“Spike?”

Spike blinked and sat up from his bed. “Rarity? I thought you and Twilight were going shopping?” The young dragon slid off his bed as the door to his room swung open, revealing the well-groomed unicorn. “Where’s Twilight?”

“Oh, well, she’s still shopping. It was all just an excuse, really.” Rarity smiled at Spike, stepping in through the door before pushing it shut with her hoof. “I really wanted to get you alone so we could talk.” She smiled.

“Really?” Spike brightened. “Well, uh, we’re alone now! What did you want to talk about?”

Rarity half-lidded her eyes at the young dragon. “Oh, you know what I want to talk about.” She took a step closer, lowering her head to look him in the eye. “Us.”

“U=us? You mean, as in, you and me?” Spike’s claws fumbled against each other. “W-what about us?”

Rarity giggled musically. “Spike. You know what I mean.” She walked forward, her permed tail swaying behind her as sashayed her way across the room to him. “I know you like me. And you’ve been such a good little dragon, I think you deserve a little reward, don’t you think?”

Spike gulped and took a step back. “R-really? What kind of reward?”

Rarity licked her lips. “You have this room all to yourself. It would be a pity to not make use of it, don’t you agree?” She leaned in closer, close enough that Spike could feel the warmth of her breath on his face.

“Uhh…” His cheeks flushed as he stumbled backwards, his spines bumping into the base of his bed. “Don’t you think we’re taking this a little fast? I mean, shouldn’t we go out on a date? Have dinner? Sit and look into each other’s eyes under romantic candlelight?”

“Why wait?” Rarity’s hips swayed as she walked forward until she was snout to snout with Spike. “I think we should skip to the good part. Don’t you? I know you’ve been wanting this for a long time.”

Spike’s clawed feet scrabbled against the crystalline floor of his room as he pressed himself back against the wooden foot of his bed. “But I didn’t think you even liked me like that!”

Rarity purred, her eyes sparkling. “I’ve loved you since the moment I met you. Don’t you love me?”

Spike opened his mouth. Green flames flooded over the unicorn, consuming her mane as she began to scream.

[hr]

“Is that smoke I smell? “ Twilight sniffed at the air as she stepped into the hall. Twilight glanced down the hall, first one way, then the other, before raising her voice. “Spike?”

Pricking her ears at the sound of a quiet sob, Twilight trotted down the hall towards Spike’s room. Blinking at the sight of an open door, Twilight slowed her pace, creeping towards the threshold. “Spike?”

A sobbing mass of green and purple scales hurled itself out of the room and latched itself onto Twilight. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

“Spike? What’s wrong?”

Spike buried his face against Twilight’s chest, warm tears flowing into her coat. “It’s just, she was coming at me, and I didn’t know what to do, and I… I think I killed her!”

“Think you killed who?” Twilight stroked Spike’s back with her hoof even as she craned her neck to the side to peer in through the door, gasping at the sight of the blackened body inside. “Oh my gosh! Spike, what happened?”

“I breathed fire on her! I didn’t mean to use so much! I was just trying to scare her away! I didn’t mean to… to…” Spike shuddered violently.

“Spike?” Rarity asked as she trotted over to the pair. “What’s wrong?”

Rarity reached out with a white hoof to touch Spike’s head, only for the small dragon to flinch.

 “Are you hurt? I didn’t mean to…”

“No! You didn’t do anything.” Spike’s claws fell from Twilight’s shoulders as the small dragon curled up into a ball on the floor, wrapping his arms around his knees.

Rarity knelt beside him, gently setting one hoof over his shoulder. “What’s the matter?”

“It was a changeling. She looked like you. She was… I think she was trying to steal my love. She tried to kiss me.” Spike sniffed.

“Oh dear. I’m so sorry.” Rarity gathered the small dragon up in her hooves, before blinking. “How did you know she wasn’t me?”

Spike bawled, tears pouring down his cheeks and dripping onto the floor. “Because she said she loved me.”