The Return of Spike

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...