Spike was cleaning up the library when a gentle knock drew his attention away. Walking over, he opened and was greeted by a beautiful earth pony with a pink coat and a yellow mane with cherries as a cutie mark.
"Uhm hello?" She waved a hoof in front of Spikes face confused.
Spike shook his head. "Sorry I got uh distracted. How can I help you?"
She shot a knowing smirk his way.
"It's easy to get distracted, it's a beautiful day out isn't it? Can I come in please?"
Spike quickly stepped aside. "Yeah sure sorry. You're right it's uh totally the weather I was admiring. What can I help ya with?"
"I'm looking for a book about flight, weather patterns the works", she said.
Spike nodded and walked to a shelf and picked up the books she requested.
"Okay, here you go, Miss....?"
She giggled. "Cherry Berry. And you don't gotta call me miss, Cherry is fine".
"Alright. Well here you go Cherry. Twilight is on official business in Canterlot and I got to stay behind so I'll be here all week. Just bring them by whenever you're done".
"Thank you Spike," Cherry trotted foward and gave a quick hug.
Blushing, he returned the hug.
"You know my name?" He blinked in surprise.
Cherry looked surprised.
"Of course I know your name. Everypony in town does. Remember, your little rampage the other day?"
Spike winced. He almost forgot that he became a giant rampaging dragon for a while.
"Thanks for the reminder", he said flatly.
Cherry gasped. "Sorry I forgot it must be a sensitive topic right now. I'm just glad your back to your cute little small self", she grinned and rubbed his head with a hoof.
Did she really just call me cute? Spike wondered.
"Thanks. You're cute as well".
Cherry started playing with her mane and stared at the ground blushing.
"Well thanks Spike, I gotta get home. See ya around". She took off like a bullet and Spike waved.
"Yeah see ya".
Spike sighed and shut the door.
A knock made Spike hop up and run to the door.
"Cherry! Hi," he greeted enthusiastically.
She grinned down. "Hey Spike". She ruffled his head and walked in. "I got the books back".
"I see", Spike carried them to the shelf and tossed them in their spots.
"So Spike", Cherry began making a circle with her hoof. "Are you seeing anypony?"
Spike stared at her. "Uh no, no I'm not".
"What about Rarity?" She pressed.
Spike rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Does everypony really know about that?". He grumbled.
"Well yes. You were very open about it, silly", Cherry giggled.
"Rarity is just a friend now. That whole thing crashed and burned". He sat down on the steps.
"Well, if you aren't busy tonight, do you wanna maybe go out." She nervously asked. Spike raised an confused eyebrow.
"Sure, why not." He shrugged. She clapped her forehooves and smiled.
"I'll come get you around seven?" She eagerly asked.
"Sounds good to me." Spike smiled at her. The mare grinned happily and tossed her hooves around his neck, hugging him. He returned it confused as to why she was hugging him. Letting go, she gave him a head pat.
"I'll be back then." She promised as she shot off out of the library. Spike rolled his eyes smiling and closed to the door. That mare had a tendency to take off like a bat out of Tartarus.
"Is this a date or just friends. I hope a date. Wait, why do I hope for that?" He thought to himself.
Spike stood in front of the mirror, putting on different bow ties. He ended picking the black one. A knock on the door got his attention and he opened it. Cherry stood there in a deep purple dress with light purple accents. Spikes eyes widened and stared. "Definitely a date," He thought to himself.
"You like it?" Cherry asked. Spike nodded numbly.
"You look very pretty." He mumbled. She gave a soft giggle.
"Why, thank you. You look nice as well." She blushed.
"Thanks. Shall we go now?" Spike asked.
She nodded as he stepped out and shut the library door. The two made small talk till she lead him to a small picnic blanket next to an inflated balloon.
"Did you really put this together on your own?" Spike asked in awe.
Cherry nodded smugly.
"Yeah. My sister watched over it to make sure no one messed with it." She explained. A plum colored earth pony with purple and red grapes for a cutie mark popped out of a bush. She gave a wave and a grin before disappearing into back into it. Cherry sat down and tapped her hoof for Spike to sit down. He complied and sat down across from her. She pushed a bowl of gems towards him.
"I didn't know your favorite so I just got a bowl full from a friend." Cherry blushed as she picked up a daisy sandwich and took a bite. Spikes eyes lit up at the bowl in front of him.
"Sapphires are my favorite, how did you get these?" He asked in awe. She gave him a smirk.
"Amethyst owed me a favor so she sold me them for a discounted price." She explained. Spike tossed a sapphire into his mouth and chewed. She gave a soft wince at the sounds of crunching.
"Doesn't that hurt your teeth?" She asked before biting the handle of the lemonade pitcher and pouring two glasses full. She gently nudged one to Spike with her muzzle and he gratefully took it. Taking a sip, he smiled at her.
"It doesn't hurt my teeth. Dragon teeth are made for chewing diamonds and meat." He pointed out. She frowned at him slightly.
"You don't eat meat, do you?" She asked nervously. He shook his head to her relief.
"I tried it once but I didn't like it. I was raised by Twilight my entire life so I'm used to pony food." He admitted.
"I've only ate daisy sandwiches. And roses but don't tell Roseluck or her sisters that. They would have a fit over it." She rolled her eyes. "It's already bad enough that I have to live next door to them.
Spike gave a chuckle at that.
"I remember when I first moved here with Twilight, they ran away screaming." He rolled his eyes as well. "Kinda hurt at first but I got over it. So did they at least."
Cherry gave a smile as she stood up.
"Was this just a friendly hang out or?" Spike asked nervously.
"It was a date." Cherry clarified. She packed up the blanket into her basket and tossed it into the balloon. "Which isn't over by the way." She folded her legs under her and nodded at Spike. "Hop in." She jerked her head to the balloons basket. Spike carefully climbed on her back and she boosted him inside. She climbed in her self and pulled the weights inside the basket. She carefully pressed a pedal with her hoof and fire shot up into the balloon as it started to rise. Soon enough, Ponyville became a dot beneath them and Spike stared in awe at the town. To their was rolling hills and a sparkly dot of the local beach.
"This is beautiful," he muttered. Cherry smirked at him.
"I've given hundreds if not thousands of balloon rides and I never get tired of the view from up here. The pegasus are lucky." She sighed.
Spike nodded.
"They are, aren't they?" he agreed. "I probably will never get my wings."
"So. I think it's fairly obvious I like you."Cherry turned red as she looked at the significantly smaller creature in her balloon.
"Why me? Why not anypony else?" he asked.
"You're just so you. You don't really care what other ponies think. You read comics, collect action figures and like to bake and cook. None of the stallions I've met do that. Plus, you're cute." She admitted, blushing.
"You really are okay with me collecting action figures and reading comics?" He asked incredulously. She rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Well, duh. Everypony has their hobbies. I enjoy flying and being on the swings. Pretty much anything air related." She giggled. The two gazed over Ponyville together and Spike sighed happily.
"Was this a good date for you? I've never taken anypony on a date before." Spike admitted.
"This was amazing in all honesty. I've only been on two dates before. This is my second." She smiled at him.
Spike played with his claws nervously.
"I like you too." He announced suddenly. "Could we do this again sometime?" He asked nervously, turning red. "If you want of course." He hastily added.
Cherry beamed at him. She folded her legs under herself and gave him a kiss. Spikes eyes widened before he returned it.
"I'd love that." Cherry said as Spike gave her a hug. Together, the two sat hugging till the sun set.
Spike sat in front of the library, staring at the charred wood and burnt pieces of paper strewn all over the place. He wiped a tear out of the corner of his eye. He didn't notice the hours going by or the purple pegasus hovering behind him.
"How long do you think he will sit there?" the white one whispered.
The purple one shrugged.
"It's been a few hours. Three or four at least." she whispered back. She placed a hoof on his back and he jumped at the sudden contact. "You okay there, kid?"
Spike turned around slowly and stared at her. An irrational anger started bubbling up inside of him. He narrowed his eyes at the two pegasi and gave an annoyed grumble.
"Do I look okay?" he demanded, gesturing at the remains of the library. "That was my house too. And boom, it's suddenly gone. Taken from me and Twilight. So no, I'm not okay. We lived there for years. We had countless memories there. The party when Twilight first moved here, the poison joke. Discord, the elements getting switched around, Tirek." he slumped down, the anger out of him. The two pegasi looked at each other and the purple one sighed, settling down on the ground.
"Well, you still have the castle at least." the white one offered. Spike glared up at her.
"And what if we didn't get the castle, huh? Where would we have gone? We would have been homeless on the street." Spike snapped and the mare took a step back.
"I know what it's like to be worried about the future, but you shouldn't take it out on ponies who care about you." the purple one chided. Now Spike glared at her.
"I don't even know you two, why would you care about me?" he questioned. The purple one rolled her eyes.
"You do know us. I'm Cloudchaser and that," Cloudchaser pointed her hoof at the white pegasus. "is White Lightning. We were there when you helped Twilight with Tornado Duty. I'm Flitter's sister."
"Oh. Right, sorry. Been focused on other things." Spike grumbled.
"Like wallowing in self pity in front of a destroyed library?" White Lightning offered and Cloudchaser smacked her with a wing in the back of the head.
"That hurt." The white pegasus grumbled as she straightened her blue hair.
Ignoring her, Cloudchaser slid closer to Spike and hugged him.
"It's okay." She whispered. "Bad things happen to good ponies." She paused and corrected herself. "Dragons, in this case." Spike hugged her back and cried into her fur. She held him for a while and awkwardly patted his back.
"Let it out, it's okay." Cloudchaser held him till he fell asleep.
"Did he seriously just fall asleep?" White Lightning demanded. "That's actually impressive. Wish I could sleep whenever."
"We should probably get him back to the castle. Twilight is probably having one of her moments wondering where he is." Cloudchaser stared at the wreckage of the library solemnly. She flew over to it and scooped up a book.
"What's that?" White Lightning asked as she hovered near her, holding Spike in her hooves. Cloudchaser shrugged and opened it. A bunch of pictures of the Ponyville residents and Spike was in it. She quickly tucked it into her bags.
"A photo album. Twilight will be probably happy it survived. Let's get that dragon back to the castle."
"We better hurry, our break is up." White Lightning pointed a free hoof up to a cloud where an impatient looking Dizzy Twister was tapping her hoof on her cloud, looking down sternly at them. Both the pegasus gulped.
Spike slid on down the ladder with a book in his claw.
"Here you, Twilight. The book like you asked." The book levitated out of his hand and in front of the mare on the ground.
"Thanks, Spike. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Got that right!" Spike announced with a grin. "Can I go look for Cloudchaser and spend time with her?" Twilight giggled and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah go see your marefriend," she teased. Spike turned bright red.
"She is not my marefriend. Just because she's pretty doesn't mean we are dating." Spike clapped a claw over his mouth while Twilight started laughing. He quickly ran out the room, Twilight's laughter following him.
Where in Equestria could that pegasus be, he wondered as he wandered out the castle. That was the problem with pegasi, they could go anywhere they wanted. Ground, sky you name it, they could go there. He wandered around Ponyville for hours till he reached his favorite hill overlooking Ponyville. He gazed down with a smile and missed the pegasus landing behind him. Cloudchaser snuck up on him and covered his eyes with her hooves.
"Hey there you," she whispered seductively in his ear and he jumped.
"Hey there, Cloudy." He grinned as his marefriend let him go and he gave her a quick kiss.
"Have fun today?" She asked.
"Just another stressful day," he grumbled. She smirked and walked past him, flicking her tail up and to the side as she did so.
"I know something we could do to help with that," she teased. " Let's head back to the castle."
"Twilight's there," Spike reminded her and she rolled her eyes.
"We've had sex when she was there before, don't act like the idea of getting caught isn't hot. Also you're gonna tell her we are dating. Tonight," she grumbled. She grabbed him in her hooves and flew him to the castle, ignoring his protesting. She quickly flew into the castle and carried him to the library, dropping him down.
"Hey, Twilight!" She eagerly greeted the librarian princess.
"Hey Cloudchaser!" She smiled brightly at the pegasus.
"Spike has something he wants to tell you," she shoved him forward gently. He nervously played with his claws.
"So you uh know how I said she wasn't my marefriend, right?"
"Uh huh," Twilight said as she put a book on the shelf.
"Well I may have uh lied."
"I know. And while I don't appreciate it, I am very happy for you two. About dang time, I followed you two to the restaurant where you guys had your first date and kiss with Rainbow."
"You did what?" Spike exclaimed and she rolled her eyes.
"I'm your mother figure, of course I'd follow you two," Twilight reminded him as she put up another book. Cloudchaser nudged him with a wing and whispered something in his ear. He turned bright red and nodded. She gave him an encouraging smirk.
"Are you okay with us having sex then too?" He asked. The books fell from her magical grip around her and she spun around.
"You WHAT!?" She exclaimed in a half shocked, half upset tone.
Spike only gulped. Cloudchaser decided now was a good time to escape with him. She quickly grabbed him and flew out the castle. Below them, Twilight waved a scroll at them.
"This conversation is not over, you two hear me!?" She shouted. The pair landed at Cloudchasers shared house with her sister and they sighed. Suddenly, Cloudchaser looked up at him and smirked.
"Now about what we almost started on that hill."
Spike gulped again.
