The Return of Spike

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 1
Chapter 3

Chapter 2

"It's so good to see you again Spike," Twilight let go of the large frame of her adoptive brother. "I've been counting down the days since you sent me that letter saying you were coming home."

Thanks Twilight," he responded. "I thought about all of you guys a lot while I was gone."

"Well...we all certainly missed you." the alicorn beamed up at him.

"Speaking of everypony...I'm guessing that you've been keeping my arrival a secret?" He scanned the empty street in both directions. There appeared to be nopony around but the two of them. Well...almost.

"HE'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE'S FINALLY HERE!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!" Out of the corner of his eye, Spike caught a glimpse of a pink blur. The next thing he knew, the pink blur was jumping on him and hugging his large chest as tightly as she could.

"SPIKE!!!! You're finally back! I've been waiting so long to see you again!!" Pinkie Pie hopped of the dragon with a huge smile on her face.

"Hello to you as well, Pinkie," Spike chuckled at the pink pony's antics. "It's nice to see some things haven't changed much."

"And...you're so big now...and strong...and handsome...!" Pinkie was even more bubbly and excited than Spike could remember from the last time he saw her. Considering this was Pinkie Pie's normal state, he almost felt scared in the presence of the pink party pony.

"Sorry, Spike..." Twilight apologized as Pinkie began hopping around the pair in glee. "I really tried to keep it a secret from everypony, but Pinkie Pie managed to figure out when you were coming back and she insisted that she come along to see you before anypony else..."

"That's because my Pinkie sense started tingling," Pinkie added excitely. "It was going off like crazy a couple of days ago, and I just knew it was because you were coming back!"

Pinkie looked at both of them triumphantly. "And now...I can plan the super duper most fabulous 'Welcome Home Spike Party' I've ever planned!"

"Ok, Pinkie..." Twilight interjected. "But maybe try to keep the fireworks to a minimum this time. Last time Spike came back from the Dragon Migration, the party you threw him got a little out of hand. The mayor's office had noise complaints for two weeks afterwards."

"No problem Twilight," she responded enthusiastically. "I'll just invite the whole town! That way they'll be having too much fun to complain!"

"You have to admit, she's got you there Twilight," Spike smirked as Pinkie continued to bounce around them happily.

"Either way..." Twilight began in a serious voice. "I think Spike is probably tired from his journey and he probably wants to rest...right Spike?" She flashed him a look that said please...for the love of Celestia agree with me!

"Yeah...I could go for a rest I guess," Spike half yawned.

"Great!" Twilight replied almost too enthusiastically. "Ok, Pinkie. You now officially have my permission to tell everypony else that Spike's back and to plan his party."

"Okie, Dokie, Lokie...!" Pinkie exclaimed. "See you guys later!" Pinkie took off down the street in a blur leaving Twilight and Spike alone again.

"So..." Spike began as an attempt to fill the awkward silence. "How exactly did you manage to get Pinkie to stay quiet about me until now?"

"I made her Pinkie promise not to tell anypony until I told her it was alright," Twilight shrugged her shoulders. "I knew that she would be the last pony to break her own promise."

"That's really ingenious of you Twilight," Spike grinned.

"What can I say...I know how to handle my friends..." Twilight rubbed her chest with her hoof.

"Don't let it go to your head too much," Spike shot back playfully. "I see Rainbow Dash has become a bad influence on you since I've been gone."

"Careful, Spike. I might make you sleep outside tonight..." Twilight half joked as they approached the main door of the castle.

"Actually...I was kind of half expecting to be sleeping on the floor of my old room tonight," Spike cracked.

"Well, that's where you're wrong little...err...not so little brother!" Twilight exclaimed. "I have a surprise for waiting for you in your old room tonight. I'm willing to bet that you'll get the best sleep you've ever had on it!"

"You realize that I slept for three months on a pile of gems...right?"

"Just check it out for me will you? Please?" Twilight looked at Spike expectantly.

"Ok Twilight...if you say so." Spike smiled at her as they entered the castle.

The next morning Spike and Twilight sat at the table in the castle's dining hall. Twilight had a bowl of oat cereal in front of her, and was using her magic to eat while checking off a list of important decisions that needed to be made by her regarding her kingdom. Spike, on the other hoof, was savoring his own breakfast...a bowl of gems with a light dusting of sugar on top.

"So, Spike..." Twilight began as she looked up from her documents. "Was I right, or was I right?"

"Yep...you were right, Twilight," he replied. "It was the best non-hibernation sleep I've had in three months."

"I knew it!" she announced proudly. "I knew I could build a bed made out of gold coins! The perfect sleeping arrangement for a dragon! Cadence sent me detailed instructions you know."

"Where did you get the coins from if may ask?" Spike inquired.

"That's easy," Twilight replied. "Celestia gave me permission to take what I needed from the Canterlot vault. They have plenty to spare."

Spike looked at her sideways. "I guess we'd better make sure that we lock the door around here then. We wouldn't want ponies breaking into here trying to steal a bed full of gold coins."

"Actually...now that I think about it," he continued. You might want to keep the Equestrian Revenue Service away from the castle as well. I don't want them thinking that we're hiding money to avoid paying taxes."

"Oh relax Spike!" Twilight chided him. "Nopony's going to break in here. I've had things well under control since you've been gone you know..."

Twilight had her speech suddenly interrupted by a chorus of voices.

"Whoa...is that really Spike?!"

"Oh...oh my goodness..."

"Well...ah'll be darned..."

Spike turned to look at the three ponies standing in the doorway, then back to Twilight. "You mean like forgetting to tell me that my friends were coming over this morning?" Spike started laughing inside at the expression on Twilight's face that she made when she was interrupted.

He stood up and crossed the room to where Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack stood in amazement. "Hey you guys..." he began. "Don't be afraid, it's really me...Spike..."

Slowly the three ponies began to get over their shock at seeing the former baby dragon in his new form. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were the first to approach him.

"Wow, Spike..." Dash marveled. "You look totally awesome! You're like 20 per cent cooler! No, wait...20 per cent cooler times a hundred!" The blue Pegasus flew up and gave the dragon a hug.

"Thanks Rainbow Dash," Spike replied. "That means a lot coming from you."

"Sugarcube..." Applejack approached him. "Ah never thought that you were fixin' ta get so darn huge! Why...y'all are bigger than mah brother!" The orange farm pony wrapped her forelegs around one of his legs.

"Honest as always, eh Applejack?" Spike beamed at her. It was then he noticed Fluttershy still rooted to where she was standing before.

"Hey Fluttershy..." Spike assured the yellow Pegasus. "Don't be afraid. Just because I'm big now it doesn't mean I'm all scary and stuff."

The shy pony approached him gingerly. "Oh, I knew that Spike..." she said in her usual quiet voice. "I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. You've changed so much since we last saw you...it was kind of overwhelming at first." To everypony's surprise, Fluttershy flapped her wings until she was a eye level with Spike. She then hugged him at the base of his neck.

"I'm so glad you're back though," she said with a smile. "We all missed you so much. It just wasn't the same without you around."

"I missed all of you as well," Spike gently returned her gesture.

"Ahem..." Twilight cleared her throat rather loudly. "So...no love for me on this fine morning?"

"Come on Twilight..." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "We see you almost every day. Spike has been gone for months!"

"What Rainbow is tryin' ta say here, is that we're excited to see our favourite dragon again." Applejack offered. "It's nice ta see you as well Twilight..."

As the three ponies made their way around to other side of the table to greet Twilight, Spike suddenly realized there were ponies missing.

"Wait a minute," he asked. "Where's Pinkie Pie and Rarity?"

"Pinkie is busy planning your huge party tonight," Rainbow Dash responded.

"Yeah...I knew that already." Spike acknowledged. "But that still leaves Rarity." Spike found it strange that Rarity of all ponies wouldn't have been one of the first to come see him when he returned.

"I honestly have no idea where she is," Rainbow shrugged her shoulders.

" To be honest as well, ah haven't seen hide nor hair of Rarity either, Spike..." Applejack offered.

"Well...that's strange," Twilight interjected. "I would have thought she'd be first in line to see her Spikey Wikey." Twilight did her best Rarity impersonation complete with dramatic flair.

"Maybe she's working on some big project at the Carousel Boutique," Spike mused.

"Um..." Fluttershy spoke up. "I think I know where she is. She's not at the Carousel Boutique because I picked up the mail there this morning before I came here. She's not even in Ponyville right now..."

All the ponies and one dragon looked at the yellow Pegasus. Fluttershy shrank a bit behind her mane as they stared at her.

"Well?" Rainbow Dash finally spoke. "Where the hay is she then?"

"She's in Canterlot..." Fluttershy stated .

"What's she doing there?" Twilight interrupted. "Is she checking on how the Canterlot Boutique is doing? Is she making business contacts? What about finalizing designs for a fashion show?"

"She's...um...she's there with somepony..." Fluttershy admitted. Spike suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Who...?" Applejack eyed her suspiciously.

"Her...coltfriend..." Fluttershy answered nervously.

"COLTFRIEND?!!" Fluttershy shrank even more behind her mane with her friends outburst.

Spike's stomach continued to sink although he tried really hard not to show it.

"When in the name of Luna did Rarity go and get herself a coltfriend?!!!" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. "Why the heck didn't she tell any of us either?!"

"That doesn't sound like Rarity at all..." Applejack agreed.

"To be fair...she didn't tell me about him until a couple of weeks ago," Fluttershy admitted. "I found out about it on one of our trips to the spa. She met him at the last Grand Galloping Gala, and they've been corresponding by letter ever since. Finally she got a chance to go see him about two months ago when she went to Canterlot on business. Then she saw him again on another business trip."

When nopony interjected to Fluttershy's explanation, she continued on. "Rarity told me last week when we went for lunch that she was going to Canterlot to see him again. But this time it was going to be a personal trip."

"That still doesn't explain why she didn't tell anypony but you Fluttershy..." Twilight responded. "She certainly didn't keep me in the loop, nor did she do the same for the rest of her friends."

"She was going to tell you all about him after she got back from this latest trip," Fluttershy assured the assembled group. "You all know what Rarity can be like and her experiences with Stallions. She wanted to make sure this was a potential special somepony."

"Is it serious...?" Spike spoke up

"I'm really not sure Spike..." the yellow Pegasus shook her head. "I'm like everypony else, I've never met him either. But it seemed like she wanted a serious relationship, even though it's long distance right now."

Fluttershy looked right at Spike. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way Spike, I know that you and Rarity had a special kind of relationship before..."

Spike didn't really know what to say at this point. It didn't completely surprised him that Rarity had found a stallion to be her special somepony. But a part of him still harbored feelings for her...and that part of him may have ultimately been responsible for his leaving in the first place six months ago.

Noticing that an awkward silence had fallen over the room, Fluttershy spoke up again. "Anyway...I should really be going now. I need to go back home to make sure Angel is ok. I left him alone this morning. I'll see all of you tonight at Spike's party..."

The yellow Pegasus began to leave but then stopped. "I just remembered...Rarity said she was coming home today. I know approximately when her train will be, so I'll meet her at the station and tell her about tonight. It's the least I can do considering I didn't tell any of you about where she went and who she was seeing."

Fluttershy turned and almost ran out of the room without waiting for anypony to respond.

There was more awkward silence between the ponies and dragon standing in the dining room.

"Yeah..." Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes from side to side. "I should be getting going as well...I'll see all of you later on tonight..." She spread her wings and flew out of the room.

"Ah best be goin' as well then..." Applejack announced. "Ah've got some things ta take care of at Sweet Apple Acres before ah can come to the party tonight. Give mah regards ta Pinkie when y'all see her, ya hear?" The orange Earth pony trotted out of the room leaving Twilight and Spike behind.

Noticing that Spike was staring off into space, Twilight approached him from the other side of the table.

"Are you ok right now Spike?" She inquired with a hint of worry in her voice.

Spike looked at her with an expression on his face that was a mixture of confusion and surprise with maybe even a hint of sadness. To be honest with herself, Twilight couldn't really tell what he was thinking. It was if he was trying to choose his words very carefully.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, he managed to find his voice.

"I guess things have changed around here since I've been gone," he said in a voice that almost rivaled Fluttershy for its quietness.

Chapter 4

It was another clear sunny day in Ponyville as Spike made his way up the path to Fluttershy's cottage on the edge of the Everfree Forest. It occured to him that Rainbow Dash must have actually done some work earlier in the morning to have created such a glorious day. Spike was impressed, considering the pony in question liked to slack off almost as much as she liked flying around at breakneck speed across the sky.

Rounding a bend, the cozy hut belonging to Fluttershy came into view. As Spike made his way towards her home, he could see the yellow Pegasus in her yard feeding the numerous woodland creatures of the Everfree that relied on her for food and care. Seeing a large dragon coming up the path, some of the animals scampered behind their pony benefactor as Spike approached the fence that marked Fluttershy's property.

"It's ok, everypony," she soothed. "Spike is a friend, he wouldn't hurt any of you."

Her animal friends warily peeked out from behind her as she went to greet the upright standing dragon on the other side of the fence.

"Thanks for that Fluttershy," Spike remarked. "I guess your animal friends aren't used to seeing me like this either."

"That's quite alright, Spike," she smiled. "Why don't you go to the front door and I'll let you in."

Spike walked over to the front door of the cottage, and a few moments later Fluttershy opened the door. Ducking his head low he entered her home. Once inside, Spike looked around for a bit. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary from the last time he was there. He noticed that there were a few more pictures of Discord and Fluttershy on the mantle above the fireplace , but other than that it was still the warm cozy dwelling that he remembered.

He noticed that she had anticipated his arrival, as the table had been set for two. A pillow for Fluttershy was on one side of the table, and a large armchair sat on the opposite side.

"Please sit down Spike," she motioned with a hoof. "You can use the chair Discord sits in when he visits me. You're almost as big as him now so it should be comfortable for you."

Spike did as he was told and found that she was right, it was very comfortable in Discord's armchair. Looking at the table in front of him, it appeared that lunch was ready to be served. In front of him was a leafy tossed salad with gems sprinkled in to add crunch. For her, it looked like she was having a hay and alfalfa salad. There was also a tray of what looked like cucumber sandwiches on the table. Spike knew that they were one of Fluttershy's favorite's, so he wasn't too surprised that she had made them for lunch. In the middle of the table was a pitcher of iced tea with two glasses.

Overall, it looked like a well thought out meal on her part. Fluttershy sat down across from Spike and indicated with her hoof.

"I hope you like the salad Spike. I made it with you in mind. The sandwiches are courtesy of Discord. He makes really good cucumber sandwiches, so I asked him if he could make some for us when he was here yesterday."

"As always, Fluttershy, you've been a kind host putting this together." Spike complemented her.

In typical fashion, the shy Pegasus hid behind her mane a bit at his complement. "Goodness, Spike. I'm only doing what I would do for any friend of mine..."

Spike smiled back at his friend's adorable expression. Seeing no need to talk anymore, they both dug into the food in front of them.

"Spike...is it alright if I ask you something?" Fluttershy asked as they were finishing off the last of the sandwiches.

Spike popped a piece of sandwich in his mouth and washed it down with iced tea before responding. "Go right ahead Fluttershy."

"This might seem a little odd of me to ask but...how do you feel about Rarity having a coltfriend?"

Spike sat and considered her question for a few moments before finally answering.

"To be honest...I'm not really sure how I feel," he finally admitted. "Is this the reason why you wanted me to come and have lunch with you?"

Fluttershy retreated behind her mane again at the question. "I...I hope you don't think any less of me Spike for asking you here and wanting to know about your feelings for her..."

Spike reached across the table and brushed Fluttershy's mane away from her face with his claw. "I would never think any less of you Fluttershy. After all, I know you're only asking me as a concerned friend..."

Fluttershy sighed as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Yes, Spike. I am asking as a friend who's concerned..."

"Well, to answer your question then...I feel a bit strange about the whole situation."

Fluttershy didn't respond to his statement, so he continued. "I guess I shouldn't be naïve about Rarity. I know that she's a beautiful mare, and that she could easily be with any stallion she wanted to be with. It looks like that's what happened while I was away."

"Is Rarity the reason why you chose to go away for six months and grow bigger?" she asked him directly.

"Partially..." he responded after a pause. "But part of it was also that I didn't want to be a shrimp anymore. I had a lot of time to think when I was in the Crystal Empire. One thing that I realized was that right now if I was a pony I'd be old enough to buy alcohol or vote. But physically I looked like a foal..."

"But Spike..." Fluttershy protested. "You know that everypony respects you for who you are and what you've done while you've been living in Ponyville. Don't sell yourself short..." The Pegasus went red when she realized her choice of words.

"Yeah...short..." Spike sighed. "That's just it. I feel a lot better about myself now that I've become larger. Sure, I get that some ponies might be intimidated by how I look now. But I can deal with that. I always felt like no one took me seriously when I was smaller anyway."

"That's not true, Spike!" she admonished him. "We always took you seriously! Twilight said for months that she missed having you around the castle."

Both of them were surprised by Fluttershy's outburst. For a moment there was awkward silence between the two of them. Finally, Spike spoke up.

"So why'd she replace me with Twist then?" he asked staring at his pink maned friend.

"I don't know the answer to that..." Fluttershy looked down sheepishly. "Maybe she really needed the help while you were gone and it was only a temporary measure. Have you at least told Twilight about how you feel like you've been replaced?"

"Good luck with that..." he snorted. "Since I've been back Twilight has spent most of the time locked up in her study with her private collection of books. If anypony needs to meet with her on a matter, they need to make an appointment...and guess who they have to go through to book that appointment?"

Fluttershy nodded in realization of who he was talking about.

"When was the last time you all had a rulers council?" he asked.

"Um..." she thought for a moment. "It was about a month ago. There wasn't really a lot of business discussed...at least not important business."

"See what I mean?" he pointed out. "I used to take the minutes for those meetings all the time. I'll bet she hasn't even had more than one since I've been gone."

"Actually, we've had two since you've been gone," Fluttershy interjected. "But you're right. We haven't had many meetings at the castle for official business, although that could be because there hasn't been any major threats since you've been away."

Some more silence passed before Spike spoke again.

"Can I ask you a question now, Fluttershy?" he asked.

"Um....ok?" the yellow Pegasus responded.

"Why are you so interested in how I feel about Rarity?"

There was an long awkward pause between the two of them.

"Well..."she began after considering carefully what she was going to say. "I know all about your crush you had on her for...well...a long, long time. It wasn't really a secret or anything."

"I did tell her when were falling through the sky after my rampage," he added. "I basically told her again when she was possessed by the Nightmares from the moon. You're right...it was probably one of the worst kept secrets in Equestria."

"I have a confession to make," she continued. "I went with Rarity to the spa yesterday. We hadn't been together in a while, but I also wanted to know more about Black Marble. Especially since she seems so serious about him."

"Go on then..."

"She went on almost the whole time about him. I could barely get a word in edgewise at times. In Rarity's eyes he's the greatest stallion she's ever met. But...I'm not sure I share her opinion about him." Fluttershy admitted.

Spike was very surprised but also very intrigued at what he had just heard. "Really? Why do you say that Fluttershy?"

"It's because she's been spending a lot of time away from us since she met him," Fluttershy replied. "Two days ago was only his first trip to Ponyville since they became a couple. Every other time Rarity's been travelling to Canterlot."

"Isn't that supposed to be normal in a long distance relationship though?" Spike inquired.

"I suppose so, but I can't shake this feeling of her relationship being one sided," she countered. "Did you ever get a chance to meet him when he was here?"

"Only very briefly," he replied. "It was at my party and I was pulled away by Pinkie Pie."

"I was able to talk to both of them at your party," Fluttershy said. "Something about him just bothered me the whole time. I can't really say what it was, I mean...he seemed nice enough. I don't know...I just had a bad feeling the entire time I was with him and Rarity."

Fluttershy sighed. "I don't know...maybe I'm just being overprotective of Rarity based on past experiences."

"That's not true," Spike began. "Considering you were able to reform Discord when nopony believed he could be changed, I think you're intuition should be respected. If you feel this guy might be bad news, you could very well be right."

Fluttershy blushed at his compliment. "Thank you, Spike."

"Let me answer your first question...did I leave because of Rarity?" Spike continued. "Thinking about it now...the answer would have to be yes. I thought that by growing up I would maybe convince her that we should upgrade our relationship."

"I know she cares deeply for you Spike," Fluttershy concurred. "I know also that she says that she likes you as a friend, but I've always wondered if there was something more going on. The biggest thing that I'm worried about is that she's acting like she has in the past whenever there was a stallion that strongly caught her attention."

"You mean like Blueblood and Trenderhoof?" Spike inquired.

"Precisely," Fluttershy replied. "I'm just worried that Rarity will end up with her heart broken again like the other times. I mean, these stallions seem like they have it all together on the outside, but what about inside? I don't know if any of them would give up a fire ruby that they had been saving for months, just because she really wanted it. I certainly don't think that they'd go to the moon for her either."

Now it was Spike's turn to blush. "I appreciate the sentiments, Fluttershy. In case you were wondering, now that I'm back, I've been invited by Rarity to spend some time catching up with her. But I don't think I can just walk into Carousel Boutique and convince her to up and leave her coltfriend because you have reservations about him or because I think I deserve to be with her instead."

"No, I certainly don't want you doing that either, Spike..." Fluttershy nodded her head in agreement. "It wouldn't be fair to Rarity at all. She's a grown mare and is completely capable of making her own decisions."

"But..." she continued. "Since you're planning on spending some time with her, I don't see why you couldn't at least remind her of how close the two of you are. You could also let her know that you'll always be there for her no matter what. It might not convince her to like you in the same way you feel for her, but at least she'll know that she's special to you."

"That actually sounds like a good idea," Spike pondered. "Either way, I think me and Rarity need to have a nice long talk to catch up on everything that's been going on around here. For instance...at my party I saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They're all grown up and in high school now!"

"Yes!" Fluttershy replied brightly. "A lot of things have changed since you've been gone. I was meaning to fill you in on what has happened in Ponyville since you left, but it would take all afternoon and I'm sure you have other things you need to do..."

"Like I said, I have plenty of time on my hands," he interjected. "You can tell me all about what's been going on...but shouldn't we have dessert first?"

"Oh...of course!" she gasped. "I did get Pinkie to make us dessert. I almost forgot!"

Spike winked at his friend. "Allow me to help clear the table...and then help you with dessert." With that, he began stacking the empty dishes and glasses and proceeded to carry all of them over to the kitchen sink. Meanwhile, Fluttershy sat at the table in mild shock at her dragon friend's ability to clean up so efficiently. Remembering that she was still the host, she joined him in the kitchen to help.

Spike waved goodbye to Fluttershy as he made his way back down the path towards Ponyville. The conversation had been a good one between him and his pink maned friend. He was now clear in what he was going to do. He would visit Rarity and hopefully have as good an afternoon with her as he just had with Fluttershy. He vowed not to avoid talking about Black Marble either, and instead would genuinely try to find out more about Rarity's coltfriend. That way, any fears that Fluttershy had about him would hopefully be put to rest.

It wouldn't be easy to completely accept that Rarity had found another special somepony, this he was sure of. But part of growing up was to look at things from a more mature perspective. He would eventually have to accept that she had moved on with her life. Hopefully he would be able to move on as well.

At least I hope we can still be friends... Spike thought to himself as he climbed the steps of the crystal castle. Inside, he heard voices from down the far end of the main hall. One of them was Twilight's voice. The other he didn't recognize at first, but as he got closer he realized who it was.

"Hey Vinyl Scratch!" Spike greeted the spikey blue maned unicorn. "What are you doing here at the castle?"

"Hey yourself big guy!" Scratch greeted him with a wide grin while propping her trademark sunglasses on her head. "I hope you had a great time at your party!"

"It was awesome..." he grinned back. "Especially since I had Equestria's number one DJ spinning tunes all night long!"

"Ahem..." Twilight interrupted. "I don't want to spoil the reunion between you two, but Vinyl Scratch had a request that involved you, Spike."

"Oh yeah..." the DJ addressed Spike. "How'd you like to come to Canterlot with me tomorrow?"

Seeing that Spike was confused by the request, Twilight jumped in. "Vinyl came by to see if you were available to work security for her when she plays the Diamond Club in Canterlot tomorrow night."

"Really...the Diamond Club?" Spike arched his eyebrow. "That's one of the most exclusive clubs in Canterlot! But don't they have their own security staff? What do you need me for?"

"They have plenty of security," the white unicorn agreed. "But last time I played there they were terrible. The Dumbflanks working there spent more time hitting on the mares in the audience than keeping the crowd away during my set. I barely got through it. Truthfully, I don't even want to work there again, but the bits they pay me to perform are too hard to resist."

She grinned. "So I told them that if they wanted me to play there again I would need my own private security. Since you're a pretty imposing guy now, Spike, I figured that nopony would mess with a dragon. Wouldn't you know it...they actually agreed. You'll have no problems as long as you're with me."

"I appreciate that Vinyl," Spike acknowledged with a smile. He turned to his adoptive sister. "So...what's your opinion of this request Twilight?"

"Well..." the lavender alicorn began. "I know that you've been a bit bored sitting around the castle lately. I also know there hasn't been as much for you to do since you came back from the Crystal Empire."

Spike gave Twilight a bemused look but said nothing.

"Anyway..." Twilight continued on like nothing had happened. "I suppose since you're essentially an adult dragon now, I can't really stop you from doing your own thing. So, if you want to go to Canterlot with Vinyl Scratch then I'm fine with it if you are. I'll even send a letter to Princess Celestia letting her know you're coming...that way she can inform the ponies in Canterlot that a dragon will be in their city tomorrow night. Just so nopony is taken by surprise."

Spike bristled at the notion of ponies panicking over a dragon roaming around Canterlot. After all, he would be escorting the one and only DJ Pon-3! But he also knew that Twilight had a point. Ponies, after all, were naturally wary of dragons.

"How can I say no?" he smiled. "When do we leave?"

"Alright!" Vinyl smacked his large frame with her hoof. "Meet me at the train station at 1pm sharp tomorrow! I'll make sure you're well taken care of buddy! Trust me, you'll have a wicked time!"

"Great," Spike winced. For a pony Vinyl could sure throw a punch. "Uh...how exactly do you expect me to fit on the Friendship Express though? Last time I took it to the Crystal Empire I was obviously a lot smaller. Come to think of it...why don't I just fly there myself and meet you in Canterlot tomorrow afternoon?"

"To respond to your first question," she replied. "I have a private car at the end of the train that I rent for when I need to travel. You'll have no problems fitting in there considering I can fit all my gear in there and still have tons of room. As for flying...forget about it. You're working for me the next couple of days, and anpony who works for me travels in style. In fact, I insist on it."

"Alright..." Spike nodded. "This will certainly be a different employment arrangement than I'm used to...but who am I to complain? I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"You know it big guy!" she exclaimed. "See you crazy kids later!" The white unicorn waved goodbye before taking off.

After Vinyl Scratch left, Spike turned to Twilight. "Boy, just when I started settling in here...I guess I'm off on another adventure. At least it won't be for six months huh, Twilight?"

"Yes, Spike..." Twilight attempted a smile but Spike could see there was sadness behind it. "You wanted to be more independent. Now you have your opportunity. Anyway...I have business that I need to take care of. I'll let you go so you can get up to your room and pack what you need for your trip." Twilight turned and trotted down the hall leaving him alone.

Sorry, Rarity... he thought to himself as he made his way to his room. I guess you'll be waiting to see me for a bit longer...

Chapter 5

Flashing lights, pounding bass, and lasers that pulsed in time with the music. Confetti that fell from the ceiling. A giant video screen frenetically flashing images every second. Ponies going all out on the dance floor, or cheering wildly from their VIP tables. It was a fairly standard night by her standards, but Vinyl Scratch had the entire audience at the Diamond Club eating out of her hooves. In the middle of it all, was a stern looking dragon protecting the entrance to the stage where Equestria's premier DJ orchestrated the whole spectacle.

Spike was sure that he would have enjoyed the performance...had he not been working. But unfortunately, he had a job to do. It was his job to make sure the crowd didn't get too out of hand around the raised DJ stage, and to make sure nopony bothered Vinyl while she was in the middle of her set. Already, a few times that evening, a few drunk ponies tried to negotiate their way up on to the stage during the performance. But Spike was having none of that. One of them had even gotten angry at Spike for not letting him up on the stage. Obviously this particular stallion must have pretty inebriated to want to get in the face of a dragon. Luckily for him, one of the security ponies working alongside Spike that night dragged the drunk pony away before things got out of hand.

Spike was glad he didn't have to fight anypony. While he was imposing in size, he wasn't sure that he could use physical force if he had to. He was hoping that the nightclub clients would be deterred by his size alone, but apparently alcohol made ponies think they could take on any species in Equestria. At least the mares were somewhat easier to deal with. Numerous times that evening, random mares kept climbing on the speaker platforms to show off their dance moves to the crowd below. After convincing them to get off the speakers, Spike would help them down and then pass them off to another security pony to handle before going back to his post.

He was more than a bit surprised that the normally uptight Canterlot ponies could get so rowdy. No wonder Vinyl hired him to keep her safe. She was supposed to perform for a couple of hours, then Spike would escort her out of the club and back to the hotel they were staying at. However, their plans ended up changing. Near the end of her set, Spike was passed a note by one of the security ponies and told to deliver it to the club manager, who was on the stage with Vinyl Scratch. Spike dutifully climbed up the stairs to the DJ stage, and handed the note to the club manager. The white maned unicorn stallion with a green coat glanced at it, then nodded to Spike indicating that he could return to his post.

At last, the performance came to an end. To wild applause, Vinyl descended the stairs with the club manager in front of her. As she passed Spike at the bottom of the stairs, she tapped him with her hoof and motioned the dragon to follow her. With her personal security by her side, Vinyl Scratch followed the club manager to the door leading to the outside area of the Diamond Club. The club had two distinct areas. The inside part held the dance floor, DJ stage, and a number of VIP tables. The outside pool area was even more impressive. A large pool was in the center of a courtyard that gleamed with the reflection of thousands of diamonds...which is how the club got its name. In the middle, on floating platforms, mares hired by the club danced in time to the music. Surrounding the pool was more VIP tables. These were usually reserved for extremely important and wealthy guests, and most of the normal club patrons couldn't even get into this part of the club.

Apparently, one of these ponies with the bits to afford a piece of exclusive property, wanted to see the one and only DJ Pon-3 after her performance. The white maned unicorn led Vinyl and Spike over to one of the VIP areas next to the pool. There looked to be around a dozen ponies either standing around or sitting on the couches next to a table covered in drinks. It appeared like they were being invited to join an exclusive party.

"Here you go, Vinyl..." the club manager began. "One of our VIP's wanted to see you after the show. It was a fabulous show by the way..."

"Thanks, Greenheart..." the white unicorn acknowledged him. "If I need anything I'll let you know."

Greenheart nodded then trotted off back to the inside part of the club. Meanwhile, Vinyl Scratch scanned the group in the VIP area. About half the group appeared to be stallions, and the other half were mares. It wasn't long before she spotted who she was looking for. A unicorn stallion with a black mane and a white coat noticed her, and came over to greet her.

"Hey Black Marble!" Vinyl greeted him enthusiastically.

"Vinyl Scratch!" he greeted her back with a hug. "That was such an awesome performance! We saw the whole thing on the big screen outside...your shows are always the best!"

"Thanks for that," she smiled. "Thanks for coming out and seeing my show tonight! I appreciate the invite to let us hang out at your table as well. This is a pretty fancy setup you've got here."

"Hey...you know as well as I do, when you're in Canterlot you have to do it big or go home! Am I right?" Vinyl nodded in approval.

"So tell me..." he began. "Was the crowd in there as crazy as it looked like from out here?"

"You better believe it!" she exclaimed. "It's a good thing I have my private security with me tonight."

Vinyl pointed a hoof at Spike. Black Marble looked right at him and a sly smile came across his face.

"I recognize you. You're that dragon from Ponyville."

"Got it in one there buddy..." Spike smirked back. "You're the pony who's dating a friend of mine...so I recognize you as well."

This was the last pony that Spike wanted to see right now. Seeing Black Marble in a nightclub in Canterlot surrounded by mares made Spike want to go right back to Ponyville and report this to Rarity.

"I guess I shouldn't try anything with you like I do other mares eh, Vinyl?" Black Marble turned back to the DJ with a smirk. "You've got a pretty scary looking bodyguard. I wouldn't want him to buck me up if I got out of line..."

"Don't worry..." she waved a hoof. "Spike wouldn't do anything to my friends...right Spike?"

Spike would have loved dearly to do all sorts of painful things to the stallion in front of him. But instead he managed to grin through gritted teeth.

Black Marble laughed. "Is he allowed to drink when he's on the job?"

Vinyl shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me. Why don't you ask him?"

Before he could ask the question Spike interjected. "I'm not a kid anymore remember? If you're drinking pony alcohol then it won't affect me at all." He stared at Black Marble. "Unless, of course, you sneaked in some really strong stuff and are using it to get mares totally wasted..."

"Is this guy for real?" Black Marble asked incredulously to Vinyl.

"You tell me," Spike replied pointedly. "I'm just making sure that my client here stays safe this evening. You never know what somepony could put in a drink around here."

With that comment, the stallion and the dragon engaged in a stare down, much to the unease of the unicorn DJ witnessing it. She couldn't quite understand what was causing Spike to be hostile to her friend. For his part, Spike didn't trust the guy in front of him one bit...never mind that he was dating a close personal friend of his.

Finally, to Vinyl's relief, a grin broke over Black Marble's face. " You're alright kid. You don't back down easily, and I respect that." Spike felt relief as well, but he didn't outwardly show it

Black Marble called over the server pony that was working at their table. "I need a couple more bottles of champagne. Some shots as well. Keep adding it to my tab."

He turned back to Spike and Vinyl Scratch with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Let's kick this party up a notch..."

True to his word, Spike kept his eyes on Vinyl Scratch for the rest of the evening. The unicorn DJ was fully enjoying herself downing champagne and the shots of liquor that kept flowing. Spike had a few drinks himself, but like he had said earlier, the alcoholic content was nothing he couldn't handle. This couldn't be said for the mares that had gravitated to the party at their table. Spike counted at least another half dozen female ponies in the VIP by the time a yet another bottle of champagne came around. They were also pretty drunk and the stallions at the table were more than willing to keep them that way. After a while, the whole scene started to become really sleazy.

Black Marble himself had at least two mares sitting next to him on the couch the whole time. Spike kept alternating watching Vinyl Scratch and the dark maned stallion constantly. Even though he was being watched, Black Marble didn't seem to care. He would be flirting back and forth with the two mares sitting beside him, and they would laugh drunkenly at whatever he said. Or they would whisper in his ear suggestively. A few times he and Spike locked gazes. Black Marble would just smirk at the dragon watching him, almost like he didn't give a damn that Spike was there, then bring his attention back to his ladies. Spike was beginning to see why Fluttershy felt uneasy around him. What he couldn't understand, was how Rarity thought this guy was so great. In Spike's mind, he was worse than all the other stallions she'd fallen in love with.

Spike wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but finally Vinyl Scratch broke away from the party and came over to Spike. It was apparent that she had her fill of drinking as she began to nuzzle her dragon bodyguard. This, of course, caught him completely off guard.

"I think I'm ready to go home..." she slurred drunkenly into his chest. Spike wasn't sure what else he could do, so he gently put his arm around her and began to lead her away from the VIP area.

"Leaving already?" Black Marble shouted after her.

"Yeah...I'm totally bucked up right now!" she yelled back at Black Marble. "Thanks for having me! I'm staying across the street from your hotel at the Canterlot Crown...come see me if you want to party some more!"

Vinyl Scratch turned to leave and nearly fell over. Spike had to hold on to her even tighter to keep her upright. Black Marble and his entourage just laughed at the drunk DJ's antics. Spike did everything he could to keep his emotions in check and not go back over and start punching ponies in their faces. All he wanted to do was get Vinyl back to the hotel safely.

Once they were outside the club and on the street, Vinyl perked up a bit. She was still loaded, but was now determined to make her way back to the hotel on her own four hooves. Spike walked beside her just to make sure she wouldn't fall over on the sidewalk. The walk back to their hotel was only supposed to take fifteen minutes but it ended up taking much longer. Spike and Vinyl ran into some ponies who recognized her, and wanted to take pictures with the famous DJ. Since they weren't paparazzi, Spike let the ponies spend some time with Vinyl before gently pulling her away.

They finally made it back to the Canterlot Crown Hotel a half hour later. Vinyl insisted that she was fine to make it up to her room by herself. They were staying on the same floor, but in different rooms. Her explanation was that she needed her space to get into her "DJ groove." Spike tried arguing that he should keep an eye on her tonight, but that was immediately dismissed. Vinyl told him to relax, and that she was beginning to sober up. At that point, Spike gave up on trying to change her mind, so he bade her farewell in the hotel lobby. The blue maned unicorn made her way over to the elevator, entered it, then waved goodnight to Spike as the doors closed.

Although he was tired, Spike didn't feel like going up to his room yet. He also had a hunch that he needed confirming before he retired for the evening. Spike went outside and stood on the street in front of the hotel for a while. It was so late at night that there weren't many ponies out and about anymore. Across the street was the Canterlot Grand Hotel. According to Vinyl Scratch, this is where Black Marble was staying. Spike found it suspicious that he was staying in a hotel in his hometown. Why wasn't he staying at his own place if he lived there?

Spike wasn't on the street for very long when a group of ponies came trotting up the sidewalk on the other side towards the Grand Hotel. Seeing them coming, Spike turned and ducked around the side of the building so he still had a good vantage point but wouldn't be seen. As he had hoped, the group of ponies was Black Marble and his friends coming back to their hotel from the club. There were seven of them by his count. Black Marble had two stallions with him, a Pegasus and a very large earth pony. They also had four mares in tow, two unicorns and two earth ponies. The group entered the Grand Hotel lobby, and luckily for Spike he could see through the glass doors at the front.

The group stopped to talk for a few moments, allowing Spike to step out from his hiding place until he was right across from the front doors of the hotel. The Pegasus and earth pony stallions then led the two earth pony mares and one unicorn into what looked like the hotel lobby bar, leaving Black Marble and a unicorn mare with a yellow coat and a blue mane alone as they walked over to the elevator. The mare was leaning on Black Marble as they waited for the elevator to come. When the doors opened the mare let Black Marble in first, then entered the elevator behind him. When he turned around to face the doors, the mare hopped up on two hooves and put her forelegs around his neck. Just as the doors closed, Spike swore that he saw the two unicorns kissing each other.

Even though his mind was exhausted, Spike couldn't rationalize away what he had just seen. He wished he had a camera so he could have taken a picture for proof. Black Marble was, in his mind anyway, the sleaziest pony in all of Equestria. After this evening, he had ample reasons to go back to Ponyville and confront Rarity with the information that her coltfriend was a player, not to mention a complete flankhole. His mind was racing a mile a minute with trying to process everything he had seen tonight to the point where he was getting a headache. After a while, he came to the conclusion that standing on the street getting angrier by the minute wasn't helping him or anypony else. He resigned himself to the fact that he needed to go to sleep and hopefully in the morning he'd have a better idea of what he needed to do.

The train ride back to Ponyville was a quiet one. Spike spent most of it in silent contemplation. Vinyl Scratch spent most of it sleeping off her hangover. Spike had to drag her to the train station that morning to catch the train back home. The DJ was in pretty rough shape after the night before. Spike wasn't feeling much better himself, but it wasn't from excessive drinking.

He couldn't figure out how he was going to break the news to Rarity about what he witnessed her coltfriend doing the night before. Even without the drunk mare on the elevator, Black Marble had come across as the biggest jerk in Equestria. There was no way Spike could keep this to himself. But, he didn't know how she would react to his story either. Would she hear him out, or would she refuse to believe him? It was entirely possible, given his past feelings about her, that she would think that he was inventing a story out of jealousy to get her to end the relationship.

Of course, that wasn't Spike's intention at all. At least that's what he kept telling himself. He was a dragon after all, and dragon's were known for their greed. Was he doing this for Rarity's benefit...or were his baser urges driving his thoughts and potential actions? As he contemplated, he noticed the scenery outside was becoming more familiar to him. They were getting closer to Ponyville.

Across from him in their private car, Vinyl Scratch began to stir. The unicorn raised her signature sunglasses from her face, revealing bloodshot magenta eyes.

"Are we almost home yet?" She asked in a crackly voice.

"Yeah, I think so," came the reply. "How did you sleep?"

"Alright I guess...I still feel kind of rough though," Vinyl stretched her forelegs. Since she was awake, Spike decided to ask a question he'd been meaning to ask since the night before.

"How do you know Black Marble, Vinyl?"

The unicorn DJ blinked at him a couple of times before answering. "I went to high school with him. We even dated for a bit. It wasn't a long term thing though..."

"Really?" Spike replied. "Why'd you break up with him?"

"Honestly? He was kind of a douche. But I was young and stupid as well, so I guess it evened out. I haven't really been friends with him for a while though. I was actually pretty surprised to see him last night."

"You seemed really friendly with him last night," the dragon pointed out.

"I was also really hammered last night, Spike."

"Yeah..." Spike replied sullenly. These weren't the answers he wanted to hear, but they were becoming familiar ones.

"Why are you concerned with my ex-coltfriend?"

Spike sighed. "Apparently your ex is now dating a close personal friend of mine," he responded.

"A close personal friend..." Vinyl pondered out loud. Suddenly her eyes went wide. "Shut up! He's dating Rarity?"

Spike nodded. He was also surprised that Vinyl guessed it was Rarity. Unless his previous crush was so obvious that everypony in town knew about it.

"What's somepony like Rarity doing with a guy like him?" Vinyl exclaimed. "He's a total bucking player! You saw him last night with all those mares!"

"That's a question I'd like answered myself..." Spike admitted. Though, now that Vinyl had brought up the previous night, he was beginning to get angry again..

"Well...shit. Why don't you just go and ask her then..."

Spike stared Vinyl, shocked by her blunt honesty. "Are you serious?"

"Damn straight I am!" the DJ stated. "I know if it was one of my friends I'd ask them right to their face what in Tartarus they were doing with a total jerkoff! That's what friends do..."

Spike sat in silence and contemplated her words. It was becoming apparent that he needed to see a certain unicorn when he got home.

"Maybe you have a point there Vinyl..." Spike finally spoke after a long period of time.

Just then he could feel a jerk in the train's motion as it began to slow down. Spike looked out the window and saw familiar buildings. They were approaching Ponyville.

Author's Note

Almost 700 views and almost 60 likes...thank you, you guys are awesome! Thank you as well for being patient while I worked on getting this chapter out.

Next chapter...Spike finally confronts Rarity.

Chapter 6

The moment the train came to a stop, Spike hopped off onto the platform. The only thing on his mind was getting out of there as quickly as possible, and heading to his long overdue meeting with Rarity. But he still had to wait for his travel bag to be unloaded from the train. As he stood there on the platform, he noticed a group of ponies coming towards him. One of them was a storm cloud gray earth pony. Accompanying her were two other earth stallions. Vinyl stepped onto the platform and immediately waved them over.

"How did it go?" Octavia Melody asked.

"Rowdy as usual," Vinyl replied. "But my big purple buddy here helped out big time. He got me home safely, even when I was completely trashed."

"Cool..." Octavia responded nonchalantly, as if Vinyl did this on a regular basis. "Well...lets start getting all your stuff unloaded and back to the mansion."

The two ponies with her began unloading gear from the train car. Seeing that he escorted Vinyl to Canterlot and back safely, Spike figured he wasn't needed for much more. Quietly, he went to retrieve his bag, which had appeared further down the platform.

"Hey...Spike!" Vinyl called out.

Spike turned to see the unicorn walk up to him.

"Thanks again for everything the past couple of days," she began. "When you get some time, come see me and Tavi over at Rich Mansion. I need to do some accounting, but I promise I'll pay you by early next week."

"No problem, Vinyl," he replied. "Why Rich Mansion though? I thought Filthy Rich and his family lived there?"

"Filthy Rich moved his family to Manehatten a few months ago. So, me and Tavi have been renting the place out. Let me tell you, it's a great place to make music in. Tavi loves having practices there. It's also a great place for a recording studio. Plus you wouldn't believe the amount of space we have! We have parties there all the time, and we can invite almost the entire town over there's so much room..."

Spike nodded as the DJ prattled on. He really wanted to get going badly see another unicorn that he hadn't seen in over six months. But he didn't want to seem rude either. He found that he actually liked hanging out with Vinyl Scratch. She was way more fun to spend time with than Twilight.

"Anyway...I should let you go. Good luck with Rarity," Vinyl turned and walked back to where the other ponies were unloading gear.

Spike was a bit taken aback at her choice of words. Seeing no reason to hang around though, he picked up his bag and began to leave.

"One other thing," she called back to him. "If you're getting bored hanging out in that castle, come by the mansion sometime. Me and Octavia can show you a good time." She winked at the purple dragon then went back to collecting her gear.

The Carousel Boutique wasn't normally open on weekends. But Rarity had so much extra work that needed doing, she decided to open up for a few hours that day. If a customer happened to show up, it would be business that she wouldn't have gotten had she been closed. If no ponies showed up, then it allowed her time to finish up her most important projects. Projects such as dresses for the Summer Sun Celebration Gala, which was occurring in a matter of weeks.

Rarity, of course, knew all about this event. As an Element of Harmony, and on a first name basis with the Astral Sisters, Rarity had an open invitation to attend all of Canterlot's highest society parties. Indeed, she had been looking forward to this for months...and not just because she had an opportunity to mingle with the elite of Equestrian society. No, what had her so excited was that she finally had the opportunity to attend a Canterlot gala with a significant other.

She had asked Black Marble if he would accompany her to the gala about a month ago, on one of her trips to see him. To her delight, he had said yes. He also said that he would be honoured to accompany such a beautiful mare to the gala. This made Rarity swoon with passion. To her, Black Marble had a way with words and knew exactly what to say at the right time. She had never met anypony like him before. If things went well at the gala, and Rarity was certain that they would, then perhaps this stallion was the special somepony that she'd been searching for all these years.

Her reverie was interrupted by a knocking on the door of the shop. That was odd she thought. Most customers just entered if they saw that the sign was turned to open. When she didn't go to open the door right away, there was a second round of knocking.

"Whoever is there...you may enter..." she called out. "The door is unlocked and the sign says open..."

But whoever was at the door didn't heed her instructions. Slightly annoyed, Rarity trotted over and opened the door with her magic.

"As I was saying, the shop is open today..." Rarity began but her words died as she saw who was standing there.

"Spike...?" she asked somewhat confused.

"Hey, Rarity..." Spike smiled nervously at the unicorn.

"Darling...what ever are you doing out here?" she asked incredulously. "You, of all the beings in Equestria, know that you don't need to knock when you come to my shop."

"Sorry Rarity..." he replied sheepishly. "I always used to knock. I guess old habits die hard."

He looked at her apologetically. "I hope I'm not interrupting your work. I can always come back later."

"Nonsense, Spike," she responded. "I can always interrupt my work for a dear friend. Especially one that I haven't seen for months. Please come in, won't you?" She batted her sapphire eyes at him.

It was like she knew exactly what buttons to push with him. Regardless of all his growth, Spike still couldn't resist Rarity no matter how hard he wanted to. Standing close to her, she was still the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria. The way her curly mane bounced when she cantered. The way her flank swayed. The smell of her perfume. Her perfectly done makeup. It was just too much. Yet, he needed to focus on the task at hand. He needed to tell her what had happened the night before no matter how much he dreaded her reaction.

"It would be my pleasure, Rarity," Spike shrugged off his nervousness and entered the boutique. As usual, since his transformation, he had to duck to get through the door of a pony's home. At least the ceiling inside was high enough for him to fit his head.

Rarity motioned towards her couch that sat in the centre of her shop's showroom. "Please sit down, Spike. Can I get you anything to drink?"

Spike shook his head no and sat down. Since he took up most of the space on her couch, Rarity used her magic to pull a cushion over so she could sit down in front of him on the floor.

"I suppose it's been a long time since you've been over here," she began. "You must have many stories to tell from your time in the Crystal Empire."

"Indeed I do, Rarity," he replied. "I could go on all afternoon about my experiences there. About how I discovered my inner dragon, and about how I grew up and became what you see now."

"Yes, Spike. I was about to say...you've certainly undergone quite the transformation." Rarity marveled at the drake in front of her. "You must be very pleased with the results."

"I certainly am," he agreed. "It took me some time to get used to the changes, but I think that I'm finally comfortable with my transformation."

"Well...I'm very happy for you," she smiled at him.

Spike was getting the feeling that Rarity was trying to make small talk to avoid talking about something else. Unfortunately, he knew what that something else was. There was no point in avoiding the topic any longer.

"So..." he began hesitantly. "I heard that you've made some changes in you life as well."

"Yes...you could say that," she acknowledged nervously. Rarity and Spike both stared at each other awkwardly for what felt like forever.

"Why didn't you tell me about your coltfriend?" Spike finally asked the question hanging over them.

"If you must know, Spike, I hadn't told anypony until very recently," she answered almost nonchalantly. "Including our friends."

"That's what's troubling me..." he responded. "Why so much secrecy? It's not like you to keep information from us."

"Are you saying that I can't have a private life, Spike? That I have to spill all the details of my personal relationships like a cheap tabloid newspaper?"

Rarity was becoming indignant. Who was he to lecture her on how to live her life?

"Absolutely not, Rarity," Spike tried to smooth things over. "I just don't understand why you've been going back and forth to Canterlot to see him all this time without telling anypony."

"Who told you that I've been going back and forth?" she asked pointedly.

"I had lunch with Fluttershy a couple of days ago. She filled me in about what you've been up to the last few months."

"I see..." Rarity gave him a hard look. "I did confide in her about my relationship not that long ago. However, I hoped that she would have kept this information to herself..."

"She was just concerned about you, Rarity," Spike offered. "We both know that Fluttershy wouldn't gossip about you or anypony else. She's never been like that."

"Fluttershy is a dear..." Rarity acknowledged. "I'm sure she meant no harm in her concern for my well-being."

She paused. "But...what I'm concerned with now is how you feel about my situation?"

Spike gulped. "I don't quite understand what you're getting at Rarity." he replied after a moment to regain his composure.

Rarity sighed. "On the contrary...I think you do. There's still an unresolved issue between us Spike...and I think you know what it is."

Spike suddenly felt extremely nervous. He wondered if she'd known about his "secret" all this time.

"I suppose I've known about your feelings for me...well...for a long time now." she began. Apparently she could read his mind as well. Spike's eyes went wide with fear or surprise...he wasn't exactly sure.

"You weren't very good at keeping it a secret, darling..." Rarity saw his reaction and giggled a little bit.

Spike laughed nervously. "I guess you've got me there Rarity..." So far, things weren't as bad as he thought.

Rarity's expression changed to a serious one, however. "I must know, Spike. Was I the reason you chose to go away to the Crystal Empire?"

"You're not the first pony to ask me that," he responded.

"It's a valid question Spike."

Spike held his silence. But Rarity continued to stare at him expecting an answer.

"Ok, Rarity. You win," he finally relented. "I left for two reasons. One...I didn't want to be a kid anymore. I felt like sometimes I didn't get any respect from other ponies based on my size and appearance. Lots on ponies thought that I was still a baby, when in reality I was almost as old as them!"

He paused to choose his words carefully.

"To answer your second question...yes. I left in part because I thought that you would look at me differently if I went away for a while and transformed myself. I thought that if I changed my physical appearance you would feel the same way I felt for you. I thought that you saw me as a baby just like everyone else..."

"Oh, Spike..." Rarity looked at him with a sadness he'd never seen before. "That's very noble of you, but I always respected you no matter what size you were. Your age was never an issue with me either."

Spike suddenly felt some hope creep into his heart. Did this mean she felt even a little bit as he did?

"I'm glad that you respect me, Rarity." he responded hopefully. "I'm glad that you didn't see me as a kid either. Does this...does this mean that you felt the same way towards me?"

Rarity looked at him with the same sadness as before.

"I'm sorry, Spike. I don't feel the same way about you...but I will always like you as a friend."

Spike felt his heart break. It might have been a longshot all along, but that didn't make the hurt feel any better.

"Fine, Rarity..." Spike replied tersely. "So, I suppose this is it then? I guess now that you've finally rejected me, I'll just go about my life while you spend time with your wonderful stallion..."

"I'm not finished yet, Spike." Rarity put her hoof on his arm.

"What do you mean...?" he looked at her in confusion.

Rarity considered her words carefully.

"It's complicated, Spike..." she finally admitted. "At one point in time I did feel something for you other than friendship. But...I'm afraid that those feelings are gone now."

"Ok...now I really don't know what you're talking about." Spike pinched the bridge of his nose with his claw in frustration. "First, you tell me that you don't like me more than a friend. Now, you're telling me that you used to have feelings for me but they don't exist anymore? Frankly, I don't know what to believe..."

"I'm sorry Spike..." she apologized.

"Instead of apologizing, why don't you enlighten me as to what the hay is going on?" Spike snapped at her. "Tell me why you changed your mind about me?"

"Because..." she stated. "You left me all alone."

Spike stared at her in confusion.

"You see Spike...while you may have thought that your crush was one-sided, in fact it wasn't. Certainly, in the beginning, I saw your love...or should I say infatuation as nothing more than an adorable but childish emotion on your part. It wasn't until you gave me the Fire Ruby that I realized that your feelings were genuine. Many other selfless acts followed, and as you kept giving of yourself and asking for little in return, I began to seriously contemplate about returning your affection towards me in a way that would make us much more than friends. Truthfully, I realized that your simple crush had evolved into you caring deeply about me."

The room became so silent that a pin from her work desk could have fallen to the floor and been the loudest noise in the room.

"So..." she continued. "Not that long ago, and after much thought, I finally decided to act on these feelings. I had planned on inviting you over to the Boutique around the Hearths Warming holiday for a dinner just for the two of us. At that dinner I would have brought up the subject of us...and hopefully we could have had an open and honest discussion about how we felt about each other. I'm sure we would have both come to the conclusion that we needed to take the next step in our relationship. Imagine, Spike...we could have spent Hearths Warming and Hearts and Hooves Day together. I'm sure you would have loved that...no?"

Spike sat there expressionless. He didn't know how to react to her confession that she actually felt the same way about him as he did about her.

"But...it turns out you had other plans." Rarity's tone became one of hurt. "You left for the Crystal Empire before Hearth's Warming and left me all alone here in Ponyville. I didn't even know you were leaving until Twilight told me in passing. Of course, I made sure that I saw you off at the train station...but even then it felt like you were a million miles away. You were so focused on your quest to become an adult that it was like you didn't care about me."

Her words cut deep as she spoke.

"Rarity..." Spike finally found his voice. "I had no idea that you felt that way about me or that you had felt this way for so long..."

"Why would I have spent so much time with you over the years if I didn't have feelings for you? Do you think I was leading you on?"

"I...I don't know the answer to that," he admitted.

"Spike!" she admonished him. "Are you saying that you felt I was playing with your feelings?" A hurt expression came over her face.

"Rarity...it was never my intention to abandon you." Spike began. "Had I known that you had felt the same way about me, maybe I wouldn't have gone to the Crystal Empire. Maybe I could have found a way to grow up here. But...I did what I did because I thought it was the best course of action at the time."

"In other words, you were being selfish..." Rarity's tone changed from hurt to bitter.

Spike, for his part, was getting past the shock and now was feeling angry. He could feel something inside of him snap.

"Selfish?" he addressed her with malice in his voice. "Ok, Rarity, lets talk about being selfish then..."

Rarity tried to say something in reply but Spike cut her off.

"You act like I needed to be a mind reader to figure out how you felt about me." he continued. "You could have just told me a long time ago and saved us a lot of trouble! Celestia knows I told you. I told you when we were falling through the air to our potential deaths!"

Rarity began moving her mouth but Spike wouldn't let her talk.

"You knew exactly how I felt! But did you do anything about it? Did you encourage me to do anything about it? You've known how I've felt since I first came to Ponyville...and what do you do? Nothing...other than chase around after guys like Blueblood and Trenderhoof...!"

"Trenderhoof turned out to be more of a gentlecolt than I gave him credit for..." she finally managed to interject. As for that horrible prince...DO NOT mention his name in my presence ever again!"

"I suppose Black Marble is better than both of them?" Spike asked pointedly.

"He's everything I've ever wanted in a stallion and more..." Rarity's stare bore holes in him. "He's been there for me the entire time we've been together."

"Too bad he's a complete douchebag..." Spike replied casually.

"I BEG YOUR PARDON...?" Rarity's eyes went wide.

"Oh...that's right," Spike smirked. "I almost forgot. I have a story to tell you about your coltfriend. In fact, it happened just last night when I was in Canterlot..."

After telling Rarity the complete story of his evening in Canterlot, including everything that he had seen her coltfriend doing, Spike leaned back on the couch and waited for her reaction. For a moment, he couldn't really tell what she was thinking as her face was a blank mask. Suddenly...she reared back and proceeded to hit him as hard as possible across the face with her hoof.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" she screamed at him while her face contorted with rage. "I don't want to hear anymore of your lies!!"

"These aren't lies, Rarity. This is the truth..." he responded calmly while rubbing his face. "Sometimes the truth hurts. But real friends tell you the truth even if you don't want to hear it.

"I can't believe you!" she cried. "You're just making up stories because you can't have me! You want to undermine my happiness!"

"Go ask Vinyl Scratch what happened. She'll tell you exactly the same things I told you. Black Marble is the biggest flankhole and player in Equestria..."

"To Tartarus with Vinyl Scratch!" she shouted. "Do you think I'm going to listen to somepony who's a habitual drunk?" She probably made eyes at him last night and he rejected her! I wouldn't be surprised if she's saying all this because they broke up years before and she wants him back!"

"Don't talk about my friends like that!" he roared.

"Oh...so now she's your friend?" That's wonderful, Spike. Why don't you go spend all your time with your new friend then?

"Fine..." he got up off the couch. "I know when I'm not wanted. I'll leave."

He walked over to the door of the boutique intending to leave. But, something inside of him demanded that he get the last word in. He turned and faced her.

"Before I go, I want you to understand one thing, Rarity." Spike began. "I'm not some immature, entitled jerk. I would have no problem if you dated another pony who was actually a stand-up guy and was good for you. But I can't support your decision to hook up with Black Marble. Everypony I've talked to says the same things about him. About how they get a creepy feeling around him, or about how he's a total jerk."

"Are you finished yet?" she asked him coldly.

"One last thing," he said with a look of genuine sadness in his eyes. "After all of this...I still love you with all my heart and I always will. But, I'm sorry Rarity...this guy is worse than anypony you've ever thrown yourself at...and considering your track record that's saying something..."

Rarity's face went completely crimson. "You...you...immature...selfish...entitled...BRUTE!!!" GET THE BUCK OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!"

She began throwing objects with her magic at Spike. It was a good thing that his scales were thick, as the flying debris just bounced off him. He realized now that he'd gone too far with his criticism of her. Dodging a pair of scissors, he threw open the door, ducked down, and exited the building as quick as he could. Behind him, a magically thrown lamp smashed into the wall where he once stood.

Once she was alone, and surrounded by the mess she had just made, the floodgates opened for Rarity. Her utter rage towards the dragon was replaced by abject sorrow. As she sat in the middle of her boutique, the tears streamed down her cheeks and soaked her pillow as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Author's Note

This was a hard chapter to write, and I hope I did the characters justice...

Thank you to all who waited patiently for this chapter. Keep up the support guys!

Chapter 7

The sound of knocking echoed throughout the mansion. Even without dragon hearing, Spike would have had no problem hearing it from his room on the second floor. Spike shifted around sleepily on his pile of gems he was currently using as a makeshift bed. As he lay there, he knew that he would have to answer the door. Everypony else was passed out from the night before. Whether it was in a club in Canterlot, or whether it was at the mansion she was renting out, Vinyl Scratch knew how to throw a wild party.

Spike got up from his pile of jewels and made his way out of his room and down the hallway. The knocking at the front door continued as he made his way down the grand staircase. Whoever was at the door of the mansion, wasn't going to go away any time soon.

"Relax, already..." he grumbled. "I'm coming..."

Finally making it to the door, Spike grabbed the handle and grunted as the door creaked open. He had to squint as the morning light flooded into the doorway. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed who was standing in front of him.

"Morning, Twilight," Spike greeted the alicorn standing on the top step of the mansion. Truthfully, he wasn't very surprised that she was there.

"Spike...where in Celestia's name have you been?" Twilight began.

"That's kind of a dumb question, Twilight," he replied. "I've been here since yesterday."

He contemplated for a moment. "Please tell me you haven't been going around to everypony's house this morning looking for me? At least you knocked this time, instead of just barging in like in the past."

Twilight went red with embarrassment. "That was a one time thing!" she chided him. "In any event, I've been worried about you since you didn't come back to the castle at all yesterday."

"Didn't you read the note I left for you?" he inquired. "When I came back to the castle I couldn't find you or Twist anywhere , so I left it in her office. You know...the office that I used to use?"

"I wasn't at the castle yesterday..." she replied somewhat indignantly. "I was meeting with the Mayor for most of the day. Twist doesn't usually come in on weekends so I didn't get your note."

"Well...since you're here and wondering, I'll tell you what I wrote." Spike began "I wrote you a note saying that I was going to be staying with Vinyl Scratch at Rich Mansion for a while."

"I see that..." Twilight indicated. "So where exactly are you sleeping, on the floor?"

"I'm using my personal stash of gems that I've been collecting over the years as a bed," he replied. "It worked for me when I was hibernating, so I figured it would do just fine in this instance."

"What about food?"

"I offered to help with the cooking if Vinyl and Octavia provided the food. It's not like I can't eat pony food, plus if I really have to, I can eat part of my bed to hold me over for the time being."

"It sounds like you've been planning this for a while..." she commented. "I would think that if you were planning on moving out you'd at least speak to me in person before you did so."

"So, now you're concerned about me?" he replied sarcastically. " Thanks, Mom. Where was this for the past week or so?"

"What in Tartarus is that supposed to mean?" she asked incredulously.

"It means since I came back a couple of weeks ago I haven't seen hide nor hair of you!" Spike snapped. "You're always spending time with your nose in a book in that library of yours! Even more than you used to when we had the treehouse!"

"I see..." Twilight replied somewhat coldly. "You think I've been purposely ignoring you since you've come back?"

"It seems that way doesn't it?" he retorted.

"Well..." she began. "Maybe if you'd stopped to consider the situation instead of jumping to conclusions like a draconic jerk, what I've been doing for the past while would make more sense."

Spike pinched the bridge of his nose for the second time in two days. "Why is it that everypony around here expects me to be a damn mind reader...?"

Judging from the blank expression on Twilight's face, he came to the conclusion that she had no idea what he was complaining about.

"Alright then..." he offered. "Tell me what you've been up to the past little while."

"Well...Spike. As you know, being a princess involves me having to do a lot of research to help me with my royal duties. This often involves long hours in the library gathering information on different treaties, political situations, and laws of Equestria and other countries. As an ambassador of Equestria, I have to use this information wisely when I'm dealing with the heads of state of other nations. I also have to make sure that I'm representing the interests of the ponies of my own country. This also involves consultations with the Two Sisters as they have final say on what Equestria's position is when we negotiate with other countries or how we will conduct ourselves at a state visit..."

Twilight stopped for a moment. "Spike? Are you even listening to me?"

Spike was leaning lazily against the door frame staring off into the distance. "For your information, Miss Exposition...yes, I was listening. But I know that you like to ramble on so I was waiting for you to get to the point."

"My point is that I can negotiate a treaty with the Griffon Empire, I can keep the Dragon Kingdom from terrorizing the ponies living on it's borders, and I'm more than capable of displaying excellent protocol when the Ambassador from Germaney decides to drop by Canterlot unannounced!"

Spike found himself slightly amused at Twilight's assertion of her abilities. The lavender alicorn, however, didn't notice or care that he found this amusing.

"Sometimes though...there are subjects that even I have trouble researching..."

"Whoa...stop the presses!" he exclaimed. "Twilight Sparkle has trouble understanding everything? It means you're a normal mare like everypony else Twi..."

"I guess this answers the question whether dragon's become bigger flankholes as they age..." she replied sarcastically.

"I don't need this right now..." Spike snorted. He turned to go back inside the mansion.

"Wait..." Twilight called back. "I'll tell you the real reason why I've been preoccupied lately."

He paused. "Alright then...enlighten me."

"Etiquette."

Spike stared at her for a long moment.

"That doesn't make any sense!" he finally answered. "You just told me you knew all about etiquette!"

"I know all about diplomatic etiquette,"" she replied. "But this is a different kind of etiquette..."

Twilight paused awkwardly. "It's the kind of etiquette you need when you're on a date..."

Spike's eyes went wide with surprise. "You're going on a date?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Yes, Spike. I'm going on a date. Well...technically I'm going to the Summer Sun Celebration Ball with a date. That's why I've had my nose in a book all this time. I've been reading up on how a princess should behave at a royal ball with an escort."

Twilight paused expectantly. She didn't know how Spike would react to this piece of information. She hadn't told anypony, even her friends, about the recent events in her personal life.

It was a shock then, when Spike suddenly burst out laughing. For his part, Spike couldn't take it anymore. Part of him was really annoyed that Twilight had been, in his mind at least, ignoring him for most of the time he'd been back in order to obsessively research how to act on a date with a stallion. At the same time, this was so like the Twilight he'd grown up with, that he couldn't stop himself from laughing hysterically at her behavior. He wasn't trying to be a jerk, he just couldn't help himself.

Unfortunately, that was how he was currently being regarded by his former roommate. When he finally stopped laughing he was greeted by a rage contorted face that he hadn't seen since the time he'd decided to have a "small" party at the treehouse, which had turned into a wild bash with most of Ponyville in attendance, while Twilight had been away for a couple of days. Suddenly, purple magic shot out of her horn followed by the heavy door being slammed on his tail.

"Yeow!!!" he shouted as pain shot through his body. "What the hay was that for?!"

"That was for being a complete draconic flankhole!" she shouted back. "How could you laugh at me after what I told you?!"

"I don't know..." he retorted. "I thought it was funny at the time! Because it's totally something you would do. I know you better than anypony, remember?"

He grimaced as he picked up his tail which had been wedged in the front door.

"Damn, Twilight...I can't believe you slammed a heavy door on my tail! I may be a dragon, but that still hurt!"

"Well...you deserved it!" Twilight scowled at Spike.

"Look...In all seriousness," Spike asked as he rubbed his tail. "Who's the lucky guy that gets to go to a ball with the Princess of Friendship?"

"You actually know who he is," she stated. "He was in the Crystal Empire while you were there. But now, he's moved to Canterlot to help train the Royal Guard."

Spike racked his brain to try and figure out who she was talking about. It wasn't easy considering his thoughts kept being interrupted by the pain shooting through his tail. Suddenly, the image of an orange pegasus popped into his head.

"No way!" he exclaimed. "Really? You're going to the ball with him?"

"Do you have a problem with me going with him?" Twilight shot him an accusing look.

"Not really..." he replied. "He was asking about you while I was in the Crystal Empire though."

"Really?" Twilight arched her eyebrow. "He was asking about me? How long ago?"

"Since before I had my three month sleep. I suggested that he write to you but I guess he went a step further if he's in Canterlot now."

"He definitely wrote to me, and I wrote him back." Twilight smiled. "When I found out he was in Canterlot I used the excuse of being there on royal business to go see him. We spent some time together and before I left to come back to Ponyville he asked me if he could escort me to the ball."

A small blush came over Twilight's face. "Officially, he's there as part of my 'protection detail.' But since it's him and only him, and he asked to be with me, I've come to the conclusion that it's a date."

"Now that you've explained it that way, I'm inclined to agree," Spike acknowledged. "Good for Flash. It's nice to know somepony takes my advice once in a while."

"Do you see now why I was spending most of my time studying?" she asked. "I always get like that when I'm caught up in something that's really important to me."

"Makes sense now that I think about it," he pondered. "Obviously this is a big deal for you."

"It is," she agreed. "It's a double big deal now that I'm royalty."

"For what it's worth, I wish you luck then."

"Thank you, Spike." she acknowledged with a genuine smile. "Back to the original subject... you still haven't told me why you decided to suddenly leave the castle and stay with Vinyl Scratch and Octavia."

Spike's expression went serious.

"Did something happen in Canterlot?" Twilight sensed there was something he wasn't telling her. "It's alright, Spike. You can tell me if something's wrong..."

Spike scowled at the thoughts of his experience in Canterlot. "I'd rather not talk about what happened there, Twilight, but you're on the right track as to why I left."

"Well...if you ever need to talk to me I'll make sure I make the time for you, ok?" she offered.

"By the way..." Twilight asked offhand. Did you end up going to see Rarity? You've been planning to spend time with her ever since you got back."

A look of disgust came over Spike's face, surprising Twilight.

"Why don't you go ask her yourself?" he stated abruptly. "I'm going back to sleep...thanks for the conversation."

Spike turned and went inside the mansion, shutting the door fairly hard. All the while leaving a confused Twilight Sparkle standing on the front steps.

Heeding Spike's advice, Twilight found herself on the way to the Ponyville Spa the next morning. Twilight wasn't a regular customer of the spa, but she was going there that morning to meet Fluttershy and Rarity. The day before, on a hunch, Twilight had found Rarity at Fluttershy's cottage. However, the yellow Pegasus stopped Twilight from talking to her, explaining that Rarity had come there the evening before extremely distraught. Her and Fluttershy had spent most of the night talking, and Rarity was exhausted and was still sleeping at the time of Twilight's visit. Twilight did manage to fill her pink maned friend in as to where Spike was currently residing. It was therefore suggested by Fluttershy that the three of them meet at the spa the next day, since Rarity and Fluttershy hadn't been there in quite some time. Twilight could then hopefully get some answers as to what had happened between Spike and Rarity.

As she entered the establishment, the two owners, Aloe and Lotus Blossom, greeted her excitedly. It wasn't everyday that they had the Princess of Friendship as a client, and they wanted to make sure that Twilight was given service fit for royalty. They ushered her into the ladies change room, and then when Twilight emerged wearing a robe they directed her to the steam room. It was there that she found Fluttershy and Rarity relaxing before they were to begin their spa treatments.

Only, Fluttershy seemed to be the only one trying to relax. Rarity, on the other hoof, was quite agitated.

"I still can't for the life of me, understand why he'd say such things..."

"Well...he must have been very upset. It's just not like Spike to say what he said without a good reason...at least...I think he wouldn't..."

"You see, Fluttershy?" Rarity pointed out. "You don't know what he was thinking either. How are we to know that he isn't acting like this because of his recent growth? Dragon's have a terrible reputation for being horrible brutes when they grow up."

"I understand what you're saying, but I'm having a hard time believing that Spike said all those things to you out of malice."

"Really...Fluttershy? Have you forgotten what happened on his birthday a number of years ago?"

"You did manage to talk him out of his greed rampage, though..."

"That was a different time! He was my cute little Spikey Wikey then! Now, I'm not sure who he is anymore..."

"Hey, girls!" Twilight interrupted. "I'm sorry I didn't make it sooner. I'm running a bit behind today."

"Ah, Twilight," Rarity greeted the alicorn. "Thank goodness you're finally here! Perhaps you could shed some light on what that assistant of yours was thinking when he came to visit me yesterday."

"Unfortunately, I don't think I can be of much help," Twilight admitted. " I did manage to track him down though. He's staying at Rich Mansion with Vinyl Scratch and her friends."

"You mean to say that he's left your castle and is staying with a bunch of party ponies?" Rarity asked incredulously.

"That's what he told me by note and in person yesterday," Twilight responded.

"So...what you're saying then is he's decided to shirk his responsibilities to you and your kingdom and instead spend his time engaged in debauchery?" Rarity inquired pointedly.

"That sounds an awful lot like you're own opinion, Rarity," Twilight countered. "But, to answer your question...he said that I should ask you the reason why he left."

"Hmm...he said that, did he now?" Rarity's voice went icy.

"Maybe you should tell your story to Twilight now that she's here, Rarity..." Fluttershy interrupted the white unicorn. "I'm sure she'd like to hear about what transpired, isn't that right Twilight?" Fluttershy flashed a nervous smile at her lavender friend.

"Very well..." Rarity began. "I will tell Twilight all about how her former co-habitant acted like an uncouth cad in my presence. But first...let us get out of this steam room, ladies! Our spa treatments await us!"

With her usual flair, Rarity hopped down off the bench and exited the steam room. Fluttershy and Twilight followed her.

After all the treatments were finished, Twilight wished that she made trips to the spa more often. She felt cleaner than ever before from the scrub down, the hot stone massage was divine, and her coat sparkled from the seaweed wrap. It was a great way to spend a morning. As she lay in the hot tub, soaking away her tension, her thoughts turned to Rarity's story of what happened between her and Spike. Twilight had listen to the whole story without judgement. She wished that Spike had told her his side of the story, since Rarity had painted a somewhat one-sided account of their encounter.

In Twilight's mind, the solution was actually simple. It involved both Spike and Rarity sitting down together and working out their differences. Getting both of them in the same room, however, would be the hard part. But Twilight trusted her ability as a princess and ambassador to get both her friends to put an end to this silly feud.

"Say, Rarity," Twilight addressed the unicorn. "In light of what you just told me, I may have a potential solution to this situation."

Rarity stirred from the state of relaxation she was currently experiencing. "Whatever do you mean, Twilight?"

Twilight took a breath. "I think the best course of action here is to have you and Spike sit down face to face and work out this disagreement, as you called it."

Rarity stared at Twilight for what felt like an eternity.

"Twilight...you're a dear for wanting to help," Rarity finally addressed the alicorn. "But I'm not sure that sitting down with him is the best course of action right now."

"I think Twilight's right though, Rarity..." Fluttershy had been quiet most of the spa session but now interjected herself into the conversation. "I think you and Spike need to work through your issues together."

"But Fluttershy...do you think that Spike would even show up to a face to face meeting?" Rarity inquired.

"I think I can convince him to show up," Twilight pronounced. "Remember, I know him better than anypony in Equestria."

Rarity considered Twilight's proposition for a period of time.

"Very well," she finally stated. "I'll go along with your plan. However...I want both of you there."

"You've got it, Rarity." Twilight smiled at her friend.

"I just want everypony to get along..." Fluttershy stated meekly.

With nothing else to talk about, the three ponies exited the bath and made their way back to the change room. After paying for her treatment, Rarity bade both her friends farewell and left the spa to go back to her boutique home. Twilight and Fluttershy stayed behind to finish paying for their respective treatments.

With their accounts settled, both mares exited the spa and found a beautiful day awaiting them. Celestia's sun was almost at it's highest point, and Twilight realized that going to the spa made her hungry. She needed to get home and make some lunch.

"Well..." Twilight addressed Fluttershy before she was about to leave. "I had a wonderful morning. We should do this again sometime."

But Fluttershy was lost in thought. When she finally acknowledged Twilight's words, it was with a concerned demeanour.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Twilight..."

There was an awkward silence between the two ponies.

"I hope so too..."

Author's Note

Apologies for the more than three month hiatus...

Thank you to everyone who has liked, commented, and in general paid attention to this story! In the end, it's your support that has kept me motivated to continue writing.

P.S. Please don't hate me too much for putting hints of FlashLight in this chapter :)

Chapter 8

"So why did you want me here early, Twilight?" Spike asked the pony he had lived with for a number of years. They were in the throne room at Twilight's castle. Spike realized he hadn't been in this room since he returned from his six month hiatus, even though he had been living there recently. It still contained the thrones corresponding to each Element of Harmony. In the middle was the table that doubled as the enchanted map of Equestria.

"I wanted you to come a little bit earlier because I wanted to talk to you before we met with anypony else," Twilight replied. "Why don't you sit down at the table?"

Spike observed that his old chair was still sitting at the table next to Twilight's. As he sat down, he couldn't help but notice that it actually fit his new size properly. Back when he was still a baby dragon, the chair always felt a bit large for him whenever he sat in it. It was almost as if the magic in the castle knew that one day he'd grow up and be able to fill out his throne.

"Alright, then...what did you want to talk to me about?" Spike inquired.

"Well...actually I'd like you to tell me the whole story about what happened to you when you went to Canterlot," Twilight replied.

Spike pondered for a moment. "I don't know Twilight, it's a pretty long story. Plus, I have to make sure I remember all the details properly otherwise you might not believe me."

"Spike...I don't know if you know this, but I've already talked to Rarity and heard her side of the story. Well, at least the part where you went to the Carousel Boutique and made a number of accusations."

"I'm not really surprised she talked to you," he responded without much expression. "I have a feeling that she didn't paint a pretty picture."

"She didn't..." Twilight acknowledged. "But she couldn't tell me exactly what happened with Black Marble on the night you met him, since she wasn't there. I've known you for your whole life, Spike. Rarity claims you're making up stories to hurt her relationship...but to be honest, I'm having difficulty believing what she's saying. However, unless you tell me what happened, it makes it harder for me to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Twilight's right, Spike..." Fluttershy's soft voice interjected as she walked into the throne room. "We both want to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you need to be open and honest with us."

"Thanks for coming early as well, Fluttershy," Twilight smiled. "We want to hear your side of the story and we wanted you to be as comfortable as possible when you did. That's why I asked you to come early...before Rarity got here. You don't have to hide anything from us, Spike."

Spike exhaled. "Alright then. I'll tell both of you the exact story I told Rarity a few days ago."

"So...as I was looking in the window of the hotel lobby, I could see Black Marble waiting in front of the elevator with a mare that seemed pretty drunk. In fact, she was leaning on him for support."

"Oh my..." Fluttershy gasped. Both her and Twilight had been listening intently to Spike's recounting of that night's events.

"When she was leaning on Black Marble, was the mare you saw showing any signs of affection towards him?" Twilight inquired.

"Now that you mention that..."Spike smiled wryly. "As they entered the elevator, the mare wrapped her forelegs around him and started kissing him..."

"Oh dear..." Flutershy gasped again. "Did he push her off of him at least?"

"From what I could tell from my position, I don't think he was fighting her," Spike stated. "The problem was the elevator doors closed and I wasn't able to see what else happened after that. If you really forced me to give you an answer, I would say to you that I swear I saw him return her affections. But I may never know for sure unless I went looking for them, and I certainly wasn't about to go snooping around a hotel I wasn't staying at."

"That's quite the story, Spike." Twilight acknowledged. "You said you told Rarity the same story? Did you tell her you saw her coltfriend kissing another mare?"

"I did..." he replied sadly. "She didn't want to believe me...in fact she got really angry at me. Maybe she's in denial. Maybe Black Marble has her under some spell that causes her to lose all rationality...I just don't know..."

"I think I would have been able to tell if Rarity was under the influence of any spells," Twilight shook her head. "There really isn't any magic that I don't know of at this point of my life."

"Do you think that she's just completely infatuated with him and refuses to acknowledge his questionable behavior?" Fluttershy asked Twilight.

"Based on Spike's recounting of the night's events, it certainly seems that way," Twilight nodded.

She turned to Spike. "Do you happen to remember what the mare looked like?"

Spike nodded. "Actually I do...she had a yellow coat and a blue mane and she was a unicorn."

"What about a cutie mark?" Twilight inquired further. "Did you happen to see what her cutie mark looked like?"

Spike's face fell. "Now that you mention it, I didn't get a good look at her cutie mark."

"A unicorn with a yellow coat and blue mane..." Twilight repeated his description. "Why does that seem so familiar...?"

"Actually...thinking about it some more, I wonder if we know both know her, Twilight." Spike pondered.

"What do you mean, Spike?"

"Even though I didn't see her cutie mark, she looked awful familiar...like one of the unicorns we both used to know back in Canterlot. In fact..."

Spike's words died in his throat. From his seat in the throne room, he was looking right at the entrance. Standing in the doorway was the exact same unicorn mare he saw on that night in Canterlot. Flanking her were two other unicorns. One of them was Rarity. The other was Black Marble.

"Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed. "We were just wondering when you'd get here..."

Twilight smiled outwardly but inside she was incredibly nervous. She hoped that her friend hadn't figured out that they were talking about her before she arrived. She was also confused as to why Rarity's coltfriend and another mare were present.

"I'm dreadfully sorry, Twilight," the white unicorn apologized. "But I had to pick up Black Marble and a mutual friend of ours from the train station."

"A mutual friend...?" Twilight wasn't quite sure who her friend was referring to, but one look at the unicorn mare standing next to Rarity made her realize who it was.

"Lemon Hearts?" Twilight's mouth hung open. "Oh my goodness...what are you doing here? I'm so sorry...I almost didn't recognize you..." She drew the yellow pony into a hug.

"It's ok, Twilight..." Lemon Hearts returned her affection. "It has been quite a long time since I last saw you. I know whenever you're in Canterlot it's usually for important business, so you can't always get away to see me and the others."

Twilight's face fell. "I'm glad you feel that way, but it still doesn't excuse the fact that I haven't been spending time with my old friends when I'm in Canterlot."

"In any event..." Lemon Hearts addressed the rest of the room. "I'm here because Rarity asked me to be here. There was an incident a few days ago involving me and I wanted to be able to clear up any misconceptions about what exactly happened."

Lemon Hearts looked right at Spike as she spoke. Spike crossed his arms and a irritated expression came over his face.

"In that case," Twilight indicated. "If you could shed some light on what happened, I think we'd all appreciate it."

"Hold on a second..." Spike interrupted. "Before we get to anything, I want to know what he's doing here..." He pointed a claw at Black Marble.

"Black Marble is here because I also asked him to be here," Rarity stated. "I told him of your accusations and it upset him greatly that you thought he would do something as awful as cheat on me. But...seeing that he considers himself a stallion of honor, he's here to offer his explanation to what happened that night."

Black Marble flashed what appeared to be a genuine smile at those assembled. Spike, for his part, wasn't really buying it. He was about to say something, when Fluttershy spoke up.

"Um...if it's alright with everypony, before Black Marble tells us about that night, I was wondering if he could tell us about how you both met. I've been thinking really hard lately, and I don't remember Rarity telling any of us how she met her coltfriend."

"Really, Fluttershy...?" Rarity interjected. "I've told all of you that I met Black Marble in Canterlot on one of my trips to oversee operations at the boutique."

"Um...that's technically true," Fluttershy admitted. "But you've never told any of us how you met Black Marble...and you've never told Spike about it since he's come back. I'm sure he'd like to hear this story..."

Rarity opened her mouth as if to protest, but Black Marble stopped her.

"I'd be happy to tell your friends the story of how we met."

Rarity smiled at her coltfriend. "You don't have to, darling..." she said softly.

"It would be my pleasure, my sweet..."

Spike wanted to gag at all the affection being shown between his romantic interest and her beau. Of course, if he was the one being called darling by Rarity, he'd probably have had a different opinion.

"It happened a few months ago now," Black Marble began, not taking his eyes off Rarity. "I was at an auction at Hoofebee's, one of the most prestigious auction houses in Equestria. As I am an antique jewellery buyer, I was there to bid on a particular item."

He turned to face the rest of the ponies in the room. "It was a gold medallion, very rare and priceless. I'd been going to auctions across the land looking for an item such as this...and I was more than a bit excited to have finally found what I was looking for. Who knew, however, that another pony had her eyes on the exact same item." He turned back to Rarity with a loving gaze.

Rarity returned the gaze with a giggle. "I almost outbid him for the medallion. He really wanted it for his collection and was quite aggressive in his bidding. It was probably a good thing I lost to him though...I would have gone over my budget for purchases that month."

"She was certainly aggressive in her bids as well," Black Marble continued. "After the auction had concluded, and I had claimed my prize, I approached this lovely young mare and asked if she was free for a drink."

"I suppose you wanted to see if you could leave the auction with a second prize that day..." Rarity commented dryly.

"You wound me so!" Black Marble faked indignity. "I merely wanted to get to know you better considering you obviously were a mare of good taste! I'm happy to say I was not disappointed..."

"Flattery is unbecoming of a gentleman..." Rarity chided him in a mock-serious tone.

"Not if it is the unvarnished truth, my dear..." he playfully shot back. They held each other's gaze once again.

Spike wanted to leave the room in that moment.

"An interesting story to be sure..." Twilight interrupted the two reminiscing ponies. Spike was actually glad Twilight decided to break up the love fest, as he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out.

"Now that we've heard the story of how you two met, what about the story of a few nights ago?" Twilight prompted.

"Yes...the story of a few nights ago..." Black Marble set his gaze on Spike. "This strapping drake here will tell you that I was at the Diamond Club entertaining a group of my friends...including, I believe, your DJ friend."

"You certainly were..." Spike replied almost sarcastically.

"What you didn't see after you left with Vinyl Scratch, was the mare to my right getting accosted by a stallion who needed a lesson in manners..."

"It's true..." Lemon Hearts concurred. "Some jerk of a stallion was trying to get me to go home with him, and Black Marble put him in his place. There was no violence, mind you, just some persuasive language on his part."

"After I had dispatched the cad, I invited her over for a drink." Black Marble said almost proudly.

"Also true," Lemon Hearts nodded. "I probably enjoyed myself a little too much after that, which is why I needed Black Marble and his friends to escort me home."

"This is all a very nice story..." Spike interrupted. "But does anypony else other than me find all of this to be way too convenient?

He pointed at Lemon Hearts. "You meet some random guy at a club..."

Spike then pointed at Black Marble "He protects you from some stallion who was hassling you, then you hang out with him the rest of night and at the end he walks you home...or in this case back to his hotel. I don't know...am I the only one who has a problem with this...?"

"Why wouldn't he protect me?" Lemon Hearts asked. "He's been doing this since we were younger. It's something any cousin would do to protect a member of their family."

Twilight and Fluttershy's mouths hung open with surprise. Spike, meanwhile, felt like he was going to be sick. Did she just say what he thought he said?

"Woah...!" he exclaimed. "Woah...woah...just, woah! Are you telling me that you were swapping spit with your cousin? He looked at Black Marble. "That is the single most disgusting thing I've ever heard! What the buck is wrong with you two...?!"

"Spike!!!" Rarity yelled at him.

"I think you're overreacting, Spike," Lemon Hearts addressed him.

"Overreacting?!!" Spike looked incredulously at her. "I'm overreacting...?! Has everypony here lost their bucking minds?!"

"I wasn't swapping spit with my cousin!" Lemon Hearts responded in a annoyed tone. "He was helping get back to my room because I was pretty wasted that night. I don't know where you're getting this idea that I was making out with a member of my family."

"Because...I saw you all over him in the hotel lobby before you went upstairs...!" Spike shot back.

"Are you admitting that you were spying on us?" Black Marble asked Spike pointedly. "I don't recall that you were staying at the same hotel as us."

"Wait...what? Spying...?" Spike was caught off guard at this assertion.

"Spike!" Rarity exclaimed. "Is this true...were you spying on Black Marble and Lemon Hearts? You never mentioned this to me when we were at my boutique. I thought that you happened to see them together at the Diamond Club..."

"I...I didn't think what I was doing was spying," he stated flatly. "I could see them from across the street. It wasn't like they were trying to hide or anything."

"So, you were spying on us!" Lemon Hearts exclaimed indignantly. "Where the hay were you hiding that night?"

"I wasn't hiding anywhere, I could see into your hotel from across the street. I was standing on the sidewalk in front of my hotel."

"Why would you want to be standing around on the street that late at night?" she shot back. "Unless you were waiting on us to come back from the club? That sounds like spying in my book!"

"They both have a point, Spike," Twilight said uneasily. "Standing around outside of a hotel you weren't staying at in the middle of the night waiting for two ponies to come by would classify, at the very least, as prying into sompony's business unwantedly."

"But...but..." Spike protested. "I was concerned that Rarity's coltfriend was going to do something that would ultimately hurt her. I knew it as soon as I met him at the club! I saw all those mares hanging out with him and his sleazy friends!"

"Now you're just insulting me!" Black Marble shot back. "Am I not allowed to spend time with my friends at a club enjoying the Canterlot nightlife? He smirked at Spike. "Your DJ friend certainly enjoyed herself..."

"You know what, buddy?" Spike snapped. "I'm going to get out of this chair and do what I should have done that night, namely put my fist through your face...!"

"SPIKE!!!!"

The entire room stopped at the outburst by Twilight. Hearing her snapped Spike out of his rage.

"Spike..." Twilight began slowly and with a very serious expression. "I want you to sit down and listen to me. I think your obsession with Rarity needs to end."

It felt like the air being let out of a balloon. Spike sat there in shock. He couldn't believe what Twilight had just said. He tried to respond, but the words wouldn't come out. Twilight took a deep breath and continued.

"I know that you've had feelings for her for a long time...and I know that you want to protect her." Twilight continued. "You've always wanted to protect her...to be her knight in shining armor. But Rarity is a grown mare. She's more than capable of handling her own affairs...and that includes her own personal relationships."

Again, Spike had no answer.

"But I think your unrequited feelings for her are beginning to cloud your judgement. Think about it. You're accusing a personal friend of ours of doing something she swears she didn't do. You also made it sound like you just happened to come across the two of them on the street that night, instead of deliberately spying on them like you did. What you did was really unethical...and all for a feeling you had."

Twilight paused. "And just now...you want to punch out Rarity's coltfriend...? Where does it end, Spike?"

Spike looked at Twilight, to the others, then back at Twilight. He'd never seen her look this disappointed before. Spike could feel everypony's gaze burning a hole in his scales. Even if he was completely certain that he had seen Black Marble making out with Lemon Hearts in an elevator, the optics of him waiting around outside of his hotel for the two of them to show up looked even worse. His heart sunk when he realized that he'd left that part out deliberately when retelling his story. Now they all thought that he was turning into violent beast again.

"Oh, Spike..." Surprisingly, Rarity spoke up. She seemed more hurt than angry when she addressed him. "Spike, why would you need to go to such lengths to prove something that just isn't true...? You're succumbing to the same feelings that caused you to rampage through Ponyville years ago..."

Spike looked at Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus awkwardly avoided his gaze. Even she seemed disappointed with him.

It was all too much for him. He had to get out of there, away from all of them.

"I'm sorry everypony...I just...I mean...I can't be here anymore." Spike quickly got up from the table and made his way to leave the throne room.

"Spike...wait!" Twilight called after him. He ignored her as he passed through the door.

"Spike!" Rarity called out to him. "Spikey...! Spikey Wikey...! Come back! Please don't go...we want to help you! I want to help you!"

She ran out into the main hallway only to catch a glimpse of him at the end of the hall by the main doors. Before she could call out to him again, he had already disappeared though them and out of the castle entirely.

Author's Note

Again...thank you for your patience while I grind this story out. Thank you again for all the support and likes!

Chapter 9

Sometimes...well, in Spike's case most of the time, sleep was a wonderful thing. He remembered when he was younger, and living with Twilight in their tree house, he used to savour all the times that he could sleep in. It wasn't easy, considering the schedule Twilight had set for him as her Number One Assistant. Still, he always enjoyed the days where he could just lie there in his basket and not be disturbed. It was even better when he had his own room at the Castle of Friendship. Not sharing a room with Twilight meant he got some well deserved privacy, along with more opportunity for uninterrupted rest.

Unfortunately for Spike, those days were long gone. He had left his home at the castle a number of weeks ago, due to a serious disagreement, and was now sleeping on a pile of gems in a small room located inside Rich Mansion. His roommates, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody, didn't give him much opportunity for sleep. Not when they spent most of the time partying. At first, it was a blast hanging out at the mansion. Vinyl threw great parties, and Spike was eager to experience spending time with roommates that didn't spend all their time with their noses in a book. But, like everything else, too much of good thing ended up being a detriment in the long run. After a while, Spike got tired of the constant partying, loud music, and the constant stream of ponies coming and going at all hours day and night. It even got to the point where Spike thought about crawling back to Twilight to let him come back to his old home.

But Spike was stubborn, and he just couldn't bring himself to go back to his old life. Not after the way he'd left. Besides, he thought, Twilight had moved on with her life. She had all but ignored him the last time he was living with her. She also had a new coltfriend, and probably didn't want him intruding on her personal life. The biggest reason for not going back to the castle, however, was the chance he'd see Rarity. Although she didn't spend a lot of time at the castle, she was still friends with Twilight and Spike was sure he'd have difficulty handling himself around her. His emotions were still too raw when it came to the white unicorn that he had an almost incurable crush on.

All that didn't really matter right now. Not when he had music blasting in his ears. He had been asleep, but now Spike was wide awake to the sounds of electronic dance music coming from Vinyl's mobile DJ platform. Her and Octavia had managed to wheel it into his room and now had it cranked up so loud all of Ponyville could have heard it.

Spike crawled off his jewel pile to an upright position. As he did so, Octavia made a motion to Vinyl to turn the music off, which the unicorn DJ proceeded to do. The silence in his room was almost as deafening as the music had been. Part of him felt like letting go and tapping into his natural dragon instinct, which unfortunately would probably result in him eating the two ponies in front of him.

"It looks like he's awake..." Octavia remarked in her cultured accent.

"Yep...and you were right, Tavi..." Vinyl replied. "We had to bring out the heavy artillery to get him functional."

"So...before I kill the both of you..." a very irritated sounding Spike interjected. "Maybe you can give me a good reason for me not to...? The last time I went on a rampage it didn't particulary go so well for anypony."

Both ponies blinked at the dragon in front of them. Spike appeared calm, but by the tone of his voice he was decidedly miffed at his sleep being interrupted in this fashion.

"Right!" Octavia hastily spoke up. "A thousand pardons, Spike. We're very sorry for barging in like this, but it was the only way we could wake you up. You've been asleep for almost an entire day."

"Well...that tends to happen when I stay up for a couple of days straight partying..." he pointed out.

"Either way," Vinyl interrupted. "Now that you're awake we need you for something."

Spike arched his eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"We need you to come with us to Canterlot tomorrow," Vinyl continued. "It's the day of the Summer Sun Celebration and we're going to be performing at the ball that evening. We were hoping that you could help us out with set up in the ballroom."

Spike was actually surprised that it was time for the Summer Sun Celebration and Gala Ball already. Had the weeks passed by that quickly?

"You're right, Vinyl, it is time for the Summer Sun Celebration" Spike finally spoke after doing some calculations in his head. "But I don't know if it's such a good idea for me to go to Canterlot, though. If you recall, the last time I was there things didn't work out so well."

"Yeah, but this time it will be different," Vinyl assured him.

"How?" he asked pointedly. "All my friends will likely be at the ball. Considering how I left them a few weeks ago, I don't think it would be a good idea just to show up unannounced. I don't even think I'm invited to the event considering I'm probably pony non grata right now..."

"You'll be our guest, of course!" Octavia interjected. "You'll have every right to be there regardless of what anypony thinks."

"Please, Spike..." Vinyl almost pleaded. "We really need you there. We even told the princesses that you'd be there. They really want to see you again. We promise that nopony will cause any trouble for you while you're with us."

Spike sighed. He knew that this was probably a bad idea. But saying no to Vinyl and Octavia was a waste of time too, they would find a way to convince him to go. The though of seeing Celestia and Luna again was certainly appealing. As for his friends...he wasn't sure how they would react, but he knew he couldn't avoid them forever either.

"Ok, you've got a deal." he finally announced with sigh. "Where and when do you want me to show up tomorrow?"

"Pack your bags and meet us on the front steps at 6am tomorrow morning," Vinyl instructed him. "You'll want to get lots of sleep, it's going to be a long day."

Spike rolled his eyes. If that was the case they could have left him alone without barging into his room. Nevertheless, he hopped back on his gem pile as the two ponies wheeled their musical contraption out of his room, and tried his best to go back to sleep.

Perfect...everything is absolutely perfect...

Rarity admired herself in the full length mirror in her Canterlot hotel room. Everything had led up to this point. The red dress she had on was stunning, and fit perfectly. Her mane and makeup was done to the point that she looked fabulous. The jewels she had on enhanced the beauty and glamour of her look even more. In her opinion she looked like the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria. She was sure she would turns the heads of Canterlot's social elite, both mares and stallions.

This was all part of the plan. Rarity wanted this evening to be extra special. Even though she looked like she could attract any stallion she wanted, she only had eyes for one particular stallion. Black Marble. Rarity finally had the perfect stallion to accompany her to a high society event, and she wanted to make sure everypony there knew who she was with. With him by her side, this evening would be exquisite.

So why was there this nagging voice in her head telling her otherwise? Why was she having these feelings of regret and doubt? Why, in the name of Celestia, was she having thoughts about Spike at a time like this?

Spike treated you better than any pony ever did, and this is how you repay him? Really, Rarity...you're not being very generous, let alone being a lady... The voice sounded like it was coming from inside her mirror.

"I am a lady!" Rarity asserted to her reflection. "I'm certainly generous as well. Remember all the things I did for Spike in the past?"

But then...when he wanted you to return his affections you shut him out completely. Then you got together with another stallion and stepped all over his feelings as well. He went away for six months just so he could grow up. Because he knew that he had a better chance of winning you over if he did...

"Quiet!" Rarity shouted to her reflection. "Spike isn't the same cute baby dragon he was before. He isn't the same as he was before he left. He's an adult now...and he's fully responsible for his actions. He's acting like those horrible brutes we met during the Gauntlet of Fire!"

You know that's a ridiculous lie, darling. Spike isn't like those horrible dragons you met before. He's kind and noble...and he cares for you deeply. He always has.

"So how do you explain his behaviour lately then...hmm? He's been a complete cad around me. He's moody, and angry...and the things he said about Black Marble were absolutely scandalous... "

Darling...you've become completely delusional about that stallion. His stories and explanations are all too convenient. Do you even know anything about Black Marble the same way you know Spike? Have you experienced the same things with him like you did with Spike? How do you that Black Marble isn't playing you for a giant fool, darling? How do you know he's not cheating on you right now...hmmm?

"Enough!!" Rarity screamed. She tore herself away from her reflection and crawled up on the bed in her hotel room. It was all a lie...the voice in her head was telling her lies. She was trying hard not to break into tears and wreck her makeup. With all her might, Rarity pushed all the negative thoughts and emotions deep inside of her. She knew in her heart that Black Marble was the one she was supposed to be with. She knew that being with him tonight would be magical. To Tartarus with her doubts and fears...

A knock at the door brought her back to reality. "Rarity?" a voice called out. "May I enter my lady?"

A huge smile came over her face and she picked herself up off the bed. "You may enter, my fair escort."

Black Marble entered her hotel room. Upon glimpsing the beautiful unicorn, he just stopped and stared.

"You look simply marvelous tonight my dear,"

Rarity approached him and wrapped her forelegs around his neck. Making sure she didn't smudge her lipstick, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Thank you, Black Marble. You have no idea what those words mean to me right now."

"Anything for you, my love..." Black Marble ran a hoof along the side of her face.

Rarity shivered at his touch. She wanted him to comfort her right then and there, but knew that it would make them later than what was considered socially acceptable. Feeling a little bit disappointed, Rarity composed herself.

"Right then...let's make tonight fabulous shall we...?"

The chandeliers sparkled in the great hall of Canterlot Castle as Equestria's elite mingled. From his vantage point behind a stage curtain, Spike could see them all. All his friends were there that evening. On the dais was Twilight flanked by the Two Sisters. Cadence was off to the side along with her husband Shining Armor who was having a conversation with Flash Sentry. The other three alicorns were busy greeting guests and making small talk with various dignitaries. Off to the side of the dance floor, Spike spotted Rainbow Dash and Applejack having a conversation with Soarin and Spitfire. Spike noticed that Rainbow was standing a little closer to Soarin than she would normally for a regular friend. Of course, she would never admit to anypony that she was "interested" in her Wonderbolts colleague, let alone in a full blown relationship. But Spike knew that the two had gotten together while serving in Equestria's elite flying squad.

Over by the long food and beverage table was Fluttershy and her partner for the evening, Tree Hugger. Discord was currently in the Crystal Empire watching over Flurry Heart. Apparently, he was the only being that could keep up and take care of the young alicorn princess when her parents weren't there. Spike remembered what a handful she was when he was staying there, even more than when she was a baby. Pinkie Pie was bouncing around like usual. She couldn't resist going into overdrive whenever a party was in full swing. On the stage, Octavia and her quarter provided the waltz music that had numerous couples out on the dance floor.

Spike had no problem seeing one couple in particular. They were hard to miss. Rarity and Black Marble glided across the dance floor in their own little world. It didn't take a genius to see that they wanted everypony at the ball to notice them. Indeed, many of the guests at the party were watching the unicorn couple as they danced. Rarity wanted to be the centre of attention, and she was getting her wish so far.

Spike retreated from his hiding spot. He looked behind him as Vinyl put the finishing touches on her DJ setup. After Octavia finished up her set, she would be joining Vinyl and the two would be performing together. Celestia and Luna both personally requested that the duo perform together at an event in Canterlot, and both ponies agreed to do so for the Summer Sun Celebration.

"You need anything else there Vinyl?" Spike asked.

"I think I've got everything under control here big guy," she responded cheerfully. "If you want to take a break go ahead, you've been a big help like always."

"Ok then...I'm going to head out onto the balcony for a while. I'll come back in when it's time for you to start your show."

Spike just wanted an excuse to get out of the ballroom for a while. It was hard watching his friends having a good time, and not being able to participate. It was even harder watching Rarity as she enjoyed herself with her coltfriend. Maybe Twilight was right...maybe he needed to give up on Rarity. It was pretty apparent that she didn't need him, not with Black Marble around. It was also apparent that when he got back to Ponyville, it might be time to seriously consider relocating himself. The Crystal Empire was always an option, since he was so liked there. The Dragon Lands were another option as well. Ember would welcome him for sure as a distinguished guest. But, if he had to choose, he'd rather be around ponies. He'd been raised by ponies, and he just couldn't see himself living with any other beings in Equestria.

Spike made his way through the glass doors and onto the balcony. It was deserted, so he sat down on one of the benches near the edge. He could hear applause inside, meaning that Octavia's performance was finished. After the applause died down, he heard the voice of Princess Celestia address the crowd. She was giving a speech before Vinyl and Octavia continued the evenings entertainment. He hadn't had very much time to talk to Celestia in between their respective preparations for the evening, but he was still glad that he was able to see her and Luna even briefly. Spike hadn't mentioned all the problems he was having back in Ponyville, that would have taken far too much time. But Celestia did mention that they should get together the day after the ball to catch up on events. That would definitely be the right time to tell his adoptive mother what had been happening. He really needed to ask her for advice.

"There he is!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Spike had been so lost in thought he didn't notice that Pinkie Pie was on the balcony with him. Of course, Pinkie Pie tended to sneak up on ponies at the best of times. But she usually did it by herself. This time she was with a group of ponies. As the pink pony bounded over to Spike in excitement, and to envelope him in a hug, he noticed Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were right behind her.

"Hey, everypony," Spike acknowledged his friends as Pinkie grabbed onto him. "I thought you'd all be inside right now."

"Pinkie rounded us up and brought us all out here," Fluttershy admitted.

"I was more than happy to get out of there," Rainbow Dash stated. "Don't get me wrong, I like the Princess as much as anypony, but I'd rather not have to listen to another boring speech."

"Too bad ya left Soarin in there," Applejack pointed out with a smirk.

"He's a big boy, he can fend for himself..." the cyan Pegasus retorted. "But I haven't seen Spike for like forever...or at least since he got back!"

"How did you all know I was out here?" he inquired. "I didn't tell any of you I was going to be here tonight."

"You can't escape my Pinkie sense, silly..." Pinkie let go of him. "We're so glad you're here tonight too!"

"You are?" Spike was very surprised. "I thought you all didn't want anything to do with me after what's been going on lately..."

"Just because Rarity is acting all dumb right now doesn't mean we have to be just like her..." Rainbow Dash scoffed.

"Ah have ta be honest with ya, Spike," Applejack added. "Ah don't agree with how yer bein' treated by Rarity right now, either."

"Fluttershy told us what happened at that meeting you guys had a while back," Rainbow interjected. "I think you were treated badly by everypony involved...including Twilight." She looked over at the yellow Pegasus who was looking rather embarrassed. "Well, Fluttershy was ok..."

"I'm sorry about what happened as well," Fluttershy admitted. "I didn't expect Lemon Hearts to show up and accuse you of doing all those things. I'm sorry that I couldn't defend you either. I wasn't sure what to make of everything I heard that day."

"It's ok, Fluttershy," he assured her. "I think we were all caught off guard that day. I'm just glad that you aren't mad at me."

"None of us are, Spike," she smiled at him sincerely.

"So, if you know what's been going on, what do you all think about it?" Spike inquired to his friends.

"I really don't see the big deal about Black Marble," Rainbow Dash commented. "I mean, I guess he's good looking and all that, but it just doesn't do it for me."

"Ah really don't know what ta make of him," Applejack added. "He didn't seem like a bad apple the one time ah've met him, but ah can't say fer sure what he's really like. Especially since ah heard accounts of yer story the last time you were here, Spike."

"Plus, Rarity has such bad taste in stallions to begin with..." Rainbow interjected. "How may stallions has she been with in the past that have ended up being total jerks?"

"Now, hold on RD..." Applejack retorted. "She's only been in one serious relationship and that's with Black Marble. Ya can't call the others relationships since they never got this far in the first place."

"That's what I mean, though! Rarity just throws herself at stallions and it's ended badly every time. How do we know that it won't be the same thing this time around? Fluttershy...you agree with me, don't you?

Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash then down at the ground nervously. "Well...you do sort of have a point..."

"See, Fluttershy agrees with me..." the cyan Pegasus proclaimed.

"What about you, Pinkie Pie? You've been quite this whole time." Spike asked the suddenly reserved pink party pony.

"Well...Spike," she began in a surprisingly serious tone. "Ever since you admitted your crush on Rarity, I've wanted to throw a Spike and Rarity Are Together Party...but I've never gotten the opportunity. It's too bad, because it would be the most super awesome party ever...even better than your homecoming party! I suppose, if they stay together, I could end up throwing a Rarity and Black Marble Party, but it just wouldn't be the same as if you and Rarity finally got together. I guess what I'm trying to say, Spike, is that you and Rarity would make a great pair. I just don't know why Rarity doesn't see it herself."

Everypony present stood there in shocked silence. They'd never heard Pinkie sound so serious before.

"So what are you waiting for silly...!" Pinkie broke the mood with a huge grin. "Go right up to Rarity and tell her she needs to be with you!" Tell her that when you get together Pinkie is going to throw you guys the biggest, best party ever!!" Out of nowhere Spike was showered with confetti.

"Yeah!!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You go right up to her and tell her that Black Marble is a lying, cheating, bum, and that you two were meant to be together! You're an adult dragon for Celestia's sake!"

"Now hold on you two..." Applejack interrupted. "Ah'm all fer bein honest, but even ah think that Spike should be a little bit more discreet than what yer suggestin. Ah mean, the last time he was honest to Rarity she damn near threw everything but the kitchen sink at him!"

"Don't remind me..." Spike grumbled.

"I don't know if what you're all suggesting is such a good idea," Fluttershy spoke up. "At least not in light of what happened before."

"So what's your suggestion, then?" Rainbow Dash inquired pointedly.

"Why don't we ask Spike what he thinks?" she looked at Spike.

Spike was silent while everypony looked at him waiting for his answer.

"I appreciate that you guys have my back...I really do," he began. "I also appreciate all your advice. But I've been thinking about everything that's happened for a while now. What I've realized is that I've really screwed things up since I got back."

"C'mon, Spike. Don't be so hard on yerself..." Applejack tried to assure him.

"Thanks AJ, but Fluttershy's right. I can't just walk up to Rarity and tell her to leave Black Marble. There's no way she'd do it. In fact, it would probably make things even worse. I don't want you guys taking sides, because I think you are right now. I don't want to wreck any more friendships either."

No pony spoke so he continued. "What I'm trying to say is that I know what the best course of action for me is to leave Ponyville again, but this time I'm not coming back."

"No way, Spike!!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Don't do that!"

"Are you bucking serious?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Umm...that's not exactly how I thought you'd handle the situation..." Fluttershy was very surprised at his revelation.

"But...where would ya go?" Applejack expressed her surprise.

"I don't know..." he admitted. "But right now it's what I have to do. After tonight you won't see me again. I'm sorry..."

He turned and walked over to the door to the ballroom, pulled it open, and walked inside before anypony could say anything.

As soon as he walked back into the ballroom, Spike knew something wasn't right. By now Vinyl Scratch and Octavia should have started their set for the evening's entertainment. Instead, as he entered he noticed that everypony in the room was standing around looking nervously at the centre of the room. Standing in the middle of the ballroom was Lemon Hearts, and in her magical aura she held a crossbow.

Spike hadn't seen a crossbow in years. They were made illegal for public use a long time ago and the only ponies that were authorized to use them were royal guards. Even then, they hadn't been used for many years other than in wars or to defend Equestria from powerful enemies. Lemon Hearts appeared to have her crossbow trained on the dais at the front of the room, particularly on Princess Celestia. Spike wondered exactly where the royal guards were in this instance. It seemed like none of them were in the room right now, even though there had been a number of them present when he left earlier.

His thoughts were broken by a gasp from the crowd as Lemon Hearts fired a bolt directly at Celestia. The Princess of the Sun managed to deflect the arrow that was aimed at her, however, even though it didn't hit her she still kneeled over and cried out in obvious pain. Her sister, Twilight, and Cadence rushed immediately to her side. As they tended to her, Lemon Hearts spoke.

"That was a warning shot my dear Celestia! Nopony make any sudden movements or try to stop me! Otherwise, I will show all of you that even a goddess can bleed!"

Author's Note

My sincerest apologies for taking so long with this chapter. I hope that it was worth the wait.

Things are about to get very interesting in the next chapter...

Thank you all again for your support of this story!

Chapter 1

The Return of Spike

Two ponies made their way up a dusty mountain path, the heat of the afternoon sun beating down on them. Their destination was a cave cut into the side of the mountain about three hundred yards away. Although the object of their intended journey lay in sight, both the unicorn male and alicorn female still felt like it was miles away. The effects of being outside at this time of the day were wearing them down, and it felt like they had been trudging along for an eternity. All around them the wind whipped up the side of the mountain causing poor visibility at the best of times. It also caused havoc with the two ponies. Dust blew into their coats and the wind was constantly pushing their manes over their eyes. Adding to the misery, when they pushed their manes away from their eyes dirt and debris would continue to assault them. It was turning out to be more difficult of a journey than they had anticipated, but it was a journey they had to make. They were paying a visit to a dear friend and revered figure in their kingdom.

“Shining…” the alicorn female called out to her companion. “Could we at least put up a magical shield to protect ourselves from this wind?”

“We need to conserve our magical energy, Cadence!” he replied shouting over the gusts. “You can at least fly back to the Crystal Empire if need be…I have to teleport! Besides, we’re almost there!”

The stallion pointed to the cave which was coming even closer into their view. It was under a large rocky outcropping with boulders on either side of its entrance. Hopefully these rocks would shield the two ponies from the elements. Few words were spoken between them as they made the final steps to get them up to the mouth of the cave. As they made their final approach, mercifully, the two large boulders at the entrance provided some much needed shelter. Both stopped to breath in air that wasn’t filled with dirt particles. After shaking the dust and out of his mane, Shining Armor gave his wife Princess Cadence an amused look.

“I have to say honey…” he began, “you do the ‘windswept look’ very well.”

Cadence shot him back an annoyed expression. “Speak for yourself...Shining,” The alicorn used her magic to fix her mane, which had been blown about in all directions. “This will take at least two hours at the castle salon to fix properly…maybe even more time than it took to fix my mane for the Equestria Games selection ceremony.”

“You sound like a certain Element of Generosity back in Ponyville my dear,” Shining chuckled as Cadence fought with her mane.

“I doubt even Applejack and Rainbow Dash would be willing to take the abuse we just took,” Cadence stated flatly. “Why did he have to pick this Celestia forsaken rock out on the fringes of the Crystal Empire? We could have let him sleep in the vault where we keep the jewels…”

“You’re the one who told him that he had to hibernate for a period of time,” Shining replied. “After all, it was his choice to make where he would sleep and hoard for the time required for him to grow into an adult. His instincts caused him to want to come here.”

Shining gestured with his hoof. “He probably felt that this place was the peace and quiet he needed…away from the Empire and his ‘adoring’ fans…”

“That makes some sense…” Cadence paused to consider. “So, it’s been three months exactly. How do we wake him up?”

“I’m already ahead of you guys,” a low rumbling voice came from inside the cave. A second later a large purple head with green tufts on both sides, and green spikes running down the long neck that was attached to it, popped out of the cave entrance. Both ponies stepped back in surprise at this sudden appearance. The head smiled as it caught sight of the two visitors.

“Hi Shining…hi Cadence!” the purple head exclaimed. Its voice was deep, but it also held the wonderment of a child.

“Hello Spike…” Cadence began nervously.

“You look…great…” Shining Armor added not really sure how to address the dragon head that was staring at him.

“Thanks, you guys!” Spike smiled at the two ponies. “But you haven’t seen anything yet. Wait until I pull my whole body out!”

“Were you awake all this time listening to us?” Cadence inquired.

“I’ve been awake for about an hour now,” Spike responded. “I had a dream that that you were both coming to see me today. Then when I woke up, I saw you walking up the path towards my cave. I think you made a mistake on your teleportation Shining...you could have teleported much closer and saved yourselves a walk.”

“I agree wholeheartedly,” Cadence shot a smug look at her husband. “But he thought that a leisurely stroll in a windstorm on a hot afternoon would be invigorating!”

“Oh well…” Spike let a chuckle out of his throat that felt like a small earthquake. “I guess it runs in the family...”

“Hey!” Shining Armor shot back. “I am totally not like my sister!”

“Relax…” Spike assured him. “I’m just messing with you. I haven’t seen you in 3 months remember?”

Spike turned back to Cadence. “Did you know that I woke up a month early?”

“Yes, we noticed that the plume of smoke you made when you were sleeping wasn’t there one day. We used the telescope to figure out what was happening. That’s when we saw you flying around the mountain ranges.”

“Yeah…” Spike reminisced. “I thought that my hibernation was up, but when I got outside I realized that the sun was at the wrong angle and that I still had more time to sleep. Since I was up anyway, I figured that I should get outside to stretch and test a few things.”

“You looked like you were having a good time out there,” Shining Armor offered.

“I was…” Spike beamed. “It was a bit awkward figuring out how to fly at first, but I think I got the hang of it. Being an adult dragon is actually really fun!”

Spike looked at both ponies in his presence. “Do you want to see what my whole body looks like up close?”

Both ponies looked at each other, and then nodded at Spike.

“Ok…” he stated dramatically. “Stand back!”

Shining Armor and Cadence both felt the ground shake beneath them as Spike pulled his full body out of his temporary home for the last few months. Once his body was fully exposed to the outside, he was truly a sight to behold. He was almost as large as when he rampaged through Ponyville on his birthday a few years ago. His scales shone in the sunlight, and they contrasted perfectly with the sharp green spikes that ran down his back to his elongated tail. In the middle of his back were two large symmetrical wings that when spread wide provided him with a massive wingspan. The transformation from baby, only a few months ago, to adult was awe inspiring if not a bit terrifying. Most ponies would have been scared to death by the dragon in front of them, but the rulers of the Crystal Empire knew that the beast in front of them would not do them or any pony harm. Because of his upbringing in Ponyville, and because he knew how to control his impulses better, he was more likely to be a gentle giant at this size than a rampaging beast.

Spike, meanwhile, stood tall at the edge of the cliff that his cave opened onto and surveyed the landscape around him.

“Hmm…” he mused. “There’s a nice light breeze out today.”

Shining and Cadence both looked at each other incredulously, and then back at Spike. It did make sense that the windstorm that they fought through to get to him wouldn’t feel like much to a fully grown dragon.

“Wow, Spike,” Shining called up to him. “I thought you were pretty big when you went through your first growth spurt back at the Empire…”

“I guess we won’t be wrestling any time soon huh?” Spike replied jokingly.

“Only if I’m allowed to have the entire Crystal Empire Corps and the Wonderbolts on my side…” the stallion shot back with a smile. Both of them laughed at his joke.

“Fooling around aside…” Cadence interjected. “Did you try to shrink yourself while you were out here Spike?”

“I did…” the dragon replied. I tried right before I went back to sleep. I was able to become smaller using that technique you taught me, but it appears sleeping made me grow huge again. I don't get it though...why do you need me to grow smaller?"

"So Shining can teleport all of us back to the Crystal Empire Spike," Cadence replied.

"Really?" Spike inquired. "Why not let me just fly everyone back. With my size I figure I could have you back within a couple hours. It's the least I do since you were willing to come all the way out here to see me..."

"He has a point there dear..." Shining agreed. "We could always just climb on his back and have him fly us to the Crystal Empire."

"True..." Cadence considered. "But imagine for a second what that would look like, the two rulers of the Crystal Empire flying in on a giant dragon. Never mind the how we'd look. Spike was a baby when he first came to the Empire, and even though he grew a little bit in the first few months, most of our subjects still think of him as small and harmless. We don't want to scare our people to death...have you forgotten the trauma they suffered under King Sombra?"

"You definitely have a point there Cadence," Spike nodded his head in agreement. "I don't want to wreck my reputation in a place where I'm loved."

"Exactly..." Cadence confirmed. "If you shrink down to a manageable size, Shining can teleport us directly to our throne room in the castle. Where, once we get there, I'm having a long, hot bath to get all this sand out of my fur..."

"Better get to shrinking Spike..." Shining Armor quipped. "You don't want to keep her majesty away from her cleanliness routine."

Cadence punched Shining in the side at that comment. "Ouch...that hurt!" he protested.

"That's for being a jerk..." Cadence gave her husband a withering look. "Any time you're ready Spike..."

Spike had to try really hard not to break out laughing at the antics of the royal couple. He managed to compose himself though.

"Ok..." Spike finally announced. "I'm going to try to shrink myself."

He closed his eyes and concentrated on visualizing himself in a smaller body. Slowly his body began to magically shrink down. By the time he was done transforming his body, he was about twice the size of an Earth Pony stallion. Still very large, he was at least now a less terrifying sight. He opened his eyes and saw that Shining and Cadence had become much closer to him than they were a few moments ago.

“Did it work?” he asked anxiously.

Shining Armor looked him over. “I think I can handle you at this size.” The stallion smirked. “If I’d known you could shrink like that I’d have reconsidered that wrestling match…”

“Very funny Shining, but you’d still probably lose…” his wife gave him an all-too knowing look. "Now...can we please get back home?"

“Wait!” Shining Armor exclaimed. “What about your hoard back in the cave Spike? It was quite the operation getting enough gems out here for you use for food and to grow. I don’t know if I can transport all of us back and your hoard as well.”

Spike put a claw to his chin and thought for a moment. “Leave it here,” he finally decided.

“Are you sure Spike?” Cadence asked surprised.

“Why not?" he stated. "My hoard is responsible for my growth. If I'm going back to the Crystal Empire or even Ponyville, I don’t need to be as big, right? I guess somepony is going to get a pleasant surprise if they find this cave though, huh?"

Cadence reached up to nuzzle Spike, which was a lot easier due to his new size. “You’re a generous dragon Spike.” Spike blushed at her affections.

“Right…get ready for the ride you two.” Shining Armor announced. He activated his magical aura which began to surround the three of them. When the aura reached a critical mass, a bright flash occurred causing the two ponies and one dragon to disappear into thin air.

Spike flew along the horizon with the setting sun at his back. He was a bit surprised, but also pleased with himself that he managed to make the journey from the Crystal Empire back to Ponyville by himself, even at his new smaller size. His wings were holding up nicely as he flew down into the valley where Ponyville lay. This was partly because he decided to make a quick stop in Canterlot, to visit with the two Princess Sisters. Celestia and Luna both marveled at his transformation from baby to adult dragon. They had known him in his young form for so long, they almost didn’t recognize him when they met him on the mountain top high above the city. Because the reputation of dragons amongst the population of Equestria was mostly negative, he didn’t want to cause any undue alarm, hence why he wanted to meet away from the crowded city. He was sorely tempted to stay with the Princesses, and they were certainly willing to extend all their hospitality to him. But, he had made a promise to another pony that he would be coming home that evening, and he intended to keep that promise.

As the sun was just dropping behind the horizon, Spike flew over the roofs of Ponyville. He had planned it this way. He didn’t want to arouse suspicion upon his arrival; however, it looked like his plan would succeed. There wasn’t a pony to be seen on the streets this close to sunset which is just how he wanted it to be. He had no problem finding a certain familiar building to land in front of either, although that was because it was the tallest building in town.

Spike glided down to the ground almost entirely in silence in front of the Crystal Castle, home of his adoptive sister and resident Princess of Ponyville. As he scanned the street in front of the castle he sighed. It had been six long months in the Crystal Empire learning who he was and growing into his new body. There were times when he thought his trip would end up being a big waste, but he managed to persevere despite his doubts and fears. His head reverberated with the words that Shining Armor and Princess Cadence had said to him before he left.

"Goodbye Spike…and remember you will always be held in the highest regard here O Great and Honorable Spike, the Brave and Glorious…” Cadence hugged him tightly.

“Make sure you take good care of my sister Spike. Make sure she doesn’t freak out…well…at least not more than usual…” Shining Armor tousled his head with a hoof.

“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done…both of you…” Spike offered a genuine smile to his royal hosts before taking off into the sky.

“Spike…?” A familiar voice was calling to him. A lavender alicorn walked towards him as he stood in the street. It could only be one pony, and now that pony was enveloping him in as much of a hug as she could muster.

“Oh Spike…” Twilight Sparkle wrapped her hooves around him tighter. “Welcome Home…”

Chapter 3

On the other hoof...some things never change. Especially when it comes to Pinkie Pie...

These were Spike's thoughts as he made his way through the sea of ponies that had gathered in the town square. As promised, Pinkie Pie had invited what appeared to the be the entire town of Ponyville to his "Welcome Home Spike Party." It felt a bit strange to be his current size, and towering over everypony now, considering how he'd spent his entire life looking up at them.

To the their credit, none of the residents who came out that evening seemed outwardly uneasy or frightened that a large dragon was now making his way through the throng over to the stage. It had been set up in front of Ponyville's town hall, with a large "Welcome Home Spike" banner overhead. Spike was sure he would have never gotten through a crowd this large as easily back when he was small. His large frame cut a path through the assembled ponies until he finally made it up to the front and climbed the steps up to the stage.

As he got on stage and made his way to the center of it, Pinkie as the master of ceremonies, began to lead the crowd in a cheer welcoming him officially to his party. The pink Earth pony only managed to get about half the crowd into the spirit of the festivities. The rest did, however, at least gave him a polite round of applause. Spike wondered if that was because, even though they didn't show it outwardly, some ponies in town were a bit wary of him now that he was fully grown.

As Spike stood in the center of the stage, Mayor Mare was the first to make a speech. She welcomed him home on behalf of Ponyville, and spoke of how it was a great honor to have such a noble dragon choosing to live there. Spike appreciated the sentiments being expressed, but overall it felt like a typical politician's speech with lots of platitudes. Living in the Crystal Empire, Spike knew genuine expressions of gratitude when he heard them, considering he had saved their kingdom twice.

After the Mayor was done her speech, Twilight made her way up to the podium. She was making the speech as a member of royalty and also on behalf of the two Princess sisters who were unable to attend. Twilight promised to make the speech short, but knowing Twilight Spike figured that was pretty much impossible. Indeed, five minutes in and Rainbow Dash was heckling her from the back of the crowd to speed it up, with Twilight threatening somewhat jokingly to shave Rainbow's mane off while she was asleep on a cloud.

Spike barely paid attention to Twilight's speech though. He was too busy scanning the crowd for the one pony that hadn't seen him yet since he arrived yesterday. Fluttershy had told him before he made his way to the stage that Rarity was back from Canterlot and even though she had a guest with her, she had assured her at the train station that attending Spike's party was of the utmost importance.

Finally, Twilight ended her speech to scattered applause. Spike was so busy concentrating on scanning the crowd, he didn't notice Pinkie Pie step up to the microphone.

"ALRIGHT EVERYPONY!!!" her voice boomed over the loudspeakers. "TIME FOR ALL THE LAME, BORING SPEECHES TO BE OVER!"

"Pinkie, I don't think mine or the mayor's speeches were lame or boring," Twilight attempted to interject.

"WE'RE HERE TONIGHT FOR ONE REASON...AND THAT'S THE BIG PURPLE GUY STANDING NEXT TO ME! SO, LET'S CUT ALL THE CHIT-CHAT AND GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!!!"

On cue, Vinyl Scratch cranked up the sound system from her DJ booth off to the side of the stage. Pulsing beats emanated from the speakers that surrounded the square and broke Spike away from his crowd search temporarily. Since he didn't need to be on stage anymore, Spike hopped down to the ground and waded his way back into the crowd. Pinkie drastically altering the mood seemed to have the desired effect. Ponies were coming up to him from all directions welcoming him back and making small talk with him. The earlier nervous mood was gone and Spike began to feel at ease with his surroundings.

Finally, as he was engaging in conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, Spike saw what he had been looking for the entire time. Directly in front of him, but on the edge of the crowd he spied two unicorns. One he recognized immediately. Rarity's curly purple mane and tail, her white coat, and the way she cantered was unmistakable. He felt his heart leap as he finally got see her after being away for so long. The old familiar feeling that he always got when he was around her before began to creep back inside of him.

He almost forgot what Fluttershy had told him earlier, and he felt a twinge of regret when he noticed the male unicorn with her. His coat was slightly off white compared to hers, and his mane and tail were coal black. Spike had never seen this stallion anywhere before. But from the way Rarity was acting around him, there was very little doubt in his mind that this was her new coltfriend that he'd heard about. He could see her chatting to her companion in a excited fashion, gesturing and pointing at various things, as well as giggling at whatever the stallion was saying to her in response. It must have been the stallion's first time in Ponyville, and Rarity obviously took it upon herself to be his tour guide.

Spike didn't want to blow off the Cakes to rush over to her, so he instead looked for an opportunity to slide away from the conversation. That came when Pinkie bounced over to ask Mrs. Cake to help her with putting the finishing touches on Spike's cake that she had made for the occasion. Mr. Cake offered to help as well, and that left Spike free to go talk to the unicorn he shared a special relationship with.

As it turned out though, he didn't need to find her. Because she was now heading directly towards him with her companion in tow. She must have spotted him as well...an easy task since he was the tallest object around.

"Spikey Wikey...!" she cried out. "Oh thank heavens...I finally get to see you again!" Rarity trotted up to Spike with a smile befitting somepony who had been gone a long time. Spike bent down so the alabaster unicorn could give him a hug.

"Hey Rarity," Spike returned her hug warmly. "I'm glad that I finally get to see you again too. I'm sorry I didn't see you earlier today, but you were still in Canterlot."

"Do not apologize Spike," she assured him. "If anything I should be the one apologizing for being away during your grand return to Ponyville."

She glanced at her stallion companion. "I was planning on coming back a full day before you were to arrive, but he can be very convincing when he wants to be..."

Rarity turned her head fully and admired her companion. The stallion in question just smirked at the two of them.

" Please accept my humble apologies Spike," she turned back to the dragon. "Had I known that you were coming yesterday, and Twilight keeping it a secret certainly didn't help, I would have rebuffed his request to stay in Canterlot an extra day." Rarity smiled sweetly at he the unicorn next to her.

Spike found this back and forth a bit strange but held up his claws to interrupt her. "Apology accepted Rarity...but only if you introduce me to the stallion standing next to you."

"Dear Celestia...where are my manners...?" Rarity shook her head. "Spike, allow me to introduce you to Black Marble."

Sapphire blue eyes scanned Spike up and down as Black Marble extended his hoof towards the dragon. "It's nice to finally meet you Spike, Rarity has told me a lot about you since I met her."

Spike extended his claw in return. "It's nice to meet you too Black Marble." He took a mental note about how Rarity hadn't referred to him with the "c" word, but at the same time it was clear he wasn't "just a friend" either.

Spike felt a bit uncomfortable trying to make small talk to a stallion he had never met before who was now apparently the coltfriend of the mare he used to...or maybe still did have a crush on. Luckily for him, Pinkie Pie interrupted their brief reunion.

"There you are!" she exclaimed. "I need you by the stage pronto...it's not your party if you don't have a piece of the cake I made for you!"

"Uh...ok Pinkie, if you say so." Spike gave Rarity a sad smile. "Now it's my turn to apologize to you..."

"Go, Spike." she replied, although he could hear the disappointment in her voice. "It's your day after all."

Spike nodded his head before turning to follow Pinkie.

"I promise that as soon as I have time, I'll make it up to you Spikey Wikey..." Rarity called after him.

I'll hold you to that Rarity, Spike thought to himself as he made his way back through the crowd.

Things calmed down for the next couple of days after the party. Surprisingly, Spike found himself with very little to do. He'd thought that Twilight would have had six months of tasks lined up for him upon his return, seeing that he had been her number one assistant at the time of his growth sabbatical. But as it turned out, Twilight had ended up hiring another assistant to help her with running the castle. The pony in question was named Peppermint Twist, a young, bespectacled Earth pony, who was a classmate of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and who also talked with a noticeable lisp.

Spike was also surprised at how well she did his old job. While he had a habit of being lazy and would find an excuse to get out of his chores, Twist was very motivated to serve her Princess employer. She couldn't do the job full time, as she was still in school, but when Twist had free time to spare she spent most of it at the castle. Twilight, in turn, loved the job she was doing. Twist organized books in the library, proofread speeches, made Twilight any sort of checklist no matter how long or redundant it was, and even went over important documents that needed royal approval.

Twist was so organized that Spike really had nothing to do around the castle anymore. Twilight had also hired a cleaning staff to keep the place tidy, so he didn't need to keep anything but his own room clean. He thought that he would enjoy all the newfound free time, but in reality Spike was becoming bored. That morning he practically begged Twilight to let him go with Twist on one of her errands to pass the time. Although, Spike found that being around Twist while she ran errands wasn't much more exciting than sitting in his room. They didn't really have anything in common, and her voice could really get on his nerves after a while. He ended up using the time to sneak out and buy the new copy of the Power Ponies comic while Twist was buying quills and scrolls.

It was this particular comic that Spike was reading, while lying on his bed, when a knock was heard at his door.

"It's open!" he called out.

"Hey thSpike..." Twist stuck her head in his room. "There's thsompony here to thsee you..."

Twist's head disappeared and was replaced by Fluttershy walking into his room.

"Hello, Spike." she greeted him warmly. "I hope I'm not disturbing you or anything. I was just on my way to the market and I thought I'd stop by here first."

"Not at all Fluttershy...what's on your mind?" Spike sat up on the edge of his bed.

"Well..." the yellow Pegasus began. "I want to sort of apologize for the other day when I ran off on you."

Spike arched his eyebrow but remained silent.

"I feel bad that I left you like that," she continued. "Especially since you've been gone six months! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't spend time with them when they came back?"

"Don't feel too bad Fluttershy," Spike assured her. "You did have your animals to attend to."

"Oh, I know..." she said. "But it still doesn't excuse my bad behavior. In fact I'd like to make it up to you by inviting you over to my cottage for lunch tomorrow...that is if Twilight doesn't have you doing a bunch of chores..." Fluttershy looked at him timidly.

"I can assured you Fluttershy, that I've had a distinct lack of duties to perform since I've gotten back," Spike admitted. "Which means I am more than free to have lunch tomorrow, and for that matter spend the afternoon with you if you'd like."

"Oh..." she remarked. "That's wonderful! I...I look forward to spending the time with you at lunch."

"I look forward to it as well."

Fluttershy bade Spike farewell and left him alone in his room again. Spike smiled as he lay back down with his unfinished comic book. While it was turning out to be another boring day in a string of boring days, at least he had concrete plans for tomorrow. Maybe the day hadn't been a waste after all.

Author's Note

Black Marble is an actual background pony in the series

Sorry if the chapters are a bit short. There will be longer chapters with more action coming soon!

Thanks for all the upvotes and favorites so far!