Acquaintances

by Catpaw616

Rating: everyone
Tags: Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Comedy, Starlight Glimmer, Slice of Life
Length: 7465

Since they’ll be living together from now on, Starlight and Spike attempt to build at least some sort of friendship. Does it work out?

It had been a two days since Starlight moved into Twilight’s castle. Now that the castle had gained a new member, Spike felt that he should get to know Starlight more so she could be more comfortable around him; and Starlight believes that starting a friendship with Spike would improve on her friendship lessons.

That was her reason, right? So it shouldn’t be too awkward…

Special thanks to starcoder for roasting proofreading AND doing the cover.

Starlight is not begging, I swear.

Published 2024-01-02 07:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-01-02 07:50:01 UTC

An Awkward Start

Author's Note

Inspired a little by Erasure by 6-D Pegasus

It’s a good story and I like it a lot lol

Hope you enjoy my first story that’s published in 2024!

An Awkward Start

Spike woke up from his comfortable bed as the morning sun shone through his windows. He yawned and stretched his arms as he got out of bed.

He opened the bedroom door and went inside the bathroom for his daily morning routine. He washed his face with his claws and brushed his teeth with his specialized toothbrush.

After he was done in the bathroom, he approached the kitchen to get some breakfast. He was in the mood for a fresh batch of jewels that he kept stacked in a cabinet.

He opened the cabinet’s doors and grabbed a bowl filled with rare, exquisite jewels, and began to eat them with delight. He relished the flavor of the sapphires and rubies. It was like he was in paradise.

I’ll have to thank Rarity later for finding these things for me, Spike thought to himself as he continued to devour the gems. He licked his lips with his tongue as he continued to dive into what seemed like paradise for him. He didn’t want it to end.

Ah… the distinct and juicy flavor of these crunchy… delicious… jewels from heaven—

“Is that all you ever eat?” a female voice spoke behind him.

Spike coughed violently and covered his mouth when he heard the voice from out of nowhere. He almost choked because he was startled, which was a little strange, since he wasn’t usually this jumpy.

Spike glanced over his shoulder. From the corner of his eye, he could spot a lilac-colored pony staring at him from the kitchen door. Her mane was purple with an aquamarine streak, and her lavender-colored eyes were wide and horrified. Before he could say anything, she spoke first.

“I’m sorry, Spike! I didn’t mean to startle you like that!” the pony exclaimed, her voice was strained with fear. She quickly approached him and examined him, making sure he was really alright. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Spike simply waved his hand dismissively as he coughed a little. “I’ll be fine, Starlight.” he told her casually.

But his words didn’t calm the distraught unicorn.

“Do you want me to give you water?” Starlight asked in a rushed manner when she quickly summoned a glass cup with her magic and turned on the faucet. Once the cup was filled to the brim, she immediately handed it over to Spike.

Spike was alarmed by her frenzied state, but he took the water anyway and began to drink it until it was nearly gone.

“Thank you,” Spike sighed as he set the water down and rubbed his arm across his mouth. “But I’m fine, really. You just spooked me, that’s all.” he tried to reassure her again.

This time it worked. Starlight sighed in relief as she saw that he was no longer coughing. But her ears drooped and pawed her hooves on the floor when she heard his last sentence.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Starlight apologized, looking regretfully at him. “You must hate me for ruining your breakfast. You seemed really content.”

Spike stopped what he was doing and looked at her, tilting his head. “Starlight, why would I hate you?”

“Because you almost choked to death because of me?”

“Starlight, come on, I coughed a bit, yes, but wasn’t that drastic,” Spike said, trying to downplay the situation.

“But you could’ve died,” Starlight shot back.

“Well, I didn’t.” Spike had no idea why Starlight had this mindset of him almost dying because of her when it couldn’t be farther from the truth.

“Are you sure?” Starlight asked with a raised eyebrow, still not entirely believing what he said.

“Yes, I am quite sure. I’m alive and well, aren't I?” Spike told her stoutly. He was determined to make her not feel bad about herself. “Just calm down, please. You did nothing wrong.”

“Ok…” Starlight said slowly as she took a deep breath to calm herself.

After a moment of calm, but somewhat tense silence, she chuckled nervously as she gave an embarrassed smile.

“Here I go again with my crazy overprotective tendencies.” Starlight said with a sheepish smile as she turned to the direction of the door. “Sorry if I’m acting like a weirdo. I just didn’t want—“

Spike’s eyes widened when he saw she was about to leave. “No, no, Starlight, don’t go! I appreciate you looking out for me,” he said desperately. He didn’t want their conversation to end on a negative note.

“Really? You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” Starlight frowned.

Spike shook his head. “Look, I know you’ve only reformed two days ago, but it doesn’t mean you should be uncomfortable around me.” Spike told her with a slightly concerned look in his eyes. “We’re not enemies or anything.”

“Yeah, of course not. I just…” Starlight trailed off before breaking eye contact with the dragon.

Spike’s frown became slightly bigger.

Starlight noticed his frown from the corner of her eye, so her head immediately perked up and smiled. “Hey, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me, ok? I’m just trying to adjust to this new lifestyle,” She reasoned.

Spike knew that her smile was anything but genuine. He gave her a questionable look.

Before he could say a word, Starlight walked out of the room and disappeared around the corner.

Spike peered out the room to see her walk down the hall, presumably to her room. Her back was turned to him but from the way Starlight walked, Spike could tell that she was… angry.

But why? None of this was her fault. If anything, he felt like it was his own fault for being so intoxicated by the sweet, juicy flavors of the gems that he didn’t notice Starlight’s footsteps.

Spike watched her with a dejected frown on his face. He had no idea what was going through her mind right now, but he assumed that they weren’t positive thoughts.

Alongside Twilight, Spike wanted to do everything he could to help Starlight on the tough, and testing road of redemption, and he felt like this was one of those times where he should be present in her need.

And he knew exactly what to do to help lift the unicorn’s spirits.

Starlight continued her trek down the hall after that rather embarrassing moment with Spike. She couldn’t help but berate herself for how she acted.

“Sweet Celestia, why are you such a buffoon?” Starlight scolded herself quietly, in case Spike heard her. She knew that he was staring at her in the distance, but she didn’t bother to turn around.

Why would she want to face him after how she acted? He must’ve thought that she was some overprotective bumbling fool, and he was right.

She knew full well that she had ruined Spike’s breakfast, whether he would admit it or not. She could’ve found alternative ways to greet him: she could’ve knocked, or maybe ignored him entirely and waited for him to greet her.

It was just her luck that she chose the option with the worst outcome.

“Why do I even try sometimes?” Starlight sighed sadly as she finally reached her bedroom door and walked inside.

She gazed around the room that Twilight had offered on the day that she reformed. All that was inside was her bed, with a few tables and chairs. Once she gathered enough bits, she would buy her own furniture at some point.

“Twilight gave me this…” Starlight reflected as she touched the wall with her hoof. She closed her eyes to be alone with her thoughts.

I owe everything to Twilight and Spike. They could’ve thrown me out onto the streets if they wanted to, or even send me to prison, Starlight thought before sighing once again. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re thinking about that notion.

Starlight rubbed her face with her hoof, feeling agitated and experiencing a lot of stress.

“Get a grip, Starlight! Twilight sees the good in you… maybe.” Starlight hesitated at the last part. Then she shook her head, trying to snap herself out of this state. “No, no, you’re freaking out over nothing. Just relax, and ride it out… just ride it out—“

She immediately silenced herself when she heard a knock behind her. Starlight turned around to stare at the door, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.

No one heard all of that, right? she prayed.

With her magic, Starlight turned the doorknob. When the door opened, it revealed Spike standing in the hall. He had a smile on his face.

“Hey, Starlight, just thought I’d pop in,” Spike greeted her.

At least he had the decency to knock. Starlight thought, making another bitter jab at herself. She forced herself to smile as she interacted with him.

“Oh, well, thank you—“

“Although I could’ve sworn I’ve heard you talk to someone,” Spike noted as he looked around her room, as if expecting to see someone other than her inside.

Starlight was hot with embarrassment. She had to think of something fast.

“Ah, yes, I was talking to my… imaginary friend!” she said before she could even process the word in her head.

“Your imaginary… friend?” Spike said slowly with a raised eyebrow.

Starlight screamed inside her head. She desperately wished for a black hole to appear in front of her so she could jump in and get away from this embarrassing moment.

“Yup,” was all Starlight said.

You idiot! An imaginary friend?! What’s next, are you going to say that you’re talking to the kites now? Starlight berated herself once again. That was the stupidest thing I could have said!

“Starlight, you seem tense. Are you sure you’re alright?” Spike asked her, concerned. “You don’t seem like yourself.”

He sees right through me. Starlight became even more tense now.

Once again, there was silence. This time, it felt more awkward and elongated.

When Starlight didn't answer him, Spike casually continued the conversation, seemingly choosing to ignore Starlight’s strained mannerisms.

“Well, I was thinking that… maybe the two of us could hang out today,” Spike told her with a soft smile as he walked inside the room.

“Wait, just us?” Starlight backed away from Spike so he could have a bit of room. “Like… us us?” That was the last thing she had expected. Especially with what happened just moments ago.

She narrowed her eyes. “Who else?”

“No one. Just me and you,” Spike answered.

“But what about Twilight? I’m sure she would like to go with us,” Starlight suggested. Not only would it seem fitting, but would help Starlight with her stress if she wasn’t completely alone with Spike, whereas she was prone to make more stupid mistakes with him; and that was the last thing she wanted.

Then again… I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself in front of Twilight, either. Starlight now questioned herself.

“Uh, Twilight left the castle early, and she’s not back yet.” Spike answered her, shutting down her suggestion.

“Right…” Starlight lost eye contact with Spike again when she glanced at the side.

“Starlight, it’ll be fun,” Spike once again tried to reassure her. Then his soft gaze turned into a questionable one. “Why are you so nervous around me?”

There was that question again. The question that Starlight didn’t want to answer. At least, not yet. But she knew that sooner or later Spike would have to learn the truth: the truth that she’s scared to expose, and the truth that made Starlight feel embarrassed.

“Just morning nerves,” Starlight lied.

Starlight knew right away that Spike didn’t fall for it. He kept staring at her, and it made her start to form sweat beads at the side of her head. She prayed that this uncomfortable moment would end soon. She felt like she was about to crack under pressure.

But then Spike let up his gaze and shrugged. “Well, you don’t have to hang out with me. I thought that it was a good idea so that you could be… happier around me.” Spike sighed.

Starlight’s pupils dilated a little. “Happier around you?” she questioned.

Spike nodded. “Yeah. I feel like this morning got off to a rough start…”

Yeah, no kidding.

“…but I didn’t want to end it just like that,” Spike continued on. “We could do some activities that match your preferences, and just… I don’t know… get to know you better,” he concluded when he gazed hopefully at Starlight. “Something to make you feel better.”

Starlight felt stunned. She didn’t expect this at all from the little dragon. She half expected him to berate her for her actions.

The fact that Spike wanted to do activities with her in order to make her feel better warmed Starlight’s heart, but she was still unsure.

“I’ll think about it. Give me a moment, will you?” Starlight asked politely with a weak smile.

“Will do. But remember, I’m not forcing you to do this. This is entirely your choice,” Spike told her as he walked out of her room and closed the door.

Hearing his footsteps fade in the distance, Starlight began to pace in her room. Her thoughts were mingled with fear as she thought over Spike’s offer.

Calm down, Starlight, a few activities won’t kill you, Starlight told herself as she tried to calm herself down. But it wasn’t an easy task.

Yes it will, I’ll die of embarrassment if I somehow managed to screw up on one of them! She argued to herself.

And I’m the same pony who had a calculated mind when it came to your plans. Now I’m being timid over stupid tasks that would be impossible to fail—

Starlight’s ears perked when she had gained an idea.

“Activities that would be impossible to fail…” Starlight repeated to herself softly as she thought more of it. Then she made the first genuine smile she had created this morning.

Of course! It was the perfect plan! If she could come up with activities that would be near impossible to suck at, then not only would she never make a mistake, but she would get to know Spike better via the tasks. It was a win-win situation.

Heh. I guess I still have that same calculated mind, Starlight smirked to herself. She then approached her door and opened it. She looked around the hall, looking for Spike. He couldn’t have gone far, right?

She then spotted the tip of Spike’s tail disappear around the corner.

“Hey, Spike?” Starlight called him out.

It didn’t take long for Spike’s head to appear from the corner. “Yeah?”

“I’ve been thinking about your offer, and I do have a few activities that I had in mind…”

“So, would you like to read books together?” Spike asked her as he tilted his head in confusion. This was certainly not one of the things he would expect Starlight to suggest.

“Yeah, why not? Reading is good for the brain and I’m in the mood for some literature!” Starlight told him excitedly as she walked past him.

Spike quickly followed Starlight behind as they walked together to one of the many libraries that the castle had contained. While the whole activity wasn’t what he expected, he was glad that it made Starlight happy, and that was good enough for him.

Once they opened the doors, the two now scanned the bookshelves for a good book to read.

“So, what were you thinking of reading?” Spike asked Starlight as he grabbed a book from a bookshelf.

Starlight seemed to stop for a moment, lost in thought. Then she shrugged and continued searching. “Not anything in particular. Just find one that looks good.”

“Ok…” Spike mumbled before grabbing out a book that had a snake illustration on the cover. “How about Unraveling the Mysteries of Snake Venoms?”

“That seems more like Fluttershy’s alley.” Starlight answered. “I’m not much of a zoologist.”

“Ok…” Spike put the book away. He picked up another book from the shelf. This time, it had a beautiful purple cover.

When Spike read the title, The Magic of Emotions 101, he felt a little uneasy. Like something in him probed him to not suggest the book, but he didn’t know why…

“What is that?” Starlight asked as she glanced at the book he had in his hand.

“Uh, nothing important.” Spike said quickly as he shoved the book back onto the shelf.

Starlight stared at him with a puzzled expression. Thankfully, she just shrugged it off and continued to search.

Letting out a small sigh of relief, he also continued his book search.

“What about The Origins of Old Ponish?” he asked as he grabbed an old, brown book.

Starlight just shrugged, still not saying anything.

Taking that as another no, he continued searching. He then spotted a book with a blue color palette. He got excited about this one as he grabbed it out of the shelf.

“How about The Grand Old Adventures of Time Traveler Ban Zee? This was my favorite book back in the day! Twilight and I would always read it when…” he trailed off when he noticed Starlight glaring at him intensely.

“Oh, right, sorry. I forgot.” Spike apologized as he slowly put the book back. He felt ashamed for how insensitive that was.

Starlight closed her eyes and sighed. “No, no, it’s fine.” she said, almost as if she was tired.

Spike was concerned. It seemed as if the happiness he saw in the unicorn just mere moments ago had completely evaporated.

“Hey, are you ok?” Spike asked her.

Starlight’s head immediately perked up and glanced at Spike. “Yeah? Of course I’m fine,” she said in a rather defensive tone. “Why are you always asking?”

Spike just blinked at her.

Seeming to realize what she was doing, she turned away from Spike and continued to search through more books with antsy mannerisms. “J-Just pick something, ok?”

Spike gave her a suspicious side-eye. He had no idea what was going on with her. First she was acting weird in her bedroom, and now she’s acting weird again. Was there something that Starlight was hiding?

“Hey, Starlight,” Spike now spoke to her in a friendly, but concerned tone, “if something is wrong, please don’t be afraid to let me—“

“You know what, let’s just read the Old Ponish thing that you mentioned,” Starlight spoke up quickly before he could even finish his sentence. “I am rather curious about the history of the language, and I do love that kind of stuff.”

Spike wanted to continue persuading Starlight to open up about her feelings, but at the same time, he didn't want to force her to do so. He wanted her to do it at her own pace, and whenever she was ready. But he still wanted her to know that he was always here to listen as to what was clouding her mind.

He decided to keep his mouth shut as he nodded.

He grabbed the old brown book and he and Starlight walked to the two purple chairs inside the room. Once they sat down, Spike began to open the book, and turn the pages.

Starlight was bored to death when she listened to Spike read about the history of Old Ponish. She was on the verge of falling asleep, and she almost did quite a few times, but she forced herself to stay awake.

She didn’t want Spike to think that she wasn’t enjoying the quality time they had together. She just regretted picking the book that talked about one of the most boring topics known to pony-kind.

She was so bored that she would rather read that Ban Zee time travel book. At least that would’ve been interesting!

Come on, Starlight. Be strong about this, She told herself in a firm manner. She gave Spike a big smile, which made him stop reading.

“Hey, Spike. While that book is rather… engaging, I feel like reading another one,” Starlight offered.

“But what happened to your sudden curiosity of Old Pony language?” Spike raised an eyebrow. “I thought you loved this kind of stuff.”

Starlight now regretted not keeping her mouth shut. She was so desperate to stall Spike that she had to make up a dumb lie about her interest in the language. She should’ve known it was going to blow up in her face.

She saw that Spike was getting suspicious of her. She had to think of an excuse. One that wasn’t stupid and obvious like that one.

“I was. That book simply killed that interest.” Starlight said flatly. “I mean, there were two chapters talking about farmland, for Celestia’s sake!”

Starlight was ready for Spike to shout out in defense about the history, but to her surprise, he helplessly shrugged as he listened to her complaints.

“Yeah, that bored me too,” he admitted when he closed the book. “I’m turning into a mini-Twilight. She’s more interested in this than I ever will be,” he sighed.

Starlight was a little surprised when she heard those words. “Then why did you suggest it? And I just assumed that you studied these kinds of things with her.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it.” Spike rolled his eyes. “I was never interested in it from the start, but the only reason I put up with it is to help Twilight, and that's what matters.

“And besides, I assumed that you’d be the one who loved the history of Old Ponish,” Spike concluded with a smirk.

“Yeah, well…” Starlight tried to retort, her mind was boggling with different ways to defend herself. “Sometimes the thing itself is more exciting than its origin story.”

“I see…” Spike spoke slowly as he closed the book and walked back to where he found it. “Well, what kind of book do you want to read next? One that won’t bore you as much?” he had asked.

Starlight was unsure of how to respond. She looked up at the thousands of books in the shelves and began levitating seven books each down to where she was. She looked through each of the book’s pages with lightning-fast speed. There had to be something in here that she liked! It shouldn’t have been this hard.

While she continued to go through every book as much as she could. However, as she continued to look, she heard Spike speak to her from behind.

“Hey, uh, Starlight? I’m feeling a little hungry, and it’s almost lunchtime. Can we do this another time?” he asked her.

Starlight felt the sharp jab of disappointment in her heart. She knew that Spike was using lunchtime as an excuse to get away from her. All because she couldn’t sit down and listen to the origins of Old Ponish without making such a big deal.

I thought reading books with Spike was impossible to fail at! She once again scolded herself in her mind. What is my problem?! It seems like I make the impossible possible!

“Starlight? Are you ok?” Spike tilted his head as his eyes narrowed in concern.

Starlight noticed that her hooves were slightly shaking out of suppressed anger. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down; but it took more effort than last time. Soon enough, her hooves were no longer shaking as soon as she bottled up her frustrations with as much willpower as she could muster.

“I’m fine,” Starlight lied once more. Her gaze was steadily narrowed towards Spike. “Just go eat your food. I’ll clean up.” She nodded toward the books that were stacked on the floor.

“But Starlight, I can—“ Spike was about to reassure her, then stopped himself when he saw her walk away from him and began to pick the books up with her magic and place them back in their proper place on the shelves. Starlight was once again aware of Spike staring at her as she continued to place the books back to where they were, and she hoped that he would just shrug off her, admittedly, odd behavior.

Ok, ok, I need to calm down or else he’s getting more suspicious… if he doesn’t already, Starlight added with a small sigh to herself. Be as cool as a cucumber… cool as a cucumber and ride the breeze like a kite—

“Starlight, I’m not going to pressure you, but you know as well as I do that something is going on,” Spike told her with a calm mannerism. “But neither of us can figure it out if you won’t open up.”

Starlight felt her stomach lurch when she heard his words, but she tried to shake off the feeling as casually as she could.

“Spike, I told you I’m fine…” Starlight trailed off once again as she sighed; still not ready to open up just yet.

Spike just sighed as he shook his head. He said his goodbyes, then left the room.

Once he was gone, Starlight sighed in relief.

Spike was watching her mannerisms like a hawk, that was for sure. It wouldn't be long before he put the pieces of the puzzle together and found out what was really going on inside Starlight's mind. Her confidence was draining away at a rapid speed. She needed to do something fast, but what?

As Starlight hurriedly put the books away, she noticed something from the corner of her eye. She glanced at a book with a purple cover that was shoved in the shelf. Curious, she pulled the book out. Once she read the cover, she realized that this was the book Spike had in his hand earlier before hurriedly putting it away: The Magic of Emotions 101.

Why did Spike try to hide this from me? Starlight questioned as her eyes scanned the book. It seemed harmless enough.

She opened the book and scrolled through its contents. At first, she felt it was uninteresting since it kept talking about how emotions worked in a psychological point of view. But something caught her eye the more she flipped the pages: it was something about a guide to altering how a person felt with magic. With a spell, she could easily change the emotions of somepony, and make them not feel a certain emotion if the spellcaster wishes to do so. The spell could happen to anyone, including themselves.

Starlight had an idea creep into her mind, but she had to resist temptation and close the book. Who knows what the drawbacks could be to this plan? It could end disastrously, and that was the last thing she wanted right now.

She put the book back on the shelf and walked away. She was preparing to leave the room, but once she reached the door, she peered over her shoulder to look at that book again with a troubled expression in her eyes; she stared at the book for a long period of time.

Spike was whistling as he put the last of the dishes away in the cupboard. He looked at the empty sink with a proud smile. He felt satisfied that he finally washed the dishes that he put off for weeks. Twilight wouldn’t chide him anymore for it.

He left the kitchen once he decided to look for Starlight. He felt a little bad for leaving her like that in the library when he started to think about it, but he reassured himself that she was fine, despite her odd behavior earlier.

When he couldn't find her anywhere in the castle, he went outside. When he opened the doors to the castle, he saw Starlight in the distance flying her kite. It seemed like she was enjoying herself.

“Hey, uh, Starlight?” Spike tried to get her attention as he walked up to her.

Starlight turned her head to face Spike, her magic still holding the reel. “Oh, hey.”

Spike looked up at the light blue box kite that was flying in the sky. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that kind of kite before.” Spike noted.

He side-eyed at Starlight, who didn’t seem to pay attention to him. “I guess you like kites, huh?” Spike smirked.

“Not like. Love,” Starlight corrected him. “I always have.”

That caught Spike off-guard. “Wait, always? Even as a villain?”

Starlight gave Spike a slightly angry look, and Spike quickly realized that he said the wrong thing. That part was still tender to Starlight’s heart. But to his surprise, when he was about to apologize, her angry expression changed to a more calming one as she shrugged.

“Well, when you say it like that, yes.” Starlight answers with a nod. “It’s been a childhood thing of mine. Kites make me relaxed and they make me happy. I just never had time to do it during my reign of terror,” Starlight said in a rather monotonous tone.

Spike noticed how she seemed rather melancholic. He put a claw on her shoulder as an act of reassurance.

“Hey, don’t say it like that. That’s in the past now,” Spike told her. He looked up to view Starlight’s kite, and he couldn’t help but admit that it looked a little cool. “That’s one good kite,” he muttered.

“You think so?” Starlight’s eyes widened.

“I’ve never seen one like it before,” Spike told her. “I thought all of them were shaped like rhombuses.”

“Oh, no,” Starlight chuckled at his statement. “There’s many other types. If you want to know about that, I can always provide you with the information. I… really like kites. I guess you can tell already…” She said with a nervous smile as her ears drooped.

Spike thought that her shyness about her knowledge of kites was a little amusing. “Why don’t you enlighten me? I’m rather curious,” He prompted her.

“Really? Won’t you get bored?” Starlight questioned with a conflicted frown.

“Trust me, after living with Twilight for so long, I think I can handle it,” Spike told her confidently as he looked up at the floating box kite once more.

“So tell me more about these box kites…”

After spending the afternoon talking about kites, Spike and Starlight went back to Twilight’s castle.

Starlight placed the kite in her room near her dresser. Once she closed the door, she turned around to see Spike walking to the library just down the hallway.

Starlight felt slightly alarmed by this. “Hey, where are you going?” she asked with concern.

Spike turned to her. “To organize books. I just saw a note from Twilight before she left, explaining about the chore; so I should get onto it.”

“Oh! I can help!” Starlight offered quickly as she trotted beside him.

“Really?” Spike looked unsure. He didn’t expect Starlight to step in and offer to help that quickly.

“Why not? Two are better than one.” Starlight smiled as they were near the door. “Besides, I’m sure it can’t be that bad—“

She stopped when the door opened to reveal a giant mountain of books that were at the end of the room. Spike and Starlight had different reactions.

“Yup. That’s it,” Spike said in a tired voice with his eyes half closed. He glanced at Starlight who stood by his side. She stared at the books with her eyes wide and bit her lip.

Spike could tell that she was overwhelmed by the size of the stacked books. “Are you sure you still want to do this?” He asked her again. “I can always do this by myself.”

Starlight seemed to jolt out of her overwhelmed state and stared at Spike, to which he was surprised by her suddenly calm demeanor. It was as if she was a light switch.

“Don’t be naive! Of course I won’t let you do this all on your own. I’m happy to help, no matter how big the task is.” Starlight said confidently as she made her way towards the books.

“Alright,” Spike closed his eyes as he shrugged, ignoring what had just happened. “But remember, you can always take a break if you feel tired or—“

“Done,” Starlight spoke.

Spike opened his eyes, and he saw how every single book from the pile was put away neatly and when he ran up to the shelves, they were all organized!

“How— how did— how did you do that that so quickly?!” Spike exclaimed.

“Oh come on, Spike. It was easy. With a touch of Accelero, I could do anything quickly,” Starlight smirked as she gazed at the books proudly.

“Right,” Spike muttered, feeling a mixture of amazement and relief. That was three less hours he would waste.

“Okay, well, with the biggest chore out of the way, I can now read my comics and catch up with the Power Ponies—“

He cut off when he saw Starlight teleport away, then teleport back moments later with the Power Pony issues stacked. Starlight looked at him, expecting a response.

“Oh, uh, thanks, Starlight!” Spike chuckled a little. “But I was hoping I could relax in my bed.”

“No problem!” Starlight smiled once again as she teleported Spike and the comics away; presumably to his bedroom.

Starlight smirked to herself, feeling proud of herself at that moment.

“What other things should I do for Spike?” Starlight pondered as her eyes narrowed and put her hoof on her chin. Then her smile became wider when a lightbulb lit up in her head.

She knew exactly what to do.

Spike laid back in his bed, enjoying his comic as he flipped the pages.

It was nice of Starlight to teleport him and the comics to his bed. Not to mention that she finished his chore with speed as fast as lightning. He felt a little bad since he felt like she pressured her into doing his chore somehow, but she seemed to not mind it.

However, there was a knock on the door, to which Spike raised an eyebrow. He jumped out of his bed and opened his door. It was Starlight.

“Oh, hey, Starlight.” He greeted her by a little wave of his claw. “What’s going—“

“Hey, Spike! So, uh… remember this morning when I almost made you choke to death?” Starlight asked casually, to which made Spike a little weirded out.

Weirded out and a bit annoyed.

He rubbed his forehead with his claw. “Starlight, for the last time, you weren’t going to kill me—“

“Then I thought of something. What was it that made you choke? Well, it turned out that it was gems! You love gems, right?” Starlight smiled at Spike once again as she walked into the room.

“Huh?” Spike’s eyes went wide. What was she on about? “Starlight, I’m a dragon. Of course I love gems.”

“Good! Because I went out and stole some thousands and thousands of gems from this giant green dragon!”

Starlight then teleported a giant sack in his room. It opened and spilled out some sapphires and diamonds. Spike gasped in horror when he saw this.

“Starlight, you stole something from that dragon?!” Spike demanded as he swung his head to face her.

“Relax, Spike, I didn’t steal all of them. There’s no bag giant enough for that,” Starlight scoffed with a wave of her hoof.

Spike covered his eyes with his claws. “Please tell me this dragon wasn’t from the Everfree Forest,”

Starlight glanced away. She might not have said something, but she gave Spike one clear answer, and it made him horrified.

“S-S-Starlight, I appreciate the thought behind it, but that’s stealing! Not to mention that green dragon and I have a bad history; and dragons have a long memory! Take it back, please!” Spike shouted at her. What was going on with her?

“Okay, okay!” Starlight teleported the sack away from his room. He prayed that the bag was now back in the cave.

Spike continued to rub his eyes, still trying to process what had happened.

“Starlight, Starlight, Starlight, I know old habits die hard. Especially since it’s been barely a week since you’ve reformed, but surely you knew that stealing gems from a dragon was wrong before you did it?”

Starlight blinked at him.

Spike was speechless.

“Starlight! What’s going on with you today?! You’ve been acting weird since this—“

“No, no, don’t worry! It was stupid, I know, but I can make it up to you!” Starlight gave a sheepish smile before zipping out of the room.

Spike frowned as he walked out of the room. What in Celestia was she doing now?

Spike could hear noises in the room down the hall. Praying for the best, Spike ran down and barged in. He saw a giant statue of himself in the room that seemed like it was sculpted from a boulder.

“A sculpture?!” Spike gasped. What would Twilight think if she saw a giant sculpture of himself out of nowhere in her castle…?

“Spike! What are you doing here?” Starlight peeked from behind the sculpture, her magic levitating a wooden hammer.

Spike sighed. “Starlight…”

Spike became startled when Starlight teleported right next to him. “So? What do you think?” she smiled widely. Her eyes were a little crazed and her mane was kinda frazzled.

“Starlight, you’re scaring me now. What’s—“

“Do you think I should’ve gone with marble or was stone good enough? I’m not exactly an expert sculptor or anything, but with magic, anything is possible!”

“Starlight—“

“No, wait, wait! Even better! I can simply create an ice sculpture! Sure, it’ll melt, but at least you’ll appreciate more if it doesn’t last very long—“

“STARLIGHT!” Spike shouted at the top of his lungs, which finally got Starlight’s attention.

Her smile immediately turned into a frown and her ears drooped when she saw how worried he was.

“Spike?” Starlight finally said, sounding confused. “I was just—“

“What’s been going on with you today?” Spike demanded as he took a step forward, which made Starlight step back. “You’ve been acting jumpy since this morning, you keep dodging my questions, and now you’re acting like a complete maniac! You’ve even resorted to stealing, for Celestia’s sake! I’ve been trying to get you to talk, but you refuse to open up! I can’t help you if you won’t tell me!

“But now, you will. For the last and final time, what is going on? And don’t you dare give me an excuse. I want a real answer and I want it now!” he shouted as he let it all out.

There was an uncomfortable silence that lasted for probably about two minutes. By then, Spike had managed to calm himself down as he took a few deep breaths. Starlight, meanwhile, was staring at him as if he had two heads.

Finally, she closed her eyes and drooped her head. “I knew that spell was a mistake,” She sighed.

That immediately got Spike’s attention. “What spell?”

Starlight’s horn glowed. Spike raised an eyebrow until a certain purple book appeared in front of her. She opened the book to a page and then a red strand of magic streamed from her horn.

After it was done, she closed the book and dropped it on the floor with the front facing the floor.

Spike picked up the book, and his mouth was agape. It was The Magic of Emotions 101!

She looked up at Starlight, who glanced down at the floor with a frown on her face. Her front hoof was rubbing nervously on the other as she waited for Spike to speak.

“You… you cast a spell? On yourself?” Spike finally asked.

Starlight nodded, too ashamed to speak.

“But I don’t understand! Why would you do something like that?” Spike exclaimed, clearly trying to take in as to what Starlight had done to herself.

“Do you really want me to say it?” Starlight glanced at Spike. She sounded depressed.

When Spike didn’t answer, she sighed again. “I just wanted to please you,” she said gloomily and gave Spike a nervous look.

“Please me?” Spike echoed, tilting his head to the side. “Why would you want to please me? There was no need for that.”

“Maybe not, but I felt like it was needed.” Starlight began to move away from him at a slow pace. She looked up at the Spike boulder she created herself.

“This morning… really scared me,” Starlight began to confess. “When you choked, it was because I scared you by walking in the room. I’ve endangered your life so many times during my time-travel schemes, to which those endangerments almost became fatal.

“Seeing you choke reminded me of that fact, and I hate it. I presumed that you would hate me too because of the fact I endangered your life again. That was why I cast a spell on myself so I could avoiding feeling nervous or anxious or angry around you, and do whatever I thought you wished. Unfortunately, the drawback was insanity,” she said as she looked down at her frayed mane that went over her shoulder.

She sat down and sighed once again and hung her head.

Spike slowly approached her and sat down next to her and put a claw on her hoof. Starlight’s ears perked up when she saw his act. She felt puzzled as she looked at Spike.

“Aren’t you going to belittle me for being an idiot?” Starlight questioned. “Because I deserve it.”

Spike shook his head. “Of course not, Starlight. Why would I?”

“Because I stole gems from a dragon and kept making sculptures of you?” Starlight pointed at the stone sculpture of Spike that was right in front of them. “I feel like a laughingstock. I mean, that’s what I tell myself all the time whenever I do something stupid.”

“Come on, Starlight. You shouldn’t be hard on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes once in a while, including yourself,” Spike said wisely as he tapped softly on her hoof. “And about this morning, I never hated you. I never did, even when you were a villain. You’re a struggling mare who is learning to overcome their past. It’s natural to make mistakes.”

“Are you saying that to make me feel better?” Starlight closed her eyes as she slightly tilted her head away from him.

“No, I’m saying that because it’s the truth,” Spike said firmly.

Starlight opened one of her eyes to look at Spike. “You really don’t hate me? Like, not at all?” she questioned once again.

Spike thought about her question before smiling warmly at her.

“If I hated you, would I ever do this?” He said before getting close and hugged her tightly.

Starlight was shocked and taken aback by this. She glanced down at the dragon, unsure of what to do. But, the more Spike hugged her tightly, the more a smile slowly formed on Starlight’s face. Finally, she embraced his hug and gripped him softly.

After their hug, Spike looked up at Starlight. He smiled when he saw her smile back. He was happy that she was feeling better.

“Thanks for that, Spike. I… I really needed it.” Starlight gazed at him with a warm smile.

Spike’s smile widened. “It’s my pleasure Starlight. I’m glad you finally reached out to me,” he said with a wink.

“Yeah, maybe I should’ve done that in the beginning…” Starlight chuckled awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her head.

Spike snickered at her sheepishness. Then his eyes lit up when an idea suddenly formed in his head.

“Hey, would you like to do something with me? Something that isn’t boring to do?” Spike invited her.

Starlight chuckled softly as she slightly nodded. “Anything,”

“Aha! I knew there was a kite-kit somewhere!” Spike boasted as he spreaded the kite pieces on the table.

Starlight looked at the pieces eagerly as she sat down on the seat. “What is this?” She asked with a smile.

“We’re building a kite. As a metaphor of building our lifelong friendship!” Spike told her as she wrapped his arm around her neck.

“Sounds like fun,” Starlight snickered. She looked down at the disassembled parts, ready to get started.

Then there was a slam in the distance.

“Starlight! Spike! Why is there a statue in the castle?!” they heard the aghast voice of Twilight.

Starlight and Spike looked out at the door nervously.

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Starlight said with a tense expression.

“Do we tell her about what happened today?” Spike queried.

Spike and Starlight looked at each other, then chuckled.

“Maybe later,” Starlight answered with an amused grin.

Spike and Starlight turned back to the kite’s pieces as they looked forward to the finished product flying high in the sky.

And hopefully their friendship will reach sky-high as well.