One day, Spike was sweeping the floor of the library. Everypony was thankful for him because he was a wonderful friend and everyone liked him. Nopony ever neglected him or anything of the sort.
While Spike was sweeping, Twilight came up behind him.
"Hi, Spike!" Twilight said cheerfully, happy to see the most important character in her life. "I was reading a book, but then I realized that I was doing something that didn't involve you, so I came to find you right away!"
"Oh?" Spike asked, tilting his head. "Um, well, that's fine, Twilight. Just because we're great friends doesn't mean we have to do everyth-"
"My life was empty for those moments I wasn't with you!" Twilight exclaimed. "What are you doing right now?"
"...Sweeping?" the bewildered dragon replied.
"Well, forget about it!" Twilight said, a manic smile on her face. "I'm going to have a picnic, and you're invited! We can't have the picnic without you, Spike! That would be horrible!"
"Uhh...oookay," Spike responded, raising a brow. "Thanks! I think?"
"Of course!" Twilight exclaimed. "We wouldn't want you thinking that we don't love you just because us ponies went and did something without you!"
"Oh, no, that's fine," Spike said, setting his broom down. "I understand that you're all adults and mares, and that just because I'm not involved in every single thing you do doesn't mean you don't love me. Sometimes it's nice to have a mares' day out, I assume!"
Spike smiled warmly at Twilight, expecting a compliment for his maturity, or at the very least a smile. What he saw instead was a look of abject horror.
"Are...you...kidding me?!" Twilight shouted. "If I leave you behind and go do things with my friends, that'll be awful! Anypony who sees us out doing something without you will naturally assume that we don't care about you and that we're some kind of pony supremacy brigade that's oppressing the dragonfolk!"
Spike stared at his friend. Clearly, she had gone insane. Before he could say anything else, Twilight had magically lifted him up and onto her back. Deciding that it wasn't really worth it to argue, he shrugged and resigned himself to his fate, taking another look at the little dust pile that he hadn't even been able to sweep up before Twilight whisked him away.
It wasn't long before Spike and Twilight arrived at the picnic site. Spike had nearly forgotten about Twilight's strange behavior; the ride had been so pleasant and the weather so warm that it took his mind off of everything that might have been attempting to bother him.
"Spike!" Applejack called out as she saw the two approach. "Thank goodness you're here! A picnic ain't complete without you!"
"Woo-hoo, Spike's here!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Now this party can really get going!"
"Oh, thank goodness," Fluttershy said. "I don't know what we could have done without you here, Spike."
"I made super-special cupcakes just for you!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing up to him and completely ignoring Twilight. "And nopony is allowed to have them but you!"
"Mmm, my sweet little Spiky-Wikey is here at last!" Rarity cooed. "Would you like to sit in my lap while we eat?"
Spike rubbed the back of his head with a claw, blushing a bit, and then a bit more at Rarity's offer. Never before could he remember a time where all of his friends had lavished this much attention upon him. Sure, they gave him plenty of attention normally, but this was much more than he was used to. Before he could think about it any further, he was whisked into Rarity's lap. He felt her wrap her forelegs around him, a cupcake surrounded in her magic floating towards his mouth. Anything else that might have happened while in Rarity's embrace was a complete blur.
Spike finally felt Rarity release him from her hold. His senses and conscious mind returned, much to his chagrin, and he looked up to see his friends all staring at him.
"You're awake!" Twilight said cheerfully. The others let out a happy cheer, including Rarity, who nuzzled the top of his head.
"Heh...yeah," Spike said. "I guess I kinda zoned out for a bit...did I miss anything important?"
"Not at all!" Twilight assured him. "We saw that you were a bit out of it, so we stopped talking. It would have been unfair if we said anything at all while you couldn't hear it, and the last thing we want to do is exclude you! So we all just sat here and looked at you until you woke up!"
"...What?" Spike asked, now very confused over his friends' behavior.
"Oh no!" Rainbow shouted. "You said something that he didn't hear!"
"But..." Twilight whimpered, her ears falling. "I didn't-"
"PONY SUPREMACIST!" Pinkie yelled.
"You're going to drive him to suicide with your uncaring behavior!" Applejack demanded.
"You are an awful pony!" Rarity said through clenched teeth.
"Get rid of her!" Fluttershy demanded, in a very un-Fluttershy manner. "Pony supremacist!"
Spike stared in horror, held back by Rarity's forelegs, as Applejack and Pinkie grabbed Twilight from either side. Rarity whipped a roll of lace trim out of her bag and quickly bound Twilight's legs. Twilight, through all of this, did not resist even the tiniest bit.
"I deserve all of this for shunning you, Spike!" Twilight cried.
"But you didn't-" Spike began to say, but Rainbow covered his mouth.
"It's okay," Fluttershy said sweetly. "Don't try to cover for her. That mean old pony supremacist won't bother you anymore."
Spike could only stare and tremble as Applejack and Pinkie lifted the bound Twilight up above their heads. Without even a moment of second-guessing themselves, the two hurled the terrible pony supremacist into the lake.
"I'm sorry I wronged you, Spike!" Twilight said before her head sank into the water. "I love you!"
Then she was gone.
Spike tried to scream, but Rainbow refused to uncover his mouth.
"You won't have to worry about her again, darling," Rarity cooed. Spike felt tears searing in his eyes, tears which were quickly dabbed away by Rarity's handkerchief.
"She was just getting in the way," Applejack explained. "Always going around and experiencing things without you around, excluding you from everything. We're better off without that mean old bigot."
Spike had had enough. He shoved Rainbow's hoof from his mouth.
"How could you?!" Spike shouted through tears. "She was our friend! I don't mind if she, or any of you, sometimes do things without me! I don't have to be everywhere you are! And now Twilight's...T-Twilight's..." The poor dragon broke down in tears, and the five ponies all moved in on him to comfort him.
"There, there," Fluttershy said in her most soothing voice. "We know she hurt you terribly. It seems like she'd even been brainwashing you, you poor little thing."
"But she's gone now!" Pinkie said happily. "Now you can be with the rest of us forever!"
"Wh-what?" Spike asked, a mix of confused and terrified. It was then that he caught sight of the object moving towards him. It looked like a glass display case, just big enough to fit...him.
"Now don't you fret none," Applejack said, restraining his claws. "This is for your own good. Everypony'll be-"
"EveryPONY?!" Rainbow shouted. Applejack gulped.
"I mean, everyBODY, including dragons..." Applejack said, "will be happier this way. Rainbow and the others nodded their approval.
Spike attempted to struggle, but the ponies' grip on him was far too strong. The display case opened, and he was forcibly shoved into it. As soon as his feet touched the bottom of the case, he felt a set of shackles burst from it and trap them. He tried to pull at the bindings, but Rarity's magic forced him to double over, and his hands met the same fate as his feet once they touched the bottom as well. He tried one last time to scream, but his screams were for naught once the soundproof display case was sealed shut. He shook violently to the left and right, hoping to find enough strength to break his shackles, but all his efforts did was make his bindings tighter and wear him out.
Al the while that he struggled, the five remaining ponies gazed upon him with reverence from outside the case.
"He's so amazing!" Pinkie said, giggling
"Such a great character in our lives," Fluttershy said with a smile.
"I can't get enough of him!" Applejack swooned.
"So...awesome!" Rainbow said with a cute little squeak.
"And I love him with all of my heart!" Rarity cried out, unable to contain herself any longer. The five pony friends all joined in a group hug, centered around Spike's display case.
"And now we'll never have to be without him again," Applejack said, beaming proudly. "We'll do everything with him, forever." The other four ponies nodded in agreement.
Spike heard none of this through his soundproof prison. Tears poured down his cheeks as he watched his friends' bodies press against the glass, their joy a horrifying contrast to his terror. He yelled out with all his might, but his efforts proved fruitless, the glass thick and tempered to prevent any sound from permeating. Everything started to go fuzzy for the baby dragon, his stress levels doing nothing positive for his oxygen supply.
The five ponies giggled as they watched Spike begin to fade. Rainbow gave Rarity a nudge, and Rarity nodded in return, lighting her horn up.
Spike had given up by this point, resigned to his fate. With Twilight gone and the rest of his friends having apparently gone insane, the only thing that could save him was his rapidly-diminishing oxygen supply. He thanked Celestia for release from this torment as he felt himself begin to black out, until a sudden rush of oxygen filled the chamber. He tried to refuse it, but survival instincts kicked in, and he took a deep breath of the life-saving oxygen. Fresh, warm tears began to trickle down his cheeks as he watched the silent, cheery forms outside his prison, knowing now that he would receive no respite from this torturous existence.
"Aww, he's crying tears of joy!" Pinkie giggled.
"Course he is," Applejack told her. "He must be overjoyed that he's gonna be able to be with us all the time. Ain't never gonna be a story without him again."
"Yay~" Fluttershy cheered quietly.
