They quickly got into positions as the music began to play While they danced, Spike and Scootaloo made eye contact, and just before the music ended, they both leaned forward and kissed. Everyone’s eyes were on them, and many jaws were hitting the floor. When Spike and Scootaloo stopped kissing, everyone began to cheer, causing the 2 lovers to blush “HA! Love IS in bloom… now only Twilight is left,” said Twilight Velvet “MOM!!!” screamed Twilight as she, herself, turned red “Well, congrats to the new couple,” said Celestia as she walked towards them, Cadence close behind. “You see Spike, I told you that your true love was closer than what you thinked,” said Cadence Both Spike and Scootaloo looked at each other and smiled “So… would you guys like to join our honeymoon trip?” asked Cadence “WHAT!!!!” everyone said “Oh come on, he’s 20 and she is 18, I assume they are responsible adults,” said Cadence Spike and Scootaloo looked at their families, who nodded back in agreement “Well, that’s settled, come along then, we have a plain to catch,” said Cadence as she and Shining pushed them towards the limo. 10 YEARS LATER “... and that’s how your daddy and I fell in love,” said Scootaloo “Really? That’s how it happened?” said a little girl “Well, love works in mysterious ways,” said Scootaloo as she finished packing a school bag “Jasper, the school bus is here!” came Spike’s voice as he entered the kitchen “Oh, ok, bye mom, bye dad, see you later!” said Jasper “Hold on, little one…” said Spike as he stopped his daughter “... Have a good day at school, and remember, love may come to you when you least expect it, and where you least expect it.,” “Yes, Daddy, bye!” she said as she rushed out of the door and into the bus Spike and Scootaloo stood in the doorway, waving at the school bus “She grew up so fast,” said Scootaloo “Yeah, time really flies, I just hope she doesn’t lose sight of what’s important in life,” said Spike “As if she would, she’s OUR daughter,” said Scootaloo as she and Spike kissed.