Cold sighs upon colder nights.
A cold, subtle breeze blew across the small purple scales of a familiar baby dragon as he sat outside the Carousel Boutique. A soft, mournful sigh drew out of his mouth and clashed with the whispery noise of the cold breezes that passed through his spines.
After a few lousy moments swept by he finally decided to get up and try knocking. But, what good would that do? He just needed to come straight and accept the fact that it could never work. A pony and a dragon? It’s a tale nopony, dragon, griffon, manticore, or anything in the wide land of Equestria had heard of! Another mournful sigh passed and he decided to knock, so he did and then…he waited.
Five minutes and two shivers had passed and there was still no answer. He knew it was late but it wasn't that late. Most ponies were up at this hours, well, Twilight was. A little angry, he knocked harder but, immediately wished he hadn't because even if she wasn't sleeping he did not wish to annoy her. A melancholy sigh and a half, the door slowly creaked open and the little purple scaled dragons heart. Jumped.
A million good thoughts and wondrous memories filled his mind as he could already picture that angelic alabaster coat that connected to a smile that could warm hearts in mere seconds. But, then he took a second to realize that the angelic coat was far to small to be hers? Finally, reality struck him and he was standing face to face with a rather tired filly.
“Spike?” She yawned. He blushed nervously and toed the ground while the filly rubbed her tired eye with a foreleg.
“Uh…Hi, Sweetie Belle. Is…um, Is your sister home?” He felt like quickly saying goodnight and goodbye then making a run back home but, he had to do this.
He blushed harder when he noticed that the recent tired Sweetie Belle was now fully alert and giggling like a mad mare.
“Why do you want to see her?” She asked through a bright smile.
“I…need to ask her- no, I need to tell her something.” He could feel his confidence growing with every word but weakening when he looked at that smile.
“Well, she’s not here…But, you could tell me and I could tell her when she gets back tomorrow morning!” Her smile brightened while Spike thought to himself No, how could I tell Sweetie Belle if I can’t even tell Rarity? Sweetie Belle looked at him questionably and he simply told her to give him a minute. What if I come back in the morning and I can’t do it? Then, I have to live through this for even longer then I have been. He put his head in his claws and screamed and Sweetie took a step back, unsure of what to do.
“Okay” Spike had said through his claws. Rising his head dramatically slow he looked Sweetie Belle directly in her dazzling lime-green eyes and said. “I can trust you, right?” Sweetie Belle nodded slowly in a confused agreement. “Good. Now you have to promise not to tell anypony.”
“Cross my heart and hoped to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye” and just as the little filly had finished placing a hoof over her eye, Spike had sighed yet again.
“In the morning, when Rarity arrives, I want you to tell her that I stopped by last night and told you these exact words.” He waited for her nodded agreement and surely as Celestia rises the sun every morning, it came.
“Rarity, I think about you twenty-four seven and it drives me mad. I long to be with you but I know that it can’t be and probably will never be. A dragon and a pony would be against the laws of nature but, if I could, I would change myself just to be with you. I would become a pony and hold you in my hooves all night and into the morning, and even then, I would not wish to let you go. You are my angel and I am your lost soul, you are my sun and I am your sky, You are my pony and I shall forever be your dragon. Even after our bodies have grown old and cold, my love will still pulse for you. I love you Rarity.” He sighed as he finished and looked up again to see a teary-eyed filly, shaking uncontrollably. In the moment she hugged him and hugged him tightly and he hugged back just as tight and almost in unison they cried.
After about a half hour of warm embrace and warmer tears. Sweetie Belle let go, gave a weak smile, and withdrew in her home whispering a soft goodnight. Spike whispered in return and sniffled before making his leave and dragging himself back to the Golden Oaks library, where he knew he would lay for hours unable to sleep. Though, upon arriving to his house slash library he was stopped by none other then Twilight asking him where he had gone.
Spike had no intention to lie to his half sister half mother so he simply told her the truth and she believed him, like usual, then sent him on his way. After making his way up the stairwell he stumbled into his warm bed where he lay until shortly after, Twilight had come up with a stack of books. He could hear the creaks coming off her bed as she scrambled onto it, and the soft whisking noise as she flipped through each page almost quietly.
He sighed softly and within minutes he heard the familiar creaks as Twilight leaned over to glance at him.
“Spike? You okay?” She whispered down to him in a motherly tone. He sighed again in response and now she leaned even closer, so close even that Spike could feel her soft breathing on his spines.
“Spike?” She gently nudged him and a soft groan escaped him.
“Is this about Rarity?” He turned and looked up into her sweet, loving eyes and almost wept but, he knew he would just look like a baby and ladies don’t fall for babies. Slowly he felt his body being levitated and when he opened his eyes he was curled up in the soft blankets of Twilight's bed with a warm and comforting hoof wrapped around him.
“Everything will be fine, Spike. Everything will be just fine.” Twilight kept repeating these words until she heard the soft snores of the tiny ball of scales. Now, she sighed and hoped everything would be fine. Just fine.
Clouded thoughts and busy minds.
The next morning came and went, but the little purple dragon had never left Twilight's bed. He just couldn't muster the strength and it was putting Twilight in quite a worried stage. “Spike!?” Twilight yelled from the main chambers of the library and after a couple of minutes she could hear the tired grunt of a response from the baby dragon.
“Spike, come on. It’s time to get out of bed. It’s already past three in the afternoon!” Twilight continued to yell even when she had reached the bedroom door. Though spike could hear her perfectly and was secretly shocked to hear how long he had been in bed, he still continued to lie there. It felt to him that something had broken inside of him but in all truth he knew that nothing had really happened yet…had it?
Spike began to recollect his thoughts from last night as he crawled off of Twilight's bed and into the bathroom. As he turned on the bathroom faucet, something clicked in his mind. Last night, he had told everything to Sweetie Belle! What if…what if she told the Cutie Mark Crusaders?! No, she wouldn't do that? Would she? He tried to calm his thoughts as he sunk into the warm water and shivered slightly as the water rushed all around his scales.
Twilight sighed happily, she was rather pleased that her little assistant was up and on his hoof-er…claws. Now that, that was finished. It was time to get to work. Twilight tapped on the bathroom door and called in, “Spike, I’m going shopping in a bit…would you like to come?” Spikes nictitating membranes covered his eyes as he lay underwater and stared at the ceiling. It entertained him to watch the little waves pass over and morph the ceiling.
Twilight called again and again she was greeted with no answer. Her worry started to creep back, “Spike!?...Spike, are you in there?!” She opened the door just as his head surfaced. Spike whipped his head back and looked at her as she sighed in relief.
“Twilight! I’m in the bathroom!” He yelled and slid down deeper in the water, a bright and rosary blush covered his entire head while she apologized and closed the door,
“S-sorry, Spike.” Twilight said, “I was just wondering if you wanted to go shopping when you finished your bath.”
“Oh…Um…okay.”
Several minutes later…
Twilight and Spike had been walking about the Ponyville marketplace for well over an hour now and they still had very little shopping done. “Oh.” Twilight perked up, “Look Spike, It’s Rarity and Sweetie Belle.” Twilight motioned with her hoof and Spike noticed his alabaster angel with her little sister. “Rarity!” Twilight yelled and waved while Spike began to panic, I can’t face her! Especially not after what I told Sweetie Belle…I-I have to hide, and fast!
“Twilight darling, what are you doing out here?” Rarity questioned as she drew closer.
“Just doing a little shopping…with…Spike?” Twilight looked around for her missing assistant but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh! That reminds me, I need to tell Spike something so when you do find him, please send him over to the Boutique.”
“Will do.” Twilight said as she checked her bags, “Oh, and Rar…ity?” It seems that not only had Spike disappeared but so had Rarity and Sweetie Belle. “Well then.” Twilight sighed, shrugged, and made her way back home.
Spike hid in a nearby bush and watched as his love and his mother spoke about…something? Little did the baby dragon know that a certain filly had watched him duck and cover into his hidey hole, “Hi!” The high-pitched, mysterious stranger said.
“Oh Celestia!!” Spike literally jumped about three feet out of the bush he was in, “S-Sweetie Belle! You scared me!” Spike stared daggers at the giggling filly,
“S-sorry…” Sweetie belle said as she rubbed her foreleg, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah…” He sat up and rubbed his head, “Oh! You…you didn’t tell-“
“Nope.” Sweetie giggled and helped him to his feet, “Sorry…I know you told me to tell her as soon as she got home-“
“No, no! It’s okay…I…kind of don’t want you to tell her…” Spike trailed off as he spotted Twilight walking out of the marketplace, “I wonder where she’s going.” He thought aloud.
“Where who is going?” Sweetie’s squeaky voice cut into his thoughts like a knife.
“Huh?” Spike turned his attention back to those dazzling emeralds that shined pure confusion.
“You said, ‘I wonder where she’s going’…who’s she?” Sweetie’s head tilted a bit as the question came out,
“Oh, don’t worry about it…Um…I’m going to go, I’ll catch up with you later.” And without awaiting a response, he was gone, leaving poor Sweetie all by herself.
Let’s…skip ahead.
“Rainbow! Rainbow Dash, you get back here right now and gimme back mah’ hat!” Applejack shouted out into the clouds but there was no response or even a simple sign of the cyan Pegasus, “Consarn it.” Applejack huffed and slammed a hoof in the dirt, “Oh? Hiya there, Sweetie Belle. Applebloom is inside with Big Mac.” After a quick motion to the barn, her eyes shot back up to the sky and begun to search every cumulus.
“Actually…that’s not why I’m here…” Sweetie said as she pawed at the dirt.
“Oh…then why are ya here?” Applejack turned her gaze to the little filly who seemed to be looking every which way but her.
“Well…have you ever had a secret that you wanted to tell somepony but you didn’t want the creator of the secret to know that you told any pony?” Sweetie finally looked at the now puzzled southern pony.
“No…Ah can’t say that ah have?” Applejack shook her head, “But you do know what they say about secrets, right?” Now Sweetie shook her head,
“No? What do they say?” Sweetie was intrigued
“Well, Sweetie Belle, secrets are not bad but they aren’t good either. Yes, they can hurt somepony but they can also help. You may lose your trustfulness to this pony for giving away their secret when ya promised that ya wouldn’t-“
“But, what if you Pinkie promised?” Sweetie cut in.
“Oh…well that’s an entirely different story, sugar cube. ah’d say that yer best bet is to just keep the secret to yerself.” Applejack nodded,
“But…what if you like the creator?”
