A Dragon's Confession

After counting Spike's jewelry collection, both he and Celestia decided to head towards her kitchen. They spoke about different things, but she said,

"I never knew that you collected that many gems. You should open up a jewelry store."

"I would, but then Twilight and the others would think that I'm stealing everypony's money."

"Why would she think you would do that?"

"You know how many times I have for a plan?"

"Yes."

"Well... they tend to... sidetrack."

"How so?"

"Whenever Twilight and her friends go on a trip, I usually have to keep the castle clean and organized. Whenever I'm done, I relax. Sooner or later, something bad happens and I have to fix it. Most of the time, Starlight and Trixie help me, but I always have to do the heavy lifting. Thankfully, whenever I fix it, Twilight doesn't notice a thing, but whenever she DOES notice, she flips out. It's like trying to catch a mouse with your own hands. Sometimes, I just think everypony takes what I do for granted."

Celestia was surprised at what Spike said to her, but she wanted to help him, so she replies,

"Listen. There will be times that we will be shunned, even with all of the hard work that we help put in, but it helps us build up who we are and what we all can do about it."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked, curious about her statement.

"Because I get taken for granted as well."

"What? But you're a princess. You never-"

"Believe it or not, nobody ever really used to thanks me for raising the sun."

Spike was shocked by this revelation.

"What? Why?"

"I was a goal at the time, and there were always high expectations for me."

"Then what do you do about it?" Spike asked, not know what to do at this point.

"I just let bygones be bygones, and do whatever I can to push forward." she answered.

Spike was at a loss for words at her statement, but then she said,

"I understand what you're going through Spike, but no matter what you may think or imply, I never take anypony's work for granted."

He nodded after hearing her side of her duties. It made him wish that he didn't seek too much appreciation. Then Celestia asked,

"So would you care to show me how you make that Jewel Cake?"

"It would be my pleasure, Mom."

She gave him a smile as they kept walking. It really warmed her heart, knowing that she was even more closer to him than she has realized. The feeling was also mutual for Spike because he felt that he finally had somepony to talk to.

"Do you remember the last time that we made cake with each other?" Celestia asked.

"Gee... I think that it had to have been when I was still a kid. At least when I was getting into making sweets."

"Hmm... tell me. Why did you want to make sweets?"

"Dunno. Guess I was too hungry to wait."

Celestia laughed at his answer.

"Huh? What're you laughing about now?" he asked, a little annoyed.

"A funny feeling has came over me." she replied.

"And what's that?"

"It's like we're on a date."

Hearing this made Spike blush a deeper red. He had went on pretend dates with Rarity, but he never imagined that he would go on a real date with Celestia. And she was his mother, which made him even more insecure. Upon thinking about it, he was given a kiss on the cheek by her, making him jump a little.

"Must you always do that?!" Spikes aid, blushing even deeper.

"What? It's fun when I tease you~." Celestia said, sticking her tongue at him.

"What if somepony sees us?"

"Oh, who cares~? You're my son~."

"That just scares me even more..."

"You're always being a buzzkill."

"I know, but I don't wanna cause a scene."

"Just loosen up a little. We're getting closer to the kitchen."

After chatting with each other for a full twenty minutes, the two have finally made it to the kitchen. It was empty, which surprised both Spike and Celestia. Normally, Pinkie and Applejack would be in there cooking, but today, it was empty.

"I wonder where everypony went?" Spike asked, totally clueless.

"They must've finished baking for the Gala..." Celestia concluded.

"Hmm. Must've been cleaned up before we got here."

The two raised their shoulders like 'eh, whatever.' and went inside. Spike got the bowl, baking flour, and mixer while Celestia brought out the milk, eggs, and the measuring cup, along with the tablespoons.

"Now all we need are some gems. Do you know where we can find any?" Spike asked.

"Well, I might have some in my dresser. You can go check if you want."

"Oh. Can I use them?"

"Go ahead. I was planning on getting rid of them anyway."

"Sweet! Be back in a flash."

"Okay. Take your time~."

After leaving the kitchen, he headed out out of the kitchen and went back to Celestia's room to get her jewels. As he kept walking, he saw Twilight walking with Starlight. He suddenly caught her eye and immediately walked over to him.

"Hey Spike. How are you?" Twilight asked.

"I'm fine. You, Twilight?" Spike replied.

"Same as you. Listen. There's something that I need to tell you."

"Hmm? What is it?"

Twilight was hesitant on telling Spike. She knew that he deeply loved Rarity, and she couldn't bear the feeling of ever breaking his heart. As she struggled to find the words she was looking for to tell Spike, Starlight said,

"Spike, I know that this will come off as a shock to you, but we will need you to bear with us."

"Why? What's the matter? Did Luna set the wrong decorations?" he asked in a joking manner as he laughed.

"Spike, please listen to us. This is important." Twilight said in a stern manner.

"Okay, okay. Just who screwed the pooch this time?"

Twilight and Starlightbboth looked at each other nervously at each other, then they looked at Spike. They both took a deep breath, then Twilight said,

"Spike... it's about Rarity."

"Okay...? What about her?" he asked, feeling a little nervous.

"Spike, Twilight told me what happened. Rarity is seeing Courtly Arms to. She even told me that she was planning on getting back together with him."

Hearing this news shocked Spike. He was at a loss for words at her news. Then he said,

"N-no. Th-they're probably just being good friends with each other. Y-yeah... that's it. It's probably just a ruse."

"Spike...?" Twilight asked nervously.

"I know Rarity. He's only somepony that she just fantasizes about and lets them go. She wouldn't do it without a reason."

"Spike, please. We're trying to-"

"Thanks Twilight. You too Starlight, but I need to get the jewels for the cake that I wanna make for Celestia."

"Spike, we're not trying to hurt you. We're-"

"Well, I'm not hurt! Now please just let me go!"

Twilight and Starlight stood back after Spike shouted.

"Look. I just..."

Without continuing any further, Spike just moved on with even batting an eye. The feelings that Spike was experiencing were mixed with both sadness and rage. He couldn't believe what both Starlight and Twilight were telling him. He chose to deny it and kept walking. After walking in Celestia's room and getting her jewels from her dresser, he went back to the kitchen, ready to bake the cake he wanted to show her.