Ever since the anniversary celebration the Lunars had been through, there was an air of calm and relaxation in Ponyville that, in all honesty, they hadn't experienced since the days before the Embassy was even built. The Lunars, for all their discipline and intimidation, just didn't seem that terrifying to them at the moment. As such, things seemed good right now, and the pleasant and sunny weather they were experiencing certainty helped with that. Into this picturesque scene walked Spike, heading out of the Golden Oak Library with a chipper smile upon his face. He walked through the streets of the town, greeted warmly by many who passed him by, for they all knew the look of a child who was planning to have a long day of fun and play when they saw one. So, he sauntered on, looking forward to the day he had planned for himself, chuckling slightly as he, finally, looked down to the large scroll he'd been carrying with him since he left the library. Stopping for a while, he unrolled it, looking over the words that were written within.

"Okay now...play-date with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo? Check!"

His smile widened.

"Alrighty then! We've got a good long day together. We'll go looking for frogs in the pond, fly our kites, head on over and play hide-and-seek in the woods, and then we can..."

But, he was interrupted when, just then, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Good morning, Spike!"

Turning, the young drake smiled when he saw that it was his teacher, Cheerilee.

"Good morning, Miss Cheerilee!"

The mare giggled to this, smiling to him as she finally reached him.

"I take it you've got your day all planned out?"

He gave her a little salute.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

She nodded to that.

"Very good. I hope you've made enough time to finish your homework at the end of it though?"

The youngster gave a slight blush to that.

"Sure!"

Cheerilee, satisfied with that answer, began to move off.

"Well, don't let me keep you! Have fun with Sweetie Belle!"

Spike smiled back to that, giving a brief wave. But, as he began to turn, he stopped. Confusion took hold of him, and he then darted back around and called out.

"Um...Miss Cheerilee?"

The mare halted, looking back to him.

"Yes, Spike?"

He nervously poked the ends of his fingers against one another before continuing.

"I...er...did you say...Sweetie Belle?"

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow.

"Well...yes? Remember, you were saying in class the other day how you'd arranged to meet with her?"

Spike blinked slowly, then let out a nervous chuckle.

"Oh! Yes! Silly me! Just checking, so...um...thank you!"

Though Cheerilee was, of course, a little uncertain towards the tone he'd said that in, she nevertheless offered a smile, before promptly heading back where she'd been going. Spike stood there, continuing to wave goodbye to her, but, as soon as she was far enough away, he yanked out his scroll and began to frantically look through it. He looked and looked, until finally, he saw it. There was indeed a day planned to spend time with Sweetie Belle, and as he looked to the date, he saw, to his utter horror that it was today. And then, just to double-check, he looked over to his assigned notes of spending time with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Again, the date matched. He had, without even knowing it, made arrangements to spend the day with all three of them. Looking up, he began to pant furiously.

"Oh...oh no!"

He began to pace up and down in that spot.

"What...what do I do?! I already told Apple Bloom and Scootaloo that I'd hang out with them today!"

Worry grew in his expression.

"I can't just cancel! They'll be so upset! And Scootaloo always looks forward to this! I can't look at her being sad! Not her! She might never want to see me again!"

Stopping, his eyes widened.

"But if I say that to Sweetie Belle...she might think I'm trying to get out of spending time with her!"

He gasped.

"And her Mother is the Ambassador! So she might take it as an insult!"

Nerves took hold of him, and he began to bite the ends of his claws.

"This could lead to a break down of diplomatic relations! The Lunars will say we snubbed them! Tensions will rise! Ponies will start getting angry at each other! Things will go under within days! And before long, they'll have declared war on one another!"

He continued to pant heavily.

"Gah! What am I going to do?! There's going to be war, and it'll be all my fault! Why...why..."

He dropped to his knees, balling his claws into fists and shaking them up at the heavens.

"...WHY DIDN’T I DOUBLE-CHECK MY SCHEDULE?!?!"

Then, as he was doing this, a local stallion walked by, looking to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Um...you okay there, kiddo?"

"NO!!!...AND ALSO THANKS FOR ASKING!!!" Spike replied.

The stallion blinked.

"Er...okay then?"

And then he walked off, leaving the young drake all by himself. Slowly, he started to catch his breath, getting to his feet again and, like before, starting to pace.

"Okay, Spike. Calm down. You've still got time to figure this out. I mean, it's not like the girls are going to show up early or anything!"

"Hey, Spike!"

And just like that, the colour drained from his face. He snapped his head to the side, just in time to see Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walking over to greet him. But, that was okay, he thought to himself. He could work with this. Sweetie Belle wasn't here yet after all.

"Hi, Spike!"

Well, it was official. The world hates him. He turned again, seeing that Sweetie Belle was indeed coming over. The young dragon looked to her, then to the other two, and back and forth, before finally starting to have a panic attack, breathing heavily and looking like he might collapse at any moment. And it was while he was doing this that the girls finally reached him and, as one would expect, they were a little unsure of how to respond to him as he was doing all of this. They looked to each other, hoping the other side would have answers, only to see them shrugging their shoulders. In he end, Apple Bloom reached forward, giving him a gentle poke on the side.

"Er...Spike?"

With that, he was brought back to a functioning mental state, looking to all three fillies and speaking up in a clearly nervous manner.

"Oh! Hi! Erm...well...nice day, isn't it?"

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow.

"Spike...is somethin' goin' on?"

Again, panic set in, and this time, he simply didn't have the mental ability to hold it back any longer, He turned to Sweetie Belle, dropped to his knees, and clasped his claws together.

"Please don't let your Mother declare war!"

Of course, Sweetie Belle didn't really know how to take that.

What?! Spike, what are you talking about?"

So, he began to explain.

"I was planning on spending time with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo today, but I totally forgot that I was supposed to play with you today too! And I know that if I cancelled with you, then your country would feel insulted, and everypony would start fighting!"

He stopped, taking a moment to catch his breath after that rant, all while the surrounding fillies looked to one another. Then, after that long and uncomfortable silence, Spike began to hear, to his surprise, all three of them start to giggle. He looked to them all, showing clear confusion, which eventually prompted Sweetie Belle to speak up.

"Oh, Spike! You're so silly!"

Still laughing, Apple Bloom chimed in.

"Ah'll say! Y'all didn' jus' think ta ask us ta all play together?"

Spike opened his mouth, ready to give a reply, only to have that scenario play out in his mind. Then, ever so slowly, he paused, a look of obvious embarrassment coming to him.

"Oh...that...yeah...that would kinda be the better choice, huh?"

The three fillies nodded, and even Scootaloo, silent as she was, gave the young drake a look that overtly showed how ridiculous she thought he was being. Chuckling nervously, Spike scratched the back of his head, then let out a deliberate cough.

"So...um...to the pond?"

The three fillies, still regarding him with amused expressions, nodded in agreement, and together, they began to make their way off in that very direction. But, after a few steps, Spike looked over to Apple Bloom.

"You, er...you're gonna remember this for a while, aren't you?"

Chuckling, the little earth pony gave him a pat on the head.

"Fer years, friend."