Well... maybe half of one
The town of Ponyville, bustling with those looking and waiting for gifts so that they will be prepared for the upcoming holiday. Derpy happily flew all around, carrying a large red sack full of mail with foals excitedly chasing her. Vinyl high hoofed with Octavia as they just finished setting up speakers around Ponyville to play some holiday tunes that could be heard all around town. The School of Friendship lay closed for the season, but there were students of all kinds that chose to stay in Ponyville and were having a snowball war outside. Finally, The castle of Princess Twilight stood peacefully with a phoenix flying above it, at least until the door opened.
“That was a wonderful break Darling! That tea you imported from Zebrica really is something. A much-needed pick-me-up after such a long week of orders. I love the boost of inspiration and much-needed income that comes around this time, but I do wish I had more time to spend with my sister. Then again, even if I was free, she’s been spending an awfully large amount of time with Scootaloo lately.”
“Come on Rares, that's not bad, Scoots deserves it! With her parents being too busy to come and Apple Bloom being in her funk, all she has is Sweetie Belle and her aunts. Plus me of course and while I’m all you could ever ask for, Sweetie’s still been there for her.”
“It’s plus I Dash.” Twilight absentmindedly added while she and Applejack were being hugged by Pinkie, who promised to meet with Applejack later in the week for more family time. Her pink scarf whipped out and covered Applejack's face.
“Umm… you’re wrong Twilight.” Fluttershy quietly corrected, looking a bit worried for her friend while she slipped on some yellow boots.
“Fluttershy’s right dear. Are you sure you aren’t overworking yourself Twilight? Rainbow, I suppose you’re right. I just feel like I’m losing that sisterly connection we had a short number of years back. Sweetie doesn’t need me to help with her homework or with singing lessons. She doesn’t even burn the kitchen in the morning anymore.”
Fluttershy tilted her head, passing Dash’s sweater to her and remembering the many times she listened to Rarity complain about that during their spa days.
“I thought you hated her messing up the kitchen?”
“Yes well… I guess I see it now as just another sign of the changing times.”
Rainbow smirked.
“Feeling old Rares?”
Rarity scoffed at the thought and poked at her mane.
“As if! I’ll have you know that Capper recently took me to that new club Sweetie sings at and we were as lively as any other couple there!” Rainbow coughed and blocked her mouth with a hoof.
“After you downed an entire bottle of wine or two maybe.” Rarity smiled innocently at Rainbow.
“Was that a comment on sobriety… from you of all ponies?”
“Hey! I’ve been clean! Didn’t even go to the Apples’ cider season this year!” Pinkie smiled and bounced over, hugging Rainbow.
“Course not silly, you asked me to get you a mug remember? You said you weren’t feeling well!” Fluttershy shook her head disappointedly at her friend’s betrayal.
“Rainbow, we are going to need to have a long talk about self-control.” Rainbow groaned at the promise of a lecture from the yellow pegasus.
“Dang it! Thanks a lot, Pinkie!”
“You’re welcome, Dashie!” Rainbow glared at her pink friend, but when it was obvious the party pony wasn’t even paying attention, she just sighed and gave up.
Even as the four left, Pinkie and Rarity could be seen giggling at the scolding Fluttershy was giving to the rainbow-maned pegasus. Thus, all that was left in the main hall were Twilight and Applejack. While the others had been talkative and eager for the coming festivities, Rainbow mentioned how she wanted to create an enormous snow slide for the foals, and Pinkie had an idea of a giant tree that overlooked all of Ponyville with hundreds of lights. The holiday was the last thing on these two’s minds. Both looked tired with Twilight yawning into her third mug of coffee and Applejack’s hat being lopsided alongside her saddlebags dragging across the floor. The two gathered the dishes that had been used for group’s the tea party and carried them to the kitchen..
“Thanks for the help, Applejack but you know don’t have to. I can wash the dishes later after dinner, I know you probably want to go home.” Applejack sighed and started the sink.
“Not really sugarcube. With the harvest all done, I mostly just spend days relaxing around Ponyville and checking in with the rest of the Apple Family. Big Mac spends most of his time with Sugar Belle, and as for Apple Bloom…” At the mention of her sister, Applejack sighed again and had to stop scrubbing the dish she was working on. Twilight gently rubbed Applejack’s back with a wing. “Thanks, Twilight. I guess I’m just tired is all.”
“I think I can relate… Spike barely ever leaves his room anymore and I have to force him to do anything.”
“I could understand if they were just wanting to be lazy or something! We all have times we don’t wanna do this or that, but they seem to be just stuck in a funk.”
“No motivation, no drive. You know what happened with Spike but I didn’t hear about Apple Bloom.”
“Tell me about Spike first. I heard rumors but ponies say all kinds of silly things when they don’t know the truth.”
“I mean, there's honestly not much of a story there. Capper came to Ponyville and joined the boys during their guy’s night. I hear it all went well and everyone thought he was fun but after the game, he wanted to talk to Spike.” She paused and quickly cast a spell to ensure her assistant wasn’t anywhere within earshot. “Well, he asked Spike if he could ask Rarity out. I think he was doing it more out of respect - he knew Spike liked her and he didn’t want to just swoop in like that. The two talked and Spike said yes. He said that he wasn’t Rarity’s keeper and if she said yes then who was he to deny them?”
“That’s mighty mature of him.”
“It was… but while he knew he had no right to say who can date her, hearing Rarity accepted the date so easily and that Capper had decided to stay in town. Well, I think he was angry but I can’t be sure. He barely ever leaves the room and when I offer to talk about it he blows me off.” Twilight took another sip of coffee and rubbed her head with a hoof. Worry for her assistant was etched on her face. It had been two weeks now - any longer and he’d miss the holiday he loves the most. “I have to do something soon… what happened with Apple Bloom?”
“It ain’t that different, the pain’s in the same place, I think. Do you remember that troupe that visited the town for the play of the old pony story of Snowfall Frost? They did some dancing bit?” Twilight nodded, she had taken Spike with her and he joked that she should join them. That her moves could bring the house down. “Well, Apple Bloom went there with her coltfriend Tender Taps. He was a good stallion and he was chosen to be a substitute for the troupe just in case since the dancing teacher around here is related to the lead. She put his name forward since he’s her prize student. They ended up having to use him after a dancer sprained their leg.”
“Was Apple Bloom upset?”
“No, she actually watched all his shows. They say he was fantastic… maybe too good. The troupe offered him a job, the chance to travel Equestria and beyond, to show other creatures some of our culture.”
“He took it?”
“Don’t think he was going to honestly, that’s what saved him from getting a personal visit from Big Mac but then Apple Bloom told him to take it. Basically ordered him to since she could see in his eyes how much he wanted this chance. It was his dream after all! Apples know a thing or two about dreams and I think she always knew that while he’d be happy here, he’d never be fulfilled. Ponyville isn’t big enough for some dreams. Apple Bloom sees the farm as her responsibility too and I know she wouldn’t leave until she knows we can take care of ourselves.”
“So she gave her happiness for his.”
“Exactly. She got moody and just stays in her room unless I ask her to do something but once she finishes that she just goes back into her room. She’s a stubborn one.” Twilight cracked a smile.
“Remind you of anyone?” Applejack had the humility to blush at that but coughed and stuck her nose in the air.
“So what’s our plan? I can’t take this much longer. I have half a mind to force her to leave the house but she doesn’t need a forceful hoof right now. I never really went through this kind of thing before so I was hoping you knew something Twi.”
“Honestly, dating wasn’t really my main focus growing up so I’m as in the dark about this all as you. Though I do have some ideas from a book I saw and a movie that Rarity took me, Starlight, and Fluttershy to see. Here let me see if I can find the book.” She walked Applejack to the castle library as the farmer realized something.
“You all went to the movies without the rest of us?”
“Well, I did bring up if we should ask you, Pinkie, and Rainbow to join us but Rarity said that you and Rainbow would likely find the romance boring and she swore to not watch a movie with Pinkie again after the two watched a horror together and Pinkie was screaming a lot while hugging Rarity too tightly. Ruined her mane for he whole day. Ahh! Here it is!” She pulled a dusty book off the shelf and showed it to Applejack with a large grin.
“Breakups, Makeups, and Setups… Twi, I ain’t sure about this. You’ve seen how messing with love can make trouble. Remember the crusaders' Hearts and Hooves day mess?” Twilight waved off the concern as she flipped through the book and slammed her hoof on one page in particular.
“Ponies are inherently deeply emotional creatures. When going through a breakup or rejection, it’s important to give them space and time at first to reduce chances of them lashing out. Once time has passed, shower them with care and affection. Reminding them it may not have been personal. If this refuses to work, distractions are also a good way to help them move on.” Twilight stopped and looked up at AJ, an idea in her eyes.
“Uhh you okay there Sugar?”
“Don’t you see Applejack?! There is our answer! Distractions!”
“We’ve tried that before, more work didn’t help them.”
“True, but instead of just work what if we added some more there? We should set up Apple Bloom and Spike!”
“A-are you serious, Twilight? I can think of a dozen ways this can go wrong and even if we do try this, getting my lil sister to hook up with another boy sounds weird.”
“It’s not like we need them to date or sleep together, just get them interested and that should show them they can move on. I doubt that they would even stay together if they were to date. They’re much too different than their first choices to be reliable partners. I mean Spike can’t even dance!”
“I suppose Apple Bloom is pretty different than Rarity… it may be worth a try at least.” Twilight clapped her hooves, glad her friend saw things her way.
“Trust me Applejack, when you’re sister-in-law is the Princess of Love and you have read every book on the subject, you learn a dozen ways this kind of thing can work.”
“Riiight… sugarcube that’s ignoring a hundred ways it could go bad. There’s also the fact, not to hurt your feelings or nothing but, I have yet to see you get a single date.”
“AJ AJ AJ, we’re not talking about me today. This is about Spike and Apple Bloom.”
“But-”
“No buts! I’ve seen Cadence set up dozens of her friends and it was as easy as following the fifty-seven easy steps to making the first date work!”
“What kind of pony actually reads books like that?”
“Ponies that want to be prepared Applejack! Trust me, we got this!” She could handle this. She would get to making a plan that Applejack would edit tomorrow and then the two would execute it.
. . .
Spike shot up in a cold sweat, for a moment frightened he was still stuck in his nightmare. He had been reliving his birthday again from a few years back, the greed incident. Luna had come to help him as she has been doing more and more lately. He always ended up asking her to leave after they did some talking and catching up since he knew she was busy with others and would need sleep of her own.
He noticed the sun was out and must have been for a while now as Derpy was going into Sugarcube Corner for her afternoon muffin. He had spent much of his time lately just watching the ponies of Ponyville. A light frost was over everything and most of the ponies were wearing some form of warm clothing. Bon Bon would mentor Twist before she would leave the shop to the young mare to have lunch with Lyra. Rosebud and Lily were exchanging gardening tips and gossip. Carrot Top was haggling with Spoiled Rich for her money. Sweetie Belle was holding onto Scootaloo as they scootered around. Trixie and Starlight trying out some new tricks.
Everypony had something to do and someone to do it with. He sighed and had to answer the call of his stomach. He took a quick shower and headed downstairs, aiming for some cereal and jewel dust when a purple aura surrounded his hand just as he grabbed the box.
“Twilight?”
“Sorry Spike, but I need you to pick up a new shipment of books from the post office. It’s important.” He sighed and leaned against the fridge.
“Can’t I eat first?”
“Spiiiike pleeeeease!” His fortitude broke as she begged and he smiled. The two were so similar when they wanted something. It had been a while since he left the house anyway…
“Fine, I’m on my way.” He headed for the door and was stopped again when he heard Twilight’s hoofsteps.
“Spike! Umm… be safe. If you do end up wanting to stay out longer I’d understand. You’ve been cooped up in here so long you were reminding me of… me.” Spike blinked and glanced at her.
“See you in a bit, Twi.” He grabbed a scarf and hat before he headed out. Twilight sighed before shaking her head and looking up with determination.
“This is for your own good Spike! He’ll thank me someday.”
Spike walked down the path toward town, his frills twitching in the breeze while his scales began to warm up from the sunlight. It felt nice. The semi-frozen ground crunched under his feet and he wished he brought some socks. He stretched and for a moment things were like they were before, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see the familiar structure of Carousel Boutique. Just like that, his mood took on a darker tone and he wished he had some pockets to put his hands into or a hood to hide his face. Not as if it would do much. He waved at some ponies and they wished him a good holiday. The mayor even asked for his help as they were putting up large decorative candy canes and lights. After that, he continued on his way.
“Focus Spike. Just grab the books so you can go home and brood in the most dragon way you know- OW!”
“Hey! Watch it!” A familiar voice called out just as Spike unknowingly walked into their path. A loud crash caught every pony’s attention as most thought it had been Rainbow Dash again, but instead, there was a pony in skates and a dragon tangled up with each other. A pie on the dragon’s head. “No! The pie!”
“Apple Bloom?”
. . .
“Apple Bloom!” Applejack’s voice rang out in the old farmhouse. When no answer returned, she sighed and walked upstairs, opening the door to her sister's room. It was dark with the blinds drawn. She turned on a lamp and sighed as her sister turned from the light and gentle snoring could be heard. “Now that is enough of that, no sister of mine is gonna be sleeping her life away.” AJ walked over and bit the blanket, tossing it aside and finally waking Bloom.
“Uggggh, Applejack gimme back my blanket.”
“No way no how missy. You are gonna get up, I need your help.” She groaned and leaned up, doing a cat stretch on her bed. Her crimson mane was a mess and she was rubbing her eyes due to the sudden light. “Now get! I need you to deliver a pie for me.” Apple Bloom waved her away so she could get herself ready. After spending some time brushing her mane, a quick shower, and fixing her bow on her head, she was ready. She walked downstairs and saw the pie on the table, the scent nearly making the pony drool. “Nice of ya to finally join the rest of us.”
“Hey, I haven’t brushed my mane in a while!”
“No excuses! Now take this pie to Pinkie and after that spend some time in Ponyville! Your friends have been asking about you every day.”
Apple Bloom slipped on some skates that Scootaloo made for her and put the pie on her head. After feeling how cold it was, she added a scarf and some socks that were gifts from Rarity and Sweetie. She knew she should talk to Sweetie and Scootaloo, but she had also noticed them getting closer and felt more awkward than she liked. Maybe nothing was happening there but she wasn’t in the mood to ask. She did need to apologize for ignoring them though. Maybe later when she wasn’t feeling so cruddy.
“Be back later then,” Bloom called out as she began to skate to town. It felt strange being back on her feet, skating into town as if the past few weeks haven’t happened, and noticing the little things. The path had been overgrown with weeds that will need to be trimmed. The frost covered everything in the thinnest layer of ice, causing it all to sparkle. The trees were bare but still in good shape. Apple Bloom felt her heart soar for a moment, at least until the familiar chime of the train’s whistle nearly caused her to trip. She froze seeing the station, remembering crying there when she had to say goodbye. She shook her head, not willing to give in to any emotion, not until this dumb job was done and she could sulk back in her room.
She raced through the town, being careful to not lose hold of the pie on her head. She grinned proudly at how good she had gotten at skating and made a mental note to brag to Scootaloo about it. She snickered but then felt something weird as if something or some pony had pushed her. She turned her head ready to chew someone out but strangely no one was behind her.
“What?” She whispered before facing the road again, but now a purple dragon had gotten in the way. “Hey! Watch it!” She shouted before she smashed right into him. The crash wasn’t as painful as she thought it would be but her face was squished against something smooth while her limbs were all struggling to move. “No… the pie!”
“Apple Bloom? Please tell me this was just apples.” Apple Bloom moved her head to see she had it laying on Spike’s chest. She blushed and tried to pull away but that only caused the dragon to cry out as she was pulling on one of his arms. On his head was the splattered remains of the pie.
“No! I needed to deliver that pie!” Spike managed to uncoil one of his arms and took the pie tin off his head, settling it down while he worked to get them separated. “Great job Spike! Who taught you how to walk?!” Spike glared down at her as he got a leg free.
“Wait wait are you trying to blame me for this?!”
“Course I am! You were in my way and now you are wearing my pie on your head! You probably were hungry and wanted it!”
“What?! You’re unbelievable! You crashed into me!”
“I said watch out!”
“Just before hitting me!”
“Whatever! Now you are gonna help me! Pinkie Pie needed that pie and since there is no way I’m going home and getting in trouble because a dragon got in my way, you are going to help me make another at Sugarcube Corner!”
“And if I say nooo? I do actually have a life.” He asked as he finally got them apart. She snorted and took a seat on his chest defiantly, her snout in the air with an air of superiority.
“Easy, you won’t have one for long if you don’t.” Spike raised an eye ridge.
“Was that a threat?” She closed her eyes and smiled innocently. A hint of malice as she showed her teeth.
“It’s a promise~” Spike blinked and groaned as his day was now officially hijacked by a crazy mare. Nearby, Twilight and Applejack were spying on the two. Applejack sighed as this wasn’t really what they wanted. The two were supposed to happen to meet and strike up a conversation. Spike would offer his help and boom together for the day, but now they were glaring at each other as they walked into the post office and Spike proceeded to lick the pie from his head. Twilight, on the other hoof, was seeing this as a success.
“May not have been as umm clean as we wanted, but they are together so that is the only thing that matters.”
“I think you pushed Bloom a bit too hard there Twi, though she really should watch where she’s skating.”
“Spike too. Being so distracted to be caught off guard like that… I should give him reflex training. Come on, they’ll be heading for Sugarcube Corner next!” They stayed out of sight and gave chase. Spike and Apple Bloom exited the post office with Spike holding a large bag in his hands.
“Spike, do you ever think Twilight has… too many books?”
“I’ve thought that since the day I hatched. I swear reading would be the biggest requirement for every creature if she was in charge of the world.” He tossed the books into the castle and started to walk to Sugarcube Corner with Apple Bloom. “You Dragons want to see the sun again? Better start reading the first five Daring Do books!” They shared a laugh before their lack of pony interaction lately took its toll. Both seemed on edge with Spike nervously rubbing his arm while picking at his scarf. Apple Bloom was kicking a small pebble with her all the way back to town.
“So…”
“So…” The two shared a look and chuckled, breaking the ice between them. “Sorry. So I haven’t seen you in town for a week or two now AB.” Spike noted and Apple Bloom frowned.
“Were you looking for me?”
“N-no! I just noticed since I’ve been… pony-watching a lot lately that I didn’t see a short redhead.”
“Who you calling short?! You’re one to talk!”
“I have plenty of time to grow taller!”
“So do I, dragon breath!”
“Actually my breath smells like apple pie.” Apple Bloom punched his arm.
“You’re a jerk.”
“Says the girl who threatened me after crashing into me.”
“Oh please, you had nothing better to do. You would have just wasted a day helping Rarity or Twilight.” Spike bit his lip at the mention of the unicorn and sighed, wishing he had the drive to help anyone lately. He was here though, helping a friend so maybe this would be a blessing in disguise. Though calling the sassy redhead a blessing would be giving her waaay too much credit. “Why are you staring at me?” Her voice snapped him from his thoughts.
“Just thinking of all the ways I could sabotage this pie we have to make.”
“Try it and I’ll let it slip to Applejack what happened during your thirteenth birthday party. When you tricked a poor innocent young filly into going with you inside a locked closet for those ten minutes.” Spike stumbled and blushed at the memory of the two. Of course, playing truth or dare with the Crusaders should have been a red flag right at the start but that incident had been caused by Scootaloo’s dare. The two had agreed not to talk about what happened in that closet.
“Sheesh, have you always been this much of a little monster?”
“It’s called being born with charm! You know you would have a mare by now if you had some.”
“For your information, I’m basically drowning in charm! You saw my statue in the Crystal Empire, any mare there would beg to have me!”
“Ehh you got a point I guess. No accounting for taste when it comes to those ponies.” She giggled and Spike flicked her on the forehead. When they arrived at Sugarcube Corner, Spike opened the door for Bloom but smirked and let it go so it would smack her flank. She glared at him and he smiled innocently.
“Ooo lookie who came for a visit! Spike and Apple Bloom! I haven’t seen you two in a long time! Like…. So long I forgot!” Spike turned toward the voice and nearly tripped back as Pinkie was right in his face. Apple Bloom helped him stay on his feet. Both apologized for not seeing the party pony but she was sympathetic to both. “Well, the first time is always the hardest. I remember there was this rock back on the farm and,” The two shared a look, not knowing the other was dealing with something while Pinkie rambled and her story got crazy. “Then he chose Maud out of the rest of us and oh sorry! So are you here for a cupcake?”
“Sure!”
“No. We came because a certain unnamed scaly individual ruined the pie Applejack asked me to give to you. We were hoping to use the kitchen to bake you another.”
“Okey dokey artichokey! I’ll be out here if you need me!”
“Thanks, Pinkie!” The two said in unison as they headed into the back. Soon enough, more arguing could be heard as the two began to disagree on how to make it and who would be doing what.
“Just get the ingredients and I’ll start to mix everything!”
“No, because you’ll bake it all wrong!”
“Hey, which one of us is actually good at this kind of thing?! I have to make food all the time!”
“Which one of us has ruined this recipe before? Remember mister noble dragon code?” Spike’s face flushed a bit and he pointed the wooden spoon at Bloom.
“I wasn’t on my game that day! I can do this!”
“I’m an Apple! It’s mah family’s recipe so I’ll make it!”
“Apple Bloom!”
“Spike!” The two glared at each other and Spike cooled down first.
“Fine fine, I will let you do the cooking but I hold onto the recipe so things go smoothly. Is that a fair deal?” He held out a claw and Bloom looked at it suspiciously.
“Hmm… alrighty then you have a deal, but this means that if anything goes wrong I can blame you fully and without guilt!” She smiled brightly and Spike rolled his eyes. He could have been outside for this whole thing and she’d find a way to put the blame on him. With Spike’s advice and help, Apple Bloom made the crust and filling. She decided to add a bit more cinnamon and a touch of honey for sweetness. Spike added some nutmeg and rosemary, telling Bloom to trust him. Using his fire breath, the pie was done in a few seconds.
“Hot stuff huh?” Spike asked with a smirk.
“Alright, that was pretty awesome. You’re like my personal stove!” He rolled his eyes again and the two presented the pie to Pinkie. She cut herself a slice and praise the two for how good it was before telling them to take the rest. Turns out she had miscounted and she didn’t need the extra pie. The two left the shop with pie in hand and they shared a look. “Weird huh… Pinkie never miscounts like that.”
“First time for everything. I mean Ponyville should basically just be known for firsts. We got some pie out of it at least… umm if you wanna just go somewhere and share this?” Apple Bloom had planned to just go back home, this was far from what she thought today would be like. Then again, maybe that wasn’t so bad.
“I’d like that actually… come on, I have a place for us.” She led the way back toward Sweet Apple Acres. “Pinkie said she hadn’t seen ya in a while… I thought you loved going there?”
“Could say the same about you.” Both knew this wasn’t helping and Apple Bloom looked ahead, her back to the dragon.
“I… I needed time. Time and the space to deal with things my way with no pony telling me how I should just move on. I know what I did was right, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt.” Spike smiled, having felt similar after helping with Rarity and Capper’s date. He had taught Capper how to cook for Rarity, teaching him what she liked and even helping him with a few style tips he had picked up over the years. He had even called in a favor to get Capper a carriage.
“I’m guessing we’ve both been in similar boats… I locked myself away, not really mad or surprised after it all. I didn’t regret anything, not for a moment. I just… wanted to be alone. I wanted to find a new normal, something that wouldn’t change. My room was that normal. It never changed so maybe nothing else would again… I was thinking that eventually, I could trick myself into thinking that how I felt was normal.”
“That things could be just like they were before. I’d wake up and boom, it would all be forgotten and in the past…” The two shared a sigh and Spike bit his lip as he looked at the back of the mare.
“What’s was their name?” She sniffled a giggle and shook her head.
“His. Tender Taps.”
“The dancing guy with the purple mane?”
“Yeah, why? Got a problem there Spike?” She glanced back, daring him to judge.
“C-course not! Just didn’t think you’d click with a guy like him but I guess it would take someone who can move, to keep up with you.”
“Hey, I can relax too! What about you? Let me guess, Ms. Rarity?” Spike nodded and picked up a weed, slowly burning it with his fire breath as a way to distract himself. “She actually rejected you?”
“Didn’t have to… I pushed a friend of mine to date her. He was interested and I guess I didn’t expect things to work out for him so well. No… that’s not it. I wanted things to work out for them, still do. It’s just that… I never even gathered the nerve to tell her.” Apple Bloom felt her heart go out to the dragon and waited for Spike to get to her side, so she could touch his arm.
“Sorry Spike… I think she knew though. You were never one for subtlety.” He chuckled at that and wiped his eyes.
“I know… doesn’t make it hurt any less. I’m sorry for you too. I could never imagine letting someone go that I loved.” She sniffled and hid her eyes behind her mane.
“Somepony had to be the grown-up and he needed the push. I’m… happy.” The two walked in silence when Spike cracked a smile. He reached over and slipped a claw through her mane, moving her bangs.
“You needing to be a grown-up? Come on AB, we don’t have to act all old like Twilight, Applejack, and the others just yet. Enjoy youth and all that. At least for today, we should just… try to be ourselves. Our old alien-flank kicking selves.” Bloom blinked and blushed a tiny bit while she laughed.
“Sheesh Spike, do you have to be so cheesy? Makes you all the harder to know when to take seriously. Especially when you bring up dreams from so long ago.”
“I’m always serious.” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and led him to the barn, telling him to wait outside while she went in. While Spike waited, Applejack and Twilight poked their heads out from nearby trees.
“I can’t believe Spike called me old! Me! I’m only like twenty-three! Applejack I don’t act old, do I?” Applejack ignored the question, instead pointing to Spike who had cut himself a slice of pie.
“Focus Twi. Look your plan is working! Spike and Bloom are acting more like their old selves. Isn’t that more important? Besides, of course, we aren’t old. We haven’t got better things to do right now than stalk our siblings and try to hook them up. Sounds like a young pony thing to do!”
“I suppose you have a point.” The two watched as Apple Bloom came back with a bottle in hoof, one that the two recognized as the Apple Family’s famous apple cider. “How did she… should we do something?”
“Why that little… she hid away some cider! I have half a mind to go over and snatch it.” They watched as the two headed off again, Applejack recognizing the path leading to the CMC treehouse. Spike and Apple Bloom were laughing, eating, and taking turns drinking out of the bottle. Bloom burped and shyly hid her mouth before Spike followed, nearly setting a tree on fire which Twilight had to help put out covertly. They arrived at the treehouse but instead of eating inside, they pulled two pillows out to sit on and just leaned against the structure.
“So Bloomers, are you gonna wait? For your boy to come back?” Bloom took another swig of cider and smacked her lips, a sense of calm and a bit of burn flowing through her thanks to the drink.
“I was thinking about it Scales… but I think he’d rather me do something else with my life here. I spent weeks up in my room, all that time wasted doing nothing. Hearth’s Warming is coming and I have no gifts or anything!” Spike groaned loudly when she reminded him of the season and of his own faults.
“Dang it, why did you have to say that!? Now I have to go buy gifts! I completely forgot all that… and now we’re out of cider so I can’t just drink my issues away.” Apple Bloom leaned against Spike’s arm and yawned.
“We’d need a lot more cider for that… so I guess this means you’re ready to move on?” Spike shifted his eyes down to her before he put an arm around her, used to this kind of treatment with Twilight as she often got cold in this season. Bloom opened an eye to make sure the dragon didn’t try any funny business but soon relaxed.
“I’m not sure about just moving on… but I’m willing to face tomorrow now.”
“Good… can’t have you outdoing me so I’ll talk to Scoots and Sweetie Belle tomorrow. The CMC has been apart too long. Seeing that we both helped each other and all that. Maybe you can make it up to me for the cider you finished.”
“What? You ate more of the pie though!”
“Spike it’s rude to mention a mare’s eating habits. I thought Ms. Rarity would have taught you that. So add being rude to the list of things you owe me for.”
“Excuse me?!”
“But I will forgive it all if you take me with you when you go buying gifts!”
“You just want me to pay for your stuff, you cheapskate!”
“Oh sorry that we’re not all best friends with royalty! That I can’t go sending a letter every time I want money! You insulting my income too now Spike?” Twilight and Applejack shared a giggle and walked away from the two.
“Well Applejack, may have started off a bit rocky and I have to give Spike a lecture on drinking, but they seemed to have gotten better! Plus on top of all that, we didn’t even get caught.”
“I’m happy and all for them sugarcube but I can’t help but feel karma will get us back for all this playing around.”
“Karma pfft. Karma is just a creation of the mind AJ, nothing to worry about! How about we call the other girls and get some cake down at Sugarcube Corner?” Her question went unanswered as a piano crushed the two in a cartoonish fashion, high above them a grey pegasus with a blonde mane looked down as the mover stallion across from her crossed his arms.
“Oops… it slipped.”
Author's Note
Another one shot but while it isn't really mentioned, I do see this as a sequel to THEM. Eventually, I may show their first date and other small stories. Maybe one about Sweetie and Scootaloo. Not really sure yet so we'll see! ALSO BIG THANKS TO The Iguana Man for their advice and help! My sickness is finally healing a bit.
