Scales & Clouds

Chapter I: Realization

Spike & Cloudchaser had been close friends for quite a while. Sure, he didnt consider her as close a friend as Twilight or Rarity, but they were still close to each other. It had been that way for at least a few years. Twice every week, they ate lunch together in Ponyvilles single park, which was something Spike had suggested a long time ago as a friendly gesture. Little did he know that Cloudchaser had taken it as much, much more than that. In fact, she had a plan for this specific day: her birthday.

The two of them sat in a fairly empty resteraunt, watching a band play on the small stage. Cloudchaser had very little close family, except for her cousin Flitter, who had already given her a visit earlier that day.

"So, do you like the food?" Spike asked, giving a sheepish grin. "I know it`s not much, but I thought you would enjoy it more than just sitting in the park again."

"It`s a lot better than I expected, but in a good way. Nice atmosphere, too."

"Yeah, I always thought it made the place seem a bit... famliar? Im not that great with words, if you didnt already notice."

"Hey, do you think Im some kind of thespian? I barely even know what thespian means! Besides, youve lived with Twilight for so long, you`re bound to have learned a lot just from spending time at home."

"That does make a lot of sense. Speaking of Twilight, I was planning on finding a place to live somewhere. Do you know of any good places?"

"Well, theres two bedrooms in my house. Youre pretty much my best friend. Or do you feel weird living with a mare other than her?"

"Ill have to think about that for a while, but are you serious about this? I kind of need to know that before I go telling her that Im going to go live somewhere else."

"If I wasn`t serious, would I have said it in the first place?"

"Yeah, there is that. Ill consider it, but for now youll be one of my first choices."

"Good to know. Say, this is... kinda boring. You want to talk about something else?"

"To be honest, I have pretty much nothing interesting to talk about. What about you?"

Spike noticed that Cloudchaser was giving him a somewhat creepy grin, one that he had only seen once before.

Two months ago, when Pinkie Pie had tried to kiss him because she claimed to be "deeply in love" with him.

"I might be able to give you something to talk about." Cloudchaser told him, leaning forward towards him.

Okay, you`ve got to be kidding me. Spike thought, panicking internally.

Her eyes are about an inch away from me, & her lips- okay, this is officially the most awkward moment in my life. I mean, she`s one of my best friends, & she just kissed me! Why, Celestia, why?

Cloudchaser moved away, leaving Spike showing what was probably the most absolute expression of shock ever seen in Equestria.

"Uhh...

Leavingnowbye!" Spike yelled, running out of the door & coming back to drop a clawful of bits on the table. He kept running & eventually broke into a moderately fast flight until he reached the Golden Oaks Library, where he nearly broke both the door & Twilight`s spine.

"Spike! What`s going on!?" Twilight screamed.

"Okay, so I was eating with Cloudchaser since it was her birthday, &thenweranoutofthingstotalkabout&shekissedme&thenIranaway!"

"Really? You ran away? You could`ve at least been a bit more courteous about it.”

“Dont worry Twilight, Im going to talk to her again tomorrow. Right now, I just really need some sleep.”