She couldn't believe her ears. She didn't think that Spike was serious about becoming her servant, but now, its become more obvious that dragon code is serious business.
"Spike, are you seriously going to be my servant? I told you it's no big deal." Applejack said, trying to convince the dragon that his help wasn't necessary.
"From this day forth, your wish is my command." Spike gave an exaggerated bow, as if the pony in front of him was royalty.
"Oh... Uh... Well... I uh..." Applejack hesitated.
"Just name it and I will do everything in my power to see it done. After all, it's part of the dragon code." Spike was on his knees, begging Applejack to let him help.
Applejack swallowed her fears and said, "go out with me."
Spike lost his balance, having been taken completely by surprise.
"I'm sorry, w-what?" Spike asked.
"G-go o-out on a d-d-date w-w-with m-me." Applejack stammered.
Spike was speechless, Rarity was his love interest and he only thought of Applejack as a friend. This seemed very odd as Spike had never noticed any interest from Applejack. Perhaps it was because his eyes have only been on one pony.
"I dunno, Applejack... Are you feeling okay? Did you drop one of those rocks on your head?" Spike joked.
"I'm being serious! I love you. I've always loved you. But you've always paid more attention to Rarity. She doesn't take your affections seriously."
"What? Oh come on, Applejack, now it sounds like somepony's jealous." Spike said, still thinking this was all a joke.
"Maybe I am, but I'm telling you the truth. Spike, I wouldn't lie about my feelings, I'm the element of honesty, remember?"
Spike thought long and hard about it. He was in no position to say no. She did save his life, and according to the dragon code, he had to obey her every wish.
"Well, where should we go for our first date then?" Spike figured he might as well humor her and just go out with her just this once.
Applejack let out a sigh. She was relieved that things went smoothly. She suppressed the urge to squeal like a giddy little child and calmly said,
"Why don't we go on down to Sugarcube Corner? I'm sure that Pinkie Pie would be willing to make us something real nice." Applejack suggested.
"Alright, that sounds fine with me. I didn't eat breakfast this morning anyway."
Applejack chuckled and began walking to town with Spike. Very few words were said during their trip. Everything was very sudden and neither one of them knew what to expect.
They arrived at Sugarcube Corner. The smell of freshly baked sweets emanated from the building. Applejack and spike were both nervous as they pushed open the door. They were greeted by Pinkie Pie, who was energetic, as always.
"Hi guys! What brings you to Sugarcube Corner today? Oh! Are you here for cake? I love cake! Speaking of cake, this one time I-" Pinkie's words flew out of her mouth faster than the speed of light.
"Ha, I know ya do," Applejack interrupted," but nah, me and Spike are here for some lunch. We might have something sweet afterwards though. How bout it, Spike?" Applejack turned her attention to Spike, who remained silent as he was still unsure about this date.
"Well, what can I get you today." Pinkie Pie asked.
"I'll have a dandelion sandwich. How about you Spike? What would ya like?"
"Hmm...," Spike scratched his chin," got any gemstones?"
"I think we still have some leftover emeralds. Lemme check," Pinkie darted into the kitchen for about three seconds and returned with a small bowl filled with several green stones, "hey, turns out we do have some leftover gems!"
Spike began drooling and his eyes got wider at the sight of the delicious rocks. He then noticed Applejack and quickly regained his composure and asked, "why do you have emeralds? I asked mainly as a joke, I didn't expect you to actually have any." Spike asked quizzically. This made Applejack giggle.
"What's so funny, Applejack?" Spike asked.
"That's one of the things I like about you, Spike, you make me laugh."
The two continued to talk about various topics from apple bucking to friendship making. As the conversation continued, Spike finally had a chance to just sit still and see Applejack. She's tough as nails but is very kind and honest.
Applejack couldn't be any happier than she already was. Nothing could bring her down because she finally got her chance to spend time with the one she loved.
It became silent after about ten minutes. They had both run out of things to talk about. Applejack's eyes wandered around the room, periodically focusing on Spike.
"So, Applejack..." Spike said, breaking the silence.
"Yes, Spike?" Applejack asked.
"How long have you... Uh... Had these feelings for me?"
"H-h-how long? G-golly, I don't know... Maybe about a month or two? At first I watched over you as you made advances on Rarity. I didn't think of you as anything more than a friend at that time, but I wanted to make sure that she wouldn't be too hard on you if anything were to happen when-"
"Back to Rarity again," Spike interrupted, "you know, I've been jealous before and I know what jealousy looks like. As far as I can tell, you're just jealous. Well I'll have you know that Rarity is my one true love and there's nothing anypony in Equestria can do that can change that." Spike crossed his arms and huffed.
"Spike, I'm... Sorry..."
"Look, I'm afraid that this date will have to be cut short, I'm going back to the library. Maybe the dragon code isn't worth honoring." Spike hopped off the chair and stormed out of the bakery.
"Spike! Wait!" Applejack's words fell on deaf ears as Spike ignored her.
"Wow, somepony must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. I mean, somedragon must've woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Hahahaha!" Pinkie snorted at her own joke. Applejack could only stare at the door as tears began welling in her eyes.
"Spike, you just don't understand..." Applejack let out a long sigh.
"What doesn't he understand?" pinkie asked, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
"Oh, nothing. Forget about it, Pinkie." Applejack wiped her eyes.
"Well, if you need him to understand something, you gotta MAKE him understand! You know, make him see it your way." Pinkie suggested.
"You know what? You're right. I've got to make him understand that I love him!"
"Love?! Spike and AJ sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Hahahahahahahahaha!" Pinkie began laughing uncontrollably.
"I think I've got an idea. Thanks, Pinkie! See ya later!"
"No-prob-lay-mo! What are friends for anyway? I'm glad that I'm able to help people without realizing it. It makes me so happy to know that I made someone happy without even trying. Although I always try to make people happy. Like the time-"
"Okay! I get it, thanks anyway. Seeya." Applejack darted out of the bakery. She only had one chance and she couldn't let this one slip through her hooves.
My Success and Her Despair
Applejack left the bakery, the door swung shut behind her. She frantically looked to find Spike walking away slowly with his head lowered.
"Spike! Spike, wait!" Applejack called out only to see Spike turn his head back towards her with a disgusted glare.
Applejack could see the hatred in Spike's eyes and it hurt her deeply. She put her hoof over her heart and began breathing heavily. She feared that she had just let the love of her life slip through her hooves.
"Applejack, will you please leave me alone?" Spike sighed.
"I can't do that sugarcube." She put her hoof on Spike's shoulder and turned him so that their eyes met.
"Applejack, what're you..." Spike couldn't finish his sentence. The next thing he knew was that something warm was pressed against his lips. Spike's world felt like it had slowed down. He felt very light and felt blood rushing to his face. In his confusion, Spike just closed his eyes.
When it was over, Spike was ready to blow his fuse, he looked up only to have his anger quickly dissapated when he saw the tears in Applejack's eyes.
"Spike... I told you once, and I'll say it again. I love you. I'd make you the happiest dragon in the entire world. If only you'd say yes to me." Applejack's face was bright red and had tears running down her face. She was dead serious about her feelings and Spike realized that this is what love is. He realized that his relationship with Rarity wasn't love. It was a one sided relationship and Applejack was right, he was being used.
Spike was speechless, what does one say in a situation like this?
"I... I... uh..." Spike stuttered, failing to form a coherent sentence. Applejack put her hoof on Spike's head and said,
"You only have to say yes or no. If you say no, I will leave you alone and I wont think of you anything more than just a friend, but if you say yes, I will try my best to make you happy."
Spike stared at the ground, thinking what he should say. It felt like they were the only two in town, and the summer breeze gently rushing past their ears was the only thing they could hear.
"Applejack, I... I... y-y-ye-yes..." Spike couldn't comprehend how hard it was to form such a simple word. There was so much weight to it. Applejack wrapped her arms around the little dragon and more tears began to well in her eyes. However, they were not tears of sadness, but tears of joy. Applejack's whole world was just made brighter and it gave her a warm feeling inside.
"My gosh. All I can say is thank you! I promise that you wont regret your decision!" Applejack tried her best to keep her excitement contained.
"So what do we do now?" Spike asked.
"Well, lets go for a walk and try to get to know each other better." Applejack suggested, unsure of how practical that would be, considering that they have known each other for some time now already.
"Uh, sure, that sounds like a good idea." Spike nodded, "Where should we go first?"
"I'm not sure, lets just start walking and see where it takes us."
The two continued down the road and talked about their favorite things and other hobbies. This was what Applejack wanted all her life. She finally had the time to be with Spike.
They were just in the middle of discussing what kinds of foods smell the worst when they crossed paths with Rarity, Spike's former love interest.
"Oh, what a pleasant surprise running into you two here." Rarity greeted with her usual elegant demeanor.
"Likewise, Spike and I were just discussing what kind of foods smell the worst." Applejack said.
"Yea, so far we've agreed that potatoes, radishes, cucumbers, onions, asparagus, and pickles smell the worst." Spike listed.
"But cucumbers and pickles are... uh... n-never mind. Anyway, speaking of food, I was just on my way to Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie, said she had some emeralds that I could use in my next big project." Rarity's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Oh, me and were just at Sugarcube Corner and well, um... Spike..." Applejack bit her lower lip.
"Let me guess. Spike ate them didn't he?"
"Yea, sorry about that, we didn't know that they were for you." Spike apologized.
"It's fine," Rarity sighed, "I'm not too worried about finding some mere emeralds. So, you mind if I join you to... well, where are you heading?"
"Not sure, we're more focused on talking than walking."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"Well, we just wanna get to know each other better with random conversation."
"Get to know each other? You lost me there." Rarity said with a puzzled expression.
"Well, you see, I saved Spike from a pack of hungry timber wolves today and the way he's paying me back for saving his life is by well... dating me." Applejack blushed.
"Oh, I see... Wait, WHAT?!" Rarity exclaimed after realizing what she just heard, "this is quite a surprise. I didn't know you were like that. Either way, I'm happy for both of you." Rarity smiled.
"Thanks, Rarity, it means a lot to hear that from a good friend." Applejack tipped her hat. "Now, shall we continue talking some more? I bet with a third person, we could come up with more things to talk about."
"I'm terribly sorry, but I am afraid that I'm going to have to decline your invitation, as fun as it may be, I just remembered that I have to meet up with Twilight. There's something important I have to discuss with her." Rarity quickly sped off towards the library, hoping that Twilight was there.
Author's Note
It's finally done, the second chapter of this story is complete! I cannot express how sorry I am for the ungodly amount of delays! I apologize to the ones who have been waiting for this story to continue and I give you this chapter as a token of my appreciation of your loyalty! (Quite frankly, I am too lazy to do serious editing, I'll correct errors as I see them.)
