In the middle of the afternoon on the day before Saturday night, I made my way over to Twilight’s house. It was an Apple Family tradition for the bride to not to see the groom the day of the wedding, and I hadn’t got a chance to hang out with Twilight in a while. I thought this would be a good way to relax and stop thinking about what was secretly scheduled later that night. She opened the front door with a smile, and I walked in.

“Hi there! Come on in, I’m just doing some knitting with Spike,” she said, trotting back to the library section where Spike was. I walked in and saw that Spike was like a large pincushion for Twilight, which looked incredibly painful. I was not as close with Spike as I was with Twilight and the rest of her and Applejack’s friends, but he did seem to be a nice dragon, and I had always wanted to hang out with him more.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” I said, picturing a bunch of needles in my skin.

“Dude, you don’t know what pain is until you’ve capped one of Twilight’s cooking fires… WITH YOUR TONGUE!” he said, sticking out a blackened forked tongue, which caused me to jump back in repulsion.

“There’s only been one cooking fire, thank you very much,” said Twilight, clearly not amused by Spike’s comment.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had anything cooked by you before, Twilight. You wanna make something right now? I know plenty of recipes working at Sugarcube Corner. I can see you being a good cook, given how good of cooks your friends are,” I said. Spike looked at me and made a disgusted face, pointing his finger at his tongue. Twilight caught it out of the corner of her eye and kicked him over with her hind leg.

“Well, it appears my cooking is rather unappreciated around here,” she said, rolling her eyes at Spike.

There was an awkward silence, and I could see Spike was fighting laughing with all of his might. An awkward smile formed on my face as I also was now trying to hold in laughter. When Twilight looked back at Spike, we both lost it, and it wasn’t long before Twilight was laughing too. When we finally caught our breath, I got up and hugged Twilight.

“It’s wonderful to see you guys,” I said with a big smile. I noticed two books over her shoulder by where she and Spike were knitting. The first one was titled “The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide” the next one was titled “The History of Dark Magic.” I pointed to Twilight’s books, trying to strike up a conversation on her reading material.

“So, whatcha reading there?” I said. Twilight let out a sigh that seemed to indicate stress.

“Oh, the first book is just a guide to the Elements of Harmony and how they work. The other one is about some ancient dark magic wielders that the Royal Sisters disposed of long ago,” she said.

Just as she said that, the front door flung open, and in came in Rarity, with a frivolous yellow hat that had flowers on top. Something curious caught my eye when she entered; Spike’s mouth and eyes dropped open, and he started looking at himself nervously, as if checking his appearance. I squinted my eyes at him and then looked back at Rarity, and I smiled; I knew right away what I saw. It takes one to know one. A new appreciation for Spike was set aflame inside me, and I have never been fonder of Spike then I was at that moment. We shared something in common, except I felt that way about Applejack.

“I’m heeerrreee!” said Rarity, posing with her hat.

“Wow Rarity, that hat looks amazing on you!” said Spike.

“Thank you, Spikey Wikey! I’m glad someone appreciates my effort. Hmph, I saw Lyra on my way here and asked her about my hat, and she just turned her head away,” said Rarity in disgust.

“Why don’t you come in and join us? We’re going to make something to eat… I think,” said Twilight, putting her hoof on her chin.

“Actually, I’m going down to the spa and wanted to see if you could join me,” said Rarity. Spike jumped forward in excitement.

“I’ll go!” said the little dragon.

“No, Spike. I need you here in case I get another letter from Princess Celestia,” said Twilight rather seriously. I didn’t think much of what she could be talking about at the time, but Spike was bitterly disappointed, which made me a little sad for him. “Sorry Rarity,” said the purple unicorn. Rarity smiled at Spike.

“It’s ok Spikey Wikey, we’ll go together another time, just you and me,” said Rarity. Spike’s eyes filled with delight, and he seemed to drift away into a dream. I know that feel, bro.

Rarity exited, and Twilight and I started to get things out to make a batch of cupcakes while Spike hung out in the back. It was a lot of fun, and Twilight seemed to be enjoying herself, except when she would glance into one of the books she was reading earlier. I wasn’t able to not think about later that night, I was way too excited. Right after we finished eating, Twilight brought up Applejack in a way that made me a little nervous.

“You and Applejack seem to be really good friends, I’m so glad that you two have gotten so close since you’ve moved here,” she said. She didn’t say it in a way that made her sound suspicious, and I think blushing a little bit was inevitable for me, but I managed to not sound too nervous.

“Oh, she’s a great friend.  I love hanging out with her,” I said. Spike saved me by walking in us and addressing Twilight.

“We just got another letter,” he said. Twilight’s eyes lit up, and I realized this was a good time for me to get out of there and get ready for the night.

“Well it sounds like you guys got enough to do, so I’ll leave you guys to your things. Thanks for hanging out with me! See you soon,” I said, walking over to the door. Twilight smiled and walked me to the door, and I started off on home.

It was a great relief to be able to go home and get ready, even though I had fun and relaxed a little bit at Twilight’s. I also found out that I wasn’t the only one with a love for somepony. I thought about Spike and Rarity for a moment, but then Applejack quickly consumed all of my thoughts. I had never been more excited in my life for what was going to happen that night.