Spread

Chapter 22: The Comfort

“It ain’t fair, Big Mac,” Applejack groaned as she entered her house and saw him reading. “It ain’t fair.”

“Date didn’t go well?” he asked.

“It was squirmy, and Fluttershy just wants to be friends.”

“I’m sorry, AJ,” Big Mac said, setting the book down and going over to give his sister a hug. Applejack accepted it eagerly and sniffled.

“You had a lot ridin’ on this, didn’t you?” Big Mac asked.

“It was my one chance, Mac, and I blew it.” Applejack took a seat at the couch and put up her hooves on the coffee table. Big Mac sat down next to her.

“What do you think happened?” he asked.

“I didn’t wait long enough,” Applejack replied, staring at a picture on the wall of her and her friends. “She was still not in a good place to date, so I think I rushed it.”

“Are you sure that’s it?” Big Mac asked, causing Applejack to look at him.

“What are you saying?”

“Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Applejack sighed. “Are you really gonna play that card? Why do you think me and Fluttershy wouldn’t make a good couple?”

“Because you ain’t right for each other,” he explained. “She didn’t like you that way, so any relationship you’d have had with her wouldn’t have worked out. It’s like trying to bake a pie with apples and bananas. They just don’t go together.”

“You don’t know that,” Applejack said.

“Uh...have you tried eatin’ an apple and a banana at the same time?” Big Mac asked. “’Cause I have, and trust me, it ain’t to pleasin’ to the taste buds—”

“I mean you don’t know if Fluttershy and I would’ve worked out,” Applejack interjected with a laugh. “We had a really nice talk when Dash shot her down, and we were gettin’ along great. Ain’t that what makes a relationship work? That you can talk to one another?”

“That’s not all of it,” Big Mac said. “There’s gotta be that excited feeling between ya.”

“The what?”

“You really like Fluttershy, don’t ya?”

Applejack glared at him. “What kind of a question is that? Of course I do!”

“And do you think she really likes you back?”

Applejack hesitated, mulling over the question with doubt. Big Mac patted her on the back.

“That’s why you two wouldn’t have worked out,” Big Mac said.

“I...but…”

“No buts about it. If you ain’t got that excitement, you ain’t got nothing.”

“Dammit,” Applejack said with a groan. “I suppose you’ve got a point. Well, is there a way to get that spark to happen?”

“You can’t just make it happen,” Big Mac explained. “It’s gotta be there from the start.”

“And how do you know? Can’t two ponies learn to love each other?”

“Sometimes, I guess,” Big Mac said, rubbing Applejack’s back. “But just look at Twilight and Rarity. I’ve been talkin’ to Spike, who spent a lot of time with both of them. Twilight liked Rarity for a long time, and he hated to admit he could feel the same comin’ from her. The Cakes always talk about how they had those excitin’ feelin’s before Carrot even found the courage to ask Cup out.”

Applejack stared at the floor, sniffling again.

“I know it’s hard to hear,” Big Mac said, “but sometimes there ain’t anythin’ you can do about it. Best to just move on at this point.”

“After one shot? What if I don’t wanna move on?”

“Applejack,” Big Mac grumbled, his voice rising, “if you keep pesterin’ that poor mare, you’re only gonna drive her away. I still can’t talk to that filly I pestered in grade school ’cause I couldn’t learn to accept no for an answer.”

“Oh yeah, I remember her,” Applejack recalled. “What was her name?”

“Not important,” Big Mac quickly stated. “All I know is that if you want to stay friends with Fluttershy, you’re gonna have to let this go. And who knows? Maybe she’ll come around someday, but until then I wouldn’t wait for her. When you do find somepony that you love, that mare’s gonna be very lucky.”

“You’re just sayin’ that,” Applejack grumbled.

“Hey, how do ya think I got that date with Cheerilee? Not by mopin’ around.”

“Okay, Mac. I guess I’ll have to think about it.”

“Good enough for me. Now we should probably go off to bed. Waitin’ up for you got me beat.”

“Thanks again for doin’ that,” Applejack said. “Maybe a part of me knew this would happen and that I’d need my big brother to help me out.”

“Maybe,” Big Mac said, “but I would’ve waited up for ya even if ya didn’t ask for it.”

“Har har, very funny,” Applejack said, jabbing Big Mac in the side. Big Mac smiled, and the two of them walked up the stairs and into their respective bedrooms to get some much needed shut-eye.

Spike and Pinkie were laughing as they left the restaurant. The disappointing news about Applejack and Fluttershy aside, they were instead focusing on Pinkie’s numerous pranks she had pulled over the years.

“And did I ever tell you about the one where I hid Maud’s pet rock under my bed?”

Spike stopped laughing. “Uh...that seems kind of bland.”

“I was five.”

“Oh…well, what happened.”

“Nothing,” Pinkie said, shrugging her shoulders. “She was stony-faced as usual.”

“You mean ‘stone-faced,’ right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Pinkie said. She started fidgeting as the two of them made their way for the library to drop Spike off.

“You’re all twitchy,” Spike noted. “What’s up?”

“Nothing!” Pinkie blurted. “Everything’s fine, all good here.”

“No it’s not,” Spike said, stopping and turning Pinkie’s head so she was looking at him. “What’s going on?”

“Can we talk about this in the library?” Pinkie asked, glancing around to see if anypony was listening to them.

“Okay,” Spike said. “Twilight and Rarity might be doing...things, but we can stay downstairs and it should be fine.”

“Twilight and...Rarity,” Pinkie said with a sigh. “Okay, that’s fine.”

“So did I ever tell you about the one where I swapped Twilight’s ink with invisible ink?”

“Uh-huh,” Pinkie said, not even looking at him as they continued to walk. Spike fell silent, and the two of them remained uncomfortable all the way to the library. When they finally entered, they could hear murmuring going on upstairs.

“Doesn’t that bother you?” Pinkie asked all of a sudden. “We obviously know what they’re doing up there. Twilight’s muffling spell doesn’t block everything out.”

“Why would that bother me?” Spike inquired.

“Well, it’s…” Pinkie hesitated. She took a deep breath. “It’s about Rarity.”

“Rarity?”

“Am I...am I a silver medal?”

“What are you talking about?”

Pinkie stared at Spike desperately. “Am I some kind of second-place trophy?”

“What? Of course not, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Well, you clearly liked Rarity first and me second, so that kinda makes me second-place, right?”

“What’s gotten into you?” Spike asked, brushing aside Pinkie’s bangs. He could see the fear in her bright blue eyes.

“I know we’ve been dating for a while,” Pinkie said, “and you’ve been super fantastic to me. But I know how much you liked her, and I feel like when she was snatched up you kinda just fell into me instead.”

“Oh, I see,” Spike said. “Well...I guess I was so fixated on Rarity that I didn’t even know how I felt about you until it hit me. But that doesn’t make you a silver medal.”

“You’ve never given me a gem,” Pinkie said flatly like a zombie.

“What?”

“You gave Rarity that beautiful ruby, and I got squat.”

“Pinkie, this isn’t about some stupid gem,” Spike said. “Obviously you don’t know how much you mean to me, or you wouldn’t be talking like this. Am I doing something wrong?”

“No, of course not! You’ve been so nice to me. It’s just…” Pinkie groaned. “I’m so...gah! I don’t even know what to say!”

“Shh…” Spike hushed her, planting a soft kiss on her lips. She was tense, but she began to loosen up under Spike’s touch. He pulled away and stared into her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Sorry for what?” Pinkie asked timidly.

“I’m sorry for not showing you how much I care about you.”

“I said it wasn’t about that—”

“No no,” Spike said, planting a finger on her lips. “No more talking. Let’s go sit down and be with each other, and I promise you’ll feel better.”

Spike led Pinkie over to the couch and sat her down. He cuddled up with her, and the two of them shut their eyes.

“This came so suddenly,” Spike said. “How long have you been feeling this way?”

“From the beginning,” Pinkie replied.

“Unacceptable. From now on, I don’t want you to think like that. You’re even better than taking home the gold medal.”

“Better than a blue ribbon?”

“Absolutely,” Spike said, “and don’t let anypony tell you otherwise.”

As the two remained seated listening casually to the muffled cries of Twilight and Rarity from upstairs, they shut their eyes and lay with one another. They could easily fall asleep in that position, and sleep they did. Spike hoped that in the morning Pinkie would feel better. He didn’t know what he would do if she was still upset.

Things are gonna be okay, he thought to himself peacefully.