The Heart of a Dragon
By FluttershyLover55
6-2-13
It was a nice day in Ponyville. This was the first day in a while that it wasn't raining non-stop. As you can imagine, everypony was out and about,enjoying the beautiful sunlight brought forth by Equestria's own Princess Celestia.The little purple and green dragon known as Spike was taking a stroll around Ponyville, having finished his chores, and earning the rest of the day off. When Spike took a walk by himself, it was usually because he had something on his mind. Sometimes, he would talk to his closest friend, Twilight Sparkle. That wouldn't work this time, though. Twilight WAS his problem and source of confusion. Spike had stopped chasing Rarity a few months ago, tired of being ignored most of the time. He just wasn't feeling it. Whatever love felt like, that certainly wasn't it.
Spike concluded that it must have been lust. Spike had read a few books that he accidentally stumbled across in the library(In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have read them) that described the emotion he was feeling exactly. Recently, he had begun to get these strange feelings around Twilight. It was probably about a month ago that they had first appeared, and they had been just about the only thing that he could think about since. They were the main source of his current confusion.
Today was Friday, and Spike figured that it was as good a day as any to get to the bottom of why he felt this way. The feelings were very similar to the ones that he had felt for Rarity, but somehow different. The baby dragon and unicorn had been living together since as far back as he could remember. I mean, she was practically his mother! They were best friends, but Spike felt that they should become something more. What was he saying?!
"Wait! That's it! Maybe this new emotion is love! That's the only explanation that seems to make sense."
Spike pictured his solution. He'd walk right into the library and tell her that he loved her!
"Something tells me that that wouldn't work out so well. This is a big decision! It'll change our relationship forever. I need to investigate."
Spike decided to learn more about love before rushing into things. The dragon realized that the best place to start would be asking his friends. Most of his friends had been around longer than he had, so they were bound to know some valuable info about his predicament.
"Detective Spike to the rescue!"
Spike's stomach voiced it's disapproval with a loud growl. He looked down at it before glancing up at the sun briefly. He gasped. While he had been walking lost in his thoughts, the orb had silently risen, now floating lazily in the center of the sky. No wonder he was hungry! It was lunchtime!
"But first, I'll get some donuts."
Spike went on his way headed towards a small building with a round metal donut sign beside it, promoting Pony Joe's donut store. Pony Joe had recently opened a new shop in Ponyville to add to the other store in Canterlot. As expected, Spike was his number one customer. After he had left, a mare rose up out of the shadows and bush that she had been hiding in.
"So, Spike has a love problem does he? This could be interesting..." The pony faded back into the shadows stealthily in pursuit of him, her curly pink mane waving in the breeze.
"Hey, Spike. How's it goin'?" The owner of the store answered as the bell above the door rang, announcing the arrival of the dragon.
Spike's feet slapped against the black and white checkered floor as he traveled over to the counter and took a seat on one of the bar stools.
"Sup' Joe. I'm good, I guess."
Joe's expression changed to one of concern, curious about his regular customer's strange attitude.
"You don't sound good. Is something on your mind?"
"I guess you could say that. I have a little bit of a problem."
"Care to tell me about it?"
Joe tried to pick his words carefully. From Spike's expression, he could tell that whatever was troubling him made him uncomfortable. The stallion waited patiently for the dragon's reply;Spike would tell him when he was ready. The pony left and returned with a plate of donuts topped with extra sprinkles, just the way that Spike liked them. He sensed that this might take awhile. Spike took a deep breath and exhaled a loud sigh. He was more stressed than he realized. Spike would probably need to visit Lotus and Aloe's spa once this was all over.
The dragon looked up from fiddling with his claws(A habit from being nervous) and his gaze fell on the plate of delectable treats in front of him. He reached out and grabbed one in his hand and took a bite out of it. This seemed to help him relax a bit, giving him the strength to continue. To be honest, the little dragon was slightly embarassed.
"Well, basically I have a girl problem."
Joe's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Oh, really? I didn't know that you had a girlfriend, Spike!"
"I don't. I've never really had one..." Spike trailed off. This, THIS is what made him embarassed.
"Oh. Is that your problem? Or do you have your eyes set on somepony?"
"I...uh, kind of think that I like somepony. But, I don't know much about love or how to even tell her." The dragon finished his donut. "Listen, I was wondering er...you've been around longer than I have and I was thinking surely you'd know something about love."
"I don't know how to put this, but I don't know much about this love business either. I have been in quite a few relationships over the years, but I'm afraid I can't help you. Thing is, love isn't something you can define, you just feel it. I'm not sure that anypony knows much about it. I think that you're best bet is to talk to someone more on the feminine side."
Joe glanced apologetically at Spike.
"Thanks anyway, Pony Joe. How much do I owe ya'?" Spike reached to pull out some bits, but Pony Joe raised a hoof to stop him.
"It's on the house.Good luck Spike, I hope you find what you're looking for!" He called as the dragon exited the establishment.
As soon as the doors closed behind him, the dragon was pulled into the shadows beside the building. Spike turned to his assailant. He noticed her as one of his close friends.
"Pinkie Pie?!"
There was no mistaking her. The pink mare was wearing her detective outfit from when she solved the mystery of what had become of the cake she was guarding. Pinkie debated on the best way to tell someone that you had been stalking them all morning, and decided to just go with a simple greeting.
"Hi Spike!" Pinkie greeted, as cheerful as ever with a wide grin.
"Hi Pinkie. Uh, why did you pull me into the shadows with you?" Spike was slightly aggravated as he had his own problems to deal with.
"So we could talk in private, silly!" Pinkie explained, acting as if it was obvious.
"Uh, ok. What's so important?"
"It's you!"
Spike was used to the party pony's randomness by now, but that didn't mean that he would understand her anytime soon.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Pinkie decided to treat this situation like removing a band-aid and get it over with as quick as possible.
"I've been following you all morning and couldn't help but notice that you seem to have a love problem!" She blurted out, quickly covering her mouth with a hoof.
"Wait. You've been stalking me?!" Spike was horrified.
"Don't worry! I do that to everypony!"
"Uhh...that's really creepy," Spike shuddered and took a step away from Pinkie.
"If you want to know about love, it's a warm fuzzy feeling! For example, I can tell that you love Twilight!" Pinkie revealed.
"What! I mean, of course I love Twilight. She's like family to me!" Spike was sweating profusely;he knew he was fighting a battle that he couldn't win.
"I meant as more than that," Pinkie winked, "Don't worry, you're secret's safe with me!"
Spike slumped in defeat.
"Alright, you got me. Go ahead and laugh."
"I'm not going to laugh at you! I just want to help you! Here's some advice: Tell her! It's not like she'll be mad at you!"
"Thanks Pinkie,you're right!"
Spike looked up, but she was gone. The dragon could never figure out how she disappeared so fast. It's like she was teleporting. In the span of the previous events, the sun was beginning to set. Spike hurried back to the library. Twilight would be worried if he hadn't returned by nightfall. Upon entering the library, it was messy as usual. Whenever the lavender unicorn was studying, she would turn the whole library upside down looking for the right books and leave Spike to pick up after her.
There were books and scrolls scattered on the floor everywhere and in the center of it all were three hefty stacks of books and a few scrolls. The tip of Twilight's horn could just barely be seen over the top of the book fort. The little dragon maneuvered through the obstacle course, being careful not to trip over the mess. After a few minutes of this, he finally reached the desk that the librarian was sitting at. He peered around the fort at her;she was staring at a scroll completely absorbed in her studies. She probably hadn't even noticed him.
"Hey, Twilight! I'm back."
No answer.
"I know one way to get her attention," Spike chuckled at his plan.
He tapped a round golden container of ink with his claw, causing it to spin and about tip over. The noise caused Twilight to jump, snapping her out of her trance. She looked up, and noticed her assistant standing to the side.
"Hey, Spike. When did you come in?"
Twilight's eyes were blood shot and her mane was sticking up in various places.
"I just got back."
Spike wondered if she had even eaten anything since breakfast.
"I'm glad that you haven't been waiting TOO long."
Spike was getting nervous, as the moment had come.It was time to tell her how he really felt about her. He never was good with this sort of thing.
"I...uh, Twilight,there's something I need to tell you."
Twilight could tell from his tone of voice that this was a serious matter. Spike was never THIS serious. She hoped nothing was wrong.
"Yes, Spike?"
"I...I...I love you, Twilight."
"I love you too, Spike."
Twilight trotted up and hugged the baby dragon. Spike backed away a little.
"No, I meant love love you..." Spike was now fiddling with his claws, staring at the floor.
He was afraid of her reaction.He didn't know if he could handle rejection. Right now, he was acting like Fluttershy.
"No! That's enough! It's time to pony up!" Spike mentally chided himself and gained some courage.
He looked up at Twilight, who had a questioning look on her face. Spike decided to show her what he had meant. Spike approached the unicorn and Twilight seemed to know what he was doing, and leaned down towards him. Their lips met and fireworks went off in their heads. Spike was surprised that Twilight kissed back, and they parted for air.
"That was amazing! So, does this mean...that we're together now?"
"What do you think?"Twilight replied, sarcasticly.
"So, what now?"
Twilight glanced out the window and noticed the moon in the sky.
"First, I think we need to get you to bed. You are a baby dragon, after all. We can clean this up in the morning."
Twilight grabbed Spike in her magical grip, surrounding him in a magenta aura. She trotted upstairs, carrying the dragon with her and dropping him into her bed.
"You're sleeping with me,tonight!" Twilight explained, as she got in the bed with him."You're my number one assistant."
As they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, Spike was finally stress-free and happy. Their relationship may have changed, but it was for the best. Spike chuckled, as he realized how wrong "sleeping with Twilight" sounded. This day had turned out way better than expected. Everything was A-ok. Whatever challenges tomorrow would throw their way, they would face them together.
Author's Note
Not much to say other than enjoy!
