The next day was as bright as always. Rainbow had been three for three for perfect weather lately. Birds sang their songs as dandelions were blown and danced with the wind. Ponyville was no different from any other days. Ponies walked around attending to their usual business without a care in the world. Twilight and Spike were riding around gathering a few groceries from their local markets. Twilight was at peace, happy with her life here as she had always been.

As for Spike, he couldn't seem to get over what everyone was talking about yesterday. He rode on Twilight's back, as usual, but kept to himself most of the time. He looked down angrily. Page Turner. A new rival, perhaps? No. He couldn't lose himself to jealousy. That wouldn't be gentlemanly of him in Rarity's eyes. But no matter how much he adored the mare, he couldn't help but feel like his fifteen minutes were up, that his alter ego was beginning to fade out all thanks to this one new author. He admits that he may be overreacting just a tad, but...

"Spike? Are you okay? You've been quiet this whole trip." Spike looked back up quickly and found Twilight staring at him with worrying eyes.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine," he stuttered. "I'm just thinking about something."

"Well, what are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Oh you know, stuff."

"You were thinking about Rarity, weren't you?"

"N-No!"

Twilight giggled a bit. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But still, I'm worried about you, Spike. You haven't talked to any one of us since last night. Some of the others actually think you might be up to something."

They were on to him. He knew it. His eyes started shifting left to right as he bit his lower lip.

"You're not up to anything, are you?" Twilight started getting suspicious and raised an eyebrow.

Spike sighed and remained cool. "Relax, Twilight. Everything's fine. You need to stop worrying so much."

Twilight relaxed as she gave a faint smile. "Alright, Spike. I'm trusting you." She faced the other way to see where she was going. Spike gave a sigh of relief knowing he was in the clear. For now. The others were getting suspicious. He needed to be careful. Now more than ever.

"Now where is it?" Twilight asked. She started to look around the entire area for something. Spike couldn't tell what though.

"Where's what?" he asked. "We already got the things we needed at the grocery store. What is there left to do?

"I'm looking for the stage."

"Stage? What stage?"

"Applejack said she would meet me at the stage where Page Turner was going to be today."

Spike's eyes suddenly shot wide open as he recalled more of the conversation at the picnic last night. "That Q&A thing was today?!" he shouted.

Twilight took her hoof and rubbed her ear after Spike's sudden outburst. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Oh, uh, nothing. Just needed to vent something out, you know?"

Before Twilight could say anything, an orange mare in a cowboy hat waved frantically to get Twilight's attention. She turned to notice Applejack beckoning her to get over to where she was. A crowd began to form in front of a stage that was almost similar to Trixie's minus the fireworks and decorations. Everypony started chatting with one another wondering what was in store for them. Twilight trotted up to Applejack and saw Rarity standing right next to her.

"Oh good! You're here!" Rarity said. "I was wondering if you were going to show up."

"Where are the others?" Twilight asked. "I thought they would be here too."

"Rainbow's got some weather-y things to attend to." replied Applejack in her recognizable accent. "As for Fluttershy and Pinkie, Ah have no idea. But Ah'm pretty sure they'll be here soon." Everyone turned they're heads as the mayor stepped up on stage. She tapped a microphone that was standing at the center of attention. Ringing emitted as everyone groaned and covered their ears.

"Eh, sorry about that." The Mayor laughed slightly. "Now, then. Please welcome the acclaimed author of "The Bird with No Wings", Page Turner!" The crowd stomped their hooves together as a dark blue pony with green hair appeared on stage. She raised her hoof up to quiet the crowd before her. The stomping got softer and softer until it came to a full stop. Now everyone was waiting for what this pony had to say.

"Hello, everypony. If some of you don't know already, my name is Page Turner. I'm the author of "The Bird With No Wings"..." The crowd started stomping again. They whistled and cheered loudly until Page Turner raised her hoof again. "...and for the next..." She looked at the mayor, "...two?..." The mayor nodded back to her. "...two hours, I'll be answering any questions you may have for me." Everypony started throwing their hooves into the air, hoping that they would be picked. She squinted and started to pick out a few ponies at a time.

"Is it true you're from Ponyville?" one pony asked.

"Why, yes, it is! and I don't regret a single thing!" Spike rolled his eyes as he watched her. She was happy. Overjoyed to be on that stage. And he didn't like it one bit.

"How did you come up with the idea for 'The Bird With No Wings'?" another pony asked.

"Ooh, that's a good one. Um, let me think..." She put her hoof up to her chin and started to think. "I guess I could say it just came to me one day. The ideas that can come into your head sometimes amazes me."

Spike gave another look. That's it? It just popped up in her head? That's not true inspiration, That was just making something up!

"Now, let's see... who's next?"

Rarity put her hoof up into the air as well. Page pointed to the elegant mare. "Yes, you." she stated.

"What was your inspiration to become an author?" Rarity asked.

Page sighed with a smile. "I have to say, it's always been Cursive Writer." Spike stopped and looked back up. "His words were so fascinating and the stories were always so intense. I wanted to be just like him." She went on and on about how much she adored the mysterious writer. "I hope, I just hope, I get to meet him one day." Spike watched, astonished by what she said. He actually inspired someone to do what she wanted. He felt terrible about his feelings before. Was he so quick to judge? He watched as Rarity paid full attention to what Page was saying. He knew that she still adored him. She was still his number one fan, no matter what.

As he watched her, he thought about the one story idea he still had left in his creative mind. The one he couldn't do. It was a story about a lost dragon finding hope and love in one simple mare. The reason he wouldn't publish something like that is because it would have been too obvious. It would have easily given away his deepest secret. All that trust with Twilight and the others would have been broken. And what would Rarity think? She'd probably consider him as some sort of creepy stalker and not say a word to him again, and he couldn't even bear that thought. He always feared the worst if his secret ever got out. So he kept the idea to himself, never bothering to put it on paper.

He later moved on to other ideas, with the Tears and Smiles trilogy being his best one yet. But, he always looked back. He always looked back on his forbidden idea, hoping that one day that he could write it. He shook his head to snap himself out of his daydreaming. Page Turner had finished speaking as everyone stamped and cheered once more. He looked down again, sighing. He got off Twilight's back as he turned around and headed home. The purple unicorn turned and saw him leave.

"Spike! Where are you going?" She shouted amongst the cheering. She went and followed him as close as she could but lost him in the crowd. She searched desperately for the dragon, cursing Celestia for him being so small. Applejack put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"Is something wrong, Twilight?" she asked.

Twilight sighed. "It's Spike. He took off again, this time without even saying anything. I don't know what's gotten into him lately."

"He's definitely up to something. Ah'm sure of it." Twilight glanced at her. She had to admit, the cowgirl was a bit to quick to judge. But she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe Applejack was right this time.

"But I still don't understand," Rarity responded. "What is there for him to hide?"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna go find out. I'll meet up with you guys later." Twilight pushed through the immense crowd and made her way home.

***

Spike slammed the door behind him as he entered the library. His bones felt weak, and his legs started to get heavy. He leaned against the wall and slid down slowly, sitting there for just a few moments. For a minute, he thought that maybe it was time. Maybe it was time to tell everyone about what he's been up to for the past 2 years. But, he shook his head and thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea. There were times before when he wanted to tell them, though. He had been feeling a bit unappreciated in the past, which was one of the reasons he started writing in the first place.

He looked at the table and noticed the book Rarity had borrowed yesterday. He got up and approached the book slowly. A note lay on top of the cover. He picked it up and read it.

Dear Twilight,

I became bored the other day with nothing better to do and thought I would give this book a read. Turns out, funny enough, that I read the whole thing in one sitting. It's silly, really, what boredom can make you do sometimes. Anyway, while I can honestly say it's not on par with Cursive Writer's work, it is certainly worth a read. So I recommend that you do check it out when you have the chance. Hope to meet with you again soon.

-R

Spike gave the note another read then stared at the book. She did say it wasn't on par with his work after all. He took it up and opened it. He read every single word quickly, flipping through the pages as he skimmed along. He couldn't believe it. It wasn't bad. It wasn't ok, either. It was...beautiful. It wasn't not on par with his work at all. It was almost above his level of expertise. He was left speechless and continued to skim, every sentence more perfectly written than the last. It was fantastic, although he would rather not admit it. He put the amazingly written book down and sighed once more.

It was far more better than he expected it to be. He began to feel awful about himself again. He was completely and utterly jealous of Page Turner, yet he, himself, inspired her to write something as brilliant as The Bird With No Wings. He couldn't hate her for that. Besides, what would Rarity think?

Rarity. He repeated the word over and over again in his head, each time sounding more beautiful than the last. No matter how hard he even tried, everything led back to her.

Gems? He loved gems. So does Rarity.

Twilight? Twilight's kind and thoughtful. Twilight's a unicorn. So is Rarity.

Books? Spike wrote books, even though nobody knew about it. Everyone loved his books. Even Rarity.

Spike moaned. His crush was Rarity was getting out of hand, ridiculous even. He gave up. There was absolutely nothing he could do. He put his arm on the table and leaned his head against his hand. He thought about what he would do next. What was there to do? Page Turner was getting all the fame now. All he could do was write another book. That's it. Write another book. Spike got up, ecstatic about his new idea. But then he remembered his writer's block. Nothing new came into his head. Spike got back in his previous position and continued to think.

Although...there was that one idea. "No, no. I can't do that. It's too risky." He returned to thinking. His previous thoughts throughout the past 2 days came back to him

Maybe his fifteen minutes was up.

...hoping that one day he could write it.

Then it all clicked. He would do it. This would be his next story. It would also be his last. This was it. It was time for him to let Page Turner take the reigns, but not before doing one last story. Something he's been wanting to do ever since he started out as a newcomer. His plan became more clearer in his mind. He would publish this final story, then tell everyone his secret. Hopefully, things would turn better than he hoped. He decided that it was for the best.

He ran to the writing desk as Owlicious flew in through the window and perched himself on his spot on the desk, almost as if he knew that Spike was going to start writing again. Spike pulled open one of the drawers to reveal a stack of paper and plopped it on to the desk. He took the quill and placed on top of the first page. He thought to himself once more. What could be the best possible title for his final entry? "Ah! That's a good one!" He started to write out.

My Heart in Flames: A Dragon's Tale
By Cursive Writer

He stared at what he had wrote. It was perfect. His magnum opus was just beginning. He took the first page and placed it off to the side and started fresh on a new piece of paper.

Through the woods of a great forest, a dragon walked alone...

It all started to come together. His progress was albeit slow, but it was still progress none the less. His quill danced among the paper as Spike continued to write. The words came out in cursive in black ink as all his other books did. He became more at peace with himself. He had forgotten all about Page Turner and what he thought of her as he just kept on writing and writing. He became happy again.

That is until Twilight opened the door. "Spike! Where are you?" Spike stopped completely in his tracks. He was frozen not knowing what to do. He looked around, searching for a place to hide the papers, but it was too late. Twilight had already appeared behind him. He yelped as he turned around, covering the pages with his back as Twilight stared at him menacingly.

"You ARE hiding something, aren't you?" She interrogated. Spike was in quite the predicament now.

"W-W-What? N-No! I'm not! What gave you that idea?" he lied. He laughed nervously but Twilight was already on to him.

"You've been acting strange lately, it's not like you. What have you been doing here? And are those my papers?" Spike's pupils shrank. He had been secretly using Twilight's papers as a resource for his novels. He was in real trouble now. Sweat started to trickle down his face as he was left speechless. He had to think of something and quick.

"What exactly have you been doing here, Spike?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"N-Nothing! Nothing at all!" he stammered

"Spike, quit lying to me!"

"I'm not lying!"

"Ugh!" Twilight became irritated and levitated him off to the side.

"Twilight, please! I-I can explain!" He pleaded. Twilight went up to the desk and saw the stack of papers placed above it. Owlicious quickly flew out of the window and, soon, out of sight. She started reading out the first page to herself quietly. Spike shut his eyes, clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth, waiting for what was going to happen next.

"Spike? What...IS this?" Her voice was a bit calmer than before. Spike opened one of his eyes to see that Twilight was levitating the page in front of him. He bit his lower lip then sighed in defeat.

"Twilight. If I tell you, you need to promise me two things." Twilight simply nodded. Spike breathed in and out, calming himself but was still shaking. "One: That you don't think any differently of me. And Two: You don't tell anyone else."

"Spike, just tell me what's going on."

"Do you promise?"

She sighed. "Fine, I promise."

"The thing is, Twilight..." He stopped and breathed through his nose again before he could continue.

"I'm Cursive Writer."

Author's Note

A Valentine's Day gift from me to you. Apologies to anyone who thought Page Turner was going to be somebody else.