The following day was sunny and balmy, with only a pleasant breeze sweeping Equestria's plains. It was the perfect day for being outdoors. Applejack tended to the fields of apple trees while the three Cutie Mark Crusaders bounced about Ponyille, still searching for ways to find their marks. A rainbow blur of colors streaked over Spike's head as he neared the edge of town. Rainbow Dash, of course. Off to the side, Pinkie Pie engaged in a playful hop around Ponyville, passing each pony she came across an invitation to another one of her parties. The little dragon ignored all of that, however. His only focus was reaching the field where he met Sapphire the previous afternoon.

Unbeknownst to Spike, Rainbow Dash stopped in midair, rubbing her chin with her hoof as she watched the dragon march out of the village. Where could he be going? It was unusual for him to leave Ponyville alone. As much as she hated flying slow, she couldn't fight her curiosity and trailed Spike a few feet away from him, careful not to alert him to her presence. It hardly seemed ethical to spy on the little dragon, but Rainbow defeated the thought by convincing herself there were many creatures in Equestria's countryside that would prey on an almost defenseless baby dragon. If he was in danger, he could use her help. She WAS the embodiment of loyalty, after all. Yes, that was it. She was following him to protect him, not to spy on him.

The dragon pepper bush where Spike had met Sapphire came into view, forcing him to smile. She'd been on his mind ever since he left yesterday. As he got closer, the smile turned to a frown. The meadow was empty. Where was Sapphire?

Rainbow Dash darted behind a tree to stay out of Spike's view as he pivoted to observe his empty, lonely surroundings. What WAS he doing way out there? And what made him stop?

A familiar giggle snapped Spike to attention. Sapphire's? He turned in a full circle one more time to be sure he hadn't overlooked her. A light breeze swept through the meadow, rattling the leaves in the trees, but no other motion could be seen.

"Sapphire?" Spike yelled. Another giggle answered him. "Sapphire!"

"Over here, Spike!" the dragoness' sweet voice echoed across the meadow.

But where? "Where is 'over here?'" Spike shouted.

"I can't tell you," she teased, "that would spoil the fun!"

Slowly, Rainbow craned her neck around the tree. Who was Sapphire? She'd never heard of anypony around Ponyville with that name.

"Come and find me!" Sapphire's voice pierced through the silence.

More interested than ever, Rainbow's eyes locked onto Spike as he walked about the meadow, searching for the source of the mysterious voice. She had almost been spotted once. Perhaps she'd be better hidden on the ground. The pegasus descended until her hooves pressed against the soft grass surrounding her tree.

"I don't see you!" Spike yelled again as he neared a patch of trees separate from the one where Dash had been hiding.

"You're getting warmer!"

The little purple dragon walked into the center of the trees, shouting one more time. "How about now?"

"Okay. Stay right there!"

Something among the trees made Rainbow hold her head high in amazement. Using her claws to climb down the trunk of the tree to Spike's back was a small female dragon with icy blue scales. On all fours she crawled across the ground like a cat stalking its prey. She paused, twitching her tail in anticipation as she checked her alignment, and pounced on Spike from the rear. She and Spike disappeared underneath the tall grass. The sounds of both dragons giggling came soon after.

The powder blue pony clamped her hoof to her mouth in an attempt to cram the growing giggle back down. Little Spike had found himself a girlfriend! How cute was that?

"Rainbow Dash?" a soft whisper came from behind her.

Startled, Rainbow buckled her knees, but she held her ground and wheeled in a half-circle, where a pink-haired pegasus was standing behind her.

"Fluttershy? What are you doing way out here?"

Fluttershy turned her head away from Rainbow, winding her hoof in her hair with embarrassment. "Umm… I was curious where Spike was headed. If I'm intruding, I'll just go back to Ponyville…"

"Not at all, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy's neck to reassure her. "Come take a look at this!"

"O-okay…"

Dash guided Fluttershy to the edge of the tree and pointed her hoof to the pair of romping baby dragons. "Get a load of that!"

Fluttershy gasped and drew her head back. "I don't believe it! ANOTHER BABY DRA-"

Fluttershy's rare exclamation was cut short by Dash putting her hoof over the yellow pegasus' mouth. "Shh! I don't want Spike to know I was spying on," she paused for a few seconds, "I mean, following him." Racking her brain to come up with a quasi-legitimate reason, she settled on the most reasonable one she could think of. "To make sure he didn't get into any danger."

"But… I've never seen a baby dragon in Equestria besides Spike. Where did she come from?"

"Beats me," Dash replied.

Fluttershy smiled widely at the giggling, romping dragons. "That is so cuuuute!"

The rainbow pegasus turned away from the meadow, motioning for Fluttershy to follow. "Come on, let's go tell Twilight! She'd love to hear about this!"

"Um, Rainbow, maybe Spike should be the one to tell her."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, staring at Fluttershy for a few seconds. The pink-haired pony lowered herself in submission and turned her head to direct eye contact with Dash. "But… if you want to tell her, I can't stop you…"

Rainbow Dash sighed and drooped. "No, you're right. Spike will tell Twilight when he's ready." She glanced over her shoulder to get one last peek at the laughing, playing dragonlings, then turned back to Fluttershy. "Look, we should get out of here before they see us."

Saying nothing, Fluttershy followed behind her colorful companion back to Ponyville.

"Come back here!" Spike shouted as he attempted to snatch Sapphire's tail in his paw. She only giggled and ran faster, leaving Spike grab at empty air. "Where are you going?"

"Follow me, Spike! Keep up if you can!"

Spike's chase took him through a thick blanket of trees, back into an open meadow several hundred yards away from the pepper bush.

"How…much…farther?" Spike asked, panting. Judging from the way the trees were starting to thin out, they'd been running for almost a mile.

"Almost there!"

As the trees became more scarce, the surface of a distant pond glittered in the sunlight with Sapphire running straight for it.

"Thirsty?" she yelled.

"You bet!"

Soon the two young dragons reached the edge of the pond and both went to all fours to get a drink. Sapphire gasped, causing Spike to look up at her.

"What is it?"

Sapphire narrowed her eyes, staring hard at the water. "There's… something strange down there."

"Strange?"

"Yeah… come take a look."

Spike stood up and moved closer to Sapphire in order to peer into the pond at whatever it was she'd seen. Before he had a chance to move out of the way, he saw Sapphire's reflection come up behind his own and shove him into the water. Sapphire fell over on her back in a fit of laughter.

"Tricked ya, Spike!" The little dragoness continued to giggle for a few more seconds, but her laughter faded as she realized Spike had not yet come back up for air. "Oh no!" she shouted out loud to herself. "He didn't tell me if he could swim or not!"

Sapphire moved closer to the water's edge, alert for any signs of Spike so she she'd know where to dive in and rescue him. As she scanned the water, a purple hand shot above the surface, grabbed her by the arm and yanked her off her feet into the water. For a few seconds she felt weightless, unable to breathe, unsure of what had just happened. By the time she got her head above water, Spike was already on the bank, having his turn to laugh.

"Hey!" Sapphire shouted as she wiped the water from her face.

Eyes locked onto the bobbing blue head, Spike held both arms into the air in triumph. "Spike's Revenge!"

"Oh yeah?" Sapphire asked with a sly grin. She drew her arm back and splashed a handful of water at Spike.

"Hey, come on, no fair!" he yelled as he leapt backwards to avoid getting splashed. Sapphire only laughed harder, swam closer and splashed with even more force.

"Alright, you asked for it!"

Letting out a long Tarzan scream, Spike made a beeline for the water and jumped five times his own body height. (A physics-defying feat he'd learned from Pinkie Pie.) Whilst in midair, the dragon curled himself up and transitioned into a front flip with a shout of "Dragonball!"

Sapphire had been too captivated with Spike's feat to realize what his intentions were. Until she saw him descending towards the water near her position. By then it was too late to swim away. All she could do was shield her face with her arm as the resulting splash consumed her like a tidal wave. Spike's green finned head popped up from the water in time for Sapphire to give it another splash.

"You're gonna get it now!" she taunted as Spike shook the water from his face.

Spike narrowed his eyes and gave off a playful smirk. "We'll see about that!"

A giggle was Sapphire's answer as she drew back from Spike, daring him to give chase. As soon as he started after her, Sapphire turned away from him, using her tail as an oar to not only propel herself through the pond, but kick up powerful splashes of water as she did so. Despite this, Spike oriented on her, chasing her in two full laps through the pond before she climbed up onto the soft sand of the bank. Sapphire brushed her hair from her eye, then turned her neck to see Spike climbing up out of the water as well. With a sly smile, she placed her palm on Spike's chest and shoved him back into the water.

Spike's purple head emerged from the surface a few seconds later, watching Sapphire laugh at his misfortune. "Okay, this is getting old."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it!" Sapphire said in a tone that let Spike know her apology was sincere. "Here, let me help you up out of there."

For a few seconds, Spike stared at the blue paw outstretched towards him. Probably another trick. Even if so, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to hold hands with Sapphire a second time. Even if only for a second. He grasped Sapphire's paw, and felt himself being pulled up to the bank by her strength. It felt good to be on solid ground again, but felt even better when he realized Sapphire hadn't let go of his paw after pulling him out of the water. He looked at their clenched hands for a few moments, then back up at Sapphire. She smiled at him, averted her eyes from his gaze and turned away, pondering the possibilities of the moment.

"Come on, Spike," she finally answered as she looked back up at Spike, "I'll…walk you back to the meadow."

Her hand guided him back towards the path of trees from whence they came. Was it okay for him to keep hold of her paw? She didn't seem to object. Still, in an act of politeness, Spike released his grip, only to find his paw once again warmed by Sapphire's own soft, warm palm.

"I didn't say you have to let go," Sapphire said. There was a hint of coy embarrassment in her voice.

Spike felt his face flush. Was this really happening? Did she like him? LIKE like him? As he opened his mouth to ask, his own embarrassment held the words in. At the very least, he could enjoy the moment in silence. In those moments as they strolled through the wooded path paw in paw, a startling feeling Spike had never experienced before began to swell within him. It was a pleasant, warm, fuzzy feeling that not even Rarity ever gave him. Certainly it couldn't be…

Spike shook the thought from his head. He'd only known Sapphire for a couple days, and things like the L-Word don't happen that fast. Do they? Maybe Twilight would know. But how could he ask without giving any hints about his new friend?

"Spike, are you okay?" Sapphire's voice snapped Spike out of his concentration.

"Who, me? Sure! Why, do I look sick?"

"Well, you seemed kind of nervous and distracted."

"Maybe a little," Spike answered, his voice shaky. Sapphire DID make him nervous, but a good kind of nervous.

Sapphire pulled herself closer to Spike, so close their sides were nearly touching. "Why are you nervous?"

"Well…" Spike tried to think of an excuse. But he wouldn't lie to Sapphire. He couldn't. "Being with you kinda… make me nervous."

"Awww!" Sapphire said. For a few seconds she rested her head on Spike's shoulder, then quickly pulled it away. "Umm… to be honest… being with you kinda… makes me nervous, too."

"Does… that mean we… like each other?" Spike hadn't even thought about the words before he said them.

Sapphire giggled. "I don't know. Maybe it does!"

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville…

Twilight Sparkle let out an annoyed growl. Of all the days to give Spike a free day, she HAD to pick today. Her entire afternoon consisted of searching for books on plants by herself, only a few of which had any useful information about dragon peppers. There was a stack of books piled on the floor next to the book case, dragon pepper flesh and seeds all over her table, and no one to help her pick them all up. For a second she considered leaving the clean up for Spike tomorrow, but the whole point of giving him a day off was to let him rest for the hard work he'd been doing. It wouldn't be fair to leave today's work for him to do tomorrow. She shook her head. Maybe she could use a little fresh air and a milk shake from Sugarcube Corner.

Twilight stepped outside into the late afternoon air. It was mild and pleasant, maybe a walk WOULD do her some good. As she started for Sugarcube Corner, a streak of colors in the air stopped her in midstep.

"Rainbow Dash, am I glad I ran in to you!"

Rainbow stopped in midair, staring wide-eyed at the purple unicorn. Did Twilight know about Spike? "Uh… sure! Did you need some help, Twighlight?"

"Actually, I could use a hand with the cleanup. I hate to bother you with this, but I sort of gave Spike the day off and there's nopony else around to help."

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and put her hoof on her chest in pride. "Don't you worry about a thing, pal! I'll help you get cleaned up in ten seconds flat or my element isn't loyalty!"

"Great! I knew I could count on a good friend like you." Twilight's head followed Dash as she became a blur of colors that zipped through the library door.

"Just be…" A loud crash came from inside the house, followed by the sound of something ceramic shattering. Twilight winced at this. Cringing, she raised her fore hoof. "…careful."

Twilight wasn't sure she wanted to find out what had been broken, but she galloped back inside the library nonetheless. In a far corner of the room, Rainbow Dash had fallen flat on her back. Beside her was the remains of what was once a whole statue of a stallion that had worn a large, frilly collar around his neck. As Twilight observed the pile, she let out a startled gasp. The head of the statue was still in one piece, laying on the floor with his pony tailed head looking up at her.

"Hey, Twilight, I think I ran into your statue of this stallion with the egg-shaped head."

"Oh no. My one of a kind bust of Wilhelm Shakesfoale!"

One of a kind? Rainbow gnashed her teeth in regret at the words. "Sorry, Twilight."

"Well," Twilight said as she observed what remained of Sir Shakesfoale. She then shot a glare at the fallen pegasus. "It's not okay! That was a gift from Princess Celestia! It was worth more money than every book in this room put together!"

During Twilight's lecture, Rainbow picked herself up back to her hooves and dusted herself off. "Yikes, no kidding? Who was he, anyway?"

Twilight groaned and did a facehoof. What pony never heard of Sir Wilhelm Shakesfoale? "He was only one of the most famous poets in Equestria's recorded history!"

Dash cocked her head at the mess she'd made. What was so special about some egg-headed horse who looked like he was alive seven hundred years ago? The weight of Twilight's eyes fell upon Rainbow, who wilted under the unicorn's glare, hit with a pang of regret. She lowered herself, giving Twilight an apologetic look. "Oh boy. I really screwed up this time, didn't I?"

"I know it wasn't on purpose, but… YES!"

A nervous chuckle sounded from Rainbow's muzzle as she looked at her right shank. "Oh, silly me, look at the time. Gotta fly!"

As Dash made a break for the door, Twilight vanished in a shower of magic sparks and materialized in front of the door to halt her retreat. "Not so fast, Rainbow. You're gonna owe me for this one."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "Worth more than every book here put together? I figure I'll be able to come up with that money sometime between now and the end of next century. Are you sure you don't want me to just do some chores or something?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "I think you've done enough."