Spike’s mind couldn’t have been more cluttered. His mind revolved around thoughts of Rarity and the day he spent with her. He enjoyed being with her, she made him forget about most of his troubles. He also couldn’t keep the thought of their goodbye. His face was red the entire way home and when he arrived back in the Library, Twilight was convinced that he was sick and tried to persuade him to let her use a new spell to reverse his symptoms. Spike eventually had to tell Twilight about Rarity kissing his cheek or risk being tested on by Twilight. When she realized that he was blushing because of Rarity, Twilight rolled her eyes and stormed up to her room, mumbling about how Spike was wasting her time with his love life. He knew she was only upset about not being able to test a new spell, but it still made him feel like he was starting to annoy Twilight with his feelings for Rarity.

“Spike! Are you even listening to me?” Twilight’s irritated voice snapped Spike back to reality. Spike had agreed to help her with new transformation spells. He was holding a trombone in his hands steadily. Twilight was attempting to change the trombone into a tuba, but so far was managing to turn the trombone into a giant pretzel of brass. Spike had looked down and saw that the trombone that he was holding only moments before was now coiled and knotted around his body tightly.

“Oi, Twilight! What the hell did you do?” Spike asked as he looked from his entrapped body then back to the Unicorn Blooded bookworm, his voice feigning irritation and confusion. Twilight rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her hip.

“If you were paying attention, you would have heard me yell at you to let go of the trombone, Spike!” she scolded him as she began to use her magic to uncoil the instrument from around his body. Twilight’s magic was similar to Rarity’s in the shimmering aura, however Twilight’s magic was deep magenta in color. Twilight had been practicing magic since Spike could remember by the guidance of Princess Celestia. He was around Twilight all of his life, being raised next to her and her older brother Shining Armor by their parents. In the early years of his life, he always thought he too was a Unicorn Blood that had just a little bit more trouble accessing his talent for Unicorn magic. It wasn’t until he started breathing fire when he burped after eating that he realized he wasn’t a Unicorn Blood. That had been the start of his disdain for Dragon Bloods. He soon realized that there weren’t very many Dragon Bloods in Canterlot, and the ones that he encountered where criminals. Spike realized at that point what he was; a monstrous Dragon Blood.

“How do you even manage to do this with a trombone, Twi?” he asked her, stretching his arms when the trombone had released him.

“I must have read the spell wrong or something…” Twilight muttered under her breath as she studied the condition of the brass instrument. “Well on the bright side, there’s no way that Pinkie Pie is going to play this trombone again,” she inquired, still looking at the trombone, examining the damage that she had caused.

Spike rolled his eyes as Twilight continued to rant about the properties of instrument transformation. He merely shook his head as he took the misshapen trombone into his hands, intending to return the piece of junk to Pinkie Pie. Not even Twilight’s magic dilemmas could make him stop thinking about Rarity.

Spike walked down the streets of Ponyville with the busted trombone in his hands, receiving odd looks from everyone he passed, but they realized it was only Spike carrying an instrument. Though he was used to that treatment in Canterlot, he wasn’t used to getting stared at in Ponyville. The residents of Ponyville had come to accept him for what he was” a Dragon Blood. No one was scared of him anymore. He was just the Librarian’s apprentice who came from Canterlot six years ago with Twilight Sparkle. When he had first come to Ponyville, things were much different. He couldn’t walk into a store without Twilight in fear of his greedy blood dictating him to steal and rampage the entire vicinity. He and Twilight both knew that the claim against him was false and unjust, but as the years went on, the more the people of Ponyville could see that he was not just some greedy thief. At least, that’s what they thought now. Sometimes, Spike still felt like he was a greedy Dragon Blood. He hated it. There were no good sides of being a Dragon Blood.

Spike headed down to Main Street Ponyville where he knew he could find Pinkie Pie. He walked casually down the street, occasionally getting a greeting from all of the other people he knew. He waved back with a toothy smile and continued down to Sugarcube Corner. He spotted the bakery and braced himself for whatever Pinkie Pie had to throw at him, whether it be literal or not.

“Hello? Pinkie Pie?” Spike called as he entered the shop, looking around to try and find the pink haired employee, “I’ve got your… er...” he paused, trying to find the right words, “trombone… or what used to be your trombone!”

“Coming!” Spike heard a sing-song from the stairs followed by an onslaught of stomps. He saw his curly haired friend wearing an apron with the words “SUGARCUBE CORNER” emblazoned with pink and blue letters with just a few too many sparkles on it. Her bubblegum pink hair was pulled back in a ponytail, creating a huge mess of curls behind her head. Pinkie was covered with what seemed to be a combination of flour, chocolate and pink frosting which only made Spike chuckle. It was so typical of Pinkie Pie to be coated with baking ingredients when she was working either from her hard work or a massive disaster that had just happened in the kitchen.

Pinkie Pie spotted Spike holding her instrument and she gasped, running down the stairs a bit faster, nearly tripping on the way. She jumped over the counter with ease as she charged towards Spike. He flinched slightly, waiting for impact, but it never came.

“Is this what’s left of my trombone?” Pinkie exclaimed as she took the brass instrument in her arms as she seemingly cradled it in her arms as if it were her own child.

“Yeah… Twilight’s transformation spell backfired and started to attack me,” Spike avoided Pinkie’s eyes as he rubbed the back of his neck, adding a chuckle to try and lighten the mood.

“Now Mr. Trombone, that was not a nice thing to do to Spike,” Pinkie addressed the broken trombone as if it were alive, something Spike was used to. She regularly gave certain personalities to inanimate objects. “Say you’re sorry, Mr. Trombone!” she frowned and scolded the instrument. “I’m sorry for putting you in mortal danger and possibly causing you permanent mental trauma, Spike.” Pinkie said in a deep voice, waving the trombone at Spike as if it were addressing Spike directly.

“Oh come on Pinkie,” Spike huffed as he looked at her, indicating that he didn’t want to speak to the trombone. Pinkie responded silently, sticking her bottom lip out and widening her eyes in a desperate way. Spike rolled his eyes, feeling ridiculous for talking to the trombone.

“I forgive you, Mr. Trombone,” Spike said with the slightest bit of irritation in his voice. Pinkie Pie giggled and threw the trombone over her shoulder, causing a loud bang that didn’t seem to faze her in the slightest. Spike watched with his mouth slightly open and a look of confusion across his face.

“Meh, I never really liked playing the trombone anyway,” Pinkie shrugged off her action as if nothing was wrong. “What else can I do for you, Spike?”

“I just stopped over to drop that off,” Spike responded, already heading out the door to go back to the Library.

“So you aren’t doing anything right now then, huh?” Pinkie asked him, tilting her head to the side.

“Well actually, I was about to--” he started to say until he was interrupted by Pinkie Pie suddenly shoving a large box in his hands.

“Good! I’m on an extra super-duper tight schedule and I was wondering if you could deliver this to Fluttershy? It’s a carrot cake for Angel’s birthday,” said Pinkie, grinning widely.

“Ah that makes sense. Are you not going to do this party Pinkie?” Spike asked as he set down the cake in fear of dropping it and earning an assault of cupcakes by Pinkie.

“Oh I’m decorating this party after work. I won’t have much time, but that’s exactly why I have my Party Cannon!” she declared excitedly, pulling the cannon out of nowhere, patting it proudly.

“Heh, I guess so. Well I guess I’ll see you later then, Pinkie Pie, “ Spike waved for the last time before exiting with the cake in hand.

The walk to Fluttershy’s Cottage wasn’t too far from Sugarcube, just outside of downtown Ponyville. He always enjoyed Fluttershy’s company mostly because she was one of the few who wasn’t scared of him when he first came to Ponyville. She was kind and even interested in him, being that he was the only Dragon Blood she had met. When he wasn’t with Twilight, he would usually go over to Fluttershy’s cottage to help her with the animals. Once Spike got past Fluttershy’s shyness, she opened up to him instantly. He eventually even told her his life story from beginning to present, something he hadn’t told anyone besides Twilight. Fluttershy even knew about his strong feelings about Rarity and Spike trusted Fluttershy more than he could trust most people.

“Hey Fluttershy,” Spike said as he knocked on the wooden door, setting the cake down on the ground.

“Oh hi Spike. I didn’t expect to see you today,” Fluttershy said as she opened the door just a crack to see who it was. She pulled the door wider to let him in. Her slightly curled, light pink hair that slightly covered one eye by her bangs was let down her back in between her feathery pale yellow wings. He always liked looking at her wings because they were so different than his own. At one point, he even asked if he could touch them, and she had agreed on the terms that she could touch his. The wings were plush but at the same time strong. Fluttershy had described his as strong and durable and scaly. He hadn’t really responded to that comment but had made a sound between a snort and a “hmm”.

“Pinkie Pie sent me over to drop off this cake for Angel,” he nodded as he entered the small cottage and placed the box on the dining table. He pulled up a seat and sat down, waiting for Fluttershy to come and join him.

“Oh thank you Spike,” Fluttershy smiled as she looked inside of the box to look at the cake. She pushed it aside abit and looked at Spike, observing him. “What’s wrong, Spike?”

Spike looked up and shook his head, “nothing’s wrong, Fluttershy. Why would you thing that?” Spike asked her, resting on the back of his chair, not making eye contact with her.

“I’ve known you pretty long Spike. I know when you don’t look at me directly; something is on your mind, so you might as well tell me.” Fluttershy said confidently to her friend as Spike cursed himself for having such an observant friend. He nodded and sighed slightly, this time making contact with her deep turquois eyes.

“It’s nothing really… just the same you know with Rarity and all…” his voice trailed off slightly as he saw the knowing look on Fluttershy’s face. “But this time it’s about the age difference, Fluttershy. I’m practically the same age as Sweetie Belle and I’m afraid that she’ll only see me as… a kid.” Spike added quickly to give Fluttershy some context to his woe.

Fluttershy nodded as she listened to the draconic teen, her eyes never leaving his. When he finally finished telling her what was on his mind, she closed her eyes as if to process all the information he had just given her.

“Spike,” Fluttershy started quietly, “I think you and I both know that once you turn 18, Rarity will have a hard time looking at you as just a kid. In fact, I’d be surprised if she still thinks you’re a kid, Spike,” she put her chin on her hand to rest it there.

“Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle is 16. I’m barely a year older than her,” Spike said with a low growl, “do you even think Rarity could look at me without seeing someone the same age as her sister? I’m not trying to lower my chances, but it’s just a fact, Fluttershy.”

“Spike, even if Rarity sees you as a kid, why would that little detail make a difference?” Fluttershy asked him, straitening up in her seat. Spike knew that Fluttershy was supportive of Spike and wanted the two to get together. Even before Spike had confided in her, Fluttershy had been thinking about the prospect of Spike and Rarity being a couple.

“What if I don’t want to be seen as a kid, Fluttershy?” Spike huffed heavily, grey smoke fumed from his nostrils as he did so. “I want to be an adult to her... Rarity deserves a man,” he slumped in his seat with his brow furrowed in frustration.

“Well then show her that you’re serious about being a man,” Fluttershy burst out, standing up with her hands on the table and causing her chair behind her to fall over. She blushed and quickly picked up the chair, sitting in it with her hands in her lap, her hair covering her face a bit. “You know… if you really want to…” she said quietly, a blush visible on the bit of skin that he could see on her face.

“You know Fluttershy… that’s not a bad idea,” Spike sat up and his mood suddenly perked up. Fluttershy had a point; if he could show Rarity that he wasn’t a kid, his chances would go up. He nearly squeezed the life out of Fluttershy when hugging her. She made a sort of squeaking sound before Spike realized how hard he was hugging his friend.

“Before you go, can you give this dog food to Applejack for Winona? You know… if it isn’t any trouble…” she asked quietly while indicating a large bag of dog food. Spike nodded as he picked it up with ease and with more confidence than he had before.

Spike carried the sack over his shoulder while walking to Sweet Apple Acres, noticing that the sky got just a little bit brighter. Spike smiled to himself, wondering how he could possibly do that.

Spike reached Sweet Apple Acres with the bag still in hand. He didn’t wait for invitation to go in the property because he knew that the Apple Family wouldn’t mind. He scanned the visible area for any sign of Applejack. He noticed that her older brother, Big Macintosh was out by a nearby apple tree with a wheelbarrow. Spike stopped in his tracks to watch him kick the tree with his foot, causing the apples to come down towards the ground into the wheelbarrow. Earth Bloods may not have wings or magic like Unicorn Bloods or Pegasus Bloods, but they were gifted with extraordinary physical ability. Though the Apple Family’s methods of harvesting were somewhat unconventional, kicking the tree rather than using a latter to pick each fruit off one by one was much faster. From what Spike knew, each member of the Apple family was trained in martial arts, then those skills were applied to apple picking. Spike admired the persistence that the Apple Family had when it came to finding the best way to harvest apples.

“Oi Big Mac, is Applejack here?” Spike called out to Big Mac. Big Macintosh looked up from his work and waved to Spike with a small smile, his bright orange hair messily covering his eyes a bit.

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh said in his signature deep voice as he shook his head. Spike sighed to himself knowing that figuring out where exactly Applejack was would be difficult.

“You know where she is?” Spike asked again, walking closer to Big Macintosh to avoid yelling any more.

“Nope,” Big Macintosh said, returning to his work, kicking the tree again to get some of the remained on the branches of the trees.

“I thought I heard ya callin’ for me Spike,” a very southern voice came from behind Spike. He turned around to find his friend Applejack smiling at him. She was wearing her usual work attire which consisted of worn out jeans, a yellow and red plaid button down shirt that was rolled up past her elbows and a brown cowboy hat. Her golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail with her bangs covering her forehead at a slant. Applejack’s face and arms were streaked with mud and grass stains, something that was very typical of Applejack.

“Hey there Applejack,” Spike said as he walked the other way towards her, “Fluttershy asked me to drop off this food off for Winona.”

“Well gee, that was mighty kind of ya Spike,” Applejack smiled as she pat him on the shoulder. Just as Spike was going to brush off the comment and say he was just being helpful, he was cut short by the sound of barking a dog who knew that her food had just arrived.

Winona leaped onto Spike, catching him off guard and knocking him over. He was assaulted by Winona’s tongue lapping all over his face as he tried to get the dog off of him.

“Winona! That’s no way to treat our guests,” Applejack said as she scolded the dog. Winona barked and happily trotted over to Applejack, her tail wagging behind her. “Sorry ‘bout that Spike, Winona here doesn’t usually jump on anyone except anyone in the Apple Family,” Applejack laughed as she adjusted her hat.

“Don’t worry about it Applejack,” Spike said as he stood up, wiping off the dog slobber that came from Winona, trying to find a way to get it off of his hands. “I was just taken by surprise is all, I’m fine.”

“Like I said, it’s mighty nice of ya to drop this off for Winona here, Spike. If you need anything from me, just give me a holler,” Applejack gave Spike the thumbs up as he headed out from the farm. Spike did want to talk to Applejack for a little bit, but he figured that she was busy with work.

Spike walked down back to downtown Ponyville, his hands in his pockets and his head looking towards the ground. He didn’t really pay attention to where he was going because his mind was still focused on what Fluttershy had said to him. How could he show Rarity that he was a man instead of a kid. Different ideas popped into his head all at once, but Spike couldn’t find the best one. He sighed and looked up to the sky as if it would give him all the answers that he needed.

Spike finally got back to the Library, the sun now very high in the sky. He opened the door to the entrance to see Twilight with another person who’s back was turned to him. He coughed a bit to make Twilight look up and see him.

“Oh Spike! I’m glad you decided to show up,” Twilight said without the slightest bit of resentment, though he knew she was irritated with him.

“Er… Twilight? Who are you talking to?” Spike asked her, eyeing the person who’s back was still towards him.

“Heh, you don’t recognize me huh, Spikester,” the person said, finally turning around to face Spike.

“No way,” Spike breathed as he looked at the face of who it was that called him that name, his mouth open in shock.

Author's Note

FINALLY GOT THIS IN.
I meant to upload this faster, but I broke my finger so it's really difficult to type fast.

So not much Sparity in this chapter but more of a filler chapter. It was meant to be a bit longer, but I wanted to get it out and my finger hurts.

Cliche cliffhanger, but I was so sick of being so slow.

Flames accepted, critiques accepted.