> The Guilty Ones
>  by Jade Ring
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Something Started Crazy, Sweet and Unknown...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cicadas sang their hearts out in the sweltering heat of the summer's day. No cloud blemished the shockingly blue skies over Sweet Apple Acres, no impediment between the warm mother sun and the gracious earth below. It was good weather. Hard weather. The kind of weather that the Apple family and their kin relished. This was the kind of day that showed you what kind of a pony you really were. After all, there's no hiding anything in a bright day like this one. 

But even in the brightest days, one can find a little cozy darkness if you really try hard enough. 

The barn was stifling, even with the light breeze that blew through the open doors. Ropes, reins, and other farming implements hung from the walls or swayed in the stalls in which they were kept. The air was heavy with the good farm smells of hay, wood, and old leather. The cicadas could still be heard, but their song was distant, muted, behind these heavy walls erected by Apple's some four generations past. 

In this place of calm darkness, another song could be heard. One reaching its crescendo. An old song. The oldest song, one might say. A song of fire and sweat, of breath and flesh. A song of life that ended with a little death. The two young people who sang this song moved as one, dancing in the way bred into the very being of all living creatures. They whispered and whined, breathy moans giving way to escalating cries and pleas to keep going, to not stop, to keep the song going until it's final, beautiful note. 

The song ended as it always did, and the dancers locked against one another. They were burning from without and within, their bodies pumping out sweat in a desperate attempt to cool them before they burst into flames. The song's final note faded at last, disappearing into the barn's old rafters. The dancers went limp, then looked at one another with small, silly grins on their lips. 

"Y... you okay?" Apple Bloom asked, still trying to catch her breath. 

"I... I'm good." Spike swallowed hard, using the last of his strength to keep from collapsing onto the sturdy farmgirl. 

Their lips touched for a moment... and when they pulled away it was like the spell had been broken. As one, their eyes widened. The teens pulled away from each other's embrace at the same time. Spike scuttled backwards until he struck the wall, grabbing a nearby horse blanket and pulling it over his lap. "Oh Celestia, Apple Bloom... what did we do?" 

Apple Bloom, having already escaped behind a nearby crate with her clothes in tow, paused in her pulling up her panties to poke her head out and glare at the drake. "You didn't seem that confused about it a few minutes ago." 

"You know what I mean." Spike growled, scanning the straw strewn floor for his discarded pants. "That was..." 

"Look, can we finish gettin' dressed before we start examinin' the ramifications of all this?" Apple Bloom stood and yanked up her cut-off blue jeans in one smooth motion. She bent over towards her bra and button-up shirt, considered, and stood with only the shirt in hand. It was hot enough in this barn without an extra layer to deal with. She pulled her arms through the sleeves, then paused as she looked around. "Where'd you toss my belt?" 

Spike had just finished standing to walk towards his own lost pants when the question was asked. "Uh... I'm not sure." He looked over at the redhead and froze at the sight of her still open shirt. "It... it, uh..."  

Apple Bloom cut her eyes at her oldest male friend and gave him a withering look. "You were literally just suckin' on 'em, sugar. Don't be actin' like they're the first pair you've ever seen." 

Spike cleared his throat and looked away. "Sorry, sorry." He walked over to his pants, careful not to look back in her direction until it was safe. "They are, though." 

"What?" Apple Bloom looked over as she finished doing up the last button.  

"The first. They're the first pair I've ever seen, I mean. In the flesh." He coughed, picking up his pants and brushing stray bits of straw from them. "They're very nice." 

Apple Bloom chuckled and shook her head as she pulled her bow loose and set about freeing her mane of hay. "Thanks. I kinda thought you liked 'em, but I couldn't be sure." She spared a glance at her friend... just in time to see the blanket fall so he could pull on his own pants. The sight brought a fresh blush to her skin, and suddenly her throat was just a little drier. "You don't look so bad yourself. In the buff, I mean." 

"Glad you approve." Spike sighed as she sat heavily on a hay bale. "Sweet Celestia, it's hot in here." 

"Sit tight." Apple Bloom finished retying her bow and scampered to the barn's far back corner. She returned a moment later with two ladles full of decently cool water. "Drink slow." She ordered the dragon as she handed one to him. 

Spike took the offered drink gratefully and did as he was bid, taking small sips even as his body screamed for him to find whatever barrel this precious fluid had come from and bathe himself in it. He watched as Apple Bloom raised her own cup to her lips and drank, her elegant throat swelling and sinking as she drew in her own refreshment.  

Despite being refreshed, his throat once more felt dry. 

Apple Bloom exhaled with satisfaction and sat down next to her friend. "So... what do you wanna talk about? The weather? Sure is a scorcher today, ain't it?" 

"How are you making jokes?" Spike asked. "We just..." 

"Was it bad?"  

Spike looked into her eyes, tried to read them, then looked away when he failed. "...No. Not it wasn't bad." He considered. "It was great, actually." 

"I thought so too." Apple Bloom took another sip. "So, what's the problem?" 

"The problem is that you're my best friend, AB." Spike drank the last of his water and let the ladle fall. "I shouldn't have... I should have controlled myself." 

"Hey, the way I remember it? We both kinda moved at the same time." Apple Bloom giggled. "Blame it on the hormones, the heat... it's nopony's fault. Stuff like this just happens to good lookin' folks like us sometimes." 

Spike's ears had perked up the sound of the word 'heat' and he looked at her sharply. "You're not...?" 

Apple Bloom couldn't help it. The look of absolute genuine concern on his face made her bust out laughing. "Oh. Oh sugar, no. And besides..." She wiped a tear from her eye and winked. "Would it matter anyway? I mean, I've lived on the farm long enough to know different species can't make babies. Unless..." A lone worrying thought crossed her mind, and now it was her that looked at Spike with wary suspicion. "You, uh, didn't just shoot me full of eggs, did ya?" 

Now it was Spike's turn to laugh, and soon the two long-time friends were rolling on the ground, practically howling at the release of tension. When they'd finally calmed down enough to breathe, Apple Bloom went to refill their ladles while Spike pulled their impromptu bench a bit away from the wall. A rogue stud had been digging into his back, and he knew that he wanted to be comfortable for the conversation still to come. He watched her come with the water, her fur still slick with sweat from the weather. From the weather, and... 

He took the ladle and drank the thought away. 

"So... that was your first time?" Apple Bloom finally asked. 

"Yeah." Spike confirmed. 

"I couldn't tell." She smiled at him. "It was really good." 

"Thanks." He couldn't help but swell up a little at the praise. "It wasn't yours?" 

"No. Sorry." Apple Bloom took a sip. "'Fraid Tender picked that apple last Hearth's Warming." 

"Before he moved?" 

"It was a combo Hearth's Warming slash goin' away present." She shook her head. "I think we both knew the long-distance thing wasn't gonna work out." 

They sat in silence, the distance between them growing greater with each passing moment. Their childish laughing fit already felt like it had happened months ago.  

"You gonna tell me what's wrong? 'Cause I already told you that you didn't take advantage of me." 

"I know. It's just..." Spike sighed. "We fucked up, AB. We fucked up bad." 

She knew now what was bothering him, and her hopes that they could avoid the other mare in the room vanished like smoke. "Sweetie Bell." 

"Yeah. Sweetie Belle."  

While Spike had indeed grown into a fine young drake, his romantic game was sadly still stuck in his younger years. His hopeless pining for Rarity had given way to a developing crush on the fashion designer's younger sister. He hadn't told her yet. Hadn't wanted to risk hurting the bond shared by the Crusaders and the purple dragon. Their friendship that had lasted since childhood. So, he'd waited. And told no one. 

No one except his very best friend. 

"She doesn't have to know." Apple Bloom shrugged. "What happened here? It'll be our little secret. Just a... What do they call it? A moment of weakness." 

"But what if it's already too late for that?" 

"What d'ya mean?" 

"Well think about it, AB." Spike drained his ladle and looked up at the rafters. He spotted a lone owl quietly snoozing in the heat, waiting for the return of the blessed and cool night. "Say that I finally work up the nerve to tell Sweetie Belle how I feel. Don't you think she's going to notice something different between us?" 

"And why does anything have to be different between us?" Apple Bloom playfully punched his shoulder, the impact not denting his scaled muscles in the slightest. "So we fucked? So what? You really gonna treat me different now that you know what my 'O' face looks like?" She smirked. "Or that I know you like your tail bein' pulled?" 

"You've always pulled my tail." Spike muttered. 

"Yeah, but now I know you like when I do it." She stretched, popping her back. "You've given me that plus a whole bunch of new ways to mess with you. Combine that with a couple of toe-curlers? I'd say that this has been a pretty productive day, all things considered." 

Spike glanced at her. "A couple?" When she grinned and nodded, Spike felt that surge of pride again. And the beginning of another swell elsewhere. He cleared his throat and went to drown the thought, but his ladle was bone dry. "You don't think we've messed up?" 

"Nah. The way I see it? You're still months away from workin' up the nerve to even askin' Sweetie Belle out." 

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." He muttered. 

"Shut up. Like I was sayin,' you've got months before the first date. And almost a year before you make things official. So this, right here? Don't count as cheatin' or backstabbin' or whatever. Just two good friends gettin' a little hot under the collar and doin' somethin' about it." 

Spike laughed low in his throat. "You seem pretty confident that things will work out between us." 

"And why wouldn't they?" Apple Bloom tossed her ladle into the air and caught it on the way back down. "Mare would be crazy not to snatch you up. You're handsome. You're smart. You're kind and generous and loyal. You're funny. And, as I can now personally attest, you're a hell of a lay. You, my good dragon, are the complete and total package." 

It was hard to tell because of the scales, but Spike was indeed blushing. "Thanks, AB. That means a lot." He leaned over and tapped his shoulder against hers. "You're not too bad either." 

"Seriously?" Apple Bloom gave him her best deadpan stare. "I just said you were worthy of at least four of the Elements of Harmony, and the best you can give me back is 'not too bad?'" 

Spike laughed and waved her off. "Okay, fine. You're whip smart, you're hilarious, you're the best and most loyal friend a guy could ask for, and..." He paused. 

"Go on." She raised an eyebrow. "It's only fair." 

Spike buried his face in his hands so his reply was muffled. 

"Come again?" 

The dragon's eyes met hers. "I said 'your ass is amazing.'" 

She mock-pouted. "Aw. Just my ass?" 

They laughed together easily, the way only old friends can. Spike felt something behind him and spared a glance over his shoulder. "Uh... AB?" 

"Yeah?" Apple Bloom was idly examining the ladle in her hand. 

"Your tail." 

Apple Bloom froze and looked back. Sure enough, her vibrant red tail had subconsciously wrapped itself around Spike's scaly purple one. She gasped and pulled it away with both hands. "Sorry, sorry. That was weird. This shouldn't be weird." 

"It's okay." The dragon leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. "So... we never tell anyone about this?" 

"Not a soul." She nudged his shoulder until he looked at her, then held out her pinky finger in the timeless symbol of a solemn pact, one that almost all children seemed to know since birth. "Okay?" 

He smiled, then reached out and wrapped his own finger around hers. "Okay." 

Their appendages wrapped around their opposite number, tender flesh meeting tender flesh for the first time since their initial coupling. Their eyes met, and before they could stop themselves, they were kissing once again. Apple Bloom whined submissively as he pushed her back onto the hay bale, his hand sliding down her taut stomach, around her hips, and grabbing hold of the posterior he had just expressed such admiration for. He broke the kiss and looked down at her, at her hooded eyes and heaving chest. "Apple Bloom..." He whispered. "We..." 

"We just have to get it out of our system." She panted, wanting nothing more for him to stop talking and return his tongue to her mouth. "We leave it all here, in the barn. Tomorrow everything will be back to normal. We promised." 

Spike swallowed hard, nodded, and reached down to pull her shirt's first button free. 

They danced again, there on the hay bale. And again, on the straw covered floor. And again, against the wall. They drank and replenished themselves from the water barrel again and again. After their fourth dance, she filled a bucket with water and dumped it over her head. He laughed and followed suit. They laughed and they kissed and they danced again right there. Their world was the barn, the taste of each other's sweat, and the sweet song of breathless exultations. 

The sun was setting when their bodies decided there would be no more dancing. Each wanted nothing more than to lay there on their improvised bed of hay and blankets and doze, holding each other close. But they knew that would be too much. 

That was one line they couldn't cross today. 

So, they used the last of the water to rinse themselves of each other, dried with the blankets, dressed, and embraced. They said no more than to reiterate their promise that nothing was different now, that they were still the very best of friends. 

Spike paused at the barn's entrance, looked back at her once, smiled, and walked away. The heat was abating now, and a cool dusk awaited him for his walk home. 

Apple Bloom walked to the open door and leaned on the wall. She watched him go, and she held herself tightly. Every inch of her was screaming to cry out his name, to run after him and drag him back into their private world. To tell him the truth that she knew could destroy everything they had ever been. 

But his heart wasn't hers to claim. 

Apple Bloom knew something Spike didn't know. She knew that he had no reason to pine for Sweetie Belle in secret. The unicorn longed for the young dragon just as he longed for her. Soon, very soon, the two idiots would realize the truth and be revealed to one another. 

Which was why, in the heat of a summer's day, knowing that time was running out... Apple Bloom had taken her chance.  

A small, childish part of her had hoped that he might have a revelation of his own. That he would see the best friend beside him that wanted to be that and so much more. But his first concern after the deed was done had been Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom had smothered her broken heart in more love and even more sweat. He wasn't hers to have. She'd had her day, and she would have to be satisfied with that. 

"I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle." She whispered, feeling the sting of tears before they clouded her vision. "I didn't mean to fall in love with him." 

She would allow herself this one moment of weakness, she decided. As the tears fell and the sobs wracked her chest, she sank to the earth and wept for the pain of the days to come. She would make herself be happy for them. She would stay a loyal and true friend to them both, always. She would never say a word to either of them about this lone day of joy. It would remain here, in her heart. Her perfect single day of what might have been. She cried until she could cry no more, then stood and wiped her face clean. She took a deep breath, dusted herself off, and left the little world she and Spike had shared that day. She went up to the house, ate her supper, bid her family good-night, went to bed... 

...and dreamed.  

Because in dreams there was no guilt, no regret, no sadness. 

In dreams there was only her, and him, and their little world. 

And that would be enough. 

... 

It would have to be enough.