What a Heart Can Go Through

A tiny puddle sat on the edge of a trail in Ponyville's main park. It wasn't raining, but the puddle was slowly increasing in size. This was due to the fact that right above it, a young, heartbroken dragon was sitting on a bench, his tears steadily dripping from his face and onto the ground.

Spike had been sitting on the park bench for a good twenty minutes. From the first moment he had ever laid his eyes on Rarity, he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but now, that dream could never be realized. The young dragon didn't want to accept that that was the reality of his situation, but as the minutes went by, it became more clear that he would never be able to be with Rarity for all eternity.

Ceasing his sobbing for a brief moment, Spike looked at his surroundings. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and there were many ponies in the park. Brothers and sisters, parents and children, and even couples. When Spike's eyes would come across any of those couples, it reminded him of the couple he would never be able to be a part of. He so badly wanted to ask Twilight to make him grow 10 years in age, but he already knew that she would say no.

No matter what Spike thought, he knew that Rarity would be nothing more than just a friend to him for the rest of his life.

Spike looked back down at the ground, his eyes focusing on the puddle that his tears had formed. It wasn't very large, but the dragon could see his sad reflection in it. He then decided that he didn't want to look at himself while he was like this, so, with his head still hung low and tears still slowly flowing from his tear ducts, Spike closed his eyes. He wasn't moving, talking, or anything. He was just content with sitting there and letting his emotions flow.

"Spike?"

The young dragon jerked his head upward and opened his eyes upon hearing that voice. It was another familiar, feminine one, but slightly higher pitched. He looked to his left, only to find Sweetie Belle standing next to the bench. She was looking up at him, a concerned look on her face.

"Oh..." Spike began in a depressed-sounding tone, "Hey, Sweetie Belle..."

"Spike, what's wrong?" the white filly asked, climbing up onto the bench next to the dragon.

Spike gave a light sniffle before replying, "It's...It's nothing, really."

"Are you sure?"

Spike remained silent for several seconds. With a sigh, he replied, "It's about Rarity."

Sweetie Belle was already fully aware that Spike was constantly infatuated with her older sister, but she was also aware that Rarity had been dating Fancy Pants for quite some time. "Spike," the filly continued, "Are you upset that Rarity's dating Fancy Pants?"

Spike was a bit unprepared for Sweetie Belle hitting his problem right on the nose, but then again, she was Rarity's sister. Closing his eyes, the dragon replied, "Yeah, I am. I just thought that Rarity and I had the potential to be something someday." He shed a few more tears as Sweetie Belle continued to look at him, concerned. "I don't know if I'll be able to get over this..."

Smiling, Sweetie Belle extended her forelegs out toward Spike and asked, "Do you need a hug, Spike?"

Spike stared at Sweetie Belle for several seconds, and as he did, he realized just how alone he'd felt since Rarity had broken the unfortunate news to him. With one swift motion, Spike flung himself at Sweetie Belle, albeit gently, and wrapped his arms around her. As he proceeded to sob audibly into her shoulder, Sweetie Belle returned the gesture, wrapping her forelegs around the young dragon and resting her chin on his left shoulder. Soon after, she closed her eyes and began slowly rubbing Spike's back with her right forehoof.

As Spike shed more and more tears, he began to notice how warm he felt. Sweetie's body heat was gradually calming him down, and as his crying began to slow, he began to appreciate how kind his friend was being. He hadn't realized that this simple hug was something he'd desperately needed. Even as his crying eventually slowed to occasional sobs, he didn't want to leave Sweetie's embrace. He let out a sigh and held onto her, not wanting to feel alone after this ordeal.

Sweetie Belle had already noticed that Spike had stopped crying, but she didn't mind when he refused to stop hugging her. She knew that this was something he needed, and she was happy with allowing him to decide when to stop. She continued to slowly rub his back as the two of them remained in their embrace on the park bench.

After what seemed like forever, Spike took another deep breath and pulled away from Sweetie Belle, looking her in the eyes as he said, "Thank you..."

"No problem, Spike," Sweetie replied, rubbing his head affectionately, "That's what friends are for, right?"

For the first time since his ordeal began, Spike smiled. "Yeah, I guess so," he replied.

Spike and Sweetie Belle then pulled away from each other completely, resting their backs against the back of the bench as they looked around. Spike was already missing the hug that he and Sweetie had just shared, but he was much happier than he was ten minutes ago, so he told himself he could manage.

As the two friends sat on the bench in silence, Spike took a look at Sweetie Belle. Even though he'd had his eyes on Rarity most of the time, he had to admit, Sweetie Belle was also very pretty. Her white coat was as pristine as Rarity's, plus, despite it not being as vibrantly colored as Rarity's, he found her two-tone mane to be rather eye-catching. On top of that, during the days that Spike was invited to spend time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, he realized that he appreciated Sweetie Belle's personality more than the other two's. Overall, even though she would never be Rarity herself in the flesh, Spike found Sweetie Belle to be a rather charming filly, one that he knew he'd have a blast spending time with.

Breaking the silence, Spike said, "Hey, Sweetie Belle?"

The unicorn turned to face the dragon. "Yeah, Spike?" Sweetie replied.

"Thanks again for finding me when you did. I really needed that hug. I'm really fortunate to have such a kind friend like you."

The dragon's compliment brought a faint blush to the filly's cheeks. Smiling, she replied, "You're welcome, Spike."

"And...Sweetie?"

"Yeah?"

"Well...I...uhhh..." Spike stammered, his gaze averting Sweetie's while he rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, "I'm...not sure how to say this, but...throughout the time I've known you," he continued, looking Sweetie in the eyes once again, "It may have seemed like I had my eyes set solely on Rarity, but, to be honest, I've always...well...found you...kinda...cute."

Sweetie Belle's eyes widened slightly, her blush deepening a little as she hesitantly smiled back at Spike. "Oh..." she replied, "You...have?"

It took a few seconds for Spike to reply. "Y-Yeah, I have," he finally said, "All in all, you're like a mini Rarity. You like helping others and spending lots of time with your friends, but most of all you...you..." Spike rubbed the back of his head once again as he was slightly nervous to say what he was about to say. "You...look beautiful."

Though she was still blushing, Sweetie Belle couldn't help but let a heartfelt smile form on her face. She had no idea that Spike felt that way about her, considering that he had been all over her sister in terms of enthrallment. After several more seconds of silence, Sweetie replied, "D-Do you really mean that?"

"Y-Yeah, I do," Spike responded.

"Wow, I...I don't know what to say, Spike. Thank you." Spike only smiled in return. "You know," Sweetie continued, "There's something I have to tell you, Spike."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. For a while now, Spike, I've actually...had similar feelings for you."

Spike's eyes widened slightly, and he remained silent for three seconds before replying. "You have?"

"Mmhmm," Sweetie replied, "I mean, you're a really nice guy. You're kind, helpful, and just really nice to have around. I can see why everypony in town likes to see you."

The unicorn filly's statement caught Spike completely off guard. Had they really been having the same feelings for each other all this time? Had they never been able to confess their feelings to each other because of Spike eyeing Rarity all this time? Was Spike's unfortunate realization from earlier turning into something better? It most likely was, as this new realization was washing away a great majority of Spike's grief. He knew that now would be the perfect time to take advantage of this new opportunity.

"Hey, Sweetie?" Spike asked.

"Yes, Spike?" the filly asked in response.

"Well, first of all, thank you. I didn't know you felt that way about me, or for that matter, I didn't know you and I had the same feelings for each other."

Sweetie smiled. "You're welcome, Spike."

"Second of all," Spike continued, "If I can get Twilight to go on, like, some kind of outing with one or all of her friends sometime soon, do you wanna, like, maybe hang out at the castle with me? I could fix us something for dinner, and then we could, you know, do whatever we wanted for a while."

Sweetie Belle beamed at the dragon's offer. She had been waiting quite a while for just the two of them to do something together, and now it seemed like that was actually going to happen. "Sure!" the filly replied, excitedly, "When do you think we could do that?"

"I'm not sure yet," Spike replied, "I'll let you know once I hear anything from Twilight. Sound good?"

"Yeah! I can't wait!"

"Great! So...uhhh, I guess I'll see you then?"

"Yep! See you soon!" As she finished, Sweetie Belle hugged Spike once again, holding him for about two seconds before pulling away. She then hopped off the bench, took one more glance at Spike, and then started walking away.

As Spike gathered his thoughts, he watched Sweetie Belle as she walked away. He wasn't really focusing on her looks, rather he was focused on what had just happened. Sweetie Belle was just about his age, unlike Rarity, and they seemed to have feelings for each other. Plus, they had just planned their first get-together. It made the young dragon wonder if maybe, just maybe, this was the beginning of something wonderful.

At that moment, Spike's heart was full of hope.