The ponies of Ponyville were in the middle of a very average day. Celestia's sun rode high in the sky, birds in the trees warbled out their songs, and a light, pleasant wind was blowing. In the market square, salesponies shouted, hawking their wares. At Sugarcube Corner, sweets poured from the oven into the eager hooves of waiting customers. Wrapped up in their own goings-on, not one of them noticed an adolescent dragon wandering, aimless and heartbroken, through the town.

Spike's steps felt heavy. He paid no attention to the buildings he passed, nor to the ponies brushing past him on the way to their various destinations. On his cheeks was a light coat of moisture, and every so often he let out a sniffle.

High above him and the rest of town, a colorful pegasus soared and swooped through the sky. Rainbow Dash was on her daily training flight, keeping herself in shape for the Wonderbolts. To her, this flight never really felt like work. She loved it. She loved the way the wind whipped her mane and tail, the way flying elevated her heart rate. Most of all, she loved fantasizing about putting on that blue-and-gold suit, hearing the ecstatic roar of the crowd, and flying alongside her idols. This vivid dream was her most powerful motivation.

Rainbow came out of her imaginings and looked down on Ponyville. From her altitude, all of the inhabitants looked like tiny specks: she saw a white-and-blue speck she guessed to be Vinyl Scratch, a grey-and-yellow one that was probably Derpy, and a vibrant magenta one that, even at this distance, was unmistakably Pinkie Pie. She continued looking and spotted a purple-and-green speck that she knew to be Spike. Rainbow thought for a moment, and decided to drop in and surprise him. She hadn't talked to him in a while, and besides, she was practically done working out.

She went into a steep dive toward her reptilian friend. All objects became streaking blurs of color as she sped up, rushing toward the ground. She pulled up at the last second, hovering behind him.

"Hiya, Spike," she said, announcing her presence.

Spike turned around as he heard his name. "Oh, hi Rainbow," he said sullenly.

Rainbow Dash sank to the ground, taken aback at the abject sadness in his voice. Spike was usually a pretty happy-go-lucky guy. Seeing him exude misery like this was a little unsettling. "Whoa, dude, what's wrong?" she asked him.

Spike hung his head. "I don't really wanna talk about it."

This answer did not quell Rainbow's curiosity, but only intensified it. "C'mon, Spike, you can tell your old pal Rainbow Dash anything."

He shook his head. "It just hurts too much."

This remark tinged Rainbow's inquisitiveness with worry and anger. If somepony was hurting her friend Spike, they'd have her to answer to. "What hurts? Who hurt you?"

"Nevermind. Forget it." Spike turned and began to walk away from her.

He wasn't getting away that easily. Rainbow flew ahead of him and blocked his path. "Spike, tell me," she demanded.

"Seriously, Rainbow, cut it out," he said, somewhat annoyed. "Get out of my way."

She stood her ground. "Not until you tell me what's going on."

He heaved a sigh. "You really wanna know?"

"Yeah," she responded.

A few tears dropped from his bright green eyes. "It's Rarity," he said. "We broke up."

"Oh." Rainbow Dash absorbed this turn of events. About two and a half months ago, Rarity had finally given in to his constant pleading and agreed to go on a date with him. Another had followed, and soon the two were in a steady relationship. Considering what she'd just heard, however, that was now a thing of the past. "Sorry, dude."

Spike wiped his eyes with his hand. "Thanks, I guess."

Rainbow Dash put her foreleg around his shoulders. "Don't worry, Spike. You'll get over her," she said. She pondered for a moment, then added, "Hey, let's go to Sugarcube Corner. I bet Pinkie can hook us up with some free milkshakes or something. That'll help you feel better."

Spike hesitated. "I don't know..."

"Ahh, come on," Rainbow insisted. She got behind him and began to physically push him in the direction of the sweet shop.

When they got to the confectionary, they pushed their way through the clamoring crowd to find Pinkie Pie behind the counter. "Hi, Dashie! Hi, Spike!" she bubbled upon catching sight of them.

"Hey, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash responded.

Spike gave a feeble wave.

Pinkie Pie inspected him, seemingly baffled by his downcast expression and depressed mannerisms. "What's wrong, Spike?" she asked. "You look like a saddy-waddy downer dragon."

Rainbow Dash pulled her aside and spoke to her in hushed tones. "Him and Rarity just broke up," Dash hissed.

"Awww!" Pinkie cried. "But they were such a cute couple."

"Yeah, and he's feeling pretty bad about it, too," Rainbow continued. "You think you could set us up with some milkshakes or something? I wanna try and cheer him up."

"Sure," Pinkie answered, without hesitation. She ushered them to a table for two, and made each of them a large chocolate shake.

"Thanks, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said.

"No problem," Pinkie said happily, and returned to the kitchen.

Rainbow Dash returned her attention to the dragon across the table. He half-heartedly sipped his drink, sighing every now and again. Rainbow wished she could say something to make him feel better, but she hadn't the slightest idea where to begin. She'd never really been good with romantic stuff like this. She decided to make a weak attempt. "Uhh... how do you feel?"

Spike looked at her and considered her question. "Betrayed," he said honestly.

His answer confused her. "So, like, did she cheat on you?"

He shook his head. "No. It's just... she's not what I thought she was. I thought she was perfect."

"Nopony's perfect, Spike."

"Rarity was to me. When I was younger, I really thought she was flawless. Then when we started dating, it was like she was a completely different pony. She was just so demanding and manipulative. She wasn't the Rarity I knew."

Rainbow Dash nodded. As much as she liked her fashionable friend, Rarity could prove to be insufferable at times. She had a feeling that a relationship would only underscore these problems.

"You know," Spike went on, "I just want to be with someone who likes me for me, who won't try to change me like Rarity did."

"Well, Spike, I think you're pretty awesome just the way you are," Rainbow Dash said, still desperate to make him feel better.

As she spoke these kind words, Spike smiled for the first time since the break-up. "Thanks, Dash," he said.

Rainbow Dash leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and smiled smugly. "No big deal, dude," she said, "you shouldn't let mares get you d-"

Rainbow was cut off as she felt something warm, scaly, and yet strangely soft pressed against her lips. She opened her eyes to find Spike kissing her. The very same dragon who was lovelorn and heartsick mere moments ago had recovered rather quickly, and seemed to have set his sights on her. Not that she could blame him for being attracted to all of her awesomeness, but this wasn't right. She pushed him away and wiped her foreleg across her mouth. "Dude!" she said indignantly. "That was notcool."

Spike looked back at her, his purple cheeks tinted bright pink. "I- I'm sorry."

"You should be!" she spat. "What the heck was that all about, anyway?"

Spike looked at the floor, ashamed. "I like you a lot, Rainbow. When you said you liked me how I was, I guess I couldn't help myself."

"First of all, dragon-boy, I was just being nice."

"I know."

"Second, weren't you just crying over Miss Prissy-Pants like five minutes ago?"

"Yeah."

"So don't go and kiss somepony out of the blue like that, got it?"

"Got it."

The two continued drinking their milkshakes, the air around them thick with awkward silence. Every so often, Spike would look at Rainbow Dash across the table, only to dart his eyes away when she looked back at him. After a few minutes of this, Pinkie Pie returned to the table.

"Are you guys in love?" she asked.

Rainbow Dash stared at her. "Umm... no."

The pink pony's face contorted with confusion. "But why was Spike kissing you?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Long story."

Pinkie left then left them alone, not quite satisfied with that answer, but knowing that it was all she was going to get from Rainbow Dash at the moment.

As their hyper friend bounced away, Spike spoke to Rainbow again. "So," he said, "you wanna go on a date with me, Dash?"

Rainbow Dash nearly choked on her milkshake. "What makes you think I'd want to do that?" she coughed, her eyes watering.

"Well, you said I shouldn't kiss you out of the blue, so I was thinking we could go on a date or two. After that, maybe we could try kissing again," he reasoned.

Rainbow considered the possibilities of dating Spike. The more she rolled it around in her mind, the less ridiculous it started to sound. After all, she hadn't had a date with a real stallion in months, and it could be fun to go out again. Spike certainly wasn't the worst candidate for a coltfriend she'd ever seen. In fact, he was pretty cool, and what could be the harm in letting him take her out a few times, if only just to make him feel better?

She nodded. "Okay, Spike."

"You mean we can go out?"

"Sure, dude. Let's see if you got what it takes to date the Dash."