Prologue

A groan escaped his lips as he walked lazily along the dusty dirt road. He could not help but look at the ground as he walked, thinking back to the day's work that he had just done with the mare that he had, had a crush on for a while now.

Almost everyday he would wake up early just so that he could make breakfast for his best friend, then he would make his way over to the Carousel Boutique. There he would make breakfast for his crush that way she was ready for the days task, which was what her cutie mark implied, dress making. She was a rising fashionista after all, and as such she had many orders to fill if she wanted to be on time, so he came over to help. The nice perk to the job was the fact that he got to spend time with the owner and his crush, Rarity.

Today though, he had worked so hard with helping her, and towards the end she had snapped at him, treating him like he was her slave more than an assistant. He knew that the deadlines that she had to meet often made her get a bit, well cranky to say the least, but she had never snapped at him. Thus he was in a dilemma, he began to rethink his feelings for Rarity. He began to wonder if the crush that he had on her was worth it, whether she truly saw him as friend, or as a slave, to do nothing more than her bidding.

In his heart he knew that what he wanted from her was far from the truth, in reality she saw them as friends, nothing more. Everyday he waited for a time to tell her how he felt, hoping to see a sign that when he did she would respond with the same feelings of love and devotion, but alas it was not to be. No matter what he did, no matter what he tried to act like, it was not what she was looking for. He at last resorted to just being himself, but that too began to fail.

As he walked he noticed that his feet began to kick up dirt with each step, his claws digging into the loose soil while his padded feet just pressed down what he picked up. Above he could hear thunder from the gray clouds that began to clump together high above in the sky. Earlier that day he had run into Rainbow Dash, who had told him that they were due for some rain for the next few days, starting in the evening. Some days it was going to be light, other days were going to be windy and heavy, so he was advised to stay indoors during that time.

Knowing that the approaching storm was nothing that he needed to worry about, for it was only the beginning, Spike was not in any hurry to get home. He actually began to think that being rained on was what he deserved for how foolish he had been in thinking that he could ever be with the one that he had a crush on. It was plain that she wanted nothing to do with him other than friendship, thus he felt that the rain could just wash him away and everything would be alright.

Before he knew it the rain began to fall in a light drizzle, soaking him and his scales within a matter of seconds. Still he did not begin to run towards his home, rather he wanted to prolong the feeling of the cooling rain washing down his body, it felt soothing. The rain helped to clear his mind, it always seemed to have this affect on him.

Not too long passed after the rain had started did he find himself standing before the door to his home, a tall standing tree. Sighing, he opened the door and attempted a wry smile as he found Twilight Sparkle, a lavender colored alicorn with a dark indigo mane and tail to match with a pink and purple streak throughout, standing with her back to him and a towel held around her neck. Upon hearing the door close shut behind him she whirled around and began to make her way over to him.

The towel that had been around her neck was lifted up by a purple glowing aura that originated from her horn and let it float over to him so that he could dry off before he left the welcome mat. "Where were you? When the rain started and you were not back I began to think that maybe you were staying at Rarity's until the storm passed. I then remembered the weather report from Rainbow Dash and that the storm was going to last for a few days. I knew you were not going to stay there that long. I began to assume the worst."

Twilight waited until he put the towel around his neck like she had, then she stepped forward and embraced Spike in a hug, throwing her forelegs around his neck while she tried to embrace him with her wings as well, but to no avail. "Still have yet to master these wings." They both shared a laugh before Spike returned the embrace, making Twilight blush slightly.

Twilight took this moment to realize just how big Spike had gotten. Without seeming to realize it, she found that she had to stand on her hind legs now to be able to hug him, and she had been doing it so often that it seemed like second nature. He now stood eye level with her, having had a growth spurt the last month.

Spike was still the cute little dragon that she had hatched from an egg, but he was still growing up, and that was something that was never going to change. He really is cute, it's just a shame that Rarity fails to see it so many times. If only she would ever open up her heart and allow him in, then she would be the luckiest pony ever.

Spike and Twilight broke their embrace and headed over towards the couch, where Twilight sat on one side while Spike sat beside her. "So, did anything interesting happen today at the Boutique?"

Spike tried to manage a smile as he said, "Yes actually. Today we were able to get a whole line of dresses done in a matter of a few hours, allowing us to take a longer break than normal. But she put me to work extra hard when we started the next line, by then she was so stressed that she asked me to go home a few minutes early. So, I just took the long way home and went through the park, so that I could hopefully relax after a stressful day, the rain helped too."

Twilight watched as he started to look at the floor, losing his smile and sighing as he did so without realizing that he did. "But that is not all is it? There is something else isn't there, something bothering you?"

He sighed again, this time meaning to. "Well, I think that Rarity is a little upset with me at the moment.

"What ever do you mean Spike?

"Well, she was sewing as usual when I walked by with a strip of cloth that she had asked for. She had forgotten that she had left her string out and Opal had begun to play with it, dragging it out and able to trip someone. Needless to say, I tripped and dropped the cloth on her head, messing up her mane and knocking her off of her stool. When she saw that it was I who had tripped she grew furious and told me what a cluts I was and that I had obviously grown too tired to be of any more use.

"Oh Spike, I am sorry to hear that."

She gave him a warm smile, managing to make him giver her a wry one. "Ah well, what happened happened right? Tomorrow is a new day." This time when he smiled he gave her a warm smile, making her blush slightly as she looked away from his eyes. "So, is there anything in particular you want for dinner Twilight?"

She shook her head before looking up at him slowly, "Anything that you make will be fine Spike."

He let his smile fade slightly as he said, "Your wish is my command my fair Twilight." With that he quickly made his way into the kitchen, where she could see him grabbing pots and pans and lighting a fire with his dragon breath. Oh Rarity, you are missing so much. You really should abandon your check list and look at what you have right in front of you, hopefully when you do it is not too late. I know I was, and I am regretting having to keep this secret from him, but he seems so happy with you, I just hope that you don't plan on using his love for you to take advantage of him.

---

Rain drops pattered against the small window that was just above Twilight's bed, waking her up almost immediately. The drops were heavier than they were the day before and they seemed to strike at the window with a fury as if it desperately wanted to get into the room. She paid it no mind however as the smell of food wafted into her nose, making her slip out of her bed and fold her wings to her side before she used her magic to make her bed. She was about to make up Spike's before she noticed that he had already beaten her to it, He has grown up.

Stepping downstairs and into the the kitchen she was surprised to still see Spike, making the last batch of his dandelion pancakes. Already on the table was a batch of about four of his famous emerald pancakes with two dandelion pancakes on another plate. Both were seated next to each other with the chairs put together, indicating that Spike intended to stay for breakfast and that he wanted to share it with his best friend.

Wanting to make herself known, Twilight said, "This is wonderful Spike, I know that you usually make breakfast and leave, but this is a special morning I take it. Usually your are off to Rarity's before I even wake up."

Turning around for a brief second, Spike could see that a glum look was on her face and a lone tear fell from her eye. "Hey now. You are my best friend, I want to be here for you. I know that I have been gone for a while, but I thought that maybe today we could read a book together like we did when we were younger."

She seemed to lighten up at his words and look at him with a wide beam spread across her lips, "What about going over and helping out Rarity though?

"About that." He returned his attention to the last two pancakes he was making. "I just thought that maybe I should give her some space, let her cool off for about a day or two before I go back over. Then hopefully both of us can forget what happened yesterday." He held his head low now, letting a few tears come to his eyes while he placed the two finished pancakes onto Twilight's plate. "There ya go, four delicious dandelion pancakes, your favorite."

Both took a seat at the table where hey began to eat together. Neither one spoke as they did, both just relishing in the company of their best friend.

After their meal was complete Twilight rubbed her stomach before she said, "That was a great breakfast Spike. I miss having you around, someone to talk to and to study with. I hope you know that I see you as more than an assistant, you are after all the best friend in the whole world. You are a friend that I can count on to be there when I need you, someone who I know will always like me for who I am, and someone I can like for who he is." She noticed that as she spoke not only had she begun to blush a deep shade of red, but Spike's cheeks were beginning to turn a deep shade of pink.

"Well, thank you Twilight. To tell you the truth, I started to feel really badly that I was spending all of my time at Rarity's, so I just thought that maybe we could spend the day together instead of just leaving you again. It's been about a month since we actually spent any time together, so I think that today can be a special day for the both of us."

Twilight still kept her blush as she looked up into his eyes with a sweet and innocent look, Oh Spike, Rarity truly is missing out a lot with you, if only she could see what I see, just like everyone else does. No matter how hard she tried, Twilight could not brake her gaze from Spike, and she soon found herself looking deep into his green eyes. She could see a conflicting sea of emotions within him, mostly about his love for Rarity now doubt, but she thought that she could see him beginning to think about her.

Spike could not explain why, but he could not help but look deep into Twilight's purple eyes, seeing an overwhelming sea of love and devotion. Without even thinking about it he began to scoot his seat closer to her while she did the same, both neither breaking eye contact. They continued to look deep into each other, at this point looking into their very souls, all the while neither was aware of what their bodies were doing.

Their lips began to grow closer together while Spike allowed one of his hands to rest atop one of her hoofs. Their eyes began to slowly close as they came within a hair's breath of each other, that was when Spike realized what he was about to do and stopped himself. "I can't Twilight, you are my best friend." He sighed as he looked away from her, disgusted with himself.

"No Spike, I am the one who is sorry. I just feel so lonely sometimes without you around, and I sometimes think that Rarity is being silly for not opening her eyes and seeing what she has in front of her. She has a wonderful dragon who can be her special somepony, but she is too caught up with herself to see it. Spike, I know that you may not feel the same way, but I lo..." She was unable to finish her sentence. Her eyes were wide with shock at the sudden motion, but after a few moments she allowed herself to melt into his warm and inviting embrace.

He could no longer stand to hear the heartfelt words that were escaping her elegant lips, thus he knew of only one way to stop her. Before she could even think about what he was planning he launched himself forward and press his lips against hers, his eyes closed as he himself melted into their warm embrace, his arms going around her body and pulling her closer. He could feel her start to shutter underneath of his caring and gentle arms, all the while trying so hard not to cry.

When they broke apart she whispered, "Spike, why did you do that? I thought that you had feelings for Rarity?"

She could see a few tears escaping his eyes as he held her hoofs in his hands, "I did, but last night I had a vision. I was visited by Princess Luna, and I asked her about my love for Rarity and why after all this time I was still all alone. She said, My dear Spike. Not all answers are laid out before us, but most can be easily seen. You already have someone special for you, you just have to realize who it is. She is right in front of your face, and all this time you have passed her by, never once thinking that you could be more than friends. If you truly want an answer, then look to the stars, for they hold the answer to what you seek.

"So last night I woke up after she left and stared at the moon for a long while, finding that it helped me to think. Afterwords I started to look to the stars, but everyone I saw seemed to make a shape of you. At first I was, confused to say the least, but then I listened to Princess Luna's words again and that was when one thing stuck out the most, She is right in front of your face, and all this time you have passed her by. I looked once again to the stars and realized what she meant, I just never realized until just this morning how much you actually cared for me. I love you Twilight Sparkle."

They both smiled at one another before they pressed their heads together, Twilight careful not to poke his head with her horn. "I love you too Spikey-Wikey." For some unknown reason Spike felt that she had been waiting a long while to say that to him as a joke, and though it reminded him of his measly little crush, he found that he really did not care, for it was Twilight that had said his nickname. He kissed her cheek before she asked, "So um, how are we going to tell out friends after this storm. I mean, I want them to know, and they all have heard from Princess Celestia that a dragon-pony relationship is not that 'unheard' of."

Spike gave her a warm smile as he said, "Let's worry about that when the time comes." They both blushed lightly and were about to kiss again when they heard something slam into the front door. Twilight stood and went to see what it was with Spike walking beside her, a warm smile on both of their faces. They both let them fade into a face of confusion when they opened the door and saw Rainbow Dash, a cyan blue Pegasus with a rainbow colored tail and mane, sitting before their door. Upon hearing it open she turned around and blushed, "Uh, hey guys. I was j-just wondering if maybe I could, uh, stay here for a bit until the storm lets up.

Spike whispered to Twilight, "I wanted to be alone with you, but she looks like she could use a dry place to stay for now. I don't see why not, we just have to tell her and hope that she can keep a secret."

Twilight blushed as she whispered back, "Does this mean that we are a couple then?" He nodded his head as he walked over to the couch, taking a seat and motioning for her to join him. She held back an expression of pure joy while she closed the door behind Rainbow Dash as she entered. Rainbow Dash took a seat on the opposite side of the couch while Twilight wasted no time in taking a seat on the couch, leaning back against Spike and looking up at him with an extra large warm smile.

Rainbow Dash just dismissed it as them being friends. "So uh, how have you guys been?

"Oh, we have been good, but Spike here just came home yesterday with a sour attitude, so I set him right." Now Twilight began to blush as she looked form Spike towards her, "Uh, Rainbow Dash, can you keep a secret?" A nod was her response. "Well, you see, Spike and I are uh, together now." Silence slowly crept over the room while Rainbow looked at them. After a few moments the couple was afraid that Rainbow Dash was going to say something about how wrong their relationship was, but to their surprise laughter started to fill the tree house, echoing off the walls. The laughter originated from none other than Rainbow Dash.