Her Number One Assistantby Aura ZeroChapters...Stays a Secret......For Now.His Number One Secret......Stays a Secret...Spike and his date, Rarity stand in front of a diner called Gentle Gardens, a place very well known around Ponyville. Spike smiles proudly at his impressed-looking date, who stares at the restaurant in surprise. "Wow Spike, I'm impressed. I didn't think you could get reservations here. They are quite hard to reserve." Rarity says as she smiles at him. "Only the best for you, Rarity." Spike coos, eliciting a blush from the mare as she giggles lightly. "Careful Spike, I might just take that offer after this." She says as she winks at him. Spike smiles at her as they both walk in the restaurant. They walk up to the door waiter behind the stand and Spike speaks up. "Hello good sir. Table for two reserved under Spike please." He says as the waiter looks at his checklist. "Ah, yes. Welcome Spike. Right this way please." The waiter says as he escorts the pair. They soon make it to their table and Spike quickly moves to pull out a chair for Rarity. She smiles sweetly at him as she takes her seat. "Thank you Spike. Ever the gentledragon." "Of course." Spike says with a smile as he moves her seat forward. After ensuring that she is comfortable, he walks over towards his seat. However, he stops dead and his eyes grow wide as he notices something a few tables away. Rarity is admiring the design of the place as she looks around, however, she stops once she sees Spike just standing in one spot facing away. "Spike dear? Is something wrong?" She asks in concern, however he doesn't respond. He just keeps looking away. Rarity tries to find out what has his attention and was rather surprised at what she saw. A few tables down was one of hers and Spike's best friend Twilight. She was giggling happily with a stallion that Rarity knew well. "Is that Twilight with Caramel? I never knew those two were an item." Rarity says with glee. She notices that Spike jumps slightly with this statement. "I-I know right?" Spike says as he hops in his seat with a small smile. "Did you know Spike?" She asks him. He nods and looks their direction for a quick second. "I found out today. She told me Caramel just asked her out while she was shopping." Rarity giggles slightly in excitement. "I can't believe our Twilight is on a date! I didn't think at all that she was interested in romance." "Yeah, me neither..." Spike grumbles, Rarity barely able to hear it. She notices that he didn't seem all that happy. "You seem bothered about it." He quickly perked up at that. "No! Not at all!" He said quickly. "I'm happy she found somepony. Maybe now she will go out of the library more." Rarity nods with a smile. "That's quite true. She does lack in social etiquette." The two share a small laugh at that. Soon after, the waiter comes over. "Hello and welcome to Gentle Gardens. May I start you two off with drinks as you check these menus?" The waiter says as she places the menus in front of them. "Yes, I'll have the Chateau La Grave 98 if you have it." She nods and Rarity smiles at that. She turns to Spike. "How about you Spike?" Spike is looking to his right but quickly looks back. "Oh! I'll just have the same she's having." The waiter nods and then trots away. Rarity looks at Spike in intrigue. "I didn't know you like wine Spike." Spike looks at her in confusion. "What makes you think that?" Rarity frowns at that. "You didn't even hear what drink I asked for, did you?" Spike blushes slightly in embarrassment and he rubs his scales sheepishly. "Not exactly. I guess that means it was wine then." Rarity sighs. "Spike, is their date bothering you somehow?" Spike's eyes grow wide and he shakes his head rapidly. "No! Why do you-" "I saw you looking over there quite a bit since we've been here Spike." She said flatly. Spike freezes for a moment before he sighs. "I'm sorry. Its just I've never seen Twilight date somepony before. Guess I'm just a bit worried about her." Rarity smiles at him. "You're worried she might mess up or something like that." "Uh, sure. Something like that." Spike says with a small nod. "Well, knowing Twilight, she probably read a book about romance. I just hope they weren't the tacky ones." Rarity says as she sneaks a glance their way. She notices them smiling at each other while chatting the day away. Rarity smiles at this. "Seems like things are going great. Maybe you don't have anything to worry about after all." She looks and sees Spike look their way. He nods at seeing them. "Yeah, maybe not." Suddenly, his eyes grew wide. Rarity grew curious and took a glance to see what surprised him, but turns her head completely at what she saw. Caramel was leaned over the table as his lips were locked with a rather surprised looking Twilight. A small gasp escapes her lips when Twilight responds and moves forward into it. "Well, Now I know we definitely don't have anything to worry about." Rarity turns and sees Spike looking down. She grows curious but he speaks up first. "I have to use the restroom really quick." He says and quickly gets up and walks towards the bathroom. Rarity watches him as he leaves in curiosity, however, she gets pulled away as she hears a voice. "Rarity?" Rarity turns and sees Twilight walk up to her in surprise. Rarity smiles wide at seeing her. "Why, hello Twilight! Whatever are you doing here?" "I could say the same to you. Are you and Spike on your date here?" She asks while looking around. "Yes we are. It was quite the surprise to find he got us reservations here. But how about yourself? Who are you accompanying in such a fancy diner?" Rarity says, a mischievous grin creeping on her muzzle. Twilight blushes visibly at that. "Oh, just Caramel. He asked me to eat here since his cousin owns the place and he gets in free. I merely came to see how it is here." Rarity couldn't hold back her smile as she speaks, "Well it seemed to me that you came for a little more than just the scenery darling." Rarity giggles as she sees Twilight blush a deep red in the face. "Y-You saw that?" Twilight says flustered. Rarity nods and smiles mischievously at her. "I did. And might I say it must have been quite amazing judging by how you melted into it." Twilight is speechless for a moment before she merely sighs and nods at that. "It was." She looks at Rarity is slight panic. "Did Spike see it too?" Rarity nods. "He did." Twilight frowns. "How did he react?" "I don't know actually." Rarity says thoughtfully with a frown. "He left for the restroom right after it happened." "Oh, well okay then. I should head back then. I don't want to be away too long." "Oh! Don't let me stop you! Go on." Rarity says with a small giggle as she waves her away. She watches as Twilight rejoins her date. He says something and her eyes grow wide, a small blush appearing on her face as well. She turns back to her table with a smile. I wonder if I will be hearing about them two soon... She thinks as she waits for her date to return. Spike walks out the bathroom with a small sigh. After seeing what he saw, he really needed a moment to himself. "I guess they must be dating now." Spike says to himself. He looks up determined. "I have to be happy for her. She'll be happy with him, I know it." After taking another deep breath, he walks confidently back towards the table. As he gets close, he catches a glimpse of Twilight walking away from his table. His eyes grow wide at that. Oh, no... He thinks as he hesitantly continues to his table. When he gets to the table, he climbs back in his seat and looks at his date. He is surprised to see her already staring at him with a smile. "Done with your business?" Rarity says after a moment. Spike nods with a smile in return. "Yeah, sorry for leaving like that. When nature calls, ya gotta go." Rarity nods in agreement. "That's quite true. Although, you did miss out on Twilight coming over." Spike dreaded that response. "O-Oh. Did she say anything?" Rarity's smile grew which unnerved him. "Oh not much, but I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. Everything is just fine with them. " Spike glances over and sees the two chatting away happily again. "Yeah, nothing at all.." Spike and Rarity both walk out with smiles on their faces after the rather appetizing meal they had in the restaurant. "That was delicious, if I do say so myself." Rarity says as she looks toward Spike. "How about your meal Spike?" Spike looked up seemingly in thought. "The fries could have been cooked longer but other than that it was amazing. I'm especially thankful that they added some rubies in the salad." Rarity smiles. "Glad to know my gift was appreciated." Spike turns to her in surprise. "You did that?" "Guilty as charged." Rarity says before moving close and nuzzling him. "Consider that my 'thank you' for this lovely dinner." Spike blushes visibly. "A-Anytime." Rarity pulls back. "I should hope so. It would be a shame if this was the last one." Spike smiles. "Then I shall look forward to our next planned dinner." Rarity giggles slightly before turning away. "As will I. For now though I have a few things to attend to." Spike looks towards the library for a moment. He then walks forward. "Do you need any help?" She turns and smiles at him. "I appreciate the offer, but I must do this myself. Perhaps you could stop by the boutique tomorrow?" Spike nods with a smile. "Of course!" Rarity moves forward and plants a small kiss on his cheek. She then turns and trots off towards the boutique. Spike places a claw where she kissed. "Wow. I think she might like me." Spike hops in place happily before he turns and walks towards the library. He talks aloud as he walks. "The date turned out great. If I play my cards right, soon I'll have the most beautiful mare as my marefriend." He says happily as he walks up to the door of the library. As he gets there, he walks past a window and notices something. Curious, he backtracks to see and his eyes grow as wide as dinner plates at what he saw. Twilight was walking up the steps in the library with Caramel in tow. Spike's mind started racing as he thought. They can't be planning to do what I think they are! But, they were only on one date! She's not ready for that! On that thought, Spike rushes to the door and slams it open, surprising the two halfway up the steps. "And where do you two think you're going?" Spike says with a frown as he folded his arms. Twilight looks at Spike in surprise and confusion. "Spike? What are you talking about? And why did you slam open the door?" Spike's frown deepened. "You know what I mean! You two are going upstairs-" "So I can show him my collection of Star Swirl the Bearded journals." "Yeah...wait what?" Spike says in confusion. Caramel decides to speak up. "She told me she had copies of Star Swirl's journals. I asked if I could see them." "Yeah, and they are upstairs on my personal shelf." Twilight says still looking at Spike. He grows embarrassed, realizing he thought too much into it. He also feels stupid for even thinking it. "Oh, okay then. I'll just leave you guys to that. Sorry for opening the door so hard." Spike says as he turns and takes a step to leave. Twilight speaks up. "You're leaving Spike? I was hoping you would join us with reviewing his journals." Spike stops, but doesn't look their way. He couldn't right now; otherwise she would get worried. "N-No Thanks Twi. I have something to do anyways. I'll be back later." Before she could say more, Spike quickly left the library and away from town. "Spike! Wait!" Twilight yells but Spike was already out the door. She runs towards the door and sees him run off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres and frowns. "I wonder what he has to do there." "He's probably helping Applejack. She did have a lot of apples to deal with today." Twilight turns and sees Caramel walking up to her with a smile as he looks out towards him. "That guy sure is a helpful little dragon. Always doing what he can to help others. Heard he's trying to get with Rarity. Hope that goes well for him." Twilight looks at him in surprise. "You know about that?" He nods. "I'm sure more than half of Ponyville knows by now. It was because of the incident a month ago." Twilight frowns, remembering his birthday. "Guess others still talk about that..." Caramel shakes his head. "Oh not at all! I know everypony forgave him a long time ago. Hard not to when he's always so helpful." Twilight looks at him. "So you don't think its weird that a pony dates a dragon?" He shrugs. "Shoot, don't bother me at all. You like who you like." Twilight smiles at him. "That's good to know." He returns the smile and raises a hoof. "So, about those journals..." Twilight perks up. "Oh right! Follow me. You will be quite surprised at my collection." She says with excitement as she lead him to the bedroom... Author's Note Sorry this chapter is so late. I wasn't around to post it for a while. Also this was a last minute decision, but I decided to cut the last chapter in half and add another chapter. It was too long. The third is a little short, so I decided to add a bit more to it. Expect the chapter 1 day after this one. Also, comments are always welcome! ...For Now.Spike keeps running until his legs get tired; then he merely walks through some gates until his legs hurt and he finally takes a break near a tree and rests on it. As he lay there, he thinks about what just happened. "I can't believe I thought that! What is wrong with me?" Spike yells in frustration. He sighs afterwards and looks down. "Why cant I just be happy for her?" He says silently to himself. He notices a tear drop and realizes he was crying the whole time. "Got somethin' in yer eye again sugarcube?" Spike looks and sees Applejack walking up to him with a small frown. "Or do ya wanna tell me what's really buggin' ya?" Spike chuckles slightly at that. "Heh, I kinda figured you didn't believe that." Applejack sits next to him. "Ah have a sharper eye for lies than ya think. So tell me, what's got ya so down today?" Spike sighs and looks down. He wasn't too keen on admitting what's bothering him. He then has a small idea and speaks up. "Applejack, can I ask you something?" Applejack perks up and smiles at him. "Ask away partner." "Have you ever been in love?" Applejack blushes madly at the question. "Uh... well...wait, what does that have to do with anything?!" She says trying to avoid the question. Spike sighs and looks down. "I have...or at least I think I am." She wasn't expecting that. "Really? Is that why ya so down? Cuz she rejected you?" Spike shakes his head quickly. "N-No! She doesn't even know how I feel..." he says ashamedly. "Ah think she does Spike. Her and others." Applejack says thinking of everyone, including herself that knows who he's taking a liking to. Spike looks at her in panic. "S-She does?" "Ah'm afraid so partner. Hate to bring it up, but after that incident, it was pretty hard not to notice." Spike blinks. "Wait, are you talking about Rarity?" Applejack looks at him with confusion at that question. "Well, yeah..." "Oh." Spike sighs in relief. "Yeah, between you and me, I'm not really in love with her." Applejack's eyes grow wide. "Yer not?" Spike scratches his head. "No, but I do like her. A lot. Rarity is still a beautiful and talented mare." Applejack shook her head. "But she told me ya tried to confess when y'all were fallin." Spike chuckles. "Confess huh? Nah, I was just going to say I was glad that I met her and the girls. You included." This surprises her but she merely smiles at him "Oh, well Ah'm glad we met too Spike. Yer a good dragon and don't let anypony tell ya otherwise." Spike smiles at her. "Thanks Applejack." "No problem sugarcube. So, who's the lucky filly that caught yer eye?" Spike blushes and looks away. "I... can't say. Just know she means alot to me and I would do anything for her." "Does she care about you too?" She asks. Spike nods. "Yeah, she does... just not in the way I feel for her.." Spike looks to Applejack and sees her smile. "Well, if ya want my opinion, I think ya should tell her. It's not good to hide yer feelings from somepony if its affecting ya like this. If she doesn't accept them, at least ya will know and can move on." "But what if I don't want to move on? What if she's the only one I want to be with?" Spike says instantly. "I tried to fall for Rarity as much as her but I can't. Every time I'm with her, I think of T-the other mare. I don't think I could move on if she would turn me down." Spike says and looks down sadly. He feels a hoof on his left claw and looks to see Applejack frowning at him. "Wow Spike, ya must really like this gal. All the more reason ya should tell her how ya feel." "But what if she-" Spike was interrupted as she places a hoof up to silence him. He is rather surprised that even worked on him. "Spike, ya can't be worryin' about that. That's why ya are feeling the way ya are. Just go tell the girl. I'm sure she will be surprised, but Ah think she will accept ya." Spike is curious how she said that but ignores it as he realizes that she is right. "I think you're right Applejack. I'm just a little afraid I guess." Applejack smiles at him. "I know sugarcube. But don't worry, ya will get through this." Spike smiles and nods at her as he gets up. "Yeah! I'm going to tell her today." "How about an apple or two for the road?" Applejack says and then kicks the tree with one hoof, sending two apples down. Spike smiles and happily grabs them. He just realizes as he looks around that he was at Sweet Apple acres in an orchard. "Wow. I ran pretty far.." He says silently to himself. "And ya got a long way back. Its gonna get late soon. Better mosey on before it's too late." Applejack says with a smile. Spike smiles at her. "Yeah. Thanks for everything Applejack. You're a great friend." He then turns and heads home, ready to tell the one he cares for the most, that he loves her the most as well. Applejack watches as Spike leaves the orchard and heads back home. She shakes her head with a smile. "Phew, wasn't expecting that kind of conversation. Never though the little guy would be frettin over stuff like this." Applejack says as she leaves the orchard as well back to her home. As she's heading back she sees Apple Bloom coming to her. "Heya sis! Did ya finally tell Spike ya like em?" Applejack's eyes grew at that and she frowned at her little sister. "Ya still goin on about that? Ah told ya Ah don't like the little guy like that." "Suuure. Whatever ya say sis. So what was ya talking about over there?" Applejack looks over towards town. "He was having some problems and I helped cheer the little guy up. Should be heading home now to talk to Twilight." Apple Bloom looks at her in confusion. "Why? Does he have to tell her something?" Applejack merely smiles as she turns and heads towards the barn. "Hey! Don't ignore me!" Apple Bloom yells as she hurries after her chuckling sister. Spike makes it to his destination: the Golden Oak Library. "Applejack was right about it getting late. I wonder if Caramel is still over." Spike says before he reaches for the door with a closed sign and opens it. "I'm home!" He says as he enters. He sees that almost all the lights in the lower half of the library were off, save for a few nightlights here and there. He walks towards the steps and sees that the only light is in Twilight's and his bedroom. Thoughts started to come but he quickly shoved them down as he takes a step up the stairs and continues up to the room. When he gets there, he takes a breath and opens the door. He is greeted at the sight of Twilight reading a book on the bed. He sighs relived that Caramel was nowhere to be found. Twilight turns and sees Spike and smiles. "Hey Spike! I was wondering when you would get back. You finish what you had to take care of?" Spike smiles as he looks at her. "Yeah, I think I did." "Great! Because when I was reading with Caramel, I noticed something interesting and was hoping we could read it together." She says and pats a spot next to her. Spike smiles wider and he walks over. "Of course Twi." He says and hops on the bed. He pauses and looks hesitantly at Twilight. "May I?" Twilight looks at him in confusion before she realizes what he means and giggles at him. "Of course silly! You don't have to ask to lean on me." Spike blushes as he realizes that this is true and happily leans into her, enjoying the feel of her warm fur. After getting comfortable, he listens as Twilight explains what she had found. However he was thinking about what he has to do. He decides he would do it in time and merely listened more to the mare he's snuggled with. After some time has passed, Twilight yawned rather loudly, breaking Spike from a sort of trance. He realized they were reading for a while and it was quite late. "Hey Twi?" Twilight looks at him with a drowsy smile. "Yes Spike?" "I have something I need to tell you." Twilight grew curious and yawns again. "What is it Spike?" Spike looks away and plays with his claws. "Well first I want to say something. I'm not really in love with Rarity. I'm in love with someone else." "Oh really? who *yawn* is that?" Spike takes a deep breath to steady himself. It's now or never. "It's... you Twilight. I think I love you and have for a while now." Spike clenches his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable, whether it be her saying they can't be together or that she doesn't feel that way. What he gets however, surprises him; there was light snoring behind him. He turns and indeed Twilight is asleep. He lets the air out of his lungs in slight relief and annoyance at that, but before he could do anything else, all of a sudden Twilight grabs him and cuddles him closely in her sleep. He stops moving in surprise as she nuzzles up to him before laying still and breathing out one word. "Spike." He smiles sweetly at her before he makes himself comfortable as well. He regrets that she might not have heard him and he will have to do it again, but he feels better knowing that he can at least admit it. He looks at her one more time and hesitantly, reaches up and kisses her on the cheek. "I guess it can stay a secret for one more night." Spike says silently as he closes his eyes, falling to dreamland enjoying the warmth from the one he cares for the most. My number one secret can stay a secret...for now. Author's Note Sorry. Very late I know. Hopefully its worth it. Work happened, as well as other things. Comments always welcome and appreciated! His Number One Secret...It was another great day in Ponyville. The weather was wonderful; nice and sunny with a few clouds for shade, courtesy of the weather team and Rainbow Dash. Everypony was up and about, going on with their daily routines whether it was selling goods at the market, purchasing food for themselves and others, or just simply mingling with others to pass another day. As things were progressing normally in Ponyville, so was the case in the towns library where two new occupants for the past few months were living. Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's prized student stirs from her slumber at the smell of something and groggily opens her eyes. She sits up, rubs her eyes and looks at a nearby mirror. Her eyes grow slightly at her disheveled look and she makes it her first priority to clean herself up. She slowly climbs out of bed and trudges towards the bathroom. After a few minutes, she exits the bathroom cleaned and ready for the day's agenda. As she walks out however, she notices that her bed, which was once messy due to her immediately heading to the bathroom, is neatly made and tidy. She also notices now that her study is clean as well. She smiles knowing exactly who is responsible before she walks towards her door and exits the room. As soon as she leaves, she is assaulted by the smell of food and knew that same one responsible is making breakfast as well. She happily trots down the stairs and straight to the kitchen. Once she rounds the corner, she notices quite the feast on the table: blueberry pancakes smothered in syrup, two tofu eggs, hay bacon, toast and strawberry jam. She lit up at the assortment and turned happily towards the one responsible. "Looks great Spike. Thank you." Spike the dragon, the only other occupant of the library smiles in return to her. "No prob Twi. Shall we dig in?" Spike says happily as he puts the orange juice on the table. "Of course. Although I am rather surprised at the amount. What's the occasion?" Twilight asks as she sits at the table. Spike merely smiles at her. "I guess you can say I woke up realizing how lucky I am, ya know?" Twilight raises a brow in confusion. "Lucky? How so?" Spike looks at the table as he speaks. "Well, just being here with all my friends. I'm just really glad to have everypony in my life. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity... and especially you Twi." Twilight smiles warmly at him as he continues. "You all have been really great to me, even though I know you guys can be like everypony else when they see a dragon roaming around. I guess I just wanted to thank you is all, so, thank you Twi." At hearing that, Twilight gets up and walks over, pulling Spike into a comforting hug. "Aww Spike. You know I'll always be here for you no matter what. I love you Spike." Spike smiles as he holds her tight. "I-I love you too Twi.... more than you will ever know..." After dinner, Spike gets to work cleaning the library right away. Twilight watches him in slight surprise; he is working much harder than normally. Merely an hour passes and everything needing to be done was finished. She smiles as she realizes what day it is and what Spike has planned later. After Spike finishes putting the last book in, Twilight walks over to him. "Wow Spike, you did an amazing job today. I don't think I've seen the library this clean before." Spike turns to her with a large, yet exhausted smile. "Well, I thought that maybe I should go all out today. Phew, Hopefully it can stay this way though. It was a little tiring." Twilight giggles as she sees the expression on his face. "Oh Spike. You didn't have to go all out. I'll always appreciate what you do. Now I haven't forgotten what you have planned today and since you finished so quickly, you now have more time to spend with you know who." She nudges him playfully getting a confused expression out of him. "I had plans? With who?" Spike says quizzically. Twilight raised a brow. "You know, the dinner." Spike didn't react. "With Rarity," still nothing. "The mare you've been pining over since we got here?" Spike seems to remember after hearing that. "Oh! That's today? I kinda forgot." That surprises Twilight. "Wait, you forgot? You've been trying to convince Rarity to go to dinner with you for weeks! How could you forget that?" Spike doesn't answer immediately, but then turns and smiles. "Heh, I know right! I guess I was so nervous that I kinda forgot. Thanks for reminding me." Twilight looks at him with concern. "Is there something wrong Spike?" Spike hesitates before he shakes his head quickly. "N-No! Nothing is wrong. Everything's great! I'm healthy, I got a date with Rarity, and it's a nice day outside." Spike says as he walks towards a window. "Everything is just peachy..." Twilight notices something in his tone but can't quite place it. "Well, I wish you luck on your date. I'll be out as well so-" "Wait, where are you going Twilight?" Spike says rather quickly as he walks over. Twilight blushes slightly. "Well, you're not the only one who has a date planned." "What?!" Spike yells rather loudly. She notices that Spike eyes grow rather wide at this information. She pouts at his surprise. "It's not that surprising. Believe it or not, some stallions do find me attractive." Spike turned away quickly at that. "I-I didn't mean it like that Twi. Of course you're beautiful and anypony would be lucky to have you..." Twilight blushes slightly at the unexpected compliment. "Oh, well thank you Spike." Spike didn't turn around. Instead, he spoke up facing away. "Who is he?" Twilight takes a moment, wondering what he meant but realizes it quickly. "It's Caramel. He asked me when I decided to go get more material for the weekly friendship letters." Spike didn't reply. He just stands there for a moment. Twilight grew concerned. "Spike?" All of a sudden he turns around with a smile on his face. "Well that's not a surprise. I could tell from a mile away that Caramel liked ya. Well I hope everything works out Twi. I gotta go and get ready for my date. See ya later!" And with that, Spike quickly scurried out the door. Twilight merely stared at the door with slight confusion. "See you, Spike..." Spike quickly runs away from the library and stops once he know he's far away enough. He then leans on a wall and sighs. "Well that's just great..." Spike says as he sits down sadly. Spike has a secret. One that nopony, not even Celestia herself knows about. It's one he has never and plans to never speak of. It's one Spike has had for a very long time. "And I plan to keep it a secret. No one will find out, especially not her..." Spike mumbles as he looks down sadly. "I can't tell her... I just can't." "Tell who what?" Spike jumps as he hears the voice. He turns and sees one of his close friends and the Element of Honesty, Applejack. She was pulling a wagon full of apples and was looking at him with concern. "Yew alright there sugarcube?" Spike gets up and smiles at her. "I'm great! Why do you ask?" Applejack frowns. "Spike, yer crying..." Spike wipes his eyes and indeed she was right. "Oh, I just got something in my eye. No biggie." Spike said as he turns to clean his eyes completely. Applejack unhooks herself and trots in front of him. "Spike, ya know ya can talk ta me about anything right?" Spike looks at her with a rather forced smile. "Of course Applejack. Like I said, it was just something in my eye." Applejack wasn't buying it, however, she decided not to press it further. "Alright then. Well the next time ya find that ya gonna get somethin' in yer eye again, make sure ta come to me. I'll make sure ta take care of ya." Spike looks at her as she gave him a small smile and nod before she connects back to the harness and trots away towards Sweet Apple Acres. "I wonder..." Spike says thoughtfully but then shakes his head quickly. "No, she can't know...can she?" Spike looks back at the retreating pony one last time before he turns and walks rather slowly towards the Carousel boutique. Spike approaches the Carousel Boutique with a smile. "All right. You can do this Spike." He says to himself as he takes a deep breath and extends a claw. He's about to knock, but then remembers something. "Oh, I can just walk in, can't I?" And with that, Spike strolls right in, the bell ringing signaling his arrival. As he comes inside, he is greeted by a white unicorn, although not the one he planned to see. "Hi welcome to Carousel Boutique! Where everything is chic, um... I forgot the rest." Sweetie Belle, Rarity's little sister says as she smiles at him. "Hey Sweetie Belle. Is Rarity here?" "She sure is! She's upstairs getting ready for your date." She says and she nudges the dragon. Spike smiles at her. "Okay. I guess I'll just wait here for her." "That won't be necessary darling." Spike turns and sees his date walking down the steps. He notices that she is wearing a simple blue scarf and some diamond stud earrings. Along with her radiant beauty, Spike thinks they complement her nicely. "You look great Rarity." Rarity smiles at him. "Why thank you Spike. I do hope I'm not too under dressed for our dinner arrangement." Spike smiles as he gestures to himself. "More dressed than I am. I couldn't find anything casual to wear." "Well we are going to have to fix that problem later now wont we?" Rarity says as she nuzzles the dragon. Spike nods happily. "That would be great. Thanks Rarity." "Anything for my Spikey. So, shall we go?" Spike walks toward the door and opens it. "After you, milady." Author's Note This is a short and sweet little slice of life that will only have two chapters. I really hope you all enjoy it. Oh, and Derpy took my muffins, so no muffins this time.
...Stays a Secret...Spike and his date, Rarity stand in front of a diner called Gentle Gardens, a place very well known around Ponyville. Spike smiles proudly at his impressed-looking date, who stares at the restaurant in surprise. "Wow Spike, I'm impressed. I didn't think you could get reservations here. They are quite hard to reserve." Rarity says as she smiles at him. "Only the best for you, Rarity." Spike coos, eliciting a blush from the mare as she giggles lightly. "Careful Spike, I might just take that offer after this." She says as she winks at him. Spike smiles at her as they both walk in the restaurant. They walk up to the door waiter behind the stand and Spike speaks up. "Hello good sir. Table for two reserved under Spike please." He says as the waiter looks at his checklist. "Ah, yes. Welcome Spike. Right this way please." The waiter says as he escorts the pair. They soon make it to their table and Spike quickly moves to pull out a chair for Rarity. She smiles sweetly at him as she takes her seat. "Thank you Spike. Ever the gentledragon." "Of course." Spike says with a smile as he moves her seat forward. After ensuring that she is comfortable, he walks over towards his seat. However, he stops dead and his eyes grow wide as he notices something a few tables away. Rarity is admiring the design of the place as she looks around, however, she stops once she sees Spike just standing in one spot facing away. "Spike dear? Is something wrong?" She asks in concern, however he doesn't respond. He just keeps looking away. Rarity tries to find out what has his attention and was rather surprised at what she saw. A few tables down was one of hers and Spike's best friend Twilight. She was giggling happily with a stallion that Rarity knew well. "Is that Twilight with Caramel? I never knew those two were an item." Rarity says with glee. She notices that Spike jumps slightly with this statement. "I-I know right?" Spike says as he hops in his seat with a small smile. "Did you know Spike?" She asks him. He nods and looks their direction for a quick second. "I found out today. She told me Caramel just asked her out while she was shopping." Rarity giggles slightly in excitement. "I can't believe our Twilight is on a date! I didn't think at all that she was interested in romance." "Yeah, me neither..." Spike grumbles, Rarity barely able to hear it. She notices that he didn't seem all that happy. "You seem bothered about it." He quickly perked up at that. "No! Not at all!" He said quickly. "I'm happy she found somepony. Maybe now she will go out of the library more." Rarity nods with a smile. "That's quite true. She does lack in social etiquette." The two share a small laugh at that. Soon after, the waiter comes over. "Hello and welcome to Gentle Gardens. May I start you two off with drinks as you check these menus?" The waiter says as she places the menus in front of them. "Yes, I'll have the Chateau La Grave 98 if you have it." She nods and Rarity smiles at that. She turns to Spike. "How about you Spike?" Spike is looking to his right but quickly looks back. "Oh! I'll just have the same she's having." The waiter nods and then trots away. Rarity looks at Spike in intrigue. "I didn't know you like wine Spike." Spike looks at her in confusion. "What makes you think that?" Rarity frowns at that. "You didn't even hear what drink I asked for, did you?" Spike blushes slightly in embarrassment and he rubs his scales sheepishly. "Not exactly. I guess that means it was wine then." Rarity sighs. "Spike, is their date bothering you somehow?" Spike's eyes grow wide and he shakes his head rapidly. "No! Why do you-" "I saw you looking over there quite a bit since we've been here Spike." She said flatly. Spike freezes for a moment before he sighs. "I'm sorry. Its just I've never seen Twilight date somepony before. Guess I'm just a bit worried about her." Rarity smiles at him. "You're worried she might mess up or something like that." "Uh, sure. Something like that." Spike says with a small nod. "Well, knowing Twilight, she probably read a book about romance. I just hope they weren't the tacky ones." Rarity says as she sneaks a glance their way. She notices them smiling at each other while chatting the day away. Rarity smiles at this. "Seems like things are going great. Maybe you don't have anything to worry about after all." She looks and sees Spike look their way. He nods at seeing them. "Yeah, maybe not." Suddenly, his eyes grew wide. Rarity grew curious and took a glance to see what surprised him, but turns her head completely at what she saw. Caramel was leaned over the table as his lips were locked with a rather surprised looking Twilight. A small gasp escapes her lips when Twilight responds and moves forward into it. "Well, Now I know we definitely don't have anything to worry about." Rarity turns and sees Spike looking down. She grows curious but he speaks up first. "I have to use the restroom really quick." He says and quickly gets up and walks towards the bathroom. Rarity watches him as he leaves in curiosity, however, she gets pulled away as she hears a voice. "Rarity?" Rarity turns and sees Twilight walk up to her in surprise. Rarity smiles wide at seeing her. "Why, hello Twilight! Whatever are you doing here?" "I could say the same to you. Are you and Spike on your date here?" She asks while looking around. "Yes we are. It was quite the surprise to find he got us reservations here. But how about yourself? Who are you accompanying in such a fancy diner?" Rarity says, a mischievous grin creeping on her muzzle. Twilight blushes visibly at that. "Oh, just Caramel. He asked me to eat here since his cousin owns the place and he gets in free. I merely came to see how it is here." Rarity couldn't hold back her smile as she speaks, "Well it seemed to me that you came for a little more than just the scenery darling." Rarity giggles as she sees Twilight blush a deep red in the face. "Y-You saw that?" Twilight says flustered. Rarity nods and smiles mischievously at her. "I did. And might I say it must have been quite amazing judging by how you melted into it." Twilight is speechless for a moment before she merely sighs and nods at that. "It was." She looks at Rarity is slight panic. "Did Spike see it too?" Rarity nods. "He did." Twilight frowns. "How did he react?" "I don't know actually." Rarity says thoughtfully with a frown. "He left for the restroom right after it happened." "Oh, well okay then. I should head back then. I don't want to be away too long." "Oh! Don't let me stop you! Go on." Rarity says with a small giggle as she waves her away. She watches as Twilight rejoins her date. He says something and her eyes grow wide, a small blush appearing on her face as well. She turns back to her table with a smile. I wonder if I will be hearing about them two soon... She thinks as she waits for her date to return. Spike walks out the bathroom with a small sigh. After seeing what he saw, he really needed a moment to himself. "I guess they must be dating now." Spike says to himself. He looks up determined. "I have to be happy for her. She'll be happy with him, I know it." After taking another deep breath, he walks confidently back towards the table. As he gets close, he catches a glimpse of Twilight walking away from his table. His eyes grow wide at that. Oh, no... He thinks as he hesitantly continues to his table. When he gets to the table, he climbs back in his seat and looks at his date. He is surprised to see her already staring at him with a smile. "Done with your business?" Rarity says after a moment. Spike nods with a smile in return. "Yeah, sorry for leaving like that. When nature calls, ya gotta go." Rarity nods in agreement. "That's quite true. Although, you did miss out on Twilight coming over." Spike dreaded that response. "O-Oh. Did she say anything?" Rarity's smile grew which unnerved him. "Oh not much, but I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. Everything is just fine with them. " Spike glances over and sees the two chatting away happily again. "Yeah, nothing at all.." Spike and Rarity both walk out with smiles on their faces after the rather appetizing meal they had in the restaurant. "That was delicious, if I do say so myself." Rarity says as she looks toward Spike. "How about your meal Spike?" Spike looked up seemingly in thought. "The fries could have been cooked longer but other than that it was amazing. I'm especially thankful that they added some rubies in the salad." Rarity smiles. "Glad to know my gift was appreciated." Spike turns to her in surprise. "You did that?" "Guilty as charged." Rarity says before moving close and nuzzling him. "Consider that my 'thank you' for this lovely dinner." Spike blushes visibly. "A-Anytime." Rarity pulls back. "I should hope so. It would be a shame if this was the last one." Spike smiles. "Then I shall look forward to our next planned dinner." Rarity giggles slightly before turning away. "As will I. For now though I have a few things to attend to." Spike looks towards the library for a moment. He then walks forward. "Do you need any help?" She turns and smiles at him. "I appreciate the offer, but I must do this myself. Perhaps you could stop by the boutique tomorrow?" Spike nods with a smile. "Of course!" Rarity moves forward and plants a small kiss on his cheek. She then turns and trots off towards the boutique. Spike places a claw where she kissed. "Wow. I think she might like me." Spike hops in place happily before he turns and walks towards the library. He talks aloud as he walks. "The date turned out great. If I play my cards right, soon I'll have the most beautiful mare as my marefriend." He says happily as he walks up to the door of the library. As he gets there, he walks past a window and notices something. Curious, he backtracks to see and his eyes grow as wide as dinner plates at what he saw. Twilight was walking up the steps in the library with Caramel in tow. Spike's mind started racing as he thought. They can't be planning to do what I think they are! But, they were only on one date! She's not ready for that! On that thought, Spike rushes to the door and slams it open, surprising the two halfway up the steps. "And where do you two think you're going?" Spike says with a frown as he folded his arms. Twilight looks at Spike in surprise and confusion. "Spike? What are you talking about? And why did you slam open the door?" Spike's frown deepened. "You know what I mean! You two are going upstairs-" "So I can show him my collection of Star Swirl the Bearded journals." "Yeah...wait what?" Spike says in confusion. Caramel decides to speak up. "She told me she had copies of Star Swirl's journals. I asked if I could see them." "Yeah, and they are upstairs on my personal shelf." Twilight says still looking at Spike. He grows embarrassed, realizing he thought too much into it. He also feels stupid for even thinking it. "Oh, okay then. I'll just leave you guys to that. Sorry for opening the door so hard." Spike says as he turns and takes a step to leave. Twilight speaks up. "You're leaving Spike? I was hoping you would join us with reviewing his journals." Spike stops, but doesn't look their way. He couldn't right now; otherwise she would get worried. "N-No Thanks Twi. I have something to do anyways. I'll be back later." Before she could say more, Spike quickly left the library and away from town. "Spike! Wait!" Twilight yells but Spike was already out the door. She runs towards the door and sees him run off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres and frowns. "I wonder what he has to do there." "He's probably helping Applejack. She did have a lot of apples to deal with today." Twilight turns and sees Caramel walking up to her with a smile as he looks out towards him. "That guy sure is a helpful little dragon. Always doing what he can to help others. Heard he's trying to get with Rarity. Hope that goes well for him." Twilight looks at him in surprise. "You know about that?" He nods. "I'm sure more than half of Ponyville knows by now. It was because of the incident a month ago." Twilight frowns, remembering his birthday. "Guess others still talk about that..." Caramel shakes his head. "Oh not at all! I know everypony forgave him a long time ago. Hard not to when he's always so helpful." Twilight looks at him. "So you don't think its weird that a pony dates a dragon?" He shrugs. "Shoot, don't bother me at all. You like who you like." Twilight smiles at him. "That's good to know." He returns the smile and raises a hoof. "So, about those journals..." Twilight perks up. "Oh right! Follow me. You will be quite surprised at my collection." She says with excitement as she lead him to the bedroom... Author's Note Sorry this chapter is so late. I wasn't around to post it for a while. Also this was a last minute decision, but I decided to cut the last chapter in half and add another chapter. It was too long. The third is a little short, so I decided to add a bit more to it. Expect the chapter 1 day after this one. Also, comments are always welcome!
...For Now.Spike keeps running until his legs get tired; then he merely walks through some gates until his legs hurt and he finally takes a break near a tree and rests on it. As he lay there, he thinks about what just happened. "I can't believe I thought that! What is wrong with me?" Spike yells in frustration. He sighs afterwards and looks down. "Why cant I just be happy for her?" He says silently to himself. He notices a tear drop and realizes he was crying the whole time. "Got somethin' in yer eye again sugarcube?" Spike looks and sees Applejack walking up to him with a small frown. "Or do ya wanna tell me what's really buggin' ya?" Spike chuckles slightly at that. "Heh, I kinda figured you didn't believe that." Applejack sits next to him. "Ah have a sharper eye for lies than ya think. So tell me, what's got ya so down today?" Spike sighs and looks down. He wasn't too keen on admitting what's bothering him. He then has a small idea and speaks up. "Applejack, can I ask you something?" Applejack perks up and smiles at him. "Ask away partner." "Have you ever been in love?" Applejack blushes madly at the question. "Uh... well...wait, what does that have to do with anything?!" She says trying to avoid the question. Spike sighs and looks down. "I have...or at least I think I am." She wasn't expecting that. "Really? Is that why ya so down? Cuz she rejected you?" Spike shakes his head quickly. "N-No! She doesn't even know how I feel..." he says ashamedly. "Ah think she does Spike. Her and others." Applejack says thinking of everyone, including herself that knows who he's taking a liking to. Spike looks at her in panic. "S-She does?" "Ah'm afraid so partner. Hate to bring it up, but after that incident, it was pretty hard not to notice." Spike blinks. "Wait, are you talking about Rarity?" Applejack looks at him with confusion at that question. "Well, yeah..." "Oh." Spike sighs in relief. "Yeah, between you and me, I'm not really in love with her." Applejack's eyes grow wide. "Yer not?" Spike scratches his head. "No, but I do like her. A lot. Rarity is still a beautiful and talented mare." Applejack shook her head. "But she told me ya tried to confess when y'all were fallin." Spike chuckles. "Confess huh? Nah, I was just going to say I was glad that I met her and the girls. You included." This surprises her but she merely smiles at him "Oh, well Ah'm glad we met too Spike. Yer a good dragon and don't let anypony tell ya otherwise." Spike smiles at her. "Thanks Applejack." "No problem sugarcube. So, who's the lucky filly that caught yer eye?" Spike blushes and looks away. "I... can't say. Just know she means alot to me and I would do anything for her." "Does she care about you too?" She asks. Spike nods. "Yeah, she does... just not in the way I feel for her.." Spike looks to Applejack and sees her smile. "Well, if ya want my opinion, I think ya should tell her. It's not good to hide yer feelings from somepony if its affecting ya like this. If she doesn't accept them, at least ya will know and can move on." "But what if I don't want to move on? What if she's the only one I want to be with?" Spike says instantly. "I tried to fall for Rarity as much as her but I can't. Every time I'm with her, I think of T-the other mare. I don't think I could move on if she would turn me down." Spike says and looks down sadly. He feels a hoof on his left claw and looks to see Applejack frowning at him. "Wow Spike, ya must really like this gal. All the more reason ya should tell her how ya feel." "But what if she-" Spike was interrupted as she places a hoof up to silence him. He is rather surprised that even worked on him. "Spike, ya can't be worryin' about that. That's why ya are feeling the way ya are. Just go tell the girl. I'm sure she will be surprised, but Ah think she will accept ya." Spike is curious how she said that but ignores it as he realizes that she is right. "I think you're right Applejack. I'm just a little afraid I guess." Applejack smiles at him. "I know sugarcube. But don't worry, ya will get through this." Spike smiles and nods at her as he gets up. "Yeah! I'm going to tell her today." "How about an apple or two for the road?" Applejack says and then kicks the tree with one hoof, sending two apples down. Spike smiles and happily grabs them. He just realizes as he looks around that he was at Sweet Apple acres in an orchard. "Wow. I ran pretty far.." He says silently to himself. "And ya got a long way back. Its gonna get late soon. Better mosey on before it's too late." Applejack says with a smile. Spike smiles at her. "Yeah. Thanks for everything Applejack. You're a great friend." He then turns and heads home, ready to tell the one he cares for the most, that he loves her the most as well. Applejack watches as Spike leaves the orchard and heads back home. She shakes her head with a smile. "Phew, wasn't expecting that kind of conversation. Never though the little guy would be frettin over stuff like this." Applejack says as she leaves the orchard as well back to her home. As she's heading back she sees Apple Bloom coming to her. "Heya sis! Did ya finally tell Spike ya like em?" Applejack's eyes grew at that and she frowned at her little sister. "Ya still goin on about that? Ah told ya Ah don't like the little guy like that." "Suuure. Whatever ya say sis. So what was ya talking about over there?" Applejack looks over towards town. "He was having some problems and I helped cheer the little guy up. Should be heading home now to talk to Twilight." Apple Bloom looks at her in confusion. "Why? Does he have to tell her something?" Applejack merely smiles as she turns and heads towards the barn. "Hey! Don't ignore me!" Apple Bloom yells as she hurries after her chuckling sister. Spike makes it to his destination: the Golden Oak Library. "Applejack was right about it getting late. I wonder if Caramel is still over." Spike says before he reaches for the door with a closed sign and opens it. "I'm home!" He says as he enters. He sees that almost all the lights in the lower half of the library were off, save for a few nightlights here and there. He walks towards the steps and sees that the only light is in Twilight's and his bedroom. Thoughts started to come but he quickly shoved them down as he takes a step up the stairs and continues up to the room. When he gets there, he takes a breath and opens the door. He is greeted at the sight of Twilight reading a book on the bed. He sighs relived that Caramel was nowhere to be found. Twilight turns and sees Spike and smiles. "Hey Spike! I was wondering when you would get back. You finish what you had to take care of?" Spike smiles as he looks at her. "Yeah, I think I did." "Great! Because when I was reading with Caramel, I noticed something interesting and was hoping we could read it together." She says and pats a spot next to her. Spike smiles wider and he walks over. "Of course Twi." He says and hops on the bed. He pauses and looks hesitantly at Twilight. "May I?" Twilight looks at him in confusion before she realizes what he means and giggles at him. "Of course silly! You don't have to ask to lean on me." Spike blushes as he realizes that this is true and happily leans into her, enjoying the feel of her warm fur. After getting comfortable, he listens as Twilight explains what she had found. However he was thinking about what he has to do. He decides he would do it in time and merely listened more to the mare he's snuggled with. After some time has passed, Twilight yawned rather loudly, breaking Spike from a sort of trance. He realized they were reading for a while and it was quite late. "Hey Twi?" Twilight looks at him with a drowsy smile. "Yes Spike?" "I have something I need to tell you." Twilight grew curious and yawns again. "What is it Spike?" Spike looks away and plays with his claws. "Well first I want to say something. I'm not really in love with Rarity. I'm in love with someone else." "Oh really? who *yawn* is that?" Spike takes a deep breath to steady himself. It's now or never. "It's... you Twilight. I think I love you and have for a while now." Spike clenches his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable, whether it be her saying they can't be together or that she doesn't feel that way. What he gets however, surprises him; there was light snoring behind him. He turns and indeed Twilight is asleep. He lets the air out of his lungs in slight relief and annoyance at that, but before he could do anything else, all of a sudden Twilight grabs him and cuddles him closely in her sleep. He stops moving in surprise as she nuzzles up to him before laying still and breathing out one word. "Spike." He smiles sweetly at her before he makes himself comfortable as well. He regrets that she might not have heard him and he will have to do it again, but he feels better knowing that he can at least admit it. He looks at her one more time and hesitantly, reaches up and kisses her on the cheek. "I guess it can stay a secret for one more night." Spike says silently as he closes his eyes, falling to dreamland enjoying the warmth from the one he cares for the most. My number one secret can stay a secret...for now. Author's Note Sorry. Very late I know. Hopefully its worth it. Work happened, as well as other things. Comments always welcome and appreciated!
His Number One Secret...It was another great day in Ponyville. The weather was wonderful; nice and sunny with a few clouds for shade, courtesy of the weather team and Rainbow Dash. Everypony was up and about, going on with their daily routines whether it was selling goods at the market, purchasing food for themselves and others, or just simply mingling with others to pass another day. As things were progressing normally in Ponyville, so was the case in the towns library where two new occupants for the past few months were living. Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's prized student stirs from her slumber at the smell of something and groggily opens her eyes. She sits up, rubs her eyes and looks at a nearby mirror. Her eyes grow slightly at her disheveled look and she makes it her first priority to clean herself up. She slowly climbs out of bed and trudges towards the bathroom. After a few minutes, she exits the bathroom cleaned and ready for the day's agenda. As she walks out however, she notices that her bed, which was once messy due to her immediately heading to the bathroom, is neatly made and tidy. She also notices now that her study is clean as well. She smiles knowing exactly who is responsible before she walks towards her door and exits the room. As soon as she leaves, she is assaulted by the smell of food and knew that same one responsible is making breakfast as well. She happily trots down the stairs and straight to the kitchen. Once she rounds the corner, she notices quite the feast on the table: blueberry pancakes smothered in syrup, two tofu eggs, hay bacon, toast and strawberry jam. She lit up at the assortment and turned happily towards the one responsible. "Looks great Spike. Thank you." Spike the dragon, the only other occupant of the library smiles in return to her. "No prob Twi. Shall we dig in?" Spike says happily as he puts the orange juice on the table. "Of course. Although I am rather surprised at the amount. What's the occasion?" Twilight asks as she sits at the table. Spike merely smiles at her. "I guess you can say I woke up realizing how lucky I am, ya know?" Twilight raises a brow in confusion. "Lucky? How so?" Spike looks at the table as he speaks. "Well, just being here with all my friends. I'm just really glad to have everypony in my life. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity... and especially you Twi." Twilight smiles warmly at him as he continues. "You all have been really great to me, even though I know you guys can be like everypony else when they see a dragon roaming around. I guess I just wanted to thank you is all, so, thank you Twi." At hearing that, Twilight gets up and walks over, pulling Spike into a comforting hug. "Aww Spike. You know I'll always be here for you no matter what. I love you Spike." Spike smiles as he holds her tight. "I-I love you too Twi.... more than you will ever know..." After dinner, Spike gets to work cleaning the library right away. Twilight watches him in slight surprise; he is working much harder than normally. Merely an hour passes and everything needing to be done was finished. She smiles as she realizes what day it is and what Spike has planned later. After Spike finishes putting the last book in, Twilight walks over to him. "Wow Spike, you did an amazing job today. I don't think I've seen the library this clean before." Spike turns to her with a large, yet exhausted smile. "Well, I thought that maybe I should go all out today. Phew, Hopefully it can stay this way though. It was a little tiring." Twilight giggles as she sees the expression on his face. "Oh Spike. You didn't have to go all out. I'll always appreciate what you do. Now I haven't forgotten what you have planned today and since you finished so quickly, you now have more time to spend with you know who." She nudges him playfully getting a confused expression out of him. "I had plans? With who?" Spike says quizzically. Twilight raised a brow. "You know, the dinner." Spike didn't react. "With Rarity," still nothing. "The mare you've been pining over since we got here?" Spike seems to remember after hearing that. "Oh! That's today? I kinda forgot." That surprises Twilight. "Wait, you forgot? You've been trying to convince Rarity to go to dinner with you for weeks! How could you forget that?" Spike doesn't answer immediately, but then turns and smiles. "Heh, I know right! I guess I was so nervous that I kinda forgot. Thanks for reminding me." Twilight looks at him with concern. "Is there something wrong Spike?" Spike hesitates before he shakes his head quickly. "N-No! Nothing is wrong. Everything's great! I'm healthy, I got a date with Rarity, and it's a nice day outside." Spike says as he walks towards a window. "Everything is just peachy..." Twilight notices something in his tone but can't quite place it. "Well, I wish you luck on your date. I'll be out as well so-" "Wait, where are you going Twilight?" Spike says rather quickly as he walks over. Twilight blushes slightly. "Well, you're not the only one who has a date planned." "What?!" Spike yells rather loudly. She notices that Spike eyes grow rather wide at this information. She pouts at his surprise. "It's not that surprising. Believe it or not, some stallions do find me attractive." Spike turned away quickly at that. "I-I didn't mean it like that Twi. Of course you're beautiful and anypony would be lucky to have you..." Twilight blushes slightly at the unexpected compliment. "Oh, well thank you Spike." Spike didn't turn around. Instead, he spoke up facing away. "Who is he?" Twilight takes a moment, wondering what he meant but realizes it quickly. "It's Caramel. He asked me when I decided to go get more material for the weekly friendship letters." Spike didn't reply. He just stands there for a moment. Twilight grew concerned. "Spike?" All of a sudden he turns around with a smile on his face. "Well that's not a surprise. I could tell from a mile away that Caramel liked ya. Well I hope everything works out Twi. I gotta go and get ready for my date. See ya later!" And with that, Spike quickly scurried out the door. Twilight merely stared at the door with slight confusion. "See you, Spike..." Spike quickly runs away from the library and stops once he know he's far away enough. He then leans on a wall and sighs. "Well that's just great..." Spike says as he sits down sadly. Spike has a secret. One that nopony, not even Celestia herself knows about. It's one he has never and plans to never speak of. It's one Spike has had for a very long time. "And I plan to keep it a secret. No one will find out, especially not her..." Spike mumbles as he looks down sadly. "I can't tell her... I just can't." "Tell who what?" Spike jumps as he hears the voice. He turns and sees one of his close friends and the Element of Honesty, Applejack. She was pulling a wagon full of apples and was looking at him with concern. "Yew alright there sugarcube?" Spike gets up and smiles at her. "I'm great! Why do you ask?" Applejack frowns. "Spike, yer crying..." Spike wipes his eyes and indeed she was right. "Oh, I just got something in my eye. No biggie." Spike said as he turns to clean his eyes completely. Applejack unhooks herself and trots in front of him. "Spike, ya know ya can talk ta me about anything right?" Spike looks at her with a rather forced smile. "Of course Applejack. Like I said, it was just something in my eye." Applejack wasn't buying it, however, she decided not to press it further. "Alright then. Well the next time ya find that ya gonna get somethin' in yer eye again, make sure ta come to me. I'll make sure ta take care of ya." Spike looks at her as she gave him a small smile and nod before she connects back to the harness and trots away towards Sweet Apple Acres. "I wonder..." Spike says thoughtfully but then shakes his head quickly. "No, she can't know...can she?" Spike looks back at the retreating pony one last time before he turns and walks rather slowly towards the Carousel boutique. Spike approaches the Carousel Boutique with a smile. "All right. You can do this Spike." He says to himself as he takes a deep breath and extends a claw. He's about to knock, but then remembers something. "Oh, I can just walk in, can't I?" And with that, Spike strolls right in, the bell ringing signaling his arrival. As he comes inside, he is greeted by a white unicorn, although not the one he planned to see. "Hi welcome to Carousel Boutique! Where everything is chic, um... I forgot the rest." Sweetie Belle, Rarity's little sister says as she smiles at him. "Hey Sweetie Belle. Is Rarity here?" "She sure is! She's upstairs getting ready for your date." She says and she nudges the dragon. Spike smiles at her. "Okay. I guess I'll just wait here for her." "That won't be necessary darling." Spike turns and sees his date walking down the steps. He notices that she is wearing a simple blue scarf and some diamond stud earrings. Along with her radiant beauty, Spike thinks they complement her nicely. "You look great Rarity." Rarity smiles at him. "Why thank you Spike. I do hope I'm not too under dressed for our dinner arrangement." Spike smiles as he gestures to himself. "More dressed than I am. I couldn't find anything casual to wear." "Well we are going to have to fix that problem later now wont we?" Rarity says as she nuzzles the dragon. Spike nods happily. "That would be great. Thanks Rarity." "Anything for my Spikey. So, shall we go?" Spike walks toward the door and opens it. "After you, milady." Author's Note This is a short and sweet little slice of life that will only have two chapters. I really hope you all enjoy it. Oh, and Derpy took my muffins, so no muffins this time.
