Stray Ardorby thewafflerChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2 *edited*Chapter 3The End and EpilogueSemi sequelDirect Sequel Chapter 1Snips and Snails had their backs against a tree, in the sweet apple acres orchard, holding paintball guns in their hooves. Spike appeared the next tree over holding his own paintball gun. "Guys..!" Spike loudly whispered. "Yeah?" They both answered in unison. Spike started working his claws through the air, forming a 'V' and pushing it upwards into the air and then clenching and unclenching his claws a few times. Snips squinted at what Spike was doing and shrugged. Spike face palmed and his hand slowly slid down his nose. He leaned closer to whisper "Follow me." They quickly left their cover and ran to a more bunched up group of trees that had shrubs the could use for cover. Spike pulled in the two colts closer. "Okay here's the plan." Snips interrupted Spike. "A plan? Each time we plan we lose, we lose every time because they out smart us." Spike lowered his eye brows. "Yes a plan, each time we lose to them because we let them get under us. Lets look at what they have, they have Scoots scooter that is used for their high mobility, and Sweetie Belle can throw her voice to mess up our bearings and Apple Bloom is a great strategist." "Yeah? So?" Snails whined. "So, they have a flaw." "Really?!" They both said in surprise. Spike tensed up and put his claws over their mouths. "Yesss... really now be quiet." Spike released their muzzles. "Okay, they have great teamwork and alot of support on their side but their flaw is that they are always together. So what we need to do is simple ; we need to get them surrounded on their fixed position or surprise them and we win." "How do we do that?" Snips asked uncertainly. "Easy we just-" The sound of heavy flapping wings got their attention. They poked their heads around the tree and saw Scootaloo whizzing around on her scooter. "Open fire!" Spike commanded. They all started unloading their ammunition in the direction Scootaloo was coming from. Scootaloo panicked and started zig-zagging to avoid the shots. She used her scooter to jump from the ground and kick off of a nearby tree and turned around to retreat. "Darn it! They know where we are now, we have to move." The three quickly ran from their spot in hopes of regaining their stealth. When Spike saw it fit they stopped moving. He motioned them to come closer "Okay, Since we can't win tactically we need to win using the three elements we have." "Wha- what are those?" Snips asked, out of breath from their movement. Spike brought up three claws. "Fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency." The two colts lit up with anticipation. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were hiding in a bush when they heard shots go off in the distance. "Ah hope they didn't get Scootaloo..." Apple Bloom said as she peered out into the orchard. "I don't think so, she's too fast on her scooter and those two can't hit your barn if they wanted to." They both laughed. "But Spike sure can shoot, Ah sometimes feel bad for 'em, him bein' paired up with those two when hes better 'an us." They heard the familiar flapping of wings and they saw Scootaloo coming in a high speed. She screeched to a stop in front of them. "I found them! They are in the eastern orchard, hop on." The three fillies all piled on the scooter and Scootaloo propelled them forward. "Ah got a plan." Apple Bloom said as they quickly rode their way to the eastern apple orchard. Sweetie Belle started scouting on her own with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo trailing in the trees a good distance behind her. She started humming gently as if she forgot all about the paintball game and nonchalantly walked through the trees with her paintball gun slung across her back. The colts and the dragon heard the humming and looked up from their bush and saw Sweetie Belle walking calmly through the orchard. Snails aimed his paintball gun. "I got her." Spike pushed his paintball gun down. "No, remember the plan." "Oh right, sorry." Snips and Snails left the bush and quickly approached Sweetie Belle from behind. They aimed their paintball guns at her. "Freeze!" They both yelled. Sweetie Belle turned around and raised her hooves in fright. "Okay! I surrender." "Really?" Snails asked as he scratched his head. Spike slowly climbed up a tree next to the bush and saw that the colts had the filly as their prisoner in the middle of the orchard. He smiled. "Fear." Apple Bloom and Scootaloo appeared from behind a tree aiming at Snips and Snails. "Put yer hooves up!" Snips dropped his paintball gun in surprise and they both turned around. "Don't shoot!" Sweetie Belle had picked her paintball gun back up and joined next to her friends and had Snips and Snails against a tree. Spike smiled harder, everything was according to plan. He aimed his paintball gun at the fillies. "Surprise..." "So do we keep them as prisoners or finish them, Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle asked as she checked her paintball gun. "Ah guess we should-" Apple Bloom was cut off by a paintball that whizzed past her. Spike had begun unloading his gun from above down on the fillies. "Run!" Scootaloo yelled. The three fillies scattered to escape Spike's volley of paintballs. Spike jumped down from the tree and tagged Snips and Snails. The three charged the tree where the fillies had ducked under. They had caught them off guard and they dropped their paintball guns in surprise. Spike smiled at his plans result. "Ruthless efficiency." He notched up his paintball gun on his shoulder with the barrel pointing in the sky. "Looks like we win this time." Spike remembered a movie he watched the other night and he started day dreaming. He found himself wearing a generals attire with four stars on his helmet with two ivory handled revolvers to his side. He looked at the three fillies and they were wearing Germane uniforms and Apple Bloom was wearing a Germane generals outfit. Spike snickered and thought to himself 'You magnificent bastard, I read your book!' he took a moment to enjoy the victory "Ah shoot..." Apple Bloom smiled. "There goes our winnin' streak." Spike snapped out of his day dreaming and saw that everything was back to normal. BOOM! They all looked into the sky and saw the pegasi flying around arranging the clouds and kicking them to send out warning thunder. "Guess we forgot about the scheduled thunder storm, huh?" Spike asked as he starred into the sky with his arms crossed. "Let's have a re-match when the ground gets dry after the storm! I don't want to get my hooves dirty, Rarity would kill me...." Sweetie Belle spaced out in terror from the thought of tracking mud in her boutique, she could just hear Rarity screaming at her 'SWEETIE BELLE!!!' and she shuddered from the thought. It was Spike's turn to put up the paintball guns, they all handed their toys to him and ran off to escape the coming thunderstorm. Spike walked back to the barn to put them in the box where they kept all of their toys. It was filled with sports equipment,kites, and a lot of fun stuff that they all played with daily. He left the barn and the rain started to sprinkle. "Darn it... I need to get home quick.." Spike ran off into the orchard in hopes to get back to Ponyville faster. He weaved quickly through the trees thinking about the warm and dry comfort of the library and he tripped over a large root. "Ugh.." He looked back and saw that the root was a scooter. He looked up and saw the clubhouse the three fillies used, the lights were on. A faint muffled cry was coming from the tree house and Spike could even hear it past the warning thunder from the pegasi. He picked himself up and started to climb up the makeshift ladder that was composed of planks nailed to the tree that he had fallen by. Spike made it to the top and was about to knock but he recognized the voice that came from inside. 'Scootaloo?' He didn't knock and just decided to enter without knocking. Inside he saw Scootaloo with her face buried in an old thread bare blanket. Spike went to her side. "Scoots?" Scootaloo popped her head up in surprise, she didn't hear him come in. She quickly wiped her eyes. "Spike? What are you doing here?" "I want to ask you the same thing, why don't you head home?" She looked at him and she became nauseated and she looked down. "Scoots?" "Spike, why don't you go home to your warm library?" She said with a hint of hate in her voice. "Well, I want to know why you're here." She looked at him and stared into his emerald eyes, she fought back tears as much as she could but failed. Spike looked back into her eyes and his breath was taken from him as he saw the true sadness inside of them. "Scootaloo..?" "This is my home.. Please leave." her voice was breaking as she spoke and she looked down again. Spike recoiled. "What? Do you really live here?" She lightly nodded her head and wiped her nose with her hoof. "Please..just leave Spike." Spike sat down next to Scootaloo and stared at her. "A..." He tried to speak but he couldn't say anything. Scootaloo looked at Spike from her hooves. 'Why is he still here?' Spike finally had the courage to ask. "Why do you live here?" She gave out a hesitated sigh. "I don't have anywhere to go." Spike put a claw over his left chest and felt his heart grow heavy. "I-I had no idea Scoots.. I usually see you so happy and energetic.." "Its no big deal..." "Yes it is! Where are your parents?" "I don't know my parents..." Spike thought about that, he could relate to not knowing his parents. He was hatched by Twilight and raised by her and she was a mother to him, at least he had somepony but Scootaloo didn't have anyone for a mother. Scootaloo looked up to Rainbow Dash for guidance but she normally ignored her. Spike found his arms wrapped around her. She was confused. "Spike?" Spike squeezed her tighter. "I'm so sorry." She didn't know how to react. "It's not your fault.. nobody cares about me..." Spike looked at her. "What?! I care about you Scoots..." She looked into his emerald eyes again and felt his gaze seep kindness into her. She slowly put her hooves around Spike to return the hug and she squeezed him tightly. "Thank you Spike...." She felt so much comfort from the dragon, he was the only one to ever openly show compassion towards her. She embraced him closer and was leaned in his chest. She closed her eyes and felt his dragon body temperature on his hard scales and it slowly cradled her to sleep. Spike didn't know what else to say, he had no idea she had such troubles. He began to feel her breathing steady and knew she had fallen asleep. He slowly lowered her onto her makeshift bed and covered her with a quilt that was next to her bed. Spike put his hands on the bed to get up but he couldn't move. 'I can't leave her now...I'm sure Twilight wont mind if I'm not there for one night.' Spike looked outside and the rain had begun to pour and it tapped against the roof of the tree house. He positioned himself at the foot of Scootaloo's bed and allowed the raindrops to slowly rock him to sleep. Scootaloo woke up and looked around in the darkness. 'He probably left.. they always just ignore me.' She tried to pull her covers over her head but something was weighing down on them. She squinted in the darkness to see Spike still there and she gasped in surprise. 'Does he really care?' She smiled that the dragon had stayed and she laid back down, this time right next to him and she pulled the quilt over both of them. Feeling Spike's warm body temperature again made her feel happy and relaxed and quickly feel asleep. Chapter 2 *edited*Chapter 2 *edited* A/N: The library is made bigger in this fic and certain technologies exist in this as well. The sunlight slowly crept into the room from the window and hit Spike's eyelids. He woke up and tried to use his claw to block the sun, but he noticed the blanket was over him and saw Scootaloo peacefully asleep with a smile on her face next to him. Spike looked at her for a moment and remembered what she told him yesterday about her not having a real home. He felt bad and he continued to stare at her, but then he had an idea. He slowly edged out of the bed and tip-toed out of the tree house. Spike jumped from halfway down the ladder into the damp ground, the rain had soaked the ground and he ran off with his feet making squish noises in the orchard soil. Spike entered the library after wiping his feet off on the mat outside and closed the door behind him. Twilight was asleep on the couch and heard the door close, she woke up and shook her head and quickly got up from the couch. She trotted over to Spike with an angry expression. "Spike! Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" She was expressing her usual motherly protection. "Twilight I-" Twilight raised her hooves in the air. "What if you were hurt? Do you think I can handle it if something bad happened to you!?" Spike raised a claw. "But-" "You could at least tell me if you're not coming home! I was completely clueless on where or what you were doing!" "Twilight!" Spike said as she shook her from her shoulders. "What?" Spike released her and spoke. "Twilight, I stayed the night in the clubhouse on Sweet Apple Acres." "Wha...Why would you do that?" "Because Scoots lives there." Spike said as he crossed his arms. "Why does Scootaloo live in a treehouse?" Spike looked down as he remembered her story. "She lives there because she’s an orphan and nobody would take her in and she's been living on her own. I stayed with her because she was really sad and she doesn't have anyone to be with besides me and her friends." "What about Rainbow?" Spike gave her his obvious stare and lifted an eyebrow. "Oh…right." Twilight knew how Rainbow usually ignored Scootaloo because she couldn't fly. Spike returned his expression back to its compassionate state. "Twilight, Scoots needs a good place to live... I really think she should live here with us, she could sleep on the couch, anything is better than that cold tree house." "Spike?" Spike thought that she was about to say no and he got on his knees and begged her. "Please Twilight, I can't stand to see her so sad and we could really help her." Twilight laughed. "Spike I was going to say yes." Twilight picked up the dragon and squeezed him. "Spike that's so nice of you, of course she can stay with us." Spike couldn't contain his smile. "Really?!" She released the dragon and gave him a warm smile. "Mhm, and we have a guest room you know." "Awesome! Now Scoots can have a great home, you're the best Twilight. I'll make us all a great breakfast when I bring Scootaloo back." Spike left the library in a hurry to return to Scootaloo. Scootaloo felt the daze of oversleep wash over her and she lifted her head and rubbed it groggily. She always hated her old thread bare blanket that she used as a bed, but she didn't have any choice. She looked to her side with hope to see her friend asleep, but her smile dropped and her heart sank as she saw that the dragon wasn't there. She touched the spot where he had slept and felt a short wave of anger wash over her but it was quickly doused by anguish as she thought to herself. 'I guess he really didn't care...' Spike was the only one she had ever told her story to, sure she loved her friends and treasured them as they were the most trusted ponies she ever knew... but with Spike it was different… they could relate to each other because they both were orphans. Spike never knew his parents, and she lost hers at a younger age. The more she thought about it the more alone she felt, not when the only other being just like her had left her without saying a word. She had to fight back tears as covered her eyes with her forearm. She let out a deep sigh, 'what would you expect idiot...' and dragged along as she folded her quilt and fixed her bed. She exited her home and went down the ladder with her heart still heavy. She looked at her scooter with a small tinge of happiness that it wasn't harmed in the storm. She then began to walk to her Scooter but then saw in the distance a familiar drake running toward the tree house. Spike was approaching Scootaloo, taking his time to catch his breath. She felt angry at him for leaving, but also felt a tsunami of relief that he had returned and without her consent, and it brought a smile to her face. Spike was still panting as he reached Scootaloo and spoke between each heavy breath of air. "Hey...Scoots...sorry... I...left...” He gulped in a final grasp of air and he regained his posture and smiled. "I have some great news." "News?" "I asked Twilight if you could live at the library with us and she said yes! It would be awesome... I mean, if you want to Scoots..." Scootaloo lit up at the thought of a warm house, a soft place to sleep, a hot bath, and food that wasn't just apples. She wanted to tackle Spike in a flying death hug exclaiming that she’d love too, but restrained herself. "I don't know Spike... it's tempting...” Her attempt to tease him failed when her stomach started to growl loud enough that Spike could hear it. Spike felt that he was talking to himself and how he reacted to others and knew she was teasing, so he decided to play along. He heard her stomach growl and fought back a chuckle and replied. "Well… I'm making waffles if you come stay with us." She was glad that they shared the same sense of humor, but the sound of something as delicious as that she couldn't continue any further. "Sold!" They both laughed with each other and began to walk to the library from the orchard. Scootaloo walked with her scooter trailing beside her and Spike on the other side, leading her to the library. Spike and Scootaloo stepped into the library and Spike closed the door behind them and outstretched his hand to the very well lit out library. "Welcome home." He had a warm smile to match his welcoming gesture. Scootaloo took a step forward and felt a wave of nausea flow over her as she looked at her new home, it felt almost fake. Years of living on her own and now she had a real home and she couldn't think of any word to describe it. Twilight had appeared next to them and outstretched her hoof at Scootaloo. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle." Scootaloo took her hoof hesitantly. "But I know who you are, Twilight." Twilight pulled her into a hug. "Yes, but I've never really met you." She released her and gave her the most welcoming smile she could. "Welcome to the family." Scootaloo just stared at her; she felt the wave of nausea roll over her senses again. 'Family?' everything was just too good for her to believe. She fought back tears of joy at the sound of being called family. She looked beside her and saw that Spike was gone, but heard him call out from another room. "I'll have breakfast up soon; I already set a place for you at the table!" He yelled from the kitchen. Twilight lead Scootaloo to where they always ate. Scootaloo looked around her new home and never knew that the library was so big, she normally just stayed in the part that actually was the library when she and her friends came to check out books. Past the library was a beautiful and cozy normal looking house, the walls had shelves filled with antiques and some picture frames of Spike and Twilight. Twilight had sat down at a table and motioned for Scootaloo to sit next to her. "So do you like your new home so far?" Twilight asked with enthusiasm in her voice. "It's awesome!" She replied with even greater enthusiasm. "Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here for awhile." "Awhile?" Twilight looked confused, but then returned to her welcoming smile. "You can stay here for as long as you want to." Twilight saw Scootaloo's expression at her statement and she really felt comfortable with her. Scootaloo had started rubbing the back of her head; she was never one for heavy stuff. Twilight had noticed something, Scootaloo was almost just like Spike and she just knew they would be really close friends very soon. The two had a very pleasant conversation as they waited for Spike. Almost half an hour later, Spike had emerged and set out several platters of food, setting up a small buffet to welcome their new guest. It was a small buffet of foods: eggs, toast, muffins, various jams, oatmeal and of course Spike's famous multi-grain blueberry waffles. Waffles that were so good that the princesses themselves would wage war to get a single bite of their golden crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside goodness. Scootaloo had never tried them before and her taste buds were in for a shock as she took the first bite. She swallowed the mouthful of waffle. "OH, my gosh, this...is...AMAZING." Spike chuckled to himself and took pride in his skills in cooking. The three had enjoyed the breakfast, casually having conversation through bites of the meal. They were all full and not a scrap of food was left. Spike was about to get up to collect the dishes, but Twilight stopped him. "It's okay Spike, I can clean." She began using her magic to levitate the dishes away and into the kitchen, and then trotting after them. Spike turned to Scootaloo. "Hey Scoots, want to hang out?" He asked casually. "Sure thing, that sounds great." Spike began showing her around the library's first floor, the kitchen, the living room, and the guest room where she would be staying. She walked into her new room with admiration. She saw that the bed was an actual bed and wanted to jump into it now, but resisted and wanted to hang out with Spike instead. She had her own closet and a small shower and her heart sang as song of gratitude. "Is this really mine?" "Yep, and both me and Twilight are glad to have a guest here with us." Scootaloo and Spike continued to tour through the library and Spike lead her upstairs and into his room. She trotted into the room and immediately noticed how well organized everything was and that all of his belongings and furniture was well placed and spaced out. Most colts she knew were messy and didn't care to keep anything organized. On one of the walls were several shelves filled with Spike's favorite movies, and the last thing she noticed were his three trophies. "Wow, Spike, trophies?" she asked inquisitively. Spike walked next to them and put his hands on his side's taking pride in his accomplishments. "Go ahead, take a look." He showed her his two trophies from winning the annual Iron Chef competition in Canterlot in the solo division, and his trophy for his piano recital in hosted in Manedrid. She knew he was a great cook and all, breakfast was amazing, but she never expected him to be able to win a competition as difficult at that. "Wow..." She looked at the trophy for his piano recital and never knew he could play piano, her respect for him grew because of his talents. "That’s awesome Spike." "Thanks, Scoots." He always enjoyed when others complimented on his skills. The two had stayed in Spike's room and enjoyed friendly conversation and as Twilight predicted they soon became good friends. Scootaloo had always thought of Spike as a friend but now that she had a chance to get to know him she found out how similar they were to each other. Spike had always though Scootaloo was cool, but now that he had a chance to sit down and talk with her she was cooler than he thought she was. Spike couldn't get over how it felt to be talking to someone who was just like himself. They were exchanging funny stories about their pasts and enjoying a good laugh with a friend. "I mean who does that? I know Snips isn't the smartest but you would think that he was smart enough not to stick his tongue to a pole in the middle of winter!" Spike and Scootaloo laughed and then he continued. "It didn't help that Snails did it too, on the same poll too. He thought that Snips was just joking around and tried it himself. I had to run for help until I found Big Mac around and he had to run off to get some hot water while I kept Snips and Snails from pulling their tongues off of the polls and hurting themselves." Scootaloo couldn't help but giggle. "When Big Mac finally came back and poured the hot water on their tongues they got loose and ran from the pain of the hot water." Scootaloo took a moment to stop giggling. "Well, that reminds me of this time when me and the rest of the cutie mark crusaders were going for our honey gathering cutie marks. Apple Bloom was trying to get some honey really high up without a ladder and she face forward, right into the honey pot." Spike snickered; he never knew Apple Bloom did something so silly. "We had to get the bee keeper, some old guy named Eye Patch, to pull the pot off of her head. It took all three of us to get it off and her face was covered with honey." They both had enjoyed their stories of their times with their friends and as the stories ended they spent the rest of the day watching some of Spike's movies. The day ended and they both had become tightly knit friends. The past week had been the same, as soon as Scootaloo was done with school or playing with the other cutie mark crusaders she would race home on her scooter to her new home and enjoy another day with her good friend Spike. When she was with her friends or in school she couldn't shake the image of the dragon out of her mind and regardless of where she was, she would smile at the image. She couldn't describe the feeling; she never thought this stuff was for her. She just thought about Spike and how they were so alike and she blushed at the thought of them being together. She dreamt about them together, just lying in the wet grass in the starry night, admiring the endless diamond sky. One day Spike and Scootaloo were lazily walking through town, Snips and snails were grounded from a prank that went horribly wrong, and the other cutie mark crusaders were busy this weekend. Spike had his arms propped up on his head and had his eyes closed as he talked with her in the streets. They were both in deep conversation, both giving each other their full attention. Scootaloo had noticed, as they walked, the faces of the other fillies in town. They each had the look of envy as they watched the two stroll down the street, their paces in sync and they were both close together. They were jealous of her, Spike may not have been a colt, but he was the best young male in town. Most of the young males were rash, unkempt, untalented, and some of them on the borderline of stupidity, but Spike was the exact opposite. Scootaloo realized something and finally knew how to describe it. She realized that she was in love with Spike. They both went home later that day and in bed Spike couldn't sleep. He was wide-awake, with the image of two ponies in his mind and he closed his eyes to get a better look at them. On one side was Rarity, her image was dull and boring, on the other side was Scootaloo, her image was bright and she had a smile on her face. He put his claws over his heart and felt it beat and the image of Rarity diminished. Rarity was just a childhood crush in which he felt silly now that he remembered the times he had pointlessly pursued her. Scootaloo, however, he hadn't pursued at all and the thought of her name felt like bells chiming in his heart. The childhood crush felt like a hollow shell now that would break if he would even look back at it again, but with Scootaloo... it felt like something he could touch and hold tight. Scootaloo was someone who was really pleasant to be around, and she never wanted to do anything that normal fillies did. She always wanted to hang out with Spike, even if it wasn't in her normal interest. Spike saw her as a mare who he could connect with on an emotional level, and on top of that Spike thought she was very pretty. He thought about her pale pink hair flowing as they walked through the town, and her purple eyes gleaming in the sunlight through her bright smile. The image of Rarity crumbled to nothing and the image of Scootaloo took its dominance in his mind and he finally found rest. That night Spike dreamt of Scootaloo and himself running through the waves of a distant beach in the sunlight. They clashed with the waves together allowing themselves to be pushed back into the sandy beach to where they collapsed in the sand together. Laying side by-side and hoof in claw, lying in the sand that caressed their backs as they closed their eyes to enjoy the warmth of the sunlight. Spike had never remembered sleeping so well, and with the memory of the dream etched into his mind he felt completely at peace. The next day Scootaloo didn't have to go to school and they spent another day together. They were watching some of Spike's movies side-by-side and Spike looked beside him, she was enjoying the movie and her hoof was lazing out to her side. Spike had to resist the urge to grab her hoof and tried to focus his attention on the movie. Scootaloo tried to focus on the movie, but she kept glancing back at Spike. She hopefully moved her hoof away from her side during the movie, just hoping that Spike would notice and hope that he would take her hoof in his claws. The movie had ended and they began chatting together. Scootaloo had casually mentioned that her birthday was next week. Spike was hit with an idea; he thought that her birthday would be the perfect time to confess his feelings. Scootaloo thought that on her birthday that she would tell Spike how she felt, just hoping that he would feel the same way. They continued their day like normal, but both with a plan in mind for each other. That night, Spike found himself sleepless again as he thought about his plan. He jumped out of bed and left the library to prepare. He thought about her wanting to be able to fly and his mind was set. He began to work on his plan, calling in favors, and plotting with inspiration. The day of the party arrived, it wasn't one of Ponyville's normal Pinkie Pie parties, it was a party Twilight and Spike threw together themselves for Scootaloo. It was just Scootaloo, her friends, and her new caretaker. Rainbow Dash was also invited, but she had to be on the weather patrol today. Scootaloo would have been disappointed but the past two weeks she hadn't even given her a thought, her mind was on her new home, and Spike. They began to play party games and Snips and Snails began their normal behavior at parties, which was to make complete fools out of themselves. They wanted to see who could run up and down the stairs the fastest on their hind legs and everyone laughed at how silly they looked. Scootaloo looked over to Spike; he was the only one that hadn't wished her a happy birthday yet. She felt weird and a little angry because she had hoped that Spike would be paying more attention to her, but it was almost as if he was ignoring her. She tried to catch his eye but he was busy laughing at the nonsense of Snips and snails, who were now trying to go up the stairs balancing only on their front hooves. They continued to play more party games like the classic pin the tail on the pony, she didn't let Spike's seemingly oblivious state ruin her day and she started to become enveloped into the games with everyone else and the time flew by quickly. Later in the party everyone had given Scootaloo her presents. Snips and Snails pitched in all they could and bought Scootaloo board wax and a flame sticker for her scooter. She thanked them and wondered how she would use the board wax, she could put it on her scooter, but it wouldn't help much considering it ran on the wheels. She was given a forty bit gift card from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to which she gave her best friends a big hug and thanked them; she had never been given so much money before. Twilight gave her one of her favorite books; Scootaloo never liked reading but was overwhelmed at the gesture. She hugged Twilight. "You didn't have to give me anything, staying here is all I could ever want." Twilight gave her a warm smile. "I wanted to, you're a part of this family and everyone deserves a good gift." Spike hadn't given anything to Scootaloo, but he was now watching her and gave her a large smile. She sheepishly returned the smile but was still disappointed that he hadn't even tried to talk with her yet. She really just wished he would speak to her, but she put on her brave face and wouldn't let some hurt feelings ruin anything. Twilight brought out a cake and they all ate some together and enjoyed chatting with each other for awhile. It was starting to turn dark outside and the party had ended and everypony was leaving. They all wished her a happy birthday again as they left. Scootaloo was stretching and popping her joints after they left, the party was fun and she was tired. Spike had snuck up behind her. "Hi Scoots." She turned around to face him and with slit bitterness in her voice. "Hey, Spike." Spike grabbed her hoof and had an excited smile. "C'mon, I wanna show you something." "What?" She was confused, he had practically ignored her the whole time and now he wants to show her something. Spike lead Scootaloo up the stairs and onto the balcony that overlooked Ponyville. She didn't see anything at first. "What did you want to show me?" Spike walked over to a bundle of branches and pushed them aside revealing a green tarp. "This." She looked at the covered object and gave Spike an awkward smile that turned into a questioning expression. "Thanks, but why did you ignore me during the whole party?" "I wanted to wait till the party was over to give you your gift." He grabbed he edges of the tarp and with a quick flick of his wrists the secret was revealed in all its glory. Looking out on to the Library's balcony was an odd sight to say the least. "Pinkie's helicopter?! I mean wo --." "Hop in." Spike interrupted. Scootaloo looked at Spike awkwardly but got in the choppa. "Okay…" Spike joined her and as he sat down he pulled a few levers that released a set of controls in front of the baby dragon and without even pumping the pedals the aircraft take to the air. "Uh... Spike, what’s this about...SPIKE, WHOA!" The copter took off at full speed into the night sky. The pegasus grabbed her seat and shrieked as she felt the adrenaline coursing within her veins. Spike stared forward, but turned his head slightly. "How about a trip to my home town of Canterlot?" He put his claw on the yoke and punched the throttle causing it to cruise over the country side. Scootaloo was scared, but as she looked out at the fast moving trees below them she began to feel a thrill. She was flying, and it felt amazing, she continued to stare out below them at all of Equestria. All she could hear was the sounds of rushing wind and the soft sound of helicopter's blades. They quickly made it to Canterlot and Spike had positioned the carpet above the castle. "Take a look Scoots." He motioned below them. She saw all of Canterlot and all of its buildings and could make out a few specks of the ponies walking in the glow of the street lights. "Spike…this is incredible…" Spike had a satisfied smile, but he reached his hand outwards again and the craft began to fly through Canterlot, above the streets, over buildings and under bridges. Spike took both of her hooves in his hands and starred into her eyes. "Thanks for letting me share this with you, Scootaloo." She couldn't react; she was so surprised at what was happening. They continued to fly through Canterlot, now both sitting next to each other with their shoulders rubbing against each other, hand in hoof. Spike was pointing out buildings with his other hand. She had rested her head on his shoulder. There was nothing more she could ever want or need ever again. It was around midnight and Spike had reached the top of the castle again and they looked at the full moon above the castle for a moment. Scootaloo yawned and stretched slightly, it was late and they were both still young. Spike was also tired, but endlessly happy that his present to her went so well. He piloted the helicopter to head back to Ponyville and they went down into a steep dive and pulled up several feet before the ground and began their way back to their home. She felt her stomach rise at the descent and she gripped Spike's hand harder at the thrill. Princess Luna had awoken and walked out into her balcony to admire her full moon. A quick blur had zoomed past her balcony that made her jump and she quickly ran to the edge. "What the...was that a dragon and a pegasus on a flying candy cane?!" she shook her head and slowly walked back to her bedroom with a slight headache. 'We need to lay off the moon sugar.' The library tree was in view and Spike had his hand on the controls steering the light aircraft. "Um…" Spike said nervously and his claw began to shake slightly. "What?" She asked, slightly worried. "I uh... I don't know how to land this..." He motioned his hand downward and the copter went into another dive straight for the tree. "Stop! Stop!" Spike was trying to in some last ditch effort to reason with the descending craft but it kept diving at the tree. "AHH!" They both screamed in unison as they started to spiral at the tree. Spike was only able to slow down the helicopter before they impacted the tree. They both rolled, dazed, out of their seats, Spike missed his mark of the balcony and they landed in front of the library. They were both covered in tree sap and were trying to scrape some of it off of themselves. "Ugh..." Spike said as he tried to separate his claws with the sap in between them. Scootaloo started to giggle. "This is like the time when you told us zip lining was fun and we tried to do it but crashed into a tree." Spike nervously laughed with her, he was unsure how to end the night and began to think of how to. "Spike… " He snapped out of his frantic thinking. "I had a great time tonight… that was just... amazing!" She moved a little closer to Spike. "I was never someone for mushy stuff... but for you Spike, I want to make an exception... I love you Spike." She began to blush and look down at her hooves, waiting for his reply. Spike's heart jumped. "I feel the same way Scoots." He put his arms behind his back and began to grind his foot into the grass while staring down at his grinding foot. She looked back up, happier than she had ever been at his reply. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Spike hadn't seen it coming and as she kissed him, his face turned from purple to deep crimson and he began to snort smoke from his nostrils. She trotted into the library, giggling from what she just did and left the drake standing outside. Spike just watched her trot off, standing there dumbfounded in the cold night air with a goofy smile on his face. Author's Note **Changed that Aladdin scene that didn't got over all too well. Hope the fix works better. Chapter 3Scootaloo woke up and was already in a good mood and had a smile on her face. She stretched out as she thought to herself. 'Maybe Spike will walk me to school today.' She hopped out of her bed and went to her mirror to brush her mane. She finished brushing her mane and increased her pace, eager to see Spike today, and found him and Twilight waiting at the breakfast table. Twilight was reading a book and Spike was setting out breakfast like he did every morning. Spike had sat down and began eating and Scootaloo took a seat beside him. "Morning Spike!" She said cheerfully. "Morfming Shcoots." He said through a mouthful of food. Twilight closed her book and got up from her chair. "Wow, I knew you two would be great friends." She levitated her book above her and started heading for the library. "I have to go order new quills, bye and have a good day at school Scootaloo." As soon as Twilight left, Scootaloo leaned over and gave Spike a quick kiss on the cheek that he was not ready for. Spike dropped his fork and a short puff of smoke shot out of his nostrils along with his face turning a deep red. She giggled at the drake. "Want to walk me to school today Spike?" "Ehablah..." He shook his head. "Yeah, I would love to." He said as he scratched the back of his head. The two quickly ate and left the library and they walked calmly through Ponyville. They walked side-by-side through the streets. They reached the front door to the school. "Bye Spike, can't wait till I see you later." "Enjoy School, Scoots, and yeah same here." Scootaloo entered the school and Spike began to walk back to the library. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon saw Scootaloo walk into the school and then saw Spike walk off. "Is she really dating a dragon?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Yeah, his name is Spike." Silver Spoon said as they began to walk to the school themselves. "You know him?" "Duh, he’s the only guy in town that's not dumb or boring." "Really?" She took a moment to think. “Then what’s he doing with that blank flank?" Diamond Tiara asked in disgust. Silver Spoon shrugged. She looked at the drake as he vanished from view. "I bet he would be a lot happier with me....let’s talk more about it at lunch." The two fillies entered the school and class began. Cherilee was teaching the class history on Equestria and most of the colts and fillies had their heads on their desks, either listening or had fallen asleep. Scootaloo was doing neither; she was looking off outside of the window thinking about Spike. She looked forward to spending her first day as his fillyfriend but she was also stumped about what she would actually do. 'What do fillies and colts in this case drakes, do together? Just hang out?' "Scootaloo?" She snapped her head up. "Yes Ms. Cherilee?" "What year was Celestia and Luna made the princesses of Equestria?" "Um....42?" The whole classed erupted in laughter. She could only awkwardly smile and saw Cherilee's disappointed face. "Class settle down, you should pay more attention, Scootaloo." She turned around and started poking at a map with her pointing stick, continuing the lesson. She decided to at least keep her eyes up front, but she couldn't help but daydream about her drake. School had felt like it only lasted a few minutes for Scootaloo, but Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were complaining as they exited the school. Apple Bloom's head was drooped low as she walked. "Ah never thought class would last so long...." Sweetie Belle was rubbing her eye as she exited the school and gave out a quick yawn. "Who knew desks could make a good pillow?" Scootaloo almost hit her head on the door as she exited after Sweetie Belle. Luckily Apple Bloom grabbed the door inches before it hit her. "Scoots, are ya alright?" "Huh?" She snapped out of her trance. "Oh yeah, I'm good." Sweetie Belle yawned as she sat down and her head began to nod off. She snapped her head up and her eyes flashed open. "You don't look too good." Scootaloo scrunched up her muzzle to resist a laugh and spoke after her chuckle was snuffed out. "You can't even stay awake." "I just need to get moving around, that’s all. Want to go to my sister’s house?" "Na, I already have plans, sorry." "What kinda plans ya got, Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked inquisitively. "You know... just some stuff." She said as she rubbed the back of her head. "Well alright, we'll see ya later." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle began to walk off into Ponyville and Scootaloo began to walk to the library, still thinking about her drakefriend. Scootaloo had quickened her pace and had quickly arrived at the library. She opened the front door and saw Twilight with a pile of books in the library, deep in study. She exited through the door to the right of the entrance that led to the normal portion of the tree that was the house. She decided to freshen up a little before she hangs out with Spike; she quickly went to her room to give her mane a quick brush. She finished and left her room and trotted up the stairs. She slowly opened up Spike's door. "Spike?" "Come on in." Scootaloo walked into his room and he was searching through some papers. "What are you looking for Spike?" He shuffled through a stack of papers. "Just looking for a copy of something that I had." "And that would be?" "It was a music sheet, it's one of my favorites and my copy is faded and I can't remember all of the notes. I've been looking for a spare sheet but I don't have one." He set down the papers into a box at his feet and closed it. "Mind going to the music store with me?" Scootaloo smiled, of course she wouldn't mind. "No problem." They both exited the library and began to walk through the streets of Ponyville. Scootaloo never knew that Ponyville had a music shop, but she didn't play an instrument so she didn't question Spike. They reached the music shop and even before opening the door they could hear music blasting from inside. They opened the door and flinched at the volume, an electric blue maned unicorn was banging her head to the music as she turned the knobs in front of her, she was in complete focus. The unicorn picked up a mic and yelled. "Bangarang!" Spike tried to catch her attention with his hand. He tried to yell over the music. "Hello?!" The unicorn ignored him, she had headphones over her ears and her eyes were staring down at the knobs and sliders on the turn table. "Vinyl!" The unicorn looked up and to her right she saw an earth pony glaring at her. "Yes Tavi?" "Turn that noisy wreck off! We have customers!" Vinyl didn't turn down the music. "This isn't a noisy wreck! It's art!" "Those mindless beeps and wubs are not art!" "At least let me finish this song!" She continued to reply over the high volume. Octavia began to sway, the music was too loud but she mouthed the words while putting a hoof on her forehead. "It's making my head hurt...." Vinyl began to turn the music down to half volume, which was still rather loud. You could hear Octavia talk now. "I have a huge headache... I think I'm going to-" Octavia collapsed on the ground. "Tavi?!" Vinyl smacked her hoof on the turn table and it shut off and she ran to Octavia. "Tavi!" She began to lightly shake her shoulder. Octavia didn't respond. Vinyl put her head down lower over Octavia's. "Tavi..?" Octavia woke up from her acting and reached up to kiss Vinyl. Vinyl was too surprised at first, but then closed her eyes and felt gravity force her to the ground next to Octavia and they continued their kiss. Each second becoming more frantic and Vinyl began to run her hooves through Octavia's mane. Spike and Scootaloo looked away in slight awkward confusion. Octavia opened her eyes and saw the drake and the filly still in the store and she broke the kiss. "Ahem. Vinyl we still have customers." "Oh...right." She gave a slight embarrassed chuckle and got up from the ground. Vinyl helped Octavia get up and they were both blushing, not making eye contact with the two others in the shop. Octavia retreated to the back of the store and Vinyl returned to the front counter. "Eh... sorry about that. Need anything?" Spike lightly coughed into his claws from the earlier awkwardness. "Yeah, I need a sheet of piano music, Great Balls of Fire by Pony Lee Lewis." "Eh? Well, you might want to ask Tavi for that, she’s the classical nut." "Alright." Spike turned to walk towards the back of the store where Octavia was organizing instruments, leaving Scootaloo to talk with Vinyl. "Hello?" Octavia jumped. "Oh hello, I hope you can forgive mine and my partners...manners... anyway, can I help you?" "I'm looking for a sheet of music for, Great Balls of Fire by Pony Lee Lewis." "You play piano?" "Yes and it’s one of my favorite pieces." "I also like that piece: very upbeat and catchy. One moment, please." Octavia went into a back room and came back with the sheet of music. "Free of charge." "Are you sure?" Spike said, unsure, as he took the paper. She blushed. "Yes, it's the least I can do; I shouldn't scare customers like that." "Thanks." Spike said with a smile. Scootaloo put her hooves up on the counter. "That was an awesome song you played, did you make that?" Vinyl was putting the records back into their cases. "No, but I do make a few myself." "Oh, well it was still cool..." Scootaloo began to draw an invisible circle with her hoof. "So, uh... yeah." Vinyl raised her eye brow. "What?" "I was uh... just wondering. How did that happen?" "What?" "That thing that just happened a few minutes ago." "Huh? Oh! That... yeah... stuff like that just happens." vinyl shuffled her hooves a little bit. "How?" Scootaloo said with a slight squeak of embarrassment at the question. "How? Well... Why do you wanna know?" "Just curious..." Vinyl looked at the filly, and then turned her head to where the young dragon had gone to the back of the store. She smiled as she realized why she wanted to know. "Well, you see if you just be yourself, it can lead to some really cool and fun things." She said as she closed her eyes, thinking of her marefriend. "Fun?" "You know whe-.... never mind that, just be yourself, okay kid?" Scootaloo thought to herself 'Just be yourself...' Spike had appeared beside her. "All set to go home?" She lightly nodded and they both exited the store. Spike looked back at the store as they began to walk away; a hoof had appeared in the window and flipped the sign from open to closed. 'Weird... usually that store doesn't close till lat-… oh.' He thought. They both walked back to the library and the sun was already roosting itself on the horizon. They entered the library and saw Twilight nowhere in sight. "So uh... Scoots, I was wondering if you wanted to hear some music?" "On your piano?" "Yeah, I wanted to play this piece for you earlier." Twilight was downstairs in the laboratory. "Okay... concentrate...” She began to channel the energy in her horn. She began to struggle as the energy began to waver. 'Oh no...' She tried to extinguish the energy but it had bulked itself up and she had two choices, release the magic and risk something bad happening, or try to continue to extinguish the spell again and risk it blowing up. She didn't like the sound of the second option and aimed her horn down at the ground and unleash the small torrent of energy. The energy seeped into the ground and Twilight waited for a response. "Hmm... Maybe nothing happened?" The energy crawled up from the ground and traveled through the walls of the library. Scootaloo had never heard Spike play piano before, and the image of him playing as she sat next to him made her smile. "That sounds awesome Spike; I’d love to hear you play." Spike lead her into the living room and he went up to an object against the wall that was covered with a light black cloth. He pulled it off and revealed his piano, a sleek black Yamahay standard. He took a seat and gestured for Scootaloo to join him. She eagerly took her seat, waiting for Spike to play. He lifted up the piano case and the faint smell of maple stung at their noses, the ivory keys shone as the light from the room hit them. He placed the sheet of music in front of himself and took a deep breath as he flexed his claws out, taking their positions over the keys. He began to play with a smile on his face as the song immediately began fast and his claws danced on the correct notes, not missing one. The upbeat rhythm of early rock n roll began to emanate from the instrument. The notes were taking a funny cartoonish sound to them as the tempo increased, making Scoots smile too. Spike played and they were both enjoying the music, finding themselves grinning at the sound of the song. All throughout Ponyville the Piano's music began to echo and rebound off of the buildings, invading everyone’s hearing. Two mares were sitting on the bench in the park, watching the sun set. "Hey, I know this song, hey Bonnie listen." "Wow, this sounds great, Lyra." Lyra stood up and extended her hoof. "Want to dance?" "Dance?" Lyra pulled Bon Bon up and they began to dance with each other, in the frantic pace of the music. Lyra began to lightly sing along with the music as she danced with Bon bon. "You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain..." Other couples around Ponyville had also begun to dance to the music. At Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie was beginning to pack away extras from today’s unsold bakery goods. She walked to the counter to see her new husband happily doing his own work. Music started to drift through the air and their ears perked up to listen. "Carrot, does this song sound familiar?" He took a moment to listen. "I'm not much of a music listener but I think its Balls of Fire by Pony lee Lewis." "It sounds nice." She smiled at her husband and gave him a quick kiss over the counter. "This music makes closing up Sugar Cube Corner fun." Carrot held out his hoof. "How about a quick dance?" Pinkie smiled and took his hoof and they began to dance happily to the music. (if you read My Pink Savior by WinterTwister, this is somewhat related to that.) Vinyl and Octavia were in a forceful embrace, both pushing against each other as their lips were locked into a passion filled kiss. The piano music began to fill their ears and they stopped. "Hey, this is that music that young drake came to get earlier." Octavia said as she raised her ears in the air to hear the music better. "Really? It's not bad." Vinyl gave Octavia a devious smile. "Kinda gets you in that fast paced mood, doesn't it?" Octavia returned with a smirk and they continued their actions. Spike finished the song effortlessly, he loved that song and it made him feel happy and always made him want to dance. He turned to Scootaloo. "Did you like it?" Scootaloo had a bright smile. "That was awesome, Spike!" A knock came from the door and Spike and Scootaloo got up to go answer it. "Pinkie?" "Howdy, Spikey and Scoots! I came to invite you over to a party to welcome the new stallion in town named Joe Bean." She said as she handed them invitations. "Joe Bean.. Pony Joe Bean?" "Ooh! Do you know him?" "Yeah, back in Canterlot Pony Joe and Twilight were good friends." "So that means the party should be a lot more fun then! Bye, see you two tomorrow!" Pinkie hopped off to go deliver more invitations. Spike closed the door. "Sounds like fun." "Yeah." A few moments passed and neither of them said, or did anything and the awkward feeling began to creep up on them. "So uh...What do you want to do now Scoots?" Spike said through an awkward smile. "Whatever you want to do, I'm up for anything." "We can go watch some movies?" "That sounds nice." The two went upstairs and entered Spike's room. They began to watch movies like they did normally. The whole time Scootaloo was nervous about what to do that could be different and she almost began to panic when she couldn't think of anything. 'Just be yourself.' Vinyl's advice rang in her ears and she began to relax, she looked at Spike who also had a nervous look on his face but was focused on the movie. His eyes darted around several parts of the screen, he was more nervous that she was. She let reflex take over and she leaned over and kissed Spike on the cheek. Spike was almost to the point of shaking, but then he felt her lips touch his cheek and his mind went blank and his mouth gaped open and soot started to flow out in small clouds from his nostrils. Using his other claw he scratched the back of his head. "Eh...uh.. " He cleared his throat. "I don't know how you keep doing that." He said with a nervous smile, thinking about his reactions to Scootaloo's kisses. "What? This?" She leaned in again to kiss his cheek a second time. Another quick cloud of soot puffed out of his nose and his face had become beet red and he was lost for words. They had both relaxed and continued to watch the movie together, Scootaloo had her head on Spike's shoulder and Spike had his head lightly on top of hers. Hand in hoof, they both enjoyed the rest of the movie together and when it was over Spike got up to stretch. He yawned. "Man, its late." Scootaloo stood up on his bed and stretched. "Yeah, I think it’s time to go to bed." She hopped off of his bed. "Night, Spike." "Night Scoots." Scootaloo left his room and trotted down the stairs to see Twilight expecting the house. "Twilight?" "You're still up? It's pretty late." Scootaloo yawned. "I was on my way to bed, what are you doing?" "Oh me? I'm just checking some things... did you see anything weird happen?" "No, why?" "Oh... no reason, just wondering." Twilight was observing the ceiling as Scootaloo left to go to her room. She hopped in her bed and quickly fell asleep; she had everything she could ever want: a great home and an even greater drake. The End and EpilogueSpike woke up and stretched out on his bed, causing all of his joints to pop, and turned off his alarm clock before it could go off. He was accustomed to waking up early each day to get his morning routine done with quickly. Instead of hopping straight out of bed he began staring at the ceiling and thought to himself. He started to think about the past three weeks since Scootaloo moved into the library with Twilight and himself and even as she first moved in Spike could feel a connection with her, not one of love but understanding. The bond of understanding moved them together as friends and as friends Spike realized how similar they were. The bond of friendship slowly turned into a more affectionate bond in which Spike found real love in which he had never experienced. Spike was hesitant to trust the new type of love, but the longer he was in the presence of Scootaloo the harder the line tugged at his heart and mind to the point of doubt to thinking of the worst. He had thought Scootaloo would reject him and want to stay friends, he hid it but it had depressed him. He had eventually gotten rid of his doubt and decided to take a leap of faith. When he heard Scootaloo's birthday was near he thought of it as the perfect opportunity to confess his feelings toward her, but he couldn't do it plainly, he thought of something she really wanted and acted on that joint of inspiration. He had given her something she, and any other young pegasus, would have wanted - flight. His plan had a staggering effect, not only did it bring his affections to the surface, along with Scootaloo’s; it formed a sturdy bridge of trust and love between them. He was happy, and he didn't want anything to ruin his relationship with Scootaloo. Feeling completely refreshed from sleep he sat up on the edge of his bed and gave out a final yawn and stretch. He slid off of his bed and tip-toed down the stairs to not risk awakening anyone and began his normal morning routine in library maintenance. He entered the library and picked up his duster and gave the bookshelves a quick sweep to rid them of any dust mites along with picking up any stray books Twilight forgot to put back. He checked around the library to see if anything else needed tending to and once he finished in the library he went back into the house portion to start breakfast for Twilight and Scootaloo. Spike was setting out the freshly made breakfast out on the dining table and Scootaloo walked in. Scootaloo smiled, but sleep was still invaded in her eyes. "Good morning Spike." Spike finished setting out the breakfast and smiled back at his fillyfriend. "Morning Scoots." Scootaloo sat down and looked around her. "Where’s Twilight?" Spike looked at the stairs, expecting to see Twilight, but she wasn't there so he decided to call out to her. "Twilight! Breakfast is re-" THUMP The table lurched upward making all of the silverware rattle. "Ow...." Scootaloo looked under the table and saw Twilight rubbing the top of her horn. Scootaloo was surprised. "Twilight?" Twilight crawled out from under the table, still in slight pain. "Ow... Good morning." Spike was confused. "Did you sleep under the table?" She gave a sheepish grin of embarrassment. "I was inspecting all of the items in the house looking for...oddities, but I guess I fell asleep while checking under the table." "Oddities?" Spike said as he sat down next to Scootaloo. "Oh, nothing to worry about." They ate their breakfast and Twilight had excused herself. "I'm going to go buy a gift for Joe Bean, I'll see you two at the party, bye!" Twilight trotted off to exit the library. Scootaloo and Spike began to put away the dishes. "So what do you want to do today, Scoots?" Scootaloo thought for a moment. "Want to go see if our friends are in town?" "Sounds good." The two left the library and before they could walk off, Scootaloo looked at her Scooter. "I can get us there faster Spike." "On your scooter?" "Yeah!" She said excitedly. Spike had never rode on her scooter before, and when he saw Scootaloo take Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on rides it always looked fun so he agreed. The two rode off into Ponyville on the scooter. Scootaloo heard Vinyl's words ring in her mind again. 'Be yourself? Heh… got it.' She began to increase speed, making Spike wrap his arms around her waist. She saw Big Mac's apple cart ahead with a ramp hanging from the back and smiled, increasing her speed even more. "Uhh... Scoots?" Spike said nervously. The scooter flew up the ramp and lifted into the air. Spike felt his stomach rise from the ascension and kept his eyes open, to his right he saw Pinkie waving at him from her room. Scootaloo landed the Scooter up on a nearby roof, sliding down the shingles at an angle and then onto an awning and bouncing safely to the ground. Spike was shaking from the sudden flight, but found himself enjoying the ride. Scootaloo saw their friends ahead in front of the carousel boutique and slid to a stop a few feet in front of them. When the Scooter stopped Spike shakily got off the Scooter. Scootaloo started to feel bad; she hoped she didn't scare him. "Spike?" Spike stopped shaking and smiled. "Scoots that was awesome!" She felt relief wash over herself and she turned to her friends with Spike next to her side. "Hi guys." "Hi, we were wonderin' when you two lovebirds were going to come by and hang with us." Apple Bloom said with a teasing smirk. Both Scootaloo and Spike were shocked. "Huh?" "Yeah, it gets kind of boring without you two here." Sweetie Belle said while smiling at the couple. "How did you guys know?" Scootaloo said with amazement. "Well it wa' kinda obvious, seein you two near each other kinda said it all." Spike turned to his friends. "Did you guys know?" "Yeah, we saw how nervous you got around Scoots." Snips told his friend happily with Snails beside him, chewing on some hay. Both Scootaloo and Spike gave out a stifled chuckle of embarrassment, their friends knew before they did. Applebloom thought for a moment and had an idea. "Hey do y'all wanna go to the lake? Ah think that sounds fun. "The lake? That sounds awesome! What do you think Spike?" The thought of cold water didn't appeal to Spike, but Scootaloo wanted to go so he was fine with it. "Yeah that sounds great." "I better go tell Rarity where I'm going... maybe she'll let me barrow one of her beach blankets?" Sweetie Belle trotted off into the boutique, leaving the others outside to plan the trip. "I can go home and make us some quick snacks too." Spike offered. "Yeah, tha' sounds good, Ah'll go get us a beach ball an some music." "What do we get?" Snip asked quizzically. "Just meet us there, alright?" Spike was good friends with Snips and Snails, but he didn't want them to mess something up. Half an hour later the six of them were at White Tail Woods Lake. It wasn't so much a lake as it was beautiful fresh water spring. The water was cool and a deep turquoise color and the center of the spring was a sixty foot deep depression. The clarity of it couldn't be described by the best poets and scribes because for how deep it was the water was so clear you could see straight to the bottom. In the depths of the spring were small schools of fish and underwater foliage. Around the outside of the clearing was surrounded by giant oak trees and towards the water were several willows and cyprus trees. Around edge of the water there were cattail plants that just barely kissed the water’s surface. Near the south end of lake was a large rock smoothed out over time my nature and it sat partially in the path of Celestia's sun which warmed to the perfect temperature for any reptile to bask in or this case Purple dragon. The sound of dragonflies and cicadas could be heard humming as it got closer to noon. The earth smell mixed with the mineral smell of the springs and of the tip of the aroma was hint of apple blossoms as a light breeze. This was an idealistic place for our group of friends to hang out. Sweetie Belle dragged the blanket on to the ground until it was even and flat. Spike placed a basket filled with sandwiches and a few containers of apple juice in the center of the blanket. Apple Bloom showed up with the beach ball and a boom box she borrowed from Pinkie and placed it down and pressed play. Snips and Snails were the last to arrive; both had managed to show up with dirty manes from tripping over the tree roots. (Note all songs linked only serve to set the mood) The spot was set and they were all ready to swim. "Wow, you see how deep that is Snails?" Snips said as he peered at the middle from the edge. Snails looked at the middle where he was telling him and gulped. "I think I'll stay in the shallows, ey?" "Ahh, you guys are wimps!" Scootaloo exclaimed boldly and she sprinted towards the water and jumped into the air, shifting her wings upwards to glide higher and do a somersault in the air and nose diving into the middle of the spring. The image of the young pegasus began to shimmer, only showing her outline as she sank deeper into the translucent water. The five watched and waited for her to come back up, and after a minute her head bobbed to the surface with her wet mane intruding her face. She spat out the water in her mouth and waved with a smile towards her friends. "Coming in?" The others jumped in afterwards with Snips and Snails forgetting their fear of the depth after seeing Scootaloo's display of fearlessness. The friends began to swim around and play games like tossing the beach ball around, listening to music while they swam, and other fun pool games. After awhile of swimming they returned to shore and back to their spot to dry off. Snips and Snails began to tell a story where they have been trying to send apology letters to Trixie for ruining her life. "We were really sorry about what we did, and we hoped some letters might patch some stuff up..." Snips recalled. "Yeah but she wasn't very forgiving, ey?" Snails began to remember the reply on the paper. 'You did not ruin Trixie's life! Trixie has never been better and wishes for you two idiotic colts to stop sending her mail! You *Buy Some Apple*-ing stupid little colts will probably never succeed in life and will end up dying in a wasteland begging for your mothers to save you, but they won’t be there- I will be, and I will be laughing at you every second and edging a canteen of water inches from your grasp each time you make a grab for it so you will die of dehydration. ~ Love, Trixie.' "Y-yeah… but she didn't mean it!" Snips defended. The rest of them rolled their eyes at his futile attempt to stand up for Trixie. They began to enjoy lunch but Scootaloo couldn't help but see Spike shaking. "Spike you okay?" Spike began to rub his elbows. "Y-y-yeah... c-cold water doesn't work well with me; I just need to heat up." Spike stood up and quickly made his way to the smoothed rock in the sunlight and lay down. He quaked from the pleasure of the sunlight and the heat of the rock warming his scales and his cold blood. Scootaloo decided to join him on the rock, on the shaded portion so she wouldn't get too hot from the sun's rays. They all stayed there for another hour, enjoying spending time with their friends but Pinkie's party was nearing and they had to get up and leave. Scootaloo had her scooter and Spike jumped on. "We'll see you guys at the party okay?" Scootaloo said before she sped off with Spike having to hold onto her waist again to keep on the Scooter. Scootaloo and Spike sped through Ponyville and saw that other ponies were also on their way to Pony Joe's house. His house was only a few blocks from Sugar Cube Corner and the party was already starting. She stopped and parked her Scooter at the side of the house; Pony Joe's house was also his new eatery and was almost as big as Sugar Cube Corner. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were walking around the party. "Ugh, the party is like so lame; it’s nowhere near as good as my cutecinera was." Diamond Tiara said, looking around the cafe. "Want to just leave?" Silver Spoon asked hopefully. "No, we're here for a reason remember?" "Right.....Hey look over there." Silver Spoon pointed at the entrance and a drake and a young filly entered the cafe. "Right on time, you ready?" "This place looks great, reminds me of his old diner in Canterlot..." Spike looked around the restaurant, admiring the decorations, but then looked at the counter and saw his old friend Pony Joe setting up some things. Spike and Scootaloo walked over and Spike jumped up on one of the seats. "Hey!" "Spike! How are ya?" Pony Joe said happily, putting away the last of some supplies under the counter. "Great, like it in Ponyville?" "Yeah, nice and quiet town, beats Canterlot any day, don’t get me wrong I still have my first restaurant but I just needed to expand and leave the hustle and bustle of the big city...Say, where’s Twilight? I haven't seen her in awhile." Spike shrugged. "I haven't seen her since this morning." "Alright, hopefully I can talk with her later; I need to finish putting stuff away before more people come in." Pony Joe trotted into a room in the back. Spike hopped back off of the chair. "So what do you wanna do Scoots?" Scootaloo was looking off into the distance with an annoyed look. "Scoots?" "Hi Spike!" Diamond Tiara said cheerfully. "Hey...you?" Said replied in confusion. "What? You don't remember my name Spike?" "I think I've seen you around town, but never really talked with you." "Ugh... c'mon Spike, lets-" Scootaloo tried to say, but was cut off by another filly. "Oh, my gosh Scootaloo! You have to see this!" Silver Spoon grabbed her hoof and pulled her away. "What? Let go of me I-" The two left the main cafe and disappeared into the next room. Spike started to walk off to go see where Silver Spoon was taking Scootaloo, but was cut off by Diamond Tiara. "So what’s up Spike?" "Oh uh... nothin, just going to go meet back up with Scoots." "Oh... you don't want to stay here with me?" "Sorry, but I want to go be with Scoots..." Diamond Tiara pushed Spike back against the counter and put her hooves on his shoulders. "Uh..?" "Why are you with that blank flank?" "Scoots? Well she’s really cool and-" "I bet I can do better than that blank flank, I'm a lot prettier and I have money." She said as she tried to lean in on Spike. Spike leaned his head backwards, trying to stay away from her. "No way." "Whats wrong?" "There’s no way I would leave Scoots.." Scootaloo had entered the cafe and saw Diamond Tiara pinning Spike against the counter and rushed over, angry, but stopped a few feet away when she heard Spike talking. "Scoots is really cool and I connect with her on so many levels, we share a connection I've never had with anyone else before and we understand each other... Why should I even care that she’s a blank flank? Dragons don't even get cutie marks." "What? No way, I'll show you I'm way better than that blank flank." Diamond Tiara tried to lean in on Spike again but was stopped by a hoof. "Get away from my drakefriend you stuck up elitist git!" Scootaloo said as she pulled her off of Spike. "Elitist git?! Whatever, you're both just two losers in love." Diamond Tiara stomped off with her nose in the air. "Well... that was awkward...” Spike said as he scratched his head. Scootaloo hugged Spike. "That was so nice what you said!" Spike smiled through the tight squeeze. "It was the truth." Scootaloo kissed Spike on the cheek, sending soot through his nostrils past Scootaloo. Spike was embarrassed by his repetitive reaction. "Did you get Zecora's help on that or something?" The two enjoyed the rest of the party as it began. There were a lot of fun games that Pinkie had set up and a lot of ponies from Ponyville were there to participate in the welcoming of Pony Joe. Twilight had arrived late but she was happy to see Pony Joe again after a long time and they spent a lot of time catching up. The party ended early because of a mishap with the disco ball Pinkie had quickly installed crashed to the ground and scared off most of the party because somepony had yelled 'Fire!' after it broke. Spike and Scootaloo had stayed to help clean the mess with Pinkie and left soon afterwards saying bye to Pony Joe. The two walked back to the library, happy that they have each other. ~*~* Epilogue ~*~* "And that’s how your mother and I met and fell in love." Spike said as he yawned and adjusted his glasses. "Wow... so mom used to have a scooter and do tricks on it?" Fang asked excitedly leaning up in his bed. "Yep, and she was amazing on it, competed in the Radical Games: extreme sports tournament too." Spike stood up and stretched out, almost touching the ceiling with his claws. "It's time for bed, night son." Fang yawned. "Night dad." He turned over and closed his eyes. Spike walked out of the room and met his wife in the hallway. "He’s beautiful isn't he?" Scootaloo said lovingly. "Yeah, I'm proud of our son... Thank you Scoots." "For what?" "Most dragons go off and start hordes with another dragon they don't even love back... but I have you that I love and Fang is my horde and for that I'm grateful every day." Scootaloo smiled at her husband, it’s been twelve years since they have been married, and eighteen years of being together, and she wouldn't have it any other way. She leaned up and reached Spike's cheek and gave it a quick peck. Spike had his arms crossed with his eyes closed, enjoying the moment, but when he felt Scootaloo's lips on his cheek his eyes darted open and a large cloud of soot and made both of them gag. "Ack!" Scoots was coughing and her eyes teared up a little through a smile. "I still got it." Special thanks to my buddy, Wintertwister for helping me type this fic up and I couldn't have done this story without his help, mostly because of how slow I type. Semi sequelHi, I'm just writing to tell you guys that there is a semi-sequel/interquel to this fic up right now. It's called: Something More? and it's the story of Pony Joe moving to Ponyville and reconnecting with Twilight. Direct Sequel Direct Sequel Hi, to everyone that enjoyed this fic. I have good news. There is a direct sequel called: The After Years. It takes both five and ten years after the events of this story and chronicles what happened to Spike, Scootaloo, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Snips and Snails, from Prom to Adulthood. *Note: if the editing is meh. I kinda lost my editor. Sorry.
Chapter 1Snips and Snails had their backs against a tree, in the sweet apple acres orchard, holding paintball guns in their hooves. Spike appeared the next tree over holding his own paintball gun. "Guys..!" Spike loudly whispered. "Yeah?" They both answered in unison. Spike started working his claws through the air, forming a 'V' and pushing it upwards into the air and then clenching and unclenching his claws a few times. Snips squinted at what Spike was doing and shrugged. Spike face palmed and his hand slowly slid down his nose. He leaned closer to whisper "Follow me." They quickly left their cover and ran to a more bunched up group of trees that had shrubs the could use for cover. Spike pulled in the two colts closer. "Okay here's the plan." Snips interrupted Spike. "A plan? Each time we plan we lose, we lose every time because they out smart us." Spike lowered his eye brows. "Yes a plan, each time we lose to them because we let them get under us. Lets look at what they have, they have Scoots scooter that is used for their high mobility, and Sweetie Belle can throw her voice to mess up our bearings and Apple Bloom is a great strategist." "Yeah? So?" Snails whined. "So, they have a flaw." "Really?!" They both said in surprise. Spike tensed up and put his claws over their mouths. "Yesss... really now be quiet." Spike released their muzzles. "Okay, they have great teamwork and alot of support on their side but their flaw is that they are always together. So what we need to do is simple ; we need to get them surrounded on their fixed position or surprise them and we win." "How do we do that?" Snips asked uncertainly. "Easy we just-" The sound of heavy flapping wings got their attention. They poked their heads around the tree and saw Scootaloo whizzing around on her scooter. "Open fire!" Spike commanded. They all started unloading their ammunition in the direction Scootaloo was coming from. Scootaloo panicked and started zig-zagging to avoid the shots. She used her scooter to jump from the ground and kick off of a nearby tree and turned around to retreat. "Darn it! They know where we are now, we have to move." The three quickly ran from their spot in hopes of regaining their stealth. When Spike saw it fit they stopped moving. He motioned them to come closer "Okay, Since we can't win tactically we need to win using the three elements we have." "Wha- what are those?" Snips asked, out of breath from their movement. Spike brought up three claws. "Fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency." The two colts lit up with anticipation. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were hiding in a bush when they heard shots go off in the distance. "Ah hope they didn't get Scootaloo..." Apple Bloom said as she peered out into the orchard. "I don't think so, she's too fast on her scooter and those two can't hit your barn if they wanted to." They both laughed. "But Spike sure can shoot, Ah sometimes feel bad for 'em, him bein' paired up with those two when hes better 'an us." They heard the familiar flapping of wings and they saw Scootaloo coming in a high speed. She screeched to a stop in front of them. "I found them! They are in the eastern orchard, hop on." The three fillies all piled on the scooter and Scootaloo propelled them forward. "Ah got a plan." Apple Bloom said as they quickly rode their way to the eastern apple orchard. Sweetie Belle started scouting on her own with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo trailing in the trees a good distance behind her. She started humming gently as if she forgot all about the paintball game and nonchalantly walked through the trees with her paintball gun slung across her back. The colts and the dragon heard the humming and looked up from their bush and saw Sweetie Belle walking calmly through the orchard. Snails aimed his paintball gun. "I got her." Spike pushed his paintball gun down. "No, remember the plan." "Oh right, sorry." Snips and Snails left the bush and quickly approached Sweetie Belle from behind. They aimed their paintball guns at her. "Freeze!" They both yelled. Sweetie Belle turned around and raised her hooves in fright. "Okay! I surrender." "Really?" Snails asked as he scratched his head. Spike slowly climbed up a tree next to the bush and saw that the colts had the filly as their prisoner in the middle of the orchard. He smiled. "Fear." Apple Bloom and Scootaloo appeared from behind a tree aiming at Snips and Snails. "Put yer hooves up!" Snips dropped his paintball gun in surprise and they both turned around. "Don't shoot!" Sweetie Belle had picked her paintball gun back up and joined next to her friends and had Snips and Snails against a tree. Spike smiled harder, everything was according to plan. He aimed his paintball gun at the fillies. "Surprise..." "So do we keep them as prisoners or finish them, Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle asked as she checked her paintball gun. "Ah guess we should-" Apple Bloom was cut off by a paintball that whizzed past her. Spike had begun unloading his gun from above down on the fillies. "Run!" Scootaloo yelled. The three fillies scattered to escape Spike's volley of paintballs. Spike jumped down from the tree and tagged Snips and Snails. The three charged the tree where the fillies had ducked under. They had caught them off guard and they dropped their paintball guns in surprise. Spike smiled at his plans result. "Ruthless efficiency." He notched up his paintball gun on his shoulder with the barrel pointing in the sky. "Looks like we win this time." Spike remembered a movie he watched the other night and he started day dreaming. He found himself wearing a generals attire with four stars on his helmet with two ivory handled revolvers to his side. He looked at the three fillies and they were wearing Germane uniforms and Apple Bloom was wearing a Germane generals outfit. Spike snickered and thought to himself 'You magnificent bastard, I read your book!' he took a moment to enjoy the victory "Ah shoot..." Apple Bloom smiled. "There goes our winnin' streak." Spike snapped out of his day dreaming and saw that everything was back to normal. BOOM! They all looked into the sky and saw the pegasi flying around arranging the clouds and kicking them to send out warning thunder. "Guess we forgot about the scheduled thunder storm, huh?" Spike asked as he starred into the sky with his arms crossed. "Let's have a re-match when the ground gets dry after the storm! I don't want to get my hooves dirty, Rarity would kill me...." Sweetie Belle spaced out in terror from the thought of tracking mud in her boutique, she could just hear Rarity screaming at her 'SWEETIE BELLE!!!' and she shuddered from the thought. It was Spike's turn to put up the paintball guns, they all handed their toys to him and ran off to escape the coming thunderstorm. Spike walked back to the barn to put them in the box where they kept all of their toys. It was filled with sports equipment,kites, and a lot of fun stuff that they all played with daily. He left the barn and the rain started to sprinkle. "Darn it... I need to get home quick.." Spike ran off into the orchard in hopes to get back to Ponyville faster. He weaved quickly through the trees thinking about the warm and dry comfort of the library and he tripped over a large root. "Ugh.." He looked back and saw that the root was a scooter. He looked up and saw the clubhouse the three fillies used, the lights were on. A faint muffled cry was coming from the tree house and Spike could even hear it past the warning thunder from the pegasi. He picked himself up and started to climb up the makeshift ladder that was composed of planks nailed to the tree that he had fallen by. Spike made it to the top and was about to knock but he recognized the voice that came from inside. 'Scootaloo?' He didn't knock and just decided to enter without knocking. Inside he saw Scootaloo with her face buried in an old thread bare blanket. Spike went to her side. "Scoots?" Scootaloo popped her head up in surprise, she didn't hear him come in. She quickly wiped her eyes. "Spike? What are you doing here?" "I want to ask you the same thing, why don't you head home?" She looked at him and she became nauseated and she looked down. "Scoots?" "Spike, why don't you go home to your warm library?" She said with a hint of hate in her voice. "Well, I want to know why you're here." She looked at him and stared into his emerald eyes, she fought back tears as much as she could but failed. Spike looked back into her eyes and his breath was taken from him as he saw the true sadness inside of them. "Scootaloo..?" "This is my home.. Please leave." her voice was breaking as she spoke and she looked down again. Spike recoiled. "What? Do you really live here?" She lightly nodded her head and wiped her nose with her hoof. "Please..just leave Spike." Spike sat down next to Scootaloo and stared at her. "A..." He tried to speak but he couldn't say anything. Scootaloo looked at Spike from her hooves. 'Why is he still here?' Spike finally had the courage to ask. "Why do you live here?" She gave out a hesitated sigh. "I don't have anywhere to go." Spike put a claw over his left chest and felt his heart grow heavy. "I-I had no idea Scoots.. I usually see you so happy and energetic.." "Its no big deal..." "Yes it is! Where are your parents?" "I don't know my parents..." Spike thought about that, he could relate to not knowing his parents. He was hatched by Twilight and raised by her and she was a mother to him, at least he had somepony but Scootaloo didn't have anyone for a mother. Scootaloo looked up to Rainbow Dash for guidance but she normally ignored her. Spike found his arms wrapped around her. She was confused. "Spike?" Spike squeezed her tighter. "I'm so sorry." She didn't know how to react. "It's not your fault.. nobody cares about me..." Spike looked at her. "What?! I care about you Scoots..." She looked into his emerald eyes again and felt his gaze seep kindness into her. She slowly put her hooves around Spike to return the hug and she squeezed him tightly. "Thank you Spike...." She felt so much comfort from the dragon, he was the only one to ever openly show compassion towards her. She embraced him closer and was leaned in his chest. She closed her eyes and felt his dragon body temperature on his hard scales and it slowly cradled her to sleep. Spike didn't know what else to say, he had no idea she had such troubles. He began to feel her breathing steady and knew she had fallen asleep. He slowly lowered her onto her makeshift bed and covered her with a quilt that was next to her bed. Spike put his hands on the bed to get up but he couldn't move. 'I can't leave her now...I'm sure Twilight wont mind if I'm not there for one night.' Spike looked outside and the rain had begun to pour and it tapped against the roof of the tree house. He positioned himself at the foot of Scootaloo's bed and allowed the raindrops to slowly rock him to sleep. Scootaloo woke up and looked around in the darkness. 'He probably left.. they always just ignore me.' She tried to pull her covers over her head but something was weighing down on them. She squinted in the darkness to see Spike still there and she gasped in surprise. 'Does he really care?' She smiled that the dragon had stayed and she laid back down, this time right next to him and she pulled the quilt over both of them. Feeling Spike's warm body temperature again made her feel happy and relaxed and quickly feel asleep.
Chapter 2 *edited*Chapter 2 *edited* A/N: The library is made bigger in this fic and certain technologies exist in this as well. The sunlight slowly crept into the room from the window and hit Spike's eyelids. He woke up and tried to use his claw to block the sun, but he noticed the blanket was over him and saw Scootaloo peacefully asleep with a smile on her face next to him. Spike looked at her for a moment and remembered what she told him yesterday about her not having a real home. He felt bad and he continued to stare at her, but then he had an idea. He slowly edged out of the bed and tip-toed out of the tree house. Spike jumped from halfway down the ladder into the damp ground, the rain had soaked the ground and he ran off with his feet making squish noises in the orchard soil. Spike entered the library after wiping his feet off on the mat outside and closed the door behind him. Twilight was asleep on the couch and heard the door close, she woke up and shook her head and quickly got up from the couch. She trotted over to Spike with an angry expression. "Spike! Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" She was expressing her usual motherly protection. "Twilight I-" Twilight raised her hooves in the air. "What if you were hurt? Do you think I can handle it if something bad happened to you!?" Spike raised a claw. "But-" "You could at least tell me if you're not coming home! I was completely clueless on where or what you were doing!" "Twilight!" Spike said as she shook her from her shoulders. "What?" Spike released her and spoke. "Twilight, I stayed the night in the clubhouse on Sweet Apple Acres." "Wha...Why would you do that?" "Because Scoots lives there." Spike said as he crossed his arms. "Why does Scootaloo live in a treehouse?" Spike looked down as he remembered her story. "She lives there because she’s an orphan and nobody would take her in and she's been living on her own. I stayed with her because she was really sad and she doesn't have anyone to be with besides me and her friends." "What about Rainbow?" Spike gave her his obvious stare and lifted an eyebrow. "Oh…right." Twilight knew how Rainbow usually ignored Scootaloo because she couldn't fly. Spike returned his expression back to its compassionate state. "Twilight, Scoots needs a good place to live... I really think she should live here with us, she could sleep on the couch, anything is better than that cold tree house." "Spike?" Spike thought that she was about to say no and he got on his knees and begged her. "Please Twilight, I can't stand to see her so sad and we could really help her." Twilight laughed. "Spike I was going to say yes." Twilight picked up the dragon and squeezed him. "Spike that's so nice of you, of course she can stay with us." Spike couldn't contain his smile. "Really?!" She released the dragon and gave him a warm smile. "Mhm, and we have a guest room you know." "Awesome! Now Scoots can have a great home, you're the best Twilight. I'll make us all a great breakfast when I bring Scootaloo back." Spike left the library in a hurry to return to Scootaloo. Scootaloo felt the daze of oversleep wash over her and she lifted her head and rubbed it groggily. She always hated her old thread bare blanket that she used as a bed, but she didn't have any choice. She looked to her side with hope to see her friend asleep, but her smile dropped and her heart sank as she saw that the dragon wasn't there. She touched the spot where he had slept and felt a short wave of anger wash over her but it was quickly doused by anguish as she thought to herself. 'I guess he really didn't care...' Spike was the only one she had ever told her story to, sure she loved her friends and treasured them as they were the most trusted ponies she ever knew... but with Spike it was different… they could relate to each other because they both were orphans. Spike never knew his parents, and she lost hers at a younger age. The more she thought about it the more alone she felt, not when the only other being just like her had left her without saying a word. She had to fight back tears as covered her eyes with her forearm. She let out a deep sigh, 'what would you expect idiot...' and dragged along as she folded her quilt and fixed her bed. She exited her home and went down the ladder with her heart still heavy. She looked at her scooter with a small tinge of happiness that it wasn't harmed in the storm. She then began to walk to her Scooter but then saw in the distance a familiar drake running toward the tree house. Spike was approaching Scootaloo, taking his time to catch his breath. She felt angry at him for leaving, but also felt a tsunami of relief that he had returned and without her consent, and it brought a smile to her face. Spike was still panting as he reached Scootaloo and spoke between each heavy breath of air. "Hey...Scoots...sorry... I...left...” He gulped in a final grasp of air and he regained his posture and smiled. "I have some great news." "News?" "I asked Twilight if you could live at the library with us and she said yes! It would be awesome... I mean, if you want to Scoots..." Scootaloo lit up at the thought of a warm house, a soft place to sleep, a hot bath, and food that wasn't just apples. She wanted to tackle Spike in a flying death hug exclaiming that she’d love too, but restrained herself. "I don't know Spike... it's tempting...” Her attempt to tease him failed when her stomach started to growl loud enough that Spike could hear it. Spike felt that he was talking to himself and how he reacted to others and knew she was teasing, so he decided to play along. He heard her stomach growl and fought back a chuckle and replied. "Well… I'm making waffles if you come stay with us." She was glad that they shared the same sense of humor, but the sound of something as delicious as that she couldn't continue any further. "Sold!" They both laughed with each other and began to walk to the library from the orchard. Scootaloo walked with her scooter trailing beside her and Spike on the other side, leading her to the library. Spike and Scootaloo stepped into the library and Spike closed the door behind them and outstretched his hand to the very well lit out library. "Welcome home." He had a warm smile to match his welcoming gesture. Scootaloo took a step forward and felt a wave of nausea flow over her as she looked at her new home, it felt almost fake. Years of living on her own and now she had a real home and she couldn't think of any word to describe it. Twilight had appeared next to them and outstretched her hoof at Scootaloo. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle." Scootaloo took her hoof hesitantly. "But I know who you are, Twilight." Twilight pulled her into a hug. "Yes, but I've never really met you." She released her and gave her the most welcoming smile she could. "Welcome to the family." Scootaloo just stared at her; she felt the wave of nausea roll over her senses again. 'Family?' everything was just too good for her to believe. She fought back tears of joy at the sound of being called family. She looked beside her and saw that Spike was gone, but heard him call out from another room. "I'll have breakfast up soon; I already set a place for you at the table!" He yelled from the kitchen. Twilight lead Scootaloo to where they always ate. Scootaloo looked around her new home and never knew that the library was so big, she normally just stayed in the part that actually was the library when she and her friends came to check out books. Past the library was a beautiful and cozy normal looking house, the walls had shelves filled with antiques and some picture frames of Spike and Twilight. Twilight had sat down at a table and motioned for Scootaloo to sit next to her. "So do you like your new home so far?" Twilight asked with enthusiasm in her voice. "It's awesome!" She replied with even greater enthusiasm. "Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here for awhile." "Awhile?" Twilight looked confused, but then returned to her welcoming smile. "You can stay here for as long as you want to." Twilight saw Scootaloo's expression at her statement and she really felt comfortable with her. Scootaloo had started rubbing the back of her head; she was never one for heavy stuff. Twilight had noticed something, Scootaloo was almost just like Spike and she just knew they would be really close friends very soon. The two had a very pleasant conversation as they waited for Spike. Almost half an hour later, Spike had emerged and set out several platters of food, setting up a small buffet to welcome their new guest. It was a small buffet of foods: eggs, toast, muffins, various jams, oatmeal and of course Spike's famous multi-grain blueberry waffles. Waffles that were so good that the princesses themselves would wage war to get a single bite of their golden crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside goodness. Scootaloo had never tried them before and her taste buds were in for a shock as she took the first bite. She swallowed the mouthful of waffle. "OH, my gosh, this...is...AMAZING." Spike chuckled to himself and took pride in his skills in cooking. The three had enjoyed the breakfast, casually having conversation through bites of the meal. They were all full and not a scrap of food was left. Spike was about to get up to collect the dishes, but Twilight stopped him. "It's okay Spike, I can clean." She began using her magic to levitate the dishes away and into the kitchen, and then trotting after them. Spike turned to Scootaloo. "Hey Scoots, want to hang out?" He asked casually. "Sure thing, that sounds great." Spike began showing her around the library's first floor, the kitchen, the living room, and the guest room where she would be staying. She walked into her new room with admiration. She saw that the bed was an actual bed and wanted to jump into it now, but resisted and wanted to hang out with Spike instead. She had her own closet and a small shower and her heart sang as song of gratitude. "Is this really mine?" "Yep, and both me and Twilight are glad to have a guest here with us." Scootaloo and Spike continued to tour through the library and Spike lead her upstairs and into his room. She trotted into the room and immediately noticed how well organized everything was and that all of his belongings and furniture was well placed and spaced out. Most colts she knew were messy and didn't care to keep anything organized. On one of the walls were several shelves filled with Spike's favorite movies, and the last thing she noticed were his three trophies. "Wow, Spike, trophies?" she asked inquisitively. Spike walked next to them and put his hands on his side's taking pride in his accomplishments. "Go ahead, take a look." He showed her his two trophies from winning the annual Iron Chef competition in Canterlot in the solo division, and his trophy for his piano recital in hosted in Manedrid. She knew he was a great cook and all, breakfast was amazing, but she never expected him to be able to win a competition as difficult at that. "Wow..." She looked at the trophy for his piano recital and never knew he could play piano, her respect for him grew because of his talents. "That’s awesome Spike." "Thanks, Scoots." He always enjoyed when others complimented on his skills. The two had stayed in Spike's room and enjoyed friendly conversation and as Twilight predicted they soon became good friends. Scootaloo had always thought of Spike as a friend but now that she had a chance to get to know him she found out how similar they were to each other. Spike had always though Scootaloo was cool, but now that he had a chance to sit down and talk with her she was cooler than he thought she was. Spike couldn't get over how it felt to be talking to someone who was just like himself. They were exchanging funny stories about their pasts and enjoying a good laugh with a friend. "I mean who does that? I know Snips isn't the smartest but you would think that he was smart enough not to stick his tongue to a pole in the middle of winter!" Spike and Scootaloo laughed and then he continued. "It didn't help that Snails did it too, on the same poll too. He thought that Snips was just joking around and tried it himself. I had to run for help until I found Big Mac around and he had to run off to get some hot water while I kept Snips and Snails from pulling their tongues off of the polls and hurting themselves." Scootaloo couldn't help but giggle. "When Big Mac finally came back and poured the hot water on their tongues they got loose and ran from the pain of the hot water." Scootaloo took a moment to stop giggling. "Well, that reminds me of this time when me and the rest of the cutie mark crusaders were going for our honey gathering cutie marks. Apple Bloom was trying to get some honey really high up without a ladder and she face forward, right into the honey pot." Spike snickered; he never knew Apple Bloom did something so silly. "We had to get the bee keeper, some old guy named Eye Patch, to pull the pot off of her head. It took all three of us to get it off and her face was covered with honey." They both had enjoyed their stories of their times with their friends and as the stories ended they spent the rest of the day watching some of Spike's movies. The day ended and they both had become tightly knit friends. The past week had been the same, as soon as Scootaloo was done with school or playing with the other cutie mark crusaders she would race home on her scooter to her new home and enjoy another day with her good friend Spike. When she was with her friends or in school she couldn't shake the image of the dragon out of her mind and regardless of where she was, she would smile at the image. She couldn't describe the feeling; she never thought this stuff was for her. She just thought about Spike and how they were so alike and she blushed at the thought of them being together. She dreamt about them together, just lying in the wet grass in the starry night, admiring the endless diamond sky. One day Spike and Scootaloo were lazily walking through town, Snips and snails were grounded from a prank that went horribly wrong, and the other cutie mark crusaders were busy this weekend. Spike had his arms propped up on his head and had his eyes closed as he talked with her in the streets. They were both in deep conversation, both giving each other their full attention. Scootaloo had noticed, as they walked, the faces of the other fillies in town. They each had the look of envy as they watched the two stroll down the street, their paces in sync and they were both close together. They were jealous of her, Spike may not have been a colt, but he was the best young male in town. Most of the young males were rash, unkempt, untalented, and some of them on the borderline of stupidity, but Spike was the exact opposite. Scootaloo realized something and finally knew how to describe it. She realized that she was in love with Spike. They both went home later that day and in bed Spike couldn't sleep. He was wide-awake, with the image of two ponies in his mind and he closed his eyes to get a better look at them. On one side was Rarity, her image was dull and boring, on the other side was Scootaloo, her image was bright and she had a smile on her face. He put his claws over his heart and felt it beat and the image of Rarity diminished. Rarity was just a childhood crush in which he felt silly now that he remembered the times he had pointlessly pursued her. Scootaloo, however, he hadn't pursued at all and the thought of her name felt like bells chiming in his heart. The childhood crush felt like a hollow shell now that would break if he would even look back at it again, but with Scootaloo... it felt like something he could touch and hold tight. Scootaloo was someone who was really pleasant to be around, and she never wanted to do anything that normal fillies did. She always wanted to hang out with Spike, even if it wasn't in her normal interest. Spike saw her as a mare who he could connect with on an emotional level, and on top of that Spike thought she was very pretty. He thought about her pale pink hair flowing as they walked through the town, and her purple eyes gleaming in the sunlight through her bright smile. The image of Rarity crumbled to nothing and the image of Scootaloo took its dominance in his mind and he finally found rest. That night Spike dreamt of Scootaloo and himself running through the waves of a distant beach in the sunlight. They clashed with the waves together allowing themselves to be pushed back into the sandy beach to where they collapsed in the sand together. Laying side by-side and hoof in claw, lying in the sand that caressed their backs as they closed their eyes to enjoy the warmth of the sunlight. Spike had never remembered sleeping so well, and with the memory of the dream etched into his mind he felt completely at peace. The next day Scootaloo didn't have to go to school and they spent another day together. They were watching some of Spike's movies side-by-side and Spike looked beside him, she was enjoying the movie and her hoof was lazing out to her side. Spike had to resist the urge to grab her hoof and tried to focus his attention on the movie. Scootaloo tried to focus on the movie, but she kept glancing back at Spike. She hopefully moved her hoof away from her side during the movie, just hoping that Spike would notice and hope that he would take her hoof in his claws. The movie had ended and they began chatting together. Scootaloo had casually mentioned that her birthday was next week. Spike was hit with an idea; he thought that her birthday would be the perfect time to confess his feelings. Scootaloo thought that on her birthday that she would tell Spike how she felt, just hoping that he would feel the same way. They continued their day like normal, but both with a plan in mind for each other. That night, Spike found himself sleepless again as he thought about his plan. He jumped out of bed and left the library to prepare. He thought about her wanting to be able to fly and his mind was set. He began to work on his plan, calling in favors, and plotting with inspiration. The day of the party arrived, it wasn't one of Ponyville's normal Pinkie Pie parties, it was a party Twilight and Spike threw together themselves for Scootaloo. It was just Scootaloo, her friends, and her new caretaker. Rainbow Dash was also invited, but she had to be on the weather patrol today. Scootaloo would have been disappointed but the past two weeks she hadn't even given her a thought, her mind was on her new home, and Spike. They began to play party games and Snips and Snails began their normal behavior at parties, which was to make complete fools out of themselves. They wanted to see who could run up and down the stairs the fastest on their hind legs and everyone laughed at how silly they looked. Scootaloo looked over to Spike; he was the only one that hadn't wished her a happy birthday yet. She felt weird and a little angry because she had hoped that Spike would be paying more attention to her, but it was almost as if he was ignoring her. She tried to catch his eye but he was busy laughing at the nonsense of Snips and snails, who were now trying to go up the stairs balancing only on their front hooves. They continued to play more party games like the classic pin the tail on the pony, she didn't let Spike's seemingly oblivious state ruin her day and she started to become enveloped into the games with everyone else and the time flew by quickly. Later in the party everyone had given Scootaloo her presents. Snips and Snails pitched in all they could and bought Scootaloo board wax and a flame sticker for her scooter. She thanked them and wondered how she would use the board wax, she could put it on her scooter, but it wouldn't help much considering it ran on the wheels. She was given a forty bit gift card from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to which she gave her best friends a big hug and thanked them; she had never been given so much money before. Twilight gave her one of her favorite books; Scootaloo never liked reading but was overwhelmed at the gesture. She hugged Twilight. "You didn't have to give me anything, staying here is all I could ever want." Twilight gave her a warm smile. "I wanted to, you're a part of this family and everyone deserves a good gift." Spike hadn't given anything to Scootaloo, but he was now watching her and gave her a large smile. She sheepishly returned the smile but was still disappointed that he hadn't even tried to talk with her yet. She really just wished he would speak to her, but she put on her brave face and wouldn't let some hurt feelings ruin anything. Twilight brought out a cake and they all ate some together and enjoyed chatting with each other for awhile. It was starting to turn dark outside and the party had ended and everypony was leaving. They all wished her a happy birthday again as they left. Scootaloo was stretching and popping her joints after they left, the party was fun and she was tired. Spike had snuck up behind her. "Hi Scoots." She turned around to face him and with slit bitterness in her voice. "Hey, Spike." Spike grabbed her hoof and had an excited smile. "C'mon, I wanna show you something." "What?" She was confused, he had practically ignored her the whole time and now he wants to show her something. Spike lead Scootaloo up the stairs and onto the balcony that overlooked Ponyville. She didn't see anything at first. "What did you want to show me?" Spike walked over to a bundle of branches and pushed them aside revealing a green tarp. "This." She looked at the covered object and gave Spike an awkward smile that turned into a questioning expression. "Thanks, but why did you ignore me during the whole party?" "I wanted to wait till the party was over to give you your gift." He grabbed he edges of the tarp and with a quick flick of his wrists the secret was revealed in all its glory. Looking out on to the Library's balcony was an odd sight to say the least. "Pinkie's helicopter?! I mean wo --." "Hop in." Spike interrupted. Scootaloo looked at Spike awkwardly but got in the choppa. "Okay…" Spike joined her and as he sat down he pulled a few levers that released a set of controls in front of the baby dragon and without even pumping the pedals the aircraft take to the air. "Uh... Spike, what’s this about...SPIKE, WHOA!" The copter took off at full speed into the night sky. The pegasus grabbed her seat and shrieked as she felt the adrenaline coursing within her veins. Spike stared forward, but turned his head slightly. "How about a trip to my home town of Canterlot?" He put his claw on the yoke and punched the throttle causing it to cruise over the country side. Scootaloo was scared, but as she looked out at the fast moving trees below them she began to feel a thrill. She was flying, and it felt amazing, she continued to stare out below them at all of Equestria. All she could hear was the sounds of rushing wind and the soft sound of helicopter's blades. They quickly made it to Canterlot and Spike had positioned the carpet above the castle. "Take a look Scoots." He motioned below them. She saw all of Canterlot and all of its buildings and could make out a few specks of the ponies walking in the glow of the street lights. "Spike…this is incredible…" Spike had a satisfied smile, but he reached his hand outwards again and the craft began to fly through Canterlot, above the streets, over buildings and under bridges. Spike took both of her hooves in his hands and starred into her eyes. "Thanks for letting me share this with you, Scootaloo." She couldn't react; she was so surprised at what was happening. They continued to fly through Canterlot, now both sitting next to each other with their shoulders rubbing against each other, hand in hoof. Spike was pointing out buildings with his other hand. She had rested her head on his shoulder. There was nothing more she could ever want or need ever again. It was around midnight and Spike had reached the top of the castle again and they looked at the full moon above the castle for a moment. Scootaloo yawned and stretched slightly, it was late and they were both still young. Spike was also tired, but endlessly happy that his present to her went so well. He piloted the helicopter to head back to Ponyville and they went down into a steep dive and pulled up several feet before the ground and began their way back to their home. She felt her stomach rise at the descent and she gripped Spike's hand harder at the thrill. Princess Luna had awoken and walked out into her balcony to admire her full moon. A quick blur had zoomed past her balcony that made her jump and she quickly ran to the edge. "What the...was that a dragon and a pegasus on a flying candy cane?!" she shook her head and slowly walked back to her bedroom with a slight headache. 'We need to lay off the moon sugar.' The library tree was in view and Spike had his hand on the controls steering the light aircraft. "Um…" Spike said nervously and his claw began to shake slightly. "What?" She asked, slightly worried. "I uh... I don't know how to land this..." He motioned his hand downward and the copter went into another dive straight for the tree. "Stop! Stop!" Spike was trying to in some last ditch effort to reason with the descending craft but it kept diving at the tree. "AHH!" They both screamed in unison as they started to spiral at the tree. Spike was only able to slow down the helicopter before they impacted the tree. They both rolled, dazed, out of their seats, Spike missed his mark of the balcony and they landed in front of the library. They were both covered in tree sap and were trying to scrape some of it off of themselves. "Ugh..." Spike said as he tried to separate his claws with the sap in between them. Scootaloo started to giggle. "This is like the time when you told us zip lining was fun and we tried to do it but crashed into a tree." Spike nervously laughed with her, he was unsure how to end the night and began to think of how to. "Spike… " He snapped out of his frantic thinking. "I had a great time tonight… that was just... amazing!" She moved a little closer to Spike. "I was never someone for mushy stuff... but for you Spike, I want to make an exception... I love you Spike." She began to blush and look down at her hooves, waiting for his reply. Spike's heart jumped. "I feel the same way Scoots." He put his arms behind his back and began to grind his foot into the grass while staring down at his grinding foot. She looked back up, happier than she had ever been at his reply. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Spike hadn't seen it coming and as she kissed him, his face turned from purple to deep crimson and he began to snort smoke from his nostrils. She trotted into the library, giggling from what she just did and left the drake standing outside. Spike just watched her trot off, standing there dumbfounded in the cold night air with a goofy smile on his face. Author's Note **Changed that Aladdin scene that didn't got over all too well. Hope the fix works better.
Chapter 3Scootaloo woke up and was already in a good mood and had a smile on her face. She stretched out as she thought to herself. 'Maybe Spike will walk me to school today.' She hopped out of her bed and went to her mirror to brush her mane. She finished brushing her mane and increased her pace, eager to see Spike today, and found him and Twilight waiting at the breakfast table. Twilight was reading a book and Spike was setting out breakfast like he did every morning. Spike had sat down and began eating and Scootaloo took a seat beside him. "Morning Spike!" She said cheerfully. "Morfming Shcoots." He said through a mouthful of food. Twilight closed her book and got up from her chair. "Wow, I knew you two would be great friends." She levitated her book above her and started heading for the library. "I have to go order new quills, bye and have a good day at school Scootaloo." As soon as Twilight left, Scootaloo leaned over and gave Spike a quick kiss on the cheek that he was not ready for. Spike dropped his fork and a short puff of smoke shot out of his nostrils along with his face turning a deep red. She giggled at the drake. "Want to walk me to school today Spike?" "Ehablah..." He shook his head. "Yeah, I would love to." He said as he scratched the back of his head. The two quickly ate and left the library and they walked calmly through Ponyville. They walked side-by-side through the streets. They reached the front door to the school. "Bye Spike, can't wait till I see you later." "Enjoy School, Scoots, and yeah same here." Scootaloo entered the school and Spike began to walk back to the library. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon saw Scootaloo walk into the school and then saw Spike walk off. "Is she really dating a dragon?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Yeah, his name is Spike." Silver Spoon said as they began to walk to the school themselves. "You know him?" "Duh, he’s the only guy in town that's not dumb or boring." "Really?" She took a moment to think. “Then what’s he doing with that blank flank?" Diamond Tiara asked in disgust. Silver Spoon shrugged. She looked at the drake as he vanished from view. "I bet he would be a lot happier with me....let’s talk more about it at lunch." The two fillies entered the school and class began. Cherilee was teaching the class history on Equestria and most of the colts and fillies had their heads on their desks, either listening or had fallen asleep. Scootaloo was doing neither; she was looking off outside of the window thinking about Spike. She looked forward to spending her first day as his fillyfriend but she was also stumped about what she would actually do. 'What do fillies and colts in this case drakes, do together? Just hang out?' "Scootaloo?" She snapped her head up. "Yes Ms. Cherilee?" "What year was Celestia and Luna made the princesses of Equestria?" "Um....42?" The whole classed erupted in laughter. She could only awkwardly smile and saw Cherilee's disappointed face. "Class settle down, you should pay more attention, Scootaloo." She turned around and started poking at a map with her pointing stick, continuing the lesson. She decided to at least keep her eyes up front, but she couldn't help but daydream about her drake. School had felt like it only lasted a few minutes for Scootaloo, but Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were complaining as they exited the school. Apple Bloom's head was drooped low as she walked. "Ah never thought class would last so long...." Sweetie Belle was rubbing her eye as she exited the school and gave out a quick yawn. "Who knew desks could make a good pillow?" Scootaloo almost hit her head on the door as she exited after Sweetie Belle. Luckily Apple Bloom grabbed the door inches before it hit her. "Scoots, are ya alright?" "Huh?" She snapped out of her trance. "Oh yeah, I'm good." Sweetie Belle yawned as she sat down and her head began to nod off. She snapped her head up and her eyes flashed open. "You don't look too good." Scootaloo scrunched up her muzzle to resist a laugh and spoke after her chuckle was snuffed out. "You can't even stay awake." "I just need to get moving around, that’s all. Want to go to my sister’s house?" "Na, I already have plans, sorry." "What kinda plans ya got, Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked inquisitively. "You know... just some stuff." She said as she rubbed the back of her head. "Well alright, we'll see ya later." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle began to walk off into Ponyville and Scootaloo began to walk to the library, still thinking about her drakefriend. Scootaloo had quickened her pace and had quickly arrived at the library. She opened the front door and saw Twilight with a pile of books in the library, deep in study. She exited through the door to the right of the entrance that led to the normal portion of the tree that was the house. She decided to freshen up a little before she hangs out with Spike; she quickly went to her room to give her mane a quick brush. She finished and left her room and trotted up the stairs. She slowly opened up Spike's door. "Spike?" "Come on in." Scootaloo walked into his room and he was searching through some papers. "What are you looking for Spike?" He shuffled through a stack of papers. "Just looking for a copy of something that I had." "And that would be?" "It was a music sheet, it's one of my favorites and my copy is faded and I can't remember all of the notes. I've been looking for a spare sheet but I don't have one." He set down the papers into a box at his feet and closed it. "Mind going to the music store with me?" Scootaloo smiled, of course she wouldn't mind. "No problem." They both exited the library and began to walk through the streets of Ponyville. Scootaloo never knew that Ponyville had a music shop, but she didn't play an instrument so she didn't question Spike. They reached the music shop and even before opening the door they could hear music blasting from inside. They opened the door and flinched at the volume, an electric blue maned unicorn was banging her head to the music as she turned the knobs in front of her, she was in complete focus. The unicorn picked up a mic and yelled. "Bangarang!" Spike tried to catch her attention with his hand. He tried to yell over the music. "Hello?!" The unicorn ignored him, she had headphones over her ears and her eyes were staring down at the knobs and sliders on the turn table. "Vinyl!" The unicorn looked up and to her right she saw an earth pony glaring at her. "Yes Tavi?" "Turn that noisy wreck off! We have customers!" Vinyl didn't turn down the music. "This isn't a noisy wreck! It's art!" "Those mindless beeps and wubs are not art!" "At least let me finish this song!" She continued to reply over the high volume. Octavia began to sway, the music was too loud but she mouthed the words while putting a hoof on her forehead. "It's making my head hurt...." Vinyl began to turn the music down to half volume, which was still rather loud. You could hear Octavia talk now. "I have a huge headache... I think I'm going to-" Octavia collapsed on the ground. "Tavi?!" Vinyl smacked her hoof on the turn table and it shut off and she ran to Octavia. "Tavi!" She began to lightly shake her shoulder. Octavia didn't respond. Vinyl put her head down lower over Octavia's. "Tavi..?" Octavia woke up from her acting and reached up to kiss Vinyl. Vinyl was too surprised at first, but then closed her eyes and felt gravity force her to the ground next to Octavia and they continued their kiss. Each second becoming more frantic and Vinyl began to run her hooves through Octavia's mane. Spike and Scootaloo looked away in slight awkward confusion. Octavia opened her eyes and saw the drake and the filly still in the store and she broke the kiss. "Ahem. Vinyl we still have customers." "Oh...right." She gave a slight embarrassed chuckle and got up from the ground. Vinyl helped Octavia get up and they were both blushing, not making eye contact with the two others in the shop. Octavia retreated to the back of the store and Vinyl returned to the front counter. "Eh... sorry about that. Need anything?" Spike lightly coughed into his claws from the earlier awkwardness. "Yeah, I need a sheet of piano music, Great Balls of Fire by Pony Lee Lewis." "Eh? Well, you might want to ask Tavi for that, she’s the classical nut." "Alright." Spike turned to walk towards the back of the store where Octavia was organizing instruments, leaving Scootaloo to talk with Vinyl. "Hello?" Octavia jumped. "Oh hello, I hope you can forgive mine and my partners...manners... anyway, can I help you?" "I'm looking for a sheet of music for, Great Balls of Fire by Pony Lee Lewis." "You play piano?" "Yes and it’s one of my favorite pieces." "I also like that piece: very upbeat and catchy. One moment, please." Octavia went into a back room and came back with the sheet of music. "Free of charge." "Are you sure?" Spike said, unsure, as he took the paper. She blushed. "Yes, it's the least I can do; I shouldn't scare customers like that." "Thanks." Spike said with a smile. Scootaloo put her hooves up on the counter. "That was an awesome song you played, did you make that?" Vinyl was putting the records back into their cases. "No, but I do make a few myself." "Oh, well it was still cool..." Scootaloo began to draw an invisible circle with her hoof. "So, uh... yeah." Vinyl raised her eye brow. "What?" "I was uh... just wondering. How did that happen?" "What?" "That thing that just happened a few minutes ago." "Huh? Oh! That... yeah... stuff like that just happens." vinyl shuffled her hooves a little bit. "How?" Scootaloo said with a slight squeak of embarrassment at the question. "How? Well... Why do you wanna know?" "Just curious..." Vinyl looked at the filly, and then turned her head to where the young dragon had gone to the back of the store. She smiled as she realized why she wanted to know. "Well, you see if you just be yourself, it can lead to some really cool and fun things." She said as she closed her eyes, thinking of her marefriend. "Fun?" "You know whe-.... never mind that, just be yourself, okay kid?" Scootaloo thought to herself 'Just be yourself...' Spike had appeared beside her. "All set to go home?" She lightly nodded and they both exited the store. Spike looked back at the store as they began to walk away; a hoof had appeared in the window and flipped the sign from open to closed. 'Weird... usually that store doesn't close till lat-… oh.' He thought. They both walked back to the library and the sun was already roosting itself on the horizon. They entered the library and saw Twilight nowhere in sight. "So uh... Scoots, I was wondering if you wanted to hear some music?" "On your piano?" "Yeah, I wanted to play this piece for you earlier." Twilight was downstairs in the laboratory. "Okay... concentrate...” She began to channel the energy in her horn. She began to struggle as the energy began to waver. 'Oh no...' She tried to extinguish the energy but it had bulked itself up and she had two choices, release the magic and risk something bad happening, or try to continue to extinguish the spell again and risk it blowing up. She didn't like the sound of the second option and aimed her horn down at the ground and unleash the small torrent of energy. The energy seeped into the ground and Twilight waited for a response. "Hmm... Maybe nothing happened?" The energy crawled up from the ground and traveled through the walls of the library. Scootaloo had never heard Spike play piano before, and the image of him playing as she sat next to him made her smile. "That sounds awesome Spike; I’d love to hear you play." Spike lead her into the living room and he went up to an object against the wall that was covered with a light black cloth. He pulled it off and revealed his piano, a sleek black Yamahay standard. He took a seat and gestured for Scootaloo to join him. She eagerly took her seat, waiting for Spike to play. He lifted up the piano case and the faint smell of maple stung at their noses, the ivory keys shone as the light from the room hit them. He placed the sheet of music in front of himself and took a deep breath as he flexed his claws out, taking their positions over the keys. He began to play with a smile on his face as the song immediately began fast and his claws danced on the correct notes, not missing one. The upbeat rhythm of early rock n roll began to emanate from the instrument. The notes were taking a funny cartoonish sound to them as the tempo increased, making Scoots smile too. Spike played and they were both enjoying the music, finding themselves grinning at the sound of the song. All throughout Ponyville the Piano's music began to echo and rebound off of the buildings, invading everyone’s hearing. Two mares were sitting on the bench in the park, watching the sun set. "Hey, I know this song, hey Bonnie listen." "Wow, this sounds great, Lyra." Lyra stood up and extended her hoof. "Want to dance?" "Dance?" Lyra pulled Bon Bon up and they began to dance with each other, in the frantic pace of the music. Lyra began to lightly sing along with the music as she danced with Bon bon. "You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain..." Other couples around Ponyville had also begun to dance to the music. At Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie was beginning to pack away extras from today’s unsold bakery goods. She walked to the counter to see her new husband happily doing his own work. Music started to drift through the air and their ears perked up to listen. "Carrot, does this song sound familiar?" He took a moment to listen. "I'm not much of a music listener but I think its Balls of Fire by Pony lee Lewis." "It sounds nice." She smiled at her husband and gave him a quick kiss over the counter. "This music makes closing up Sugar Cube Corner fun." Carrot held out his hoof. "How about a quick dance?" Pinkie smiled and took his hoof and they began to dance happily to the music. (if you read My Pink Savior by WinterTwister, this is somewhat related to that.) Vinyl and Octavia were in a forceful embrace, both pushing against each other as their lips were locked into a passion filled kiss. The piano music began to fill their ears and they stopped. "Hey, this is that music that young drake came to get earlier." Octavia said as she raised her ears in the air to hear the music better. "Really? It's not bad." Vinyl gave Octavia a devious smile. "Kinda gets you in that fast paced mood, doesn't it?" Octavia returned with a smirk and they continued their actions. Spike finished the song effortlessly, he loved that song and it made him feel happy and always made him want to dance. He turned to Scootaloo. "Did you like it?" Scootaloo had a bright smile. "That was awesome, Spike!" A knock came from the door and Spike and Scootaloo got up to go answer it. "Pinkie?" "Howdy, Spikey and Scoots! I came to invite you over to a party to welcome the new stallion in town named Joe Bean." She said as she handed them invitations. "Joe Bean.. Pony Joe Bean?" "Ooh! Do you know him?" "Yeah, back in Canterlot Pony Joe and Twilight were good friends." "So that means the party should be a lot more fun then! Bye, see you two tomorrow!" Pinkie hopped off to go deliver more invitations. Spike closed the door. "Sounds like fun." "Yeah." A few moments passed and neither of them said, or did anything and the awkward feeling began to creep up on them. "So uh...What do you want to do now Scoots?" Spike said through an awkward smile. "Whatever you want to do, I'm up for anything." "We can go watch some movies?" "That sounds nice." The two went upstairs and entered Spike's room. They began to watch movies like they did normally. The whole time Scootaloo was nervous about what to do that could be different and she almost began to panic when she couldn't think of anything. 'Just be yourself.' Vinyl's advice rang in her ears and she began to relax, she looked at Spike who also had a nervous look on his face but was focused on the movie. His eyes darted around several parts of the screen, he was more nervous that she was. She let reflex take over and she leaned over and kissed Spike on the cheek. Spike was almost to the point of shaking, but then he felt her lips touch his cheek and his mind went blank and his mouth gaped open and soot started to flow out in small clouds from his nostrils. Using his other claw he scratched the back of his head. "Eh...uh.. " He cleared his throat. "I don't know how you keep doing that." He said with a nervous smile, thinking about his reactions to Scootaloo's kisses. "What? This?" She leaned in again to kiss his cheek a second time. Another quick cloud of soot puffed out of his nose and his face had become beet red and he was lost for words. They had both relaxed and continued to watch the movie together, Scootaloo had her head on Spike's shoulder and Spike had his head lightly on top of hers. Hand in hoof, they both enjoyed the rest of the movie together and when it was over Spike got up to stretch. He yawned. "Man, its late." Scootaloo stood up on his bed and stretched. "Yeah, I think it’s time to go to bed." She hopped off of his bed. "Night, Spike." "Night Scoots." Scootaloo left his room and trotted down the stairs to see Twilight expecting the house. "Twilight?" "You're still up? It's pretty late." Scootaloo yawned. "I was on my way to bed, what are you doing?" "Oh me? I'm just checking some things... did you see anything weird happen?" "No, why?" "Oh... no reason, just wondering." Twilight was observing the ceiling as Scootaloo left to go to her room. She hopped in her bed and quickly fell asleep; she had everything she could ever want: a great home and an even greater drake.
The End and EpilogueSpike woke up and stretched out on his bed, causing all of his joints to pop, and turned off his alarm clock before it could go off. He was accustomed to waking up early each day to get his morning routine done with quickly. Instead of hopping straight out of bed he began staring at the ceiling and thought to himself. He started to think about the past three weeks since Scootaloo moved into the library with Twilight and himself and even as she first moved in Spike could feel a connection with her, not one of love but understanding. The bond of understanding moved them together as friends and as friends Spike realized how similar they were. The bond of friendship slowly turned into a more affectionate bond in which Spike found real love in which he had never experienced. Spike was hesitant to trust the new type of love, but the longer he was in the presence of Scootaloo the harder the line tugged at his heart and mind to the point of doubt to thinking of the worst. He had thought Scootaloo would reject him and want to stay friends, he hid it but it had depressed him. He had eventually gotten rid of his doubt and decided to take a leap of faith. When he heard Scootaloo's birthday was near he thought of it as the perfect opportunity to confess his feelings toward her, but he couldn't do it plainly, he thought of something she really wanted and acted on that joint of inspiration. He had given her something she, and any other young pegasus, would have wanted - flight. His plan had a staggering effect, not only did it bring his affections to the surface, along with Scootaloo’s; it formed a sturdy bridge of trust and love between them. He was happy, and he didn't want anything to ruin his relationship with Scootaloo. Feeling completely refreshed from sleep he sat up on the edge of his bed and gave out a final yawn and stretch. He slid off of his bed and tip-toed down the stairs to not risk awakening anyone and began his normal morning routine in library maintenance. He entered the library and picked up his duster and gave the bookshelves a quick sweep to rid them of any dust mites along with picking up any stray books Twilight forgot to put back. He checked around the library to see if anything else needed tending to and once he finished in the library he went back into the house portion to start breakfast for Twilight and Scootaloo. Spike was setting out the freshly made breakfast out on the dining table and Scootaloo walked in. Scootaloo smiled, but sleep was still invaded in her eyes. "Good morning Spike." Spike finished setting out the breakfast and smiled back at his fillyfriend. "Morning Scoots." Scootaloo sat down and looked around her. "Where’s Twilight?" Spike looked at the stairs, expecting to see Twilight, but she wasn't there so he decided to call out to her. "Twilight! Breakfast is re-" THUMP The table lurched upward making all of the silverware rattle. "Ow...." Scootaloo looked under the table and saw Twilight rubbing the top of her horn. Scootaloo was surprised. "Twilight?" Twilight crawled out from under the table, still in slight pain. "Ow... Good morning." Spike was confused. "Did you sleep under the table?" She gave a sheepish grin of embarrassment. "I was inspecting all of the items in the house looking for...oddities, but I guess I fell asleep while checking under the table." "Oddities?" Spike said as he sat down next to Scootaloo. "Oh, nothing to worry about." They ate their breakfast and Twilight had excused herself. "I'm going to go buy a gift for Joe Bean, I'll see you two at the party, bye!" Twilight trotted off to exit the library. Scootaloo and Spike began to put away the dishes. "So what do you want to do today, Scoots?" Scootaloo thought for a moment. "Want to go see if our friends are in town?" "Sounds good." The two left the library and before they could walk off, Scootaloo looked at her Scooter. "I can get us there faster Spike." "On your scooter?" "Yeah!" She said excitedly. Spike had never rode on her scooter before, and when he saw Scootaloo take Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on rides it always looked fun so he agreed. The two rode off into Ponyville on the scooter. Scootaloo heard Vinyl's words ring in her mind again. 'Be yourself? Heh… got it.' She began to increase speed, making Spike wrap his arms around her waist. She saw Big Mac's apple cart ahead with a ramp hanging from the back and smiled, increasing her speed even more. "Uhh... Scoots?" Spike said nervously. The scooter flew up the ramp and lifted into the air. Spike felt his stomach rise from the ascension and kept his eyes open, to his right he saw Pinkie waving at him from her room. Scootaloo landed the Scooter up on a nearby roof, sliding down the shingles at an angle and then onto an awning and bouncing safely to the ground. Spike was shaking from the sudden flight, but found himself enjoying the ride. Scootaloo saw their friends ahead in front of the carousel boutique and slid to a stop a few feet in front of them. When the Scooter stopped Spike shakily got off the Scooter. Scootaloo started to feel bad; she hoped she didn't scare him. "Spike?" Spike stopped shaking and smiled. "Scoots that was awesome!" She felt relief wash over herself and she turned to her friends with Spike next to her side. "Hi guys." "Hi, we were wonderin' when you two lovebirds were going to come by and hang with us." Apple Bloom said with a teasing smirk. Both Scootaloo and Spike were shocked. "Huh?" "Yeah, it gets kind of boring without you two here." Sweetie Belle said while smiling at the couple. "How did you guys know?" Scootaloo said with amazement. "Well it wa' kinda obvious, seein you two near each other kinda said it all." Spike turned to his friends. "Did you guys know?" "Yeah, we saw how nervous you got around Scoots." Snips told his friend happily with Snails beside him, chewing on some hay. Both Scootaloo and Spike gave out a stifled chuckle of embarrassment, their friends knew before they did. Applebloom thought for a moment and had an idea. "Hey do y'all wanna go to the lake? Ah think that sounds fun. "The lake? That sounds awesome! What do you think Spike?" The thought of cold water didn't appeal to Spike, but Scootaloo wanted to go so he was fine with it. "Yeah that sounds great." "I better go tell Rarity where I'm going... maybe she'll let me barrow one of her beach blankets?" Sweetie Belle trotted off into the boutique, leaving the others outside to plan the trip. "I can go home and make us some quick snacks too." Spike offered. "Yeah, tha' sounds good, Ah'll go get us a beach ball an some music." "What do we get?" Snip asked quizzically. "Just meet us there, alright?" Spike was good friends with Snips and Snails, but he didn't want them to mess something up. Half an hour later the six of them were at White Tail Woods Lake. It wasn't so much a lake as it was beautiful fresh water spring. The water was cool and a deep turquoise color and the center of the spring was a sixty foot deep depression. The clarity of it couldn't be described by the best poets and scribes because for how deep it was the water was so clear you could see straight to the bottom. In the depths of the spring were small schools of fish and underwater foliage. Around the outside of the clearing was surrounded by giant oak trees and towards the water were several willows and cyprus trees. Around edge of the water there were cattail plants that just barely kissed the water’s surface. Near the south end of lake was a large rock smoothed out over time my nature and it sat partially in the path of Celestia's sun which warmed to the perfect temperature for any reptile to bask in or this case Purple dragon. The sound of dragonflies and cicadas could be heard humming as it got closer to noon. The earth smell mixed with the mineral smell of the springs and of the tip of the aroma was hint of apple blossoms as a light breeze. This was an idealistic place for our group of friends to hang out. Sweetie Belle dragged the blanket on to the ground until it was even and flat. Spike placed a basket filled with sandwiches and a few containers of apple juice in the center of the blanket. Apple Bloom showed up with the beach ball and a boom box she borrowed from Pinkie and placed it down and pressed play. Snips and Snails were the last to arrive; both had managed to show up with dirty manes from tripping over the tree roots. (Note all songs linked only serve to set the mood) The spot was set and they were all ready to swim. "Wow, you see how deep that is Snails?" Snips said as he peered at the middle from the edge. Snails looked at the middle where he was telling him and gulped. "I think I'll stay in the shallows, ey?" "Ahh, you guys are wimps!" Scootaloo exclaimed boldly and she sprinted towards the water and jumped into the air, shifting her wings upwards to glide higher and do a somersault in the air and nose diving into the middle of the spring. The image of the young pegasus began to shimmer, only showing her outline as she sank deeper into the translucent water. The five watched and waited for her to come back up, and after a minute her head bobbed to the surface with her wet mane intruding her face. She spat out the water in her mouth and waved with a smile towards her friends. "Coming in?" The others jumped in afterwards with Snips and Snails forgetting their fear of the depth after seeing Scootaloo's display of fearlessness. The friends began to swim around and play games like tossing the beach ball around, listening to music while they swam, and other fun pool games. After awhile of swimming they returned to shore and back to their spot to dry off. Snips and Snails began to tell a story where they have been trying to send apology letters to Trixie for ruining her life. "We were really sorry about what we did, and we hoped some letters might patch some stuff up..." Snips recalled. "Yeah but she wasn't very forgiving, ey?" Snails began to remember the reply on the paper. 'You did not ruin Trixie's life! Trixie has never been better and wishes for you two idiotic colts to stop sending her mail! You *Buy Some Apple*-ing stupid little colts will probably never succeed in life and will end up dying in a wasteland begging for your mothers to save you, but they won’t be there- I will be, and I will be laughing at you every second and edging a canteen of water inches from your grasp each time you make a grab for it so you will die of dehydration. ~ Love, Trixie.' "Y-yeah… but she didn't mean it!" Snips defended. The rest of them rolled their eyes at his futile attempt to stand up for Trixie. They began to enjoy lunch but Scootaloo couldn't help but see Spike shaking. "Spike you okay?" Spike began to rub his elbows. "Y-y-yeah... c-cold water doesn't work well with me; I just need to heat up." Spike stood up and quickly made his way to the smoothed rock in the sunlight and lay down. He quaked from the pleasure of the sunlight and the heat of the rock warming his scales and his cold blood. Scootaloo decided to join him on the rock, on the shaded portion so she wouldn't get too hot from the sun's rays. They all stayed there for another hour, enjoying spending time with their friends but Pinkie's party was nearing and they had to get up and leave. Scootaloo had her scooter and Spike jumped on. "We'll see you guys at the party okay?" Scootaloo said before she sped off with Spike having to hold onto her waist again to keep on the Scooter. Scootaloo and Spike sped through Ponyville and saw that other ponies were also on their way to Pony Joe's house. His house was only a few blocks from Sugar Cube Corner and the party was already starting. She stopped and parked her Scooter at the side of the house; Pony Joe's house was also his new eatery and was almost as big as Sugar Cube Corner. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were walking around the party. "Ugh, the party is like so lame; it’s nowhere near as good as my cutecinera was." Diamond Tiara said, looking around the cafe. "Want to just leave?" Silver Spoon asked hopefully. "No, we're here for a reason remember?" "Right.....Hey look over there." Silver Spoon pointed at the entrance and a drake and a young filly entered the cafe. "Right on time, you ready?" "This place looks great, reminds me of his old diner in Canterlot..." Spike looked around the restaurant, admiring the decorations, but then looked at the counter and saw his old friend Pony Joe setting up some things. Spike and Scootaloo walked over and Spike jumped up on one of the seats. "Hey!" "Spike! How are ya?" Pony Joe said happily, putting away the last of some supplies under the counter. "Great, like it in Ponyville?" "Yeah, nice and quiet town, beats Canterlot any day, don’t get me wrong I still have my first restaurant but I just needed to expand and leave the hustle and bustle of the big city...Say, where’s Twilight? I haven't seen her in awhile." Spike shrugged. "I haven't seen her since this morning." "Alright, hopefully I can talk with her later; I need to finish putting stuff away before more people come in." Pony Joe trotted into a room in the back. Spike hopped back off of the chair. "So what do you wanna do Scoots?" Scootaloo was looking off into the distance with an annoyed look. "Scoots?" "Hi Spike!" Diamond Tiara said cheerfully. "Hey...you?" Said replied in confusion. "What? You don't remember my name Spike?" "I think I've seen you around town, but never really talked with you." "Ugh... c'mon Spike, lets-" Scootaloo tried to say, but was cut off by another filly. "Oh, my gosh Scootaloo! You have to see this!" Silver Spoon grabbed her hoof and pulled her away. "What? Let go of me I-" The two left the main cafe and disappeared into the next room. Spike started to walk off to go see where Silver Spoon was taking Scootaloo, but was cut off by Diamond Tiara. "So what’s up Spike?" "Oh uh... nothin, just going to go meet back up with Scoots." "Oh... you don't want to stay here with me?" "Sorry, but I want to go be with Scoots..." Diamond Tiara pushed Spike back against the counter and put her hooves on his shoulders. "Uh..?" "Why are you with that blank flank?" "Scoots? Well she’s really cool and-" "I bet I can do better than that blank flank, I'm a lot prettier and I have money." She said as she tried to lean in on Spike. Spike leaned his head backwards, trying to stay away from her. "No way." "Whats wrong?" "There’s no way I would leave Scoots.." Scootaloo had entered the cafe and saw Diamond Tiara pinning Spike against the counter and rushed over, angry, but stopped a few feet away when she heard Spike talking. "Scoots is really cool and I connect with her on so many levels, we share a connection I've never had with anyone else before and we understand each other... Why should I even care that she’s a blank flank? Dragons don't even get cutie marks." "What? No way, I'll show you I'm way better than that blank flank." Diamond Tiara tried to lean in on Spike again but was stopped by a hoof. "Get away from my drakefriend you stuck up elitist git!" Scootaloo said as she pulled her off of Spike. "Elitist git?! Whatever, you're both just two losers in love." Diamond Tiara stomped off with her nose in the air. "Well... that was awkward...” Spike said as he scratched his head. Scootaloo hugged Spike. "That was so nice what you said!" Spike smiled through the tight squeeze. "It was the truth." Scootaloo kissed Spike on the cheek, sending soot through his nostrils past Scootaloo. Spike was embarrassed by his repetitive reaction. "Did you get Zecora's help on that or something?" The two enjoyed the rest of the party as it began. There were a lot of fun games that Pinkie had set up and a lot of ponies from Ponyville were there to participate in the welcoming of Pony Joe. Twilight had arrived late but she was happy to see Pony Joe again after a long time and they spent a lot of time catching up. The party ended early because of a mishap with the disco ball Pinkie had quickly installed crashed to the ground and scared off most of the party because somepony had yelled 'Fire!' after it broke. Spike and Scootaloo had stayed to help clean the mess with Pinkie and left soon afterwards saying bye to Pony Joe. The two walked back to the library, happy that they have each other. ~*~* Epilogue ~*~* "And that’s how your mother and I met and fell in love." Spike said as he yawned and adjusted his glasses. "Wow... so mom used to have a scooter and do tricks on it?" Fang asked excitedly leaning up in his bed. "Yep, and she was amazing on it, competed in the Radical Games: extreme sports tournament too." Spike stood up and stretched out, almost touching the ceiling with his claws. "It's time for bed, night son." Fang yawned. "Night dad." He turned over and closed his eyes. Spike walked out of the room and met his wife in the hallway. "He’s beautiful isn't he?" Scootaloo said lovingly. "Yeah, I'm proud of our son... Thank you Scoots." "For what?" "Most dragons go off and start hordes with another dragon they don't even love back... but I have you that I love and Fang is my horde and for that I'm grateful every day." Scootaloo smiled at her husband, it’s been twelve years since they have been married, and eighteen years of being together, and she wouldn't have it any other way. She leaned up and reached Spike's cheek and gave it a quick peck. Spike had his arms crossed with his eyes closed, enjoying the moment, but when he felt Scootaloo's lips on his cheek his eyes darted open and a large cloud of soot and made both of them gag. "Ack!" Scoots was coughing and her eyes teared up a little through a smile. "I still got it." Special thanks to my buddy, Wintertwister for helping me type this fic up and I couldn't have done this story without his help, mostly because of how slow I type.
Semi sequelHi, I'm just writing to tell you guys that there is a semi-sequel/interquel to this fic up right now. It's called: Something More? and it's the story of Pony Joe moving to Ponyville and reconnecting with Twilight.
Direct Sequel Direct Sequel Hi, to everyone that enjoyed this fic. I have good news. There is a direct sequel called: The After Years. It takes both five and ten years after the events of this story and chronicles what happened to Spike, Scootaloo, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Snips and Snails, from Prom to Adulthood. *Note: if the editing is meh. I kinda lost my editor. Sorry.
