Spike cracked his neck and shoulders. Since the early hours of the morning, he had been helping Twilight organize the house. They had just finished their task when the dragon received a message on his phone. It was from one of his other companions: Rainbow Dash.
"Hey, bud. I know this might seem kind of weird to ask, but can you meet me alone? There's something I have to tell you. I wouldn't feel right spilling my guts over the phone."
"Who is it," Twilight asked.
"Rainbow. I guess she needs my help. Probably more training or something," Spike lied.
"Figures. She's such a soldier girl."
"For real."
"I think we've done enough today."
"Okay. See you later, Twi."
"Au revoir, sir knucklehead."
Once Spike left home, he texted Rainbow back.
"Is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure."
"Hang tight. I'm on my way."
Spike met Rainbow at a restaurant they and their friends had hung out at in the past. He saw her sitting in a booth near the middle of the establishment.
"Hey."
"Hey, man..."
"You look disturbed."
"Can we order a couple milkshakes?"
"Sure. They're on me."
"Thanks."
Spike took a small stack of money from his duster coat pocket and went to the counter to order their beverages. He didn't see the heartfelt smile cross Rainbow's face.
The two drank their shakes and engaged in idle chitchat for a while. Spike swore Rainbow kept looking at him in a way he wasn't accustomed to seeing. It wasn't a typical look of acknowledgement. Rather, there was a deeper connotation behind it.
"What did you want to talk about?"
"Change, I guess."
"Change?"
"More specifically, the changes I've seen in you."
"What kind of changes?"
"I never brought it up because, at the time, there wasn't much reason to, but I knew who you were as a kid."
"I'm not following."
"I know you tried to be a happy-go-lucky jokester with a zest for life. I just wish I knew about all the pain and resentment it caused you. None of us ever wanted to see you hurt like that. It wasn't right."
"Hey, it wasn't your fault. Stuff happens. I did what I had to do to stay sane, and I was fine with it."
"It's who you became after I fell in love with."
Spike nearly choked on his shake. Needless to say, he wasn't expecting that piece of information to come from Rainbow Dash of all people. Rainbow let out a lighthearted chuckle.
"I'm sorry...WHAT!?"
The blue Pegasus's expression turned deadly serious.
"I mean it, Spike. I love you."
"But...Why?"
"When you started spending more time with everybody, you were disjointed and chaotic. All that anger seemed like it was ready to boil over at any given moment. You could barely hide it anymore."
"Guess it was obvious, huh?"
"But as time went on, you calmed down. Your temper evened out, and your focus increased. Every time all of us trained together or chilled out, I saw you push yourself to become a better person. The rest of us passively grew in our own ways, but you fought harder than I've ever seen anyone fight in their life to create a future worth living for. Now you're stronger than I am."
"You're wrong. I'm still just a kid trying to live the best I can every day."
"What do you think we're all doing? The thing is, unlike everybody around you, you had to claw and bite your way out of a hole nobody else could help you from. Me, Twilight, Fluttershy: all of us were blessed with fortunate circumstances, but you weren't. You saw yourself as Twilight's comedic relief lapdog, but you were so much more than that. You've always been more than that. You're a kind, soft-hearted guy whose purpose in life is to help people. I came to respect and admire that. You're so much better than I am."
"Don't say that. I couldn't be who I am without you - any of you."
"Maybe I'm just jealous. I could try until my head explodes, but I can't see myself ever being as great as you."
"Did you mean what you said...?"
"Of course I did. I meant every letter."
"If you believe that, then I'll live up to your image of me, and I'll do it by protecting you."
Spike stood up and offered the mare his hand.
"Come on. Let's race."
Rainbow gazed up at her superhero. When conscious thought returned to her, she smiled again.
"You're on."
Rainbow and Spike chased each other around town. They eventually ended up in the outskirts. The wind was a bit more forceful there, but it didn't bother them.
"LOOK OUT!"
Rainbow nearly collided head-on with a large tree. Spike rushed in front of her just in the nick of time. She crashed into him, shoving him against the trunk. The impact was so powerful it caused the dragon to release several drops of blood. Both of them descended to the ground.
"Are you okay!?"
Spike wiped the life energy from the corner of his mouth and stood confidently.
"No sweat. My organs are pretty tough."
"That scared the heck out of me."
"Me too. It'd be a bit harder to do this if your snout was broken."
"What are you tal-"
Rainbow was cut off by an unexpected kiss. While it was unexpected, it was far from unpleasant. Quite on the contrary, she closed her eyes and wrapped her forelegs around his back.
"Dragon's blood tastes like gummy bears."
"That's why I used to snack on gems. They'd cut my mouth a bit, so the flavors would mix together."
"That's kind of cool in a messed up, morbid way."
"Got kind of boring after doing it long enough. That's why I switched to normal food."
Spike looked up at the sky. The clouds collected together, forming a foreboding shadow.
"Looks like it's about to storm. Wanna' go home?"
"Not really."
"Me neither."
Rain descended down between town and the remote countryside. Spike took off his coat and tank top, revealing his extremely lean yet highly defined muscular structure, most of which was molded due to his CPSU training.
"Did I ever tell you you have a smokin' hot bod?"
"It might've been mildly implied once or twice."
Rainbow saw a tattoo design between his lower abdominal and pelvic regions.
"I didn't know you got some ink done. is that a heartagram?"
"You a fan?"
"Not a die-hard, but I like their stuff."
Spike walked over to his now girlfriend and placed his left palm on the tree behind her. He gave Rainbow a smug smirk.
"Maybe later I can get a bit more enthusiasm out of you."
The Pegasus responded in kind.
"That's an intriguing proposition. I might have to take you up on it."
"So that's where we were cut from the same cloth. Okay, then. Challenge accepted."
"You're such a walking meme."
"I know it."