To readers who finished the former Chapter 8 before 29 January 2015,

This chapter comprises the revised second part of the old Chapter 8 (now chapters 10 and 11). It is not new to the story.

School passed slowly the next day as they reviewed old material. Sweetie’s impatience wasn’t helped at all during recess by the usual pink and gray bullies who made it a point to be as conspicuous as possible, watching the Crusaders play kickball and laughing any time somepony scored against them or one of them kicked the ball out of bounds. The two burst into a veritable fit of headache-inducing nasal laughter when Sweetie Belle tripped and face-planted while dribbling the ball.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo rushed to make sure she was okay, and Scootaloo nearly marched over and gave the bullies a piece of her mind, but Sweetie Belle stopped her. She honestly just felt better knowing that her friends cared, and she didn’t want to see conflict escalate between the feisty pegasus and Diamond Tiara plus Silver Spoon. Besides, very soon, school would be out for Summer break, and contact with the snobbish duo would mercifully be minimized.

The day finished with a test and free reading time, during which Sweetie attempted to focus on Twilight’s copy of Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Meaning Matters Most. Sweetie had quickly gotten quite comfortable with the heavy reading assignments and found them rather enlightening.

This book was a bit more advanced, but she only needed the dictionary three or four times and had to ask Ms. Cheerilee for help with a just few parts before class let out. The little unicorn was rewarded with her teacher’s praise and the satisfaction of hearing Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon gasp and scoff when Ms. Cheerilee told her that she was reading at an academy level. Her friends giggled at their reaction and hoof bumped Sweetie which, all in all, made up for the duo’s jeering laughter earlier, she thought.

Despite their relaxed class schedule so close to the end of the school year, Sweetie was eager to get going at the final bell. Bidding her friends farewell, she paused for only a minute. “I’ve got someplace to be today and I’d like to get there as soon as I can.” The little unicorn looked to Apple Bloom and leaned closer. “Maybe you could fill Scootaloo in someplace you won’t be overheard,” Sweetie spoke just loud enough to be heard at close range over the shuffling of students as they left the schoolhouse. Apple Bloom nodded, and Sweetie ran off with a wave and a, “See you two later!”

A minute later, the unicorn slowed to make sure she hadn’t been followed, and, assured that she hadn’t, she continued to the library. To Sweetie’s dismay, Fluttershy hadn't yet arrived. Twilight was also absent. Just as well, she thought. She really wanted to speak to Fluttershy first, anyway. The little filly considered paying her cottage a visit, but didn’t recall Twilight having lifted the restriction on meeting there unsupervised. Before she could decide whether to risk the attempt, a familiar voice greeted her. “Heya, Sweetie Belle!”

The unicorn turned to see Spike who’d paused to greet her while he carried a stack of books to be returned to their shelves. “Oh, hello, Spike,” she answered distractedly.

“If you're looking for Twilight, she’s off at flight practice. There are only a couple of weeks left before she has to perform that special trick for the Summer Sun Celebration,” Spike explained.

Sweetie only half listened. “I’m actually ... looking for somepony else, right now.”

“Oh. You probably mean Fluttershy, right?” the little dragon sounded confident.

Suddenly Sweetie’s attention focused on him. “H-how did you know?”

“Well ... you two have been hanging out together here a lot lately, not to mention—” Spike stopped himself abruptly. “Uh ... never mind.”

Sweetie was onto him, and, after what happened with Applejack, she wasn’t about to risk letting this go. “Spike,” Sweetie’s expression was serious, “What were you about to say?”

The sudden intensity of the filly’s gaze unnerved the young library assistant. “I—I, uh ... you see ... Twilight told me not to ... well ... I mean, I’ve seen you both around a lot lately ... is all,” he lied. “I, um ... I'll just get back to cleaning up around here.”

As Sweetie approached him, scrutinizing his expression, Spike set down the books he was carrying in spite of what he'd said. “Twilight told you what exactly?” Sweetie looked around and saw the library empty except for the two of them. Spike swallowed and said nothing. “Spike ... what is it you’re not telling me?” she interrogated.

Spike nearly had his back against the book-lined wall, but the unicorn had only gotten closer. The little dragon shut his eyes, mustered his courage against her gaze, and planted himself firmly. The two were nearly snout to snout when he spoke. “I—I can’t say,” he insisted, “not even to you. ... I gave Twilight my word.”

Sweetie pursed her lips and squinted before reaching her conclusion, then leaned, wide-eyed, toward him, so their snouts touched. “So ... you know?”

Spike’s eyes shifted. Despite his best effort, he wavered. It was Sweetie Belle, after all, he reasoned. He nodded.

Sweetie Belle fell back suddenly to sit on her haunches. He knew, but at least he seemed to take their privacy seriously, she thought. “Did ... Twilight tell you anything?” Sweetie asked.

The little dragon shook his head.

Despite the confirmation that the alicorn was trustworthy, it didn’t help ease Sweetie’s anxiety. They’d been so careful, yet more and more ponies, er ... people, were in on their secret. “Did you ... spy on us?” Sweetie looked at Spike accusingly, thinking about Applejack and concerned that, if even Twilight’s shielding hadn’t been enough, then there was no safety for their secret.

“N-no. Listen, Sweetie. I just,” the purple and green dragon hesitated, seemed nervous for a second before continuing. “Sweetie Belle, you and I, we, uh ... actually have a lot in common.” Sweetie waited for further explanation. “I-if ... if I tell you something, will you promise to keep it a secret?”

“Well, I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I couldn’t return the favor, would I?” Sweetie thought out loud, and something clicked. He must be about to tell her ...

“I ... have a crush ... on your sister.”

Of course. It made sense now. “Ohh,” Sweetie responded simply. She’d known this for ages, but in the past week it never occurred to her that what Spike said just previously was absolutely true. They really were alike in at least one crucial way.

“You ... see what I’m getting at?” Spike asked.

“Spike, I ...” She thought about telling him his secret wasn’t really so secret, but didn’t want to be the one to break it to him, at least not now, when she sensed a budding camaraderie between them. “I get what you mean, but ... well ... now that I think about it ... nopony seems to mind when a colt, er.. young ... he-dragon,” the word sounded like a question from Sweetie Belle, “likes a mare, so ... why do you bother to keep it a secret?”

“He-dragon is fine, but technically it's drake.” Twilight’s proclivity for fact-sharing showed through her assistant. “But, to answer your question, well ... I’m sort of just afraid what she’ll say if I or somepony else tells her.”

Sweetie digested this fact. She knew her sister preferred, or at least used to prefer, the royal stallion type. She wasn’t sure what sort of chance Spike would have with her now or ever, really. “Wouldn’t it be better to know how she really feels, though?”

Spike’s expression grew sad. “Well, I ... guess I already kind of know.” He sighed and reflected back. “I almost did tell her once, when we were falling to our doom, but ... even then, she stopped me from saying it.” He let out another melancholy sigh. It still hurt to admit to himself that his feelings weren’t mutual. “At least she’ll still let me hang around and help with her messier jobs. ... I ... almost wish Rarity were a bit more like Fluttershy. You know what I mean?” Sweetie looked down in contemplation and felt extraordinarily fortunate at that moment. She nodded. “N-not that I’m saying I know anything about Fluttershy,” Spike quickly amended.

Sweetie Belle looked up with a small grin on her face and couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re a good friend, Spike. And, for what it’s worth, I think Rarity would be lucky to have you.”

A brief pause followed, and the two finished the thought in harmony. “Maybe, some day.” They laughed together shortly before the silence of the library sunk in.

It was fortunate, Sweetie thought, that, despite being delayed, she’d made such a connection with another person like herself. “Spike, what do you think you'd do if Rarity did say she'd go out with you?”

Spike contemplated for a moment. “Well, I'd be really happy. Maybe we could have dinner together someplace nice!” the little dragon smiled brightly and blushed. The way Sweetie looked at the floor told Spike she'd hoped for a different kind of answer. “Did I, uh ... say something wrong?” Spike added.

Sweetie looked up. She wanted to ask what he'd do in her situation, but it was apparent to her now that he didn't know everything about her situation. After what happened with Applejack, even though she didn't think Spike would react the same way, she couldn't bring herself to shake her nervousness to explain; even if she could, she wasn't sure he should be trusted to keep the whole secret, crush on Rarity aside.

Spike waited, but received no clarification. Concern grew on his own face after a moment. “It must not be as easy as I thought, even with somepony who feels the same way about you.” Spike thought of the meetings they’d quietly held in Twilight’s loft and the privacy shield that probably only he and those behind it had noticed Twilight cast numerous times now.

Tears welled in the young filly’s eyes, but she pushed them back for fear that somepony might enter the library. Her voice quavered. “I—” She again considered leaving to Fluttershy’s. It would be easier than thinking more about the jeopardy in which her relationship had been placed.

She’d been in a hurry before to resolve the matter of Applejack’s well-meaning interference, precisely because she didn’t want to have to live with the uncertainty it created any longer than necessary. Thanks to her resolve to tell Fluttershy and Twilight, Sweetie had been able to set aside her anxiety this long. Now, though, she felt its intensity building. She dreaded being separated from Fluttershy too much to tolerate the mere possibility any more than necessary. Marriage ... she clung to the thought. Marriage was the solution to all their problems.

Sweetie knew that, if she went to Fluttershy now, she’d be comforted, but what about Twilight’s boundaries? The filly breathed a sigh. “Do you ever think about marrying Rarity?” Sweetie tried and failed to distract herself.

“I ... guess I have, yeah.” Spike seemed eager to move past the uncomfortable silence.

Sweetie thought how she might rephrase her first question without revealing anything more vital than Spike already knew. “If ... um—have you ever wanted to do ... m-mushy stuff with her?”

The dragon blushed a little, caught off guard. “Um ... well, honestly,” he let loose a longing sigh, “all the time.” A dreamy, far off look filled his eyes.

Thinking about her own simple fantasies, Sweetie found herself intrigued to know Spike’s as well. A more pressing question nagged her at the moment, however. “Have you ever thought what other ponies might think if they knew that, well ... an older mare and a ... young drake, were married and, um ... did all of the mushy stuff that married couples do?”

Suddenly Sweetie realized she actually had no idea how married dragons might do what ponies did. She knew they laid eggs, but beyond that, nothing. “I’m not ... a hundred percent clear, honestly, how that works,” Spike echoed Sweetie’s thought. He hadn’t exactly received any in-depth education regarding dragon reproduction, much less dragon intimacy. “But, anyway, I guess I haven’t really thought about what others would think. ... I mean ... I told Twilight and Pinkie how I felt about Rarity, and they both seemed alright with it.”

“Really?” Sweetie squeaked. Until that moment, Sweetie thought Spike's admiration for her sister had gone unprofessed to Twilight. Spike nodded, and Sweetie pondered the difference in their friends' reactions. Something seemed to become clearer about her and Spike’s situations. She already knew that ponies were sometimes afraid of things that were different, and it was different to like foals, but she hadn’t really understood that it was so different that, even if a foal openly admitted to liking a mare, ponies didn’t seem to worry.

It felt almost like an insult that nopony but Fluttershy thought she was sexual enough to be considered seriously as a potential lover. Almost. Rather than offended, Sweetie actually felt a little bit ashamed. She was very young, after all. Maybe something was wrong with her inside, she thought, to feel so in love. Or, if everypony else thought she couldn’t be serious, maybe what she felt actually wasn’t true love. Her thoughts and feeling were nebulous, hard for her to pin down and understand, but they made her as uncomfortable as if she'd articulated them.

Then again, maybe the acceptance Spike garnered had nothing to do with whether or not Rarity liked him back, but with the fact that he was male, she thought. That didn’t feel any better, really, and the thought did offend her a little. Just because she was a young lady, why should she get any less acceptance for her interest in Fluttershy? Sweetie’s thoughts concluded with a frustrated pout. “I wish I had it that easy.”

Spike didn’t know what to say, but, again, he felt bad for Sweetie. “Um ... sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Sweetie Belle shook her head and sighed. Feeling no more need to dwell on hypotheticals for now, Sweetie’s curiosity turned finally to Spike’s fantasies.

“So ... um ... what kind of ... well, I mean, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to say, of course, but ... what kind of ... m-mushy stuff do you think about?”

Spike laughed nervously. To share that info with a friend was one thing, but to share it with a cute filly and the sister of the pony he adored, Spike thought, seemed especially strange. He couldn’t explain the butterflies he felt in his stomach just then, the ones he usually only felt around Rarity. “W-well ... promise you won’t laugh?”

Sweetie Belle nodded, smiling, and Spike launched into a fantasy involving ice cream.

The next couple hours passed much more easily for Sweetie Belle than the rest of the day had to that point. A few ponies visited the library at intervals to return books or browse, during which, the two giddy youngsters paused and waited impatiently or else held their conversation in hushed whispers.

Sweetie was happy to indulge in Spike’s capacious dream world with him, most of the time with simple nods and hums of approval, imagining herself and Fluttershy instead. Spike enjoyed sharing almost as much as she enjoyed listening, but he, too, ventured a couple times to ask what Sweetie wished for, if she didn’t mind sharing. She grew timid immediately and failed to say much other than something mumbled about milkshakes, cuddling, or which of Spike’s ideas most appealed to her before asking him more about himself, and so the time passed.

Near the end of the second hour, Sweetie had finally begun to open up about which appendages she most enjoyed of the pony she admired, when the pony herself finally appeared. Sweetie rushed to meet her near the library entrance. With nobody other than Spike as witness, Sweetie nuzzled the sunny pegasus’s neck. The open gesture caught her off guard.

“S-Sweetie Belle?” Fluttershy looked down at her and then across the room at Spike. She’d figured the baby dragon must know something, having been present all week while they spent time together, and having been charged by Twilight to keep quiet, but the cautious mare wasn’t wont to press their luck.

Sweetie caught herself and pulled back out of respect, however unwarranted the little unicorn felt it was after the bonding she and Spike had shared. “Sorry.” Sweetie’s ears folded and she grinned sheepishly. “Spike and I have been talking, and, well,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “he doesn’t know about everything, and he promised Twilight he won’t say a word about what he’s seen, but he sort of let out to me that he knows we’re together. We've been talking while I waited for you.”

The two looked at the little dragon, and Fluttershy let out a hushed “Oh!”

“It took some prying, even though it was me, just to get him to admit it. I think we don’t have anything to worry about. Still, I ... uhm ... sorry. I should be careful anyway, even though he does know.

Fluttershy understood and relaxed enough to greet Sweetie Belle properly with her usual warmth. “I'm sorry I kept you waiting.”

Sweetie shook her head. “It was nice talking to Spike.”

Fluttershy looked back at Spike to greet him as well. It might have bothered her more that he confessed to know, but Fluttershy had always held a soft spot for him, even envied Rarity a little for the way he admired her so sweetly and sincerely. Fluttershy looked down at that thought to Sweetie Belle and marveled that she was so fortunate to have won such adoration from the filly of her dreams. Sweetie sensed the thought behind the mare’s sparkling eyes and felt her heart beat quicken and her face grow hotter. The shade of red in her cheeks left over from Spike’s stories deepened.

“Thank you, by the way, Sweetie, for understanding that I want to be careful. I ... trust you.” Fluttershy tilted her neck and nuzzled the foal in return as Spike watched. A sad little expression crossed his face, though neither pony noticed.

Normally, the vote of confidence would have been welcome to Sweetie Belle. In light of what news she had to share, however, it only made it harder for her now that the time had come. She’d been careless with the Crusaders, and she blamed herself. With Fluttershy, she thought, it would be okay. “I missed you ...” sincerity dripped from Sweetie’s tone, “and,” she added before Fluttershy could respond, “I have some important news.”

Fluttershy noted her anxiety. The couple made its way to their usual spot and rested. As Sweetie quietly proceeded to explain, Fluttershy was predictably understanding and understandably anxious to hear about Applejack’s eavesdropping and ultimatum. Sweetie looked downcast by the time she’d finished retelling everything that Apple Bloom told her. “I ... just keep messing things up.”

“You only did what you felt was right, and you couldn't have done any better, Sweetheart.”

Sweetie felt the familiar caress of feathers as Fluttershy wrapped her in her wing. The foal embraced her protector just long enough to let her worry and shame fade. “I thought,” Sweetie continued, “maybe Twilight could talk to her.”

Fluttershy nodded. “That seems like our best option. I think Applejack trusts Twilight almost more than anypony. She should be satisfied that way,” and, thought Fluttershy, maybe having another of their friends involved would lighten Twilight's burden, assuming Applejack could be persuaded to help somehow, not that she had any more spare time than Twilight did. Still, what Sweetie thought was a mistake seemed to Fluttershy like a small miracle of an opportunity.

The couple talked about what the librarian would think when she heard the news but moved on fairly quickly to more lighthearted subjects, their upcoming first date and the usual—how their days had gone, Sweetie's classmates, and Fluttershy's animals.

Spike occupied himself with cleaning, reshelving, and helping patrons, keeping them more occupied than he normally might for the sake of the absorbed couple. He was used to working in the background, but the conversation he'd had with Sweetie made him feel more connected to the pair today, for which he was glad. These were harder days, with Twilight busy and less free time to spend at Carousel Boutique. Spike longed for Rarity's company as he watched Sweetie and Fluttershy from the corner of his eye.

The evening unfolded as well as could be hoped upon Twilight's return. Twilight seemed confident the situation would turn out alright, but was a little concerned about how Fluttershy was handling the gradual stripping of the privacy she'd only recently begun to give up.

“I knew it wouldn't be easy,” Fluttershy spoke with a pensive expression, “and that a lot would change. It's not fair to Sweetie that she should have to worry so much for my sake when ... I'm already getting more than anypony else out of this. Even if it doesn't work out, I've gotten closer to both of you than I've ever been with anypony.” Fluttershy's eyes sparkled, and she caressed Sweetie's mane and neck with a stray hoof. “I've never been more hopeful, and also never been so scared,” Fluttershy admitted, “but, whatever happens, I know I've also never felt more loved.”

Author's Note

Last revised 31 January 2015
- for style

Revised 29 January 2015
- for style, flow, and voice
- split into 2 chapters, 10 & 11

Original Note:
Sorry for the delay. It's looking like the next few months will take my attention away from the story unfortunately. I don't know whether much slower writing means I should declare hiatus, but technically I'm still going, just slower, so I'll say no.

In other news, LOOK AT THE AWESOME COVER ART ZIPPYSQRL MADE!
Tell us what you think in the comments or on the source tumblr.