Spike was sitting inside the Slipper Sweet Shoppe by himself, drinking a milkshake that he ordered from the menu and looking around the shop absentmindedly, and looking at the plump and round flanks of ponies as they strolled past him.
His eyes lit up when he caught a glimpse of Sparkler and Powder as they walked in the shop, watching them stroll up to the counter and order some ice cream with hearts in his eyes and some excited wagging his tail.
Witnessing this scene were Wind Whistler and Gusty as the two were eating their hay sandwiches and reading some books, Fizzy was snoring on the table, no doubt from exhaustively taking care of the baby ponies.
" Our draconian acquaintance seems to be quite infatuated with our friends there. " She joked as she finished her sandwich. " It's quite fascinating, amorous even! "
" Maybe he has a thing for uptight- mares..." Gusty figured, guffawing at the thought that a dragon could ever find her kind attractive, not that she was specist or anything like that, She was just going by the history books on dragons and their hostile relationships with ponies...which the Pegasus sitting beside her suggested to her after she ran out of adventure books and comics to read.
" Now now, Gusty. We mustn't judge our friend's personal partner preference, We must be supportive. " Wind Whistler reprimanded, crossing her hooves.
" I am being supportive, Big Mouth!...I just find it weird is all. " Gusty told her. " I mean, we're the only females he's ever seen, You'd think that there be more dragons out there in Dream Valley! "
Wind Whistler closed her eyes as her mind was deep in thought, while Gusty exhaled through her lips in boredom as she watched Spike chat it up with Lickety Split, despite the mare's usual treatment of him, the two of them seem to be awfully close...a little too close now that she'd thought about it...what did they get up to in that cave behind the waterfall? besides meeting the Grundels of course.
Before any dirty thoughts could spring to her mind, she was tapped on the shoulder by the dragon she was watching not too long ago, sipping on the rest of his milkshake before speaking up.
" Mind if I sit here, ladies? " he asked Gusty and Wind Whistler, who patted the chair beside her to gesture him to sit between them.
" No, not at all, Spike. you're never a bother! " the Pegasus assured him. " Have a seat! "
Gusty grinned at the dragon as he got comfortable on the chair, arching an eyebrow. " I saw you flirting with Lickety Split there Casanova, care to tell us what you were telling her? " She questioned him, her curiosity piqued. " whispering her sweet nothings?...maybe heading to a secret place and mat-"
" I don't really like Lickety tha- " Spike tried to say until the blue Pegasus cut him off.
" Gusty! cease this discussion at once, you perverted voyeur! " Wind Whistler reprimanded, clearly uncomfortable with the subject at hoof. " It is most unwise to pry into one's personal proclivities and create gossip based one's assumptions and perceived observations to suit your perception, Gusty! "
" Oh come on, Wind Whistler, I'm just messing the little squirt, no big deal, and you really need to take it easy! " Gusty retorted.
" I do " take it easy! " as you just relayed to me, I'm just not comfortable with this conversation about..." Certain mating rituals " so to speak. " Wind Whistler told her, with a blush on her baby blue cheeks. " Not that I have much knowledge on that particular subject..."
Gusty leaned close and whispered into her friend's ear, " Would you like to give Spike here a..." Test Run? " she said with a snort of her nostrils and an smug grin on her face, loving the way the Pegasus struggled to get a word in as her wings slowly rising up in arousal.
" W-W Well I-I-I-I Wouldn't like that at all! " Wind Whistler finally objected, crossing her hooves indignantly. " And I was just joking! "
" Wouldn't like what, Wind Whistler? " Fizzy asked sleepily, her eyes half lidded and smacking her lips. " Is it something fun? I wanna know! "
" Nothing of your concern, Fizzy! " Wind Whistler assured her, then shooting a death glare at Gusty.
Spike wondered what the mares before him were talking about, did he do something he shouldn't of? He could've swore he heard his name mentioned somewhere in their conversation.
" Oh okay.. " Fizzy sighed until she saw that Spike was sitting at her table. " Oh, hi Spike, how are you? " she greeted politely.
" I'm confused. " Spike said simply, mostly because it was the truth.
" I'm confused a lot of times, but I always do my best to steer myself in the right direction! " Fizzy comforted the dragon, pulling him closer for a hug. " It's nothing to be ashamed about! "
" Thanks...I guess, " Spike thanked her anyway, hugging her back.
" You're welcome, Spike! " Fizzy giggled as she then nuzzled the dragon, much to his bashfulness.
" You two done flirting yet? " Gusty teased, causing the teal-green unicorn to blush in realization, Spike quickly running off to get a refill for his milkshake.
" I wasn't- well.." Fizzy tried to defend herself, not helping was her staring at Spike as he ran, watching his tail sway back and forth like a pendulum on a grandfather clock.
" HaHAHAHAHAHA! " Gusty laughed hysterically, falling out of her chair and rolling on the floor. " You like Spike! I Knew It! "
" I do not! " Fizzy denied, despite her blushing face saying otherwise.
" I concur Fizzy, You were just being friendly to Spike, nothing more needs to be read into it...Gusty! " Wind Whistler agreed while glaring at Gusty.
" Thanks for taking my side, Wind Whistler..." Fizzy said while suppressing the urge to fangirl over her friend.
" Anytime Fizzy. " Wind Whistler responded in kind.
The two mares stared at each other for a good solid minute before they broke eye contact to see Spike return with his milkshake and a cream soda in both his hands, doing his best not to spill them.
" Who's the cream soda for? " Fizzy asked upfront, her sapphire ruby eyes sparkling and her mouth watering at the cool beverage before her, tail flicking with anticipation and desire to satisfy her sweet tooth.
" I-I-It's F-f-f-f-For You. " Spike bashfully stammered, handing the soda to the teal green unicorn.
" Thank you, Spike. " Fizzy thanked him, licking his face in gratitude, making the dragon blush. " But you didn't have to get this for me though. "
" It's no problem, anything for a friend! " Spike smiled, rubbing the spot where the mare licked him.
Something in Wind Whistler's mind clicked, however, when she thought back to one of her story books, where a stallion went around mare-nizing every mare in his village, only to be forcibly exiled from the kingdom for trying to seduce the queen. Sure it was just a story logically, But maybe there was some truth to it...
No, that would be playing into Gusty's line of thinking, She'd have to circumnavigate this strange thought process to avoid damaging her mind with notions of romantic fantasies of Spike and his mare-nizing.
Pushing the matter to the back of her mind, Wind Whistler joined Fizzy outside to enjoy the rest of this perfect day...
Later that night, Spike was walking to Lickety Split's house with a note in his claws telling him that she wanted to talk to him about something important, what that is, he just didn't rightly know.
He knocked on the door and it creaked open, revealing Lickety Split laying on her bed, on her side, with her plot facing the door and with a seductive look on her face and a flick of her tail.
" Hey, Spike...you weren't followed were you? " She questioned, her eyes darting around the room, getting up to close her curtains on her windows.
" No..? why should I ? " Spike asked her in bewilderment, scratching his head.
" Good, because I want to talk to you about something...I really, really really! like you, Spike. Yeah, I treat you like dirt and I'm really sorry about that! " Lickety Split apologized, feeling terrible for her treatment of her crush.
" I like you too, Lickety Split...but not that way. " Spike turned her down. " I'm really sorry, I hope you'll understand! "
Heartbroken by this rejection, Lickety Split fought her emotions to avoid breaking down and crying in front of the dragon. " Okay...I understand...thanks anyway, Spike. " She told him.
" You're welcome, Lickety Split. You'll find somebody who loves you someday! " Spike assured her giving the pony a hug for consolidation, after which he waved goodbye to her and left her home and into the dark forest back to Paradise Estate, leaving the mare to watch him through her front window, her heart still fluttering for the cute dragon.
" I want that someone to be you, Spike " She sighed contently with a smile on her face.