Man I really hope I don't get sued or anything. I don't own anything about mlp, I don't know why anyone would assume I did.

The bell rang for the end of lunch. Spike scooped up his trash, Sweetie Belle looked excited suddenly. She stood up smiling.
"See you two later!" She said happily to Applebloom and Scootaloo. She grabbed a hold of Spikes shirt sleeve and started to pull him after her. "Come on I'll show you which room is cooking!" Spike allowed her to drag him off, stumbling as everyone made their way to the only doors in the cafeteria.

Spike was trying hard to keep his heartbeat low, he didn't want Sweetie to hear it. They weaved through the crowded hallways. She would occasionally stop to let others pass by them before moving forward.

"So how long have you been doing the cooking course?" Spike talked to her as a guy moved past them.
"I took an after school course once but most of the stuff I learned from my Mom." Sweetie chirped back to him. Even when she was just talking her voice would somehow get a hint of music behind it.

Spike was rudely pushed from the side by a large lumpy looking guy. He wheeled widely for a second, trying t catch himself. He started to fall to the side, Sweetie Belle was standing there petrified as he fell on to her. Spike slapped his hands on either side of her, slamming against the locked. Spike looked into her eyes and blushed, Sweetie had pulled back a little and was scrunched up against the locker.

The grayish kid and his two friends were gone and the two of them were just standing there awkwardly, blushing and looking at each other.

"Oh uh sorry." Spike said pulling away.

"It's fine." Sweetie said seemingly brushing it off. She quickly started off again and Spike hurried to keep up.

The room was spotless, every surface gleaming. The ovens were already turned on and the air was hot. An old woman who had freckles on her face that were faded with age, was standing at the front of the room and counting on the students heads as they entered. She had a passing resemblance to Applebloom but only around the eyes.

"Alrighty that looks to be the last of you." she muttered out in a loud voice, as if she were slightly deaf. "Now get to your stations." The class rustled around and Spike found himself next to a sink, an oven, and a lot of baking utensils and ingredients that were already out. Sweetie stood beside him looking over what was there.

"Now I hope you all like where you stand because that's your place for the rest of the year." She said before getting to other business, how cooking was not a toy, what they would be making and how they were lucky to live in this 'brand spanking new future world.' Spike slowly drifted. It was cooking, he wasn't planning to be a chef or anything, so how hard could it possibly be?

He was much more focused on the minor bump that happened back in the hallway between him and Sweetie Belle. He had felt uncomfortable when it happened, yet she brushed it off as if it were nothing. He had gotten a long steady look into the girls eyes, sparkle was too cliche a word to use to describe them. They had gleamed. Bright and lovely, they had gleamed.

He began batting an apple that was on the counter between his two palms. His skin was so rough, broken and chapped, a lot of callouses had grown up them. Her's was smooth, he wondered if it felt as smooth as it looked. Unblemished. He blinked his eyes and looked up sharply. He could obsess over how close to got to a girl later when he was alone and drifting off to sleep. Right now he was in school, trying to learn how to make apple pie.

"So should we start with the crust or what?" He said turning to Sweetie. She was holding an egg experimentally over the bowl, patiently cracking it against the side softly. It finally broke and some shell fell in. She simply shrugged and grabbed the whisk.

"I can start on the glaze that will go on it, do you want to make the flour and sugar and stuff?" She asked him, Spike watched as she whisked one half shell with too much butter and vanilla. He winced as she added what looked to be olive oil to the concoction.

"Should that really go in?" She looked at him confused.
"Well why wouldn't it?"
"It is pretty flammable, and we want it on the crust right?" Sweetie looked at it for a moment, her eyes squinted.
"Hmmmm."
"I can do that part if you want." Sweetie put a spoon to her chin, she had been using it to stir up the mess and she got a dollop on her chin. Spike chuckled a little. She looked at him with a frown.

"What's so funny?" Spike couldn't respond and just gestured to his own chin, still laughing. Confused she touched her chin and cheek and spread the oil and eggy film along her jaw.

"Oh gross." she said grabbing some paper towels. She dabbed at her face before smiling a little herself. "Keep laughing smart guy. If you think you know how to do this then go for it. I'll peel the apples." They traded places and Spike promptly dumped out the goo she had made. He cracked the eggs carefully and began to stir gently.

Sweetie was humming softly to herself as she peeled the apples. He glanced over and accidentally looked down at her hips. She was swaying them slightly to the tune. He looked away and increased his attention on the glaze.
"You really like to sing huh?" Sweetie looked over and smiled.
"Yeah, it's probably one of my favorite things to do. Do you sing?"
"No but I can play a couple of instruments."

"Really? Like what?"
"Drums, piano, dabbled in a few others, trying to teach myself horn."
"That is so cool." She said, Spike smiled a little bit. Sweetie looked up while still peeling the apples, the knife moving counterclockwise.
"Hey, do you ever wonder why they don't just fry the eggs before they put them in to the pie?" Spike looked up about to explain when Sweetie jumped.

"Ouch!" She shouted dropping the knife and apple into the sink that she was peeling over.
"Are you okay?" Spike said worried, he went over and looked at her. Sweetie had a few tears in her eyes and had her thumb stuck in her mouth. She shook her head violently to either side, her hair billowed out around her.

"Did you cut yourself." She slowly popped her thumb from her mouth.

"I don't think it's that bad." She said softly, she looked down at her thumb. Spike let out a breath of air, he felt relieved, it really wasn't so bad. He was afraid she had skinned herself or something. S few fat drops blossomed up and dropped one after another in to the sink. the apple peels slowly got stained and a fat blotch fell right onto the meat of the apple.

"Not...that...bad." She said softly. Spike looked up and quickly caught Sweetie as she fell forward. Her eyes going blank and her entire body slack, her thumb released a few more steady drops of blood that stained the black and white tile floor.