Author's Note

This story takes place right after Tale Of Silent Night, so read that one first of you haven’t.

Teenage Wasteland

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It’s normal to be lonely, right? At least that’s what Spike thought. Watching all your friends fall in love is one thing, but watching your SISTER fall in love is pretty much torture. Don’t get him wrong, he was very happy for Twilight, it’s just that he felt very left out. Between her royal duties and her marefriend, there wasn’t much time for him anymore.

Spike was starting to wonder if Twilight even loved him anymore, but theory went out the window. Of course Twilight loved him, but she just didn’t show him as much love as when they were living in the Golden Oaks library all those years ago. To put it bluntly, he felt very left out. This feeling really made him think about everything, he thought about EVERYTHING. Past, Present, Future, you name it and he thought about it.

On this day, however, Spike only thought about one thing and one thing only. What was he going to wear for Applejacks birthday party tonight? He though of his special bow-tie made by Rarity, but he shot that thought down. He rummaged through his closet and found a simple little bow tie, black and crafted from satin.

He put the bow-tie on and made his way downstairs, and greeted Twilight, Derpy, Dinky, and Starlight.

“Hi Spike, ready to go?”, Twilight asked him.

“You betcha, Twilight! This is going to be fun!”, Spike replied with a grin.

The others laughed at his attitude, and made their way outside. The walk to Sweet Apple Acres was about 15 minutes in length, so the group began to make small talk. They talked about Applejack, her loyalty, and what they thought she was going to get from her friends. Twilight herself had gotten Applejack a scarf and some mittens, not being a delicatible Apple red.

As they made their way through town, Spike noticed just how many couples there were. The Cakes were snuggling outside their shop, watching their twins play in the snow, Lyra and Bon-Bon were happily trotting to get some groceries, and other couples did their business as the snow fell on the quiet town of Ponyville. Spike just sighed and continued walking, he hated seeing this kind of stuff. He felt very empty as they continued to trek towards the Apple family homestead.

“Are you ok, Spike?”, Derpy asked.

Spike turned his head towards Derpy and began to blush, he hadn’t expected anyone to hear his sigh.

“Yeah, I’m ok. It’s just a little too chilly for my liking.”, he lied.

Derpy nodded and looked back towards her marefriend, who was happily humming her favorite tune. Spike and company then arrived at their destination, Sweet Apple Acres. The group walked up to the rickety old home and knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal Applejack, who bore a very large grin.

“Howdy, y’all! Thanks for making it, Ah hope y’all just have the best time ever!”, Applejack said with a Pinkie-like grin.

The group wished her a happy birthday as they made their way inside. When they entered the decades-old home, they noticed that it was decorated with the most amazing attention to detail. Pinkie Pie had truly gone all out tonight, but that didn’t suprise anyone. The group broke up to find their own place.

Twilight and Derpy went towards the other Elements and began to make small talk. Dinky found Sweetie and Scootaloo, who then went off to help Dinky finally get her cutie mark. All that was left was Spike, and he didn’t have a clue of what to do. He found a seat in the corner of the home, and plopped down.

His thoughts drifted back to the many couples he saw in town. He wasn’t mad at them, he was sad at their actions. He had been yearning for those kind of emotions for years. He had originally thought that he would find it with Rarity, but over time those feelings faded away, he just lost his spark in the fashionista.

His eyes then focused on Twilight and Derpy, who were happily chatting with Rainbow Dash. They looked so happy, so happy that Spike wanted to rip his spines off. He was happy for them, yes, but he was also jealous of their close bond. He sighed again and made his way outside, hoping that some fresh air could maybe clear up his blues.

He went out the door and leaned on the porch. His eyes focused on Luna’s moon, which seemed to wink at him. Creeped out by that, he looked at the many trees that gave the farm it’s name. Unbeknownst to him, there was a pony creeping up from behind. The mare tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump in fright.

“Woah, calm down there nelly!” Applejack said.

Spike turned to find Applejack. He began to clutch his heart and breathed heavily.

“Please, don’t do that again, AJ.”, Spike said in between breaths.

“Heh, sorry there Spike. What were you thinking about, sugarcube? Y’all looked really into whatever it was”, Applejack asked.

Spike just looked back at the ground, he didn’t know what exactly he could say. He knew that Applejack was trying to help, but he didn’t want to say that he was lonely.

“Uh, nothing.”, Spike said.

Applejack just looked at her reptilian friend and gave a quizzical look. She may not know what he was thinking, but boy she could smell a lie from a mile away.

“Spike, you should know that lying never works with me. You can tell me what’s wrong, not matter what it is, Ah promise Ah won’t judge.”, Applejack said, honesty seeping from her pours.

Spike hated to admit it, but dang, Applejack was a good convincer. She could sell cake to Celestia, for goodness sake!

“Do you really wanna know? It’s really, really dumb. Plus, it’s your birthday, I wouldn’t want to be a downer tonight.”, Spike said.

Applejack chuckled and shook her head, she didn’t know what he had on his mind, but she was darn sure not gonna stand there and let her friend wallow in his own self pity.

“Sugarcube, Ah don’t care what it’s all about, your important to me. For Celestia’s sake, ya saved me from Timberwolves! Of course A’d be willing to help you out.”, Applejack.

Spike, for the first time in a long time, grew a genuine smile. He didn’t know she cared that much. Spike thought about his options, and just said screw it.

“Well, it’s just that....umm.....I’m tired of being left behind.”, Spike said.

Applejack just looked confused, what did he mean? Did he mean that he hated being left behind during their adventures, was that it? No, it couldn’t be, he had never shown any signs of that, but if it wasn’t that, then what was it?

Spike noticed her look of confusion, and quickly elaborated on his previous statement.

“What I mean is, I’m tired of watching g my friends fall in love. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for them and all, but it’s just so frustrating! But do you know what’s worse? Watching your own SISTER fall in Love right before your eyes. She’s happy, that much is true, but what about me? What about the faithful, trusty assistant? Do think it’s fun to be alone in a giant castle, wasting away while your own flesh and blood is out having the night of her life? Do you?”, Spike asked, his face welling up with tears.

Applejack was taken back by his sudden change of tone and emotion. She had seen his greed take over him, but she had never seen such a tender soul collapse right in front of her before. She wrapped her hooves around him and tried to comfort him, but to little avail. His tears were contagious, as she began to also openly weep.

The amount emotion being displayed by the farmer and the dragon could’ve made Maud Pie preform Bohemian Rhapsody. The two soon pulled back and looked deep within the others eyes. Spike tried to muster up the courage to speak, but was quickly shushed by Applejack.

“Spike, Ah know how y’all feel. Mac is always out and about with Marble, and it can get pretty lonesome ‘round here. Applebloom is always gone, and Granny Smith just sleeps and snores, so I get plenty of time to myself. I wanted to put an end to that feeling, but ah wasn’t sure how it could be done, but now ah think I know.”, Applejack stated.

Spike looked genuinely interested in what she had to say, and for all he knew it could’ve been anything.

“Why don’t we go out sometime, just me an’ you. Maybe that could take away these feelings and brighten our spirits.”, Applejack proposed.

Spike’s face had thought written all over it. On one hoof, it would be nice to try to get out of this funk, but on the other hoof it could be awkward. By the way Applejack had said it, she made it sound like a date. Suddenly his face lit up, he made a sudden realization.

Maybe...just maybe.....Applejack was the answer to his blues. The cure to his heartache. Maybe she was his ticket out of this teenage wasteland.

“Sure, Applejack, i’d love to go out. How about this Saturday at, let’s say, 5:30?”, Spike asked.

“Ah don’t see a problem with that, but what exactly would we do?”, she asked.

Spike pondered for a good 3 seconds before giving his answer.

“How about we just keep it simple and see what happens. It could be fun to just go with the flow.”, Spike added.

Applejack smiled back and opened her mouth to speak.

“A’d like that, Spike, Ah really would”, she said happily.

“Hey, Applejack! Spike! It’s time to bob for apples! You comin’?”, Applebloom called from inside the house.

The pair looked at each other and laughed. They made their way inside the house, but along the way, they both thought the same thing.

“Maybe change is on the rise”.