Spike was asleep on a couch in the tree house. Clutched in his claw was a rolled up scroll. Twilight walked into the room. She looked at Spike.

"Spike, time to wake up!" Spike shot up, confused and sleepy.

"Huh?" Twilight was already leaving the room, but could still be heard through the doorway.

"I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia."

"Okay. Just let me get a pen and paper."

"No need. I already wrote it. I just need you to send it." Spike looked down at his hand and saw the scroll. He shrugged his shoulders and sent it using his fire. He sighed.

"It's sent." At this, Twilight popped her head into the room. She had a confused look on her face.

"How? I haven't given it to you yet…"

"Then what was that scroll I was holding?" There was an awkward silence. Twilight looked all around the room and noticed a quill next to Spike.

"Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever write before you go to bed?"

"Oh yeah. All the time."

"What do you write about?" At this question, Spike looked angrily at Twilight, blushing.

"That's none of your business!" This reaction shocked Twilight.

"I mean, do you keep a journal or something like that?" Spike quickly calmed down.

"Yeah…."

"And you write an entry EVERY night? BEFORE you go to bed?" Realization dawned on Spike's face.

"Oh no…"

"You just sent your journal to Princess Celestia, didn't you?"

"Yes…"

"Well, at least there isn't anything mortally humiliating that you wrote about that you don't want anypony to see, and if they did see it, you'd run away in fear of their mocking laughter and swear never to show your face again around Equestria and you'd become a hermit, just living on your own in some dark cave, until the very end of time itself. Right?" There was a silence. Spike looked at her suspiciously.

"….That's a bit specific…"

"Well, what can you do?" Spike went to a closet and pulled out a pack. He put it on and started walking. "Where are you going?"

"To get my journal back."

"Oh, okay! I'll fly us to Canterlot!" And with that, Twilight swooped up Spike and started to fly off to Canterlot, with Spike screaming.

The pair arrived in Canterlot and ran to the castle. It took a while, since they had to fight the crowd. It didn't help that Twilight kept stopping to look at the different stalls. See, today was just an average market day in Canterlot, with ponies gathered here and there, hoping to get the most out of their bits.

Once the duo made it to the castle, Spike burst through the front door. Inside waited Princess Luna. Princess Celestia was nowhere to be seen, and Spike was worried. In his haste, he forgot to bow to Princess Luna.

"Where's Princess Celestia?!" Princess Luna didn't notice that Spike didn't bow. In fact, she was a bit excited.

"Ahh, Spike! You just missed here. She said she had an important letter to return to you, so she headed down to Ponyville."

"What?! Just my luck… Come on Twilight, let's go." The two ran out, flying back to Ponyville. Spike hoped it wasn't too late.

Spike and Twilight ran into the library, and Spike was shocked to see both Applejack AND Princess Celestia. Great, he thought. He bowed to Princess Celestia.

"Your majesty." Celestia nodded and Spike stood up. Spike wrung his hands together, and prepared to speak.

"I got your letter Spike." Spike's face was blazing. He hadn't wanted anypony reading his journal entry. Spike looked down, ashamed.

"Sorry Princess. I didn't mean to send it to you. It was an accident."

"That's quite alright Spike. Accidents do happen. And I think you may want to have it back." Celestia returned the letter to Spike and he grasped it tightly. He did NOT want to lose it again.

"Ah was havin' an interestin' conversation with the princess, Spike." Oh no. Here it comes. The moment Spike had dreaded was coming and he was completely unprepared. Well, he knew it would come one day, and he always knew he wouldn't have anything to say in his own defense, but he never expected it to happen in front of Princess Celestia and Twilight. It was his worst nightmare. And it was happening right now.

"She told me you sent her a letter by accident. A letter not intended for her. Isn't that right, Princess?"

"It is. You see Spike, the way you wrote the letter, it was hard to tell who it was addressed to. And I was curious, and as the princess, it is my job to know about my people. So I came back down to learn who this letter was to."

"But you two were off in Canterlot, trying to get the letter. Luckily, Ah was here, so I helped the princess with the letter." Spike couldn't believe it. Not only did Celestia read his journal, but so did APPLEJACK! And to make matters worse, he knew exactly what they were doing. They were stalling, trying to stretch out the time. Which was completely unlike them.

"We found out that the pony was a filly, which meant it couldn't be anyone older then, ooh, the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Yes, that's a good reference."

"And then we learned that she was an earth pony."

"So that narrowed it down. And then we figured out her mane color."

"So there were only a handful of ponies left. And then we learned she had a hair accessory."

"And boom, we instantly had our answer. A red-maned, earth-type filly, wearing a hair accessory. Who else could it be?" Spike was completely red by now. It was taking all his energy not to cry. Why were they doing this? Twilight was thinking.

"An earth pony? Who is a filly? With a red mane and a hair accessory?" She said aloud. There were moments of silence as Twilight put two and two together. And she got four. "Wait… You don't mean… Applebloom? I thought you liked Rarity."

"Twilight, there's a point in time where one has to accept something is never going to happen. I did that a while back." Twilight started laughing. So did Celestia and Applejack. And then the walls to the library came down. All of Ponyville was gathered outside the "library". And they were all laughing at Spike. Every single pony. Including Applebloom.

Spike started running. He didn't know where, and he didn't care. The ground started shaking, but he kept running. HE was shaking, tears streaming down his face, the mocking voices saying his name, "Spike. Spike." over and over again. He ran into a cave and cried. Cried, cried, and cried. He kept shaking violently, the world shaking with him, and kept hearing the voices. And then everything went dark and his face felt soft.

"Spike, are you okay? You were crying really hard and shaking." Spike lifted up his head and looked around. He was in the library again, except the walls were up. And Celestia wasn't there. Twilight was hovering over him. Spike sighed. It had all been a dream.

"Yeah, I'm okay. It was all a dream." Spike got up and looked around. He saw Applejack. "Hey Applejack." Applejack nodded. She looked preoccupied. Twilight looked at him, worried.

"What kind of dream did you have? It looked like a complete nightmare." Spike nodded.

"It was. Everypony was making fun of me. You know how I'll write a journal entry every night before bed? Well, in my nightmare, I accidently sent my recent entry to Princess Celestia who then shared it with Apple- Somepony. Both of them kept going on and on. Then you finally understood, and everypony started laughing. It was horrible. Good thing this isn't going anywhere." As Spike said this, he raised the scroll with his journal entry on it up, and it slid out of his hand. His eyes grew wide and he watched in horror as the scroll flew through the air and hit Applejack in the head.

"Ow. What's this?" The scroll had unrolled as it hit her head and, before he could stop her, Applejack read his journal. Out loud. When she finally finished everypony was silent. Then she spoke.

"Spike… Are you talkin' 'bout my sister?" Another awkward silence. Spike looked down, and slowly nodded his head. Applejack rolled the scroll back to him. She lifted his head up with her hoof. "It's nothin' to be ashamed of. It just shocked me, that's all. I thought you liked Rarity."

"I got over her a while back…"

"I won't tell Applebloom a word about this. I'll let you tell her… When you're ready."

Applebloom was lounging on the couch. There was literally nothing to do. She had finished her chores earlier, her friends were busy, so they couldn't hang out, and Applejack had gone over to Twilight's house. Sure she could hang out with her brother, but he didn't say much, so that would get boring quickly. So she was just lying around doing nothing. Well, nothing except watching the door, waiting for Applejack to return.

After what seemed like hours of waiting, though it was, at the most, a half hour, Applejack finally appeared in the doorway. Applebloom sat up to greet her, but Applejack just waved her off. She looked at Applebloom in disbelief, shook her head, and headed upstairs to her room. Applebloom heard the door close behind her. She frowned.

"Well, that wasn't the response ah was hopin' fer…" Applebloom got up and started towards the stairs. She tiptoed up the stairs and towards Applejack's door. She stopped when she heard voices coming from the room. Even though she knew it was rude, Applebloom decided to eavesdrop.

"Ah can't believe that he likes her... I mean, I just wouldn't have seen it coming… Not with all the other ponies there are to choose from. Why did it have to be mah sister of all people…?" Applebloom's eyes widened and she pressed her ear closer to the door. Now that her name had been said, she wasn't gonna miss a word of this. "I mean, I suppose it's better than somebody like Rarity, at least age wise. This is gonna be a hard secret to keep. But I promised I'd keep it when I found out earlier…" Applebloom heard hoovesteps coming closer and ran into her room, slamming the door.

Applejack came out of her room and looked at Applebloom's door. She shrugged and headed downstairs towards the kitchen. After spending the first half of the day out and about, and having not eaten anything in that span of time, Applejack was starving. She rummaged through the fridge and pulled out some jam. She then headed to the pantry and got some peanut butter and bread. She then went to a drawer and pulled out a knife, holding it carefully in her mouth.

As AJ started to make her sandwich, she saw her sister 'sneaking' out of the house through the front door. She didn't think much of it. The town wasn't that big, and Applebloom knew better than to get into trouble. Well, she at least was smart enough to avoid trouble. … On second thought, she finished making her sandwich and swiftly followed her sister.

Applebloom ran through Ponyville, her sister close on her tail. Though she was not aware of it, Applejack was stalking her sister. AJ was curious as to where her sister was going, so she snuck after her, keeping a decent distance and giving everypony a look of "Don't talk to me". Applebloom wouldn't have noticed her sister, even if she was making a lot of noise. Applebloom was focused on one thing, and that was her destination.

"Come on Spike, it's not that bad. I think it's cute." Twilight was trying to convince Spike to come out of hiding. Ever since she and Applejack learned his secret this morning, he had locked himself away in the broom closet. He, of course, had refused. Twilight sighed and turned away from the door. When he was ready to talk about it, Spike would come to her. Meanwhile, she would turn her attention to her studies. She may be a princess, but her studies were still important.

She sat down at her desk, opening up a book and reading. The library was completely silent, not a single noise. Well, except for the occasional sniffle from Spike and the turning of a page. Twilight looked up from her study, peeking out the window. The weather today was nice, as the pegasi didn't have a storm planned until next Monday. Twilight looked back down to her book, but was quickly torn away from it by a knock on her door. She got up and opened the door to see Applebloom at the door. She smiled.

"Hi Applebloom. Are you here to see Applejack?"

"Hey Twilight. I'm actually here to talk to you. Can I come in?" Applebloom seemed to have something weighing heavily on her mind. Twilight nodded and let Applebloom in, closing the door after her. AJ was out of sigh, right under the window Twilight had been looking out of just minutes ago. Even though she knew it was wrong, Applejack was going to be eavesdropping.

Applebloom sat down on the floor next to Twilight and, before she could stop herself, started to speak everything she had been thinking.

"Twilight, I need your help. Applejack's keeping a secret, and it involves me. I know because, and I know this was wrong, but I eavesdropped on her talking to herself. She said something about a pony who liked me, but she never said who. She said she learned this morning, but the only pony I know she visited is you. Can you help me? Please? Pretty, pretty please? I need to know who it is!" Twilight sat, stunned. She couldn't believe this.

"You were eavesdropping?" Twilight sighed, "I can't tell you, because I swore to keep it a secret." Applebloom sighed. A very, very heavy sigh. This was a disappointment and a waste of time. She thought. Now I'll never know who it is. Not that it matters. I don't really like any of the colts in Ponyville. Applebloom started towards the door.

"Well, thanks for trying Twilight." She sadly walked out the door and happened to look to the side of the library where the window was. Her jaw dropped when she saw AJ, who waved nervously. "Applejack?! What're you doin' here?!"

"I… uh… Well…" Applejack hung her head in shame. Better to tell the truth. "I was eavesdropping. I was curious as to why you came to see Twilight. Had I known you eavesdropped earlier, I would have gotten mad at you, but now I'd be a hypocrite if I said anything." Applebloom nodded and continued on her walk home. AJ trotted next to her.

"Now don't look so down, little sis. I'm sure you'll find out who he is soon enough. You'll just have to be patient." Applebloom sighed.

"Yeah, but it won't matter much then. Or now, for that matter." Applejack cocked her head to the side.

"Why do ya say that?"

"Because… Well... There aren't any colts in Ponyville who I like." When Applejack heard this, she screamed on the inside. But he isn't a colt! She internally calmed herself down. Okay, no colts in Ponyville. That either means they aren't in Ponyville, it isn't a pony or there just isn't anypony she likes. She and Applebloom continued their trot home, both girls doing some deep thinking. Of course, while both of them were on very close wavelengths, neither knew it.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were gathered in their tree house. After many weeks of relentless begging, hours of painstaking work, and some help from Twilight and Fluttershy, Applebloom finally managed to convince her sister to let her, Sweetie Belle, and Scoot-a-loo have a sleep over in the tree house. The two had battled it out, Applebloom shouting remarks about "it being her right" and "It's an experience I need!", and Applejack replying with "You ain't old enough" and "When ah was a filly, ah never got to have a sleepover in mah tree house!" Somehow Twilight had managed to convince her, and with the help of Fluttershy, they managed to get permission to have the sleepover. Nothing was going to spoil their fun.

When the trio had first arrived at the tree house with their overnight packs, they were super excited. They had each agreed to bring something fun to do so that the group wouldn't get bored. Applebloom brought a book chock full of party games they could play. While she had not been one for "research", she had appreciated that Twilight let her borrow the book. The book ranged from games like Hide and Seek to Truth or Dare.

Sweetie Belle had brought a gaming system. Button Mash had let her borrow his Six-Four Cube, which, while the graphics were outdated, the gaming was phenomenal. It had been a revolutionary invention in the gaming industry. Button had also let Sweetie borrow a power adapter and mini TV that would allow the trio to use the system in the tree house.

Scoot-a-loo had brought snacks; A couple bags of cheese puffs, tons of soda, and money for pizza. But out of all these snacks, she had, of course, remembered to bring god's perfect creation: Smores. Still sealed fresh in their original packaging were marshmallows, which, when brought to the right temperature, were the greatest dessert ever. Combined with sweet, sweet chocolate and crisp graham crackers, it was a treat to die for.

When the CMC had gotten permission to have the sleepover, there was one rule that all of their sisters were very strict about; No boys. That meant no colts, stallions, or Spike (And any other male creature that they may know.) The girls had no problem with this rule, as 1) They didn't really know many boys, and 2) They didn't want any boys at the sleepover. They didn't want anypony playing pranks on them. They also just wanted to hang out with each other: Just the three of them. Anyway, they were all sitting down in the tree house.

"So, what should we do first?" Sweetie Belle was excited. She and her friends hadn't had a sleepover in, oh, about a week. And definitely never in the tree house. She, like Applebloom, wanted to have as much fun as possible. She was thankful when Button let her borrow his game system, and a little shocked too. Button didn't let that thing out of his house out of fear of it getting broken. Sweetie still remembered the conversation they had when she asked him (Of course she remembered. She had asked him that morning.)

"Are you sure it's okay if I borrow your Six-Four Cube?" Sweetie Belle smiled at Button Mash, who looked at her, blushed and looked awkwardly to the ground. He poked at the ground.

"Yeah. I can trust you, Sweetie." Sweetie beamed. When she thought about it, she sometimes thought Button had a crush on her, but she didn't let herself believe that. She was scared to believe it, because if she was wrong… Well, she just wouldn't be able to handle seeing Button. So, she convinced herself that she was the one with the crush. Which was true.

"Hmmm…. I know!" Scoot-a-loo shot up. And then landed back on the floor with a soft thud. Even though she was a Pegasus, Scoot-a-loo could barely fly. It was just a miracle if she was able to keep her body suspended in the air for more than a minute. "Let's try and get our cutie marks!" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle murmured in agreement. It sounded like a decent plan. "And I know just what to start with…."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders burst into the tree house, Applebloom pushing against the door.

"That was the worst idea you have ever had!" Scoot-a-loo smiled a fake smile. It was a terrible idea.

"How was I supposed to know that a dragon lived in that cave?"

"It was a cave full of gems. Who'd ya think it belonged to?"

"I didn't know. Sheesh." In retrospect, maybe trying to get their cutie marks in treasure hunting wasn't a very good idea this time of day. By the time they had actually gotten back to the tree house, it was already dark. On the bright side, that meant they could soon start a fire and make Smores. Applebloom had gone and gathered logs for the fire earlier in the week, so they wouldn't have to go in the woods to find some when it got dark. Like it was now. Because they just had to go treasure hunting.

Anyway, they had the fire wood, so all that was left was to start the fire. Unfortunately, here's where they ran into a problem. See, while they had the wood, none of them had matches. Not one of their sisters trusted any of them with matches. So here they had a bunch of logs, piled up in the center of a circle of stones, with no way to light the fire. They all sat down on a blanket Sweetie Belle had brought. Just sat down and thought. Applebloom sighed.

"I wish Spike was here. He'd just be able to use his fire to light the fire." Her friends nodded.

"Yeah." Sweetie looked all around her, hoping to find something to light the fire. Then she had an idea. "Why don't we just ask your sister to light the fire?" Applebloom and Scoots looked at her. "What?" They then looked at each other and groaned.

"Why didn't ah think of that?" Applebloom groaned. Playfully, Scoot-a-loo poked Applebloom.

"Because you were too busy thinking of Spike." Meant as a joke, there was no serious meant behind it. Spike was their friend, and he could breathe fire, so of course Applebloom would think of him when they needed to start a fire. It was something he was good at. So, when Applebloom blushed and got angry, Scoot-a-loo was caught off guard.

"Ah- ah was not!" Sweetie Belle and Scoot-a-loo looked at Applebloom.

"Calm down Applebloom. I was just kidding." Applebloom pushed ahead of the two.

"Come on, ya'll. Let's go get mah sister to light the fire." She stormed off towards the house. Scoot-a-loo held Sweetie Belle back, who looked like she was gonna cry.

"Why did she act like that?"

"Aww, come on Sweetie. Don't look like that. I'm sure she'll get over it. Though it is a bit odd, how Applebloom reacted…" Unknown to them, Applebloom had developed a crush on Spike. See, it all started last summer…

The sun beamed brightly down on Ponyville. It was hot, to say the least. At this time of year, the pool was the place to be. And yet that wasn't where the CMC was. Scoot-a-loo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom were at Twilight's library. Twilight agreed to watch the Cutie Mark Crusaders so that Rarity could go to a fashion show and Applejack went to a farming convention. It was just natural that Scoot-a-loo come along. Anyway, the trio was just lying around, bored.

"You could always read-"The three groaned, and Twilight didn't finish her sentence. She had asked them before, and they said no. She figured she'd ask again. Apparently they didn't change their minds. She sighed.

Spike came down the ladder that led to his and Twilight's bedroom, carrying a stack of boxes with one claw and holding onto the ladder with the other. Applebloom watched him.

"Need some help, Spike?"

"Hmm? Sure. Can you open that door for me?" Spike pointed at the door that led to the basement with his foot. Applebloom opened the door and moved to let him through. As he went down the stairs, he called up to her. "Come check this out." Applebloom headed down and turned around. Her jaw dropped. In front of her was a monument of Spike and his friends, raised on a platform. Spike was pulling a curtain back. He used the curtain to hide the monument when he wasn't working on it. As he pulled it, the rope used to keep it in place dragged along the ground.

"Cool, isn't it? Been working on it to celebrate the day Twilight and I came to Ponyville." He put the boxes down and opened one. Inside were pieces of brightly colored glass. "It's a lot of work, since I'm making it 3D instead of flat. See, most ponies make flat mosaics, but coming to Ponyville changed my life, and it's something that deserves to be commemorated in a big way." Applebloom moved closer to the mosaic. It was beautiful. She had no idea Spike could do something like this. She just stood there, admiring it.

Spike was bent over a box, trying to pick out just the right pieces. Today he would work on the manes some more. He searched for some deep purples. He liked the colors to be as vibrant as possible. After minutes of searching, he finally found the perfect purple. He set up a ladder so that he'd be able to reach the monument's top and put the manes together. He went to get the glue to put the mosaic together, which happened to be on a table next to the ladder.

Meanwhile, Applebloom was still staring at the monument. She took a step closer to the mosaic and tripped over the curtain cord. She tried to get back up and ended up getting her hoof tangled into the rope. She tried to free her hoof but ended up yanking the curtain free. Spike, hearing the clatter, turned around, in the process knocking the ladder down with his tail. He headed towards Applebloom, not aware that the ladder was falling, not aware that the ladder was on a collision course with the mosaic. Spike tore the curtain off of Applebloom and she saw the ladder.

"Spike look out!" She screamed. He turned around, saw the ladder, and pushed Applebloom out of the way, making sure she was safe before running himself. He almost managed to escape the chaos that would ensure, but unfortunately wasn't fast enough. The mosaic came crashing down on him and everything went black.

When he woke, he was in the hospital. Applebloom was hovering over him. He groaned.

"Are you okay?' These were the first words Spike had said. HE was the one covered in bandages, HE was the one cut badly, and HE was the one laying in the hospital bed. And yet he was asking about Applebloom. See, Spike cares for his friends. He would sacrifice himself for them. And he nearly had. And this was BEFORE he had a crush on Applebloom.

Anyway, Applebloom looked at Spike and started crying. She ran out of the room. She was touched to her core. Nopony, except MAYBE her family, would EVER do something like that for her. That somepony would risk their life for her was just shocking. She looked at Spike in a new light, as a hero. She couldn't stop thinking about him. And thus were the origins of her crush on him.

The three arrived at the house and Applebloom stormed in. Applejack, who had been lazing on the couch sat up.

"What are ya'll doing here?" Applejack and Big Mac had a bet that the CMC wouldn't be able to stay in the tree house all night. If they were here to stay, then Applejack was about to be five bits richer.

"We need ya to make us a fire. We don't have any matches."

"Oh. Ah'm not sure ah want ya'll out there with a fire. Especially that close to the tree house."

"We have a campfire set up, we just need ya to light it. Please?" Applejack sighed. Giving in, she followed the trio back to the tree house and helped to light the fire. Then she remained.

"Ah'm stayin' to make sure ya'll don't burn yerselves. Also, I'll be requirin' a payment. More specifically, Smores." So, Applejack stayed and ate Smores with them. It was fun, but they were glad when Applejack left. They could get back to camping.

"So what do you want to do now?" Sweetie Belle looked at the two fillies. Applebloom, who had cooled off, nodded towards the tree house.

"It's gettin' cold. Let's go inside. Maybe play a game." The others agreed and they went inside. Applebloom pulled out the game book and flipped to a random page; 20 Questions.

"Ew. I don't want to play 20 Questions. That's boooorrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggggg." Sweetie Belle sighed. She didn't really want to play 20 Questions either. "Why don't we play something else?" Applebloom flipped through the book. She pointed out games she thought looked kinda fun. Nope. They couldn't find anything.

"Well, this stinks. Ah wanted us to be able to have as much fun as possible." Applebloom whined. Sweetie Belle rested her hoof on Applebloom's shoulder.

"It's okay. We can always play Button's Six-Four Cube." Scoot-a-loo's eyes lit up.

"Or…" Sweetie Belle looked at her curiously.

"Or what?"

"Or, we could talk about Button. Or, more specifically, you and Button Mash." Sweetie Belle blushed. "Oh, come on. We all know you like him." Sweetie Belle blushed a deeper shade of red.

"Ye-yeah. But I don't think he likes me back…" Applebloom put her hoof under Sweetie's chin.

"Are ya serious? Have you seen the way he acts around ya? He's got it bad for ya." Sweetie smiled. She actually had seen the way he acted around her. She was just terrified it was all in her imagination. This comforted her.

"What about you Applebloom? Is there anypony you like?" Applebloom blushed and backed away.

"Nope. I ain't got a crush on any pony." She kept it intentionally vague. It wasn't lying. She didn't have a crush on any pony. That's not to say she had a crush on any dragon. But she wasn't gonna tell them that. Wasn't gonna tell anypony. Or dragon, for that matter. She knew she could never tell Spike. Spike was in love with Rarity. Even Applebloom knew Rarity would never feel the same way for Spike. It drove Applebloom crazy.

Scoot-a-loo looked at Applebloom. She didn't think Applebloom was being completely honest. She had seen the way Applebloom reacted to the question. She decided to press Applebloom for information, something a friend shouldn't do, but it sadly does happen.

"Okay. Is there anybody you have a crush on? Anyone not pony?" Crap. Scoot-a-loo had figured her out. Well, almost. Applebloom didn't have to answer.

"Ah'd rather not answer." Applebloom backed away. Sweetie Belle gasped happily.

"So there is somepony!" Sweetie Belle and Scoot-a-loo got closer as Applebloom backed up.

"No. Remember what she said, Sweetie? Whoever it is isn't a pony." They kept pressing forward. Applebloom was running out of space to back into.

"But we only know so many non-ponies…" Applebloom was squished into the corner now. She cowered.

"He'll never like me…" She said weakly. Scoot-a-loo was practically hovering over her.

"Who?" Applebloom ignored her.

"He's too obsessed with a pony who'll never return his affections." It was Sweetie Belle's turn.

"Come on, Applebloom. Who is it?" Once again, ignored.

"And even if he wasn't, Ah'm probably not his type…"

"WHO IS IT?!" Sweetie and Scoot-a-loo simultaneously asked her.

"SPIKE! IT'S SPIKE!" Applebloom pushed her way out of the tree house, crying. She ran inside her house where Applejack was waiting. She ran past Applejack, leaping up the stairs. Seconds later, the sound of her slamming door could be heard. AJ ran after her.

"Applebloom? What's wrong?" AJ tried the door, but it was locked. The rest of the apple family slowly gathered at the door, Applebloom's crying having woken them up.

"Go away Applejack."

"C'mon, Little Sis. Unlock the door and we can talk about it."

"I don't want to talk to anyone. Just go away." AJ tried one more time.

"Please? You can tell me anything. I won't make fun of ya or anythin' like that."

"No." Applejack sighed.

"Okay. Well, ya can come to me with anything you need. When you're ready." Applejack had the family go back to their respective rooms and she headed towards Scoot-a-loo and Sweetie Belle, who had ran after Applejack. She looked at them.

"Mind tellin' me what happened?" Scoot-a-loo nervously chuckled.

"Well…" And so they told Applejack most of the story. For Applebloom's sake, they had refused to tell her about Spike.

So, a couple weeks after Applebloom's initial confession, everything was back to normal. Nopony had mentioned what she said, and she started to feel like her old self. The only reason she had blown up was because thinking about Spike upset her. She always reminded herself that the purple dragon would never think of her as more than a friend, and that she should try to do the same too. Still, it hurt.

Spike was in the same boat. Neither Twilight nor Applejack had said anything, at least not to Spike. He was hoping they'd forgotten, hoped that they had more pressing issues to deal with than some reptile's secret. He knew, or at least thought, nopony but those two had learned his secret, so he was able to relax a little. He truly trusted Twilight and Applejack to keep his secret. As long as nopony outright asked her, she wouldn't tell anypony about it.

There was a loud crashing at the front door, which brought Spike back to reality. Applejack practically bust down the door trying to get in.

"Where's Twilight? It's an emergency!" Spike stared at her. She looked as if she'd been running. Well, she did crash into the door, and she did say it was an emergency. He pointed upstairs. She thanked him and ran upstairs. Twilight was sitting up in her bed. She had stayed up late doing research (for fun), so Spike decided to let her sleep in. Applejack grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Oh, this is bad! This is bad!" Twilight sleepily looked at Applejack.

"What is?"

"She asked me! She asked me!"

"Huh? Calm down." Applejack let go of Twilight and took a couple of deep breaths. Who knew she could act so much like Pinkie? "Now what's wrong?"

"Applebloom asked me." Twilight was confused.

"About what?"

"About Spike." Twilight's eyes widened.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. Ah just left her there." They were silent.

"This is bad." AJ nodded emphatically. That's what she had been saying.

"What do ah say?" Panic was more filled her face. She was at a loss. She couldn't tell Applebloom without breaking her promise to Spike, but she couldn't lie about it. Meanwhile, Spike had been listening to the whole conversation quietly. He didn't really know what to feel. On one hand, he was angry and confused. Applejack must had slipped up and said something. Why else would Applebloom ask about him? Unless… No. There couldn't have been an unless. And, on the other hand, he was relieved. Applejack didn't outright blow his secret. Still…

He looked at the doorway and was surprised to see Applebloom standing there.

It looked like she just arrived. Realizing they were still trying to figure out what to do upstairs, Spike loudly cleared his throat.

"Oh, hey Applebloom." He said loudly. "Didn't see you standing there." Twi and AJ caught his message and stopped the conversation. They looked down at Applebloom. AJ waved to her.

"Howdy there, little sis. What brings you here?" Applebloom ignored her and looked at Spike. He waved nervously at her and she waved back. She looked up at Applejack.

"Ya never answered mah question earlier."

"Oh… Well, ya see… To be honest, Ah'm not comfortable tellin' ya."

"B-b-but…. Ah need to know!" Applejack looked at Twilight, and they both looked at Spike and Applebloom, back and forth between the two. Suddenly Twilight's eyes brightened. Idea time. Risky idea time, but still idea time.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Spike and Applebloom looked at her.

"E-e-excuse me?" Spike was shocked. Was he being betrayed? Because that's exactly what it felt like to him.

"Go on Spike. Answer the question." Spike's jaw dropped. So, this is how it was gonna end, huh? Being betrayed by his favorite purple unicorn. He saw how it was.

"So, um… What did you need to ask Apple- me?" Spike watched Applebloom nervously. She poked at the ground. Unknown to Spike, she was feeling the same exact way. Betrayed by her sister. Should've seen it coming.

"Um…. Well… I uh… Do you still have a crush on Rarity?" What? The question caught Spike completely off guard. The way Twilight and Applejack made it out to be, he thought it'd be worse.

"Not really. Why?" Applebloom's heart was pounding. So, he didn't have a crush on Rarity anymore…. Maybe, just maybe…. The next words were not intended. Not expected by Applebloom to come out her own mouth. Not to Spike at least.

"Do you like me Spike?" Spike felt like he was gonna faint. No, he thought, gotta keep it cool.

"Of course I like you." Applebloom's heart exploded. "You're one of the best friends I've had." Applebloom's heart died. Oh…. Still, she had to know the answer. She was like a journalist on a mission. Gotta get the truth.

"I mean…. Do you… Do you like-like me?" Applebloom looked at the ground, ashamed. Neither Twilight or Applejack could watch. The tension after the question was so thick, you couldn't cut it with a butter knife.

"Do you mean… Do I have a crush on you?" Applebloom nodded. She was about to cry. Spike sighed.

"Y-yes." Applebloom's eyes widened.

"What?"

"I said yes." Spike looked away. Now it was he who looked like he was about to cry. This was NOT how he wanted it to happen. Applebloom on the other hand was so relived, she passed out right there. Spike ran to her.

"Applebloom? Are you okay?" Applejack and Twilight galloped downstairs. Applejack looked over Applebloom.

"She's okay. Just fainted. You really know how to sweep the ladies off their feet, don't ya Spike?" Spike glared angrily at her. Applejack laughed. "Relax. She probably just fainted from relief."

"Relief?"

"Yeah. See, she seemed pretty stressed. She couldn't figure out if you liked her back or not, and it was killing her."

"Wait, like her back? What do you mean?"

"Gosh Spike. Dragons must have thick skulls or somethin'. Applebloom likes you." Spike then proceeded to faint too. It was one of the greatest days of his life.

THE END

(And a very abrupt one too)