Normal days tend to be a occurrence that can draw itself out into a normal week, a time of casual smiles filled with opportunities to get work done and take the time to appreciate the simple pleasures life can bring. In the hollowed out tree-library near the center of town, Twilight Sparkle had taken it upon herself, alongside her number-one assistant, Spike, to turn this normal day into her nigh ritualistic Re-shelving Day. She stood at the center of the library, horn encircled with the magenta glow of concentrated magic as a plethora of tomes floated themselves out of an back into their proper places. The lavender pony stood as the center of her own solar system of books, her mane swayed lightly over her clenched eyes as her magic continued to orbit around her body.

To the grumbling dragon clambering atop the highest of the shelves, working the same process manually, the reasoning behind this strange chore was one of the mysteries of his closest friend. With his green spines and purple, reptilian body, Spike resembled a childish variation off a B-rated monster novel rather than an epitome of magical prowess. He looked between his pile of books to the void like shelves he was to fill and sighed in discontentment. When put in comparison to Twilight he just didn't have the speed or concentration. It wasn't that he minded the work, he loved helping anypony in need, it was only that his mind couldn't help but wander to things more important to the young dragon.

Spike looked at the afternoon sun blazing outside and longed childishly for the freedom of all the ponies he saw wandering about in their daily lives; he wanted to do anything other than waste his precious time relocating dusty old books. Thoughts trickled into his mind, tempting him to make a daring escape one could relate to the Daring Do books he read anytime a certain pegasus didn't have them checked out. There were so many shops and ponies he loved to frequent in this town and they all called to him with their alluring promises of an entertaining day. Sugarcube Corner and it's treats that could stand to rival the decadence of Pony Joe's donut shop, he could even visit the new music shop that had opened downtown to see if they'd let him practice with their instruments. The owners of the shop, a gray mare with an air of pure classical music and a pale unicorn who seemed to exude the word "rave", always made Spike wonder about the stability of the shop; always arguing about music and yet somehow retaining friendship, sometimes it could boggle his mind.

A tinge of heat rose into his scaly, purple cheeks as he thought upon his most desired of options. There was Carousel Boutique, the elegant clothing parlor that housed the object of his dreams, Rarity. His thoughts turned to those of a hopeless romantic as he fantasized about the beautiful mare that had captured his heart from his first day in Ponyville. Anything he did with his crush would be a welcome hiatus from this monthly chore, heck, he would gladly go through this chore everyday if it meant doing it with Rarity.

As Spike stared longingly the open portal into the free world his spines shot up as a familiar voice rang out to call his attention, "Spike!"

Spike turned around to face Twilight as nonchalantly as possible so as to throw off any suspicion, "Yeah, Twilight?" He asked, nervousness tinging his every syllable.

"I've been trying to get your attention for over a minute now. What exactly have you been thinking about while I was talking?"

"I, uh-", Spike stammered, trying to come up with a cheap excuse, to which his only reply was a light giggle.

"Whatever, Spike, I suppose it doesn't matter. I was thinking we could take a quick break and go grab lunch, seeing as your head's up there in Cloudsdale and all." Twilight smiled as she looked up at her blushing assistant. She always thought teasing him brought the perfect reward, a sight so cute it could even make Rainbow Dash feel warm at heart.

Spike's tail perked up slightly and his pudgy stomach rumbled at the thought of food, "Gladly!" He shouted, jumping down from his bookshelf spire, seemingly teeming with a newly found energy that caused Twilight roll her eyes to the ceiling.

"Is it so much to ask that you get as excited about Re-Shelving Day as you do about food?" Twilight asked with a bit of humorous irritation as she trotted towards the door Spike had held open for her. She cast him a warm smile to which Spike casually shrugged off, leaving a barely noticeable hint of disdain in Twilight's mind.

"I'd rather stuff myself full any day than hoist dusty old books", Spike replied with a devilish grin.

Twilight huffed at Spike's jab at a scheduled chore, but helped him clamber atop her back nonetheless. The two trotted on and let their conversation drift to the playful banter they always shared, Spike's cheap puns and cynical jokes bouncing perfectly off Twilight's analytical standpoint, she liked this. Being around Spike always made Twilight smile, perhaps it was the fact that she had raised him or maybe it was deep seeded relationship that had grown between the two over the past years, either way she saw him as her closest and dearest friend. Twilight felt in her heart that she could only grow closer to the little dragon what with her caring instincts and his tendency to get himself wrapped up into all kinds of trouble, not to mention his adorable naivete. The two trotted along laughing towards the middle of town in search of their next meal, their image the epitome of friendship beneath the afternoon sun.

Twilight had opted for the two to eat at a local outdoor cafe that she often frequented with her friends. She ordered her usual, a daisy sandwich with lemonade, while Spike scoured the hoof-written menu in search of anything with gems in the recipe. With a sigh the young dragon resigned and ordered the crispiest hay fries the chef could produce. Twilight noticed his disdain and cast another smile in his direction, ready to make a benevolent offer. "Spike", she called, "if you're really that beat up about gems, why don't we head over to Sugarcube Corner after this? I'm sure Pinkie could at least make you some ice cream."

Spike’s face immediately went from a lazy dream of rubies to a shining beacon of appreciation, "For real, Twilight?" He practically shouted out of pure excitement.

She chuckled again, growing more amused by Spike's antics by each passing minute, "Of course, Spike, cool your jets."

He stuttered a bit and suddenly looked at Twilight with a bit of suspicion he'd picked up from a few detective novels he'd slipped from under Twilight's nose, "Hey, why all the sudden niceness? I'm not in trouble or about to get another huge workload, am I?" Spike had one portion of his brow raised, remembering past tricks he'd fallen for. Twilight stared at her assistant and became lost in her thoughts once again. She wasn't doing anything out of character, was she? Sure Twilight had never been one for breaks, but she didn't like to see Spike overworked. She just looked at him and started wanting to be nice and caring. These emotions had started a few months ago, yet she brushed them off due to the most plausible reasons that they would be occurring; motherly and sisterly instinct or simply the warm feelings of an ever growing friendship. She'd tried to commit herself to a research of it, but always ended up more confused the more she read. Twilight blamed herself for not forming the proper hypothesis prior to her studies whenever they brought her back to the sections regarding love in her psychology books. That was impossible, wasn't it? Twilight started to worry as her paranoia kicked in alongside a subtle heat rising beneath her cheeks, she was quickly brought back into reality by a purple claw snapping in front of her muzzle. "Twilight, hello? Equestria to Twilight Sparkle, do you respond?" Spike's continued inquisition thankfully brought Twilight back her composure.

"Well", she stuttered, trying to find the best choice of words, "is it so bad that I want to be a benevolent philanthropist to my number one assistant now and then?" She responded with a knowing smirk, breathing an internal sigh of relief as she watched Spike struggle with her choice of vocabulary.

"Ben-elephant-four-loco-what-now?" Spike asked, struggling to wrap his scaly head around what Twilight had declared herself to be.

Twilight rolled her eyes at Spike, "Basically I felt like being a generous pony. Oh, look, food's here!" She happily sang as two plates descended from the hooves of their lithe waiter. Twilight immediately dove into her sandwich while Spike scrutinized the exact crunchiness of each hay-fry individually, his process consisted of him breathing a short blast of fire on each one in an attempt to make at almost as hard as some of the spare turquoise he kept hidden beneath his basket. Twilight couldn't resist a chuckle every now and again, his antics were just too ridiculous and endearing to pass up.

Their impromptu lunch continued on in a dreamy bliss for Twilight until an eloquent voice rang out from behind her, bringing her out of her daze quicker than a letter from Princess Celestia could, "Is that Twilight and little Spikey-Wikey I see?" Twilight turned to see an overjoyed Rarity, but something was off about her. Her pure white coat was scuffled and her normally pristine mane was slightly out of place, normally Rarity would have gone positively insane at these so called "crimes against fashion", yet she stood with an unchanging smile before the two.

Spike was the first to respond to this odd sight and leaped into action, running to Rarity's side with a worried look plastered across his snout, "Rarity, what happened, are you okay?"

Rarity let out a dainty chuckle as her magic brushed a few stray hairs back into place, "Oh, Spike, no need to become so chivalrous, I was simply out gem-hunting. I've discovered the most lavish reservoir for emeralds and sapphires, their potential for beauty is unfathomable", she cooed as she led herself back to the table Spike and Twilight had once been exclusively sharing. Twilight scooted slightly for Rarity to seat herself neatly beside her as she set a small sack atop the table. She turned to face Twilight with a composure of pure business, "Twilight, dear", she began to ask, "I was wondering, could I borrow Spike for the evening? There's a few piles of gems back at my little excavation sight that I could use a little masculine help with."

Twilight shivered a bit at Rarity's emphasis on the word "masculine" and immediately began questioning her own internal response. She and Spike had yet to complete their chores, but she knew how vehement her two could be when there was something they wanted. Despite her logic, something spoke up in Twilight about Spike going to Rarity's, "Well, I-"

"I'm all for it, Rarity!" Spike happily declared, cutting off Twilight.

"Truthfully?" Rarity said with gratitude glistening off her every syllable, "Don't worry, Twilight, I shall have this gentle-dragon back to the library soon after nightfall." With that she beckoned Spike as she began to trot elegantly off in the direction she had come in.

Spike wasted no time even as he shouted, "Later, Twilight!" Running off with the white unicorn, leaving Twilight alone at the table feeling nigh dejected.

"Bye, Spike", Twilight mumbled as she left the payment on the table and slowly trotted back to her home. She didn't like the sudden feeling of abandonment. It wasn't a surprise that Spike had run off with Rarity, Twilight had long since accepted his crush, but it caused an influx of emotion to stir in the pit of her stomach again. Twilight sighed as she struggled to comprehend her emotions towards Spike, towards Spike and Rarity, this new experience boggled her mind as she entered once more into her library home. As she stepped in and noticed the piles of books that had been left before her short hiatus and sat down with another sigh. "Guess I'd better finish up this job", Twilight muttered to nopony in particular. As she worked in silence her thoughts drifted, leaving her magic to warble and place certain books in the wrong places. Her thoughts turned once again to her number-one assistant. Twilight sighed as if in a dream, she couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but she just wished Spike would come home soon.