Abusing a Friend

Silence filled the air, while Fluttershy looked at Spike with dark, serious eyes.

"W-what? Hurt them? But Fluttershy, I don't think you would ever hurt another living thing!" He was afraid of Fluttershy's response. He had never seen the pegasis inflict pain on any creature whatsoever.

"Kindness and trust are my favorite attributes in any living thing. I wouldn't let anything that could take that away from somepony take me down. Even if I had to inflict a little bit of pain on their structure." Spike began to panic. He had never seen her like this before. Did anyone else know of this dark side of Fluttershy?

"I'm sure that there are better options than to hurt somepo-"

"NO." More silence took over the room.

"If you can't talk sense into somepony, you have to beat it into them." Fluttershy didn't take her eyes off of Spike. He was shaking, fear taking over his body. This was crazy. This wasn't a joke, or a prank. She was more serious than any pony Spike had ever seen.

"Why did you ask?" Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at the dragon, but her serious expression remained.

"Er... well- I was just wondering! That's all. Heh heh..." Spike was trying as hard as he could to keep his nervous feelings inside. What would she do if she found out what Twilight did?

"Oh, okay. Is there anything you would like from me, Spike? Maybe a drink, or something to eat?" She was acting as if the previous moment had never even happened. This only made Spike more anxious to get out of this pony's home.

"N-no. I think I'd best be heading home now. Take care Fluttersh-"

"Awww, you're leaving already?" Spike suddenly stopped, and turned around to view the bright yellow pony. She was frowning, her lip quivering, as if she was about to tear up and start crying. Spike just wanted to go home, but this was only prolonging his stay.

"W-well, Twilight is expecting me to be home by now. I can't be late for her studies, you know?" Spike was twirling his thumbs, his head pointed towards the ground with nervousness and anxiety.

"Oh, I see. Go on then, I wouldn't want you to be late for something important." Spike's mind breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she understood. Spike proceeded to creak open the door, and was about to slip out and shut it behind him.

"Hey, Spike?" Spike's eyes widened, and he turned around, putting his head through the open door.

"Tell Twilight to watch herself." Spike's muscles became tensed as she spoke those words. What did she mean? Did she know what happened? Spike immediately shut the door and walked away, stiff as a board, and eyes still wide open in bewilderment.

He walked off of the road that led in and out of Fluttershy's cottage, thinking of what to do next. What happened back there left him so confused, his mind couldn't comprehend where he was trying to go. He was afraid to go to Twilight's, as this morning's encounter with her was less than welcoming. Fluttershy's was, without a doubt, off the list. But he still had four other ponies on his mind. There has to be one of them that could have a civil conversation with him, so he made his way towards his favorite out of the four.

A bell rang as Spike entered the boutique, signalling Rarity that there was someone at the door. She turned her head towards the door, but didn't stop working on the dress she was sewing.

"Why hello, Spike! What brings you here? Doesn't Twilight study on Thursdays?" She smiled at him, gladly welcoming him into the boutique. Rarity liked Spike. As a friend, of course. There was just no way that a mare like Rarity would get with a small dragon like Spike. But they knew they were friends, and enjoyed each other's company.

"She usually doesn't study until later in the afternoon, which is why I came here in the morning," Spike explained to her.

"Oh, well that's nice of you. I'm working on a fine dress for a friend at the moment, but feel free to make yourself at home." She was so generous. It's why she was chosen to carry the Element of Generosity.

"Thanks, but that's not what I'm here for, Rarity. I just want to talk. Maybe just a nice conversation will cheer me up today..." Spike looked down, saddened, hoping Rarity would pick up on it.

"Cheer you up? What happened? Did someone hurt your feelings?" It worked better than expected. She bombarded him with questions, asking him about his feelings, and mental conditions.

"It's nothing really, just had a bad morning today, that's all. Is there anything you need help with around here?" Spike liked helping people who needed it. It wouldn't be the same if he were to help someone who had nothing on their hands.

"Well, there are some rolls of fabric over there you could could put away." She pointed towards a couple of fabric cylinders that were scattered across the ground. No wonder she wanted help. All of her time was used to make that nice dress for her friend.

"I'm on it." Spike wasn't just here to help Rarity. He wanted an explanation on why everyone he had met through the day so far, was acting so crazy. As he picked up the rolls of fabric, he came up with a question to bring up the topic.

"I have something to ask ,Rarity," She stopped her sewing machine and turned to Spike.

"Yes, what is is darling?" Spike didn't enjoy being called those kinds of names, but when Rarity did it, he loved it.

"Have you ever been hurt by someone you loved?" Once again, he tried to make the question as less awkward as possible.

As soon as the last word of the question left his lips, Rarity's eyes widened. She looked as if she was just scared, putting her into a horrified and traumatized state. She lifted her hooves up and placed them on top of her head, her elbows placed on the table and her head pointed down. Her mouth was opened, and little, quick breathes of air entered and exited her lips. Spike saw her expression, and was startled by it. Did he offend her on accident? The last thing he wanted to do was cause pain or negative emotion for a friend, especially Rarity.

"Rarity!" Spike ran over to her table and looked into her eyes. Tears were beginning to flow down her cheeks, hitting the wooden table top.

"I didn't mean to offend you or anything! I just wanted to know... I'm sorry." She slammed her head onto the wood surface, only to start crying at full force. Her cry's were interrupted with loud yelps of, "WHY?!"

Small tears flowed down Spike's face, thinking that what he must have said broke her into a machine of emotions. He wish that he had never left Twilight's library in the first place. He wished that he had never asked that question to Rarity.

Spike walked from the other side of the room, sitting on the stool placed next to the white unicorn. All he could do now, was try and comfort the broken pony.

"I-I'm sorry Rarity. Please forgive me." Her crying turned into whimpering, which came to a halt as Spike placed his hand upon the unicorn's back. Her head remained inside her hooves, until she smiled and looked up at Spike. The dragon, with tears still in his eyes, smiled back, knowing that everything was okay. He was wrong. A magic field pulsed out of Rarity's horn, sending Spike toppling out of his chair. He fell to the ground, hitting his head off the the hard-wood floor. A yelp escaped his lips as pain struck threw his head.

Spike looked up to examine what had sent him off of his stool, but only found Rarity, who's smile turned into a grin.

"I'm sorry Sweetie, did that hurt?" By the sound of her voice, she was clearly being sarcastic. This didn't frustrate Spike, it made him scared. Was the force she sent at him intentional? Why did she try to hurt him?

"It's all your fault... he never loved me because of you..." Spike didn't have any clue what she was talking about. Who did she think Spike was? She couldn't be thinking straight as of now.

"I didn't deserve to be ignored, I deserved better. Better than you." Spike couldn't figure anything out. The only thing he could detect was jealousy, and very a large  amount of it.

"I would be so much better off if you just... didn't EXIST!" Spike's heart rate accelerated high enough to hear blood pumping through his body.

"Don't think that I don't love you... I just can't live like this." She used her magic to grasp a bundle of sewing needles that were placed in a bin next to her. Spike scrambled off the floor, seeing the sharp objects Rarity held.

"I'm sorry Sweetie... forgive me." In the blink of an eye, every needle was pointed, and accelerated towards him.