Rainbow Dash's Spike

by Lenora Goff

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Spike, Fluttershy
Length: 25104

When Spike finally gets the courage to ask out Rarity, the unexpected happens. Afterwards, he has to try to find a way to pick up the pieces. At the same time, Rainbow Dash is there to help him out.

One day, Spike finally gets the courage together to ask Rarity out. When he finally goes to ask her, he sees something in the window that quickly shoots down that entire idea. After it happens, and he's trying to move on from the disappointment.

Rainbow Dash is there to help him out.

Spike knows that his good friend will always be there for him.

That's all she is, right?

Thanks to this guy right here for the awesome picture.

Published 2013-03-12 20:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-31 00:06:36 UTC

Chapter 2

“It’s the greatest thing ever.”

It was fairly obvious that it was an exaggeration, but I wasn’t going to stop her. There was no point. This was the type of thing that made her happy. Even talking about flying seemed to be something that she loved so much. If she loved doing work half as much as she loves flying, there’d be nothing left for anypony else to do. She’d already have done everything... I started to zone out when she was talking about the many different tricks she could perform.

This was a skill learned from long days with Twilight.

“ You aren’t really listening, are you?”

How did she catch me? I could have sworn I was able to do this sort of thing, but apparently I failed spectacularly. A confused look came over my face, and soon she let out a chuckle.

“I was just asking you about if you wanted to fly with me after this. You just sort of sat there.” Rainbow looked out, a smirk still on her face. “Listen, if you want to talk about something else? No problem.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“It isn’t that, Rainbow. It’s just.” My mind started to work on some excuse, any excuse, why I had zoned out. The only possible excuse was to blame it on the long days when my sanity relied on my ability to zone out. Of course, there was the chance that this would get back to Twilight. She wouldn’t be happy if she knew that I didn’t pay attention during a good portion of her lessons. “Well, can you keep a secret?”

“Sure, Spike.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

A groan of frustration came next, but Rainbow went through the motions. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“I might have gotten used to zoning out when people start talking a lot.” I got a glare, but I wasn’t going to stop. “You see, Twilight tells me a lot about everything. Constellations, her latest spells, what she thinks about Celestia, her daily routine, and everything in between. Some of them are supposed to be lessons, but sometimes I think that she just wants somebody to hear her.”

Okay, when I put it that way I felt bad.

“Wait. She tells you what she thinks about Celestia? And you just ... kind of zone out?” Rainbow looked a little disappointed, almost as if she had expected me to be able to tell her something big. “Something like that would have made for such an awesome prank. Maybe you could help me out sometime?”

That was the Rainbow I knew and ... really liked.

“Heh.” What kind of prank could Rainbow play with that sort of information? “I'll think about it.” That brought back at least a smirk, which was definitely better than a disappointed look. Smiles were great, they should never leave somepony's face.

“We're here.” The voice of one of the two stallions that had been pulling the carriage was heard, the message being a good one. We were going to enjoy ourselves, I just knew it. I turned to Rainbow, smiling as she smiled, before turning and opening the carriage door. A step was taken out, and then I held out my hand for her to take.

That was how I thought it should go, so that's how I would do it. “A hand, for the lovely lady.” That felt right, but it should have been for Rarity. The moment that thought came into my mind, I winced a little. It was only for a moment, but I knew that Rainbow had seen it. After all, why else would she have a sad look on her face? She must have thought that I had winced about calling her lovely.

That wasn't the case.

“It's okay, Spike, I know I'm not the mare you wanted to be going out with tonight...” There was more than a hint of disappointment in her voice as she said that, though it seemed strange. Rainbow knew that I loved Rarity, many ponies seemed to know it. She might have just felt bad for giving him that advice, but that would mean that his efforts had been failing so far.

“It's not that, it's something else.”

“Don't worry about it, Spike. Listen, when we get in I have to ... use the little filly's room. I'll be right out, though.”

That wasn't very reassuring. Rainbow wasn't the type that would ditch out, though, so it was probably alright. “Sure thing. We should probably get to the tablet first, to make sure you know where to come back to.”

“Well, duh.” As soon as she said that, I could see a wince. It was almost as if she was trying to censor herself, to talk differently around me. That didn't normally happen, but it might have had something to do with why we had come out tonight. She wanted to make sure that I was all right, and I wanted to make sure that she didn't blame herself for what had happened before.

We walked to the table in silence, mostly. There were a few looks, at both of us. Ponies might have been judging us, they likely were. Many them were my friends, I knew that, but I knew that my size sometimes put people off. That was their problem, mostly.

“I'll be right back.”

“All right. I'll ... order something to drink.”

-Switch to Dash-

“Sure thing. I'll drink just about anything, really.”

With everything going as well as it was, there was still something about this entire place that made me feel uneasy. I quickly made my way to the filly's room, closing the door behind me as I went in. The first thing I did, obviously, was the thing that ponies use the filly's room for. I hadn't been lying, at least not completely. It was a bit of a nervous thing, which soon brought me to the mirror.

Why was I nervous?

I was Rainbow Glittery Dash, I was the pony that everypony looked up to. I did amazing tricks, I did the Sonic Rainboom multiple times in my life. It had been considered a myth, impossible, but I had done it. I was going to be a Wonderbolt, eventually. I had helped defeat Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis. All of these things should have beaten the nervous right out of me.

It wasn't just nervous, though. It was guilt.

Earlier that day

“S-so you think she likes me?”

“Ah, come on Shy. We've been over this a dozen times.” I looked over at my nervous friend, trying to get her to finally go through with the plan. I mean, it was my plan. Anypony who knew me knew my plans were awesome. This one would end awesome as well. “Okay, you tell me if you think she likes you.” There was one way that I knew that this would work. “Who is the only pony she trusts to help her with making those dresses of hers?”

“Um... me? There isn't anypony else, is there?” She looked unsure, so I had to ask a few more questions to try to get her to have some confidence. As much as I love Fluttershy, she's practically my sister, I didn't like this side of her. It always made me feel bad for her.

“And who is the one who she takes to the spa every week?”

“Me.” It was good that this wasn't a question, but even better that she was starting to smile. I just had to push a little harder, I'd help my friend. I could tell she was feeling my energy, that it was helping her.

This last one wasn't going to be an achievement, but it might just work. “And who is going to go tell Rarity, tonight, that she loves her?”

A shocked look overcame her face, and I thought I might have failed.

“'Shy, remember. She wants to be swept off her hooves. She wants somepony to take the initiative. You won't even be alone in this.” This was the icing on the cake, metaphorically anyway. “I'm going to make it start raining soon after you get there. Maybe you get invited over for a quick dinner, you confess your feelings, and everything works out perfectly for everypony.”

That actually sounded like a well thought-out plan. Huh. Who knew I had it in me?

“Well, if you're sure.” She seemed to be a bit nervous, but I knew that this would work out perfectly. There was no way that Rarity would turn down her friend. Even if she did, which totally didn't seem possible at the time, it would be gently. Rarity was good with words, she'd probably come up with some way to make Fluttershy feel good regardless of the outcome.

Not that she was going to say no.

“You'll see, 'Shy, everything is going to be just fine.” I didn't know if I was just trying to convince her. It took a lot for me to get her to go through this, but she wasn't the only one who was going to get something off their chest tonight. I didn't plan out this entire day for nothing.

I mean, I hate planning.

Back at the present

“I shouldn't feel guilty, I know I shouldn't. I didn't do anything wrong. Everypony is going to end tonight being happy. Those two will be perfect for each other, I just know it.” Talking to myself in the mirror was the single least cool thing I had done tonight, even more uncool than putting on makeup.

“Time to get back to Spike.”

One more time, I looked into the mirror. Tonight, I couldn't show any more nervousness, There was no reason. I was going to enjoy myself, I was going to make sure that Spike knew this wasn't a mistake.

-Back to Spike-

I wasn't sure what was taking her so long, but there wasn't much I could do other than wait for her to come back. I ordered some wine, a berry wine that I knew came from one of the ponies around Ponyville, the bottle had been sat down and two glasses had been poured. I was determined to wait, to make a toast to the evening.

Then she came back.

“I was about to send out a search party, I thought something might have happened.”

“Oh haha, Spike.” She quickly sat across from me, looking at me as she smiled. “I didn't want to rush. I mean, I was told by an expert that you don't wanna ruin your makeup. That stuff isn't easy to redo.”

It had probably taken her a long time to get made up the first time, a second time would be asking too much. “You look really good like this.” There had only been a couple of times before that I even knew she was wearing makeup. At the Gala, I hadn't been paying much attention to that. Then there was the wedding, where my main focus was trying to make sure that we didn't get destroyed by those Changelings.

Yep, tonight was the first night I had really paid attention to how beautiful she was with makeup on.

That still seemed awkward to say, and the blush told me that it was an awkward compliment to receive.

“And you look handsome in that tuxedo.”

Now it was time for me to blush. Normally, these types of compliments would come from Rarity, on an outfit that she made. Sometimes, I wasn't sure which she was complimenting more. Tonight was almost as confusing, really. I had come here, wanting to make sure that Rainbow Dash felt better. I had been doing this to make sure that she didn't blame herself as she seemed to have done before.

That wasn't happening, but she seemed intent on making the night about me.

“So, Spike, I hate to admit this ... but I don't know a lot about you before you came to Ponyville.”

That seemed rather weird, but it was better than nothing being said at all. “Oh? I could have sworn that I'd told you guys at one point?” I looked up, trying to remember. There had been the time when I had told Fluttershy, that much I could remember. “Actually, you're right. You guys have always been so busy. If it isn't something big, like Nightmare or Discord, it's something like Parasprites or Poison Joke.” The daily like of a citizen of Ponyville seemed busy, or it might have just been Twilight and her friends. “Other times, it's picnics that you guys get to enjoy while I'm cleaning up the library.”

“She always tells us you didn't want to come.”

I can't remember the last time I had even been asked if I wanted to come along. “That happened twice, and I was sick those times.” It might not be a good idea to tell her the rest of it, but I was going to anyway. “But most of the time? I guess she just really wants the library clean. And I am her number one assistant.” That was a good save, at least it didn't sound too bad like that. “It isn't too bad, really.”

Yet she was looking at me with those sad eyes.

“I didn't know...”

“It's okay, really.” I did it, I made Rainbow feel bad. “Besides, you're more than making up for it tonight, it's been great so far.” That wasn't a lie, I was enjoying myself more than I thought I would. There was a benefit to saying that, though, I got to see Rainbow smile again.

Her smile was way better than her sad face.

“But you were going to ask me something?” I had to get the conversation back on track, otherwise I'd probably lose track of it completely.

“Oh, yeah, right.” It was obvious, to me at least, that she had completely forgotten what she was going to ask. I could see it in her eyes, as she came up with something. It wasn't a panicked look that I saw, but one that I saw all the time when Twilight was trying to figure something out.

Fifteen-seconds passed by before she said something.

“Like ... what was it like before you came here? I mean ... it must have been pretty awesome living in the castle, being able to talk to the Princess whenever you want.”

That was something I heard quite a few ponies say, it was a common misconception. There was one thing, though, that was true. I had been able to talk to Princess Celestia a lot, but only because Twilight was really busy sometimes. It probably also helped that Twilight was her student. Either way, I still see Celestia as a mother figure.

Will I tell anyone? Hay no.

“It was pretty cool being able to talk to the Princess a lot. There were plenty of cool moments, too.” I thought she might be interested, so I continued. “I mean, we all have seen the Gabby Gums article about the Princess eating cake. That one's true, she loves her cake.” That wasn't all that interesting, I could see that I was losing my audience. “But that one definitely wasn't as cool as what happened just a few years before we came to Ponyville.”

I could see I had gotten her interested.

“So, Twilight has always thought really highly of the Princess. That isn't a secret. But she also looks up to the title, and by that I mean she's always wanted to be a Princess herself.” I stopped for a moment, looking around, almost as if I expected Twilight to appear any moment and stop me from continuing. When I was sure that she wasn't going to, I turned back to Rainbow with a wide smile on my face.

“So, one time, she had me and give the Princess a big hug.” That earned me a look of confusion. “I didn't understand it at the time, either. But the shock from the sudden hug, combined with a slight pull, and her tiara came right off. I didn't even notice it, not for a while. I'm not sure if the Princess noticed it either.” I chuckled a little, remembering every detail. It seemed like Rainbow was about to start laughing, too.

“Eventually, though, we both noticed. I started to panic, right? The Princess, she kept calm. She said that she had to have dropped it somewhere, and started to go back to the last place that she had been. That, of course, had been the throne room. She had been speaking with someponies about ... actually, I'm not sure what she did in there most of the time. For all I know, she sits in there and plays with dolls.”

That was a weird mental picture, but I had a story to finish.

“When she got in the throne room, she saw what had really happened. The thing was, though, that Prince Blueblood was there. He seemed really mad, accusing Twilight of overthrowing the Princess.” I took in a breath, trying to stop myself from busting out laughing right immediately. As I was about to continue, a waiter showed up and asked the obvious question.

“Have you thought about what you two are going to have this fine evening?”

I hadn't. It was a good thing that Rainbow had thought about it, or I might have been embarrassed.

“We'll both be having the Alfredo, his with gems sprinkled on top.” With that, the waiter took the order and walked off. I saw her look back at me, obviously wanting me to continue the story.

“All right, so where was I?” I looked up for a moment, let out a laugh, then looked back at Rainbow. “Right, so Blueblood looked like he was about to go get the guards. Twilight was even more panicked than I had ever seen her, thinking she was going to get banished for it. I guess she assumed Celestia would get mad at her for taking the crown. As Blueblood turned to walk, though, he started to hear clapping.” It was getting really hard to not laugh.

“Then he heard both of us laughing. He looked so confused, especially when he saw Celestia walk up to the throne and bow down. 'Princess Twilight, I was hoping we might speak for a moment' was the thing that she said. It was too much, I could barely make myself stop laughing. I even joined in, walking over and bowing. 'Your trusty knight, Spike, milady,.' I don't think I've ever seen Twilight blush so much in my life.”

That story had taken longer to tell than I had honestly thought it would.

I hadn’t seen Rainbow look uninterested, or bored, the entire time. At least, I couldn’t remember seeing her look either of those. That would have seemed strange to me, but the story was good. Now that I’ve told her the story, I wonder what I should tell her. I mean, she wasn’t exactly specific about what she wanted to know.

“That’s pretty cool.” I saw her trying to think of something else to say, something to ask. If she didn’t have anything, I’m sure I’d eventually come up with something to talk about. It might be interesting to know what she wanted to ask, though, if she came up with something. “So, was there anypony special up there before you came down here to Ponyville?”

That was a strange question, and my expression probably gave that thought away.

“I mean, Twilight didn’t have many friends up there, but come on, you’re not an egghead. I’m sure you had tons of friends.”

Oh, that made more sense. I was being asked if I had any friends.

“Well, I really didn’t have much time for friends up there. When I was old enough to be her assistant, I was.” I smiled, thinking back to the first time I had seen the sheer mess that the small unicorn could make. It might not seem like a good memory to almost anypony but to me it was the start of a friendship. It was also good to realize just how much she needed me. “That took up almost all of my time, since she was always busy doing one thing or another.”

Then it happened, I remembered that Moondancer kept inviting us to her parties. I tried to get her a gift, but that never worked out. “There was one unicorn, Moondancer, who kept inviting us to her birthday parties. I was never able to really go to any, but we kept getting invited anyway.”

“Wait. You turned down an invitation to a party? Pinkie would freak out if somepony turned down an invitation to one of her parties…”

That was probably true.

“Yeah, but I didn’t have much of a choice. Twilight needed me a lot more back then.” Okay, so I just hit another sore spot. I know that Twilight needs me to do less, which sounds like a good thing. There is something to be said about always cooking, cleaning, and so forth. Most people would say that time off is good, but sometimes I feel like she’s slowly pulling away from me. Should I tell somepony what I think? “If you guys weren’t so awesome, I’d wish things had never changed.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” I looked around, as if there was some reason for this to be a secret. “Promise you won’t tell anypony?”

“Sure thing, Spike, you can trust me.”

I let out a sigh, this was something that had to be let out. Somepony might be able to give me some advice. “It’s been getting worse since the whole thing with Discord.” A confused look from Rainbow told me that she didn’t understand what I was talking about. “Haven’t you noticed that she has become more and more open? She’s become more and more active in Ponyville, spending more time with you guys?”

“Yeah. And I have to say, it’s pretty awesome. What could be wrong with that?”

“Well, have you noticed who is rarely around when you guys are hanging out?”

“Oh.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love you guys. And Twilight has always needed friends… I just wish it didn’t feel like she was trying to distance herself from me in the process.” I felt a little better at the end of it, as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

The power of telling how you feel.

“Have you tried talking to Twilight about it?

At that point, my expression changed. I doubt it could very much be called an expression at all. “Remember when I went to go work for Applejack, because of my Dragon Code? I spent a few minutes packing up, and then I spent some time trying to tell her what I was doing? And she just sat there and continued to ignore the hay out of me.”

“Oh, right.”

“I don’t know how I can get through to her.”

I saw that look again, she was thinking about something. “What if I got Fluttershy or Rarity to talk to her about it? Or maybe I could? I’m totally good at this sort of thing.”

At that point, I chuckled. It wasn’t meant as in insult, but for a moment it seemed as though Rainbow was going to take it that way. “You are pretty awesome, Rainbow. I’ll think about it.” I winked, and she smiled as wide as I had ever seen her smile.

Chapter 3

“Enough about me, though, I’d like to hear more about you.” It seemed, to me at least, like a fairly obvious thing. I had been asked to talk about myself, had even gone so far as tell her one of my biggest problems, but I still didn’t know anything more about her. That was something that I was going to fix, right here and now.

“Sure, what do you want to know?”

That was the difficult question, wasn’t it?

“Hmm…” I took a breath, looked up, and then kept trying to think of one question, any question. There was one thing that I had been wondering for a long time, and this seemed like a perfect time as any. “There has been one thing that I’ve been wondering for a long time.”

“Oh?”

“Why weather patrol?”

I saw her look at me, her smile still there. “Because I’m good at it.”

“Good at … kicking clouds?”

I saw her roll her eyes, the smile still there. “There’s more to it than that, Spikey. You have to know about different weather patterns, you have to be able to make sure that everything works together. Too much rain, and it’s as much a disaster as not enough.” She looked at me, a serious expression having overtaken the smile. “And then there’s the Everfree Forest, it throws off a lot of plans.”

“Wow, that sounds like … a lot of work.”

“Not really, I’m good at it. I get most of it done pretty quickly.” The serious expression was gone again, the arrogant smile that I knew her for was back. “I mean, they don’t give scholarships to just anypony. You’d have to be pretty smart to go to Cloudsdale University without paying a single bit.”

That was something I didn’t expect, and my expression probably showed it.

“Don’t let any of the others know, but I graduated with honors. I could get the girls to call me ‘Doctor Rainbow Dash’, or maybe it’d be ‘Doctor Dash’ .” The smile on her face was still there, but for some reason she had looked up. It was almost as if she was trying to figure out which one was the right one.

“That’s really cool … egghead.” I snickered, but she simply looked down at me with a frown on her face.

“I am not an egghead. This sort of thing is really cool, it’s not all book-y. It’s-”

“I was just kidding, Rainbow. What you do sounds way too cool to be egghead-y in any way.”

She looked relieved, and soon enough she was even smiling again. I still don’t know why, but for some reason I started to chuckle. Strangely enough, it seemed to be contagious. Soon enough, I wasn’t the only one chuckling.

“You’re a complicated mare, Rainbow.”

“Yep, that’s me.”

“This next one’s going to probably seem a bit weird…” I saw a confused look on her face. It was a question that I didn’t want to ask, but it was one that I needed to. After all, I hadn’t read many books on the subject. That was more of Twilight’s thing, I had hoped that I would be able to come up with this on my own. “What are ponies supposed to do on a date, anyway? I had been trying to get one, but beyond going to a restaurant and talking to each other? I’m stumped.”

“I think that’s it.”

“You think?”

I saw her look around, almost as if the next thing she was going to say was going to be some giant secret. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Sure thing.” I knew that wasn’t likely enough, so I started through the motions. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” I still don’t know why I’m starting to do that without being asked, it just feels right.

She leaned in, and I did the same. We were only a couple of inches away from each other when she lowered her voice to say what she said next. I hadn’t actually expected it, though I should have. “I’ve never actually been on a date before. I was almost on a date, but I faked being sick to get out of it at the last minute. I was just … too nervous. I haven’t told anypony else yet, it’s totally uncool.”

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

“I know, Spike, you’re awesome.”

With that, we both sat back and looked at each other. It felt really good to be trusted like that. I knew two secrets, and they weren’t even small secrets. These were giant secrets that she likely hadn’t told anypony. At least, it didn’t seem to me like she had told anypony else. She might have told Fluttershy, actually, but those two were close enough to be sisters.

“So, Spike, what about you? Why haven’t you been on a date? I’m sure a handsome drake like yourself had to beat off the mares with a stick … figuratively speaking, of course.”

I couldn’t help it, I started to laugh.

“Not a single mare showed any interest in me … that I can remember.” I looked straight at Rainbow, the smile still there. “I had to spend a lot of my time making sure that Twilight was all right, or more accurately that the library books were back on their shelves. She studied even more than she does now.” I saw the look of disbelief, and I chuckled. “I know, it doesn’t sound possible.

Now she has you guys, and my workload still hasn’t changed much.”

Was I complaining? Did I have any room to complain? I wasn’t sure of either, but I didn’t want to be. This was supposed to be a fun little date … err a friend-date. It wouldn’t have been horrible if this had been an actual date, though.

Too bad Rainbow Dash wasn’t my type.

“I can’t believe that. You’ve gotta be pulling my leg.”

“No, really, Twilight studies less now. She’s with you guys so mu-”

“Not that.” I heard the sigh, almost as if she hadn’t expected to have to explain. “You’re awesome, cute, and you’re telling me that there wasn’t a single mare that was out there gave you a second look.”

It was that time again, time for me to blush. She was too kind, she just kept heaping praise in my direction. This wasn’t the Rainbow Dash that I had known, or at least it wasn’t a part of her that I had known. If it wasn’t for everything else tonight, I’d have to wonder if she had been replaced with a changeling.

Rainbow was just a lot more complicated than I thought she was.

“You’re too kind, Rainbow.”

She was kind, caring, loyal, strong. Those were things that made a great friend. I also knew that she could be beautiful, if she put her mind to it. Tonight was a good enough sign of that. The mare before me was everything that I could possibly want in a special somepony.

That couldn’t be right, though, Rarity was my special somepony. She … no, I shouldn’t have thought about her. Tears started to well up in my eyes, the thought stung worst than I had thought it would. The picture of Fluttershy kissing her, it rang through my mind. “I-I’ll be right back. I have to use the restroom.”

“Okay, don’t get lost on the way. The food should be here soon…”

Rainbow didn’t sound happy as she said that, but at that point my thoughts were on getting somewhere else. I would sit in the restroom for a while, try to get my thoughts away from my troubles, and come back out able to get through the rest of the evening.

-Switch to Rainbow-

Was it something I said?

I bore my secrets to him, let him know some of the things that I let few know. I told Fluttershy, but we are basically sisters. I can’t do much without telling her. She’s too important for me to keep some secret. I didn’t tell Applejack, Rarity, anypony on the Weather Team. Some of my family didn’t even know about the fact that I could be called Doctor Dash.

I paid for it myself, just to make sure of that.

I knew that he wouldn’t tell anypony, Spike was much too loyal for that.

I knew he wouldn’t run out, he was much too nice for that.

“You should tell him.” My good friend, Pinkie Pie, popped up out of nowhere. It seemed that she was good at that sort of thing, much to the chagrin of what everypony else referred to as the laws of nature.

“What if he never wants to see me again?”

“Why wouldn’t he want to see you again?”

“You know he doesn’t like me like that.”

“Do I? Do you?” Pinkie, while she may have a few screws loose, knew ponies. She knew what they were thinking, even when she didn’t let it out. I knew that she knew something I didn’t, I knew she was planning something. Not many ponies would actually put those two things together, planning with Pinkie, but I knew better than to believe that everything she did was really random.

I knew that she knew something.

“If you knew that, you wouldn’t have been so happy when he asked you out.”

“He calls it a friend-date.”

“Because that’s how he sees you right now, one of his best friends.”

“Exactly. And that’s all I’ll ever be.”

“And now you know how he must have felt around Rarity.” I hated it when Pinkie made sense, even more when it meant something like this. I didn’t stand a chance, he had never stood a chance. Part of me had always known that Rarity would turn him down, though it had never actually come to that.

Fluttershy had been quicker to know her feelings.

“You’re not helping, Pinks. I don’t want this to end like it did between him and Rares. I … I don’t think I could stand it.” Tears started to form in my eyes, which was the most uncool thing that could have happened. There was no rain to try to hide it, there was nothing. There was just a room full of ponies, and I was about to cry.

“There there, it’ll be alright. Auntie Pinkie won’t let anything like that happen to you. That’s why I’m here” She was patting me on the head, as if I was some sort of child. “I’m here to give you the only advice that you’ll need to make sure that he doesn’t leave this date the way he came.”

“That sounds … vague, but sure.”

“Be bold, be Rainbow Dash.”

That advice didn’t make any sense at all. I couldn’t be anypony but myself, I was never anything other than bold. This might have made sense to anypony else, but to me she might as well have spoken Prench. I looked over, ready to ask her what she meant, but she was gone.

How did she do that?

“Madam, your dinner is served.”

Two plates were sat on the table, one of them in front of me. I was kind of hungry, not having eaten dinner before now, yet I waited. I knew, somehow, that my Knight in Shining Scales would be coming out of the restroom soon. I didn’t know how I knew, but it was just a feeling.

“Thanks.”

“If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to ask.”

“Will do.”

There was only one thing that came to mind, something that I had to do soon if I wanted this date to end on a good note.

I had to tell him.

-What Spike was doing during that-

I didn’t know what to do.

This entire night hadn’t been perfect, but it had started to get better. I was with a friend, Rainbow, and we were having fun. I generally did have a lot of fun with Rainbow, she was somepony who I could trust. Tonight, she was showing off another side of her. I was being trusted with information that was, as she would put it, totally uncool.  
She was being there for me, but that last thought about Rarity had sent me to the restroom crying.

I was being a horrible friend.

“You know what you have to do.” The voice wasn’t my own, it was actually a voice that came from the mirror. That might seem strange, given that voices didn’t typically come from mirrors, but the mare whose voice it was seemed to be an exception to the laws of nature.

“I have no idea Pinkie.” Why was she in the colts’ restroom anyway? I figured it wasn’t something I was going to get answered, though. No use asking a question if you know the answer isn’t coming. “I don’t even know why I came here.

“I thought you came here for a date…”

“I was going to, but then Rarity turned me down.”

“And now why are you here?”

“I don’t know, Pinkie, you tell me.”

“You’re going to have to figure that one out for yourself.” That sing-song voice was the last thing I heard before the mare disappeared again.

What did she mean by that? Had that even been Pinkie? I wasn’t sure, I couldn’t be sure. It hadn’t seemed much like the Pinkie I knew, but that didn’t mean much. It seemed like everypony around me had their secrets. Maybe I would eventually discover that even Twilight was hiding stuff from me.

Nah, that wasn’t likely. Twilight is horrible at keeping secrets, I learned that the hard way.

I had to figure out why I was here. I had asked Rainbow out with the idea of making her feel better. That was it, right? I figured we could both have some fun, and I could make sure she didn’t blame herself for what happened. All of that had made perfect sense at the time, especially given the fact that I already had made the reservation for this restaurant.

Then she had decided to wear the dress, which was expected, and get a complete makeover. Whether she did that for herself, or had a friend do it, I don’t know. The problem that came with it, though, was that she was beautiful. Most wouldn’t consider that a problem, but it was.

I continued to look into the mirror, my tears having dried up. It was a good thing that I didn’t wear makeup, that would have made this a lot more messy. I would probably have smeared something, I heard several mares talk about how they couldn’t cry when they wore that eye makeup.

It really was good to be a guy.  
My problem wasn’t fixed, I still didn’t know why I was there, but I was starting to get hungrier. I hadn’t eaten dinner, or course, so it made perfect sense. At least I had gotten my mind off of the problem that had brought me in here. If I could keep focusing on Pinkie’s words, on figuring out the real reason behind this friend-date, then I could keep my composure.

That was the most important thing.

All right, it was time for me to get out there. I had to see how Rainbow was holding up, and I had to come up with an excuse. Maybe I could just tell her that it was a dragon health issue. That might get her worried, but at least she couldn’t refute it. Nopony around here, or at least nopony in the building, knew anything about dragons. I could get away with it, I’d just have to tell a little lie.

Chapter 4

I’m finally ready, everything is back the way it should be. I’m going to go out there, tell that little lie, and we’re both going to enjoy our dinners. Our food should be there by now, I know it. If it isn’t, I’ll just have to come up with something else to talk about. That won’t be so hard, talking is something I’m fairly good at.

Door open, I look out to see that Rainbow is still there. That part isn’t really a surprise, she is the most loyal of friends. Besides, she seemed to be enjoying this just as much as I had been.

As I got to the table, the one question that I had been preparing to answer came.

“Something wrong?”

I had been thinking, the entire walk, about the exact way to word it. “Nothing to worry about, I just had to take care of a dragon issue.” I hadn’t come up with anything specific, my brain was still trying to come up with something. I was going through all of the books that I had read, or more accurately had been lectured about when Twilight had gotten the idea that I needed to learn.

She didn’t look convinced, her eyes staring into mine. “Dragon issues, huh? You don’t have to lie to me, Spike. I can’t do anything to help if you don’t tell me the truth.”

She was onto me. I had to come up with something more specific, or tell her the truth. The second one didn’t seem like a good idea, so I would have to quickly come up with something that she couldn’t refute. “I didn’t want to say it, but…” I motioned for her to come closer, as if this was some secret. I had started to get something, from one of my lectures about reptiles, but I needed a few more moments.

“But what?” She whispered back, though she still seemed to be wary of my next words.

“I felt some of the scales on my back starting to shed. It’s a fairly embarrassing, sometimes painful, thing. I just didn’t want anypony to know because they might not be a big fan of scales being flushed down their toilet.”

“Why’s that?”

“Oh, it sometimes clogs if I lose too many at once. New scales push the old off, it’s how I grow.” That sounded pretty cool. What was it that it was called when reptiles did it? Molting? Or was it really shedding? I wasn’t good with the wording, I had completely forgotten what it was from the lecture.

“Like Pegasi and their feathers?” That was actually a good comparison. I hadn’t thought of the fact that this was something she might actually know something about. The only thing that saved me was that she only knew what it might be like, not really knowing if I was telling the truth or not.

I simply nodded.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, then. It’s just something that has to happen.”

That was amazing, it really was. I hadn’t expected her to be like this, so supportive of something that was completely uncool. “Thanks, Rainbow.” I looked down, my food did look really good right now. My stomach rumbled, and then I leaned back and chuckled. “But I think it’s time we both enjoyed our meals. I left you waiting out here for a while, I don’t even know how long the meal’s been here.”

“Not too long, but you’re right.”

Thus, the awkward silence stated. I didn’t know what to say, and it was rude to talk with my mouth full anyway. Twilight had told me that plenty of times, ice cream normally ending up in her mane while I was talking. Rainbow would occasionally look up at me, as if she was trying to think of something.

We were at an impasse, neither of us knowing what to say to the other one.

A swallowed a bit of food, about half-way through the meal, when I finally thought of the most obvious conversation re-starter. “This is delicious.” That wasn’t enough to get more than agreement, I knew that, so I continued. “You really do know how to pick out the best.”

“I’m glad you like it. I was actually a little worried you wouldn’t.”

“You? Worried? I didn’t think I’d see the day.” I snickered, though the joke obviously wasn’t as funny to her. She smirked, but something about it looked forced. “You shouldn’t have worried, it’s just food.”

“I know, but I wanted tonight to be perfect for u- for you.”

I saw a flash of a nervous grin, but I decided to try to ignore that. “But how about you? Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Hay yea- I mean … yes, I am.” The smile widened, and it sure was a lovely smile. “Good food, the best company.” I couldn’t help it, my cheeks started to feel warmer as she kept talking. “Who wouldn’t enjoy themselves?” Another drink, we both had the same idea, to wash down the food.

This felt right, somehow. I don’t know how to explain it, but everything here just felt like it should have been. This was the date, the friend-date, that the night was meant to be occupied by.

-To Rainbow-

I have to tell him.

I almost slipped it out, but then I got nervous. This wasn’t supposed to be this difficult. I’ve done things that no other pony could claim, but this made those seem easy by comparison. If I messed up on one of those, then I got hurt in a way that would heal.

I still worried about what might happen if he didn’t return my feelings.

Another drink, things seemed to be easier with each passing drink. I wouldn’t become drunk, though, I’d have to drink a lot more wine than we could afford to get drunk. I would just drink enough to make sure that I could say what I needed to say.

No more, no less.

The meal was starting to wind down, actually. We were both almost done with our food, delicious as it had been. I was running out of time, I had to get the words to come out of my mouth. If only I could get the words to come out, this would all be over. As much as I was afraid of the possible outcome, I wouldn’t know until I tried.

“Spike. I have something really important to tell you. Please … please hear me out before you say something.”

-To Spike-

This had to be something big, I knew it.

That didn’t take a genius to figure out, though. Rainbow had said it was something important, said it was something that she wanted me to hear out before I said anything. She had told me a lot of things tonight, so it could be anything. For all I knew, she could be telling me about some sort of crime, or something else that would change the lives of everypony around her forever.

She could be sharing the news with me first.

If that was the case, I didn’t have much of a choice. I felt nervous, but also trusted. She was going to tell me something important, something she might not have told anypony else. It felt good to be trusted, especially by Rainbow.

Why especially by Rainbow? I was confused, but the time for thinking would come after I listened to what she was going to tell me.

“Alright, Rainbow, I’ll listen until you tell me you’re done.”

-To Rainbow-

I opened my mouth again, and nothing came. That was my rotten luck, so I took the opportunity to take another drink. That would probably make it seem as though I had just been thirsty, not that my mind had gone blank for a while.

“Spike, we’ve been friends for a long time. I saw you come to Ponyville, and I’ve had the joy of being around you a lot since then.” Why did this have to be so hard? Why couldn’t I just tell him how I felt right then and there? Speeches weren’t my thing, yet here I was giving a speech. “And it’s been amazing. You’re kind, caring, generous, honest, and you’re always there when somepony needs you.”

I saw a blush, but I didn’t acknowledge it. I simply continued.

“Whether it was helping us with our pets, or helping save Applejack from the Timberwolves, you’re always there. And you’re strong. I mean, who else can say they’ve taken down one of those things? None of us, I’m telling you that for certain.” If I hadn’t quickly given the answer, he might have said something. I wanted to get this off of my chest before he said anything.

I didn’t want to lose the little confidence that I had.

“Throughout everything we’ve done, you’ve always been there for me.” Did I just repeat myself? I think I did, but I was just going to have to continue as if I didn’t just notice that. “And that’s not even saying how handsome you look, like tonight with your tuxedo.” Another blush, it seemed that I was going to get a lot of those tonight. “Listen … I said all of that because I need to get something off of my chest.”

I couldn’t say it, in the end. I couldn’t use those three mystical words that would have probably fixed everything. I couldn’t get the word love out, but that didn’t mean that I was going to call this whole thing a bust. I leaned over, motioning for him to do the same. As soon as he did, I pressed my lips against his.

I didn’t have to say it, I had to show it. I was Rainbow Dash, I was bold. Words weren’t needed, not for me, I just needed actions.

-To Spike-

I hadn’t seen that one coming.

Throughout the entire speech, I was getting more nervous. She was saying so many good things about me, so many things that made me it more obvious what she was going to say. My heart started to beat faster, my blushes became more frequent with each passing compliment. Everything was leading up to the final moment, the kiss, her lips pressed against mine.

I didn’t have to think about what I should do, it became obvious in that split second.

In my mind, I knew that I would always love Rarity. That was something that I couldn’t change, as much as it hurt me to think. She was not with me, though, she was a mare who has a special somepony.

It all came back to why I was here.

I told myself it was to make Rainbow feel better, but tickets to the Wonderbolts would have done that. This was something more. This had been for me, this had been because I did something more than simply consider Rainbow Dash a friend.

As the kiss ended, I pulled back. A smile was on my face, this was the happiest I had been the entire night.

“I love you, Rainbow.”

-To Rainbow-

Those words, they should have been said by me.

Wait. I wasn’t the one that said them?

A look of shock took over my face for a few moments, my mind trying to process what had just happened. I had been so afraid that he wouldn’t want to be around me anymore, I had thought that I might have to come up with an excuse if things went wrong, but things couldn’t have gone more right.

He loved me.

“You don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you say that, Spike.”

The rest of the night didn’t matter, it was already the best night ever.

Chapter 5

“I love you too, Spike.”

I heard those words, and that made the night perfect. Nothing could make it better, or at least I couldn’t think of anything that could make it any better. The food had been good, and the company was even better. Of course, I didn’t eat the company. That would have just been rude.

This entire night hadn’t gone as expected.

I had never thought that I would have fallen for Rainbow, that I even had feelings for her. Yet, I did. I had said those words, I had kissed her, everything seemed perfect. It might have started with her, but a kiss goes both ways. I could have easily moved away, or not told her I loved her, or any number of things that didn’t happen.

It all felt right, though. At the same time, everything was changing almost too fast fast for me to keep my head around.

-Rainbow Dash-

I’d tell everyone that there was never any doubt, because that’s who I am.

I am Rainbow Glittery Dash, or just Rainbow Dash to the majority of ponies, and I didn’t get nervous. I didn’t fear for the worst. I didn’t do anything beyond plow ahead, at full speed, and get whatever it was that I was trying for. Yet I still reel from those words, the feeling of the kiss being one that I didn’t expect to feel.

I am Rainbow Dash, and this is my perfect night.

-Spike-

The meal was winding down. Neither of us seemed to know what to say, almost as if the words before had been enough for the entire night. Were they? I don’t know, but the occasional blush on her face still tells me that she hadn’t expected this sort of thing to happen at all.

Who could have foreseen it?

“We should do this again, sometime soon. Maybe get to know each other more.”

This date was going to end, eventually, but that didn’t mean anything. I was going to have a second, third, maybe fourth date with her. I didn’t mean to plan much further than that, plans never worked with me.

Besides, I still had to tell Twilight. Part of me worried, for some strange reason.

-Rainbow-
What could I really say?

This was awesome.

“I’d like that, Spike.”

I had just been asked out by my coltfriend. Or was it drakefriend? Coltdrakefriend? I knew that he was referred to as a gentledrake, but that didn’t translate out to a title very well.

Maybe I was over-thinking it.

“I’d like that a lot.”

-Spike-

It felt strange to say it in my head, still. I was going to go out on dates with Rainbow Dash, a pony that I hadn’t thought of in a romantic way at any point until now. She had seemed like the type that didn’t think about romance, or anything that didn't involve flying fast or the Wonderbolts.

Then there were the rumors that she wasn’t into stallions, which I had always tried to steer away of. Rumors were horrible things, I remembered that from back when we all met Zecora.

“I hope everything was to your liking.” The waiter finally showed up again, perfectly timed to break the silence. I silently thanked him, not know what I should say before the date really did draw to a close.

“You bet. This was some of the best food I’ve eaten in a long time, it was fantastic.”

Of course, I knew that fantastic food came at less-than-fantastic prices.

“I expect you’ll be wanting the bill?” I really didn’t, but I knew I had to. I gave a nod, and soon the piece of paper was sat down.

-Rainbow-

Okay, this was too expensive.

I had to say something, or at the very least I had to pay for my half. Spike might have put some bits back for this, but something told me that he didn’t have that much. Even if he did, I would feel bad if I just emptied him out like this.

“I’ll pa-”

-Spike-

It was time for me to cut her off, as rude as that was

“I wouldn’t dream of having you pay for any of it, Rainbow. I invited you, and it’s part of my dragon code to never make somepony pay for a gift.”

It really wasn’t, but that made it sound better.

Rainbow looked at me for a few moments, and I could tell that she was thinking about protesting, but she quickly seemed to give in.

-Rainbow-

Why did he have to pull that deal about the dragon code? He didn’t have to pay for it all, I would have paid for my half. I had even ordered, if I remembered right. Everything was swimming around in my head, most of it drowned out with the memory of the kiss.

Then the words, spoken by him

I had to get my head together, or I was going to be totally useless tomorrow during Weather Patrol.

-Spike-

The meal had been expensive, but completely worth it.

It wasn’t just how good the food had tasted, either. That did help. The biggest thing was that I had come here sad, and I hadn’t even thought that I was coming here for me. That turned out to be wrong, of course. I think, no it’s more like I feel, as though I got the most out of this date.

It felt nice to say to myself that I had a marefriend, and it felt even better somehow to know that was it was Rainbow Dash.

“I almost wish this night didn’t have to end.”

Yet, I knew that it was coming to an end. The meal was through, the waiter was likely going to be coming back soon to tell us that there was another couple that was waiting for their table. It would probably be better if we left before that, though that was just a feeling I had.

“I was wondering … would it be all right if we just walked back. The carriage was nice, but it’d be nice to walk at night without hearing about every star in the sky.”

-Rainbow--

I couldn’t help it, I started to chuckle.

“Oh, it can’t be that bad.” I knew that Twilight loved to teach, or at the very least she loved to explain everything that she had ever learned when given the chance, but talking about the stars seemed a bit too much.

“You’re right, it’s worse.”

I don’t know why, but I hadn’t expected that he would respond like that.

The chuckle became a laugh, and soon he was laughing with me. That still left the idea of walking back. I didn’t know if it was such a good idea, for once I wasn’t quite sure what the weather would be like. I’d rather not get this dress dirty, Rarity would kill me if she found out that I had to get it washed.

Then again, I could always just blame it on my job.

Yep, I would blame it on the Weather Team if she got mad.

“Sure thing, Spike, it’d be my pleasure to walk you home.”

I hated walking, but flying in this dress wasn’t really going to happen. Well, I could probably fly in the dress. The idea of carrying Spike with me, though, was one that I wasn’t going to do in this dress. Without this dress, though, I probably wouldn’t have been able to go out with Spike in the first place.

Maybe I should thank Rarity again.

-Spike-

I had paid for the meal, made sure that Rainbow was going to walk me home, it seemed as though everything was ready. If we didn’t go back soon, Twilight might start to worry.

Then again, she might have gotten caught up in studying, it was a toss up.

“So, how do you think the others will respond.” I had an idea of how Twilight would respond, but she always seemed to surprise me. It might not be as bad as I thought, or it could be worse. She did always see me as a baby dragon, after all.

“I’m sure they’ll be happy for us.”

Yeah, that made sense. Fluttershy was happy when anyone was happy, the same could be said for Pinkie Pie. Rarity seemed like the type that would approve of love, and Applejack seemed like she would probably be the same, really.

It was only Twilight that worried me, she seemed to be so protective of me sometimes. “I hope so.” A grin came to my face. “I’m sure it’ll all work out, it always does.”

Those last words would probably be considered a jinxing moment, if things actually did go wrong. Either way, the two of us were soon walking back. It probably helped that she hadn’t known when the date would end, so she hadn’t been able to plan for us to go in the carriage again.

It wasn’t that long of a walk anyway.

“I really enjoyed myself tonight, Rainbow. Maybe next time, we can do something you love.” I enjoyed just about everything, really. It might be nice for me to go to some sort of event, or even do something, that she enjoyed. “Who knows? I might learn something about myself.”

I turned to her for a moment, right in front of the door.

“This has been the best night ever.”

With those words, I moved to kiss her again. This was never going to get old, I knew it. Twilight would probably tell me that two kisses didn't set a trend, but it wasn't like I could stand there the entire night kissing her. I was starting to get tired, so I suddenly broke off the kiss and headed into the library. As I did, I thought I saw eyes looking down at me from the top of the stairs.

It was probably the owl, or maybe it was Pee Wee.

It didn’t matter, at least not right then, I was starting to get tired. Whatever happened could wait until tomorrow, after I got a good night’s sleep.

Author's Note

Thanks for helping me catch the problem.

Chapter 7

Humming.

Hummus.

I could use some hummus right now, on some bread. Man, I always seemed to think about food when I wake up. Maybe it’s something about maintaining this much awesome, or flying, but I’m always really hungry when I wake up. That aside, I really feel like I should know this humming. The voice sounds familiar enough, though I’m not sure why she came to my cloud house.

Did I invite her?

I open my eyes, snap them open is more accurate, to see that I’m nowhere near my cloud house. I almost panic, but then it hits me. I never actually got back to my cloud house. It all comes back, the previous night when I had spent over an hour flying around after the date. It still felt awesome to think about it.

The flight, that is, the time afterward was alright.

That still didn’t answer the question of where I was. When I finally looked around, my head still groggy from the sleep, the question was quickly replaced with another question. Now I knew where I was, I was at Fluttershy’s cottage. The question that came to my mind was why I was here, out of all of the places that I might have gone. Part of me had thought that I might have been at the library, that would have made more sense than coming here. Don’t get me wrong, Fluttershy is a good friend and I love spending time with her.

But I have no idea why I’m here right now.

“Oh, hey Rainbow. I was just getting done with breakfast.” It seemed kind of strange that she wasn’t shocked, or at least wasn’t showing it, that I had just shown up. “W-what are you doing here? I mean, it isn’t like I don’t enjoy your company, but you normally don’t just show up out of nowhere. And I can’t even remember the last time you slept in the tree outside.” It seems as though I had thought that too soon. “Oh my gosh, I should have let you in. You shouldn’t have had to sleep out there. I shou-”

I had to cut her off, it always hurt when she blamed herself for something that she couldn’t have known about.

“Actually, ‘Shy, I was just kind of flying around and found a comfortable tree.” Should I admit that I didn’t know why I was here? Part of me knew that honesty was the best policy, but something told me that it was better to just let her think that I chose this tree for a reason. It would probably hurt her feelings if I said otherwise. “And this tree is really comfortable.”

“Wait... flying around?”

“Yeah, I had a lot to think about. Last night was a big night, after all.”

It was almost as if my words had opened up some sort of gate. The normally timid Fluttershy smiled even wider, and actually flew up to give me a giant hug. It felt nice, but I couldn’t think of anything that I had done lately to really get a hug. I mean, a hug from Spike would make sense. The girls seemed to give hugs on a normal basis when we were all in a group, but Fluttershy didn’t strike me as a pony who gave a lot of hugs.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

I was lost.

“Errr.... you’re welcome.”

“Why don’t we go inside, get some tea, and I’ll tell you all about it?”

I was still half-asleep, none of that made any sense. Also, if this was anypony else I would have said no to the tea. This was Fluttershy, nopony could say no to tea with Fluttershy. Besides, she had some good news. Maybe she would be able to help me figure out what it was that was bothering me. Those might be two separate subjects, but still. I’d go in, listen to her talk about whatever it was that had happened to her, and then I’d tell her about everything that had happened the night before.

No names, though, I wasn’t sure if Spike was ready to tell anypony.

“Sure. Some tea would be nice.”

Of course, there was one bunny that was determined to make the good morning into something else. I don’t think I will ever understand what Fluttershy sees in that bunny, that demonic creature named Angel Bunny. It seems as though, without fail, that little creature bounces right on my head when I come over to the cottage. The only times that doesn’t happen are centered around him not being around. Today was a day when he was around, and so my head got bounced on.

According to Fluttershy, that means he likes me.

I’d rather not be liked by Angel if that’s what it means.

There isn’t a lot for me to do, other than sit around and wait for the tea. Fluttershy seems like she’s off somewhere else, a wide smile on her face as she makes the tea. If my eyes don’t deceive me, the bags she chose are ones that she usually shares with Rarity. Of course, I only have the color of the label to go by. I don’t really have much expertise in it, either, meaning there’s a great chance that something could be wrong in my expert analysis.

I probably was, especially since I was still yawning every so often.

“It’s nice having you over early, I know you usually like to sleep in.”

This was true. My shift was even in the afternoon a lot of the time, just to compensate for that. Then again, I made my hours. They didn’t care about when I came in, as long as I got the jobs for the day done. They always had a list, and it was usually a rather big list, for the things that had to be done that day. Sweet Apple Acres needed rain, and they needed it frequently. There were orders for cloud cover over portions of the town for a perfect picnic. Sometimes, the mayor would request a rainy day to help with her flowers.

They knew who could get all the cloud moving, busting, and almost any other weather job done.

“Yeah, I’m kinda shocked I’m awake this early too. It’s... different.” I moved a hoof over my face, trying to wake myself up.

“If you’d like, I could put something extra in yours. It might help wake you up.”

That was Fluttershy, always trying to help. When ponies were around her, they couldn’t help but smile. It was impossible to be sad around my good friend Fluttershy. It was also impossible to be really mad, though she did get frustrating sometimes. Right now, though, all I could do was smile and give an enthusiastic nod. “That would be great of ya, ‘Shy.” I didn’t have much to do that day, but it would still probably be nice to do something else. Maybe I could spend some time with my friends, or maybe I could go hang out at the library and see about the next Daring Do.

Either way, I’d have to be awake.

“The tea should be done in about a minute.” A hoof moved to the back of my head, and I rubbed it. Something still seemed a bit weird. I had done her a favor, and for the life of me I still couldn’t think of what it could be. The last thing I had done was tell her to go to Rarity, but that had been all her.

It had to be something I wasn’t thinking of.

“And it’s ready.” I looked over, and the cup was being brought over to the table. It was steaming, but that was generally the case when you just finished tea. Even I knew that.

“It looks delicious.” I say that every time, and it turns out to be true about half of it.

“Thank you. I tried something new, just for you.”

That meant that it was either going to be awesome or terrible, but I’d say it was awesome either way.

“While we’re waiting for it to cool a little, why don’t we talk?” Fluttershy, contrary to how she acts around a group of ponies, loves to talk when she’s with a few friends. If she has something that she wants to talk about, like she obviously does right now, then getting her to stop is almost impossible. “I mean... if you don’t mind, that is.”

“Of course I don’t mind, Shy. I mean, you were going to tell me about... something.” It was better that I didn’t guess, I might have gotten it wrong. I mean, for all I knew there was something that she thought I did. It could have been some sort of perfect weather thing that helped her take care of her little critters.

“Oh, last night was the most perfect night ever.” Okay, so I had been right. I couldn’t help it, my smile got a little wider. “I couldn’t have done it with you, Rainbow. You’re the best friend anypony could ever ask for.”

That seemed like a bit too much praise. “Huh?”

“Oh, right, you weren’t there.” I saw her take a sip of her tea, which meant I probably could too. When I did, my eyes grew wide. This couldn’t have been tea, this was far too awesome to be tea. It was the second best drink I had ever had. The first was Sweet Apple Acres apple cider, but that was impossible to beat. “I’m really glad you like it.”

Not only did it taste good, but I felt more awake.

“Okay, so remember how you told me to go tell Rarity? I... I went over there that night, just as planned.” I nodded, I really liked where this was going. If she was happy, then she had been able to tell Rarity. Things couldn’t have gone bad from there, if she was this happy.

“Yep, and you told me to go tell my crush.”

“I remember that.” Fluttershy didn’t ask anything yet, she seemed to be focused on her story. Maybe she would ask me afterward. “Well, you see, we had the most wonderful meal. Rarity thought that it was just like any other time that I came over to talk about something, and at first... I couldn’t come out and say it. I didn’t know what I was going to do.” I saw her look down, a blush appearing on her face. She nibbled on her lip, and I simply waited and took another drink. “Well, it was about the time that you told me you were going to start the rain that if finally went through my head. I finally knew what I had to do. Oh, you would have been so proud of me.”

I was lost, so lost, and it was obvious to anypony who looked at my face.

“I thought to myself ‘what would Rainbow Dash do’. I mean, you’re always able to think of something, always so... confident.” Part of me knew where this was going, but I wanted to hear it from Fluttershy. I wanted to hear from her that I had been the cause of the kiss. That’s where it seemed like it was going, anyway, since that seemed like something I would do. Hay, that was something that I actually did to finally tell Spike how I felt. “And so I walked up to her. She seemed nervous at first, but then I quickly pressed my lips against hers.” I officially felt horrible. It had been a bit of an abstract concept, I think that’s what Twilight calls it anyway, to think that I caused this.

I kept the smile on my face, though, I couldn’t let her see that I felt bad.

I hadn’t had to think about it before.

“And that worked, just like that?” Part of me knew the answer, but I had to ask anyway. It wasn’t as if she was trying to do something that was going to hurt me, it just turned out that way because of the things I did.

Right or wrong, good or bad, I had set everything in motion.

I just hoped that Spike wouldn’t stop loving me when he found out the truth.

“Well, no, not initially.” It felt strange, but that was a little bit of a relief. “She seemed confused at first, and it almost felt as though she was going to pull away.” A blush appeared on my friend’s face. “In the end, though, she didn’t. It was the most magical thing I had ever felt.”

At least I had gotten that right.

“What did I tell ya, Shy? Rarity is the type that has to be swept off her hooves.”

At this point, Fluttershy just nodded to me. “You were right. Oh, it felt so good being so... assertive. I’m so glad you’re my friend, Rainbow. I don’t know what I would have done without your advice.”

Somehow, that felt like being punched in the gut. I still smiled, though, because at least everything had turned out perfectly. Rarity and Fluttershy, Spike and I, we were all together and happy. I would fight my hardest to make sure that we all stayed happy.

-To Spike!-

I might be growing up, but sometimes it seems like I’m getting tired quicker. It might have been the events of the day before, I generally didn’t do much other than clean and cook, but I hadn’t slept that well in a long time. I could even swear that I hadn’t been woken up, but it felt later than normal.

Wait, I slept it?!

“I’m sorry, Twilight! I’ll work twice as fast to make up fo-”

I looked around the bedroom, and nopony was there. Room by room, I looked for her. It felt strange to realize that Twilight wasn’t there. If she wasn’t here, then I knew she had left a list and a letter. She wasn’t the type to just leave me high and dry, or whatever the saying was. She would want things done, and I was her number one assistant.

That meant that I was the one who got things done, mostly.

My eyes finally caught sight of a piece of paper.

Dear Spike,

Please never worry me like that again. I knew you were going to go ask Rarity to go out on a date, but I guess I thought that it might end sooner than it did.

That didn’t make any sense. My date last night went about the normal amount of time, right? I’m no master of dating, but it seems like a date should probably be longer. Rainbow and I didn’t know a lot about what to say, we were both nervous, and a lot of the time was just eating food.

Maybe it would have been different if I had gone out with Rarity, but this wasn’t a time for what-if. I had gone out with Rainbow, a mare who I loved.

Why did it still hurt to think about seeing Rarity last night? I had to continue the letter, though, there was more.

And you slept through me trying to wake you up. I guess last night really was exciting for you, though, you probably wore yourself out. That’s why I decided to do the chores myself, you just rest. I wouldn’t want my number one assistant to work himself too hard.

Okay, that was weird. I couldn’t remember the last time that I had a day off. My birthday, or more accurately my hatching day, seemed to be such an occasion. Sometimes, I’d have to do less. It mostly depended on what Twilight did, my workload increasing if she made a huge mess.

I didn’t know what I’d do with that time.

If you’re wondering where I went, today is the day that I normally go with Rarity to the spa. She absolutely won’t take no for an answer sometimes. It does feel good to be pampered every once in a while, too. I’ll just have to study extra hard when I finally get back home.

That was the Twilight I knew.

I had forgotten about their spa days, so that made sense. I knew that Fluttershy did it, that just felt normal. Another thing was that I knew Rainbow didn’t like to do it, Applejack didn’t seem like the type either. I doubt that Pinkie could be kept contained for long enough for any of the spa. I guess the only two ponies that made sense for her to take were Fluttershy and Twilight.

Okay, I need to finish the letter and figure out what to do with myself.

Have fun, enjoy the day. Just make sure that you don’t get in too much trouble. I should be back in time for dinner. If you could have it ready around 5:00PM, I’d be grateful.

Your friend,
Twilight

There was almost nothing in that letter that made much sense at this point. I hadn’t done anything to warrant a day off. I didn’t know why a spa day would take all day, unless she was doing more than that. I also didn’t know why she was acting different than normal. It wasn’t like her to just tell me that I could do almost whatever I wanted.

Everything was structured, and that wasn’t something bad.

Maybe everything would make sense later, once Twilight came back.

Chapter 8

-Switch to Twilight (I’m as shocked as you are!)-

None of this made any sense.

I had expected that my number one assistant would have been back earlier last night, but he wasn’t. The next thing that I expected was that I would be able to wake him up, or that he would be up before me. Either of those things were possible, they had both happened. Normally, he was actually awake and making breakfast before me.

That hadn’t happened.

Alright, I had to fix my own breakfast. I might as well pick up a little as well. As much as I call him my number one assistant, I know that I have to be able to do things on my own.

Besides, he might not be feeling up to the task. I know that he came back and went straight to bed. I saw him. Then again, my eyes had been a bit clouded. I thought I had seen a mare outside, before I had started to make my way up the stairs. I knew that Spike was popular, he was generally pleasant to be around, but that still seemed off.

I must have been imagining a mare, maybe I had just hoped that Spike would find somepony to love.

Maybe it had been Rarity, but something told me it wasn’t.

I would have to ask Spike about it later, but right now I had to get ready. Rarity liked to go to the Spa, mostly with Fluttershy, I had started to go recently. It gave me a chance to relax, something that Celestia tells me all the time to do. Maybe I could even write a letter to the Princess about how she was right.

I could even turn it into a friendship letter. Wouldn’t that be great?

While I’m thinking about letters, I should probably get one to Spike. He’ll probably want to know why I didn’t wake him, even though I tried. He might also be worried about me not being there, the spa trips didn’t start until recently. If I could almost forget, he might have as well.

I should leave it on the table.

Alright, so I’ll pick up a doughnut on the way. Sugarcube Corner always has the best breakfast food. I hope Spike doesn’t figure out that I don’t cook for myself on the days that I head out early. Doughnuts taste good, but they’re hardly the best food for you.

But they taste so good.

I finished the letter quicker than I thought I would, though there wasn’t much for me to say. I still need to talk to him, but he hardly needs to know that right now. After all, it could be a nice surprise. I don’t even realize how little time it takes for me to get to Sugarcube Corner.

Almost as little time as it takes me to finish the doughnut I get from there.

Carousel Boutique is the next stop, even though I’m probably a little early. That’s part of the point, though, I want to be there earlier than I need to be. I need to talk to Rarity about something important, and several things that are likely less important. It might be good to get her advice, she usually knows how to talk to ponies.

Three knocks on the door, I don’t know if she’s expecting me this early. The last time I just barged in, it didn’t exactly put her in a good mood.

“Yes, Twilight, you may come in.”

How did she know it was me? Maybe she was expecting me, though the way she put that was decidedly less than thrilled. Something about it sounded as though she was tired, hadn’t slept. I had been invited in, so it was definitely the right thing to do to come in/

“Good morning, Rarity, I-” That was when I stopped. I walked in to see that my thought had been right. Even Rarity couldn’t hide the signs that she hadn’t slept. I had seen them enough, mostly on myself, to know them. Since she wasn’t the type to worry about studying, and there wasn’t an order around, I started to worry. “Is something wr-”

“I’m fine, really. I just had the most... interesting night last night.”

Our two topics seemed to have collided. That was one of the things I had wanted to ask her about, perhaps one of the more important things. “Interesting night? I’d love to hear all about it, maybe I can help.” I saw her look at me, as if contemplating how I could help.

“I’ll tell you about it at the spa, but I doubt you can do anything about it.”

A problem I couldn’t do much about sounded pretty bad. I had almost always been able to solve problems, or at least find the right book. When that didn’t work, nowadays I sent a letter to Princess Celestia and she helped me figure out exactly what it was that I could do.

This problem had to be pretty bad.

“Speaking of which, darling, I hope you don’t mind if we head over a little earlier than expected.”

When she smiled, I smiled. This was going to be a good day. She might have said that this was a problem that I couldn’t solve, but I was going to find a way. As Celestia was my witness, I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that my friends were alright.

Rarity gave a nod, and we were both soon making our way to the spa.

I actually didn’t pay much attention to what she said to the two ladies at the spa. Does that make me a bad pony? I just kept trying to think of the thing that it could be, the problem that was so bad that I couldn’t do anything about it. About the time that I ran into a wall, though, I realized I needed to pay better attention.

“Darling, are you alright? I’m starting to think it was good for you that we came here early, you seem to be a little... out of it today.”

I nodded, though the reason behind it was that I was trying to figure out that problem. “Sorry about that, I hope you don’t think I was ignoring you. I just... sometimes I get caught up when I start thinking about things.”

“Don’t worry about it, I hadn’t said much. I know when you get that look in your eyes that … well, that you’re worrying about something.”

Did I get a look in my eyes?

“Regardless, darling, it’s time for us to enjoy ourselves. I get to know that you’re relaxing, and I get to finally tell somepony about... last night. Oh, I do feel so awful about it.”

I almost asked her to repeat it, but I knew that I would be getting the full story soon enough. “Talking about it is a good first step. I hope it helps you figure out what you should do.” I looked at her, she was even more nervous about it now than she was before.

“Oh... errr... right.”

I would probably have to come here more often. As soon as our session started, I started to feel immensely better. It was almost as good as reading, almost. My main focus was going to be to help Rarity, though I was starting to think that this day of the week might start to be one of my favorites.

“So, dear, are you ready? I’m giving you a last chance to back out, it’s really bad.”

I shook my head. “I’m here for you Rarity, I want to help in any way I can.”

“And you aren’t going to judge me?”

“Of course not.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

I let out a sigh. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my e-augh.” Once again, I jabbed myself in the eye. It turned out that this was something funny enough to make Rarity chuckle. “And before you ask, I won’t tell anypony about this.”

“Good.”

A little worry was gone, though that might have been from laughing. I could only hope that Rarity telling me about the problem would be enough to help with even more of it.

“Alright, so last night we had some rain. But before that, Fluttershy had come over to see me. Oh, I do love it when any of my friends come over. It always makes things better, even if you just come over to talk.” Rarity’s smile came back, and I smiled as well. It was always good to spend time with friends. “She needed to talk to me about something. She seemed like such a wreck, so nervous. I had to help her.”

That didn’t sound like a problem.

“Well, getting her to talk in the first place was incredibly difficult. I even made some tea, hoping that it would help. It helped with something, alright.” A sigh, she was likely getting to the part where the problem started. “Well, I sat the tea cups down, ready to ask her to come in, when she walked up to me and kissed me. I... I froze for a moment, Twilight, I didn’t know what to do.”

Was that the problem? I should probably let her finish before I say anything.

“I don’t judge any mare who falls in love with another mare, or stallions with stallions. Who am I to judge love? It’s just... remember at your brother’s wedding?” I nodded, and she nodded as well. “I think Fancy Pants really likes me... and that would be great news.” This still didn’t lead to a problem, unless Fluttershy hadn’t reacted well to being told. “But... after a second, I realized something.

She’s my friend, I can’t hurt her.”

I was confused, and it was fairly evident when Rarity looked over that she knew it.

“I kissed her back. Maybe I haven’t given mares a chance.” Her eyes looked as though she really wanted to believe that she could just change. “Or maybe it won’t be all mares, maybe I’ll just love Fluttershy. She’s my friend, and I love spending time with her. That could blossom into something, right?” I didn’t know what to say about that. I could tell the truth, or at least what I actually thought.

Honesty was always the best policy.

“Well, Rarity, I don’t know about that. I don’t think you could force yourself to love somepony any more than I could force myself to be an Alicorn.”

Rarity looked down, obviously she had hoped that I would have comforted her.

“But... I don’t know everything about love. It could be possible.” I felt horrible that I had just said that. Cadance hadn’t taught me much about love, but it just didn’t seem right. Two ponies were either in love or they weren’t. It wasn’t likely that you could force yourself to be in love. Rarity had only wanted to hear that it might be possible, not that it was definitely going to happen, though.

Her smile returned.

“I do hope so, Twilight, I really do. I want to make Fluttershy happy. What type of a fri- marefriend? Oh, it’s going to take a while to get used to that. Anyway, I have to do everything I can to make this right. I will love her, obviously, it’ll just take time.”

Something told me that this wasn’t going to end well.

“I know you’ll figure it out, Rarity.”

“But enough about me, what did you want to ask me about?”

One of my questions had been answered, there was no chance that she could have gone out on a date with Spike the might before. That still didn’t answer why he was so late, or who I thought I saw. “Actually, it really isn’t that big of a deal. I just... I thought that maybe you could help me figure out where Spike had been all night.”

It was time for her to look at me with a confused look on her face.

“He told me he was going to go see if you needed any help. And you just told me that your night, or at least some of it, was spent with Fluttershy. Obviously Spike wasn’t there.” I couldn’t tell her the real reason, especially not now. It wouldn’t help anypony out if she knew that Spike loved her, when she was trying to be with Fluttershy.

I couldn’t do that to my friends.

“Actually, I did see him out of the corner of my eye. Oh, he looked so handsome. He was pretty dressed up for a simple offer to help me with something.” A smug grin was on her face, it was obvious that she knew the real reason. “Sadly, I saw him right as Fluttershy kissed me. I would have mentioned it, but... it didn’t seem like something I should bring up.”

That had to be pretty bad, but that didn’t help answer the question of where he had gone.

“And after that?” I hoped that she would tell me something, anything.

“Well, I saw him run away. I really don’t know where he went after that. I had hoped the poor dear would head back to the library.” She looked at me, and then she looked down. “I really should have gone after him, make sure that he was alright, but I just... I had a guest and she really wanted my attention.”

“It’s okay. Rarity, I’ll just have to ask him about it later.”

“Wait. You haven’t asked him about it yet?” I shook my head, and she started to laugh. “That should always be the first thing you do, it makes everything easier. For all you know, he’ll tell you everything.”

“I guess, I just... I thought I saw somepony out there with him when he came back. I figured that you might know something about it, and I know that Spike likes to hide some things from me when he thinks I won’t approve of them.” My mind went back to the incident with the book, the one that he had accidentally burned up. “Besides, I don’t want to cause a commotion if I was just imagining things. I mean, I was really tired.”

“You should probably still go ask him about it, though. I don’t know anything about this mystery pony, or even if they exist.” Rarity looked right into my eyes. “I’m sure he won’t lie to you. He’s grown a lot, and I don’t mean physically. He’s very mature for his age.”

“I know. I guess I still see him like a baby dragon. Maybe I really should trust him a little more.”

“Oh, you’ll never change.” She chuckled, and I started to as well. “I mean, you’re basically his bigger sister, you’ll always be worrying about him.” I always thought that I was more like a mom, but that wasn’t the most important thing that she had said.

“You’re probably right, Rarity. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, though. After all, change is sometimes a good thing. I mean, I changed when I came here. And I wouldn’t take that change back for all the books in Canterlot.”

That was obviously something that touched Rarity more than I thought, a few tears escaping. “And I wouldn’t trade any of the times we’ve all been together for anything, either.”

I still didn’t know the answer to my problem, but I wouldn’t keep asking her about it. “We should probably enjoy the spa time, though, for something more than talking about my problems. I mean, it’d be nice to just talk about what’s been going on recently.”

Rarity looked at me for a moment, as if she was going to object. She quickly gave up, though, and started to talk to me about her most recent client.

Crisis wasn’t completely averted, but at least I could get my mind off of the problem for the next few hours while we stayed at the spa.

Chapter 9

-Rainbow Dash-

“I hope it turned out just as perfect for you, Rainbow.”

It didn’t take any thought to respond to those words, the smile likely being the giveaway. I knew I wasn’t all that good at hiding what I was thinking, not most of the time anyway. Guilt could come later, it was time for me to make sure that Fluttershy knew how everything had gone.

She had told me, after all, it only made sense.

“You could say that, ‘Shy.” I didn’t know how she would respond when I told her who it was, when I finally did. She probably wouldn’t judge me, but she knew as well as almost everypony else that Spike had a giant crush on Rarity. I wonder if she’ll end up thinking that I helped her out just to help myself out. Even if she doesn’t, I’m wondering it.

I always help out my friends, though.

I’m kind of confused here, and that’s not cool.

“So … what happened? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

“Nah, ‘Shy, I don’t mind at all.” I looked up for a moment, trying to clear my head. “So, yeah, you told me that I should tell him how I feel, right? I’m not all that great at telling people how I feel, though, it just isn’t awesome enough.”

That elicited a chuckle, but I continued.

“We were both eating, it’s what you do at a dinner.” It was a dinner I had convinced Spike to try to set up with Rarity. Right now, though, wasn’t the time to think about that sort of thing. I did my best to keep the smile on my face, hard as it was. “We were talking, getting to know each other, but I just couldn’t get the words together. Really uncool, I know.”

Another chuckle, at least I was able to get those.

“Well, it kind of went like you said. I didn’t have to ask what Rainbow Dash would do, though, cause I am Rainbow Dash. So I leaned in, and gave him a kiss.” That was the ticket, that was the thing that made a fake smile real. All I had to do was think about that date, those moments when it finally came together, and I wasn’t worried.

“That sounds so … magical.”

I don’t know if I would say it like that, but that sounds like an all right way of saying it. A nod, I don’t really know what else needs to be done, and I think of how to finish it. “After that, we ended up finishing our meals, and I ended up walking him home.” I forgot to mention how he said those words, that he loved me, but I can’t go back now.

It’ll be alright.

“And then you flew around, thinking?” It was almost too good of an opportunity to pass up, she was going to finish this for me. I simply nodded, the smile slightly smaller than before. “That does sound like you had a perfect night. And now nopony will ever spread that rumor about you ever again.”

Rumors, I always hated rumors. If this was the one that I thought it was, the sooner that it died the better off I would be.

“So, Rainbow, I was wondering who the lucky stallion might be.”

I don’t know why the next word came out of my mouth. Maybe it was some form of guilt, maybe I was too happy, but I opened my mouth and uttered one word. “Spike.” As soon as I said that, my entire expression changed to one of shock. Had I really just told her that about Spike so soon?

Apparently, my good friend was just as shocked as I was. The only difference was that she started to chuckle at first. “Oh, you can tell me the truth, Rainbow. Whoever it is, I’m sure they’re an excellent pony.”

Maybe the crisis could be averted. All I had to do was come up with another name, any name, and I’d be alright. Fluttershy seemed to want to believe that it could be anypony but Spike, though I really have no clue why. It isn’t like Spike can go out with Rarity if Fluttershy is.

It isn’t like he’s a baby, either.

I looked up, around, trying to get some clue about a name to say. Of all the things that I’m good at, this isn’t one of them. The last name I remember coming up with was Harry the Bear, and that hadn’t turned out well at all. “Errr… Thunderlane?”

Fluttershy’s chuckle disappeared, I had never seen her so shocked before. “Wait, you really meant Spike didn’t you?” I saw her expression fade, it definitely wasn’t happiness. “I don’t know what to say. I mean… I should be happy for you. You’ve been my friend for a long time, but…” At this point, I could tell that she was fighting back tears. “Could you please leave, Rainbow, I think I need to be alone right now.”

“But ‘Shy-” Angel jumping in my head, repeatedly, helped to finish off the message. Fluttershy had some thinking to do, and it likely involved the end of our friendship. I don’t know if I could blame her. I didn’t give her the advice to help me, or at least not just to help me. I had been thinking about my shy friend, my kind and loyal friend. “I’m sorry.”

Not a single word was said back, so I took my leave. I hovered above the ground for a few moments, and shot out the door. At this point, even I wasn’t quite smiling. I’m not the type to cry. It happened sometimes, but not when I had any say in the matter.

I had to go see Spike, I knew it. Fluttershy knew what had happened, Rarity was probably going to know soon. All of it had been done because it had been the right thing to do, but everypony who was affected still deserved to know. It just wouldn’t be right of me to hide this sort of thing from anypony, especially when it came down to Spike.

I had been planning to tell him later, not right now. But sometimes, my plans didn’t turn out the way that I expected them to. Right now, I knew that I had to go tell him about everything right now. A quick turn, I couldn’t just head back to my comfortable cloud home, I was soon speeding through the air toward the library. If he was going to be anywhere, I knew he was going to be there.

I doubted he’d be over at Rarity’s.

-Spike-

Days like this were normally ones that I loved. I could go into the kitchen, eat some ice cream while Twilight was away. That had been part of the initial plan, but it seems like she thought that one through. I hadn’t even known it was possible to have a spell on the freezer that would only go away if you figured out the Linear Algebra problem.

Also, I have no clue what Linear Algebra is.

Normally, the next thing I would do was head over to help Rarity. That wasn’t something that I could do, for more than one reason. It was a good thing that Twilight was going to the spa with her, actually, or part of me would try to reason out why I should go. Part of me still wanted to go, though, even with everything pointing to it being a bad idea. At the very least, I could wish them happiness.

That was what I would do, right?

My day was going to be slow if I just spent it thinking, so I had to come up with something. I turned, looking around at a clean library. There was always Pee Wee, it might be fun to spend some time with him. That would only work if he was here, though, which I soon discovered that he wasn’t. Maybe he had gone over to visit with Fluttershy’s animal friends. I couldn’t blame him for that, it was never fun to be alone.

The only thing that the library had were books. I normally didn’t do a lot of reading, it had seemed like the most boring thing I could use my time for. Twilight might have fun doing it, but she was different. Of course, things were different now. It wasn’t just Twilight that seemed to enjoy reading, but it was Rainbow Dash, too.

If she thought it was cool, I should give it a chance.

What book was it that she started reading, anyway?

My mind went back to the series, the one that I had been told would be a good read for me. Twilight wasn’t the the type that said a book was bad, but I was glad that she sometimes took into account who she was talking to. Apparently, the Daring Do series was something that could be enjoyed by foals of all ages. That was what the inside of the first book said, right after the title page.

I really shouldn’t let Rainbow see this.

As soon as I start reading it, time seems to just fade. I’m not the type that gets absorbed into normal books, though I have been known to look at comics more than Twilight would like, but this was amazing. It wasn’t boring at all. What was it that Twilight would call it? Good pacing? Maybe I should listen to her more when she goes on her literary analysis fits. Part of the reason why I don’t, though, is because she doesn’t really have a lot of good things to say.

It’s kind of lucky that she goes by a pen name, I think everypony would be mad at her if she knew that she was the pen behind Equestria Daily.

There’s another thing I knew for certain, it would really suck to be Daring Do. She never seemed to catch a break, not at the point of the story I was at. Maybe it would happen soon, but I doubted it. I was five chapters in, just about to start the sixth. With a turn of the page, I was soon laying flat on the floor with a certain Pegasus laying on top of me. It was a crash landing, I thought, but that didn’t stop me from making a joke about it.

“Don’t you think you’re go-” I couldn’t finish it, she didn’t look happy at all. Something was wrong, and it was my duty to make sure that I figured out what it was. The most obvious way I could think of was to ask the very simple question. “Is something wrong?”

-Rainbow-

Part of me wanted him to finish that joke, it might have been a good one. Aside from that, there was something in my head now. I had hid this from him, though today was only the day after the date. I knew I should have told him that night, been completely honest. If I was Applejack, I would have already told him. Then again, I doubt that Applejack would have actually set up any of this. She would have just told Spike how she felt, and hoped for the best. This worked out because I’m Rainbow Dash.

I still had to tell him.

“You promise you won’t hate me for it?”

-Spike-

Hate her?

I tried to think of everything that could cause hate. Had she killed somepony? Was she really a changeling? Had she found out that she was going to die? I couldn’t hate her for the last one. Maybe she had figured out that she was hurting me somehow, doing something subconsciously that was going to hurt me later down the road. That sounded really smart in my head, I would have to write that down sometime.

Right now, though, I had to make sure that my marefriend knew that I would never hate her.

“I couldn’t hate you if I tried.”

Part of me was scared, though, to hear what it was that she had to say. Whatever it was, it was affecting her more than anything I had seen.

-Rainbow Dash-

Now I had to say it, but I didn’t know how. He had told me that he wouldn’t hate me, but that didn’t help as much as I thought. I still thought that he might turn his back on me. Even if he didn’t hate me, he might not love me anymore. That would be almost as bad as if he hated me, ambivalence being something that I just couldn’t deal with.

Wow, I know the word ambivalence. I guess I’m smarter than I thought.

I had to focus, though. Maybe if I just came out and said it, got it out there, then we could work through it. I would fight for him, if I had to, just to make sure that everything was still alright. I cleared my throat, I took a deep breath, and then I started on the most difficult thing I had ever admitted. “You remember last night, right? I mean … before the date/.”

-Spike-

Okay, now I was even more confused. Out of everything that she would bring up, last night wasn’t really it. Even if she did, and she obviously did, I hadn’t thought that she would bring up when she did. The only thing that happened was that I caught Fluttershy and Rarity kissing. It hadn’t seemed like the best thing at the time, and it still didn’t.

I told myself it had been for the best, though, because now everypony was happy. Fluttershy and Rarity could be happy, and I could be happy with Rainbow. Everything worked out in the end, and nopony had anything to feel bad about. Obviously Rainbow didn’t feel the same way, though, so I just simply nodded my head and waited for her to continue.

-Rainbow-

“Earlier that day, I had been talking with Fluttershy. It was about going over to Rarity’s that night to tell her about how she felt.” Suddenly, I couldn’t look him in the eye. “I didn’t know what would happen, I really didn’t. I thought she might turn her down, or say yes, I just didn’t know. I just … I had to help my friend.”

Who was I trying to convince?

“I didn’t know that she was going to kiss her, though.” That wasn’t everything, I had to finish out what I was going to tell him. “No, no, it wasn’t just that. Part of me really wanted her to say yes. I mean, if she was going out with Fluttershy, then Rarity couldn’t go out with you.” Even if this worked out perfectly, I still felt horrible. There was no way that I could have thought that this would turn out alright.

Yet I had fooled myself into thinking it would have, when I had spoken with Fluttershy that day.

“I’m sorry, Spike. I really didn’t know what was going to happen. I had thought that, maybe, they would just tell you. I didn’t mean for it to happen like it did.”

-Spike-

Maybe it would have been easier if any of the things that I thought had been true. Well, no, that last one wouldn’t have been easy at all. The admission that lay at my feet, it was something that I hadn’t expected at all. Every single even, everything that had led up to this, had been a part of some plan. Rainbow had planned what would happen, but not how. She had pushed Fluttershy into revealing that she loved Rarity, but she hadn’t said how.

I didn’t know what to say.

Part of me said it was easy. I should rage, I should throw her out, I should go over to see Rarity and tell her exactly what I had been told. This had all been a part of a plan. Everypony involved deserved to know, I might even have to tell Fluttershy if she didn’t already know.

Did she?

Another part of me, my more thoughtful side, told me to look back at that night. It told me to look at everything that had happened. It told me to look at everything that had happened with Rarity before that night, with Rainbow Dash before that night. I had to make a choice, that much was obvious, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

Or maybe I had already made the choice without know it.

I had known that Rainbow had been acting weird that night, and I had brushed it off. I had known that she was there, just at the right time, to help make me feel better. I had known that she got dressed up quickly, got everything set up quickly. I had known that all of this was true, and yet I had went through with it anyway. Maybe I should say something, ask a question or two, before I tell her how I feel. Maybe it’ll help sort out the doubts.

“Is that why you were there, to get me to go out with you? And were those tears even real, or was it just an act?”

I had to know.

-Rainbow-

He wasn’t throwing me out, not yet, but I was sure it would happen soon. I heard the questions, and I looked into his eyes again. It would actually be cool, kind of, to say that I had planned everything to a T. That wasn’t the only thought in my head, though. I was wondering why he had asked those questions. Part of me, most of me, had thought that he would go for something else. I hadn’t given him reasons to trust me, yet he was going to give me a chance to explain.

“You’re making me sound a lot smarter than I am, actually. I had hoped that, after she spoke with you, that you would have been at the library. I figured I could catch you there, talk to you a little, and then tell you what I felt. It seemed like a good plan at the time.” Once again, I looked down. It all came back to me, the sight of him running and the sight of him tripping and falling.

“Then I saw it. I saw you trip, fall, and I just couldn’t help it. I had to be there, to help you any way I could. Then you told me what had happened, and I knew it was all my fault. I mean, I knew it was all my fault with Fluttershy and Rarity, but … it never seemed like something that would hurt anypony. I always thought that everything would turn out alright. I didn’t know, until right then, what had happened.”

He would likely have another question, I knew I should answer it quickly.

“I still don’t know why you asked me out, really. I should have said no, but it was the best thing that could have happened. But I still know that I should have said no. I just … I couldn’t at that point. I was finally going to be able to tell you how I felt, and it was going to be on my first date ever.”

That wasn’t as cool as it could have been.

-Spike-

That was it, that was the thing that really put it all in perspective. Rainbow might have planned out a lot of things, but this made it obvious that she wasn’t a mastermind. She had planned to get her friend with Rarity, but that could hardly be blamed on her alone. If Fluttershy really loved Rarity, and they had some sort of connection, then they deserved to be with each other.

Everything that night didn’t exactly go as she planned, though.

It hadn’t been the worst night ever, regardless of how it had started.

I was at a crossroads, trying to figure out what to do. I still felt like throwing her out, at least partially. Even if she had the best intentions, it still hadn’t been the kindest thing to do. Of course, she hadn’t been alone. Part of me knew that she wasn’t alone when it came to using that night as an excuse to tell somepony how they feel, to do something that wasn’t exactly the most honest thing.

Part of me had known, but hadn’t wanted to admit it. Part of me had known that she had feelings for me, and part of me had thought that maybe I did too. Everypony who knows me, though, knows what I’m horrible when it comes to feelings. There had been a crush on Twilight, once upon a time. One, I had thought that Cadance was the most beautiful mare had seen.

Those had passed, but I still hadn’t told anypony.

Then there had been Rarity, I had been able to keep that a secret.

Now there was Rainbow Dash. We actually had a lot in common. I still could remember the first time that we met, it was one of the best days considering what happened.

Was this just another crush? She was beautiful when she dressed up. She was fun to be around, even if she was lazy. This had to have been the first time I’ve had to think about something like this, and I didn’t like it at all. In the end, though, I had to ask the most basic question.

“Why me? I mean, you always seemed to like being with Applejack, or Fluttershy. Heck, I would have pictured you trying for Soarin before me.”

-Rainbow-

Another question, it might have been a good sign.

Why did everypony assume I was gay?

“I actually don’t like mares that way, Spike. And Soarin is …” I had to think of a way to say that I wasn’t interested in him that was believable. At one point, maybe, but something had happened at the Gala that had changed that. “Well, I saw him at the Gala. He wasn’t exactly what I had expected, something about him was just … not cool.”

That likely didn’t explain it.

“Much too pie-obsessed. I had even been invited to spend time with the two of them, Soarin and Spitfire, at the Gala. And then, blamo, ignored the entire time. He’s far too into the whole celebrity thing. That made me realize … well, I hadn’t thought about what he might be outside the suit. I had assumed he’d be kind, generous, and fun to be around.”

That still didn’t tell him why him.

“But those are things you’ve always been. I mean, think about it. What did you want to do that night? Spend time with us, and I feel bad that we didn’t take the chance before everything went wrong. You’re always helping Twilight, you’ve almost never hurt anypony. And you’re awesome to prank with.” I tried to smile, I had to smile. “Besides, nopony else knows how to take a prank. Well, Pinkie and I do. But that’s not the point!”

What was the point?

“The point, I guess, is that I’ve always been looking at the wrong place. It wasn’t until a short while back that I finally figured it out myself. I screwed it up, though, big time.”

-Spike-

I had thought that making the decision, one of such importance, would have been difficult. I had thought that I would have heard all of it, and then still been conflicted. That was the way that it was supposed to go, after all. I was supposed to take days to forgive her, if I did at all. This sort of admission was something that could end a relationship, destroy trust.

Then again, she had come to me to admit everything.

She wasn’t hiding anything, not anymore.

I had kissed her, told her I loved her. Those weren’t words to be brandied around, thrown at ponies without thought. I had meant them then, even if it hadn’t made as much sense then. Back then, I could have blamed the heat of the moment. She had kissed me, I had felt a connection. Now my head was clearer, I had to ask myself if I could still say it.

Did I still love Rainbow?

That was a question that took no time. She was still the same mare, she was still all of the things that I had thought she was. It was my turn to be brash, to act, to not let something like words get in the way of what I felt like doing.

This time, it was me that moved in to kiss Rainbow.

It only lasted a few seconds, and then I pulled away. “No more secrets between us from now on, okay?

The enthusiastic smile, and nod, was enough of an answer for me. This wasn’t going to be easy, but Twilight told me that nothing worth it was ever easy.

Sequel

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/105498/not-everyone-will-be-happy

Here it is

Chapter 1

It wasn’t the best-kept secret in Ponyville that was for certain.

The way that I looked at her and did everything that could possibly be done for her, the way I was unable to talk to her. Everypony in Ponyville knew that the small dragon had a crush on Rarity, though nopony said a single word about it. Not even Rarity reacted, it seemed as though she was completely oblivious. That was how I, or Spikey-Wikey as she called me, liked it to be. All of the time that I had known her, I had been trying to pull up the courage to be able to actually come out and tell her exactly how I felt. Each and every day, I planned and I plotted.

Today was going to be the day.

Alright, is everything ready? Flowers? Check. Poem? She’s totally worth it! Reservations at one of the best restaurants in Ponyville? Check. Tuxedo? Check. Eyes moved between each item, aside from the reservation of course, finally stopping on the outfit that I had decided I was going to wear for the evening. You know what? I think I’ve been around Twilight for too long. Too much worrying, preparing, and a mental checklist? Really? No need to worry, she’s going to say yes. Everything was set out in front of me, ready for what was going to be the greatest night of my life.

Eyes looked at the mirror in front of me.

There was something missing, it took a few moments for me to figure it out.

“Looking good, Spike. Looking real good!” It always helped my self-esteem, my self-confidence, when I started to do this in front of the mirror. Only one pony knew about this, though the fact that I had told her came to my mind occasionally. Why did I have to tell Pinkie about this? Oh well. She hasn’t told anyone else. She knows that some things are secrets. And losing a friend’s trust is the quickest way to lose a friend-

“Forever!” The pink mare seemed to appear from in the mirror. “Good luck, Spike.”

With those words, Pinkie Pie disappeared again. Part of me was now curious, wanting to figure out how she could have done something like that. After all, normal ponies didn’t have the ability to appear in mirrors. The idea that Pinkie Pie was hardly a normal pony, though, was the only thing that dissuaded me from trying to figure it out. Its just Pinkie being Pinkie. I don’t think she knows how to be any other way. Heck, she might not even know how she does it herself. That thought aside, I had a couple of hours before I was going to ask her out on the date. I needed to finish a few chores, likely take a bath. I do have a bit of a stink after doing the chores. If I’m going to get somepony as beautiful as Rarity.

That distraction was the thing that helped me out through the rest of my chores. It wasn’t as if they were mighty brain work, anyway. I had to clean the library, as well as the bedrooms and the kitchen. Sweeping, dusting, washing dishes, and making the beds were basically enough to make sure that the place was clean. Twilight generally didn’t make much of a mess, aside from the books that I would likely have to put up by the time that I came back from my date. After the cleaning, I had to make sure that the fridge had certain items that Twilight liked to use to make her snacks. After that, I would be done for the day. If Twilight hadn’t been spending a lot of time recently with her friends, there might have been a lot more for meme to do. But, right now, I was completely done.

After my bath, I would be able to head to meet my destiny.

-30 Minutes Later-

I stood one more time, in front of the mirror. This wasn’t the time to flex, wasn’t the time to get any semblance of self-esteem. I didn’t need it this time, the tuxedo was helping a lot more than I thought. This time, I was running through the short list of things that I needed to say, and the things that I needed to have with me. The reservations are made; I don’t have anything to carry with me for that. I have the poetry in my mind, but having it written down is probably a great idea. I don’t want to get anything wrong. I’m wearing the tuxedo, and I think I look nice in it. The flowers are on the table, ready to be picked up when I leave. Everything seems to be perfect, and it’s time for me to head out. There should be… Eyes looked up to the clock, and two hours remained before they could go to the restaurant.

Now it was time for me to head out, and make my way to Carousel Boutique.

Several ponies said something to me along the way, mostly some version of ‘hi’. The only difference was Vinyl Scratch, DJ PON-3 as others called her, who gave me a high-hoof before saying ‘awesome look, Spike’. It would have been enough just to walk over there in silence, but that was something that made it even easier. Even though I didn’t know her that well, everypony loves to hear something like that. Mostly, though, my trek to the boutique was uneventful. The only thing that I really noticed was that there seemed to be a growing amount of clouds.

I really hoped that I hadn’t messed up and planned this date during a storm.

Around ten minutes later, I could finally see my destination in the distance. I assumed that the sun was setting, though I couldn’t be sure. By this time, the sky was filled with the dark clouds that gave the bad news.. Yep, that figures. I should pay more attention to what Twilight says about the weather. She probably told me all about this, and I just didn’t listen. Oh well, I’m not going to let something like this stop me. I just have to hope that it’s a light rain. Maybe it’ll let up long enough for the two of us to go to- I stopped, puzzled by what I thought I saw in the window. Eyes blinked a few times as a couple of drops of water fell from the sky.

That was Rarity, I could tell that from the mane.

That was Fluttershy, I could also tell that from the mane.

They were kissing, I could also tell that from simply looking at them.

At this point, I started to hyperventilate. There had been a lot of things that I knew would stand in my way. I was no prince, though I had vowed to treat Rarity as though she was my princess. There was also the age problem, with her being around five or ten years older than me. There was also, apparently, Fluttershy. This had been the one obstacle that I hadn’t foreseen, and that there was no amount of courage could change. Another few drops hit me, a simple mask for the tears that started to follow with each drop.

I wanted her to be happy, but I had never thought that her happiness would make me so miserable.

The rain started to come down faster as I turned to walk away. There was no point going to the door now. I doubted I’d want to see Rarity anytime soon, actually. I was certain that she hadn’t meant to hurt me on purpose; it didn’t seem like something she would do, but that didn’t matter at this point. Right now, I just knew that I felt almost as bad as when I had destroyed Ponyville.

My walk was quick, trying to get away as fast as I could. The sooner I could do anything else to get my mind off of this night, the better I would be. There was one thing that hindered Spike’s retreat, though, and it was a rock. I had been halfway back to the library when it happened, and I tripped. Mud covered what had been my best tuxedo, and the rest of my body didn’t fare much better. Worst. Night. Ever.

The clouds above me seemed to part, the raindrops no longer hitting me, and down swooped a Pegasus.

Down swooped Rainbow Dash.

“You alright there, Spike?” The question seemed to be mocking, but it was likely my bitterness clouding that. A hoof reached out, which I gladly took. When I finally stood up, covered in mud from head to toe, I tried to look at Rainbow Dash. She was trying to be a friend, just like she had tried to be a friend before, and I had to try to be strong.

“I’ve been better.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

That seemed a little weird to me. I knew that she had feelings, everypony had feelings, but this seemed off. Rainbow Dash didn’t seem like the type that actually talked about feelings, they were some of the most uncool things that I could come up with right now.

“It’s just… I don’t know what to do now.” Rainbow continued to look at me, though a slight look of confusion appeared on her face. “I went and got these flowers.” A hand motioned to the flattened bouquet on the ground. “I even wrote this.” I pulled out a muddy piece of paper, the one that once had poetry on it. “I even booked a table at a fancy restaurant.” The look of oblivious was still on her face, and it was actually kind of cute. “And so I went over to Rarity’s, trying to see if I could finally get her to go out with me.” That was when it all came together for my chromatic friend; I could see that she finally saw it. “But when I was walking up to the door, I thought I saw something. When I looked, it was Fluttershy… kissing Rarity.”

By now, I was crying again. I hated it when I cried, it made me feel so weak. Dragons are not supposed to be weak.

“Oh.”

Is that it? Is that all she’s going to say about what could be the worst thing to happen to me? Oh? I had been looking down at my ruined supplies the entire time, my eyes now looking up to see that Rainbow Dash was clearly doing more than saying a simple ‘oh’. The rain had stopped around them, thanks to the fact that she had kicked the clouds before coming down there, so it couldn’t be that. Was she actually crying for me?

“I’m sorry, Spike. I shouldn’t have given you that advice…”

She had been the one that told me to do this, hadn’t she? It was now time for me to feel bad again, but about something else. My friend was blaming herself for something that was outside of her power. I knew that she would have never done something like that on purpose. Maybe it was also something that could help me get my mind off of the fact that Rarity would never be there for me. Either way, a hand moved to pat Rainbow Dash on the shoulder. I had to make myself stop crying. Soon enough, with enough effort, I had finally done it.

“It’s not your fault, Rainbow.” That didn’t sound convincing, or at least she didn’t look convinced. I have to do something to make her feel better. I can’t just walk away, knowing that she blames herself for this. A few bad ideas came to mind, mostly focused around hugging her or offering to get her something. I didn’t know what she liked, aside from the Wonderbolts, so that idea was quickly shot down. There was, really, only one thing left that I could think of. Nah, she’ll probably just say no anyway. But there’s no harm in asking, right? “Hey, there’s no reason for that reservation to go wasted. How about we go there?”

Two friends went out to eat sometimes, I was sure of it. After all, I ate with Twilight all the time. Twilight went on picnics with her friends all the time. This would just be a small token of my appreciation for her always being there for them, and to help make sure that she knew she wasn’t at fault here.

The look of sadness quickly disappeared from her eyes, being replaced by what could only be described as pure joy. The quick change was a bit concerning, but I put it down to her being hungry. It was either that, or she was just happy that I was going to try to make something of the night. After all, she had appeared just at the right time to try to console me. I really am lucky to have such a good friend. “Are you sure you’re okay with that, though? I mean, I know this was supposed to be some big romantic dinner for Rarity.”

“I insist.” I countered, my best attempt at ignoring the problem of the evening failing with every passing second. “I mean, I don’t spend enough time with my friends. This is the perfect opportunity.” It had made perfect sense to me, so there was a shock when her happiness faded for a split second. Soon enough, it was back again, though. Maybe I’m just seeing things. I mean, I’m disappointed right now. What was that thing that Twilight said to me? Psychologists say that ponies see themselves in the world around them? Yeah, that has to be it. I reasoned to myself that the smile had returned anyway, which I used as evidence for my hypothesis.

“Sure. Two good friends sharing a dinner.” Something sounded off about it when she said it, but I didn’t give it any more thought.

“Oh, it’s a pretty fancy restaurant.” I suddenly remembered one of the reasons why I had put on the tuxedo. “So… I think we have to dress up for it. I’ll get this washed, and then we’ll head over.” Where could they meet up? I didn’t know a lot of places that would be good; there was a lot of chance for me to get the tuxedo dirty again. “Would you mind meeting me at the library? I need to get a couple of things before we head over to there, and let them know that we’ll be late by about ten or fifteen minutes.”

“Sure thing, Spike.”

Something about this whole scenario just seemed strange, but I wasn’t likely thinking clearly.

“Alright, I’ll see you in about half an hour.”

What do you know? I looked up at the clouds. They were still there, but the rain had almost quit entirely. Well, okay, that’s just eerie. First we have a rain that I don’t know about, though that isn’t completely unbelievable. The weird thing is that it was so… small. Oh well, don’t question it Spike. This is one good thing tonight. A deep breath, I had to make sure that I didn’t let my bad night ruin Rainbow’s any more than it already had. This wasn’t going to be easy, but I was going to have to go a whole night without thinking about the fact that I had just seen Rarity and Fluttershy kissing.

Yep, that was enough to make my eyes water a little.

The entire time back, I was fighting myself. I didn’t need to cry, I just didn’t. It took some effort, but. was even able to convince myself of that. It took the entire walk back to the library, though. Maybe the idea of washing the tuxedo in the remaining twenty minutes, and drying it of course, was enough to focus on for me. As long as I stayed busy, I would be able to get through this.

Wash, wash, wash the tux. Wash, wash, wash. I hummed a tune as I did it, as I always did when I worked, the mud being removed quite easily. My years of cleaning turned out to be a good thing, since it helped to make sure that I could actually accomplish this task. The drying part was even easier, taking the remaining five minutes to make sure that I had gotten it nice and dry. Okay, so maybe I should thank Twilight for helping me out. I mean, it’s because of her that I know how to do all of this. I mean, most dragons just know how to hoard. I know useful talents…

Three knocks on the door told me that my date for the evening was there. All I need to do is have this nice friend-date, go to sleep later tonight, and tomorrow will be great. Well, at least tomorrow will be better. “I’ll be right there.” Around a minute later, tuxedo on, I answered the door. I really didn’t know what to expect. Rainbow wasn’t the type that wore fancy dresses, or really anything that could be described as pretty. I couldn’t even remember if she wore clothes most of the time, it never really seemed to be very important. As I opened the door, though, I was more than a little surprised.

Was that her dress from the Grand Galloping Gala?

It wasn’t just that, there was more to her new look than merely a dress. It seemed as though she had gotten her hair fixed up. I couldn’t help but stare at her for a few moments. Wow, she really looks good. I think she might have taken it a little too seriously when it came to dressing up. Now I look like I didn’t take it seriously enough. Crud. My expression, over the course of that thought, had gone from awe to worry. “I think I might be a bit under dressed.” A weak chuckle, I had to try to recompose myself in a few moments. After all, this wasn’t what I had expected from my friend-date.

“Ah, don’t worry about it Spike. You look awesome.”

Well, it is Rainbow. I don’t think she uses many other words to describe things.

“Thanks. You look… amazing, really.” A blush showed up on her face, which made sense. I hadn’t seen her in dresses, so she was probably just embarrassed at the idea of somepony else seeing her in one. By the end of the night, she would probably not be blushing at a compliment. “Alright, everything is ready. We should have about fifteen minutes to get there. It isn’t that far, so we don’t have to-“The sound of a carriage coming up interrupted me, and I looked over to see that it actually stopped in front of the library. Was Twilight supposed to be coming back in a carriage? I wasn’t aware of that.

“Actually, Spike, I thought we might go there in style. No reason to get our awesome clothes dirty, right?”

That logic was undeniable. Man, I’m really lucky to have a friend like her. She put more thought into this than I did, dressed up even though I know she hates it. This might just turn out to be an alright night. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“Well, duh. But I wanted to.”

The two of them walked over to the carriage, I quickly pulled the door open and motioned for her to get in first. “Ladies first.” I was a gentledrake, after all, which meant that I was supposed to hold the door open for whoever I was with. Not only that, but I actually really enjoy this sort of thing. Without a second thought, I got in soon after she did. “So, do you know where we’re going?”

“Rainbow actually looked down at me with a deadpan expression. “There’s only one restaurant where we’d have to dress up in Ponyville.”

Sadly, that was true.

“Oh, right.”

A few minutes of silence passed, neither of them sure about what to say. Rainbow seemed to be fidgeting with her dress. That makes sense. She’s a flier, she likely doesn’t feel right being cooped up in something like this. Not only the clothes, this carriage is likely not something she’s used to either. She’s being really nice tonight. I really am lucky to have such an awesome friend. Everything seemed to be focused on me. I kind of felt bad, since the idea was making sure that Rainbow stopped blaming herself for something she didn’t have any control over. Another part of me didn’t want to say anything, since she seemed to really want to do all of this.

“Soooo… what’s it like to fly?” Even when I had been a giant dragon, I hadn't been able to fly. Rainbow simply looked at me and smiled, I knew that this was something that was something that she liked talking about.

Chapter 6

Another kiss, I felt like the luckiest mare in Equestria.

I don’t think I’ve smiled that big in a long time, and that’s saying a lot. It isn’t as if my life is a bowl of sadness or anything, I have a lot to smile about. I watched him turn around, the kiss ending sooner than I thought it would, and walk off. He looked a little tired to me, maybe I should head back home too. I hadn’t even had much of a nap today, everything getting set up took longer than expected. It turned out alright for me, but that didn’t make me any less tired.

Yep, I needed to head back to get some sleep.

The best thing about having a cloud home is that it’s nice and comfortable for sleeping, it’s one of the best reasons I have for making sure I built one. It came back to bite me, metaphorically of course, every so often when I was really tired. Luckily for me, tonight wasn’t one of those nights. As soon as the dress was off, I was laying down with the obvious idea of sleeping. That wasn’t going to happen. It turned out to be a good night for thinking. I’m normally able to lay down, and go right to sleep. Tonight, though, I was laying there and thinking. The date had gone perfectly, the fact that he had kissed me later on was something awesome.

I couldn’t sleep, that was something that would have worried my friends.

Maybe I should head off and fly a little, maybe I would be able to get some sleep afterward.

I stretched both of my wings, and started to glide out from my home. My mind was focused on something other than flying, it was focused on the events of the night. Part of me felt like I had done something wrong, but I couldn’t think of anything. Did I say something silly? I couldn’t remember anything. There had to be something, I just wasn’t the type to worry about something. I couldn’t think of anything that night, so maybe it was before the night.

What had I done, anyway?

A couple of hours before the date

I seemed to find myself at Fluttershy’s cottage a lot today. There had been a hope that the last time I was here would have been enough, but here I was. She was looking at me, I was looking at her.

I still don’t understand why she can’t believe in herself.

“I can’t do it, Rainbow. I just can’t. She’ll turn me down, and then...” I could hear that she was starting to choke up, she was about to cry. If there was any moment of the day when I felt bad, it was going to be right then and there. Here I was, thinking I was going to be helping out all of my friends. One of them, my oldest friend, wasn’t being helped much at all. I might have even made it worse.

“Are you sure about this, Shy?” This wasn’t going to be another effort to get her to do it, I had to be a good friend. If she didn’t want to do this, to tell Rarity, then I was in no position to say anything. It might hurt my chances of getting what I wanted, but that wasn’t all that important right now. Right now, I had to think of one of my best friends.

“I want to tell her, I really do.” Fluttershy looked right at me, as if she could tell that this was more than just a nice thing between friends. “Oh, you don’t know what it’s like Rainbow. You just couldn’t.”

“Huh?”

“To look at the one you love, every day, knowing that all you should do is go out there and tell them.”

I hadn’t told her, had I? She had no clue about my crush on Spike, and she might not at all if it didn’t work out. Maybe it was for the best, I started to think abut how bad it would feel if he shot me down. “You know me, Shy. I’d go out there and tell ‘em.” I really should start to think before I open my mouth, I know. It isn’t like this would be the first time I said something insensitive because I hadn’t put any thought into it. My eyes went wide as I thought about what I had just said. Not only had I just lied, basically two lies really, I just said something that made it seem like I was pressuring her.

“How would you be able to do it?” That was a good question, really. I hadn’t thought that she would ask something like that.

“Do what?”

“Tell the pony you love that you... love them.”

A part of me felt bad about continuing this, but part me me still wanted to help her out. This was Fluttershy, I couldn’t help myself. I took a breath, wanting to make sure that I said this just right. “Well, I mean... the worst thing they can say is no.” even I knew that wasn’t a good way to start. It was what I had been told when I had been a little nervous about trying to get into the Wonderbolts Academy, by Fluttershy even. “But if I don’t try, then I’ll never know. I mean, I’d hate to live my life thinking about what could have been should have been. And besides, he could say yes. That’d make the entire thing completely worth it.”

Did I just say he?

“I guess so.” Maybe she was being a good friend, I didn’t know, but she didn’t push on what I had just said. There had been a look of confusion, as if she was going to ask me, but she didn’t ask anything. I started to smile, a weight had been lifted off my shoulders when I had let that little bit blurt out. It hadn’t been much, but my head was just cleared a little. “If I tell her, you’ll have to promise me that you’ll tell him.”

Those words cam unexpectedly, my smile faltering a little as she started to smirk at me.

“I... I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

It was obvious to me that Fluttershy wasn’t going to believe me. She shook her head, and I gulped. “Come on, you’re Rainbow Dash. Nothing as small as a tiny crush should keep you nervous.” Was she trying to give me a pep talk? Something about this whole thing still felt wrong, but it did feel nice that she was trying to help me out. She couldn’t know that the problem wasn’t my nerves. After all, I didn’t get nervous about these sorts of things.

Right?

“And then you’ll have to introduce me to him. I’m sure he’s a wonderful stallion.”

Maybe it was for the best that she knew I had a crush, there was nothing wrong with that. I just couldn’t tell her who it was, not yet. Maybe, if it worked out, the two of us could come over and I could show her exactly who it was that I would be going out with. That was, of course, if Spike said yes.

He would, part of me knew he would.

“Okay, you got me Shy. I’ll make sure to show you if thin-”

“When he says yes, we can even have double dates. Oh, it’ll be so nice.”

I almost couldn’t believe it, she seemed so much more confident. It was almost as if my friend had been replaced by somepony else, a more confident one. It hadn’t started until I had admitted to having a crush. I hadn’t even told her who it was, and that seemed to change everything. Fluttershy was there for me, always.

It felt good to know that we were both helping each other out.

present time

I was starting to get tired, again. I had been flying for a good hour, and I still didn’t know what was bugging me. The date had gone perfectly, and the day had been relatively uneventful. The only thing I had done is help Fluttershy out, and admit to her that I had a crush. Neither of those things were guilt-worthy things to me. A yawn escaped, I was too tired to get back to my house.

Luckily, I didn’t need my house to have a bed. A nearby cloud would be enough. I didn’t even bother to look where I was. It was probably Sweet Apple Acres, I seemed to sleep a lot around there. One more stretch, as I lay on the cloud, and then I curled up. Then sleep took me.

The prequel is up

This is primarily for anyone who reads this story from now until forever.

I will be doing more with this. There are a lot of stories that I gave hints at, but I felt the primary focus should be on both Spike and Rainbow Dash. That is why I cut it off as I did. There will be sequels, a prequel, and maybe even a couple of stories that take place at the same time as this one.

For now, though, just enjoy the Prequel