I care about youby therandomone95ChaptersChapter 1: He's gone?!Chapter 2: Her thoughtsChapter 3: His thoughtsChapter 4: Spike's arrivalChapter 5: The momentFinale: The partyChapter 1: He's gone?!Author's Note If you didn't read the description, I warn you, and if you did, I repeat, this is my first fanfic ever, I request only patience and constructive criticism for the grammar errors and other mistakes, so, I won't write the southern accent for the Apple sisters, for example, I will try to write the word "I", instead of "Ah,", and I will do that because I want to get the minor orthography errors as possible, but, there will be some words that will be written in a "southern accent", well then, with that out of the way, enjoy! Chapter 1: He's gone?! Chapter one: Apple Bloom's thoughts Apple Bloom was at the ponyville market, she was going to buy some things her sister needed because Applejack was going to bring the food to the next sleepover at twilight's castle. Apple Bloom didn't mind going out once in a while because she was a hard working pony like the rest of her family after all. She stopped to buy some kitchen oil, and found Twilight and rarity in another stall nearby. Apple Bloom looked at them for a moment, and then, she thought: ´Maybe I should talk to them, see what're they up to, and maybe, just maybe, they can let me be in their sleepover, and if they say yes, I should bring the girls with me! it's the perfect plan!' So she approached them quickly. Apple Bloom was just a couple of meters away fom them, but she decided to stop when she heard that they were talking about something; Apple Bloom hid behind an oblivious stallion, who was big enough to hide herself entirely. The filly then poked her head out to listen to the unicorns' conversation, but she froze in shock after she heard it all: "Are you sure our Spikey-Wikey is going to be okay on his own in the dragon lands with those nasty beasts?" Asked Rarity "Well, I do know one thing: Ember is gonna destroy them if they do anything to him, he is quite the protected dragon, and if they mess with him, they mess with me!" Affirmed Twilight. "And how long is he going to be in there? I really worry about him" Questioned Rarity, sounding really worried now. "Well, I don't know, but he is a tough dragon himself, and he's got Ember on his side, he can't be in that much danger if they both team up, don't you think?" Reassured Twilight "Hmm, I suppose you're right, darling. Oh, look! Apple Bloom is here!." Said Rarity. Wanting to change the subject of the conversation, the unicorn had looked to her left and saw a stallion trotting off with a small glare at the filly who was hiding behind him. But Apple Bloom didn't hear them shouting her name, because she trotted off to her home: ' They can't be serious, Spike wouldn't leave without telling us! Without telling me... NO! I need to search for answers now, but I don't want to face them again, I don't wanna answer their questions like: why did you run away from us?' Apple Bloom slowed down for a minute to really think this situation, she was thinking about asking somepony, but again, who? 'Hmmmm, who is trustable, probably knows what happened with him and won't lie to me? Hmmmmmmm... Wait! I've got it!' And with that, she went home to have a little talk with her older sister. When the filly returned home, she dashed off to the kitchen and she put all the groceries on the table, and she ran through the house, searching her older sister, she ran into the restroom, into the bedroom, even into the bathroom, she didn't care if somepony was in there, she just wanted answers about the dragon, fortunately, nopony was in there. "Applejack! Applejack! Are you there?!" She shouted with all her breath, but nopony answered her calling. 'Maybe she's out in the orchard, yes, she has to be! I don't remember anything special for today, she has to be in the orchard! 'cause if she's not... I don't know where else to look." The filly searched the orchard, fortunately for her, she didn't have to search too far away, she found Applejack doing some applebucking, like she used to, and she didn't like being interrupted while doing it. Guess that rule has no power over Apple Bloom today. "SIS!! SIS!!, Where ar'... Oh, there you are! Applejack, I need to talk to you about something important!". "Huh? Apple Bloom, you're already back? Dang! That sure was fast!" "Sorry sis I gotta tell you something important, I was at the market and I was buying and I ran into Twilight and Rarity and they were talking about Spike and..." Apple Bloom only stopped when Applejack put a hoof on her sister's mouth, not allowing her to continue. "I didn't understand a single thing you said, you speak really fast sometimes, you know? How about this? We go into the house, we drink some apple cider and you tell me what's bugging you, only this time, slower, please?" Said Applejack, trying to calm down Apple Bloom. "Well that... sounds... kinda nice, okay sis, you convinced me, just try not to take long with the cider." Said Apple Bloom, this time, calmer than before. "Oh my gosh sister! You took AGES to make that cider!!" Complained Apple Bloom in the couch. "Whoah there missy! Making cider is not as easy as you think! Specially when you're trying to make it with love and care, you know, unlike those Flim-Flam cheaters!" remarked Applejack, remembering the day the apple family almost their farm. "Well, you have a point there sis, but there's no need to bring that up, I just wanted to talk with you." Said Apple Bloom , not wanting to remember the terrible day, and how she almost lost control of herself when she challenged the Flim-Flam brothers. "Anyways, what do ya wanted to talk about so badly?". Said Applejack, remembering how anxious was her little sister in the orchard. "Well..." started Apple Bloom with a small blush on her face "I was at the market, and I saw miss Twilight and miss Rarity, and I couldn't help myself, I heard what they were talking about. It turns out Spike is in the dragon lands and he is going to be there for a while! All I wanna' know is; Why did he left without saying goodbye? Why did he have to go? How long is he going to be there? I wanted answers but I ran away from them and it would be so awkward facing them again, so you're the only pony I thought could give me answers, please tell me sis, I'm gonna' explode if I don't know". Said Apple Bloom with a tone similar to the one she used when she was sad, or when she was angry, maybe both of them right now. "Well, first: he didn't left without saying goodbye, we all went to say goodbye to him on the train station, but I think you were at school that moment, second: he went to the dragon lands because of some political thingies with Ember being the leader of the dragons and such, and we all thought Spike was the perfect ambassador of us ponies, I mean, he is a dragon, and he grew among ponies, he can be very brave when he is determined and he is with his kind. And for your last question, I don't know the answer, nopony does, if things go as planned, it will be a matter of days, but if the dragons aren't willing to cooperate, little Spike could be months in there. " Applejack stopped talking to see the reaction on her sister's face, but Apple Bloom was just motionless, probably processing all the information she had received. Both sisters sat there in the couch, in awkward silence until Applejack spoke again: "You were mighty curious and really anxious about this whole thing, care to explain why?" "Oh, sorry, it was nothing, really" Apple Bloom lied, hoping her sister would fall for it, but that's when: "Sugarcube, I am offended. Did you really think I would fall for that? One thing about us apples is, we can spot a liar almost anytime instantly, and that was the worst lie I ever heard in all my life!" Apple Bloom turned to her sister, expeting anger towards her or a disappointing look, but when she turned around to face her sister, she only saw genuine concern for her and sympathetic eyes. "And for what I saw in the orchard, that certainly wasn't 'nothing', so I'm not leaving you until you tell me what's wrong, come on, you can tell me, you know I'm a pony of my word, if you don't want to tell anypony about it, you can always count on me sugarcube." Applejack threw her forehooves forward to give Apple Bloom a small but honestly caring hug, which the little filly responded throwing herself towards Applejack's arms and with tears in her eyes, not of sadness, but of joy. Chapter 2: Her thoughtsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 3: His thoughtsChapter 3: Spike's thoughts The day was good, most of it, Spike helped Ember solve all of the mess that created itself when Ember won the gauntlet, and Spike was a great ambassador for the ponies, he defended them with pride, determination and, most importantly, love, but Spike couldn't get that word to go away from his head and mind, after all, Spike only cared for one unicorn, but something about his feelings for Rarity was bothering him, and worse, Spike couldn't know what it was until later. Spike was on a train on his way to ponyville, it was night time, and trains aren't supposed to go in that time, but when you have a dragon lord with demands and bigger dragons behind her, you can't deny their wishes; the conductor was afraid for his life, and he pleaded to every princess he knew, but he stopped when he heard that the dragon only wanted to go home, the conductor knew it was a long trip, but when your life is at risk, you just obey their demands. Returning to Spike, he was bored, he knew the ride to ponyville would take 2 days, but he didn't care, he just wanted to see his friends again, specially one unicorn that lived inside the carrousel boutique, but there was something different, Spike didn't thought of her that way like he did when he first moved to ponyville, like the burning fire that reflected his love for her was suddenly... gone. Spike rolled in his seat, trying to get some sleep, but his mind didn't let him, so instead, he just went along with it; in his mind raced all sort of thoughts for Rarity, how much he has done for her, what did he saw in her, and what part of her made him fall for her. But again, when he asked himself why he liked Rarity, nothing more than her appareance came. Spike felt angry, not with Rarity, but for himself, 'There has to be something more than her looks, right?' He asked himself, but nothing came from his mind, and in that moment, he felt more lonely than anyone, a dragon among ponies, a monster, a freak, an abomination, who could love something like him?. Spike thought of his friends, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, in all of them, and somehow, thinking about them made him feel more comfortable, he knew that they would stand for him if he ever gets in trouble; but it wasn't enough. Spike wanted to feel loved in a special way, he wanted somepony to love him like a mare loves a stallion, but he knew that the only unicorn he loved would never return his feelings, and just thinking about it hurt. Love, that word was still in his head, and he didn't know why, but he couldn't get it to go away. So, he started thinking about his friends once again, one by one; he stopped when he thought about a very special filly for him, a yellow filly with a big pink bow on her red mane, the youngest of the apples: Apple Bloom. Spike remembered all the times they hung out, like the time when they first met, it was a night when he and Twilight went to Sweet Apple Acres to talk to Applejack, Twilight said that if you want to make more friends, you should start by talking to them, and when she first met Applejack, they didn't go much further than the presentations and the food, so she thought Applejack was the first pony they should talk to. But when the time arrived, Twilight and Applejack were super distracted, in fact, they bored Spike, and he went outside to take some fresh air, he was relieved, at that moment, he heard hoof steps behind him, he thought it was Twilight, but he was surprised when he saw who it was, it was Applejack's younger sister, Apple Bloom. The rest of the night was wonderful, they were talking about stupid things, and they were both happy just being with the other one's presence; eventually, Spike had to go to sleep, but he knew that day didn't go to waste, he earned a new friend! The time passed, Apple Bloom introduced Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to Spike, and they got along very well! Spike once defended the CMC from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon back when they didn't have cutie marks, and they defended him from other ponies that bullied him for being a dragon. Spike still remembered the day when the CMC got their cutie marks,he was so proud of them! but he remembered the day when he almost died, he was accompanying the CMC on another of their ideas to get cutie marks, he was also the one that was going to bring them fire when they needed it, but all went downhill when they heard timberwolves approaching and they ran for their lives. Spike got out of the forest first, then Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, but when Apple Bloom was going to come out of the everfree forest, he saw a timbrewolf grab Apple Bloom's tail and throwing her back to the forest, in that moment, something inside Spike broke, that part in his brain where the fear came was destroyed and replaced with his draconic instincts, he felt flames going all over his body, as a dragon whose treasure had been stolen, his only emotions at that moment were the need to save the filly and anger towards the beasts. Spike ran back to the forest, and he spotted Apple Bloom being surrounded by three timberwolves, and by the looks of it, Apple Bloom couldn't walk, so Spike charged against two of them, knocking them over and started fighting the third one, the impact was so big that those two timberwolves were just a bunch of sticks in no time, then, Spike blew a little bit of fire, which scared the timberwolf and made him run away, finally, he grabbed Apple Bloom and started running towards the exit. When he was running, he saw Apple Bloom's eyes glow in the moon, her eyes sparkled in the dark, Spike never noticed how... beautiful she was, her bow adding more cuteness to her image, and those eyes completed her, Spike looked back to see if the timberwolf was hunting him, but it wasn't, so he went back to contemplate those eyes, her eyes were reflecting tranquility and fear at the same time, eventually, they were back in the grass, out of the everfree forest. Spike asked Apple Bloom if she was okay, and, almost instantly, she yelped, Spike was worried about her, the anger he felt before was gone, and his mind was a mess, just a little more anger and that monster, which some citizens of ponyville called "Spikezilla" would've gotten out of control. But he felt more relaxed now, Apple Bloom was safe, Sweetie and Scootaloo ran to their homes and the night was still young. They agreed to keep this as a secret, Rarity and Applejack, and probably Rainbow Dash would kill them if they found out what they did, and since that day, he felt different towards Apple Bloom, he felt butterflies in his stomach whenever he saw her, and he blushed when she talked to him, you can tell that was odd, he only felt like that when Rarity was around, and now he was feeling like this for Apple Bloom, just like that, and he saw that Apple Bloom acted weird when he was around her, but he didn't care, he could only stare into those eyes, those beautiful eyes that just killed him in his insides. "Am I in love?" Spike asked himself while closing his eyes; Spike instantly knew the answer, but he knew this was going to end just like Rarity, besides, he didn't know if Apple Bloom would feel the same way, then, he curled into a little spiky ball and slept, in two days, he would find her, and he would tell her how he felt, he just hoped he would not be so hurt when he heard her answer. Chapter 4: Spike's arrivalChapter 4: Spike's arrival It was Sunday morning, and all pf Ponyville looked good, the streets were in peace, the ponies were pacific, and everything was in tranquility, that is, if we exclude a Purple alicorn and a Yellow filly, who were really nervous in that day specifically, after all, in that afternoon Spike was going to arrive, and each of them had plans for the dragon. If we went inside Twilight's mind, we would see a total chaos, a paradise that looked similar to discord's realm, Spike was the reason Twilight hasn't gone insane in the past, but she really missed her little dragon,even if he was just gone for 3 days, she wanted to see him safe and sound, and to do it, she planned to give him a 'Happy to see you' party at the castle when he arrived, everything was ready, even Spike's acquaintances went to the party, all that was missing was the little dragon. Twilight always has been a pony who worried for the perfection on everything she did, and she was extra-nervous about this party, this was going to be the celebration for Spike's arrival, and everything had to be perfect, normally Spike wouldn't let this happen, he was a humble kid, like some ponies from the Apple family, and he normally wouldn't have a party dedicated to his arrival, but he wasn't here, and Twilight was a princess, so, there's not much to discuss. On the other side of Ponyville, more specifically, on Sweet Apple Acres, a yellow filly with a red mane and a pink bow stood on a small valley inside of Sweet Apple Acres, thinking about the events that would take place on that same afternoon, about the party of that night, and most important of all, how would she tell the young drake her feelings. Applejack and her hitched a plan, Apple Bloom would be in the train station to greet him, they would go somewhere nice, and, when the time was correct, she would confess, it doesn't matter what Spike responds, after that, she would lead him to the castle to celebrate the ocassion!, it was the perfect plan, right? just one problem: Apple Bloom didn't seem ready for this. She imagined almost every stage, except, the stage where Spike would feel the same way, she imagined herself confessing to Spike, and then she imagined Spike reacting violently, disgusted, and many more ways, and this just hurt her more on the inside, knowing that Spike would reject her, or at least, sending her to the friend zone, made her sad. Below a tree, Apple Bloom laid on the grass, and shed some tears, she really wished he returned her feelings, but she only imagined the future, probably Spike would tell Rarity his feelings, and she would kiss him, he was always helping her, how could Rarity refuse such a gentledragon? And later they would grow up, maybe they would be married, and maybe they would move elsewhere to form a family on their own, everything while Apple Bloom only watched from behind Spike, feeling happy for them, but angry, disgusted and disappointed on herself for not taking action when she should have. But, when she imagined this, her sister's voice echoed through her head, telling her that everything would work out for the better, and Spike surely would say yes, this made Apple Bloom happy, but not satisfied, content, but not sure, she seemed lost in her darkness, but she had a light of hope inside her. The journey was boring, the seat Spike was on seemed to be made out of rocks all of a sudden, and, besides some fruits the conductor had collected, there was nothing in that train that Spike considered to be good food, there was no reason for him to stay in that train, in fact, he was ready to jump off the train. But suddenly, he remembered why he was on that train, he remembered he needed to get home, and the last time he went on foot, he tired himself too much, so, with irritable attitude, he went back to his seat, he was so bored, so, he decided to look outside of the window, and, with surprise, he saw that Ponyville was in sight! Probably he just needed to stay in that stupid train for another 4 hours, and then, he would be free at last!. Spike was excited, he would see all of his friends again, Twilight, Starlight, the rest of the elements of harmony, Apple Bloom... This last name resonated in his head for a good amount of time, for some reason, Spike couldn't get Apple Bloom off his head for what it seemed like hours, her appareance, her personality, her happiness, everything about Apple Bloom seemed perfect, and a little bit attractive to Spike, she was the best of the CMC. Spike didn't mind thinking about her, every time he thought about her, Spike smiled, she was special, Spike only cared about her, but there was just one problem: Some other colts have started to notice Apple Bloom in another way since the CMC got their cutie marks, he wouldn't be surprised if he found out Apple Bloom was in a relationship with another colt, after all, any colt was more handsome than him, he was just a scaly dragon, and nopony would want to be in a relationship with a dragon, that would be too weird, besides, she is too perfect for him, he felt like he didn't deserve somepony like her. "Yeah, she is too good for me, what am I thinking?, she would never notice me!" Said Spike to himself, and with that last thought, he let boredom take control of his mind again. It was afternoon when Spike arrived to Ponyville, Princess Celestia was beginning to put the sun down the horizon, and everypony was starting to trot towards their home, and Spike noticed it; Spike was starting to get off the train, but he was startled when he heard a sweet voice with a country accent on his right: "Hi, Spike!" "Hi, Apple Bloom!" Chapter 5: The momentChapter 5: Coming clean Both of them were looking at each other, worried about the other one's thoughts, about where was this going to go, worried about the possibility of rejection, but there was a light of hope that made them more confident, fighting the urge to run away. "Umm, Apple Bloom, where are the others? I mean, Twilight sent me a letter where she said that all of my friends were going to give me a good, warm welcome. "Said Spike, looking around for the possibility of his friends to be hiding around the station. "Well, I have something to tell you, and I wanted to say it with nopony around, because is personal, don't worry, I'll give you the tour back to Twilight's castle, but you have to stay with me for a little bit." When Apple Bloom said that last part of her sentence, she instantly blushed, causing Spike to be more and more confused. 'Is she... blushing? Is there a chance that she cou...?' Spike thought, with a small smile and a big blush, but other thought made him reject that idea. 'No, that's not it, I have been chasing after Rarity since, practically forever, there is no way she could love me back after I chased after another pony this long.' That thought made him quite sad, his small smile was gone almost instantly and his blush turned into a pale tone that was covered by his scales. "Umm, Spike, should we go now?" Said Apple Bloom, this made him snap out of his train of thoughts. "Yes, but where are we going to go?" Said Spike, with curiosity, the stores were closed at this hour, ice cream wouldn't be a good idea because it was starting to get cold, and she said that they would walk towards Twilight's castle afterwards, so, is there any other place left?. "Is only going to be a walk around town, don't worry, I'm not taking you to somewhere fancy, it's just a small walk around town, don't worry." Said Apple Bloom, with worry in her eyes, this could work out and maybe he will love her back, or it couldn't work out and she will be left alone because she had messed up the opportunity of being in a relationship with the one colt, (dragon in his case), that had caught her attention. "Okay, let's go." Said Spike, not truly confident in himself. The town was quiet, not a lot of ponies were in the streets at this hour, which was perfect for the both of them, you would think that they were talking to each other, and that they had confessed at this point, but they were far too stressed to even look at each other. Their walk brought them to a lot of symbolic places around ponyville, like the old treehouse library, Fluttershy's cottage, Sugarcube corner, and... the home of the element of generosity, the place Spike went every afternoon to help Rarity, the Carrousel Boutique. A lot of thoughts ran inside Spike's head when he looked at the building: 'Wow, this is the place I've been going since Twilight and I came to Ponyville, who would've thought that I have spent a lot of time trying to get the attention of somepony who doesn't even know I exist? And the pony that I've spent the most valuable moments with was in front of my face the whole time and I didn't even look at her? I am so lucky that I even have Apple Bloom as a friend, I deserve that she would not have wanted to see me after all this time, I'm such a blockhead.' Apple Bloom looked at Spike for once, and she noticed he was staring at the Boutique, which caused her to lose a little more confidence: 'Is he staring at Rarity's home? Great, he must be after her still, I don't know what to do, I don't stand a chance against somepony like her, she is like the most beautiful mare in Equestria, and I am just a little farm pony, not a mare, not even an unicorn, and not beautiful at all. I won't confess, it's far too obvious he will not accept me, I just want a chance with him, I can show him that an ugly earth pony like me can be better than a fancy unicorn like her.' Their walk ended at the end of the Everfree forest, Apple Bloom and Spike stared at a specific point, they both remembered that night, the night that Apple Bloom almost died, the night Spike fought for her, the night they fell in love without knowing it. Apple Bloom sat on the grass, far from the forest, because she knew that a creature could come out and attack them, and she had enough for a lifetime, when Spike saw Apple Bloom sit, he did the same, the grass was cold, the moon was starting to come out, and the lights all around Ponyville turned on. They stood in silence for a couple of minutes,until Apple Bloom spoke: "Spike, do you still love Rarity?" "What!? How did you know about that?" Said Spike. How? He was sure that he hid it so well from everypony, right? Apple Bloom giggled, breaking some of the tension between the two: "Well, I think almost everypony knows by now, Spike, you don't do a very good job hiding it." Spike sighed:"Yeah, I wasn't very good at it, but despite it, she still doesn't know". Apple Bloom was almost out of hope, that sentence amost made her lose it. "W-what do you mean, you love her, right? You have been helping her since you came to town, right?" "Yes, but she didn't show any sign of love towards me, I mean, she loves me as a friend, but she doesn't love me in that way, you know? Besides, I don't know if I love her for real." "What?" Apple Bloom's hope was starting to increase now. "Yeah, I always have been attracted to her, when I came to Ponyville, she was the most beautiful pony I've seen, but I don't know if my crush goes further more than just her looks..." "Yeah?" "And when I go to visit her, she treats me like a servant!" "Yeah." "And I want somepony who treats me right!" "YEAH!" "And she can be so unbearable sometimes!" "YEAH! Who needs an unbearable unicorn when you can have a down dirty earth pony?" Both of them were in genuine shock after that. Apple Bloom instantly covered her mouth with her hooves and she mentally slapped herself. 'Why did you say that? If you didn't screw it up before, you certainly did now!' Spike asked with curiosity. "Apple Bloom, do you really...?" Apple Bloom interrupted him. "S-Sorry, I don't know what was that, anyways, what were we talking about?" Spike was in awe, was Apple Bloom refering to herself? Did she say that because she loved him back?, there was only one way to know. "Apple Bloom, do you like me... you know... in a special way?" Apple Bloom didn't expect that question, but inside she knew that this was the perfect moment to confess and hope for the better. "I... I... Yes, Spike, I love you, I didn't know it until the night when I almost died, but I didn't say anything because I was afraid that that you wouldn't like me, I mean, you are still after Rarity, right? How am I supposed to compete against a beautiful mare like her?" Apple Bloom felt tears in her eyes, suddenly, she felt a warm and caring hug, she saw that it was Spike, and she wiped her tears by mashing them against his chest. They stayed in that poition for a couple of moments, until Spike pulled away with a smile, Apple Bloom smiled too, and, with loving eyes, Spike said: "Apple Bloom, how could you possibly imagine I would say no to you? I care about you, and I love you too, but, why didn't you say it sooner?" "Because I was afraid, I thought about it when you went to the dragon lands without saying anything, and I knew I should confess when you got back, I don't know if you're gonna disappear without saying anything again! There are ponies here who care about you!" Spike hugged her again, and he looked at her eyes, with relief in his chest, he said:" Apple Bloom, I'm not gonna go away again, now I have a real reason to stay, and if you're wondering what it is, my reason to stay and protect Ponyville is you." They both blushed, then, started moving closer, and finally, their lips met, it was a sensation neither of them experienced before, a rush of feelings ran inside them, for Apple Bloom, it was like getting her cutie mark all over again, and for Spike, it was like all the pain in his past, like when he attacked Ponyville and when he saw Rarity kiss another stallion, was changed for happiness, they liked the feeling, and didn't want it to end. The kiss was unexperenced, and a little bit messy, but neither of them wanted to end it. They kissed for what it seemed an eternity to them, and then, they finally pulled away with a smile, not an awkward smile like before, this one was a smile formed by pure happiness and joy, all the fear and worries they felt, now was melting with the warmth of love. Everything seemed perfect, until Apple Bloom remembered something important. "Oh! I completely forgot!, we must go to Twilight's castle! It's too late!" Spike frowned. "Awww, but we were having a great time!" Apple Bloom laughed. "Yeah, I don't want to go either, but I think they are waiting for us to arrive, besides, we will be together after this, right, Spike?" Spike blushed once more. "Yes, I guess so, come on, I don't want to miss my 'Welcome back' party" Apple Bloom looked at him with curiosity. "How did you know we were preparing a party?" Spike laughed and said: "Well, Twilight is not very good at keeping secrets either." They both laughed and raced towards the castle... Finale: The partyFinale: The celebration Spike and Apple Bloom were running towards Twilight's castle, their hearts at peace at last, the confessions in the previous five minutes really helped, who knows what would've happened if Apple Bloom didn't say anything, maybe each one would probably still be distressed about the other one's feelings and stay like that forever, not being able to even look at each other due to the embarassment and fear they would feel. But this wasn't the case, now, they had admitted their feelings for each other and were heading towards a celebration, not any celebration, the feast for the return of Spike, and the only guests missing were a yellow furred, red maned earth filly and a purple baby dragon, who were looking towards this feast. They ran for what seemed like an hour or so, frankly, they didn't care about the hour when they were in the other's company, but then, they landed on Equestria when they saw the giant doors of the castle a few meters away from them. They stopped, Spike was about to enter the castle, but Apple Bloom stopped him with a hoof in his left shoulder. "Spike, wait, what if they don't agree?" Said Apple Bloom with a bit of worry and distress in her voice. "What do you mean if they agree?" Questioned Spike with an eyebrow raised. "Yes, I mean, do you think everypony will be okay with us being a couple?" Apple Bllom's voice was quieter now, sounding a little bit like Fluttershy. Spike thought about it for a moment, and then, he grabbed Apple Bloom's hoof and said while looking at her eyes: "Well, I know they'll feel a little awkward at first, I mean, not everyday you see a pony-dragon couple, but I know they'll get used to see us together in the future, besides, Twilight wants me to be happy, even if it's not with Rarity, you should know about Applejack and the rest of the CMC, Rarity is not interested in me, she was never interested in me anyways, Fluttershy won't mind us hanging out together, Rainbow dash will make fun of us for a while, but I don't think she will be against us being a couple, I think Starlight will be indifferent about it, and Pinkie Pie will support us all the way, she wants everypony to be happy after all, and I can't think of somepony who doesn't want us to be together, do you?" Apple Bloom processed the information for a moment, and she thought about her sister, Applejack helped her with her confidence in herself, right? she wouldn't have done it if she didn't think they would work out, besides, Applejack told her she could be whatever she wants, and the Apple family wouldn't think any less of her, she remembered the time when her own fears trapped her in an endless nightmare, and the lullaby her sister sang to bring her peace, she knew her older sister would support her in whatever she wanted, and she considered Applejack the best sister anypony could ever have. In the other side, she thought about her friends, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and her cousin, Babs Seed, she also knew all of them very well, and knew they also would support her in anything, they really were the best friends she could ever have, Apple Bloom loved them as sisters, and Babs Seed probably would not understand it, but in the end, she would give in, she is her cousin, and family supports itself, the Apple family knew that very well. "Yeah, I know what you mean, sorry for doubting all of our friends, are you ready to enter and see your party?" Said Apple Bloom, her expression changing into a smile of confidence. "Yes, let's go" And with that, Spike pulled Apple Bloom inside the castle to be greeted with an explosion of colors, confetti and streamers, Pinkie Pie was here without a doubt, the confetti was everywhere and the musicians started playing the music for the party, everypony jumped off their seats and yelled: "SURPRISE!!!!" with Pinkie's voice standing out. During the next hour, Spike was lost in hugs and hand (hoof, claw...no, whatever) shakes from everypony gathered in the castle, the dance floor was full of ponies, the food table was empty before the party was over, and during the party, Spike never let go of Apple Bloom's hoof. Everypony was confused except Applejack, why were Spike and Apple Bloom so close? Why did Apple Bloom arrive at the same time Spike did? Something was going on between those two, but their doubts were about to disappear in a short time, because Apple Bloom and Spike got on the small stage Twilight built in five minutes with her magic. "Everypony! Please! Your attention please!" Yelled Spike. Everypony turned their heads towards them, and when the room was in complete silence, Spike said: "Apple Bloom and I have an announcement!, you see, I think all of you know about my feelings for Rarity by now" Everypony giggled at that except Rarity, who was puzzled by all of this. "What? Spike has feelings for me?" Said Rarity with a confused look on her face. "Yes Rarity, I had feelings for you." Said Spike with an unamused look on his face. "But I have been reflecting on my feelings, and now it's clear that I didn't truly love Rarity". Everypony spit out their drinks and the ones that weren't drinking anything gasped. "Yes, I know, even I didn't believe it when I thought about it, but I have been thinking about somepony who always has been there for me when I needed it, and she is my age too, and that pony is ... Apple Bloom!!" Spike said that last part with enthusiasm, and when the filly's name left his mouth, the room went completely quiet, everypony was just staring wide-eyed at them, like if everypony saw a ghost or something like that, but when Apple Bloom and Spike were about to leave the stage with broken hopes, everypony started clapping ( or rather stomping) their hooves, the young couple was in awe, but deep inside them, they knew everything was going to work out. After that, the party carried on without a flaw, Rarity didn't have resentements against Spike and/or Apple Bloon, in fact, she was glad that her little assistant had found somepony to love; and the rest of their friends acted exactly as Spike predicted, soon, everypony started leaving, except for Spike and Apple Bloom, who were at the balcony of the castle, Applejack let Apple Bloom stay in for the night because this was their first night as an official couple, and they decided to go to the balcony because Spike said that the view from up there was incredible and kinda romantic, they could see everything from up there, they stared at Ponyville for a while, until Apple Bloom spoke: "Did you enjoy your party Spike?" Apple Bloom turned her head to see the dragon she loved, who also turned his head towards her, they both blushed when they made eye contact. "Yes, I had a great time today, thanks to you, Apple Bloom." Spike leaned towards Apple Bloom, who also moved towards Spike. "I love you, Spike." "I love you too, Apple Bloom." And they kissed once more, this kiss wasn't as exciting as the first time, but it was enough, because they knew this was the start of a relationship that wouldn't end easily, because they loved each other for so long without even knowing it, and now they were finally together, their young romance was soon accepted by the ponies of Ponyville, and now Spike was part of the CMC as their remote mesenger, everything was telling that this new relationship would never end, why? Well because... They cared about each other. Author's Note I hope you enjoyed this short fic, I know is not perfect, I know that my pacing is not the best and that my orthography needs a lot of work, but I'll try to improve it, and maybe I will be an official creator of fan-works on this site! But is going to be a long road ahead, and I can't do it without help, so, I want to give a special thanks to poisonmaster1243 and Night Music for marking my errors and help me improve my orthography, I promise the next story will be better written. With that out of the way, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone here, to those who gave my first fanfic ever a shot and either liked it or disliked it, after all, everything counts. See you in the next story, goodbye!
Chapter 1: He's gone?!Author's Note If you didn't read the description, I warn you, and if you did, I repeat, this is my first fanfic ever, I request only patience and constructive criticism for the grammar errors and other mistakes, so, I won't write the southern accent for the Apple sisters, for example, I will try to write the word "I", instead of "Ah,", and I will do that because I want to get the minor orthography errors as possible, but, there will be some words that will be written in a "southern accent", well then, with that out of the way, enjoy! Chapter 1: He's gone?! Chapter one: Apple Bloom's thoughts Apple Bloom was at the ponyville market, she was going to buy some things her sister needed because Applejack was going to bring the food to the next sleepover at twilight's castle. Apple Bloom didn't mind going out once in a while because she was a hard working pony like the rest of her family after all. She stopped to buy some kitchen oil, and found Twilight and rarity in another stall nearby. Apple Bloom looked at them for a moment, and then, she thought: ´Maybe I should talk to them, see what're they up to, and maybe, just maybe, they can let me be in their sleepover, and if they say yes, I should bring the girls with me! it's the perfect plan!' So she approached them quickly. Apple Bloom was just a couple of meters away fom them, but she decided to stop when she heard that they were talking about something; Apple Bloom hid behind an oblivious stallion, who was big enough to hide herself entirely. The filly then poked her head out to listen to the unicorns' conversation, but she froze in shock after she heard it all: "Are you sure our Spikey-Wikey is going to be okay on his own in the dragon lands with those nasty beasts?" Asked Rarity "Well, I do know one thing: Ember is gonna destroy them if they do anything to him, he is quite the protected dragon, and if they mess with him, they mess with me!" Affirmed Twilight. "And how long is he going to be in there? I really worry about him" Questioned Rarity, sounding really worried now. "Well, I don't know, but he is a tough dragon himself, and he's got Ember on his side, he can't be in that much danger if they both team up, don't you think?" Reassured Twilight "Hmm, I suppose you're right, darling. Oh, look! Apple Bloom is here!." Said Rarity. Wanting to change the subject of the conversation, the unicorn had looked to her left and saw a stallion trotting off with a small glare at the filly who was hiding behind him. But Apple Bloom didn't hear them shouting her name, because she trotted off to her home: ' They can't be serious, Spike wouldn't leave without telling us! Without telling me... NO! I need to search for answers now, but I don't want to face them again, I don't wanna answer their questions like: why did you run away from us?' Apple Bloom slowed down for a minute to really think this situation, she was thinking about asking somepony, but again, who? 'Hmmmm, who is trustable, probably knows what happened with him and won't lie to me? Hmmmmmmm... Wait! I've got it!' And with that, she went home to have a little talk with her older sister. When the filly returned home, she dashed off to the kitchen and she put all the groceries on the table, and she ran through the house, searching her older sister, she ran into the restroom, into the bedroom, even into the bathroom, she didn't care if somepony was in there, she just wanted answers about the dragon, fortunately, nopony was in there. "Applejack! Applejack! Are you there?!" She shouted with all her breath, but nopony answered her calling. 'Maybe she's out in the orchard, yes, she has to be! I don't remember anything special for today, she has to be in the orchard! 'cause if she's not... I don't know where else to look." The filly searched the orchard, fortunately for her, she didn't have to search too far away, she found Applejack doing some applebucking, like she used to, and she didn't like being interrupted while doing it. Guess that rule has no power over Apple Bloom today. "SIS!! SIS!!, Where ar'... Oh, there you are! Applejack, I need to talk to you about something important!". "Huh? Apple Bloom, you're already back? Dang! That sure was fast!" "Sorry sis I gotta tell you something important, I was at the market and I was buying and I ran into Twilight and Rarity and they were talking about Spike and..." Apple Bloom only stopped when Applejack put a hoof on her sister's mouth, not allowing her to continue. "I didn't understand a single thing you said, you speak really fast sometimes, you know? How about this? We go into the house, we drink some apple cider and you tell me what's bugging you, only this time, slower, please?" Said Applejack, trying to calm down Apple Bloom. "Well that... sounds... kinda nice, okay sis, you convinced me, just try not to take long with the cider." Said Apple Bloom, this time, calmer than before. "Oh my gosh sister! You took AGES to make that cider!!" Complained Apple Bloom in the couch. "Whoah there missy! Making cider is not as easy as you think! Specially when you're trying to make it with love and care, you know, unlike those Flim-Flam cheaters!" remarked Applejack, remembering the day the apple family almost their farm. "Well, you have a point there sis, but there's no need to bring that up, I just wanted to talk with you." Said Apple Bloom , not wanting to remember the terrible day, and how she almost lost control of herself when she challenged the Flim-Flam brothers. "Anyways, what do ya wanted to talk about so badly?". Said Applejack, remembering how anxious was her little sister in the orchard. "Well..." started Apple Bloom with a small blush on her face "I was at the market, and I saw miss Twilight and miss Rarity, and I couldn't help myself, I heard what they were talking about. It turns out Spike is in the dragon lands and he is going to be there for a while! All I wanna' know is; Why did he left without saying goodbye? Why did he have to go? How long is he going to be there? I wanted answers but I ran away from them and it would be so awkward facing them again, so you're the only pony I thought could give me answers, please tell me sis, I'm gonna' explode if I don't know". Said Apple Bloom with a tone similar to the one she used when she was sad, or when she was angry, maybe both of them right now. "Well, first: he didn't left without saying goodbye, we all went to say goodbye to him on the train station, but I think you were at school that moment, second: he went to the dragon lands because of some political thingies with Ember being the leader of the dragons and such, and we all thought Spike was the perfect ambassador of us ponies, I mean, he is a dragon, and he grew among ponies, he can be very brave when he is determined and he is with his kind. And for your last question, I don't know the answer, nopony does, if things go as planned, it will be a matter of days, but if the dragons aren't willing to cooperate, little Spike could be months in there. " Applejack stopped talking to see the reaction on her sister's face, but Apple Bloom was just motionless, probably processing all the information she had received. Both sisters sat there in the couch, in awkward silence until Applejack spoke again: "You were mighty curious and really anxious about this whole thing, care to explain why?" "Oh, sorry, it was nothing, really" Apple Bloom lied, hoping her sister would fall for it, but that's when: "Sugarcube, I am offended. Did you really think I would fall for that? One thing about us apples is, we can spot a liar almost anytime instantly, and that was the worst lie I ever heard in all my life!" Apple Bloom turned to her sister, expeting anger towards her or a disappointing look, but when she turned around to face her sister, she only saw genuine concern for her and sympathetic eyes. "And for what I saw in the orchard, that certainly wasn't 'nothing', so I'm not leaving you until you tell me what's wrong, come on, you can tell me, you know I'm a pony of my word, if you don't want to tell anypony about it, you can always count on me sugarcube." Applejack threw her forehooves forward to give Apple Bloom a small but honestly caring hug, which the little filly responded throwing herself towards Applejack's arms and with tears in her eyes, not of sadness, but of joy.
Chapter 2: Her thoughtsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 3: His thoughtsChapter 3: Spike's thoughts The day was good, most of it, Spike helped Ember solve all of the mess that created itself when Ember won the gauntlet, and Spike was a great ambassador for the ponies, he defended them with pride, determination and, most importantly, love, but Spike couldn't get that word to go away from his head and mind, after all, Spike only cared for one unicorn, but something about his feelings for Rarity was bothering him, and worse, Spike couldn't know what it was until later. Spike was on a train on his way to ponyville, it was night time, and trains aren't supposed to go in that time, but when you have a dragon lord with demands and bigger dragons behind her, you can't deny their wishes; the conductor was afraid for his life, and he pleaded to every princess he knew, but he stopped when he heard that the dragon only wanted to go home, the conductor knew it was a long trip, but when your life is at risk, you just obey their demands. Returning to Spike, he was bored, he knew the ride to ponyville would take 2 days, but he didn't care, he just wanted to see his friends again, specially one unicorn that lived inside the carrousel boutique, but there was something different, Spike didn't thought of her that way like he did when he first moved to ponyville, like the burning fire that reflected his love for her was suddenly... gone. Spike rolled in his seat, trying to get some sleep, but his mind didn't let him, so instead, he just went along with it; in his mind raced all sort of thoughts for Rarity, how much he has done for her, what did he saw in her, and what part of her made him fall for her. But again, when he asked himself why he liked Rarity, nothing more than her appareance came. Spike felt angry, not with Rarity, but for himself, 'There has to be something more than her looks, right?' He asked himself, but nothing came from his mind, and in that moment, he felt more lonely than anyone, a dragon among ponies, a monster, a freak, an abomination, who could love something like him?. Spike thought of his friends, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, in all of them, and somehow, thinking about them made him feel more comfortable, he knew that they would stand for him if he ever gets in trouble; but it wasn't enough. Spike wanted to feel loved in a special way, he wanted somepony to love him like a mare loves a stallion, but he knew that the only unicorn he loved would never return his feelings, and just thinking about it hurt. Love, that word was still in his head, and he didn't know why, but he couldn't get it to go away. So, he started thinking about his friends once again, one by one; he stopped when he thought about a very special filly for him, a yellow filly with a big pink bow on her red mane, the youngest of the apples: Apple Bloom. Spike remembered all the times they hung out, like the time when they first met, it was a night when he and Twilight went to Sweet Apple Acres to talk to Applejack, Twilight said that if you want to make more friends, you should start by talking to them, and when she first met Applejack, they didn't go much further than the presentations and the food, so she thought Applejack was the first pony they should talk to. But when the time arrived, Twilight and Applejack were super distracted, in fact, they bored Spike, and he went outside to take some fresh air, he was relieved, at that moment, he heard hoof steps behind him, he thought it was Twilight, but he was surprised when he saw who it was, it was Applejack's younger sister, Apple Bloom. The rest of the night was wonderful, they were talking about stupid things, and they were both happy just being with the other one's presence; eventually, Spike had to go to sleep, but he knew that day didn't go to waste, he earned a new friend! The time passed, Apple Bloom introduced Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to Spike, and they got along very well! Spike once defended the CMC from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon back when they didn't have cutie marks, and they defended him from other ponies that bullied him for being a dragon. Spike still remembered the day when the CMC got their cutie marks,he was so proud of them! but he remembered the day when he almost died, he was accompanying the CMC on another of their ideas to get cutie marks, he was also the one that was going to bring them fire when they needed it, but all went downhill when they heard timberwolves approaching and they ran for their lives. Spike got out of the forest first, then Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, but when Apple Bloom was going to come out of the everfree forest, he saw a timbrewolf grab Apple Bloom's tail and throwing her back to the forest, in that moment, something inside Spike broke, that part in his brain where the fear came was destroyed and replaced with his draconic instincts, he felt flames going all over his body, as a dragon whose treasure had been stolen, his only emotions at that moment were the need to save the filly and anger towards the beasts. Spike ran back to the forest, and he spotted Apple Bloom being surrounded by three timberwolves, and by the looks of it, Apple Bloom couldn't walk, so Spike charged against two of them, knocking them over and started fighting the third one, the impact was so big that those two timberwolves were just a bunch of sticks in no time, then, Spike blew a little bit of fire, which scared the timberwolf and made him run away, finally, he grabbed Apple Bloom and started running towards the exit. When he was running, he saw Apple Bloom's eyes glow in the moon, her eyes sparkled in the dark, Spike never noticed how... beautiful she was, her bow adding more cuteness to her image, and those eyes completed her, Spike looked back to see if the timberwolf was hunting him, but it wasn't, so he went back to contemplate those eyes, her eyes were reflecting tranquility and fear at the same time, eventually, they were back in the grass, out of the everfree forest. Spike asked Apple Bloom if she was okay, and, almost instantly, she yelped, Spike was worried about her, the anger he felt before was gone, and his mind was a mess, just a little more anger and that monster, which some citizens of ponyville called "Spikezilla" would've gotten out of control. But he felt more relaxed now, Apple Bloom was safe, Sweetie and Scootaloo ran to their homes and the night was still young. They agreed to keep this as a secret, Rarity and Applejack, and probably Rainbow Dash would kill them if they found out what they did, and since that day, he felt different towards Apple Bloom, he felt butterflies in his stomach whenever he saw her, and he blushed when she talked to him, you can tell that was odd, he only felt like that when Rarity was around, and now he was feeling like this for Apple Bloom, just like that, and he saw that Apple Bloom acted weird when he was around her, but he didn't care, he could only stare into those eyes, those beautiful eyes that just killed him in his insides. "Am I in love?" Spike asked himself while closing his eyes; Spike instantly knew the answer, but he knew this was going to end just like Rarity, besides, he didn't know if Apple Bloom would feel the same way, then, he curled into a little spiky ball and slept, in two days, he would find her, and he would tell her how he felt, he just hoped he would not be so hurt when he heard her answer.
Chapter 4: Spike's arrivalChapter 4: Spike's arrival It was Sunday morning, and all pf Ponyville looked good, the streets were in peace, the ponies were pacific, and everything was in tranquility, that is, if we exclude a Purple alicorn and a Yellow filly, who were really nervous in that day specifically, after all, in that afternoon Spike was going to arrive, and each of them had plans for the dragon. If we went inside Twilight's mind, we would see a total chaos, a paradise that looked similar to discord's realm, Spike was the reason Twilight hasn't gone insane in the past, but she really missed her little dragon,even if he was just gone for 3 days, she wanted to see him safe and sound, and to do it, she planned to give him a 'Happy to see you' party at the castle when he arrived, everything was ready, even Spike's acquaintances went to the party, all that was missing was the little dragon. Twilight always has been a pony who worried for the perfection on everything she did, and she was extra-nervous about this party, this was going to be the celebration for Spike's arrival, and everything had to be perfect, normally Spike wouldn't let this happen, he was a humble kid, like some ponies from the Apple family, and he normally wouldn't have a party dedicated to his arrival, but he wasn't here, and Twilight was a princess, so, there's not much to discuss. On the other side of Ponyville, more specifically, on Sweet Apple Acres, a yellow filly with a red mane and a pink bow stood on a small valley inside of Sweet Apple Acres, thinking about the events that would take place on that same afternoon, about the party of that night, and most important of all, how would she tell the young drake her feelings. Applejack and her hitched a plan, Apple Bloom would be in the train station to greet him, they would go somewhere nice, and, when the time was correct, she would confess, it doesn't matter what Spike responds, after that, she would lead him to the castle to celebrate the ocassion!, it was the perfect plan, right? just one problem: Apple Bloom didn't seem ready for this. She imagined almost every stage, except, the stage where Spike would feel the same way, she imagined herself confessing to Spike, and then she imagined Spike reacting violently, disgusted, and many more ways, and this just hurt her more on the inside, knowing that Spike would reject her, or at least, sending her to the friend zone, made her sad. Below a tree, Apple Bloom laid on the grass, and shed some tears, she really wished he returned her feelings, but she only imagined the future, probably Spike would tell Rarity his feelings, and she would kiss him, he was always helping her, how could Rarity refuse such a gentledragon? And later they would grow up, maybe they would be married, and maybe they would move elsewhere to form a family on their own, everything while Apple Bloom only watched from behind Spike, feeling happy for them, but angry, disgusted and disappointed on herself for not taking action when she should have. But, when she imagined this, her sister's voice echoed through her head, telling her that everything would work out for the better, and Spike surely would say yes, this made Apple Bloom happy, but not satisfied, content, but not sure, she seemed lost in her darkness, but she had a light of hope inside her. The journey was boring, the seat Spike was on seemed to be made out of rocks all of a sudden, and, besides some fruits the conductor had collected, there was nothing in that train that Spike considered to be good food, there was no reason for him to stay in that train, in fact, he was ready to jump off the train. But suddenly, he remembered why he was on that train, he remembered he needed to get home, and the last time he went on foot, he tired himself too much, so, with irritable attitude, he went back to his seat, he was so bored, so, he decided to look outside of the window, and, with surprise, he saw that Ponyville was in sight! Probably he just needed to stay in that stupid train for another 4 hours, and then, he would be free at last!. Spike was excited, he would see all of his friends again, Twilight, Starlight, the rest of the elements of harmony, Apple Bloom... This last name resonated in his head for a good amount of time, for some reason, Spike couldn't get Apple Bloom off his head for what it seemed like hours, her appareance, her personality, her happiness, everything about Apple Bloom seemed perfect, and a little bit attractive to Spike, she was the best of the CMC. Spike didn't mind thinking about her, every time he thought about her, Spike smiled, she was special, Spike only cared about her, but there was just one problem: Some other colts have started to notice Apple Bloom in another way since the CMC got their cutie marks, he wouldn't be surprised if he found out Apple Bloom was in a relationship with another colt, after all, any colt was more handsome than him, he was just a scaly dragon, and nopony would want to be in a relationship with a dragon, that would be too weird, besides, she is too perfect for him, he felt like he didn't deserve somepony like her. "Yeah, she is too good for me, what am I thinking?, she would never notice me!" Said Spike to himself, and with that last thought, he let boredom take control of his mind again. It was afternoon when Spike arrived to Ponyville, Princess Celestia was beginning to put the sun down the horizon, and everypony was starting to trot towards their home, and Spike noticed it; Spike was starting to get off the train, but he was startled when he heard a sweet voice with a country accent on his right: "Hi, Spike!" "Hi, Apple Bloom!"
Chapter 5: The momentChapter 5: Coming clean Both of them were looking at each other, worried about the other one's thoughts, about where was this going to go, worried about the possibility of rejection, but there was a light of hope that made them more confident, fighting the urge to run away. "Umm, Apple Bloom, where are the others? I mean, Twilight sent me a letter where she said that all of my friends were going to give me a good, warm welcome. "Said Spike, looking around for the possibility of his friends to be hiding around the station. "Well, I have something to tell you, and I wanted to say it with nopony around, because is personal, don't worry, I'll give you the tour back to Twilight's castle, but you have to stay with me for a little bit." When Apple Bloom said that last part of her sentence, she instantly blushed, causing Spike to be more and more confused. 'Is she... blushing? Is there a chance that she cou...?' Spike thought, with a small smile and a big blush, but other thought made him reject that idea. 'No, that's not it, I have been chasing after Rarity since, practically forever, there is no way she could love me back after I chased after another pony this long.' That thought made him quite sad, his small smile was gone almost instantly and his blush turned into a pale tone that was covered by his scales. "Umm, Spike, should we go now?" Said Apple Bloom, this made him snap out of his train of thoughts. "Yes, but where are we going to go?" Said Spike, with curiosity, the stores were closed at this hour, ice cream wouldn't be a good idea because it was starting to get cold, and she said that they would walk towards Twilight's castle afterwards, so, is there any other place left?. "Is only going to be a walk around town, don't worry, I'm not taking you to somewhere fancy, it's just a small walk around town, don't worry." Said Apple Bloom, with worry in her eyes, this could work out and maybe he will love her back, or it couldn't work out and she will be left alone because she had messed up the opportunity of being in a relationship with the one colt, (dragon in his case), that had caught her attention. "Okay, let's go." Said Spike, not truly confident in himself. The town was quiet, not a lot of ponies were in the streets at this hour, which was perfect for the both of them, you would think that they were talking to each other, and that they had confessed at this point, but they were far too stressed to even look at each other. Their walk brought them to a lot of symbolic places around ponyville, like the old treehouse library, Fluttershy's cottage, Sugarcube corner, and... the home of the element of generosity, the place Spike went every afternoon to help Rarity, the Carrousel Boutique. A lot of thoughts ran inside Spike's head when he looked at the building: 'Wow, this is the place I've been going since Twilight and I came to Ponyville, who would've thought that I have spent a lot of time trying to get the attention of somepony who doesn't even know I exist? And the pony that I've spent the most valuable moments with was in front of my face the whole time and I didn't even look at her? I am so lucky that I even have Apple Bloom as a friend, I deserve that she would not have wanted to see me after all this time, I'm such a blockhead.' Apple Bloom looked at Spike for once, and she noticed he was staring at the Boutique, which caused her to lose a little more confidence: 'Is he staring at Rarity's home? Great, he must be after her still, I don't know what to do, I don't stand a chance against somepony like her, she is like the most beautiful mare in Equestria, and I am just a little farm pony, not a mare, not even an unicorn, and not beautiful at all. I won't confess, it's far too obvious he will not accept me, I just want a chance with him, I can show him that an ugly earth pony like me can be better than a fancy unicorn like her.' Their walk ended at the end of the Everfree forest, Apple Bloom and Spike stared at a specific point, they both remembered that night, the night that Apple Bloom almost died, the night Spike fought for her, the night they fell in love without knowing it. Apple Bloom sat on the grass, far from the forest, because she knew that a creature could come out and attack them, and she had enough for a lifetime, when Spike saw Apple Bloom sit, he did the same, the grass was cold, the moon was starting to come out, and the lights all around Ponyville turned on. They stood in silence for a couple of minutes,until Apple Bloom spoke: "Spike, do you still love Rarity?" "What!? How did you know about that?" Said Spike. How? He was sure that he hid it so well from everypony, right? Apple Bloom giggled, breaking some of the tension between the two: "Well, I think almost everypony knows by now, Spike, you don't do a very good job hiding it." Spike sighed:"Yeah, I wasn't very good at it, but despite it, she still doesn't know". Apple Bloom was almost out of hope, that sentence amost made her lose it. "W-what do you mean, you love her, right? You have been helping her since you came to town, right?" "Yes, but she didn't show any sign of love towards me, I mean, she loves me as a friend, but she doesn't love me in that way, you know? Besides, I don't know if I love her for real." "What?" Apple Bloom's hope was starting to increase now. "Yeah, I always have been attracted to her, when I came to Ponyville, she was the most beautiful pony I've seen, but I don't know if my crush goes further more than just her looks..." "Yeah?" "And when I go to visit her, she treats me like a servant!" "Yeah." "And I want somepony who treats me right!" "YEAH!" "And she can be so unbearable sometimes!" "YEAH! Who needs an unbearable unicorn when you can have a down dirty earth pony?" Both of them were in genuine shock after that. Apple Bloom instantly covered her mouth with her hooves and she mentally slapped herself. 'Why did you say that? If you didn't screw it up before, you certainly did now!' Spike asked with curiosity. "Apple Bloom, do you really...?" Apple Bloom interrupted him. "S-Sorry, I don't know what was that, anyways, what were we talking about?" Spike was in awe, was Apple Bloom refering to herself? Did she say that because she loved him back?, there was only one way to know. "Apple Bloom, do you like me... you know... in a special way?" Apple Bloom didn't expect that question, but inside she knew that this was the perfect moment to confess and hope for the better. "I... I... Yes, Spike, I love you, I didn't know it until the night when I almost died, but I didn't say anything because I was afraid that that you wouldn't like me, I mean, you are still after Rarity, right? How am I supposed to compete against a beautiful mare like her?" Apple Bloom felt tears in her eyes, suddenly, she felt a warm and caring hug, she saw that it was Spike, and she wiped her tears by mashing them against his chest. They stayed in that poition for a couple of moments, until Spike pulled away with a smile, Apple Bloom smiled too, and, with loving eyes, Spike said: "Apple Bloom, how could you possibly imagine I would say no to you? I care about you, and I love you too, but, why didn't you say it sooner?" "Because I was afraid, I thought about it when you went to the dragon lands without saying anything, and I knew I should confess when you got back, I don't know if you're gonna disappear without saying anything again! There are ponies here who care about you!" Spike hugged her again, and he looked at her eyes, with relief in his chest, he said:" Apple Bloom, I'm not gonna go away again, now I have a real reason to stay, and if you're wondering what it is, my reason to stay and protect Ponyville is you." They both blushed, then, started moving closer, and finally, their lips met, it was a sensation neither of them experienced before, a rush of feelings ran inside them, for Apple Bloom, it was like getting her cutie mark all over again, and for Spike, it was like all the pain in his past, like when he attacked Ponyville and when he saw Rarity kiss another stallion, was changed for happiness, they liked the feeling, and didn't want it to end. The kiss was unexperenced, and a little bit messy, but neither of them wanted to end it. They kissed for what it seemed an eternity to them, and then, they finally pulled away with a smile, not an awkward smile like before, this one was a smile formed by pure happiness and joy, all the fear and worries they felt, now was melting with the warmth of love. Everything seemed perfect, until Apple Bloom remembered something important. "Oh! I completely forgot!, we must go to Twilight's castle! It's too late!" Spike frowned. "Awww, but we were having a great time!" Apple Bloom laughed. "Yeah, I don't want to go either, but I think they are waiting for us to arrive, besides, we will be together after this, right, Spike?" Spike blushed once more. "Yes, I guess so, come on, I don't want to miss my 'Welcome back' party" Apple Bloom looked at him with curiosity. "How did you know we were preparing a party?" Spike laughed and said: "Well, Twilight is not very good at keeping secrets either." They both laughed and raced towards the castle...
Finale: The partyFinale: The celebration Spike and Apple Bloom were running towards Twilight's castle, their hearts at peace at last, the confessions in the previous five minutes really helped, who knows what would've happened if Apple Bloom didn't say anything, maybe each one would probably still be distressed about the other one's feelings and stay like that forever, not being able to even look at each other due to the embarassment and fear they would feel. But this wasn't the case, now, they had admitted their feelings for each other and were heading towards a celebration, not any celebration, the feast for the return of Spike, and the only guests missing were a yellow furred, red maned earth filly and a purple baby dragon, who were looking towards this feast. They ran for what seemed like an hour or so, frankly, they didn't care about the hour when they were in the other's company, but then, they landed on Equestria when they saw the giant doors of the castle a few meters away from them. They stopped, Spike was about to enter the castle, but Apple Bloom stopped him with a hoof in his left shoulder. "Spike, wait, what if they don't agree?" Said Apple Bloom with a bit of worry and distress in her voice. "What do you mean if they agree?" Questioned Spike with an eyebrow raised. "Yes, I mean, do you think everypony will be okay with us being a couple?" Apple Bllom's voice was quieter now, sounding a little bit like Fluttershy. Spike thought about it for a moment, and then, he grabbed Apple Bloom's hoof and said while looking at her eyes: "Well, I know they'll feel a little awkward at first, I mean, not everyday you see a pony-dragon couple, but I know they'll get used to see us together in the future, besides, Twilight wants me to be happy, even if it's not with Rarity, you should know about Applejack and the rest of the CMC, Rarity is not interested in me, she was never interested in me anyways, Fluttershy won't mind us hanging out together, Rainbow dash will make fun of us for a while, but I don't think she will be against us being a couple, I think Starlight will be indifferent about it, and Pinkie Pie will support us all the way, she wants everypony to be happy after all, and I can't think of somepony who doesn't want us to be together, do you?" Apple Bloom processed the information for a moment, and she thought about her sister, Applejack helped her with her confidence in herself, right? she wouldn't have done it if she didn't think they would work out, besides, Applejack told her she could be whatever she wants, and the Apple family wouldn't think any less of her, she remembered the time when her own fears trapped her in an endless nightmare, and the lullaby her sister sang to bring her peace, she knew her older sister would support her in whatever she wanted, and she considered Applejack the best sister anypony could ever have. In the other side, she thought about her friends, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and her cousin, Babs Seed, she also knew all of them very well, and knew they also would support her in anything, they really were the best friends she could ever have, Apple Bloom loved them as sisters, and Babs Seed probably would not understand it, but in the end, she would give in, she is her cousin, and family supports itself, the Apple family knew that very well. "Yeah, I know what you mean, sorry for doubting all of our friends, are you ready to enter and see your party?" Said Apple Bloom, her expression changing into a smile of confidence. "Yes, let's go" And with that, Spike pulled Apple Bloom inside the castle to be greeted with an explosion of colors, confetti and streamers, Pinkie Pie was here without a doubt, the confetti was everywhere and the musicians started playing the music for the party, everypony jumped off their seats and yelled: "SURPRISE!!!!" with Pinkie's voice standing out. During the next hour, Spike was lost in hugs and hand (hoof, claw...no, whatever) shakes from everypony gathered in the castle, the dance floor was full of ponies, the food table was empty before the party was over, and during the party, Spike never let go of Apple Bloom's hoof. Everypony was confused except Applejack, why were Spike and Apple Bloom so close? Why did Apple Bloom arrive at the same time Spike did? Something was going on between those two, but their doubts were about to disappear in a short time, because Apple Bloom and Spike got on the small stage Twilight built in five minutes with her magic. "Everypony! Please! Your attention please!" Yelled Spike. Everypony turned their heads towards them, and when the room was in complete silence, Spike said: "Apple Bloom and I have an announcement!, you see, I think all of you know about my feelings for Rarity by now" Everypony giggled at that except Rarity, who was puzzled by all of this. "What? Spike has feelings for me?" Said Rarity with a confused look on her face. "Yes Rarity, I had feelings for you." Said Spike with an unamused look on his face. "But I have been reflecting on my feelings, and now it's clear that I didn't truly love Rarity". Everypony spit out their drinks and the ones that weren't drinking anything gasped. "Yes, I know, even I didn't believe it when I thought about it, but I have been thinking about somepony who always has been there for me when I needed it, and she is my age too, and that pony is ... Apple Bloom!!" Spike said that last part with enthusiasm, and when the filly's name left his mouth, the room went completely quiet, everypony was just staring wide-eyed at them, like if everypony saw a ghost or something like that, but when Apple Bloom and Spike were about to leave the stage with broken hopes, everypony started clapping ( or rather stomping) their hooves, the young couple was in awe, but deep inside them, they knew everything was going to work out. After that, the party carried on without a flaw, Rarity didn't have resentements against Spike and/or Apple Bloon, in fact, she was glad that her little assistant had found somepony to love; and the rest of their friends acted exactly as Spike predicted, soon, everypony started leaving, except for Spike and Apple Bloom, who were at the balcony of the castle, Applejack let Apple Bloom stay in for the night because this was their first night as an official couple, and they decided to go to the balcony because Spike said that the view from up there was incredible and kinda romantic, they could see everything from up there, they stared at Ponyville for a while, until Apple Bloom spoke: "Did you enjoy your party Spike?" Apple Bloom turned her head to see the dragon she loved, who also turned his head towards her, they both blushed when they made eye contact. "Yes, I had a great time today, thanks to you, Apple Bloom." Spike leaned towards Apple Bloom, who also moved towards Spike. "I love you, Spike." "I love you too, Apple Bloom." And they kissed once more, this kiss wasn't as exciting as the first time, but it was enough, because they knew this was the start of a relationship that wouldn't end easily, because they loved each other for so long without even knowing it, and now they were finally together, their young romance was soon accepted by the ponies of Ponyville, and now Spike was part of the CMC as their remote mesenger, everything was telling that this new relationship would never end, why? Well because... They cared about each other. Author's Note I hope you enjoyed this short fic, I know is not perfect, I know that my pacing is not the best and that my orthography needs a lot of work, but I'll try to improve it, and maybe I will be an official creator of fan-works on this site! But is going to be a long road ahead, and I can't do it without help, so, I want to give a special thanks to poisonmaster1243 and Night Music for marking my errors and help me improve my orthography, I promise the next story will be better written. With that out of the way, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone here, to those who gave my first fanfic ever a shot and either liked it or disliked it, after all, everything counts. See you in the next story, goodbye!
