"Okay, Spike," the young dragon told himself. "You can do this." He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

When it opened, he began, "Hey, Rarity, I..." He suddenly trailed off as he caught sight of the bouquet of red, pink, and white roses floating beside her.

"Ah, hello, darling," Rarity said with a dreamy, preoccupied smile. "Did you need something?"

"I, uh..." Spike shifted the giant gem behind his back to be better hidden. "Who gave you those flowers?"

"Oh," said Rarity as her blue eyes lit up, "they're from a secret admirer! Isn't that romantic?!"

Spike wished he could sink into the ground. "Um..."

Rarity suddenly gasped. "You know what? I bet Twilight could help me figure out who it is! Thank you for helping me to think of it, Spike!" Rarity galloped off.

"Wait!" Spike ran to catch up. Hopefully, he could show her along the way that he wanted her to be his special somepony.

"Ah, Twilight!" called Rarity as she approached the library. Spike was coming around the corner. "I was wondering if you could help me with –"

Rarity stopped so abruptly that Spike ran right into her. She was staring at an orange Pegasus colt who had exited the library after the lavender Alicorn. "It can wait," Rarity said quickly. She backed up slowly, then suddenly turned and bolted off, Spike running to stay with her.

"What was that all about?" he demanded.

"Why, Spike, our Twilight has a date!" Rarity exclaimed. "Aw, she's growing up on us!"

Spike waved a claw. "You saw how silly she was over that stallion when she came back through the mirror," he said airily. "I'm honestly not surprised."

Rarity chuckled. "True. But then, who's going to help me find out who my secret admirer is?"

Spike blinked as he remembered what was going on. "Oh. Um..."

"PINKIE PIE!" Rarity suddenly cried out. "Of course! With those extrasensory abilities of hers, she'll be able to figure him out in a jiffy!"

"Nope."

The pink mare gave Rarity and Spike a smile as they stood there, staring at her.

"You don't know anything?" Rarity repeated, disbelief and disappointment filling her tone.

"Not a clue. Sorry." Pinkie Pie reached below the counter, producing a small heart-shaped cake. "Here, though – on the house."

"Thank you, Pinkie, but I –" Rarity began.

"OH!" Pinkie Pie's eyes shot wide as her eyes began to wink, one after the other. "OHOHOHOHOH!"

"What is it, Pinkie?" Rarity asked, confused and somewhat worried.

"Whoever wrote that letter is in the shop!" whispered Pinkie.
"WHAT?!" shrieked Rarity.

"SH!" Pinkie whispered frantically. "The twins are asleep, don't wake them up!"

"Sorry," whispered Rarity, glancing around. Suddenly, her eyes landed on a pony she had never seen before. He was a unicorn with a midnight black coat, hair the color of the sky, and eyes like amber. His cutie mark was an indigo hot air balloon. He was one of the most handsome ponies Rarity had ever seen.

"That's him!" whispered Pinkie.

Rarity approached him. "H-Hello," she began. "My name is Rarity."

The stallion smiled at her, melting her heart. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Rarity. My name is Midnight Moon," he responded in a deep, musical voice.

Rarity fluttered her eyes at him, her heart pounding. "So, crazy story – this morning, I got a dozen gorgeous roses this morning from a secret admirer! Do you have any clue who that might be?"

Suddenly, Midnight Moon looked worried. "Was the bouquet red, white, and pink?"

"Why, yes!" exclaimed Rarity, her blue eyes lighting up. "How did you –"

"I should've known better than to give those to that blind pony." muttered Midnight. Raising his head, he said, "I'm sorry, but there's been a misunderstanding. Those roses were meant for somepony else."

"Oh," Rarity said, trying not to look disappointed. "Might I ask who?"

Midnight Moon's eyes lit up. "There's this amazing Pegasus mare I've seen around town here on visits through. She has a very nice gray coat, a gorgeous golden mane, and very unique yellow eyes –"

"Why, do you mean Derpy?" gasped Rarity.

"Oh, you know her?" The stallion grinned. "Well, sorry for the mix-up, anyhow. I'll go see what I can do about getting some more roses..." He headed out of the shop without a second thought.

"Aw, sorry, Rarity," said a sympathetic Pinkie Pie. "That's rough."

Rarity dipped her head. "Usually, I always get cards..." she confessed quietly, "but this year, it seems like everypony has a special somepony... everypony but me."

Spike stepped forward. "Um, Rarity?"

Rarity looked up. "Yes, Spike?"

"Here," Spike said quickly, pulling out the large gem he had hidden before. It was an opal about half the size of his face. "I want you to have this."

Rarity gasped. "It's... It's the perfect final touch for that dress I was stuck on! Thank you, Spikey-Wikey! Thank you thank you thank you!" She plopped a kiss on his cheek and ran off to attach the gem to her dress, while Spike stood still for a long moment. Then, with a somewhat dopey grin, he headed home, wondering when Twilight would be back from her date with Flash.