Secrets and Realizations

"Spike should be around here," Fluttershy said. During their search for Spike, around 4 hours had passed and nighttime has descended into Canterlot.

Are you sure this time? You said that about 1/2 an hour ago. Rarity said.

"You try tracking a dragon with only the scent left from a burned letter. She's don't the best she can." Twilight said.

"Ugh, your right. I'm just tired of searching. I wish he would just appear right in front of us." She exclaimed. Suddenly, they heard a small Shrek. They went to go look for the source thinking the worst and found themself passing a water fountain. There they instead found the dragon of the hour himself. He was standing alone next to the fountain with the

You should ask for things more often." Pinkie said,

"Welp, there he is. He's well and A-O-K. See, I told you everything was fine with him. He just wanted to be left alone. Like you said at lunch, "the best thing to do is just let him be". " Aj said, wearing a slightly smug grin.

"I guess your right." twilight said

"Whatch'ya mean by that?" she replied.

"Why is he out here is what I mean? Why didn't he send me a scroll that he was going out." Twilight insisted.

"He doesn't have to tell you everything twilight. They're called boundaries. We honor those in the apple family. You should too." She said comfortingly, placing a hand on twilight's shoulder.

"Now come on, my legs are tired from all that walk-"

"I know you're there. Come on out." Spike said shouting. The girls all froze in place from shock and slowly heads turned to see spike looking down at the ground.

"Did he know we were here the entire time?" Rarity whispered.

As the girls grew nervous over what spike said, Spike, himself was completely oblivious to their presence, to begin with. He was calling out to someone else.

Out of nowhere, a figure descended from the sky. Panicked, they all ducked behind a bush and squinted their eyes.

"Why did you wanna talk?" Spike scuffled out, wanting to avoid eye contact.

"Really shrimp is that any way to greet your former," they said, moving closer to spike

"Former?" the girls whispered.

"Just tell me why you wanted to talk. I got people waiting on me. My friends. They-"

"Can wait!" She interrupted. "I. Need. This. I think you do too. Isn't that a part of friendship? They should really work? I was even able to get Dashy to like me again cause of you guys." She said.

"What? I don't know that guy." She whispered.

"What's there to fix. Were done. I'm not your boyfriend anymore. Your. My. Ex." He quoted.

"EX" They all whispered in unison. All expect a rainbow dash, who was feeling uneasy by the person's voice.

"Did I just HEAR that correctly?" Rarity said in a mixture of emotions of sadness and rage by the shocking news.

"I think I might be losing ma hearing like Granny, cause they ain't no way I just heard that right," Aj remarked.

"Oh my, Spike has...had a girlfriend," Fluttershy said.

"I knew it! Pinkie said.

"I-I never knew that spike was seeing someone. Why-why didn't he tell me?" Twilight quietly asked herself, in a depressed tone. Suddenly rainbow started to stand up making noise in the process. This action earned a turn of the head from Spike. Pinkie stopped her by pulling her down and holding her there. Spike turns make to face the women again.

"What in tarnation's wrong with you, what do you think you're doing?" Aj said ready to strangle her.

"Th-that voice...I know that voice. I-I can't believe it. Why was she going out with him?" said Rainbow. Pinkie let go of her and Rainbow settled back into place.

"Who is it then?" they said louder, making Spike the women glance over at them. Her face now revealed to them, rainbow said whispering even lower.

"Gilda".

Gilda turned her head over to spike and stared at him.

"Yo, can you at least look at me?" She said. Spike didn't respond.

"SPIKE, look at me". She shouted, forcing spike to jolt at the sudden our-burst. He looks up at Gilda revealing his slightly blushed face, along with his watery eyes. To spikes surprise, Gilda was also teary. Even more than him. The hard-core griffon he knew was crying. He couldn't forget if he tried.

"Why are you about to cry, I should be the one upset." He said slightly raising his voice.

"You. What about me, you actually meant something to me." She replied.

Spike and Gilda now both very emotional cast their gazes away from each other. There was a small moment of silence between the two. Gilda stepped off and sat next to the edge of the fountain. Spike did the same and sat across from her. Just a few inches away from touching her. A moment of silence paraded all parties.

"I'm sorry for-." They both said together, opening their eyes and looking at each other. They shared a small laugh. The girls only looked onwards, hoping they could discover the origins of how they got acquainted.

"So, why are you sorry shrimp. I'm the one who messed up" Gilda asked.

"No. I messed up. I was only dating you cause...I wanted to get away from...some things I had going on. I wanted to know what it was like...to be in a relationship, I mean, I'm not saying that what we had wasn't real. What we did together was very real. (nervous laugh) Spike said studdering on his words.

"Oh, Care to explain. What do you mean about "what we did?" Gilda asked.

"I meant things...Involving sex." Spike managed to say. Leaving Gilda a little surprised, biting her bottom beak from memories rushing into her head.

(The girls jaws-dropping)

"Sweet Celestia. T-M-I Spike." Twilight whispered, covering her ears.
"Spike's not a virgin." Pinkie and Rainbow thought.
"Oh, my" Fluttershy said.
"I'm going to destroy that griffon." Rarity thought.
" Well, I'll be." Aj thought.

"Yeah. You think that I wouldn't be embarrassed to talk about it, but I guess not." He said.

"Ya. I gotta hand it to you, out of all the people I've been with, you were and still are the Best when it comes to that mouth of yours." Gilda re-marked, making spike even redder and pissing of rarity, after hearing that set of words. Twilight just tried not to vomit while the rest either snickered or hid their faces in embarrassment.

"But, apart from our sexual-escaped, you treated me, well. Like I was a Gem. You always wanted to know how I was feeling, and what I was doing, and you never judged me. Meanwhile, I was just using you. I just wanted someone to call mine. To brag and flaunt about like a trophy. But, part of me wanted someone to just love me and whispered sweet nothings to me. You whispered sweet somethings. I just...wished I listened at the time." she ended.

"Gilda, I-I truly did love you. I was the one in the wrong. I just wanted to escape my feelings, but in the end, I only ended up hurting yours. I was dating you so could escape my sadness and Anger."

"Anger," Gilda said (and the girls whispered)

"Yeah, I was mad around the time we first met. Do you remember?

"Heart and hooves day and nobody to spend it with. How could I with nearly everyone walking about with someone? I just drank away my sorrows in some crappy bar. Was surprised to find you there." she said.

"I wanted to see if I could get drunk. I knew I couldn't but I just felt like I needed to try," he replied.

"Why?

"Cause, the person I wanted to be with was already taken."

"Sheesh, that's gotta sting," pinkie said.

"Ouch," Gilda said.

"She's not seeing him now, but I could stand to think about it at the moment," Spike replied.

"I not judging you. I don't have the right. You just needed a break. I'm just glad you ended up in the same bar as me, otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten to know you. Or how much you could put away." she added.
(small laugh)
Remember that time Big mac held a drinking contest at the orchard.
(laugh)

"Yeah. The prize was 1000 bits. I was short on some and signed up. I thought I was gonna win but, I didn't know you would be there. No offense, but you guys in ponyville are lightweights. I wasn't surprised it was just you and I left. I was surprised, however, that most of ponyville was watching us." she finished.

"Yeah, We carried on into the night drinking. You lasted longer than I thought. We drained all of the booses that had for the contest. I think that's part of the reason I don't like alcohol anymore. I won the money and Pinkie shot a Big mac-shaped hole in the side of the barn during the celebration party.
(both laugh)
That's the very same darn reason I'm never letting mac hold one of those again at the farm." Aj said looking at a slightly scared/smiling pinkie.

"So, Do you remember what happened after the party?" She asked, blushing lightly. Spike tensed up and also blushed.

"If my m-memory serves me right, you were drunk and were about to fly home. But, I didn't want anything happening to you so I offered to carry you instead. I took you home and was too tired to fly back so, I fell asleep on your couch." He ended, rubbing the back of his head.

"That sounds about right. I remember when I came to I had a searing headache and felt like crap. I walked into my living room and find your scalie butt sleeping on my couch. Part of me wanted to kick you out as fast as I found you. But, I remembered how you helped me out. So, I made you breakfast to pay you back. I think I was still a little drink from the day before, cause right after we finished eating, I offered you some "desert" and asked if you wanted to stay for a little while longer.

"Then you kissed me," Spike said bluntly, shocking the main 6. Rarity was filming at the mouth with anger. She's just only now coming to have her feeling about spike and know she's was intaking this info.

In Rarity's head
I can't believe this she-devil. She's stolen things that I was hoping to share with him. She stole the title of being spike's 1st Girlfriend, and his 1st kiss. Not to mention his innocence. If I find out she stole anything else, I'll make her a part of my new designer hats collection.

"I don't regret it either. I also, still find it funny how you "Spike the Brave and Glorious", moan out for 'Rarity' during our kiss, and panicked afterward. (snicker) You ran outside and bolted so fast you left an afterimage like in cartons."

"You didn't have to remind me." (Groan)
(Gilda laughing)

After hearing this the girls looked at Rarity.

"Spike...was thinking about me." Rarity thought.

Twilight never felt more scared for Spike. She was in a position where she couldn't stop spike from saying anything to expose his feeling for Rarity that may damage his friendship with her. She hoped it wouldn't turn up on a sour note.

"I let go of you and you just left. I was just gonna leave it at that and say it was just the alcohol the next time we meet, but I just couldn't get you out of my head after that kiss. I-I has never been kissed like that before the spike. Much blessed kissed in general." She ended.

Spike and the main 6 were confused by what she said. Spike looked at Gilda who was slightly fidgeting her hands.

"Most of the guys I hooked up with never bothered to kiss me. What with the whole, beak for lips thing. Whenever we did kiss, however, they were never gentle. It was either just sloppy, rough, or awkward and weird. But, with you. Even in that small moment, I felt it. It was like...shooting fireworks into another firework. It's hard to explain... but, it felt awesome. Even a little drunk,...I could tell that you liked it too. She said cherry.

"Really. I-I didn't know that meant so much to you, Gilda." Spike said.

"It did. Even a little drunk I will never forget how you made me feel. Did it mean something to you too? You did kiss me back." She remarked.

"Well, ya. I did, but, I kissed you back cause-"

"Did you think of her?" She said cutting him off.

"Are they...referring to me?" Rarity asked herself.

"Well, your heart may belong to her, but I got something that she wishes she could have." Gild remarked.

"And that would be?" He asked, now curious.

"Your V card." She said looking down at spikes groin.

Spike's face exploded with red, while Gilda's held a smug and profound grin on it. Rarity was also red in the face, not out of embarrassment or lust of any nature, but out of anger towards the griffin for laying with spike. She knew that spike was an adult and he could sleep with who he pleased, but the new part of rarity that had awakened after hearing spike had a girlfriend, made her hair stand up on all ends.

"Why are you so insinuative about saying things like that." he chastised her.

"Cause you cute flustered. I like it." She said smiling. They took a small moment to compose themselves.

But yeah, after our kiss, I felt like, I need to see you again. I started purposely showing up at the same places as you so we could talk. I liked it. And, after you agreed to start dating me, I was ecstatic. We never went out anywhere that was public though. We'd go together in secret cause you didn't wanna say anything to your friends and I didn't want Rainbow to find out." Gilda remarked.

Why? I can keep a secret. Rainbow said. They all just stared at her and she accepted her fate. Another small moment of silence passed.

"But when you told me you wanted to stop dating, I was pissed. Like nightmare moon pissed. How wouldn't be after hearing that your boyfriend wanted to break up with you?

"Yeah, I get that," he said rubbing his head,

"But, I learned to control my anger & I realized that I was wrong too." She said remorsefully. "What we had wasn't healthy. I just started using you for sex at some point and you just wanted to have a real relationship. You wanted to move on with what we had and I didn't. I wanted to keep you all to myself. I-I thought that...I need you in my life, but in reality, I just wanted you. I looked at you as an item. Not a person, much less a dragon. I'm the horrible one here. I'm- I was a horrible girlfriend." She finished getting somewhat teary by her past actions.

"No. I wasn't being a good boyfriend. When we were going out, I never stopped any of your advances on me. At first, I like how much you wanted me but, I didn't let you know how I was really feeling until I broke up with you. Hell, I was so secluded about being with you that I wanted to hide my relationship with you from my friends. WHO ARE THE EMBODIMENTS OF FRIENDSHIP! I-I thought that if I was with you, I could get over my crush and be happy. I could live my life happy. But......in the end. (sob, sniff) I couldn't do it. I couldn't...I couldn't get over rarity." Spike said as his tears grew out of control.

A long pause from all parties loomed over them as Gilda and spike cried to each other, letting out all of their pent-up emotions. The main 6 were also slightly crying overhearing their tales to one another. Rarity the most. She blamed herself for the pain that spike was feeling.

"Pinkie, can you hand me the gift that I have for spike please?" Pinkie handed it over to her without complaint. "Twilight, send me back to the castle." She said. Twilight looked at rarity's face and saw how her makeup ran down the side of her face. Twilight teleported them back to spike room inside the Palace. All the girls went back to their room expecting rarity.[i/]

"I guess we're both at fault, huh dork?" Gilda said after calming down.

Another moment of silence washed over the two. Spike now calmed down, used his tail to wrap around Gilda's waist, and pulled her close. Gilda was jumpy at first, being close to spike again. But, she quickly relaxed as spike placed his head on her shoulder. She leaned her head onto spikes and they sat in the silence staring at the night sky.