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.