Romantic Disasters

"You're WHAT?!" Twilight shouted. She found herself dumbfounded as she staggered back a step, refusing to believe her own ears. She attempted her little breathing gesture that Princess Cadence taught her, but kept breathing too fast. It was still too much for her. Her own assistant, Spike, the clumsy little dragon, was the most famous author in Equestria. It seemed like some sort of fantasy to her. It sounded completely ridiculous. Too ridiculous to even believe. She started to walk in circles as she repeated Spike's sentence in her mind.

'I'm Cursive Writer,' she thought over and over again, still trying hard to make sense of what was happening. How did she not see the signs before? How could Spike keep such a secret such as being Cursive Writer of all ponies? Heck, how could Spike keep a secret at all?

Spike still stood there in front of her, twiddling his thumbs and giving a fake smile. But as Twilight continued to pace around the floor, he dropped the innocent look and started to grow a bit worried. "You're not mad, are you? L-Look, I said I could explain!" he pleaded. But Twilight continued to pace back and forth. After a few moments, she turned her back on him, causing him to fear the worst. This was it. The moment of truth. Was she angry at him? He cursed himself for not telling her before hand, or hoof for this matter.

"How long has this been going on?" She asked impassively. Spike looked at the ground with sadness in his eyes. He knew that there was no point in lying now. That would only get him into more trouble than ever. He sighed in defeat and gave in.

"Two years..."

She turned almost immediately at him in surprise. "Two years? You've done so much and kept it a secret for two years?"

He started to rub his elbow. "Well, yeah..."

Twilight turned back around, shifting her eyes. "This...That's...just so..."

Spike began to get on his knees and begged for Twilight's forgiveness. "Oh, Celestia, I'm sorry, Twilight. I would have told you sooner but I-"

"AMAZING!"

"I know I shouldn't have-" Spike stopped in his tracks and looked back at Twilight in shock. Her face was practically beaming with joy and excitement. It wasn't really the reaction he thought he'd get. The words "Wait, what?" were all that could come out of his mouth at the moment. He got back up on his feet, still looking at Twilight with his eyes wide open. "You mean, you're not mad?"

"Spike, you're Cursive Writer. One of the most renowned authors in all of Equestria is my own little assistant. I'm...Well, honestly, I don't know how to feel, really..," she said, laughing a bit to ease the tension.

"Wait, you believe me? You actually believe me?"

"Spike, we've known each other for Celestia knows how long. Of course, I believe you. But, I don't get it. You're huge here. How did you even manage to keep it a secret?"

Spike went and pulled up a stool about Twilight's height. He climbed up and sat himself comfortably down on it. If he was going to tell her everything, it was going to be a while. "Well, I just made sure I didn't make a public appearance. No interviews, no book signings," he chuckled a bit. "...and definitely no Q&A's." Twilight plopped herself down as she begun to listen to Spike. As he continued on about how he kept anyone from learning his secret, She started to become rather impressed by him.

The profits that went to charity, the mature writing in each of his books. After hearing all of those things, she couldn't help but feel as though her little draconian had grown up. Matured since the days they moved into Ponyville. She smiled as the thoughts passed through her mind. Then, she stopped. She couldn't be getting feelings for him, could she? No, she couldn't be. She always saw herself as a motherly figure towards Spike and she knew he felt the same way too. So, why? What made her start feeling differently about him? She didn't want to say that it was because of his alter ego, but it was the most likely reason.

"Eh, Twilight? Are you okay?" Spike gave her a concerned look. She blinked, bringing her back into the real world and stared back at Spike.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine," she replied with another one of her kind, gentle smiles. But the thought still wouldn't escape her mind no matter how hard she tried to focus on something else.

"So, you promise not to tell anyone?"

"I promise."

"And you promise not to think of me differently?"

Twilight couldn't help but giggle at Spike's adorable innocence. She went up to him and wrapped him up in one great hug. "Spike, no matter what you do, you'll always be my little assistant."

Spike returned the hug as they both cherished the moment for a pretty long while. "Thanks, Twilight."

Then, a knock was heard on the door. Applejack's voice could be heard from the other side. "Twilight, you in there?" she asked. Twilight and Spike turned towards each other, each giving them worried looks.

"I'll answer the door, you hide the papers in the drawer," Twilight ordered. Spike nodded and ran to the writing desk. He took the stack of papers that still laid there and carried them in his arms for they were far too heavy for just his meager hands. He managed to open the bottom left drawer with his foot and stuffed them inside, then slammed the drawer closed.

Meanwhile, Twilight galloped over to the door and opened it with haste. Applejack and Rarity stood in the doorway, surprised by Twilight's sudden appearance. "Uh, Twilight, are you okay?" Rarity asked.

"Oh, yeah. Everything's fine here," said Twilight.

"Well, we just came to see how you and Spike were doing," Applejack voiced her concern. She poked her head in and found Spike leaning his back against the writing desk, smiling as if he had something to hide. Applejack only gave him a smile and small wave before turning her attention back to Twilight.

"We're doing alright, great actually," Twilight said hastily. It wasn't like her to act like this, but then again, she did promise Spike she wouldn't tell anyone. She just wasn't the best at coming up with lies or excuses. But, she had to keep it up. For Spike's sake.

"Is everything alright, darling? You seem...rushed," Rarity suggested.

"No, we're good," She nodded her head a little bit too much. She gave a little nervous smile. Applejack wasn't buying it, but wasn't going to show it in front of the others. In her mind, she already began to hatch up a plan.

Applejack put a hoof in front of Rarity which caused her to step back a bit. "Well, okay, then. It's gettin' late so we best be off," the apple farmer said. All three of them turned and went their separate ways. Twilight closed the door behind her and exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Are they gone?" Spike asked cautiously.

"Hold on, let me check." Twilight went up to the window and paid close attention as Applejack and Rarity continued to walk away from the library and towards the sunset. "Yeah, they're gone."

"Oh, thank Celestia." Spike turned back towards the desk and pulled the drawer open. His work in progress was, thankfully, still there in a nice, neat stack. He took the stack of papers back in his arms as he set them back where they once were; on the writing desk.

"So, what do we do now?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I guess we get back to what we normally do. We just try to keep this as much of a secret as possible until I can get this book finished.."

"And how long will that take?" Twilight asked.

"I dunno," he shrugged. "It takes me a long while before I can actually finish a book. But with this one, who knows how long it'll take."

"Oh, okay then."

Spike grabbed the stool from near by and placed it in front of the desk. He climbed up, got himself in a comfortable sitting position, and got the quill from the inkwell. Twilight began to tap her hooves together, trying hard not to blush. "Um, Spike? Is it okay if I..."

Spike turned back around, noticing how Twilight was hiding her face. "If you what?" he asked.

"Is it okay if...I watched you write?"

Spike sat there looking at her dumbstruck. Why would she want to watch him write, he wondered. It was rather a very peculiar thing, even for Twilight. She's never asked something like this before during his days writing letters for her. "Uh, yeah, sure. Why not?" he shrugged. "But, don't get too close, okay? 'Cause that'd be kind of creepy."

"Oh, yeah. Of course." Twilight walked up to him and watched as he worked his writing magic. The way he wrote was almost beautiful. The black ink came out in nice, cursive, lettering. She figured that writing all those letters for her had really paid off now. Before she knew it, she was mesmerized by his handiwork. More mesmerized than when she read his books, unaware of who he truly was. Then, the feelings started to come back. She bit her lower lip watching as the words continued to pour out onto paper. She luckily stopped herself when she noticed her head was right next to his.

Spike turned towards her, moving his head away to give himself at least some space. "Twilight? Everything alright?"

She hook her head violently, trying her hardest to bring herself back to her senses. "I'm okay. I'm okay." She returned to viewing his writing, this time at a proper distance. "So, what's this one about?"

"Well, it's about a dragon who visits this town and falls in...love..." He stopped himself before he went any further. He figured that since he told Twilight everything, it was safe to let his guard down around her. Boy, was he ever wrong. He had completely forgotten that he still didn't tell her about his secret idea. He looked at her, hoping she hadn't caught on. She wore a grin on her face with a raised eyebrow as she chuckled mischievously. Much to Spike's chagrin, she caught on.

"Oh, I get it..." she started.

Spike shifted his eyes left and right, laughing nervously. "G-Get what?" he stammered.

"This is your idea of wooing Rarity, isn't it?"

Spike motioned his hands in front of her. "N-No! It's not what you think!"

However, Twilight wouldn't stop giving Spike a flurry of questions, pressurizing him to tell the truth. "You were going to tell her, weren't you? Instead, you got me, huh?"

Spike groaned. He knew she wasn't going to let him off that easily. "Well...it wasn't my intentional plan..."

"Then what was your intentional plan, Mr. Hotshot?"

"Truth is, Twilight, I was going to tell you. All of you. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, the others. My plan is: once I finish this book, I'm telling everyone in Equestria who I really am."

Twilight's grin began to fade from her mouth. She learned that this did not become a laughing matter. Spike seemed serious about this. Perhaps, too serious. "Spike, what are you talking about?"

"This is the last book I write."

Twilight's eyes grew and her jaw opened wide . It was the second time today in a row that she had received such shocking news. First, he's Cursive Writer. Now, he's finishing his career? It was absurd. At least, that's what Twilight was hoping for. But, no. Spike's eyes said it all. He was intent on doing this and going through with his plan. "But, I don't get it. Why?" she asked.

Spike put the quill down and exhaled. "Well, when you guys were talking about Page Turner, I got kind of jealous. But, then when we went to that Q&A thing, she said that I was the one that inspired her. I felt terrible after that. Being angry at someone I inspired. I read part of the book she wrote and, well, it was great. It was as good as my own writing. So that's why. I'm letting her take the spotlight now."

"Wow, Spike. That's really thoughtful of you," Twilight said with admiration. "But you don't have to stop writing just because another author is becoming as popular as you."

"I know but..." Spike stuttered trying to find the right words to say. "I didn't really want to keep lying forever, you know?"

Twilight put a hoof on Spike's shoulder. "I understand." They both gave each other another heart-warming hug.

Earlier...

Applejack and Rarity turned around and had begun to leave as Twilight closed the door behind them rather quickly. They started to walk down back to Rarity's boutique, but not without thinking about what had happened. "I do say, Twilight's behavior has,all of a sudden, become most bemusing..." Rarity said in her trademark sophisticated accent.

"You don't get it, do you? Spike's clearly up to somethin', and now Twilight's in on it too. We need to get to the bottom of this."

"Well, what can we do?" Rarity asked. "We can't just barge in there and demand them to tell us what's going on."

"Well..."

Rarity stopped walking along with Applejack. She cocked an eyebrow at the farmer. "Well, what?"

Applejack turned towards her. "We could just, you know, sneak in."

"Applejack!" Rarity said, appalled by her suggestion. "You're not suggesting we go snooping around in Twilight's library, are you?"

"Now look, I ain't one for breakin' and enterin' but they're hiding something and I wanna know."

"Applejack, dear. Don't you think you might be over-thinking about this?"

"I ain't over-thinking nothin'. I know lying when I see it."

"Well, do whatever you want. But, I will have no part in it," Rarity huffed. She walked ahead back to the boutique. "Goodbye, Applejack, and good luck with your so-called 'plan'." Applejack only responded by rolling her eyes.

She headed back to the farm as the sun began to set. She was right though. She wasn't proud of breaking and entering at all, especially doing it in a friend's house such as Twilight's. But she couldn't help but shake off her curiosity and suspicion. They were both hiding something now and Applejack had the craving to find out exactly what it was.

***

Later that night, the moon shined brightly on the quiet little town. The streetlights were shining brightly, leading ponies the way home. "Spike! Come on, it's time for bed."

Spike put the quill back into the inkwell and hopped off his stool. He stretched his arms and legs, and popped his knuckles after a long session of writing. He opened the drawer and placed the stack of pages inside, where they would sit until the very next day.

Twilight closed her book and levitated it back into the bookshelf where it once was. She got off her pillow and began to head upstairs, followed by Spike. "So, how much did you get done today?" she asked.

"Eh, not much. Only about two pages or so," he answered.

"Really? Only two? Keeping this a secret is going to be harder than I thought."

"Well, writing takes a lot of time for me, okay?"

Twilight let out another one of her adorable giggles. "Alright, alright. I didn't mean to offend you." She turned out the lights down stairs and lit up a candle. She put it on the counter next to her bed as she got up and began to bundle herself up with her blankets. Spike did the same in his little basket.

"Spike?" Twilight said softly.

"Yeah?"

She wanted to say something about how great it was knowing that he was Cursive Writer. However, she didn't, she couldn't, due to her fear of having those feelings come back to her. She began to bite her lower lip again. This was Spike after all. She never really saw him as anything else but a good friend. But, seeing him as something else entirely really began to make her question how she felt about him. Something she thought she would never be doing.

"N-Never mind. Goodnight, Spike," she managed to utter.

"Goodnight, Twilight."

Spike rolled around in his small bed, trying to get into a comfortable position before closing his eyes. Twilight blew out the candle next to her and began to drift off onto sleep.

An hour later, a pair of eyes looked through the window downstairs. Applejack scanned the inside of the area, making sure that the coast was clear. She pushed the window open quietly as to not disturb anyone and managed to slip inside. She closed the window behind her and pulled out the flashlight from her saddlebags. She turned it on and held it in her mouth. The light it emitted was dim, but it was still manageable to see.

Every urge in Applejack's body begged her to think of another plan. Something other than sneaking around her friend's house. But, her brain couldn't think of any other way. This was the only plan that she had seemed to guarantee any success. "Twilight, please forgive me," she whispered before moving on.

She began looking through and behind the bookshelves, making sure she kept as quiet as possible so she wouldn't disturb the two upstairs. She had pulled out nearly every book from each shelf, looking for anything that could have been useful. Nothing. She continued her search through the kitchen and bathroom, looking through every nook and cranny. Again, nothing.

She had decided to leave no stone un-turned. She tip-toed up the stairs and crept through Spike and Twilight's bedroom. She looked through the shelves and drawers and still found absolutely nothing that was of use to her. As she quietly sneaked back down the stairs, one of her steps caused one of the floorboards to creak. She froze immediately and remained there for a few seconds like a statue. She looked behind her to see if one of them had woken up. Thankfully, Spike and Twilight still slept soundly. She quietly gave a sigh of relief.

Spike snored at an average volume, not too loudly. But, Twilight was tossing and turning in her sleep. Once she had stopped after a few moments, she mumbled something. "...mmm, Spike..." It was all that Applejack could make out through Twilight's smothered talking.

'Spike? What in Equestria could she be dreaming about?' she thought. She moved on downstairs and decided to head out back through the window empty-handed. Maybe Rarity was right after all. Maybe she was just over-thinking it. But before she could make it outside, she stopped as she recalled that she didn't check the writing desk in the far corner. She instantly remembered Spike leaning his back against it looking nervously. Bingo. Somewhere in that desk had to be what they were hiding from her.

She walked quietly to the desk and searched through the drawers. She opened the bottom left drawer that revealed a stack of papers that caught her eye. She held them up with her hooves while holding the flashlight with her teeth. What she saw struck her like a bolt of lightning.

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

It was unbelievable what she saw. She blinked repeatedly, hoping that the words were some trick of the light. But, it was still there in big, black, bold letters. Cursive Writer. THE Cursive Writer. She started to connect the dots. Spike's been hiding this the whole time? She more she deduced, the more it shocked her. Then, finally, it all came together. Spike was Cursive Writer. It made perfect sense, yet no sense at all. That small, meek dragon was the best writer Equestria has ever had?

She started to tremble and shake was she read through the first page. It was him all right, no doubt about it. The way each word was used was almost undeniable. But before Applejack had the chance to continue reading, she heard rustling from above. She looked up and noticed Spike's silhouette getting up from his basket. Applejack needed to think of something, and fast. With no time to lose, she switched off the flashlight and ran towards the window while carrying the pages with her. She quickly fumbled getting out of the window and shut it closed.

Spike went downstairs groggily, his eyes halfway open. He went into the kitchen, turned on the light, and pulled himself a glass from the cupboard. He filled it up almost to the brim with water from the sink's faucet and began to glug it down almost instantly. He put the glass back into the sink and turned off the light, heading back to bed. But then, he saw the drawer from the writing desk left open. He was too tired to think and went to close it with his foot. He then returned to bed and drifted off into dream land once more.

The next morning was as bright as always, with birds singing their usual songs. Twilight got up and smiled as she looked out the window to greet another beautiful day. She felt fresh and ready to take on the new day as she leaped from her bed. She went downstairs and found Spike running around in a panicked state. He was going through each bookshelf, throwing each book on the ground and searching everywhere. After gratuitous searching, he continued to scavenge another room of the library. Twilight looked nearby and noticed the desk's drawers left open and completely empty.

"Spike, what's wrong?" she asked.

"The pages! My book!" He yelled in return.

"What about them?"

"They're gone!"

Her pupils shrank. She wasn't feeling ready to take on the day anymore.