The Days Passed

Chapters

Twenty Four Days Later
Twenty Five Days Later, The Morning
Twenty Five Days Later, The Afternoon
Twenty Five Days Later, The Evening
...How Many Days has it Been?
No, Really, What Day is It?
The Part of a Day He Looked for a House
Later the Same Day
A Happy Week Later
Later, in the Forest
Even Later, in Ponyville
Sleeping Through the Night
Clearing His Head
Riding the Train
Meetings
Breakfast with Family
The Trial
Talks of Old Romance
Just Nervous Paces, Bracing for Bad News
Wandering and Wondering
Coming to Terms
Crystalline Tears
Dragonflight
Conference
Castle Walk
Running - Bad End, 1/3
Pekoe Nightcap
Warmth from the Moon -Beginning of the Fracture-
Truthfully? End 2/3
Lunar Warmth part Deux
Gentle Acceptance
Table Conference pt II, On the Move
7:15 to Ponyville
Waking up in Ponyville
Breakfast, on the First Day Back
Wait, Who?
Partial Chapter, followed by News
The Storybook Ending, 3/3
Three Days Later
Eleven and Twelve Days Later
Speaking of Prench Dungeon Trolls...
Table Conference pt 1
Author's Epilogue

Twenty Four Days Later

Spike stared at the letter he’d received via mailmare. It was written on expensive and well-to-do ivory-colored paper, same as any other scroll she’d send any other pony. The script was stencil-perfect, the words well-chosen and not too flowery, brief but as warm as possible.

There were only two imperfections, really; the first was that it lacked the perfume she usually imbued into the paper, a gentle smell of vanilla and lilacs.

The second was a thin black splotch, the stain not thick enough to have been an errant ink drop.

“Her mascara…” he muttered, running a thumb over the marked line.

And besides all that, I miss one of my best friends.

“Spike?” a pony behind him called. “Something bad in the mail?”

He turned into the library, looking blankly at Twilight.

“Dunno,” he muttered, looking back over the scroll. “Rarity sent me a letter.”

Twilight let out a gentle exhalation, looking into Spike’s face.

“She wants to have dinner at the boutique, ‘as soon as you’re comfortable’. Patch up our friendship…” He shook his head, smiling slightly.

“I don’t know if being alone with her right now is a good idea…” Twilight started.

With a chuckle, he looked up from the paper. “Neither does she,” he said, offering the letter. “She’s suggested to have a third pony act as a mediator, and left the choice up to me.”

He watched as she took in the page, her eyes dipping immediately to the water splotch before flying back to the top and speeding through the lines.

“Tonight then? Who’re you going to ask on such short notice?” she asked absently.

“Well… Any of the girls would be a solid choice.” His eyes widened a bit, and a small smile made his face its home. “Fluttershy’s been there for both of us already, though.”

“Would she be comfortable?” Twi asked, taking in the signature and rerolling the letter to float over to Spike.

“Probably not, but neither will Rarity or I. And even Applejack would feel a little awkward…”

Twilight hummed in thought, nodding as she thought through the same paths he had.

“Okay, then. You’d better go ask her, the letter asks you to respond by six.”

Spike looked at the clock over the fireplace’s mantle as he tucked the scroll into his scales, frowning at the hour and a half he had left. “I wish she wouldn’t get so lost, I hate it when the mail gets here late.”

“She does her best. Now go on, I can let her know you’re coming with Fluttershy.” She fluttered over to him, pushing him towards the door. Pausing, she pulled his head and neck down and wrapped her legs around him. Pulling her closer, he returned the hug briefly.

“Alright, I’m going. See you tonight, Twi.”

With a small jump, he took to the air and flapped towards Fluttershy’s, Twilight watching him go. Nodding, she turned around and closed the door, flipping the “Open” sign and locking it.

“Time for a quick visit to the boutique…”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Fluttershy was sitting alongside the large creek in front of her house when Spike flew down to the dirt path that crossed the bridge. She’d been facing town and had seen him coming, so she smiled and waved as he walked over.

“Hello again, Spike.” She returned to dipping her hooves in the waters, swishing her forelegs through the greenish flow. “Your wings must be enjoying the workout.”

He smiled, but not as much as he should have.

“Maybe. I just wish I didn’t have to keep coming out here with a purpose.” She looked at him strangely, and he smiled a bit more. “I mean, I wish I could come out here just to visit, instead of always needing some favor from you…”

“Oh, I don’t mind at all,” she said, smiling up at him. “What did you need?”

He pulled out the scroll hidden behind one of his scales, before offering it to her. “Rarity wants to meet up for dinner and talk.”

Her eyes widened a bit. Removing her hooves from the stream, she dried them on the moss growing beside it, then took the letter Spike had unrolled for her.

He watched as her eyes dipped down towards the dried tear, her expression softening further as she returned to the top to actually read.

“This sounds…” she hesitated, biting her bottom lip. “It sounds like something you really shouldn’t miss, Spike. Even if you’re only reconciling to maintain the friendship you had.”

“Oh, I was planning on going,” he said, nodding. “Twilight’s letting her know right now that I’m coming. But… Well, I’m not sure that it would be a good idea to go alone, and Rarity’s not either. I was hoping you could… tag along?”

“Oh!” Fluttershy sat upright, blushing a bit. “Oh, uhm, sure, but… Well, why me?”

“Well, I figured it would be best to stay within our group for this, right?” He paused for her nod. “Well, Rainbow and Pinkie are out almost right away. Dash wouldn’t be interested, and Pinkie’s too much of a toss-up.”

Fluttershy nodded. “What about Twilight? She’s already going to be there.”

Spike made a face. “I really don’t want to go over my relationship with Rarity while my sister listens in. She can be a bit overprotective as well, and I don’t want her to go off on Rarity.”

Fluttershy looked up at him, stunned.

“Not that I think she would,” he said quickly. “It’s just… It’s an unwelcome possibility, you know?”

With an uncomfortable look, Fluttershy shrugged.

“Well, she’s not an ideal candidate, is all,” Spike finished, looking into the water and scratching the back of his head. “That pretty much leaves AJ or you, and... Well, you’ve been there for both of us for the past couple of weeks, and I think Rarity would be comfortable with you there.”

Fluttershy smiled to herself, looking over at Spike.

“That’s surprisingly eloquent, Spike. Rehearsed?”

“Only twice,” he quipped, before smiling at her.

After a moment, they broke into laughter, Fluttershy’s soft giggles almost hidden by the rougher chuckles of the dragon.

When they had calmed a bit, Fluttershy looked towards the large clock tower in town. “Should I be getting ready?” she asked, a small sigh escaping after her last word.

Looking to the same clock, Spike flinched. “No, I think it’s too late for that. You look ready as you are, and the flight can’t do much beside tousle your mane.”

With a short stretch, Spike popped his spine and let his wings droop away. “Ready to go?”

With a nod, Fluttershy tucked her hind legs beneath herself and stretched her own wings out.

With a simultaneous flapping, they were airborne and on their way.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Twilight exited the door just as Spike dropped from the air, the strong gusting of his wings pushing the door closed behind her.

“Heya, big guy.” She walked over and nuzzled his cheek. “You ready?”

“Nope,” he said brightly. Fluttershy landed beside him, smiling as Twilight walked over to her. While they hugged, he continued, “But I doubt I ever will be, so as soon as Fluttershy’s ready, I’m knocking.”

Releasing each other, they moved in opposite directions; Twilight towards the library, Fluttershy towards Spike.

“Good luck,” Twilight said with a gentle smile. “Have a good time with your friends.”

Spike’s heart pulsed unpleasantly, his smile slipping a bit before he forced it back into place. He waved a claw as Twilight lifted her hoof, and they parted for a time.

Unfortunately, Spike no longer had anything to distract himself from his current task. Sighing, he finally looked up and into the face of the shop he had frequented so often. The door mocked him, the cheery décor suddenly too plastique, almost forced…

A gentle bump on his shoulder caused him to start and look down, into a gentle yellow smile.

Shaking himself, he smiled back and rested a paw on her head for a moment, anchoring himself with her.

“Thanks,” he said, surprised at the weak shaking of his voice. Clearing his throat, he took a deep breath before knocking on the door, the accustomed three times.

A blue glow encapsulated the doorknob and pulled the blockage away, revealing the seamstress herself.

Both Spike and Fluttershy were taken aback. He was the first to recover, having seen this before.

“You’re not wearing any make-up,” he said, his claw reaching forward to brush against her cheek. He stopped it, but all three of them saw the attempt, and all three colored slightly.

“I wasn’t sure it would stay on if I started…” Rarity swallowed, blinking rapidly. “I wasn’t sure it would stand up to any tears, I mean.”

Spike felt the same unpleasant pulse in his chest. Reaching up with his right arm, he grabbed his left and squeezed them both against the pain.

Fluttershy watched them for a moment before stepping forward, offering Rarity a smile and a hoof.

Returning the smile, Rarity lightly tapped her hoof against the offered one. “Hello, dear. Thanks for coming at such short notice.” Looking up at Spike, her smile wavered, but remained plastered on her muzzle. “Twilight let me know that the letter arrived late, so I wasn’t expecting you right at six. Thank you for rushing for me.”

“It wasn’t the first time,” he tried to joke, but flinched when Rarity twitched away with a small frown. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said sadly. “Thank you for trying.” She sniffled before scowling, rubbing a foreleg across her eyes and moving away from the doorway. “But come in, please. No reason to continue this on the doorstep when there’s drinks inside.”

They both stepped inside, Rarity flocking them over to a side-room, one of the two with actual furniture in it: a plush white couch set in front of a long, rich ebon coffee table, with a matching plush chair opposite it. A slender red bottle sat between three crystal glasses, along with a tray of cold sandwiches.

“Wine?” Spike asked, surprised. “Are you sure alcohol’s a good idea?”

“Like you get anything from it,” Rarity teased. “It’s for my comfort and nerves, Spike, not so I can get sloshed and start screaming at you.”

Fluttershy was shocked at her blatant words, and shocked again when he laughed as though she’d told a joke.

“Yeah, Jet Set always did throw the best parties. Remember when he almost had that meltdown?” he asked as they sat down, him and Fluttershy on the couch opposite Rarity.

Rarity laughed, behind a hoof. “Oh, I thought for sure his poor wife would have been in the hospital with alcohol poisoning that morning.” She gripped the bottle in her magic, picking it up and peering absently at the label.

With a shake of her head, she placed it back on the table and looked into his eyes.

“Spike, I miss you,” she blurted, with a small blush. He flinched, and she held her hoof up. “I miss your friendship,” she clarified. “You were one of my few constants Spike. As a companion before, and as a…” She blushed deeply, looking at Fluttershy before finishing, “As a lover later.”

Fluttershy let out a quiet ‘eep’ that everyone except Rarity’s cheeks ignored.

“I want your company back. I miss the times when you would come over and help me with my craft, even if it was just letting me prattle away at you while you held my needles.” She sighed, looking into the red bottle’s depths.

“I miss you too,” he said. “I miss being here all the time. I’ve been sitting around a lot the last two weeks, at the library mostly.”

He shuffled awkwardly, looking deep into the floor. “I don’t think we can, yet.” He sniffed, wiping at his eyes with a claw. “I still haven’t given up on you,” he admitted. “Until I can, I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to hang out.”

Rarity sniffled heavily, hiding her face in her hooves and breathing deeply for a moment. Sniffling again, she nodded.

“I can understand that,” she murmured. “I suppose it’s selfish of me, but I… I just want my friend back.”

With a wavering smile, Spike leaned over the table and extended his paw. Slowly, she placed a hoof into his palm, and he squeezed it.

“You’ll have him back, I promise,” he said. “I just need a little more time.”

She nodded, eyes watering. “Spike? Would… Would a hug be too much?”

He hesitated, and looked at Fluttershy. Slowly, she nodded. Frowning, he looked back.

“Maybe,” he admitted, before letting a grin sneak onto his face. “But come here anyway.”

Slowly, they met at the end of the table. Sitting down so she could reach him, Spike pulled the mare to his chest, holding her tenderly as she wrapped her legs around his neck. They sat there for a minute, before Fluttershy cleared her throat.

“Uhm, sorry to interrupt, but…” she spoke, for the first time so far.

The two pulled away awkwardly, Spike pushing a paw to his chest and smiling down at the unicorn. She smiled up at him, her eyes red and puffy.

With a snort, he craned his neck and tapped the tip of her snout with his nose. “Chin up,” he said, smiling.

With a snort, she pushed his face away. “No, don’t remind me of that song, it always gets stuck in my head.”

They both retook their positions across the table from each other.

Spike snagged one of the small sandwiches from the table and popped it into his mouth, filling the room with a muted crunching.

He dipped his head towards Rarity, swallowing to say, “Wonderful dressing.”

She stared at him for a second before bursting into laughter.

Confused, Spike and Fluttershy shared a peek and turned back to Rarity.

“I-It-It’s the one you t-taught me to m-m-make, three years ago,” she said around her giggles, wiping her eyes as they overflowed. “The one with the chillies from Maredrid, the sweet ones.”

Spike looked at her, a small smile appearing as her chuckles came to a standstill.

“Uh oh,” she muttered, with another watery chuckle, before she buried her face again.

But it’s not laughter, is it? Fluttershy thought.

“I think it’s time for us to go, Spike,” she whispered, leaning over to him. With a pained look, he nodded.

Standing, he walked over to the mare and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her before he turned and left the room. Fluttershy watched him go, and walked over to Rarity for her own hug.

Sniffling, Rarity only shivered as Fluttershy’s wings folded around her shoulders for a brief moment. She heard the pegasus mare leave, but didn’t move until she heard her front door open and reclose.

With a last, hearty sniffle, she grabbed the bottle on the table and made her way to the bedroom upstairs, slamming the door behind her.

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Spike leaned heavily on the house, sliding down as Fluttershy closed the door beside him.

“Well, that was a thing,” he muttered.

Leaning down, Fluttershy wrapped a wing around him, bumping him with a shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?”

He shrugged, shaking his head. “Yeah, eventually.”

They sat on the stone doorstep for a while, watching the sun set while Fluttershy leaned companionably against him, the thoughts settling in his mind.

“I think it went rather well, honestly,” Fluttershy said cheerily. Spike let out a snort, and she gently shoved him with her shoulder. “No, really. No yelling, fighting, or hoof-pointing. You had a clear, albeit sad conversation about still wanting to be friends. It was good.”

“You think so?”

Fluttershy nodded, and Spike smiled up into the sky.

“Alright then. I’ll trust you, Flutters.”

She colored a bit at the nickname and had just enough time to wonder why before someone interrupted them.

“Aww, come on!”

Startled, they both glanced to their left, into the puffy pout of a pronking pink pony.

Spike flinched as the headache caused by such thoughts passed through his skull, brief due to the years of exposure.

“Heya Pinkie,” he said, smiling as he rubbed the top of his head. “What’re you up to?”

“Crashing your pity party!” she announced, rearing up and splaying her forelegs with an enormous smile. “I could feel it all the way across town!”

Spike chuckled, pushing himself to his feet. “I’m alright Pinkie. Promise,” he said, with a halfhearted crossing motion over his chest.

Pinkie’s cheeks puffed to an absurd degree, and her eyes closed to slits.

“You’re really lucky that wasn’t a whole Pinkie Promise,” she said, her cheeks bouncing with her warped words.

Spike ducked his head, blushing a bit. “Yeah, I know. I couldn’t get through the whole gesture. Really though, you should be more worried about Rarity. I think everything’s finally getting to her.”

Letting the air out of her cheeks, Pinkie nodded solemnly. “I was about to check up on her, actually.”

“Let her know I’m here for her too, please,” Fluttershy asked.

Pinkie nodded, before pasting on a sad smile and hugging Spike.

Chuckling, he hugged her to himself. “I’ve gotta get dumped more often if I’m getting all these hugs in exchange.”

“Aww, Spike! But you can have a Pinkie hug whenever you want! Just gotta ask nicely,” she said, before widening her smile slightly. “Of course, treating a girl wouldn’t hurt your chances either.”

With a deeper chuckle, Pinkie knocked on Rarity’s door twice before letting herself in and shutting the door behind her.

Fluttershy gaped at the door, blushing furiously; Spike gazed at it blankly, almost thoughtfully.

“Was I just propositioned?” he asked the pegasus, double-checking.

In answer, the locks on Rarity’s door slid audibly into place, and the two heard a retreating giggle from behind it.

“… Yes?” Fluttershy answered. “Although I doubt she expects you to take her up on the offer.”

Spike stared at the door, before shaking his head hard enough to make the spines clap against his head.

“I guess that’s one upside,” he said, walking away from the boutique. “Bucking mares throwing themselves at me out of pity, that’s…”

“Spike Ignis!”

Shocked by the sound of his title, Spike planted his feet and whipped around, looking wide-eyed down at a glaring Fluttershy.

“I will not hear you bad-mouthing one of your best friends for trying to cheer you up, even if she conveyed it in an unwelcome way,” she dictated, drawing herself up and fluffing her wings. Spike shrunk instinctively, laying flat with his belly to the dirt.

“Additionally, I will not stand by while you whine and monologue about how bad your life is, all because of one mare!” She stepped closer to him, towering over his head. “Do I make myself clear?”

“As diamonds,” he said without pause.

“Good,” she snapped, snorting derisively down at him.

A moment later, she swayed and blinked down at him, confusion flashing across her face.

“Oh dear. Did I go all ‘Iron Will’ again?” She blushed as Spike nodded, gazing reverently up at her from the ground. “Oh, I’m sorry Spike, I slip into it still…”

“No,” he gasped, shaking his head from side-to-side at her. “No, I liked it.”

She blushed down at him, and he blushed back up at her.

Standing quickly, he shook his head again, vigorously. “No, not like… I mean, it was very take-charge. Not like… that.”

They looked away from each other for a moment, before he sighed and pushed a paw against his eyes.

“Alright Flutters; it’s late, and I’m exhausted already,” Spike chuckled. “I think it’s best if I go home, see if I can’t talk my way out of talking with Twilight. I’ll see you later?”

“Oh, alright Spike,” Fluttershy spoke, nodding through her blush.

Spike dipped his head, then turned away and started walking towards the library. She watched him for a moment, paying attention to the way his tail bobbed back and forth as he walked.

He walks like an Iguana, she thought, bursting into giggles. Hearing them, Spike paused and turned his head, looking straight at her.

“Oh, I’m just having sleepy pony thoughts as well, it seems,” she said, trotting up to him and walking past a bit, spurring him into starting his walk again.

After travelling some distance in silence, she finally asked, “Spike, you’re sure Twilight will want to talk with you?”

With a groan, he nodded, frowning grumpily at the tree in the distance.

“You know, I have a couch, and I really liked that cocoa you made for us after the Kreelix. Would you like to stay the night?”

Spike cocked his head to the side, looking at her strangely. She started fidgeting after a moment, and had looked away when he gave his answer.

“Sure. That sounds nice, actually.”

Author's Note

I'm not good with reconciliation scenes; or rather, I'm unpracticed. Sorry if it was weird, but it should be one of maybe two, so with it done you won't have another for a while. Apologies as well for the strange update schedule, but I've just got it where I feel only slightly depressed about it, and I'm calling it good enough.

Anyhow, I'm done whining. Hope you enjoyed.

Twenty Five Days Later, The Morning

Fluttershy walked down her stairs, a bed-sheet and pillow resting on her back. Turning the corner, she smelled the air and smiled at the sweet scent of dark chocolate. After stopping in the living room to slide the bed-clothes to the couch, she turned to the kitchen.

“That smells wonderful, Spike.”

The dragon dipped his head, smiling as he stirred.

“You should really thank Twilight. She's the reason I know how to make this at all.”

Fluttershy pulled two chairs away from the table, sitting in the one facing the stove.

“I suppose I'm not really surprised by that. She's sort of the one who taught you everything, isn't she?”

“In a roundabout way, that could be true,” he muttered, sipping from the ladle he was stirring with. “If she didn't teach me herself, I learned it for her.”

Fluttershy shifted, her mind swamped with uncomfortable ideas.

“She… well, she's always treated you decently, hasn't she?”

Spike turned his head to stare at her, his face blank.

“Fluttershy, what exactly are you insinuating?”

Shifting in her seat, she stared into the living room, attempting to slow her racing thoughts.

“Well, I know that you were her assistant...”

“No 'were' Fluttershy, I still am.”

“Oh, right. Well, I've just… None of us are really sure about what that entails, really. Rarity and I have wondered about it a couple times, and Applejack was curious for a bit after the timberwolf incident...”

Reaching into a nearby cabinet, Spike grabbed two large mugs. Lifting the cocoa from the stove, he poured in the hot liquid.

“Well, I can understand why you didn't ask,” Spike said slowly as he walked over to the table. “But Rarity could have asked me, and I think we both know how shy AJ can be about stuff like that.”

With a nod, Fluttershy took the mug between her hooves, warming their soft undersides on the cup. “I'm not sure why neither of them asked. Maybe AJ forgot?”

“Yeah, maybe. Rarity, though?” Spike shook his head. “More than likely she was afraid of offending me by accident. She can be pretty thoughtful if she thinks she needs to be.”

There was a lull in the conversation.

“You still haven't answered...”

Spike smiled, nodded. “Collecting my thoughts.”

Fluttershy waited, sipping at her cocoa. There was no cinnamon this time, just a bit of crushed mint floating in the depths.

She found it refreshing.

“I have taken a literal approach to my job,” Spike said, startling his host. She fumbled the ceramic container to the tabletop, adopting an expression of stern attention.

“I was told that a good assistant helps their partner in any way asked of them, but the excellent ones don't need to be asked.

“When I was little, Twilight only ever asked me to play with her. Hide and Seek, board games, the like.”

She nodded, smiling at the thought.

“When I started getting older, she started asking me to do more things. Fetch this book, or stir this concentrate for me, things like that. When I was able to complete a task flawlessly, she moved to a more complex task.”

“Spike…” Fluttershy was frowning. “That sounds like animal training to me.”

He squirmed a bit, not looking into her eyes.

“Oh Celestia, Twilight.” She shook her head. “She was training you?”

Blushing, Spike glanced around, looking for any animal laying around the kitchen, any potential spy. Leaning forward, he beckoned her closer.

“She used to have this rubber ball, and we used to play Fetch,” he admitted.

Her eyes wide, Fluttershy whispered, “No...?”

He nodded his head, leaning back and taking a large gulp from his mug.

Fluttershy gazed at his scaled chest, her eyes glazed and her mouth open. He nearly choked on his drink when she burst into laughter, pushing her forehead into the table and wrapping her forelegs around her barrel.

He glared at her for half of a minute, his face cracking as he slowly joined in.

They took a minute or so to settle, Spike wiping his eyes on the back of a claw. The silence lasted until they both finished off their mugs.

He slowly looked into her eyes, leaning over the table and gazing at her with half-lidded eyes. Her heart took a small break, her cheeks filled with heat for a moment…

He crossed his eyes, letting his tongue hang between two of his bottom teeth.

“Borf?”

Her eyes wide, Fluttershy let out a small squeal before clapping her hooves over her snout, her sides heaving as she buried her face.

Spike, not nearly so constrained, burst into loud bellows of laughter. Fluttershy gasped and flinched away, then started chuckling at her own reaction. She eventually joined him in her own laughter, their mirth spilling over into the new day as the clock passed midnight.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Spike sat upright, wondering for a second where, exactly, he was. A mouse near to him chattered softly, and the end of the previous day returned to him.

With a large yawn, he scratched at one of his ear frills and dug through his thoughts to find out why he was awake.

His leg twitched, jostling his body, and a full bladder made itself known.

Swinging his hind legs off of the couch, he attempted to right himself. The blanket Fluttershy had loaned him had other thoughts, and his attempts at straightening his front legs only caused his back ones to give out, spilling him across the floor.

“Yay,” he muttered, crawling his way out of the large quilt. Finally finding his feet, he yawned again as he stood up, staggering his way into a wall.

As graceful as ever, Spikey-wikey.

Growling softly at the thought, he let the wall guide him towards the bathroom; he eventually found the way up to the second floor.

But I know there's a bathroom down here…

Shrugging, he plodded up the stairway, treading the sides of the stairs and attempting to not stumble quite so much.

Curiously enough, the door to this particular bathroom was closed, dull red light streaming from the crack beneath the door.

He looked down the hall towards Fluttershy's room, and saw the door was open. Thinking, he sluggishly remembered hearing the door shut in the half-hour it had taken his stupid brain to stop thinking about

Her

that always followed his attempts at sleep.

And of course, it didn't work, his mind just kept circling like a drain, feeding itself its own thoughts and revisiting the stupidest moments it could dredge…

The toilet flushed, and Spike snapped his attention back to his bladder. Standing across the hall from the door, he tried to make himself as visible as possible.

The door opened, and his sleepy host blinked at him, the red night light turning her normally cerulean eyes a striking violet.

“Hi,” he muttered. “Sorry if I startled you, but nature...”

Fluttershy interrupted him, swaying closer and smiling sleepily. She reached a hoof up and, gently, pulled his snout down to hers, kissing him.

He froze, all thoughts obliterated by a calm panic. White noise filled his ears, low and steady. All feeling seemed to flood into his face, every other sensation replaced by the slightly chilled lips pressing against his.

Fluttershy pulled away, a gentle smile pasted below a pair of glazed eyes.

Mumbling in sleep-talk, Fluttershy slurred, “Go to th' b'thrum an' go'da bed.” Then she smiled up at him and pushed her nose against his for a moment, before turning down the hall and swaying towards her bed. When she reached the doorway she entered the room, and a second later the door closed.

Does she keep a nightcap in her room or something?

Spike blinked, wondering if he was awake or asleep. Deciding not to think about it too hard, he walked into the bathroom. It was still lit by a small red lamp sitting on the sink's edge.

Extinguishing the lamp after he finished, he walked back down the hall, descended the stairs, laid on the couch, and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes.

He snagged the blanket off of the floor and spread it over himself again. He was asleep within a minute.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Fluttershy walked out of her bedroom, passing a hoof through her now brushed mane one last time as she descended the stairs. A low rumbling drifted up to her, resonating from the living room. Giggling, she entered the room and looked over to the source of the noise.

Spike lay curled around the pillow she'd lent him, a hint of the fluff poking over his back. Spines were the only thing of him that was visible, sticking out of the blankets towards her. The rest of him was covered by her blanket, making a plush doughnut on the couch.

Smiling, she walked into the kitchen and quietly pulled out a couple of pans. Passing the icebox, she grabbed a spatula from a drawer before returning to the machine. Pulling out some of yesterday's eggs, she moved to the stove.

Spike's snout poked out from beneath the blanket a few minutes later, the edges of his nostrils twitching as he sniffed at the air. Sampling it with a tongue, he stretched out more of his neck, pushing his head into the sunlight with slitted eyelids. Yawning, his jaw crackled as it opened to its fullest extent.

He stretched out his limbs, tilting himself until he fell onto his paws. After a moment of popping his back, he marched into the downstairs bathroom, borrowing one of Fluttershy's cotton swabs as a toothbrush.

He smiled at his host as he walked into the kitchen, sitting in the same chair she had used last night. After he glanced at the table for a moment, he stood and walked over to her cabinets, pulling out two plates and placing them onto the counter near the stove.

Neither of them spoke at first, Fluttershy busy with the stove and Spike engaged with keeping his eyes open. He broke the silence first.

“Flutters… Do you have any coffee?”

“I… may have some coffee beans...” She gently tapped the cupboard beneath the counter the plates rested on. “They'd be in here if I do, along with the grinder.”

“… You have a coffee grinder?”

“… Yes?”

With a small laugh, Spike drug himself back over to the counter, settling onto the floor to root through the space. Pulling out a small bronze gadget first, he set it next to the plates.

“Paper bag?”

“Waxed paper, yes.”

“Ah, that's what that is.” He pulled out a small yellow-paper bag and closed the cabinet.

Opening the grinder, Spike stared at it for a moment. Looking inside the bag, he inspected the beans inside. “Fluttershy?”

With a laugh, she set down her spatula and took the bag, pouring enough beans into the grinder for a potful of coffee. “Could you grind them while I set up the coffee pot?”

He nodded, and she dug into the cabinet to pull out a metal kettle, filling it with water and setting it on the stove.

Grabbing the rotating ball on the handle, Spike rapidly turned the mechanism, his mind free to wander. Slowly, he stopped spinning his arm.

“Do you remember going to the bathroom last night?”

Making a face, Fluttershy shook her head. “Not really. I had a dream I was walking around, though, so I might have sleep-walked there. Did I leave the light on again?”

Spike slowly nodded, thinking hard about whether or not he should tell Fluttershy about last night.

“There's another thing, as well,” he blurted, feeling the flush on his cheeks. “I'll tell you over breakfast though, it's not pressing.”

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side he was on. “It's not important?”

“Well, it's not pressing,” he muttered.

She gave him a bewildered look from the corner of her eye, but focused on the potatoes she was frying.

Spike finished grinding the coffee and dumped the fresh grounds into the built-in mesh filter. Leaving her to the rest of her cooking, he retreated to his chair and into his thoughts.

His mind galloped in place, running circles in an attempt to figure out where to start the conversation, lines to try and lead the topic, anything to make the coming talk less awkward. He dug so deeply that he didn't notice the pegasus approach the table.

“Here you go, Spike.”

He flinched away, blurting out, “You kissed me.”

She dropped the plate, luckily only inches from the tabletop. A bit of the eggs flew from the side, disappearing over the edge of the table.

Her face paled for a second, before turning a deep red. She averted her eyes, biting her lip as her wings extended a tiny bit from her sides.

Knowing exactly what that meant, Spike joined her blush.

“Oh, uhm, I'm really sorry,” she murmured, shrinking away. “I, uhm, had a… vivid dream last night, uhm, about… I must have gotten carried away when I was sleepwalking…”

Spike smiled awkwardly, reaching out with a paw. “No, really, it's all right...”

“No, of course it's not,” she snapped, making Spike flinch away.

“You must hate me...” Fluttershy muttered, still curling in on herself, letting her legs fold under herself as she balled up on the floor.

“Whoa, hey,” Spike said, surprised. He slid from his chair and onto the floor in front of her. “Hey, of course I don't hate you, why would I?”

“Why wouldn't you? We're becoming really good friends, and now I've made it weird, and you'll think I'm weird, and…”

Spike reached out and snagged her in his paws, pulling her forward and into his chest, his arms circling her and squeezing gently.

“Shush, shush, it's alright, shh…” he murmured, rocking her slowly.

She froze at first, pushing away, but as soon as he started speaking she relaxed into him, leaning into his embrace. Her ear ended up pressed to his chest, and she couldn't help but listen to his heart beating heavily.

Breathing, she slowly realized what had happened, and her face flushed again.

“Oh Spike, I'm sorry,” she said, raising her trembling forelegs and hugging him back. “I haven't had an attack like that in ye-years...”

“No worries,” he murmured back. “Twilight had pretty bad anxiety for a while in her teens. Don't worry about it.”

Fluttershy gave a weak chuckle, a precursor to a shiver. Spike tightened his grip until the shaking stopped, then slowly started to pull away from her.

Her forelegs clamped down on his, pinning his arms down.

“Spike,” she said quietly. “Is this going to change our friendship?”

“It won't chase me away,” he assured her, pulling the rest of the way away and standing. “I'm not going to stop being your friend just because you kissed me. And besides,” he said, looking down and grinning at her. “It was a really good kiss.”

Her cheeks regained a rosy hue.

She started to stutter a response, but he shook his head.

“Deep breaths, calm your shaking first.” He walked over to a cupboard, pulling it open and frowning at the view inside. Walking over to the sink, he fished a mug out of it, turning on the water and cleaning it as Fluttershy took large, theatrical breaths.

“Spike, was it really…” she started, stopped by the heavy curiosity pushing her to ask. It held her back even as it drove her forward, and she wanted nothing more than to batter it away like a…

“It was,” he answered, blushing himself.

Her heart beat harder for a moment, and she had to return to her breathing exercises.

Spike finished cleaning the cup, walking over to the stove and pouring the steaming coffee into it. “Sugar or anything?”

“I-I'm not sure caffeine is a good idea…”

He frowned at the now clean mug in his claw. “Yeah, sounds pretty bad, when you think about it… Would you like some milk or anything?”

I think I'd like a chance at that kiss I missed out on, Fluttershy thought, blushing at the mental fluff that had sprinted through her head.

“Tomato juice?” Spike asked with a smile, his teasing tone and implications about her blushing just turning her redder. “I'll see if I can't find any.”

“O-O-Orange juice, p-please…” She murmured, a tiny smile lighting up her features at Spike's teasing. “Maybe some grape, if I have some?”

Spike's tail stiffened, and he frowned at her over his shoulder.

“Wow, Fluttershy,” he deadpanned, “That must be the first time I've ever been compared to a grape. First time ever. Must be.”

He broke character when she reddened again, gentle laughter flowing around him as he hunted through the icebox. Pulling out a pitcher of pulpy orange juice, he poured her a glass and put the pitcher away, carrying over both of their drinks.

Looking between her and the table, the drake raised an eyebrow in question.

“Oh, right…” Fluttershy stood up quickly and sat in the chair next to the oven. She then turned around, sheepishly grabbing her breakfast off of it. Spike set their drinks down, and they were finally ready to do something besides just stare at the food.

After a minute, and a paper towel, Spike raised his head and smiled; he made it just in time to see Fluttershy take a larger bite of her potatoes, her cheeks slightly puffed from the food. Her eyes met his, and she looked away as the biggest smile enveloped the dragon's face.

“I was about to compliment you on the food, but I see that you're well aware of how good it tastes.”

She started to mumble something around her food, but caught herself and covered her mouth with a hoof, quickly chewing and swallowing the mouthful she had… and then it was Spike's turn for an awkward blush.

Shut up, brain. You're just excited at the closest thing to action you've had for a month, you're not even thinking specifically about Fluttershy…

His thoughts endeavored to prove him wrong.

“I eat like this because of the other herbivores,” Fluttershy said, pulling him away from those thoughts. “If I'm not as quick to eat as they are, they start to… encroach. You know?” she asked, looking up at him with a small smile and half-closed eyes.

He looked away, taking a small bite of his own food. “Yeah, Shining Armor could be like that sometimes,” he muttered.

“Spike?”

He looked back to her, her eyes oozing concern.

“You've been joking since you actually woke up, but you haven't really looked me in the eye all morning,” she said, a sad line working its way between her eyes. “Are you really okay?”

He froze for a second, his flight muscles twitching, before he sighed and forced himself to relax, his eyes closing and a claw rubbing the spot between them.

“I've been having… let's call them, Rebound Thoughts. I've been having Rebound Thoughts all morning.”

“How do you mean, rebound… Oh, like…” Her eyes shifted to his, and his shifted away. “What do you mean, rebound thoughts?”

“Well, you know, like… When a couple breaks up, and one of them go and have a one night stand or something dumb like that, where they hook up just to not be alone?”

“That's a rebound thought?”

He shook his head, cradling it in his paws. “No, that's a rebound relationship, or just a 'rebound'. A Rebound Thought is just thinking about going into a relationship with somepony like that.” He scratched the back of his neck, nails rasping over his scales. “Or, that's how I'm defining it. It's not really a thing, I just kind of… made it up. On the spot...”

“Oh.” A brief pause, some munching of toast. “Who have you been thinking about?”

He flinched a bit, still not meeting her eyes. “Well, the pony I've been spending most of my free time with, recently. Besides Twilight,” he said, seeing her stunned look.

“Oh,” she said, breathing out with a small giggle. “For a second, that's exactly who I thought you… were talking… about...”

She was frowning, moving her lips slowly in thought. “But… I can't think of anyone else you've been spending a lot of time with…?”

Spike stared blankly at her, wondering for a moment whether she was messing with him or not.

Then he remembered who he was talking with, and smiled gently.

“I think that if she thought about it a little, she'd realize it easily,” he teased, giving her a meaningful look as he leaned his head on an elbow propped by the table.

She cocked her head to the side, frowning. “So you've told her as well?”

His chin slipped from his palm, landing on the crook of his elbow.

“I'm talking to her now, Flutters.”

“But I'm the only one…” she trailed off, looking up into his grinning eyes. She breathed out slowly, the blush growing as the air left her lungs. “O-Oh.”

She shifted in her chair, looking down into her plate. She looked up into his eyes and squeaked out, “Really?”

He nodded down at his own meal, picking up a piece of toast and glancing at it, his grin fading away as he set it back on his plate. “In passing mostly, but that's still more than before…” He paused, thinking for half a minute. “Well, before twenty-four days ago.”

Her blush dropped, along with her expression. “You… count the days?”

Spike shrugged with a shrug as he nodded. “Not on purpose, but I haven't been able to stop.”

“I'm sure you know, but… that's not healthy.”

Spike opened his mouth to snap something, before closing it and nodding. “I do know, yeah. I'd say it's an unconscious thing, but… I don't even have to count them out every morning, it's just one of the first thoughts I have when I wake up. Twenty four days.”

He paused, tapping his glass as he thought for a moment.

“Except,” he muttered, looking over at her. “Except for today. I didn't think about it until just now, but I missed the reminder this morning.”

Fluttershy perked up, smiling at him. “That's a good thing, right?”

He smiled back, nodding. “Hopefully it's just been enough time, and my subconscious is letting go. I mean...”

He leaned back, staring into the space just above Fluttershy's head. “I only pined after her, what… Eight years, nine?”

“Oh, is that all it was?” Fluttershy asked, surprise twisting her mouth and sending her eyebrows up. “I'm sure it was worse for you, but for the five of us it felt like much longer.”

“Close enough to round up to a decade, is my point,” Spike said, leaning forward. “Near enough to a decade, and in less than a month I'm improving. I'll take a small victory.”

“You're still counting, though. And you actually put effort into it, today,” she pointed out. “Are you sure you're ready to give up on her?”

“Of course not,” he said, waving his paw as though to dismiss the idea from the air. “But that doesn't mean I don't want to move on with both of our lives.”

Fluttershy nodded, then blushed as she ducked underneath her hair. “Speaking of you moving on… I think we were talking about something else?”

“Of course we were; conversations are always just loosely connected tangents. Which topic did you want to get back to talking about?”

Fluttershy didn't answer beyond glancing at him. After a moment, he remembered and blushed himself.

“Ah, right, my awkward thoughts...”

Fluttershy muttered something underneath her hair.

“What was that?”

She jumped slightly, looking further down at the floor.

“I just said that… Your thoughts aren't the only ones. Being awkward right now, that is…”

“Oh,” he said, staring at her while his brain processed. “Wait, what?”

With a giggle, Fluttershy looked back up to him for a second. With a deep breath, she met his eyes.

“Well, mostly I was wondering what that kiss last night felt like,” she said slowly. “I mean, I've felt all kinds of hides and stuff with my hooves, and every now and then one of my little critters needs a kiss on their boo-boos, but...”

She blushed up at him again, unconsciously licking her lips and sending a shiver down his spines.

“Well, that's all just very different from being kissed, is all.”

“Ye-yeah, yeah it is...” he muttered, looking down at his lap and away from her.

A giggle nearly brought his gaze back to her. “Spike? Are you being… shy, right now?”

“No; shut up,” he muttered, looking away from her.

She laughed this time, something much more than the nervous half-giggles. He smiled down at the table, and then her wing was gently touching his jaw, softly pushing his muzzle up.

Their eyes met, and Spike's mouth went dry.

“Spike? Can I ask a small favor?”

He nodded, mute for the moment.

“It's been… well, the last time somepony kissed me, I was really young. Would it be okay with you if I…?”

He licked his lips, eyes forcing themselves to meet hers.

“You're being strangely bold, Fluttershy,” he dodged, his mind racing blankly.

“The anxiety sort of blocks out the nervousness.” She licked her lips again, her gaze wavering before dipping away from his. Her wing pulled back to her side as she looked away.

“Sorry, Spike. I should have known it was too early, especially with...”

His paw reached over the table, cupping her jaw and lifting her muzzle.

“Spike?”

He stood slightly, pushing his breakfast plate to the side, and leaned over the table to meet her lips, his heart pounding even as he felt her pulse pick up as well.

They stayed that way for a long minute, kissing over the remains of their meal.

Author's Note

Well, I'm done writing this. Remember to like the story, comment on the story, and subscribe if you wanna see more stories like this.

Really though, thanks for still reading, and I am deeply sorry that it took this long to get another chapter put up. Let me know the mistakes I need to fix, I know there has to be thirty typos I didn't get on any of my sweeps. See'ya in the comments, or in the next chapter. I'm off to scribble on the Afternoon portion :yay:

Twenty Five Days Later, The Afternoon

Author's Note

I am so, so sorry that this took this long, an is this short. I just wanted you guys to know that I haven't given up on this story, and I am still writing on it, even though I've just been turning out dirtier stuff instead of new chapters.

Just been in a rut, I guess :trollestia:

Anyway, that's what I've got, sorry again for the short chapter, and I look forward to the next one! :rainbowkiss:

Twenty Five Days Later, The Afternoon

Fluttershy felt herself melting into the young dragon's warm lips and hummed happily as he brought a claw up to rest on her cheek. Dual sensations battled as his thumb stroked her with the same soft, nervous touch as his tongue. Her head tilted itself as she parted her lips, tasting him for a flickering moment before he pulled away.

They stayed close for a moment, breathing each other's air. Her eyes were wide, and she stared at the gentle shade of purple present in the small scales of his eyelids. Slowly, his eyes opened, and she gazed into the massive pupils held in the spun webbing of his irises.

He found himself equally enraptured, swimming in her blue eyes, a lock of her mane tickling at his muzzle. He returned the action through his claw.

“Thank you,” she whispered, giggling and stretching her neck to kiss him again, a gentle peck. “That was lovely...”

“Yeah…” he whispered, still lost in buzzing thoughtlessness. Leaning forward, he returned her gentle peck, parting for a moment before coming back to her lips, both of them humming.

He sought entrance sooner this time, and she accepted him just as she had before, his tongue entwining with hers as they pushed together again.

His other claw lifted itself to her other cheek, and he slowly began to caress her, relaxing the pegasus and pulling her closer in one motion. He moved towards her neck with one claw, and her ear with the other.

She gasped as he pinched the base of her ear, moaning lightly into his muzzle as he ran a claw down one of the tensed tendons and down the large vein.

She raised a foreleg, pushing him gently away.

“Whoa,” she whispered, her voice scratchy and breathless. “Slow down, Spike...”

He pulled away, nodding and closing his eyes. “Sorry, it's just…” He shook his head.

“Shh, it's okay,” she panted, moving her hooves to his head and rubbing the scales. “I understand, it’s just…”

He nodded, resting his forehead against hers for a few moments. They stayed there, just breathing each other’s air for a minute.

“So, uhm…” Spike started, clearing his throat. “Do you… Uh, do you have a crush on me, Fluttershy?”

She blushed and pulled away from him. Before she could get too far, he reached forward and cupped her cheek, pulling her back.

“No pressure, ‘Shy. I’m honestly curious,” he murmured, rubbing his forehead on hers; a weird sort of nuzzling.

Slowly, she shook her head. “Not… No, not really… I haven’t thought anything about it…”

He nodded, and they both lapsed back into silence.

“Wh-what about you, Spike?” Fluttershy asked, her ears twitching against his head. “Did you have a…”

He nodded as she trailed off, a small smile coming to his face. “I’ve been having stray thoughts for maybe twenty days, or so. They only got… vaguely serious last night. Maybe yesterday?”

“That long?”

He nodded, pulling away and opening his eyes to look into hers. Smiling at her half-lidded gaze, he couldn’t help but to lean forward and give her another small peck on her lips, making the pegasus giggle.

“Before last night, I thought they were just rebound thoughts, you know? I figured I was reading too much into them, that they had no substance.” He shrugged to himself. “I just thought they were little flights of fancy.”

“Well,” she said, leaning forward and lifting his chin with her nose, “do you still think that?”

He thought about it for a moment, then leaned forward and firmly kissed her again, chaste and passionate and long.

Ending the kiss with her muzzle once again between his claws, Fluttershy stared up into the dragon’s eyes, waiting for his next words.

“I think,” he said, thinking carefully, “that you are a wonderful mare, a fantastic pony, and very beautiful.” When she blushed, he chuckled and kissed her cheeks. “And very much worth pursuing, if you’re open to the idea?”

She giggled again, then returned his earlier kiss, her movements slow and delicate.

They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, before Spike’s eyes widened.

“Dibs on not telling Twilight,” he muttered, making the pegasus’ eyes copy his.

“Dibs on not telling Rarity,” she whispered back, an almost horrified look passing over her features.

The same grimace flickered over his face. “Damn,” he whispered. “I don’t know if I wanna trade or not.”

Fluttershy shook her head, her pupils shrinking as her eyes widened further.

They stared at each other for a moment, before breaking the impromptu contest with a giggling fit.

“Do we need to tell them right away?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, those two will be fine not knowing right away, but if we’re dating, then...”

He gave her a strange look, then smiled down at her. “If we’re dating, then a few of our friends should know. AJ won’t mind waiting with Twi and Rarity, and Rainbow can be a bit of an unintentional blabbermouth…”

“So, Pinkie Pie?”

“She probably already knows...” He shrugged. “We’ll play her by ear. If she knows then we’ll talk with her about it, but otherwise we play as dumb as with the others.”

She nodded, smiling at him. They spent a moment staring at each other again, surely irritating anyone and everyone currently paying them any attention, before Spike blushed.

“Ah, there’s another thing we should discuss,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his head and looking away.

“Hm?” she wordlessly asked, tilting her head.

“Well, like the kiss earlier,” he said. “When I started… When I touched your ear?”

The part in question flicked, and she nodded.

“Well, it’s been a while since I was at the start of a new relationship, and I may be more used to… certain physical acts than you are.”

She blushed, hiding her muzzle (and a grin) behind her hooves.

Before she could stop herself, she said, “Like what?”

The words surprised both of them. They were spoken almost lasciviously, definitely flirtatiously. Spike reddened, and a few of the spines on his back straightened.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I don’t know where…”

He gently quieted her, reaching forward and clasping her jaw in a claw.

“Spike?” she asked.

“Nothing much, just a taste,” he muttered, snaking his neck forward once again. “Is that okay?”

Looking into his half-lidded eyes, she nodded, nuzzling his snout with hers. “Just, not too much, please?”

He smiled, moving his head past her nose, touching his mouth to her ear.

“Just a little too much,” he murmured, his warm breath sending chills up and down her spine. He chuckled at her shiver, then ran his nose along the outside of her ear. He ran the thin edge of the appendage, her ear trying to flick as he ran from its tip to the base, continuing down her neck.

“Spike,” she whispered, shivering and pulling him closer. With a nod, he opened his mouth against her neck, biting down gently and sucking on the tender skin there. She moaned quietly…

And then breathed out as he pulled away, both of them panting, both of their eyes fuzzed and heavy lidded, both of their mouths slightly open, both of their faces drifting closer…

Spike stood up, shaking his head.

“Berightback,” he muttered, before he strode to the back door, opened it quickly and exited, leaving the door open.

For a second, Fluttershy kept her eyes where he had been. Blinking, she stood up and walked slowly over to the door, looking outside just in time to see Spike dunk his entire head, and some of his neck, into her rain-water barrel.

He stayed under for a suspicious amount of time. He finally came up for a breath when Fluttershy walked over and placed a hoof on his leg.

He came up gasping, and shook his neck and head, spraying Fluttershy with cold water. He looked down at her for a moment, then smiled.

“Sorry about that,” he said, leaning forward to touch his chilled, damp nose to her hers. “That went a bit too far, further than I was planning...”

She shook her head, kissing his nose. “It was nice,” she told him with a blush. “More than I was expecting, but nice.”

He hummed, nuzzling her nose. They broke apart after a moment and returned to the kitchen, Spike gathering a kitchen towel to dry himself with.

“So, what do you want to do today?” Fluttershy asked, looking up at Spike through her hair.

“Well, your chores, I suppose, then...” He looked down at the table, scanning over the remains of their breakfast. “Maybe a trip to the market?”

Fluttershy nodded, looking at a list stuck to her refrigerator. It was a long paper pad, but it had items scribbled to the bottom.

“Sounds like a good idea,” she said, smiling up at Spike.

He returned the smile, before grabbing the plates from the table. “I’ll get started here, if you want to get ready for the market. Do you have a compost pile?”

Twenty Five Days Later, The Evening

Author's Note

Don't worry guys, this is the last of the 25th day, and the last of this first arc, I believe. Please continue to correct my mistakes, I make so many of them and self-editing just ends in line skimming. I look forward to the continued comments, the continued reads, and the continuing story!

Twenty Five Days Later, The Evening

“And that should be one of the last items,” Spike said, tossing a bag of celery into a basket on the cart attached to Fluttershy.

Looking over the list, she nodded.

“There are a couple other things I could use, but they aren’t necessarily needed… And a few of the stores I’d need to visit are already closed,” she said, looking towards the horizon. The sky was darkening towards gold as the sun dipped.

Spike walked over, waving at the vendor as she called a farewell, then looked over her shoulder. “Are you sure you can go without shampoo? Twilight would probably have some you can borrow...”

“Oh, it’s not for me,” she said with a blush. “It’s mostly for Angel Bunny, but if the store’s stocking the great big container then it would be for all my furred animals...”

Looking back towards the west, she shook her head again. “But the store’s almost definitely closed, and it’s too late to bathe anyone anyway.”

“So, to your house?” he asked, looking over the half-filled cart.

“Well, if you’d like… But I can get this home, if you want to just go to the library...” She purposefully looked at the tree in question, a couple minute’s walk away.

He gazed over at the tree, scratching the back of his head as he stared.

“Would you rather I go home tonight?” he asked, looking at his blushing new mare-friend. It was a weird thought, but one that warmed his chest as he thought it.

“My couch is always open,” she said carefully, blushing up at him.

“Oh-ho, my heart,” Spike chuckled, tapping at a scale with a smile. “You know, I’m not sure if my bed’s as comfy as that couch you’re offering. Are you sure it’s okay?”

Fluttershy nodded. “But you should still go talk to Twilight,” she said. “I’m sure she’s wondering how the talk went.”

Spike looked at her blankly, gazing down at her for a full minute. With a small jump, he raised a claw and smacked himself in the face.

“Crud, I completely forgot about that talk Rarity and I had yesterday, Twilight must be worried sick,” he moaned, looking back at the crystal Treebrary between his fingers.

Fluttershy looked up at him, a worried smile glancing over her muzzle. “Go ahead, Spike, really. I’ll get this home, and ready the couch for another night with a Dragon on it, and you go have a chat with Twilight.”

“Yeah, I guess that sounds good,” he muttered, running over the events of yesterday. So strange, it felt like they’d happened months ago…

He stopped thinking when he felt a hoof trace over his jawline, gently pulling him down to Fluttershy's eye-line.

Without thinking, he leaned forward a bit and gave her a soft peck on her lips, smiling down at her.

Her eyes widened and she pulled away, looking around the empty market they were standing in. “Spike, please,” she said as her cheeks reddened.

“I know, sorry,” he said, dipping his head a bit. “I just… I couldn’t help it?”

She snorted at his goofy smile, pushing his snout away as her serious expression crumbled.

“Yeah, alright then,” she said, pulling his face back to nuzzle their noses together. “Just, wait for a bit, alright?”

He nodded, pulling away with a sigh. “Alright. See you back at the couch?”

She nodded, and they parted, both looking over their shoulder and blushing as they left the market. Stretching her wings around the harness, she flapped them a couple of times to work a kink out, then started pulling forward again. Strangely, the cart seemed to be a bit heavier…

“So, Fluttershy,” a scratchy voice, full of sass and joy, said from behind her. Whipping her head back, Fluttershy felt her stomach sink.

“What was that all about?” Rainbow Dash, her feet up on one side of the cart, her back against the other, asked with a grin.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“Twilight, I’m back,” Spike called cautiously through the small crack in the library’s door. Waiting for a second, he pushed it further open and peeked inside…

Just in time to catch a large dictionary. With his face. His eyes glassed as they tried to focus on the J selection.

“Wait,” he called, holding up a claw. “I know you want to yell at me, but can I go first?”

He heard a huff. “You have thirty seconds.”

“The talk with Rarity went alright, but not very well, so Fluttershy invited me to her house for cocoa and I just spent the night there.”

Twilight was silent for a moment, processing. “So why didn’t you flame me a letter last night, or at least this morning?”

“I was kind of distraught last night,” he muttered, pulling the dictionary from its perch on his nose. “And this morning… was kind of weird. I’ll tell you later,” he said, waving away her curious gaze. “I’m honestly planning on going back over there tonight, I just wanted to update you first.”

She cocked her head to the side, looking suspiciously at him. “Found another to fill you with pins already?” she whispered, making his head snap back as he looked at her, eyes wide.

“Twilight?” he asked. “Twilight, that was caustic. Are you alright?”

She glared at the floor for a moment, then shook her head roughly. “No, not especially,” she admitted, wincing. “I’m sorry, that was really uncalled for. I’m just...” she sighed and shook her head again. “Urgh, I just haven’t had a lot of sleep for a while, and then you’ve been kind of scarce, even when you’re here...”

She sighed, slumping onto a nearby chair. “And then I haven’t seen Rarity for more than an hour weekly for the last month, and she’s always really unhappy...” The Alicorn sighed. “And now you’re spending a lot of time with Fluttershy… I don’t want you to get hurt again, and I don’t want to lose another friend… It’s so selfish of me, but...”

Spike walked over, taking his own chair across from her.

“I won’t tell you that your fears are unfounded,” he started slowly.

“Spike,” she moaned, drawing out the first vowel as she placed her hooves over her eyes.

“Now, wait,” he chided, a small smile playing over his muzzle. She closed her muzzle, looking at him over her hooves. “We, Fluttershy and I, had a really long talk about just that this morning. And while we both agree that it’s a bit fast, it’s still something we both want to pursue.

“Both of us,” he emphasized, and Twilight realized that Fluttershy wasn’t here with him.

“Did you come all the way from her cottage just to talk with me?” she asked, surprised.

“She had some shopping to do,” he said, shaking his head. “She just wanted me to talk with you about yesterday, we both thought you’d be curious.”

She nodded, staring at Spike for a moment. “Well?” she asked, with a smile.

He cocked his head to the side, then shook it slowly.

“It was civil, but I got the feeling that Rarity is doing much worse than I am. She said she missed my friendship, a lot.” Spike looked sadly in the direction of the Boutique. “I don’t think she’s recovering well at all…”

“Was she really that bad?” Twilight asked, her eyes following his for a moment.

“The last time we saw her, she was crying on the couch,” Spike said with a sigh, “and Pinkie had shown up.”

With a sad nod and a sigh, Twilight stood from her chair. “I’m going over there, then.” She walked into their kitchen, and Spike moved over to the door. Twilight returned with a glass bottle filled with dark liquid.

“You’re bringing the concentrate?” Spike asked, looking at worriedly. “You’ve already got bags to your cheeks…”

“Gee Spike, thanks,” she said cheerily, a fake smile not even bothering to show. “But, really, I need to be aware, and this coffee should help.”

“Just keep in mind what happened last time you had some straight from the glass...”

“I think that was the time that I came back in time to talk to myself...” she cracked a small smile at the memory.

“Anyway, be careful. And try to have fun?” Spike said, giving her a small hug.

She hugged him back, giving him a kiss on top of his head. “You too, enjoy the sleep… over….”

She leaned back suddenly, glaring up at him.

“We’re going slow,” he reassured her, rolling his eyes. “You think Flutters is the type to just...”

“Well, no, but...” She looked up at him again, biting her lip. “You’re just so grown up, Spike. I guess I’m still getting used to that...”

He snorted, plucking at her wings and lifting an eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, pushing him away with a small smile. “Anyway, we should both be going. Just, don't move out without letting me know, alright?”

Spike snorted, waving at her as he walked towards a side-street. Twilight waved back, and they started on their separate paths. A thought occurred to him, and he turned his head.

“Twilight!” She stopped, turning around. “He favorites are the raspberry ones! Pinkie knows which.”

Twilight looked at him, confused, then nodded and continued on her way.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Spike knocked twice at the door, then opened it. “Fluttershy, Twilight knows,” he called towards the living room. “I guess that means you get to… get Rarity…”

He walked into the living room, and straight into the grinning face of Rainbow Dash.

“I got Rainbow,” Fluttershy murmured, smiling bashfully up at the Dragon.

He looked between the Pegasus, then snapped his claws. “Damned,” he muttered, walking over to the couch Fluttershy was on and sitting beside her. “You want Rares or AJ?” he asked.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about Applejack,” Dash cackled, her wings fluttering against her sides as she chuckled.

“Someone should probably tell her, instead of whispering weird things into her ear,” Spike said, staring at a suddenly blushing Dash.

“That was one time, it’s not my fault I surprised her!”

“You knew it was her estrus, you should have known better,” Spike teased, only half paying attention. Turning back to Fluttershy, he said, “It’s not right that she’s the last to know. Want to tell her together, tomorrow maybe?”

“Well, it is a couple of days from our Spa appointment… I'm sure Aloe wouldn’t mind moving it up, and I could bring you along as a guest…” Her expression fell. “Would that be mean, getting her relaxed and telling her about… us?”

Spike snorted. “There’s not really a nice way to do this...”

“Maybe get Twilight to tell her?” Dash shrugged when they looked at her. “She would, and she’s smart enough to know how to take some of the sting away…”

Spike shook his head at her. “No, that’s a really nasty thing to do, to both of them… Almost as bad as hiding it would be…”

They all sat there for a moment, lost in thought. After a minute, Rainbow shrugged and stood up, yawning and stretching her wings.

“Well, good luck with that,” she said, moving to the door. “I’m leaving before it gets later.” She paused, sending a teasing look at the Dragon. “Gotta get to the Apple Farm before AJ falls asleep.” With that, she opened and sped out the door, her air current slamming it closed.

Spike looked awkwardly at the door, then back to Fluttershy. “Are you okay?” he asked gently.

Fluttershy looked up at him, smiling. “Yeah. Rainbow was always going to tease, but she’s gentle with me. Mostly, she was making fun of your scaly lip kisses,” she said with a giggle.

Spike smacked his lips, looking down his nose and making her laugh.

Grabbing his head, she pulled him down into a chaste kiss, pulling away still laughing. “Your lips are fine, Spike. Now, c’mon, there’s food on the stove just waiting.”

He nodded, smiling at her, then followed her into the kitchen.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

They sat in front of the fire, long forks dangling towards the flames. Large marshmallows hung, Spike’s much darker, melting and crisping before they were pulled back and slathered on graham crackers with dark chocolate squares.

“Spike?” Fluttershy asked suddenly, leaning against him.

He looked down, nuzzling the top of her head before answering with a, “Hmm?”

“Can I ask you about stuff you and Rarity did?”

He looked down at her, his head heavy with sudden thoughts. “Like, everyday things, or… Uh, or nighttime things?”

She squeaked, blushing, and softly answered, “Both? Maybe?”

Smiling, he leaned over and nipped at her ear, gently pulling at its tip with his lips. “Let me eat this last marshmallow first.” She nodded, and he tossed the entire thing in his maw, crunching the entire thing loudly. He smiled at her giggles, actually chewing the treat, then swallowed and said, “Go ahead.”

“W-Well, since we’re embarrassed already… Can I ask how far you two, uh, ‘got’?” She was blushing heavily, looking into the fire.

He sighed, half expecting this question. “As far as you can, Flutters. We weren’t, uh, celibate. In any sense of the word.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Uh, does it bother you that I’m not…” She trailed off, gazing into the fire.

“Of course I’m not bothered that you aren’t a virgin,” he finished, smiling.

She squeaked, whipping her face towards his with enough force to have her hair tap his nose. “No, I meant, does it bother you that I’m not ready, for, you know, not that...” she trailed off, blushing under his wide smile.

“Would it bother you if I was a virgin?” She asked, gazing deeply into his eyes.

“Not at all. My opinion doesn’t hang on your past exploits, Flutters.” He leaned forward, touching their noses. “And as for being ready… Well, I’m surprised we’ve been as physical as we have been, honestly.”

“I like kisses,” she muttered into his lips, he eyes half-lidded and her ears twitching.

Smiling, he tilted his head up, their lips meeting. “Me too, ‘Shy.” He kissed the tip of her nose, then pulled away slightly. “You had other questions?”

“Oh, well...”

They talked into the night, speaking of everything Fluttershy could think of, and then everything Spike could think of. Eventually, late into the morning, they fell asleep, Spike’s wing arching over the Pegasus pulled into his arms.

This was their first night together, and one of the first in months that Spike slept without dreams of a laughing black Alicorn, sneering at him from underneath purple curls.

Instead, he dreamt of a warm field of daisies, the air full of honeybees and pink butterflies.

...How Many Days has it Been?

Author's Note

This one's slightly more T rated than the others, for reference to adolescent male 'issues'. Nothing graphic, promise.

...How Many Days has it Been?

Spike stirred slowly, pulling his head away from the little ball of soft he’d wrapped himself around. His eyes closed, her pressed his nose between a pair of ears, snuffling affectionately. With a yawn, the pony in the middle shivered, slowly pushing her head up. His chin scraping along her pelt, he chuckled at the tickling, then they were nose to nose, breathing along each-other.

Opening his eyes, he looked into half-lidded blue eyes, crusty with sleep and fogged with gentle unawareness. A spark in his mind telling him he had no reason not to, he leaned forward the extra space and met warm lips with his own.

The lips under his smiled, the eyes in front of his fluttered slowly, the nose still touching his snout pulled heavily at the air. For a second, his pressure was returned, and he even felt a tongue prod at his lips.

He closed his eyes again, reveling in the soft press of…

His tired mind lurched, and he pulled away as he tried to look down at the mare, his mind a swirling mess of images; a white pegasus with the most gentle blue eyes and a purple swath of mostly straight hair hiding the precious face, blue butterflies flying on her flank…

He looked down, into her wide blue eyes, her yellow face blazing with red. Her pink hair strayed in his breath, strands dancing over her face as they stared at each other. Her ears twitched, almost straight up most of the time.

Spike reached up, running a claw over her hairline and tucking the wayward hair behind and ear.

“Good morning,” he croaked.

Her ears splayed back, laying against her skull. “Spike, I’m not...” she started, stuttering to a halt.

“Not in your bed?” he tried to finish, blinking down at her.

“N-no-not ready for…” She glanced purposefully at her croup, trying to pull her chest closer to their already touching bodies.

“Not…” He couldn’t think, his mind was being slower than normal… “Is something wrong with your… tail…”

He stopped trying to think, and simply moved his hips away from hers.

“I am so sorry,” he whispered. “I assure you, I have no control over… that…”

“I know,” she murmured, looking slightly less panicked now. “Uhm, I need to use the bathroom, but if you need to first…?”

“No, no, feel free...” He pulled his wing from over her, and quickly turned away, tucking himself into a wing pod as he waited for Fluttershy to slip away.

Instead of hoofsteps away, he felt a warm weight press into his back, and then felt all of himself stiffen when she whispered into his ear.

“You’re so warm,” she said, then kissed him between his ear and his jaw. With a quick clatter, she had dashed away.

He sat there for a minute, his mind full of fuzz again, before he turned his head and called, “That did nothing to help, I’ll have you know!”

The only response he received was a stream of giggles, followed by the quiet shutting of a door in the hall.

Shaking himself, he made sure he was alone in the room, then carefully stretched his limbs, briefly becoming a seven-pointed star on the floor. Rolling over, he worked at raising himself, still stretching out the kinks of sleeping in a ball.

Moving into the kitchen, he looked over Fluttershy’s calendar, noticing the mostly blank squares, and taking note of the few special things she had planned out.

Animals need vaccine booster

Checkup: Mr Bear

Picnic w/friends, bring fruit

He smiled at the last one, set for this afternoon. He hoped to come along, and maybe see…

He froze.

This was the first time today he’d thought of Rarity. There was that brief confusion of who he’d been kissing this morning, but this was the first time her name had consciously crossed his mind.

He hadn’t felt any sort of pain in his chest.

Looking at the calendar, he did a quick count of the days, twitching when he realized that he couldn’t just remember the number from yesterday without thought..

This is the first day I can think her name without hurting…

He felt a phantom pain, almost like a longing, and wondered briefly if he was missing the missing her.

Shaking his head, he emptied his thoughts, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly.

“Spike?”

He turned, and felt himself smile. Her mane was a bit of a mess, most of it sticking to the side of her face and neck in a frizz of static, the rest floating through the air with a mind of their own.

“Sorry, just being neurotic,” he said, attempting to reassure her. With a blush, he asked, “Speaking of, how’s your tail?”

She coughed roughly, looking away as her face lit up. She muttered something under her breath, and Spike’s ear perked. He took a step closer, cocking his head to the side.

She smiled widely, shaking her head. “Nothing, I just said it’s fine. But, um, I need to bathe real quick… Are you okay with feeding my animals, after…?”

Laughing, Spike nodded. “I hope I’ve gotten a little better, I’ve only helped you four times now.” He opened a cabinet, looking over the contents for a moment before pulling out a box of dry, ground oats.

“Feel like breakfast first?” When she shook her head, he shrugged. “I’ll leave you some on the stove.”

She smiled, nodding… Then moved closer. “Thank you,” she murmured, looking up into his eyes. Reaching up, she slowly pulled him down to her waiting muzzle, kissing without much force, but not without passion. “For feeding both me, and my animals.”

He nodded, smiling. “Careful,” he muttered, meeting her nose with his. “Dragon breath is a real issue in the morning.”

“I’ve had worse from Mr. Bear,” she said, kissing him again and turning away.

He watched her leave, smiling at the door frame, then turned to the stove.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

She spooned the last of the honey drizzled oats into her muzzle just as Spike opened the door, stomping in with a weary look, and pausing to stretch his back. He left the door open, and a pleasant breeze blew into the warm kitchen.

“How do you do all that bending over?” he asked, kneading his spine with a claw.

“Doing it every day helps,” she laughed. “Plus, weekly visits to the spa help a lot.”

“I might need a trip, if I try and keep up with that,” he complained, twisting his back to release a series of cracks and pops. “Speaking of trips, I saw that the girls were having a picnic today. Do you think they’d mind if I joined?”

“I can’t imagine they would,” she said slowly, “but, if we went, we’d either have to be really careful about each other, or make sure AJ and Pinkie know.”

“And Rarity,” he said, resolutely. “I was thinking, while I was weeding the garden...”

“Oh, thank you, Spike,” Fluttershy interrupted, quietly.

He nodded, then continued, “I was thinking, and I’m not really comfortable spending too much more time without her knowing. I’d like to tell her about us.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Are we going today?” she asked. “Before the picnic?”

He gave her a strange look. “I was going to, yeah. You don’t have to come along. It may be better if you didn’t, you know?”

Fluttershy shook her head, a hurt look crossing her face.

“Rarity can get a little… impassioned, right?” he said. “If she starts getting upset, she may yell. At both of us.”

Fluttershy frowned, having an internal debate. She really didn’t want to be yelled at, especially if it was coming from one of her best friends, one of the few she hung out with regularly. But then, she didn’t want to let her gentledrake face what could be a yelling spree by himself…

“And besides, if we both show up and one of us slips, she could be devastated,” he pointed out with a shrug. “I don’t know how delicate she might still be…”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Fluttershy asked, almost flinching at the relief she felt about not having to go.

“A hundred percent,” Spike said, nodding his head and smiling. “She may be upset, but I think she’ll be okay hearing it from me. Or, more okay, at least.”

“I mean, are we even sure she needs to know? Are we babying her?” Fluttershy snorted, shaking her head and looking into the table, shamed by her sudden outburst.

Spike looked at her carefully, then smiled.

“I don’t know if she needs to know or not. But, I,” he said, stressing the vowel, “need her to know. And yeah, we may be over worrying about her a bit, but that’s because she’s one of our dear friends. We should always worry about our friends, especially over situations like these.”

“Sorry,” she muttered. “I just… It almost feels like you’re trying to keep her a part of your life… I mean, your love life,” she said.

“A little,” he admitted. “But not in any romantic capacity. I worry about her feelings, more than a normal friend would…” He shrugged. “But we’re pretty far from normal friends, right now. I’m going to worry about her an extra bit, probably forever.

“But,” he said, strength and heat flowing in his voice, his hand warm as he reached out and cupped one of her cheeks in a claw, “That does not mean she will ever take precedence over you, Fluttershy. I’ll never abandon you to run to her, ever.”

She blushed, pushing his arm away. “You’re making me feel clingy,” she giggled. “Though I guess you’ve more than proved your point. I’ll let you handle Rarity, and I’ll take the time to prepare for the picnic.”

“See you there?” he asked.

“You better,” she said, giving him a practiced smirk, promptly dissolved into a warm smile.

They kissed, and he left the cottage, smiling over his shoulder as his tail caught the door and closed it behind him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“This is a bad idea,” Spike said aloud finally, staring at the familiar, now gaudy carousel once again.

“What’s a bad idea?” asked a bright voice from his side, one he was entirely unsurprised to hear.

“Well Pinks, I was just about to go tell my exmare-friend about my new mare-friend, and hope she doesn’t splatter me with her needles,” he said, smiling down at the excitable mare. “And I guess I’ll make sure you know, as well.”

Pinkie released her lungful of air through pursed lips, blowing a loud raspberry. “Psh, that’s old news, Spike-O. How’s it going?”

“Well, it’s a bit too early to tell, honestly,” he said. “I like it, of course. Very low key, low maintenance, low stress. And she’s sweet, in a lovey way. I look forward to knowing her better.”

“As do I, dear Spikey Wikey,” called a honeyed voice behind him, much too much sweetness and laughter in it for his taste.

“Of bucking course,” he moaned, slapping a hand over his eyes. “You know, I’ve been standing here for, like, an hour trying to figure out how to tell you.”

“Oh, I know,” Rarity said with a giggle, appearing on the opposite side of Pinkie.

She wore a large-brimmed hat, with big sunglasses, both matching her coat. The hat had a ribbon around the base that matched her cutie mark. The glasses had been custom ordered with her mark on the corners of the lenses, were they met the earpieces.

“I watched you for about fifteen minutes of it,” she said, pointing a hoof at the window on the second floor, the only one with its blinds down. “And then I snuck out of the back door, and I’ve been behind you with Pinkie for...”

Rarity turned to her, and Pinkie chimed, “Thirteen minutes, twenty-three seconds.”

“Yes, dear, thank you. Anyhow, I wondered what you were working up the courage for.” She smiled up at him, taking off her sunglasses to look directly into his eyes. “I’m happy for you, Spike. I look forward to meeting the mare who managed to steal the heart I broke.”

His chest twinged, but he easily ignored it.

“Well, you’ve already met her,” he muttered, scratching the back of his neck.

She scoffed, waving her glasses along with her fore-hoof. “Of course I have darling, I’ve met and gossiped with every mare in town.”

“You’re already well and intimately friends with her.”

“Well now, that certainly narrows it down,” she muttered, tapping her bottom lip with her glasses. “You didn’t join Bon Bon ’s herd, did you?”

“No, no, monogamous still,” he chuckled, thinking of the fifteen-odd ponies that made up that bunch.

Rarity hemmed, still tapping at her lip. She gasped, looking at up at Spike.

“She’s not another bearer, is she?”

Spike cocked his head, looking at her.

“Not that that’s a problem, of course,” she said hurriedly. “It’s just… Well, it looks a little strange to me, is all.”

Spike chuckled, shaking his head. “It is indeed an Element,” he told her.

She stared up at him, and he could see her brain throwing itself into high gear, what she called, “Revving my gossip engines.”

“Not me, not Twilight of course,” she murmured out loud. “Pinkie would be all over you if it was her, I can’t imagine Fluttershy being up for dating anyone...”

Spike held his poker face well, but he knew Rarity had memorized all of his faces. Luckily for him, she was gazing into the clouds just above his head, deep within her own mind.

“Is it Applejack?”

“Rainbow has her claim on AJ, I believe,” he said with a smile.

Her eyes widened, her muzzle splitting into a happy grin. “Really now? I have so been looking forward to those two finally…”

She paused, blinking. Pulling her head away a bit, she looked back up into his smiling face.

“She got iiiiiiiiit,” Pinkie sing-songed at the pebble she was currently rolling between her hooves, looking everything like a large, pink cat. “Boulder two-point-oh, you’re pretty boring compared to your progenitor…” she mumbled.

“Fluttershy?” she asked, strangely inflection-less.

“The one and only,” he said, watching her carefully.

“Huh,” she said, then turned, staring at her boutique. “Fluttershy...”

They stayed that way for a minute, two bodies looking vacantly at a building, a third playing with a small stone.

“So, you chased her?” Rarity asked, suspiciously warmly.

Spike twitched his head to his left, looking directly at the mare. He waited until she looked at him, meeting his gaze.

“Are you really okay, or do you have your mask on?” he asked softly.

They stared at each other for a minute, before she looked away.

“Mostly I’m okay, darling,” she said, the last word a little breathy. “I admit, I’m using my, ‘Socialite’, mask a bit, but honestly… I’m okay with you dating, Spike. I have to be,” she said with a chuckle. “After all, I’m the one...”

Spike shushed her, shaking his head. “You did me a kindness Rarity, we both know that.”

“You know,” she started, “you dodged my question, Spikey. Did you chase her?”

He rubbed the spines on the back of his head, looking away. “Actually, she kissed me first,” he admitted, blushing.

Spike waited for a moment, then a minute. When his blush went away, he turned back to them, finding them both staring at him, neither blinking. “What?”

“You… You’re… You’ve already kissed?” Rarity asked, stone faced.

“That took, like, years when you two were dating,” Pinkie whispered, sounding awestruck.

Rarity’s head whipped towards the other mare. Spike couldn’t see their expressions, but he did see Pinkie’s ears droop.

“Sorry,” she said, weakly looking back down and rolling the pebble again.

Rarity sighed heavily, then leaned onto the mare’s shoulder, making Pinkie jump a bit before she returned the embrace.

“I’m sorry too, Pinkie, I suppose this is getting to me more than I cared to admit,” Rarity sighed, nuzzling into their friend’s shoulder. “But please, Spike, please don’t feel badly. It’s not at all your fault.” She smiled up at him, her lip steady and her eyes mostly clear. Mostly.

“But come now,” Rarity declared, lifting from Pinkie’s shoulder and sniffling lightly. “Let’s go inside, and discuss this in earnest.” She glanced up at Spike. “I simply must know how you got dear Fluttershy to go after you.”

“Do we have enough time, with the picnic?” Spike asked, looking up at the sun. It hovered maybe a foot off of the horizon, still rising. “I’m not sure when it’s supposed to start...”

“Pinkie, I trust you have desert ready and cooling?” Rarity asked, returning the baker’s nod. “And my salad is quite ready, the dressing can be mixed last minute… Yes, I believe we have the perfect amount of time!” Rarity crowed, giving a ladylike cheer of glee.

Spike groaned, recognizing her smile and cheer. Still, he couldn’t wipe the smile from his face as he was drug into her house, a mare pulling each foreleg.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“… And then she had her lips on me, and of course I froze, like I always do whenever I panic...”

“True, darling, you always have...”

“… And she smiled up at me, and she slurred like a drunken sailor, something about going to bed...”

“Sleepy Flutters always has been a bit silly, ever since we had that sleepover with Rainbow...”

“And thank you, Pinkie, for not inviting me to that, I’ve heard the worst things from the poor dear about it…”

“And in the morning, I told her what had happened, and we had breakfast, and she asked me to kiss her there!”

“So of course, our gentledrake decided to oblige the poor pegasus… Stop chortling Pinkie, it’s very distracting...”

Spike pointed a claw at Rarity, nodding. “That’s just it, actually. We kissed, and we both liked it, and then I had to go dunk my head in a rain barrel.”

Pinkie crowed with glee, rocking back into the couch she and Rarity were sitting on and wrapping her legs around her barrel, trying to hold her heaving ribs together.

“Pinkie, please,” Rarity begged, a hoof almost stuffed into her muzzle. “It’s not ladylike to… to… to laugh like…”

She finally lost it, rolling with the mare on the couch cushions, both being glared at by a faux-petulant dragon. After a minute, he relented, joining in on their laughter.

They sat there for a few minutes, trying to recover only to dissolve in giggles again. Eventually, Rarity looked up at the clock on the wall.

“Oh, shoot,” she muttered, standing up and walking towards the kitchen. “Pinkie, dear, you may want to go grab the desert. We’ve only fifteen minutes until the picnic...”

Pinkie let out a squeaky, high-pitched gasp, before rocketing up from the couch and through Rarity’s front door. The bell jingled as the door closed.

Spike, chuckling, stood from his chair and stretched, standing on his hind legs and reaching up with his forelegs. Popping his back, he relaxed his arms, letting his claws fall…

And smacking them against the wooden beams of Rarity’s ceiling.

Looking around, he tapped at the beams, bemusedly scuttling his claws over the tops of the wood. He scraped a claw over the top, looking down at the mound of dust on his digit.

“Oh my, Spike…”

He looked down at the unicorn, currently around waist-height to him. He lowered himself, letting his forelegs take his weight and walking like a pony again.

“You’ve grown some more. I remember when your were...” She paused, then shook her head with a smile. “I can remember when you were as tall to me as I am to you, now. So cute and chubby,” she said, inflating her cheeks and making her voice pitch up at the end.

“I guess it’s a good thing you haven’t gotten chubby, to replace mine,” he said, poking her nose and flicking up, making her cross her eyes and sniffle.

“Well, I suppose it’s nice to know I haven’t, well... That I’ve stayed trim.” She rubbed at her nose daintily with a hoof, then levitated a basket over to him. “Are you still a gentledrake, Spike?”

“I could never let a lady carry her own burdens,” he chuckled, taking the basket and securing it between two spines on his back. “Shall we, then?”

No, Really, What Day is It?

The picnic went relatively well, as long as you discounted Rarity's small crying spell. And the fact that Rainbow and AJ had talked Spike into creating something Twilight had called “the Tower of Terror”, and Fluttershy had called “Oh Celestia Please Put Them Down Please”.

Everything else had been fine, though. Even Twilight's annoyance at the fact that Spike had planned on sleeping on Fluttershy's couch again. And her annoyance at their little nuzzle when they started talking at the same time. And when Spike had wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy, acting nonchalant when she squeaked and nestled into him.

Twilight was just irritated in general, she decided as she slammed a book into a missing slot on its shelf. More than she should be.

Looking around the deserted room, Twilight sighed before lifting all the books off of the return cart, levitating them into their proper slots as she left the small (for her castle anyway) set of rooms she used as a public library.

Looking down the halls, she caught a giggle as her (pretty much former) student darted through a hallway, most likely playing some sort of teleportation game with her marefriend. Those two loved blinking around the castle, Trixie using it mostly as an excuse to practice her magics, but also to tackle Starlight whenever she caught her.

Twilight shook her head, unable to keep off her smile, but also unable to shake off the general sadness lingering about herself.

Wandering away from the marefriends, she walked up to an older room, took a deep breath, and gently pushed open the door to Spike's first bedroom.

Glad she took the breath, she cast a dusting spell, then walked into the cleaner room.

It was surprisingly clear of anything, beyond the item she'd come to get. Spike had cleared it out extremely well when he'd hit his first natural growth spurt, taking all but one item. After all, he'd been well and colt sized at that point, and needed a bed.

What need would he have had for the little basket, abandoned in this empty room?

She gingerly picked up the little cushion inside the woven bed, gently patting some extra little dust off of the bottom, flicking away a tiny forgotten scale shed long ago. The basket itself wasn't looking great, a little fragile from the age, but the cushion seemed just fine. Maybe a stray thread or two. She sat down, holding it to her barrel.

She nuzzled the pillow for a while, thinking long and hard. Eventually, she nodded to herself, then stood and walked out of the bare room, making her way to her own suite.

Walking through the receiving room, past the library and her actual bedroom, she made her way to what she considered her office; a spacious room with a single bookshelf (covered in law-books, no light reading to relieve potential boredom) and a large desk, covered in tidy stacks of paperwork and a large map of the area.

Gently, she floated a chunk over to the long table she had on the side, for just this reason. Pulling out a quill and parchment, she filled out a note and looked it over, magically erasing a part and trying to make it a little gentler.

Reading it over, she nodded with a smile, before gently wiping away a tear with the pillow.

Satisfied, she walked into her personal library, then pulled open the book on the table beside the large chair in front of the window, and she enjoyed the warmth of the sun as she looked through her latest read.

The pillow stayed beneath her barrel, gently cushioning her as she read.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

She heard him first, fuming and hovering outside her library door. Setting her book to the side, she turned her chair and another so that they could comfortably face each other. Nodding, she moved a table close to the other one, then opened the chamber door with a smile.
“I half expected you tonight, half in the morning.”

He waved the letter in his claw, frowning at it. “I thought that this was more important than helping Flutters make dinner. As did she. Can I ask why?”

Twilight nodded, her smile wavering. “Of course, Spike. But please, sit down? I can have some tea here, if…?”

He nodded, then slowly took his seat next to Twilight. He placed the note on the table he knew Twilight had placed by his chair, then accepted a summoned teacup.

They both took a sip from their cups, then exhaled, looking each other in the eye as they did so. They smiled at themselves, making fun of older, other times. Spike's smile fell quickly, and his eyes dipped as well, into his teacup.

“Did…?”

Twilight interrupted him immediately, saying, “No, Spike, it's nothing you've done. Or, at least, nothing you've done wrong. It's not a punishment, just something I think will help me cope with...”

When she trailed off, he prompted her, “Cope with?”

“Well, with you growing up,” she finished, with a smile. “I mean, this thing with Fluttershy's helped me realize just how grown up you're getting to be. I'm well,” Twilight shivered, a chill down her back, “aware, of some of the things you and Rarity were getting up to,” Spike blushed, and looked awkwardly out the window, “but sex doesn't always equate with adulthood.”

They both took a moment to breathe, sipping from their mugs of tea.

“But things are not the same with Fluttershy, are they? I believe you when you say you've just kissed, yet you're spending much more time with her then you did with Rarity at the beginning, and you're already making dinner with her, and spending the night on her couch, helping her with her animals… stuff like that… I don't know, Spike,” she huffed, throwing her hooves up in the air.

“Things just feel different, don't they?” he asked, smiling at her. “With Rarity it was sort of a 'leap for it before it's gone' type of thing, while this… It's more 'be careful, go slow, enjoy this moment' type of thing.”

“You've thought about this a lot, Spike?” Twilight asked, looking over the dragon. He seemed… tired, but happy. Sort of like he was ready to glow, if he wasn't quite yet.

“Twilight, I am so afraid that I'm just using Fluttershy as a rebound for Rarity,” he admitted, his smile falling. “She deserves so much more than that, and I cannot even imagine what would happen if that was what's happening right now.”

He set his cup to the side, and ran his claws over his face.

“On top of that, she basically admitted to not even having thought of me romantically before, no surprise there of course, but...”

“Whoa, Spike,” Twilight said, holding up a hoof. “It sounds to me like you're over thinking this, especially if you're specifically going slow. I mean, it's obvious she likes you now, right?”

He nodded.

“Well then, that should be all you need, right?”

“That...” he started, taking a long breath in the middle, breathing out with a smile. “Yeah, that really should be, shouldn't it?”

He looked up from his cup, smiling at Twilight. “It will be, Twilight. Thank you.”

She nodded, and for a minute, both of them smiled at each other. Then Spike's smile dropped, and he tapped the letter with a claw.

“So, you're evicting me because I'm getting to old?”

“Yup!” she said cheerfully. “You need to spread your wings, and yada yada yada.” Sighing, Twilight leaned forward. “Spike, you are well out of adolescence, into your early twenties now. I'm Mama Bird-ing you, and I might should have done it earlier. You'll have two weeks…”

Spike held up a claw, cutting her off silently. “That seems like quite a bit of time, Twi. I think a real landlord would say a week, maybe five days?”

Twilight looked at Spike for a moment, then giggled as she nodded. “Very true. You'll have a week…”

“Oh, come on!” he once again cut off Twilight, bursting out angrily, “That's nowhere near enough time to find a place to live, and to move into! How am I supposed to move in a week!?”

Twilight gawked at him for a moment, stunned by the sudden outburst. His scowl slowly turned into a grin, and they both started to chuckle, then burst into laughter.

“Really though,” Twilight said, wiping away a tear. “I'd like you to start looking for a house. Standard Princess/Student stipend, so you should be able to find somewhere reasonable. And Spike?”

Her face turned stony, and he squashed his giggles, trying to match her gravity.

“I don't want you just bunking with Fluttershy. Not,” she lifted a hoof as he moved to interrupt her. “Not because your relationship is so young, or because I think untoward things would happen. I just want to see you succeeding on your own, not off of one of your friends. Do you understand?”

He sighed, then nodded. “You want to be sure I can take care of myself.”

“The same as Celestia when she moved me out here, the same as I'll eventually have to do with Starlight Glimmer.” Twilight looked suspiciously around the room, as though her name had invoked her somehow. “Though with Trixie, and seeing as how she had her own town for awhile, I'm sure she'll do fine.”

Spike nodded absently, already going through his options in his head. “I don't suppose there are any houses for rent right now, are there?” he mused out loud.

He jumped a bit when Twilight cleared her throat and jumped out of her chair, making for the door.

“I doubt it, but the Mayor always keeps me in the loop about empty houses. Making sure nothing moves into them without paying, I suppose.”

Walking into her office, Twilight picked up the large map and clipped it to the cork-board on the wall, looking over the massive square.

“There's a few, actually, though some of these might have been taken already,” Twilight said absently, as she floated few metal markers over to the board, highlighting houses with certain symbols written within them. Finished, she put the rest away, leaving twelve markers on the board.

“More than I expected,” Spike muttered, looking over the placement. “All of these are for rent?”

“All of these have owners than can be talked into renting,” Twilight corrected, highlighting a marker with her magic. “This one you'd have trouble with, maybe, but most of the rest would be happy to rent out their properties. Four of them you'd have to talk into it, this one,” she let her magic fizz a bit, “included.”

“So eight ready to rent, four possibly rent-able,” he confirmed, Twilight nodding her head in his peripheral. “Would you happen to have a notepad, so I...”

A piece of parchment floated over, already inscribed with the details.
Chuckling, Spike took the paper. “I don't care what Rainbow says, you rock. Alright then, I'm going to go look over everything in my room. Make sure I want to take all of it, and all.”

“Take your time, of course. Just remember two things; this is not a punishment for anything, and I love you very much, Spike.”

Blushing, Spike leaned down to hug Twilight. “Love you too, big sis.”

They both leaned to hug each-other, Spike leaning down while Twilight had to stretch ever-so-slightly up, and sniffled on themselves for a few seconds. Playfully, Spike shoved Twilight away, rubbing at his eyes.

They both started giggling, then Twilight composed herself long enough to salute carefully, Spike looking at her strangely until he floated up into the air, turned, and zoomed out Twilight's door, the wooden piece slamming behind him.

They both chuckled for a while, both sobering up quickly when Spike shut the door to Twilight's suite.

Twilight stayed where she was for a while, her mind a tumult of nothing and everything combining into static. She stared at those houses for a long time, noting the few closest to her, as well as those closest to Fluttershy, and for some reason, those closest to Rarity.

She walked back to the library, sat on her chair, and used his cushion to wipe at her tears.

“How the buck do you do it?” she whispered to the sun, streaming in her window.

The sun didn't answer.

Author's Note

I am so sorry that this took this long to get to, I promise that I didn't just have this sitting around gathering dust (I had about twenty words today at 1400). Thank you so much for staying around for this, and I promise to get the next one done sooner.

Please, is there's anything wrong, or just not as good, comment or message me and I'll fix it as soon as I can. Love you all, and thanks for reading :pinkiehappy:

The Part of a Day He Looked for a House

Spike scowled at his list, blinking in the morning's light.

“Pinkie, please,” he begged, to no avail. “It's too early for this.”

Pinkie pretended not to hear, as she loaded up his table with sweet confectioneries and strong coffee, no milk soiling its pure depths.

Reaching forward, he lifted the mug and breathed in the vapors rising, scenting the sugar hidden beneath even this black lake. Sighing, he downed half the cup, the near boiling liquid pleasant in his throat, then got to work munching on a doughnut.

“Diabetes is thing, Pinkie, even for Dragons,” he muttered, smoothing out the map he'd grabbed from the Mayor's office this morning and using the cup to hold down the top of it. Confirming his list with her secretary, Spike had been able to mark three off of his list right away, one of them the one Twilight had mentioned could possibly be talked into renting. Maybe.

He'd also given him a key, which Spike had looked askance at.

“We can trust the Princess's assistant with our so called 'Skeleton' key,” he'd said as Spike picked it up. “With that you can go into the rentals, who've had their locks temporarily enchanted to open to that key, and that one alone. Feel free to wander in and check out how they look.”

Still didn't explain why it looked like vertebra, or why the top was shaped into a pony's skull.

Looking between the list and the map a few times, he crossed one of the outright rentals off the list, and one of the talking to the owner ones as well.

“This one's right next to the markets, never be quiet,” he muttered. “And this one...”

That one was just a little too close to the Carrousel Boutique, honestly.

“Leaves seven I need to see, by today hopefully,” he sighed. Grabbing his coffee, he gulped the rest of it, then looked at the map for the nearest of the houses. Rolling up the page, he checked his neck for the strange key, then looked at his table.

Stacked there were five boxes, along with a set of delivery bags.

“Oh, Spike~...”

With a sigh, he started loading the boxed pastries into the bags. “That's why you were loading up my table, wasn't it?” he half-growled at the pink pony beside him, beaming brightly.

“The names are printed on the boxes, it's just for our friends,” she said, nudging him gently. “I know you'll see Twilight and Fluttershy today, and you can give Rainbow the other three, so it's not a big deal, right?”

Huffing, he put on a frown and slowly shook his head.

Laughing, Pinkie leapt up and grabbed onto his neck, hugging him gently until he chuckled and wrapped a foreleg around her.

“Alright, alright, you'll turn my scales pink.”

“Thanks, Spikey,” she said, dropping the hug and hurrying towards the counter. “Good luck with the house hunt!”

Waving at her and Mrs. Cake at the counter, he ducked through the door and turned left, heading towards the first place for rent.

Walking up to the building, he noted it was one of the few actual apartment buildings in town, though nowhere as large as some of the ones in Manehattan could be. He guessed maybe eight ponies in all could live in the building, based on the doors.

Walking around the structure, he moved towards one door that had a sign over it, marked only as “Office.”

Knocking first, he turned the knob and opened the door into what reminded him of Twilight's office, just with more benches and less books. There was only one pony in the room, currently staring guiltily at the door with a hayburger clasped in his hooves.

“Ah,” he said through his mouthful, dropping the both the look and the burger, the later onto some waxed paper on the desk. He swallowed, taking a drink from a cup on his desk. “I thought you might have been my wife. Been getting onto me about the grease and fat recently… But come in, come in! What can I do for you, Mister...” he thought for a moment, “Spire?”

“Ah, thank you, though it's just Spike,” the drake said, entering the room and carefully closing the door with his tail. “I've been sort of tossed out, so to say, and I've been told that this building was renting out.”
The pony took a long look over him, several times moving his eyes over Spike's head to his tail.

“I do indeed have two rooms, both of them fundamentally the same,” he said, slowly. “However, and I do not mean to offend, they are pony size. We can go look them over, but...” He trailed off, leaving Spike to wonder how exactly he meant.

“If it's no bother, could I please see one?” Spike asked, scratching his head.

The pony nodded, wrapping up his burger and taking a drink from his cup before taking a key from his desk.

“Through this door, please,” he said, walking through a door and down a hallway that seemingly led past every room. He stopped at the third door, marked simply with an '18'.

Unlocking the door, the pony stepped aside and beckoned to Spike, who moved forward and entered cautiously. There was a small closet directly in front of him, presumably for winter clothes, with a small turn and a hallway leading towards…

“Ah, I see.”

He turned his head, wiggling his hips as they brushed one side of the frame as he tried to move further into the room. Arching his back, he managed to move his rear legs inside, and get his forelegs into the hallway, but his tail remained out in the main hallway.

“The rest of the living space would be much the same, I am afraid, sir,” the manager said, poking his head into the doorframe, above Spike's tail. “A bit small, I think.”

“No, no, more than fair enough,” Spike said, starting to back out of the tiny room. The stallion made room, and they left the tiny room behind.

“They're all are set up the same?” Spike asked as they headed to the front room.

“All except for mine, which is a bit bigger,” The stallion said, returning the key and himself to the desk. “Anything else, Mr. Spike?”

“Nothing I can think of. Thanks for letting me look, at least,” he said, bowing his head slightly. The pony returned the gesture, before tearing back into his food.

Closing the door, Spike looked down at the remaining eight locations.

“One of these have to be decent, right?” he muttered, looking over the other eight listings. “At least one, right?”

ææææææææææææææææææææææææææææææ

Spike nearly slammed into the chair, making Fluttershy jump. He let out a loud groan, stretching the noise out until he received a flying pastry to the mouth.

“That bad?” Fluttershy asked, nodding to Pinkie behind the counter.

They'd agreed to meet at Sugarcube Corner for lunch, with a possibility of moving to a cafe for lunch. Spike had been planning on telling her some good news, but…

“Six down, three left,” he muttered, placing the blotted list on the table. “Too small, too small, too small,” he chanted, tapping three names. “This one was literally just a pile of tinder nailed into a house shape, and the owner wanted me to convince him to rent...”

“I'm sorry,” Fluttershy said soothingly, rubbing a hoof over Spike's back as he planted his face into the table. “I don't really have much left to do back home, if you'd like me to come along…?”

He smiled up at her, still shaking his head. “Nah, I've got this. And besides, Twilight wants me to adult. Finding my own place is probably part of that.”

“Well, alright,” she said, stroking his back gently. “Let me know if you need help anyways.”

Laughing, he wrapped a leg around her and pulled her close, sharing a gentle hug. “I'll be fine, 'Shy, I promise. I've only got three more, and I might just go ahead and mark one off based on the other two. As a matter of fact…”

He looked over the map again, nodded, then marked off a name.

“That leaves two, one here,” he pointed to one near one of the edges of town, near where Twilight's tower had sprouted. “And one here,” he continued, pointing near a different edge, this one close to where the Everfree encroached on the town. “One near Twilight, and my possible job; one near your house, where I'll likely spend…”

He blushed, looking at her. “However much time you'll let me, probably.”

Blushing, Fluttershy swat at him with her tail, but made no move to get away from his hug.

“So, lunch?”

She nodded, and the two of them made their way to the small cafe nearby; one that made more capital by selling savory foods and sending their customers Pinkie's way for their after-dinner deserts and delights.

That's what the hoof-carved sign said anyways, “Deserts and Delights”.

ææææææææææææææææææææææææææææææ

After a short walks towards Twilight’s tower, Spike made a left onto a small street he barely recognized. Looking around, he realized why. Completely residential street.

Nodding to himself, he wandered down the street, checking street numbers against the one on his map once, then twice when he reached the building he thought was right. A small sign reaffirmed his suspicions, and he walked up to the door.

He couldn't remember whether this was one of the owned houses or not, so he pressed the weird key into the doorknob. With a click, he was inside.

The door opened into a large, hardwood floored room. It was the living room, judging by the slight scuff marks on the floor and white wallpaper. Two doors exited on either side of the room. Moving through the doorway, Spike closed the door with his tail as he stretched around the room.

He almost touched the walls if he stood along the width of the room, but there was more space along the length.

Nodding to himself with a smile, he moved through the door on the right side of the room.

All in all, while a bit tight in certain hallways, this could be a wonderful little place for him. It even had a tub made for larger ponies, so it would fit him relatively well. And if he ever really wanted to soak, Twilight's castle was about four minutes away.

Sitting down in the tiled kitchen, he unrolled the map and checked the distances, nodding absently to himself.

While this house was about five minutes from Twilight, walking, the other house was about seven minutes to Fluttershy's. This one was about twenty minutes from Fluttershy's, while the other was maybe fifteen from Twilight's…

But then again, his wings… But winter…

He shook his head soundly, scratching his head and looking over the map for another second and shrugging. Rolling up the papers, he left the house and locked the door, spreading his wings and flying towards the mayor's office. Landing on the round porch, he opened the door and wandered through the hallways inside, moving back to the secretary's desk.

“Oh, hello Spike,” he said, smiling around the top of a stack of papers. Spike remembered the same stack from this morning, and it hadn't seemed to have moved. “Can I help you with the housing situation?”

“I hope so,” the dragon said, spreading the map and tapping the house closest to Twilight. “How much is this house a month to rent?”

Surprised, the aide started digging through some of the drawers on the side of the desk. While he was doing so, Spike pulled out a spare piece of parchment and a quill, and wrote Twilight a quick question.
At the same time the secretary held up a piece of parchment victoriously, Spike turned his head and coughed up the reply. He'd learned to be considerably less flashy than he used to be. Looking at the number on the reply, he smiled and looked at the aide, who quoted him the price.

“Per month?”

He nodded.

“Perfect, I'll take it.”

The secretary blinked, his face working. “No haggling? No arguing about the price?”

“Well,” Spike started, slowly, “I happen to know that one of two people set this price. Either the Mayor herself, who would have looked around and found a house of this worth and set the price; or Twilight, who would have done that and much, much more. So, yes, I will take this fair price,” he chuckled.

“Well, I'll need the first month's payment ahead of time,” the stallion said slowly, picking up speed as he spoke, “as well as a deposit towards repairs, in case something happens and you're unable or unwilling to pay for them, and...”

“Oh, would you be able to point me towards somewhere that insures against monsters, and other supernatural disaster?” Spike interrupted, half raising a claw.

Taking a breath, the secretary nodded, and they talked together over the next half-hour; discussing various ins and outs of home rental and insurance and a myriad of other things involved. At the end, the secretary was digging in the same drawer he pulled the list of prices out of, finally pulling out a thankfully normally shaped key.

“And this is yours. Remember to bring by the first payment tomorrow, or the Mayor'll be after me, then you,” he cautioned, looking over at the closed door.

“I mean, I'll be here, but you sort of know where I live,” Spike chuckled.

The stallion did not.

Spike stopped, and nodded gravely.

After another half-minute of chit-chat, Spike was on the porch again, mentally torn between two prospects.

“Twilight first, or Fluttershy...” he muttered, looking between the castle and the Everfree.

Spreading his wings, he took off to the forest, mentally noting to go get Twilight before actually heading to the empty house.

Counting to himself, he made sure to note how long it took to reach Fluttershy's from the Mayor's office.

Four minutes, and likely not more than two extra from my... my own house.

Landing in the front yard, he smiled over at the mare, and several of her animals, in the process of tending some of the flower beds in front of her house.

“Hey, 'Shy, I've got something to show you. Want some help finishing up?”

Later the Same Day

After speeding through the rest of Fluttershy's more important chores, the two took off towards Twilight's castle, Spike keeping silent for most of the flight. When Fluttershy tried to ask him what was going on, he'd reassure her that nothing was wrong, and that he wanted to tell Twilight and her at the same time.

Landing on the castle's doorstep, Spike opened the door and peered around it, looking down the hallways. Moving out of the way, he made room for Fluttershy to come in, then took off towards Twilight's public library, keeping an eye out for Starlight or her marefriend.

They reached the library first, and looked inside to find an unfortunate lack of the princess.

Fortunately, they found another pony in her stead.

“Heya, Starlight,” Spike called, waving a paw at her. “Where's Twilight off to?”

She looked up from the book she'd been reading, smiling over it at Spike and Fluttershy.

“Oh, she's around. I think she said she was getting a late lunch, maybe another book from her own library to bring over here. Slow day today, apparently.”

They both snickered as Fluttershy looked around the empty library.

After a quick word they left this particular library for the one closer to Twilight's bedroom. Through a series of halls that Fluttershy could have sworn she remembered, but could not exactly place, Spike led the two of them to a set of mostly unassuming doors.

Cracking them, a voice called from the room, “This is not part of the public library, this is a private room!”

Smiling, Spike stuck his head around the door, waving at Twilight.

“Oh, Spike, come on in, of course. How's the house-hunt going along?” she said with a smile at him. “Not too bad, is it?”

“That's what I'm here for, actually. If you've already eaten, I've got something to show you. Fluttershy's here too,” he pushed her around the door, and she waved meekly at Twilight, “I wanted you two to see it together.”

Twilight's smiled widened, and she replaced a book in the shelf she was standing in front of. “Already, Spike? I guess I need to get that stipend ready earlier than I thought.” Her horn lighting up, she teleported a thin sheaf of long papers to herself, then held them out to Spike. “Remember to keep those balanced, please,” she reminded him, lifting an eyebrow at him.

“Of course, dear Princess,” he said, bowing grandly. “Same as Princess Celestia gave you...” he started to ask, opening the book to glance at the first page, pausing at the number inscribed on the front page. After a moment, he glanced back up at Twilight, lifting his own eyebrow.

“Twilight.”

She gazed over at him, her stony face unchanging. “Hmm?”

“Twilight,” Spike said again, tapping the booklet, “I know your memory's not this bad, and I know your math isn't either.” He held up the book, pointing it at her. “What is this?”

“That is the stipend that I have decided upon,” she started, stopping when Spike shook his head impatiently.

“Twilight, this is over twice what Celestia was giving you when she sent you out here. I did some of your finances, remember? So you would buy food instead of just books,” Spike said with a smile, shaking the little book.

“It was more so that you could learn a bit of math,” Twilight said as she looked at the book, then at the ground, absently scraping her hoof along the floor in a pattern. “… I didn't want you to go hungry, Spike,” she muttered. “I just wanted…”

Spike lifted a paw to his face, massaging his eyes. “Twilight, both of us got along comfortably on the amount Celestia gave you, for years. And besides,” he said, tossing the booklet back to her, “You wanted me to be on my own, remember? That's the reason for this. Sort of hard to be on your own when you're getting this much 'support', Mom,” he said, teasingly.

She caught the book in her magic, looking it over before lowering her horn to the lifted book, tapping the inside of the cover with her magic.

“Better?” she asked, lifting the booklet over to him. He looked over the number again, then into her steeled eyes, and sighed.

“I suspect it's the lowest you're willing to go, so it'll work. Not like I have to spend it all, I suppose. Now, do you want to come on or what,” he asked, tucking the book away and turning to the mares with a smile.

“Everyone ready, then?”

The two mares nodded at him, Twilight stopping suddenly. “Actually, I'll meet you two at the door. I've got something to take care of, it'll only take a moment.”

Spike nodded, and he led Fluttershy through the hallways, opening the doors to Twilight's fading teleportation flash. Grinning, she floated over a piece of paper to Spike's saddlebag, slipping it inside and shaking her head at his questioning gaze.

Shrugging, he started walking away from the castle, heading towards the inner parts of town.

“I'm sure you've figured out what's going on by now,” Spike said over his shoulder, turning down one of the first roads on the outskirts of town.

“Did you already find someplace, Spike?” Fluttershy asked, looking around at the residences they were slipping past. “Oh, look, there's Roseluck,” she muttered, sending a timid smile towards the florist who returned it with her own greeting.

“Yeah, there's a few ponies around here I recognize,” Spike called, looking up and down an intersection, before turning left. “I'm pretty sure I saw Ditzy coming out of a house around mine, and I think Donny was walking around the neighborhood as well.”

“Well, I'm glad you know your neighbors already,” Twilight said. “Some of them, at least.”

Sighing, Spike stopped. “Hold on a second,” he muttered, flaring his wings and taking off, looking down around the neighborhood before gesturing for the two of them to join him. Together, they landed in front of a house that only one of them barely recognized.

Pulling out the thin metal key, Spike ceremoniously opened the door, moving to the side and bowing the mares in.

Giggling, the two entered, Twilight already wincing at the obvious furniture marks on the wall and floor. She moved off on her own, inspecting the hardwood floors and walls, while Fluttershy spun in place, smiling at the empty walls and the large room.

“I'm gonna have to get a couch,” Spike groused, walking in and closing the door. Looking around, he sighed at Twilight. “I've already agreed to lease it, Twi.”

She stood, ramrod straight, turning to say something, before swallowing her words and smiling.

“I hope you'll like it as much as I liked my first house,” she said, sincerely.

“I'm sure I wi-wi-will...” Spike started, stuttering to a stop when the door erupted in quiet knocks. “Uh,” he muttered, looking bewildered.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight lit up the doorknob and pulled the door to the side, revealing Spike's tormentor to be a stormy pegasus with blonde hair, a basket clutched protectively in her teeth. She smiled widely around the handle, tipping a wink instead of trying to talk around it.

“Oh, hey Ditzy,” Spike said, giving her a wide smile. “I knew I saw you around earlier. You're a neighbor?”

Setting the basket by the door, she tilted her head up to him and returned the smile, nodding her head. Reaching a hoof over, she flicked at the checkered cloth covering the insides, revealing…

Brownies.

The rest of the room looked up at the blushing mare, all three of them blinking.

In her warm, joyous but bashful voice, the mare giggled and said, “I ran out of baking powder...”

The other three shared a look, then their own little chuckles and giggles.

“Knowing your skills, they'll be excellent,” Spike said, picking up the basket. “If Twilight wouldn't mind summoning some plates, I think we all have time to enjoy these…?”

Twilight nodded and zapped some plates into existence, and everyone received a brownie.

They were delicious.

ææææææææææææææææææææææææææææææ

Spike gently closed his front door, having given thanks to the blond mare and promising to return her basket as she left. He was wondering if she liked blondies, or if she'd prefer some sort of simple confectionery, when he zeroed back in on his two remaining guests, both smiling at him.

“What?” he asked, bemused.

“You did really well, entertaining your first guest,” Twilight said happily, Fluttershy nodding beside her.

“Well, of course,” Spike blustered, looking a bit bewildered. “I mean, I've known Ditzy for years now, and I've been entertaining for you, Twilight, for ages now...”

Twilight shook her head, and Fluttershy said, “She was here for you, Spike, not Twilight. It may not feel like it, but this could have been a big deal, and you performed flawlessly.” She clacked her front hooves together, smiling up at him. “Good job!”

He rolled his eyes, waving off their praise even as he blushed. “You guys are being weird. Twilight,” he said, turning to her, “am I sleeping in my room at the castle tonight, or on the floor here?”

“Well,” she started, smiling over at Fluttershy, “I doubt you would have to sleep on the floor, but I've actually got a moving out present for you.”

She stood up and walked over to the door, moving through the saddlebags Spike had left by the door and pulling out the slip of paper she'd put there earlier. Gesturing at the two of them, she walked towards what was to be the master bedroom.

Stopping them just outside the door, Twilight walked into the large room and wandered around the middle, until she decided she'd found the center.

Unfolding the paper, she summoned a quill and scratched something onto the paper, then looked up.

“Cover your ears.”

Spike looked curiously at her, but obeyed. Fluttershy looked up at him before covering her own. Nodding, Twilight cast a small spell on her own ears, then started pushing magic into the paper, letting it go as it began to float by itself.

After another few moments, hazy outlines began to float through the room, Twilight seeming to direct them as they passed near her. After a full minute, the room was filled with shadows, and Twilight cut the spell.

With a massive popping noise, Spike's bedroom from the castle came into being, displaced air rushing through the hallway and into the living room.

Twilight nodded with a grin, her ears glowing as she pulled away the spell that was stoppering them. “See, Spike? Neither the floor or the castle. Before we left, I 'packed up' your room, and it's sort of just been waiting for me to tell it where to go.”

Spike walked over to the dresser that had been in his room, still decorated with pictures of his friends. He let his back paws squish into the plush rug he'd placed in his other room long ago, standing on his back legs as he looked over the faces of the mares that had been placed there years ago, occasionally getting a fresher picture in the old frame.

One, though, never changed. The centerpiece, placed with help of a ruler.

All seven of them, taken when he was still dwarfed by the ponies.

“You switched out your picture, Twilight,” Spike noted, picking up her frame and admiring the exact same pose she had made last time. Every time.

“The other one was starting to fade,” she said, looking away and blushing.

Smiling, he leaned over and wrapped her in a hug, picking up the mare and cuddling her to his chest. She squeaked a little, before relaxing into his embrace and nuzzling him, her legs pinned to her sides in his arms.

“Thank you so, so much Twilight,” he muttered, nuzzling the top of her head. “You’ve done so much, and made this so easy on me.”

“I couldn’t exactly make this harder on you, silly,” she tried to grouse from under his arms.

Fluttershy leaned against the door, smiling over at them and letting out a quiet giggle. Looking over at her and blushing, Spike gave Twilight a last squeeze and let her down, scratching the back of his head and looking over at the dresser again.

Flinching, he whipped his arm out and spun a certain picture, then placed it gently face-down.

“Gonna have to ask Rarity for another picture,” he told the two mares staring at him.

“Risqué?” Twilight asked, floating the picture over Spike’s head and glancing at it. Her eyes widened and she teleported the entire thing away, blushing.

“Yeah, a bit,” he chuckled.

“Uhm,” Fluttershy murmured, raising a hoof. “If I could, uhm...What kind of...”

Twilight shook her head, Spike blushing.

“If it helps, Twi, she sent it to me,” Spike said, chuckling. “I’d never have the courage to ask for a plot-shot.”

Twilight’s hoof connected to her forehead, rubbing over her eyes as she mouthed the words ‘Plot-Shot’ to herself. Fluttershy, of course, blushed and turned her head away, coughing into her hoof.

“I honestly forgot about it,” he said, looking over the rest of his pictures carefully. “It’s been a while since I was in my room long enough to pay attention...” He frowned, looking over another picture with him and Rarity entwined in front of a restaurant in town. Pulling it from its frame, he set the picture off to the side, doing the same with another picture of them kissing…

He squinted at it, then shrugged and placed it with the other picture.

“We’ll need some pictures to replace these, ‘Shy,” he murmured, the mare blushing while Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Well, I suppose I’ll leave you both to it, before I start having to imagine Rainbow’s barfing sounds again.” Twilight moved over to Spike, sharing a hug. On her way out of the room, she paused, then gave Fluttershy a hug of her own.

“Thanks, for making him happy again,” she whispered, before letting go and walking down the short hallway. They heard her open the front door, then shout, “Don’t break that bed again!” Before either of them could do more than blush, they heard the door close.

Fluttershy looked up at Spike, her eyes large and questioning.

“Look, it was only one time, a-a-and...”

He trailed off as she filled the room with gentle laughter.

Soon, he joined her.

A Happy Week Later

Author's Note

This is a good one :pinkiehappy:

A Happy Week Later

Spike blinked, smiling, but yet unsure as to why. Something warm shifted against his chest, and his smile widened.

Ah, right.

Stretching his neck a bit, he let it pop before arcing it down and nuzzling the fluffy pegasus in his arms, almost hidden beneath the blankets.

We should really stop doing this, Twilight's going to get ideas about what we're doing… Tartarus, so will the rest of the town.

He gently pulled away, slipping from beneath her blankets, and placed three of his claws on the floor.
The fourth clutched over a suddenly shaking rabbit.

Looking blearily at the white poof he now had obtained, Spike blinked before gently lifting the creature up to the bed, petting Angel softly before giving the base of his ears a scratch. The bunny melted, and Spike smiled warmly down at him.

“I love how good you are with him,” a soft voice muttered.

Looking up, Spike caught an even warmer smile, her eyes almost still closed.

He drank in the sight of her eyelashes, just barely crusted over in the corners, and her mussed hair, one thin lock hanging over watery blue eyes. Her mouth tweaked up at both ends, and her smile creased her eyes wonderfully.

He could swear his heart paused.

Leaning forward, he kissed her, pulling away to look into her eyes before he leaned forward again, meeting her giggling lips one last time.

“Good morning, 'Shy,” he murmured, placing a last kiss on her forehead. “Be right back.”

She giggled and nodded, raising herself and stretching her forelegs above her head until her back gave a gentle series of pops.

“Uhm, Spike?”

He blinked, then shook his head. “Right, bathroom,” he said, leaving her room even as his bladder raged.

Relieved, he gave her a kiss as they walked around each other in the hallway, Spike making up the bed as Fluttershy took care of her own needs. Almost as soon as the door opened, he heard the shower start, the noise sending a shiver down his back.

Cautiously, not wanting to appear too eager, he snuck his way down to the bathroom and poked his head in, seeing two towels sitting on the sink.

“You need a shower too, Spike,” Fluttershy called, poking a hoof around the curtain and motioning him to her. “You remember how big it is, come on.”

Hesitating only a bit, he moved around the plastic curtain and into the large stall, grooves in the walls holding a variety of shampoos for coats and fur, and one bottle of rock polish that Fluttershy had assured him she needed sometimes.

There was even scale cleaner here, though Spike didn't feel like working it into his hide today. Just hot water to get the dirt from his scales, and…

And she stood in the middle of the stall, the specialized track pouring water like rain from the ceiling, just soaking up the heat. Slowly, he approached her and started running his paws over her back and down her sides, getting a warm look and a nod. Reaching over, he snagged a bottle of coat soap and popped the top, laying a single line along her spine and working it into a lather, earning small coos of appreciation as he worked along her muscles and into her fur.

He stopped for a moment, then slowly moved to her front, working the lather into her neck, then down her chest. She moved her front hooves onto his shoulders, looking up at him happily as he gently scratched along her pelt, much like he'd done for Angel's ears. He paused just above her belly, looking extremely nervous.

Shaking her head, Fluttershy moved his head with a hoof and kissed him deeply, then slowly laid on her back and stretched her limbs out, smiling up invitingly.

“Wash the rest of me,” she commanded, softly.

Blushing, he tried to say something, then gave in and did as she ordered.

ææææææææææææææææææææææææææææææ

They walked out of the shower together, Fluttershy a giggling mess and Spike just blushing like a lighthouse.

“Dear Celestia, Spike,” she giggled, “what in the how and huh, indeed.”

He shook his head, looking away. “You startled me,” he growled. “My brain doesn't always do words good when somepony rolls over and tells me to,” he leaned closer, whispering as sensually as he could, “‘Wash the rest of me.’”

Her face brightened, wings snapping out and clipping Spike on the jaw. She stared at him a second, worry in her eyes, before breaking down into giggles again.

Rolling his eyes, he picked up his marefriend and walked down the stairs with her, moving into the kitchen and setting her at the table. Settling into the kitchen, he shook his head at the depleted stocks and walked over to the supply list on the refrigerator. Adding a couple items, he measured the piece of parchment and shook his head.

“We'll need to go shopping after we feed the animals,” he told her. She nodded her head, staring dreamily off into the aether. Shrugging, he pulled some blueberries and eggs from the fridge, then walked to the oven and pulled out some oatmeal and a few pans and a pot from the nearby storage.

“Spike?”

He stopped, looking over at the table.

“Thank you, for… for the shower thing. I've never had anypony do anything like that with me. It was wonderful.”

Blushing furiously, he nodded and walked back to the fridge, opening the freezer and pulling out some protein substitute, shaped like a dragon dish called Bacon.

“It's not a problem,” he said, pausing to grin at her. “Not a one time thing, either, as long as you like it.”

She shivered, her wings flexing as she hid her face, giggling behind her hooves.

Shaking his head, Spike got on with breakfast.

Sighing as he looked in the cabinets, he opened the dishwasher to find most of the dishes within. Pulling out two bowls and a couple of small plates, he made a mental note to help her put away the rest later.

“Sorry,” she called from her place at the table. “Things have just been a little hectic lately, between your moving and the extra critters I've been taking care of. So many have been showing up lately, something must be going on in the Everfree.”

“I hope not,” Spike muttered, closing the dishwasher and turning to the fry pan to test the heat. “Last thing we need is the Hydra getting territorial again. Remember when it sat on City Hall and snapped at anyone walking by? The Mayor had to go all the way to Canterlot just to do her daily paperwork, not to mention the city projects that got put on hold.”

“Poor thing had to be tranquilized and airlifted back to the bog,” she said, nodding.

Carefully, Spike flipped the pair of eggs in the fry pan, catching them and making sure he hadn't broken them before moving to stir the oatmeal. “They called in the Wonderbolts for that, and Rainbow cried for days about how they made her come and help since it was in Ponyville.”

They shared a giggle, then amiable silence. After a while, and some more small-talk, he finished the rest of breakfast and sat with her at the table, digging into his food as Fluttershy worked slowly through the rest of her half.

They became a flurry of action after the meal, Spike working to clean the used dishes as Fluttershy did her morning rounds, checking any animals sick or hurt enough to stay with her overnight.

Unloading the last of the dishwasher into the cabinets, Spike placed the recently used dishes and pots within, then moved outside, readying the cart for a trip into town. Finishing quickly, he walked through the garden, giving it a once-over and pruning where it needed.

He saw Fluttershy coming out of the house and heading to the chicken coop, so he skipped it and went straight to the shed she kept the larger animal's food in, refiling the various buckets around her back yard.

Locking it, he looked around the yard, scratching his head and wondering if there was something he was missing. Shrugging, he went and grabbed the list from the fridge, sitting near the wagon and waiting for Fluttershy.

“Did I remember everything?” he asked as she wandered close, looking around the house herself.

“I think so,” she said, frowning. “I feel like I'm forgetting something, but...”

Spike thought about it, glancing over to the open door, then smacked himself in the face. Tugging gently on her tail, he pointed at the open passageway, currently showcasing one irritated rabbit, his arms folded as he tapped his foot expectantly at them.

“The inside animals!” she squeaked, flapping her wings and disappearing inside the house.

Chuckling to himself, Spike only had an extra minute or two to wait as she quickly flashed through her feeding routine, breaking a personal record she didn't keep track of.

Double-checking everything, she locked the food away, smooched her bunny on his head as he irritatedly batted at her, then closed her door, turning and smiling at Spike, her face a bit flushed from the exertion.

“Ready?” she asked, breathless.

ææææææææææææææææææææææææææææææ

It was around eight when they got to town, so the only ponies up and about were the merchants and a few harried mares rushing their foals the rest of the way to the schoolhouse.

The animal supply store was their first stop, Fluttershy picking up her usual massive orders of carnivorous pet foods, the specialized omnivorous version for certain friends, and many medical supplies specialized to small mammals, as well as a small restock on her larger medical goods.

Spike hitched himself back to the cart, receiving a small kiss and a thank you as he tugged the much heavier cart towards a general market. He waited outside while she grabbed some house-cleaning chemicals she was running low on, as well as a new set of rags as the last ones had been taken over by a mouse family.

Looking over the list, they each pointed several different directions as they discussed what was where, and what was closest, then started on their way to the fresh market.

On the way they met with one of Spike's new neighbors, the only one he hadn't known at least relatively well before the move. When they finished talking with the tall pony, named Minty Fresh despite his rich chocolate colored coat, they continued to the market as he rushed off in a seemingly random direction.

“What does he do again?” Fluttershy asked, watching the tall pony lean over and seemingly listen to a water drain.

“Runs a music store, deals mostly in vinyl I think,” he said, dodging a wagon going the other way.

“Huh,” she muttered, watching him talk into the drain before becoming obscured by the cart. When it passed, he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Shrugging, she dropped it.

Strange things happened all the time in Ponyville.

The market was normal, Applejack waving from her stall as she saw them. They made her their first stop, Spike crossing 'Apples' off the list.

“Thought you were supposed to be living by yourself, loverboy,” Applejack teased, hoofing over the bushels of apples as Fluttershy laid her coins on the stall counter.

“I've been good,” he said defensively, placing the fruit carefully in the cart. “Last night was the first time I haven't slept in my house since I started renting it, and that was only because Twilight told me to take the day off.”

Laughing, AJ reached over and rubbed her hoof over his spikes, ruffling them. “Ah know, Spike, ah know. Still, it's supposed to be living space, not a hotel you stay in when you gotta work the next day. A house is only what you put into it, you know.”

He let her pull his head and some neck into a sisterly hug, and he reached up and patted her shoulder as she imparted her wisdom.

Fluttershy leaned over and pointed at the carrot stall, and Spike nodded to her as he continued to speak with AJ.

“Well, if nothing else, my bedroom and kitchen are fairly homey,” he muttered, reaching up and cracking his neck. Fluttershy winced, while AJ tapped her hoof against her muzzle.

“Well, while this should be a Rarity suggestion, have you thought of decorating?” She asked. “Like a nice couch and some paintings, or sommat like that? With your friends coming over, I'd imagine you'd need a whole mess of chairs, as well.”

“I've borrowed a basic couch and a few chairs from Twilight, but...” An idea seemed to strike Spike, and he smiled widely. “Say, Applejack, I don't suppose you have a favorite chair, do you? One that needs to be replaced, maybe?”

She gave him a sideways look, then snorted. “Yeah, Spike, think I've got something like that. I sort of use it, though, as it is my favorite seat and all.”

“Is it irreplaceable?” he asked eagerly.

“Well, no, but...” she started, then she looked at him with a wry smile. “Well, Spike, I think I see what you're getting at.”

He nodded, then looked at Fluttershy, who was just returning with a large sack of carrots. “Fluttershy, I have an idea for my house, but I need to borrow your cart for a bit. Would you mind very much?”

“Oh, uhm, of course not, but...” She looked over the almost full wagon.

“We'll take it to your home first and unload, I'd like to go there anyway,” he said excitedly, snagging the carrots from her and placing them carefully within the cart.

Without warning, he then picked her up and placed her in the front of the cart, resting on the bags of feed, right behind him. “I'm gonna try and be speedy, but safe, okay 'Shy?”

She nodded, wiggling into the bags and trying to get as secure as she could. When she felt comfortable, she nodded to Spike.

“AJ, I'll be by your place later, alright?” he said, to which the pony nodded. “See you then.”

He pulled away quickly, pulling the loaded cart and his marefriend much faster than she expected him to be able to. The feed alone was massive, not to mention the rest of their shopping trip, plus herself.

Giggling a little, Fluttershy spread her wings and felt the breeze blow through her feathers. “So Spike, what was your great idea?” she called ahead.

“Well, to make my house more comfortable, I should surround myself with what makes me comfortable, no?” he said, turning his head to her even as he kept his pace. They were out of town by now, there wasn't anypony to bump into. “So I figured I should surround myself with my friends. I was thinking I could take something from each pony, like a chair, and replace it out of Twilight's stipend. That way I could have you girls around all the time, or at least a facsimile.”

“Oh, Spike,” Fluttershy said, clapping her hooves together. “That's so smart, I had no idea what was going on. If you want it, uhm, you can have the couch that you sleep on from me. It's a bit springy, so it needs to be replaced anyhow, but if you want it?”

Laughing, he nodded. “That sounds perfect, we can...”

They slammed into something taking up space in the road, Spike taking the brunt of the force of the cart, even as he flared his wings in shock.

Fluttershy was pitched forward at the sudden halt and thrown onto Spike's back, between his wings.
Coughing, and marching back, Spike winced at a twinge in his hip as he moved the cart back with his tail. Looking forward, he didn't see anything…

No. No, he saw a purple haze in the air he'd just slammed into. Looking closer, he wasn't sure if it was just from the impact or his imagination, but he swore he could see large bright spots in the purple miasma, almost like…

Stars.

“Fluttershy, run!” he screeched, raking his claws over the bindings of the cart as he saw a large red gash open in the air over them, lined with gnarled teeth. Over the gash, two massive slits opened, revealing yellowed cornea surrounding red pupils.

Spike raised his wings, preparing to take to the air.

Something translucent, some creature he could barely see, smashed into his left side. It twirled him through the air, landing him near the stream leading into town.

Twitching, he almost screamed when his left wing twitched, shattered at the shoulder. Standing, he looked down to see a little ball of yellow and pink beside him, whimpering and squealing. Turning back, he watched the monster finally lose its transparency and turn to them, letting loose a massive roar that shook his very bones.

He screamed back, mostly in pain from his wing.

The bear sniffed, moving forward and looking down at the pair.

“Now, listen,” started Spike in a wavering voice, “maybe we can-”

The bear's left claw swung through the air, Spike screaming again as he landed on his previously good wing. He laid there a moment, panting, then looked over at the bear again.

It seemed to be ignoring him, sniffing around the ditch where he'd left…

“No!” he screamed, wriggling and standing, falling and standing and walking forward, falling again. “No, you will not-!”

Not even looking, the bear flicked at him again, flipping him in the air and landing him on his back. His vision swam, blackness seizing him as he panted, pressed away, tried to to remember what he was fighting for…

“Mine,” he growled, setting his teeth. Rolling, he flexed his shoulders as he felt his wings withdraw.

“She is mine,” he said, feeling his back crackle and pop as it lengthened.

“You will not touch,” he growled, the bear turning to look at the growing dragon.

“Mine,” he growled into the ground, his head straight down.

“Mine, mine, MINE.”

The bear growled, sensing something changing as the dragon stood before it, growing to almost rival its size. Snorting, the bear lazily swiped at him again.

Its claw bounced off of his scales, and he raised his head. The dragon’s eyes had turned yellow, his pupils blacker than any night the bear had seen. Instead of the marble smooth glass they had been, his scales now glinted light in all different directions, the light scattered by the thorns growing from the dragon.

The dragon roared, fire dripping from his mouth as he arched his back, his legs spreading as he lowered himself towards the ground, tail raised for balance.

Standing, the bear answered his challenge, icy spittle raining as it bellowed back at him.

Not missing his chance, the dragon leaped forward, digging into the beast's fur and tackling it towards the forest as he bit for its neck.

Screeching, the bear batted at its foe's head, then rolled over and smashed him against the ground. It screeched again, the dragon's thorns pulling at its fur, some finding the flesh below and ripping cruelly at the hide.

Flipping quickly, the dragon pushed up against the bear, digging and tearing with new talons, finding the freezing blood and spilling it against the ground. He kicked up like a cat, scratching at the belly of the beast even as the great bear slammed its weight onto the dragon, trying to squash him into the earth.

Dazed, he let his head lull as he shook it, roaring out in pain as the beast sunk its teeth into his neck. Squirming, he rolled himself away from the teeth, great dollops of freezing blood landing on his neck.
The bear stood again, roaring with its bloody maw as it prepared to stomp the dragon's head into the ground.

Sensing his doom, he inhaled, then leaned forward to spew a gout of flame against the beast's undersides. The bear let loose a strangled scream of sorts, falling backwards.

The dragon rolled, whipping his tail against the bear's head as it looked towards him, and another ursine scream echoed as the bear curled up, into itself. Roaring, the dragon made a half-hearted claw attack against the bear's back, then left it to bleed.

It had to check on its his, on its Mine.

The small yellow ball was right where he'd left it, and he gently ran a claw over her back.

He recoiled when she screamed again, and he sniffed at her to make sure she wasn't hurt. No blood smell, just…

Just fear. Fear of him.

Slowly, Spike's mind unclouded, and he leaned back to look at his paws. His scales were covered in thorns, the thorns covered in icy blue blood. He looked back down at the tiny pegasus, and he felt a drop of warmth fall from his eye as he understood she was afraid of him now, not just the bear.

Turning, he leaped over the bear and into the Everfree, not looking back as he thundered through the underbrush of the jungle.

Later, in the Forest

Eventually, Spike had to stop running.

He came to a small stream and mechanically leaned down to take a drink.

Flinching, he averted his eyes from the spined monstrosity he still was as he slurped at the water.

Shaking himself, he stepped over the stream and into a small meadow. Its yellow flowers seemed familiar to him, and a cloud of butterflies swarmed around him as he carefully made his way into the meadow.

He sat there as the small pastel insects flew around him, many finding seats on the new thorns growing from the plates covering his back and sides.

“You don't want to do that,” he gently rumbled, the words sounding like boulders grinding against themselves in some massive box. Briefly, the cloud of insects rose from him. “I'm not safe, not anymore.”

The butterflies ignored his words, settling back on him.

He sat there for a while, wreathed in pink, watching as a group of fat bumblebees flew lazily from flower to flower.

His head perked suddenly, a voice reaching his ears he needed to hear, needed to never hear again, calling his name in the far distance.

Standing quickly, he exited the meadow, leaving behind only a swarm of butterflies and a patch of squashed flowers.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤Some Hours Ago¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

“Spike!”

No answering call.

“Spi~i~ike!”

Still, nothing answered her.

Sniffling, Fluttershy drug herself closer to the forest, passing just beneath the boughs of the trees now.

She cried out as her rear leg twinged, the dislocated limb roaring as she clipped her hoof on some root she hadn't seen. Panting, she gathered her breath to call into the forest again.

“Fluttershy!”

She jerked and looked wildly over her shoulder, afraid for a second that the Ursa had revived and called out to her for some reason. Her heart slowed when she saw Twilight swooping onto the road, looking at the balled up bear as she galloped to her friend.

“Fluttershy, what-”

Fluttershy shook her head and latched onto Twilight's neck. “Twilight, I ne-need you to do so-so-something for m-m-me-e really qu-quick.”

Astounded at the firm tone, Twilight looked down at Fluttershy with wide eyes, nodding.

“M-my l-l-left leg needs to b-b-be p-put back in i-its socket.”

Twilight flinched, but looked down at her friend, intent on in her need.

Snapping a twig from a nearby tree, Twilight floated it into Fluttershy's mouth. Leaning down, she wrapped her wings and forelegs around Fluttershy as she gripped the limb in her magic, breathing deeply.

Fluttershy heard a very wet popping, and fought for her consciousness as the pain threatened to sweep her away. Shaking it off, she spat out the piece of wood, distinct flat teeth marks showing around the tree limb.

“Th-thank you,” she whispered, returning Twilight’s hug. She then pushed away, standing and trotting towards the forest.

A purple haze surrounded her, and she felt herself lifted as she turned back to a severe looking Twilight. “Fluttershy, what happened here? Why is there an extremely bloodied Ursa sitting over there, what happened to you, where's Spike… What happened?”

Sniffling, Fluttershy shook her head and gave Twilight a quick rundown of the Ursa's sudden attack, Spike's transformation, a tear-filled recount of her own fear when the massive claw had stroked her, and Spike's flight into the forest.

At some point Rainbow and Applejack had shown up, the farmer restraining her marefriend from interrupting several times as Fluttershy filled them in.

Twilight nodded, then turned to the other two. “Applejack, I need you two to run to town and get Pinkie Pie,” she said, worry creasing her face. “Rainbow, I need you to fetch Rarity, then start flying a pattern over the Everfree, see if you can spot Spike. He's the size of an Ursa Major now, so he shouldn't be too hard to spot-”

“His scales are darker now,” Fluttershy spoke up. “They're a black-green, the last time I saw. I think he'll be camouflaged pretty well.”

Twilight swore under her breath, a word that the three of them never would have guess her to know. “Still, search pattern. Don't approach him, just give a whistle and I'll be there.”

The two nodded and took off, Dash becoming nothing more than a rainbow blur as Applejack sprinted away. Fluttershy moved to take off as well, but Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Fluttershy, I need you to help me with the bear,” she said gently. “We need to know why it was in town, and why it attacked you two.”

Fluttershy shook her head, glaring at the Ursa. “I don't want to talk to her right now,” she almost growled. “I am not e-even close to in th-th-the mood ri-ight now.”

“And I can understand that, 'Shy,” Twilight said, wrapping a wing around the pegasus. “But if there's a problem, then sending the Ursa back into the forest will just make something like this happen again. We have to fix why she came out here, or she'll just come back.”

Fluttershy scowled before shaking her head and walking over to the bear.

After a minute of brusque coaxing, the bear slowly related to them that it was looking for a new place to move its cave to, and had thought the ponies nearby would be easy prey.

Fluttershy didn't need to say much to convince it to relocate in another direction.

After slowly getting to its feet, the Ursa limped into the forest, taking an angle to its path to avoid Spike's trail, a clear tunnel of broken limbs and churned dirt.

Twilight still had asked her to wait until at least Rainbow Dash got back, to help her search over the forest. Twilight was surprised when Fluttershy shook her head, pointing into the forest itself.

“I'm going in there after him, Twilight. There's no guarantee that anyone can see him through the canopy, even someone with my eyes. I'm going to follow him.”

Twilight looked into the darkness of the Everfree, chewing on her lip as she pondered Fluttershy's words.

“Alright, but I'm coming with you. I can use my magic to mask us a bit, and we can hopefully just fly through the forest without anything touching us.” Fluttershy spread her wings, crouching to lift off. With a sigh, Twilight raised her hoof again. “We still need to wait on the others-”

A rainbow contrail blasted overhead, quickly taking up a gridded pattern and flying lines far above the forest's canopy.

“There's Dash, surely AJ won't be far behind,” Twilight muttered, turning around when she didn't hear a response. “Fluttershy?” A twig in the forest snapped, and she sighed.

Quickly conjuring a map, she wrote hurried instructions for the earth ponies and set the map to levitate in the air as a fixed point, then spread her wings and gave chase to her yellow friend.

“Ponyfeathers,” she muttered under her breath.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤Currently¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Fluttershy's hooves clattered across the ground, her wings pumping absently as she poured on what speed she had. Twilight flew above her, plenty of space available from the dragon's passing. Fluttershy jumped, passing over a small tree that had crashed down in the wake of the rampaging beast.

He's not a beast, he's Spike!

She shook her head, dismissing the tears that tried to form again as she lowered her head, attempting to gain even a little more speed.

“Clearing ahead!” Twilight called down. “There's something big in the middle, might be him!”

Fluttershy stumbled a bit, her wings flapping to keep her momentum.

“Spike!” she called forward, panting as she strained to raise her voice as much as she was capable. “Spike, please, please stop!”

The dark figure paused just into the trees on the other side of the clearing, long enough for the duo to reach the beginning of the yellow wildflowers that filled the gap in the trees. Fluttershy jumped over a large stream of water, landing on the other side even as the figure in the trees turned away.

“Spike!” she screamed, planting her feet and putting all of her feeling, all of her power into her throat. Everything paused, the wind dying even as her voice faintly echoed through the trees.

The dark splotch among the trees turned back to her, and she shivered as the sunlight glinted off its, no, his eyes. She looked up into eyes she recognized, full of pain and a little surprise.

“Wow, Fluttershy,” he spoke, his voice massive and deep and soft with emotion. “Rainbow would be proud.”

Her cheeks flushed, and she grinned up at him. “Anything I need to do, S-Spike,” she said, taking a few steps forward. “I need yo-you to h-hear me, ri-ri-right n-now, so I'll b-be as loud a-as I can for you.”

He shifted back, and she froze. “Please stay,” she whispered, her smile withering even as she tried to keep it plastered on. “Please don't run.”

Slowly, he leaned forward, extending a foreleg. The dark green limb reached out to her, displaying the tremendous amount of spines that now literally covered the back of his leg. He turned it slowly, letting the light glint off of the fractured scales.

“I can't stay here, 'Shy,” he rumbled. “I'm just made for hurting ponies now. It happened again Fluttershy, and I couldn't stop it, and now I'm worse than I was the first time. Now I'm some... thing made of razor blades and teeth, and I can still taste that Ursa's blood...”

He trailed off as she made her way to his limb, standing just below his reach. Slowly, she reached up and pushed on the bottom of his thumb, flipping over his claw. The palm was smooth, wrinkled hide, like the thickest leather from Giffonstone. She ran her hoof over the thick skin, reveling at the warmth and smoothness of it.

“Fluttershy, I'm a monster,” he whispered.

She laid her head in his palm, nuzzling into the middle of his claw. Hopping, she laid in the claw and curled into a ball.

Slowly, he lifted her to his face, looking closely at the pegasus. Once she got close enough, she lifted her head, nuzzled into his lips, and kissed him.

“Spike, you're just as soft as I remember you.”

He looked away, but her tapping hoof had his attention back on her.

“You protected me, Spike. You protected yourself,” she said, sitting in his palm and looking into his eyes, those eyes she recognized. “You're no more a monster than AJ was when she killed those vines trying to get into her house, or when Mr. Cake defended his family against the Tantabus. Or when Pinkie-”

“Fluttershy, I can still taste her,” he said, lifting up his other claw and displaying a messy splotch of dark brown. “I can still-”

“So does AJ, sometimes,” she interrupted. “You remember when we had to fight those timber wolves? She bit into one then, threw it away. She came to me afterwards, asked me if making an animal bleed made me feel guilty, even if I'd ever accidentally killed an animal before.”

She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hoof.

“Spike, I've had blood in my mouth before,” she admitted, laying on his palm. “I stitch up the hurt ones, and sometimes I need my wings for handling bandages and medicines. I've even had to stitch up Harry a few times, because he gets territorial with the manticores sometimes. You're not the only one with blood on your teeth, Spike, and many of my animals are carnivores, so I even know those who enjoy it.”

He stared down at her for minutes, just trying to crunch some unfathomable number in his mind and seemingly reaching blank.

“Fluttershy, there's no way you can forgive me this easily,” he said as she shook his head, starting to move her away. “I seriously hurt another living thing, surely-”

She flew back up, back to his muzzle, hugging the front very carefully. “I know that it hurts you,” she said, just loud enough to hear. “And I know that you're sorry for it, and won't ever do it again on purpose. And...” she turned her head, whispering something that made his ear twitch.

“Sorry Fluttershy, too quiet,” he chuckled, then started to ask what she had said before she turned and called out her words.

“I love you!”

He stared down at her, his heart skipping beats as he looked at the tiny pony flying in front of his muzzle, tears of pain staining both of their eyes.

Gently, he brought both of his palms up and pulled her forward, laying a gentle kiss on top of her head before pulling her to his unarmored chest, and pressing her gently to his heart. Lifting her up, he released her and nodded.

“I'm ready to head back.”

Slowly, he pushed the flying Fluttershy towards the tunnel he had carved through the forest, seeing Twilight and giving her an awkward smile as he walked across the field of flowers.

“You grew a little since I last saw you,” Twilight joked as she wiped tears away from her eyes. “Hope that isn't permanent.”

He frowned at her, then looked down at the ground, a good fifty feet at least. Looking over his back, he measured himself around thrice that length to the tip of his tail.

“Don't worry,” she said, calling to get his attention. “It seems like the magic your body uses to keep yourself smaller got burned up in the transformation. You just need to let your magical pool refill, and you should be your normal size again.”

Spike blinked slowly. “Are you saying this is my normal size, and my body keeps me small?”

She shook her head, scowling in thought. “It's more like your magic keeps your body at a manageable size for your resources, but it dumped all of your magic into growth to fight the Ursa. As a matter of fact, you should start losing mass as soon as you start regaining your magic.”

He nodded slowly, sure he was missing something but not sure what. “That will be soon?”

Twilight thought for a second, her expression falling. “Well, I think draconic mages regain their pool slowly… I'll have to do a refresher when I get to my library, but it might be a while.”

He sighed slowly, nodding. “I can deal with this for a week or so… I can sleep in AJ's barn, I think she'll be okay with it,” he muttered, trailing off.

“Uhm, if the weather's going to be clear, you can sleep in my yard?” Fluttershy volunteered. “The animals tell me it's very soft, and smells very nice in the morning...”

He smiled down at her, giving her head another gentle kiss. “Thank you, Fluttershy, I'll take you up on that. Barring rain, of course.”

She smiled up at him, and he smiled down at her, and Twilight rolled her eyes and turned around, flying down the wide tunnel in the trees.

“Goggle at each other later, weirdos! Let's get home for now,” she called behind her.

With a start, Fluttershy swooped into the passage, Spike bringing up the rear.

Even with his mass already having come through, the tree branches seemed to tug at his spines, and Spike started to rub up against them when a strange itching overcame his scales. Stopping, he moved towards one already downed tree and rubbed his back against it, scraping away the itching that took over his back and sides.

Moving through the trees became much easier after that, and Spike wondered what had changed.
Looking ahead, he saw something flash at the top of his line of sight, and he looked up at a rainbow streak. He shook his head, calling forward, “Twilight, you might want to call off the hunt, Rainbow's still looking.”

She gasped and looked up, starting to shimmy her way through the canopy.

Reaching forward, Spike cradled the alicorn in a fist and pushed it up through the trees, letting her fly into the sky. Looking down, he motioned forward with his nose, and the two lovers moved through the trees. Looking ahead, they both saw a nearing opening in the woods, and the three ponies standing in the opening.

“Hey, you should go let them know,” Spike whispered, nudging Fluttershy forward with his nose.

She nodded and shot forward, landing in front of the three while Spike slowly paced forward. Reaching a certain point he was sure they wouldn't be able to see him yet, he sat and waited for some sign from his marefriend.

Quickly enough she raised a wing to him and gestured, and he stood to walk forward. Slowly he walked into the daylight, feeling their stares as he moved out of the forest.

“Celestia, Spike,” Applejack murmured, both her and Pinkie Pie moving up to look closer at him. He shied away, and they stopped moving. “I heard that you'd gone feral again, but-”

She stopped talking when he flinched, slapping a hoof over her mouth and looking apologetically up at him. “I'm-”

“No,” he muttered, shaking his head and smiling at her, a bit melancholically. “It's okay, I understand. It's true, even.”

She shook her head, taking a digit of his claw and holding it close. “I still hurt your feelings, talking without thinking, and I'm sorry.”

He nodded, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, twitching at a soft grinding sound. Pulling his claw back, he looked at a dark powder now coating his palm.

“Oh, Spike! Your thorns are disappearing!” Pinkie called, trotting up and looking closer at his legs. Reaching up, she gingerly poked one with her hoof, watching it turn to powder. She ran her limb over a larger bit of his leg, wiping it clean of the dark thorns. The lower layer of the top of the limb looked like it had been shined, a bright emerald green instead of the almost-black forest green his scales had looked like.

He picked up his claw to run over his other leg, but a blue glow stopped him. He looked over at Rarity, who currently had her face in her hooves. Quickly, her magic moved over his arms and back, clearing every single scale. Slowly, he moved to her, lowering himself to her level and using a claw to pull away a leg, looking worriedly at the white unicorn.

She gave a watery chuckle, then a hiccup.

“You always did worry too much more about me than yourself, Spike darling,” she said, her voice wavering as she tried vainly to scrape away her tears. Her face was unadorned by make-up, and her hair hung limply off to the left of her face.

“Hello, dear,” he said, gently. “Do you remember what I always asked when I'd find you, off crying somewhere no-one could see?”

She laughed and nodded, letting her hooves fall from her face and grasping him around the muzzle in a sort of hug.”Yes darling, I do. Careful though; you're no longer the fly to my spider, dear Spike.”

Leaning over, he nuzzled her, then pulled Fluttershy over and rubbed his now-smooth cheeks against both of them.

Grinning, Applejack grabbed a smiling Pinkie and both of them moved to wrap their hooves around the front of his muzzle, almost completing the group hug.

A light weight landed on top of Spike's head, and his sight was enveloped by lilac as a set of wings enveloped his head. A moment later, he felt a set of hooves on his back, then a set of flanks as the pony sat between his shoulder blades.

“This is all you guys, mushy weirdos,” a scratchy voice called.

Chuckling, Spike reached underneath one of Twilight's wings to wipe at a tear.

“Thanks guys,” he croaked out. “I love you lot, you know that?”

Even Later, in Ponyville

Author's Note

I never gave up on this story, and I'm not going to stop until it's finished. Let me know if your see anything weird/wrong, this chapter is unedited except by me. I pray you enjoy :twilightsmile:

Even Later, in Ponyville

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie raced ahead of the group; Rainbow to make sure the guard wouldn't attack Spike, and Pinkie letting as many of the townsponies know that he was about to come through to Twilight's and he wasn't a threat to anyone.

Rarity and Applejack paced along Spike's large, slow steps as he carefully walked down the main road to Ponyville. Twilight laid carefully atop his head, and Fluttershy had taken a place between his shoulder blades.
“You're sure nopony will freak out?” he asked, shivering as an errant pegasus flew above them.

“Frankly Spike, no, I'm not.” Twilight muttered, watching the pegasus loop back overhead. After a moment the flier waved, and Twilight waved back. “But we are walking into Ponyville, not Canterlot. Pinkie and Rainbow will do their best to make sure nothing bad happens, so just try and relax. And remember to smile, but without showing your teeth.”

Spike nodded, shallowly. He twitched his cheeks, but let his lips fall back after a second.

“Incoming,” Twilight called, standing from her position and staring up at the slowly spiraling pegasus. “Looks like it's Flitter.”

The stormy blue pegasus came to a hover over the group, looking with surprise down at them. “Wow Spike, another growth spurt?”

Flinching, he smiled guiltily up at her. “Sort of. Long story, boils down to a bear attacked me and Fluttershy, and I overreacted.”

She let out a low whistle, hovering closer and looking over Fluttershy. “Looks like that bear learned it's lesson the hard way. Or, with Fluttershy, the harder way at least. You two okay?”

“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy nodded, even managing a tiny smile. “Everyone came out alright, Spike's just a little, uhm, big for a moment.”

Flitter laughed, nodding. “Awesome. You guys want me to fly ahead, start giving the town a head's up? I, uh, assume you gals are heading towards Twilight's?”

Twilight nodded, saying, “We are, but Pinkie and Rainbow are both already ahead of us. Thank you, though.”

Flitter nodded, before flying down and bumping her hoof against Spike's nose. “Hang tough, big guy. It'll be alright, you'll see.” With a beat of her wings she was twisting through the air, gaining altitude and heading towards town again.

Spike looked down to his left, and Rarity smiled and nodded up to him. He managed a small smile, then turned to the town, marching towards the crystal castle in the distance.

Pinkie met them a minute or so out of the town proper, and gave them a nod and a smile as she fell in beside Rarity.

Rainbow flew up just as they passed the marker welcoming them into town, giving a “Yup” and a grin to Twilight's questioning look.

Taking a deep breath beside the marker, Spike emulated Celestia as best he could, plastering a small smile and serene gaze to his muzzle. Letting out the breath in a controlled burst, Spike stepped into Ponyville.

And immediately winced, looking around for the screaming he was expecting to start as soon as he walked in.

Silence, as well as the questioning gazes of four of his friends, met his glances.

“All good, Spike?” Twilight asked, the worry clear in her voice.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “Just psyched myself out, I guess. I'm good, I'm good.”

He started walking, keeping to the middle of the road as he paced through the town. The ponies on the ground had to catch up, but they easily matched his steps by trotting. He noticed windows open in the houses they were passing, but he tried not to look at the ponies in them too closely.

“Spike, you don't have to run! I've already told everyone you're good, silly!”

He glanced down at Pinkie, but didn't say anything as he walked into the market square.

Which was full of ponies.

He came to a full stop, looking around at all of the ponies, who seemed to have been gathered and waiting for him.

Spike honestly considered bolting, just jumping over the lot of them, until two smiling ponies stepped forward.

“Heya, Spike,” Donny said, waving up at him. “New neighbor, remember? And I don't abandon my pals that easy, buddy.”

Roseluck, trembling a bit, still managed to smile and nod. “Th-th-th-th-that's r-right. We-we're here for you, S-Spike.”

Spike stared at them for a moment, mouth hanging open slightly. “Guys...”

“Gaaaangwaaaaaaaay!”

Spike looked up in time to see a mass of gray and blonde hair swirling through the air, and had time to think, Is that…? before the mass of hair and feathers plugged itself into his open mouth.

His eyes widened to an impossible size, and his head shook as the pony in his mouth squealed and lashed out, rocking his very skull. He hacked a couple times, catlike, into his paws until the mare fell out, crumpling into a slightly damp ball.

“Ditzy?” Spike asked, coughing a couple of times to dislodge the feathers in his throat.

“I'm not into that sort of stuff, mister,” the mare murmured, before raising a hoof with one flawless, golden baked good perfectly balanced upside down. “I brought you something to make you feel better,” she giggled into his palm.

He stared down at her, bemused, before bursting into large gusting peals of laughter.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

After a general milling about in the square, almost like a press conference, Spike and company made it into Twilight's castle. The five mares rushed inside to help Twilight with her research, while Spike laid down in front of the castle, wrapping his tail around the base.

“Wow. Twilight told us that you'd gotten big, but I didn't know she'd meant gigantonormous.”

Rolling his eyes, Spike turned to face the smirking blue pony.

“Too good to help with the bookwork?”

“Trixie will have you know that there was an attempt made!” she called, leveling a foreleg at his nose. She then flinched, and looked up at the sky as she used the same leg to rub the back of her head. “I got kicked out for distracting Starlight…”

Spike chortled, looking up at the same stretch of blue sky.

“It's alright, Trixie. Thanks for the attempt, anyhow.”

They spent a few minutes staring into the sky, until a large rumbling sound, truly earth shaking, echoed through the air.

“Is the Great and Powerful Trixie hungry, mayhap?” Spike teased, cocking an eyebrow as he grinned up at the sky.

Trixie reached up above her head and pawed at the air for a moment, before she stamped her hoof into the floor. “Trixie should keep her hat closer at hoof… It makes it easier to hide Trixie's blush…”

“Yeah, I've got a pretty awful poker face sometimes too,” Spike said, losing the grin as he stared blankly up into space.

After a moment, Trixie looked up at him.

“It's pretty good right now, isn't it?” she asked. “You don't have to be so worried, Spike. Twilight can, and will, fix this.”

Spike sighed deeply, nodding and smiling a bit. “Thanks Trixie, but this is the third or fourth time someone's tried to give me a pep talk. I'm as good as I'm going to be; for a while, anyways.” He scooped up the reformed magician, nuzzling her with his jaw before setting her down and ruffling her styled mane.

She sputtered for a moment, before she huffed at him and used her magic to straighten her mane out. “Very well then. The Great and Hungry Trixie is off to find a snack, maybe something with peanut butter. Will you be fine out of my spotlight, O wyrm?”

Chuckling, Spike nodded and waved a paw at her, sharing her grin as she walked into the castle. A few minutes later, Rainbow Dash walked out.

“Phew, that room is just so, ugh,” she said, drawing a face. “But hey, good news for both of us! Twiggles said she found something, so I'm almost not stuck in there anymore, and you'll be going inside soon enough instead.”

Spike looked down at Rainbow, happy but too confused to show it. “Twiggles? What?”

“Ugh, uhm,” Rainbow Dash's eyes bugged out a little, looking both ways, before she slid on a blank face. “Starlight said it. But whatever! You're about to get smallerized again!”

Spike stared at her for another second, before shaking his head and smiling. “Hey, that is great news. Did she say how?”

“Well, duh, of course she did!”

They stared at each other for a moment.

“Oh, what, you want me to recite it for you or something? I'm too cool to remember that nerd deluge!” she said, making another face at him.

“But you remember the word 'Deluge'?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Weather Pony?”

He rolled his eyes back, and they stared each other down until Rainbow's face broke, her hoof lifting to cover a giggle.

“But really, I have no idea what she was talking about,” she said, shaking her head. “Something about magic and blah blah gems blah blah Starlight blah blah.”

“Nice to know you care, Rainbow.”

She spun around guiltily as Rarity walked out, hovering three large gems in her magic. Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy followed; Applejack staring at the gems, Fluttershy looking worriedly up at Spike. Pinkie was looking, well, everywhere.

“Here, darling, Twilight and Starlight cooked these up. I didn't catch the full details, but they filled these gems up with their magic and had me do some sort of spell to make it so that their magic mixes with yours when you bite down on them.” She shrugged. “I didn't catch everything she was saying, but I do know the poor dears are too busy taking naps right now to explain the idea themselves.”

Gently, Spike reached out with a paw and took the gems from her, examining the cool glow emanating from the crystals. Looking down at his friends, he smiled at their warm expressions, then tossed the gems into his mouth and crunched down on the jewels with a mighty cracking.

Swallowing, he looked down at everyone. “So, how long…”

He looked around, his eyes narrowing, waiting for something to happen. After a few moments had passed, and the girl's looks had turned to confusion, he shook his head.

Slowly, he asked, “So, how long is this supposed to take…?”

Instead of answering, Rainbow Dash pointed at his front legs.

Looking down, Spike noticed his front legs were starting to splay a bit, and he jolted to his feet. For a quarter of a minute he danced around, trying to keep his legs from being swept from beneath him. Giving up, he rolled onto his side and waited out the shrinking.

His reversion took several minutes, but in the end, he was almost back to his normal height.

Rolling over, he rocked over onto his feet and shakily stood up, listing for a moment as his mismatched legs shrunk to the same height. Applejack quickly moved to support him, and he smiled down at her as he balanced on her shoulder.

“You guys are too good to me,” he groused with a smile, fidgeting and testing his legs. He stretched the muscles on his back, but felt nothing. His wings had been lost at some point in one of the transformations, it seemed.

Looking up, he caught both Rainbow and Rarity looking away. His heart tugged, but he smiled.

“It's alright girls. I'm sure they'll grow back, and even if they don't...” He shrugged weakly. “They're not the worst things I could have lost.”

Spike winced as a couple of them teared up. Shaking his head, he sat down and beckoned to the group. Looking down, he saw AJ's face lose it's expression even as her hind legs tensed. Grinning, he snagged her around her barrel and pulled her to his chest, her yelp almost lost among the giggling of the other four.

To no-one's surprise, Fluttershy snuggled underneath his other foreleg and pressed heavily into him; as she did she giggled quietly at AJ's blushing, tight-lipped face.

To everyone's surprise, Rainbow Dash was next, tucking in between the other two mares as she wrapped her forelegs around Spike. “Thought we'd actually lost you, ya dummy. Don't scare me like that.”

Spike wrapped his forelegs around the three as much as he could without hurting the two underneath them, then bent his neck down as Pinkie walked over, nuzzling her as she wrapped her legs around his neck.

His head raised after a moment though, and all five of them looked over at Rarity.

Her hair bristled, and she looked down at the ground, pushing a forehoof into the stone and wiggling it side to side.

Ducking under Spike's arm, Fluttershy walked over to the unicorn. Rarity raised her eyes for a moment when she heard somepony walking over, before flinching and looking off to the side. Fluttershy slowly circled around her other side, until she was standing behind Rarity.

Breaking the silence, Rarity started, “Fluttershy, what are-”

Fluttershy lowered her head and gave Rarity a gentle shove towards the group.

“Darling, I just don't feel comfortable-”

Another shove.

“Really, this is very unladylike-”

This time Fluttershy didn't stop pushing, and Rainbow and AJ made room for Spike to pull Rarity into a deep hug. She tried to mutter out another excuse, but Fluttershy pressed herself into Rarity's back, and soon there was another hug centered around the fashionista.

“Really, dear,” she sniffled. “Don't you know it's rude to make a lady cry?”

And the group held her up, even as she broke down.

Sleeping Through the Night

Author's Note

Happy holidays, ya degens. Hope to see you again, and soon. Let me know if something is messed up, this was typed on a laptop and edited/uploaded on a phone

Sleeping Through the Night

Rarity dismissed herself as soon as her friends let her go, running straight towards Twilight's first floor guest bathroom. Fluttershy made to follow her, but Pinkie stopped her.

“I can help Rarity with her makeup, silly filly. Go sit with Spike.”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy tried to ask, but Pinkie only smiled as she walked away from the group.

Fluttershy looked towards Spike and smiled slightly, the two of them shrugging in tandem. Pushing herself into his side, she let him walk them into the castle as she leaned heavily into him. They both sighed, and then glanced at Rainbow as she giggled.

“Long day, huh?” she asked, looking up into the sky. Zooming up and snagging a cloud, she pushed it down to speaking level, before stretching out on it. “How're you doing, big guy?”

“Well, how do you think he's doing, Dash?” Applejack snapped. After a moment of everyone looking at her in surprise, she sighed and lowered her gaze to the earth. “Sorry Rainbow, that was uncalled for. Just a lot of stress finally catching up, I guess.”

Spreading her wings, Rainbow pushed the cloud over to her marefriend, nuzzling AJ behind an ear. “S'okay AJ, I get it.”

Spike cleared his throat, smiling at the two. “I think I'll be fine enough, with some rest. You two should head off as well, relax before nighttime gets here.”

Fluttershy pinked, coughing slightly.

Spike looked down at her, lifting an eyebrow as the other three blushed, Rainbow chuckling.

“Well now, I don't think that's any of your businesses,” AJ said primly, before winking at the other couple. “C'mon Dash, I've got some chores I need to finish up in the barn.”

Groaning, Rainbow waved at Fluttershy and Spike before kicking the cloud she was laying on apart. Floating down the three or so feet, she landed beside AJ and hip-checked her before starting down the path towards Sweet Apple Acres.

AJ lifted her hat to the couple before turning and trotting to catch up to Rainbow, giving back a hip check before the two pressed their sides together. Together, they walked out of sight, talking amicably about something the remaining couple couldn't hear.

“They're really cute together, aren't they?” Fluttershy said quietly, not realizing that she'd spoken out loud until Spike answered.

“Not as cute as you are.”

Blushing, she gently pushed a hoof against his side and looked away, until she heard a thud. Looking back over, she saw Spike wincing as he laid on the ground on his side.

“Oh Spike, I'm so sorry!”

“It's fine,” he said quickly. “I was mostly doing it for a laugh,” he said as he pushed himself up, “but it hurt a bit more than I thought it would. I guess all this messing with my size has me feeling tender.”

Fluttershy took an arm and pulled him upright gently, Spike leaning on her gratefully.

“Uhm, can you help me get home? It's not… too far from here,” Spike said, looking into Ponyville. “Maybe a few hundred yards?”
Fluttershy looked up at Spike, then pointedly back at the castle.

Spike snorted, shaking his head as he started limping towards the rental he resided in. “No use in having my own bed if I'm not going to use it, is there?”

He made sure to keep his face turned away from her as he grimaced at the half lie, before he schooled his expression into a light smile. “Besides, there's more than enough room in that bed to cuddle…”

Blushing, she looked back and forth for another quarter minute, giving Spike enough time to hobble another few yards towards his house. Sighing, she caught up and slipped under his left arm, settling him against her right side.

“Okay Spike, but I hope you'll tell me the real reason soon,” she said, looking up into his eyes.

Wincing, he instinctively looked away, before forcing himself to meet her gaze and nod back. “I'll try, Fluttershy. It's just a painful possibility, nothing concrete yet.”

She nodded, squirreling away the thought for the moment and focusing on helping her dragon friend home.

The normally half-minute flight from Twilight's tower took them about twenty minutes to walk, the houses and limp hindering their time. It might have been fifteen, maybe ten minutes, except for Spike's walking speed and Fluttershy's insistence he not tire himself out.

By the time they reached his house, they were both slightly sweaty. Spike had tripped a couple of times, and had bent one of his scales badly enough it needed to be trimmed now. Fluttershy had attempted to catch him the first time, and a muscle in her back twitched painfully whenever she moved her wing the wrong way. Both had heard offers from other ponies for help, but this had become a personal struggle for the couple and all were rebuffed gently.

Pulling his key from under a scale, he shoved it in the door, then sighed when it turned into powder as he twisted it. Pushing a claw in, he managed to turn the lock and open the door, letting them both in from the coming dusk.

“I can't believe it's only been one day,” Spike muttered, opening the door to his bathroom. “My shower isn't as big as yours, you want first dibs?”

“I'll be quick,” she whispered, nuzzling his nose before kissing him and slipping into the shower.

Humming, he walked into the kitchen, moderately stocked for guests, and started pulling together something that didn't require cooking. By the time he had finished chopping up the last of the lettuce, Fluttershy walked into the kitchen with a stern face.

Holding his arms up and smiling, he ducked to kiss her before moving into the shower himself.

Soaking up what hot water Fluttershy had left, Spike found himself leaning into the wall, trying not to fall asleep. Turning off the water, he used a towel to wipe the moisture from his scales before walking into his bedroom and flopping heavily onto the reinforced crystal frame.

Fluttershy walked into the room with a bowl of the completed salad, but Spike shook his head at her.

“All for you, love,” he muttered, grinning as they both blushed at the new name, “I'm not hungry at all. I think it's something to do with the gems…”

She nodded, setting the bowl aside and crawling into the bed. Wrapping her forelegs around his neck, they pulled each other as close as they could and laid there for a minute. Squeezing Spike, Fluttershy pulled away to ask something, only to find his eyes already closed and his breathing slowed.

Smiling, Fluttershy pulled slowly away and went to the sitting room, looking for something to read until her own sleepiness caught up with her.

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Spike yawned and stretched, his tiny arms clearing the top of the basket and moving to almost touch his stumpy tail. He ran a hand over a set of wings he almost remembered having, dark blue with pinpricks of light as though they were covered in stars. The look of them gave him shivers, so he looked away.

“Good morning, Twilight,” he said to the purple horse by the desk, much too tall to be his Twilight. She had her back to him, but he could hear the rustling of pages to let him know she had her eyes on a book.

“Good morning, Spike!” she said brightly, turning around to show bloodshot eyes and a mouthful of paper. A ruined journal sat on the desk. “Hungry?”

Spike shook his head, walking towards the door on his short legs. “No thank you, Twilight.”

Opening the door, he ignored the gurgling sound behind him as it swung itself closed.

“You couldn't save me.”

“I know, love,” he replied, though he was confused. This was an old dream, but the voice was softer and kinder now than it had been.

Looking forward, he walked down a short hall and opened a door at the end.

“Why, hello little Spikey-wikey!”

He smiled thinly at the unicorn, walking around on her hind legs as her magic prepared some sort of pattern, made of metal.

“I hope this completes you Rarity, as I never did,” he said, voice full of longing and sorrow and warm compassion.

She ignored him, as she often had when his body looked like it currently did, and pressed the metal to a spike of steel before placing it into a fireplace.

As he closed the door, the sounds of fiery hissing and a low moan bid him farewell.

He turned, standing on four legs now, his wings tucked to his sides. Walking down the hallway, he ignored the muffled sobbing coming from behind Twilight's door as he made his way downstairs.

He looked out a window and saw blackness, spotted with stars, covering the landscape. Tensing himself, he opened the front door and walked outside.

Spike rose from his bed, held aloft by sparkling black fur, his body writhing to escape the crushing surrounding him. The air pressure changed, and he landed, tossed away from the roaring mass of silver teeth and red, red tongue.

Lifting himself, he felt the transformation start again. Moaning, he tore at his scales, pulling them from his skin to release the thorns pushing against the underneath. Black blood flowed before spiking and hardening, his scales falling away as his skin itself tore into thorns once more. Before the power and endorphins had kept him from feeling anything, but now it seemed unnatural, and Spike felt every point pushing its way out.

Panting, transformation complete, Spike looked up and growled, ready for this part again.

However, the bear seemed to be gone. Looking around, he spotted a tuft of yellow and walked over to it.

A feather spun in the wind, beside the still body of his marefriend. There was a single long gash across her chest, no blood present. Even as his mind whirled, her eyes opened and looked at him through thick, white cataracts.

“You were too late,” was all she said, and Spike lifted his head to scream into the abyss that had taken over the sky.

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Spike startled awake, his back pushing away from the bed, only to be shoved back down by something soft on his chest. His claws flexed, but he stopped himself at swiping at the thing keeping him down and merely looked down.

Fluttershy stared at him, pain and tears in her eyes. She had her barrel pressed to his chest, and her legs were wrapped around him.

“You saved me,” she said. “Please stop screaming, I'm safe, it's okay…”

Spike let his head flop down, panting and coughing slightly around his sore throat. Wrapping an arm around Fluttershy, he pulled her close even as he sobbed into his other hand.

Finally calming down after a few minutes, Spike glanced at a bedside clock showing well into four in the morning. Breathing out with a shudder, he picked Fluttershy up in his forelegs and carried her into the kitchen, setting her at a chair as he moved to set a kettle of water and coffee onto the stove.

Waiting for the water to boil, he picked Fluttershy up and set her in his lap, holding onto her as he recounted the dream. He decided to leave out Rarity's actions, but told her everything else.

“The Twilight part is an old nightmare,” he said. “The rest? I'm not too sure about.”

Fluttershy shrugged beneath him. “I'm not sure, Spike. I'm no expert, but I think the first and last parts are about today. My part was pretty obvious,” she tilted her head to give him a kiss, “and I think the old Twilight part is probably because you lost control. You probably reminded yourself of the last time you transformed, bringing back a childhood nightmare.”

She shifted uncomfortably.

“The Rarity part…”

Spike hugged her tightly.

“I love you,” he said, burying his snout in her mane.

Shivering, she pressed herself into his torso. “I know Spike, and I love you too. But, with what you said in the dream, I think you're still subconsciously pining after Rarity. Or, you're finally starting to give her up.”

“Second one?” he said, and they hugged again.

The kettle on the stove top started to chug, and the glass bauble on top started to fill with boiling, dark brown coffee.

“Toss that out, Spike,” Fluttershy said, stopping him from getting up. “Or put it in the icebox for later. Come back to bed with me.”

“I'm not sure-” he started to say, but he stopped and listened when Fluttershy started whispering into his ear. When she pulled away, both were blushing.

“Okay,” he said, nodding and smiling for the first time that night.

Clearing His Head

Spike lay on his back, staring into the ceiling. A ray of light had escaped the top of the curtains in his room, and splayed across the ceiling much like his lover beside him lay across the bed.

He'd been unable to return to sleep with Fluttershy, and had spent some of the morning looking over her sleeping face. He'd resisted almost every urge to touch her, but the one time he'd touched her cheek has caused a sigh so warm he'd felt as though he was dreaming, regardless of how little fatigue his eyes and head felt.

Slowly, he shifted out of the bed, having long ago tossed away the blankets. Taking a last look over his shoulder, he stared at her for just long enough to feel like a creep before he left the room.

Walking into the living area, he moved to a desk with paper and ink on it. Dipping a quill, he penned a letter, practice keeping his swift words clear and the ink from spattering. Holding up the paper, he breathed deeply over the ink to help it dry before setting it aside and writing another letter.

Looking them over, he nodded before using his flames to send them to two separate princesses.
Task complete, he walked into the kitchen and glanced at the clock. An hour and a half since they'd gone back to bed. He'd need to make sure Fluttershy woke up soon, her animals likely needed her after she didn't show up for most of yesterday.

Walking to the icebox, he pulled the chilled coffee out and poured a cup, downing the bitter concoction and shivering before he put the rest on the oven and poured a little sugar into his mug.

Feeling a tickle in his throat, he coughed up a reply from Twilight, stating that she would, “Of course make you some more of that potion Spike, I can't believe I didn't think of it. I'll have the batch ready tonight, so come over before you go to sleep. And you could have slept here, you know!”

Chuckling, he set her letter aside and looked over at the coffee pot, which was gentling bubbling from the heat. Pulling it off the stove, he poured the steaming liquid over the small mound of sugar in his cup and took a long, slow sip. The almost boiling liquid made Spike shiver, the dark coffee going down as smooth as buttered emeralds.

Smirking at his own thoughts, Spike leaned back in his chair and thought of the other letter he'd sent, and it's recipient.

This feels like a surprisingly good start. Hope today stays well.

Watching the clock, he walked into his room after another ten minutes or so, and woke Fluttershy with a series of gentle kisses.

“Mmmm…?”

“Wake up 'Shy, it's morning time.”

She rolled over to face him, squinting in the early morning light.

“You're really cute, you know that?”

She lifted her head, looking at him closer.

Stifling a chuckle, Spike kissed her nose. “We've got chores to do over at your house, 'Shy.”

She blinked at him, rubbing an eye with a hoof. Suddenly, her legs and wings snapped out, throwing the blanket and everything else around her onto Spike. Pulling the blanket off his face, he chuckled as he heard his front door shut.

“Yeah,” he said to himself, tossing the sheet out over the bed and smoothing it. “Real damned cute.” Finishing the bed, he went into the kitchen and drained the rest of the coffee pot before following her to her cottage.

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By the time he got to the cottage, Fluttershy was locking up the shed where she kept the food for the outside animals and heading towards her little garden patch. Diverting her path, she made her way to him and exchanged a long, almost chaste kiss.

“Thanks for waking me up,” she said, blush fading as she spoke. “A couple of the animals were pretty hungry when I got here, and Angel said they picked over the garden. Want to check it with me?”

Grinning, Spike nodded and pressed himself against her side, walking to the garden and looking it over from the outside while she walked the lanes inside.

“Tomatoes and cucumbers look picked over,” he said, pointing to a couple plants. “Otherwise, I don't see much. Looks like they took enough for a couple meals, but that's fair I suppose.”

“I'm glad they ate, honestly. I'd rather be without the food than have them going hungry,” she said, raising the leaves on a plant to look underneath them. “A few of the birds must have been through here as well, those bugs I was having a problem with are gone too.”

“Awesome,” Spike said, scratching at his throat. After a moment, he started coughing. “Oh, uhm, excuse me,” he said, turning and hacking up a scroll. “Must be from Cadance, she's still a little rough with that particular spell,” he said, waving away an extra puff of dark smoke as he got his coughing under control.

“Oh, I wonder what she's writing about,” Fluttershy said, walking over and watching Spike's face as he read over the scroll.

“Oh, I wrote her and Twilight both this morning,” he muttered as he read, keeping his eyes on the letter. “Twilight is working on some anti nightmare potions, with Luna's help she should have them done pretty quickly. Cadance...”

He sighed, holding out the letter.

“I wrote her about the possibility of me still having… something, for Rarity.”

Fluttershy nodded, looking over the letter. Once she got to a certain point, she stopped and looked up at him. “Polyamory?”

He flinched, looking away from her. “That's one thing she suggested might work.” He shook his head, looking back at her. “But I don't think that's something I want to even think about, honestly. I just-” he sighed, flapping a hand at the letter. “I just want to be friends again. She was my best friend besides Twilight, and now we can barely look at each other.”

Fluttershy looked over the letter again. “Cadance has invited us up to the Crystal Empire, all three of us.”

Spike shook his head slowly. “I couldn't ask that of you two, I know you're busy enough with the animals. And I can't even imagine how backed up on dress orders Rarity must be…”

Fluttershy lifted a hoof and gently rested it on Spike's snout, stopping the drake before he could truly start a monologue.

“Dr. Fauna has looked after the animals before, I'm sure I could talk her into doing it again,” she said calmly. “I can even afford to pay her, if she asks for it. And I'm sure Rarity can continue delegating her orders to her other stores, at least for another week. Especially,” she said, pressing a hoof to his chest, “if it's to help you.”

He took her hoof in his claw, stroking the fur with a thumb.

“What if something happens between us?” he asked, quietly. “What would I say if Rarity says that she wants me back?”

Fluttershy looked down at the ground for a moment, before looking back into his eyes and smiling. “You should say what it is you want, Spike, even if that means…”

He lifted a claw, gently shushing her before laying a gentle peck on her lips.

“I won't leave you, 'Shy.”

She trembled, before shaking her head. “I want you to be happy, Spike, and if-”

“No,” he cut her off, shaking his head. “Leaving you could never make me happy, Fluttershy. I just…” He looked around, then shook himself. “I think I'd like to just go up there with you, and talk to Cadance. Get out of town for a little, clear my head of Rarity and focus on you and me.” He smiled at her. “Sound fun?”

Frowning, she fidgeted in place a little. “I don't know Spike, what if you-”

Spike shook his head, then leaned in and gave her a swiftly deepening kiss, moving his claws over her withers and down her back as he pulled her close. He gently pulled away, even as she leaned into him.

“I love you, Fluttershy. I want to be with you, no baggage. It's the reason I spoke to Cadance in the first place.”

“Okay Spike,” she sighed, nuzzling into him. “Just you and me.”

“Thank you,” he whispered into the top of her mane, kissing the top of her head. “In that case, I think you need to find a pet-sitter, and I should let Twilight know I'm going to be gone for a week or so.”

“I'm sure she'll miss you.” Fluttershy frowned. “You should probably pick up your potions, though. Last night seemed really tough on you.”

Thinking about it for a moment, he nodded slowly.

“Yeah, that's fair,” he muttered. “I never really went back to sleep last night.”

Pulling a frown, Fluttershy pulled him in for a hug, before gently pushing him towards town.

“Go ahead and let her know then, and maybe see if you can help her with the potions. We can take an overnight train if we hurry, and be in the Empire by morning.”

Spike nodded, kissing Fluttershy goodbye before facing town and starting his walk.

As he walked he stretched a few of the muscles on his back, experimenting with what used to be attached to his wings. The most he seemed to be able to do right now was twitch his spine spikes to either side, and scrunch up his shoulders.

He sighed, passing into town limits as he moved towards Twilight's castle. There couldn't be any way of knowing when he'd get his wings back, or if he ever would.

I'll ask Twilight to study up on dragon wing growth, if she has time. Maybe mine will reform when I gather enough of my own magic back.

These thoughts continued on until he reached the castle. Opening the doors, he looked into the hall before slamming them shut again, blush overtaking his face.

“In the main hall!?” he called through the crystal edifice, thankful once again that they were not transparent.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has no need for barriers!”

Starlight opened the doors, face redder than an Apple's as a foreleg pushed her hair into something Rarity would merely mention, instead of being compelled to fix immediately.

“In the main hall?” he asked her, shaking his head. “Is Twilight out, then?”

Trixie walked up and leaned against Glimmer, pink-cheeked but not nearly as red as the other two. “Twiggles is busy in her lab. She's not leaving it anytime soon.”

“Unless I would like to get something to drink, Trixie.”

The two mares froze, both paling. Turning around, the couple grinned at the blushing princess walking down the hall. They looked at each other, then both pointed a hoof at the other.

“She-!”

“Nope!” Twilight called over them. “I can not. Just, go to your room or whatever, and we can talk about it later. I'm too tired for this right now.”

The two hung their heads and walked down the hall. After turning the corner, Spike and Twilight both heard a muted growl and a giggle.

Shaking her head, Twilight looked up at Spike. “I know I'm a prude, Spike, but in the hallway?”

“Don't look at me, Twi,” he said. “I'm smart enough to at least lock the front door. Trixie was probably hoping for someone to walk in, honestly.”

“I don't think it's her, though!” Twilight whispered. “I'm pretty sure I saw Starlight initiate this one!”

“Oh.”

They both stared down the hallway for a moment, collectively at a loss.

“Uhm, so,” Spike said, “I'm here to see if I can help with those Nightmare Potions.” He shook his head at her stricken look. “No, they're not that bad. Not as bad as the first time at least. I sent a letter to Cadance about a separate issue, and she's invited me and Fluttershy up for a weekend retreat of sorts.”

“Ah,” Twilight said, confusion playing across her face. “Sure. Let's go see if Luna's ready to start stewing everything together.”

It was Spike's turn to look stricken. “They were doing that, with Luna here!?”

“I know, right?” Twilight sighed. “Whatever, I'm done talking about that. Let's go see Luna.”

It was a short walk down the hallway to the stairs leading downwards, into the basement that Twilight had sectioned off into a storage area and a laboratory. Walking through the door, she reached the steel wall that had been set into the crystal of the room, knocking on the thick wood before opening the door.

Luna turned around, lifting the heavy goggles from her eyes with her magic even as her heavily gloved hooves kept stirring the potion currently bubbling in an iron cauldron. Her lustrous blue fur was covered with a mostly white lab coat, stained over one breast pocket with a mysterious green streak, and her hair was tied back with a silver ribbon.

“Hail, Spike!” she called excitedly, before yawning and levitating over a mug. “The concoction is nearly ready. Soon, my bed's calling will be fulfilled,” she said, wistfully looking to the north.

Spike chuckled, walking over to the cauldron and peering cautiously into it.

“Didn't this used to be green?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at the red liquid.

“You can handle a stronger dosage now then you could then,” Luna explained, reaching over to the nearby table and passing Spike a pair of goggles. “Careful though, this one likes to bubble and splash sometimes.”

Spike nodded, placing the band around the back of his head and sliding down the smoked glass.

The conversation in the room quickly escalated into extreme alchemical jargon, and Spike had to tune it out or fall asleep. Pulling away from the two mares, he poked idly around the room until Luna called him away from a large, black and silver bag she'd apparently brought along. The strong herbal smell from the bag tickled his nose, anyway.

Twilight cleared her throat after the second time he circled the room.

“You know, I still have your bookshelf down here; the one with copies of all of your favorite books.”

Blushing a bit, Spike walked over to the shelf and lost himself in nostalgia for a while.

Author's Note

Trying to stay on top of it! Sorry if this feels a little filler-y, the next one should be better. The Empire awaits!
:raritywink:

Riding the Train

Author's Note

Biggest props to B_25, who kicked my ass gently enough to actually get my writing again. Sorry about the absolutely shit length of this chapter, especially after so long, but I'm honestly just trying to uncork the dam at this point. Hopefully the more will be Sooner this time :yay:

Also, I adore all you guys who're still coming here and following this story. I'm gonna try my hardest to keep up my writing. Love you all, Darlings :raritywink:

Riding the Train

Spike pulled the strap off his shoulder, readjusting the potion bottles stored inside so they wouldn't clink too hard against each other before he stored them carefully in the space underneath his seat. He shifted slightly as the train started moving, and he used the momentum to flop onto the cushioned bench.

He smiled easily over at the other side of the personal compartment, making the owner of that particular seat smile back. “Looking forward to relaxing for a little?”

“I think so, yes,” Fluttershy said, nodding. “Though I'm not really sure what we'll be doing, besides talking with Cadance.”

“I'm not really sure either,” Spike admitted. He glanced out the window to their side, watching as the train started to pull away from the station. He pulled the blind down, dimming the bright sunlight coming in. “Though we know for a fact they have some luxury spas up there.”

Fluttershy quirked an eyebrow. “I didn't know that, actually.”

“Really? It was in those pamphlets that…” Spike trailed off for a moment before smacking himself in the face with a paw. “It was in those pamphlets that Rarity ordered after our trip up there, years ago. The one where we thought that other pony was Ms. Harshwhinny."

Fluttershy was polite enough to attempt to hide the giggle behind a hoof.

"It's alright Spike, I get it," she murmured. "She was... well, your entire life, for a bit. You're gonna make that mistake sometimes." She blushed a bit, and muttered something to the hooves she braced herself on.

Grinning, Spike leaned forward. "Sorry, didn't catch quite all of that," he said.

Squeaking, she looked around the otherwise empty compartment before saying again, "We-we'll just have t-to make our own memories, th-then."

He withdrew a bit, blinking as he blushed. A moment later he pushed his head forward, nuzzling her as he muttered, "Damn, but you're cute."

Giggling, she raised her hooves to either side of his jaws and held him close as she pushed her nose to his. After a moment, they made to separate, but Spike paused halfway back into his chair.

Eyeing her side of the compartment for a bit, he nodded to himself before getting off his bench. Sitting on the floor, he draped his side over the cushion beside her. Moving with him, Fluttershy leaned to the side, and he placed his neck on her side with his head ending up on her shoulder.

"Mmmm," he murmured. "We don't cuddle like this enough. You're very soft." He blinked a couple times, his eyes feeling heavier with each closure.

Fluttershy noticed, and with a little smile, she slowed her breathing a bit. Slowly, gently, she felt her heart slowing as her breathing got longer and deeper.

"I know what you're doing," Spike muttered, his own breathing lengthening with hers. "Seen you do it with the baby mammals before..."

Letting out a short yawn, he stretched his neck and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Wake me up if someth-..."

Fluttershy waited for a second, before she let out a giggle and gently kissed her dragon on his forehead. "Goodnight, love," she whispered, before she wiggled a hoof gently out from beneath her. Reaching into her bag beneath her chair, she withdrew a soft paperback and opened it with a feather.

"Alright Ms. Swiftly," she said to herself. "Let's see what the next few hours bring... Oh, oh my... Mr. Widecroup..."

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Spike's eyebrows were the first to move, sliding down just a bit over his closed eyes. Moments later, his nose twitched and the nostrils expanded, then contracted. His breathing became deeper, shallower, like he was fighting for oxygen. His head twitched to the side once, before his eyes flew open and his entire back tensed, almost pulling him into an arch.

He felt something soft wrap slowly around his neck, and his nostrils gave him enough of a clue as to who it was that he forced himself to relax, slowly coming back to rest on Fluttershy's side. He felt her leg pull him closer, and he snuggled into her side.

"Thanks 'Shy," he started, only to pause as she gave him a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you, Spike," she said. "You kept me nice and toasty the entire ride up here. I'm sorry you had another nightmare, though."

Spike gently shook his head. "It was a short one," he murmured into her shoulder, gently nosing the muscle there. "How long was I out?"

He felt Fluttershy shrug beneath him.

"I've been in my book since you fell asleep," she said apologetically, gesturing with the paperback. "Maybe if you opened the blind on the window?"

Spike tensed his back, messing with a muscle there before he looked over his own shoulder. He sighed at the sight of his bare back, before reaching up and gently moving the blinds over the window.

They both shivered as a gentle cold started to emanate from glass, and Spike had to lean up to wipe the white fog from the window. They both leaned forward to gaze out onto the fresh landscape, their necks and cheeks coming together as their eyes widened at the scene.

At the moment they were traveling through a hilly countryside, covered with coniferous trees. The train tracks followed the gentle swerves between low hills, half built on top of the hills and half built into the lulls between them. A river followed along in a few places, always flowing between the lazy bumps and swirls of the land. A thin layer of snow sat over the top of everything, giving the ground the appearance of white dunes and the trees a light frosting.

The moon sat just on top of the trees, full and fat and bright with the soft pale light of the reflected sun, and the stars glittered brilliantly in a deep purple velvet sky.

"We must still be passing through the Frozen North," Spike whispered, his dark eyes glittering with starlight. "You know, the unsettled territories between Equestria and The Crystal Empire..."

Fluttershy nodded absently, wrapping her hoof around Spike's leg and pulling him closer.

This is how the night greeted them, and they basked in its glory until they spotted a shining pink barrier in the distance. Spike hugged Fluttershy close, and the barrier trickled over them warmly as they passed harmlessly through the circumference of the Crystal Heart.

Both of them shivered, and huddled just a little closer as they made their way towards Mi Amore Cadenza, and the possibility of bonding even closer then they already were.

Meetings

With a start, Spike sat up, snuffling and looking groggily around the cabin. Blinking his eyes, he scrubbed at the dried muck gumming his eyelids together for a moment before the event that awakened him reoccurred.

A gentle knocking at the compartment door, a soft voice murmuring into the small enclosure of their cabin, just barely audible.

Looking over at Fluttershy, he made sure she wasn't in any sort of compromising position, before he quietly slid the door open. Looking around, he didn't see anyone. Blinking the sleep still out of his eyes, he instinctively looked down.

A small mare, crystalline, sat on her haunches and thighs, looking up into his draconian muzzle.

With wide, blinking eyes, Spike backed up a bit and lowered the front of his torso. Adjusting until he was at least close to face-to-face with this pony, he gave her the softest smile his sleepy face could muster.

"Sorry about that," he whispered. "I'm afraid we were awake pretty late last night, looking at the scenery go by. Is it very late?"

Gulping, the pony shook her head, the crystal locks of her hair swaying in front of her eyes.

"I am so sorry to interrupt your sleep, Sir Spike," the pony spoke, almost whispering, "but we're nearing our destination, and will be disembarking in approximately fifteen minutes." Pulling out a pocket-watch, she added, "Oh, and it is six thirty a.m. We are about fifteen minutes ahead of schedule."

Blinking at the sudden wealth of information, Spike shook his head and addressed the first issue.

"Oh, no one calls me Sir anymore," he mentioned. "That was, well, kind of an ego-trip of mine when I was younger," he chuckled. "Anyhow, thanks for letting me know, Ms...?"

"Oh, I'm Quartz Watch, timekeeper for the train," she said, bowing slightly. "But, I must go and let the other passengers know about our arrival time."

"Oh, of course," he said, nodding his own head back. "Again, thank you."

She returned the bow again, then both of them let out a nervous chuckle as she got up and he slid the door gently closed. Leaning his head against the wood, he sighed.

"Too early for ponies," he muttered to himself, his eyes clenching for a moment before he turned to Fluttershy.

She was laying on her side, her neck slightly twisted so that her head wasn't perfectly flat on the bench. One of her wings was twitching, and Spike could see her eyes moving beneath her eyelids. The ear he could see flicked against some imagined sensation, and she giggled lightly in her sleep.

Smiling, he checked his breath to make sure it wasn't completely horrendous, before leaning forward and breathing warm air over the flicking ear.

She giggled again, the ear flicking wildly, before raising a hoof up and gently brushing at it.

Chuckling, Spike leaned forward again. Instead of just breathing on the ear, he took the very tip of it between his lips and softly scraped his teeth against the tender flesh, nibbling just a little on her ear.

The effect was near instantaneous; she let out a breathy moan, soft and warm, into Spike's neck, and her legs came forward to pull him into her. She shifted in her motion, and her eyes barely cracked open as she looked up at him, blushing and a little confused.

"It's almost time to get off the train," he said, nuzzling into the base of her throat and laying a gentle kiss there. "The pony who just came by said we have about, uhm, probably ten minutes now."

After a moment, she blinked at him, her eyes crinkling.

"Hmm?"

Chuckling, Spike buried his head in the fur on her neck and nuzzled her, a little roughly. Pulling back, he laid a kiss on her nose.

"Awake time now, sleepy pony," he softly spoke. "Get off train soon."

She frowned up at him, her forehead creasing a bit.

"Animals?" she queried.

He gazed at her for a moment, then quickly covered his muzzle with a paw as he shook his head.

"They're being taken care of, but we have to get off the train," he said, gently rolling her upright with his paws. He took a moment and gently brushed a bit of her mane back over an ear.

Fluttershy blinked sleepily at the door of the carriage, then looked up at Spike, who was now getting their packages together. She glanced back at the door, and Spike turned to her just in time to see her complete the roll so that she was now curled up again, facing away from him.

Sighing, he strapped on their combined saddle bags and wiggled to make sure nothing was going to come loose.

Reaching out, he pulled the door open before turning and tugging open the blinds, revealing a peaceful green countryside covered in gentle streams and new growth forest, slipping slowly by as the trained prepared to stop.

He gazed out in the predawn light, large pink clouds drifting across a sky that reminded him of the faded denims sometimes worn by the Apple family. Sighing, he smiled to himself as he moved over to Fluttershy, before standing on his hind legs. He felt his toes spread a bit, and his knees settled into the familiar weight.

Gently, he gathered up the pegasus in his forelimbs and leaned back, using his tail as a brace as he found the center of his balance. Taking his time, he cuddled her to his chest as he walked slowly down the aisle of the train towards the closest door, his neck arched low to keep his head from scraping the ceiling. He flinched a bit as one of his rolling spikes scraped over a low part, and pulled his shoulders down a bit.

Awkwardly, he waddled his way closer to the exiting door, one other pony occupying the space with his luggage. The pony glanced up from a newspaper for a second, looked back to the page, then snapped his attention back to the shambling dragon carrying an unconscious pony.

Spike and the stallion stared at each other, gazes locked to see what the other would do.

They both jumped a little at a soft noise from Spike's arms, and he looked down just in time to receive a gentle nudge on the end of his nose as Fluttershy adjusted in his forelegs, settling back into them with a sigh.

The two males met gazes again, the tension just as broken as the silence had been.

"She's a really heavy sleeper," Spike whispered, offering up a closed-mouth smile to the pony, who just chuckled quietly and nodded as he returned to his paper.

Spike sidled up awkwardly to the door, sitting on his haunches as he watched a stream that slowly wound it's way alongside the train. Watching the snaking water glitter in the slowly crowning sunlight, he let out a yawn and smacked his lips together, wishing for drink of that cool water to wash the taste of sleep out of his mouth.

"Those're some serious teeth there, bud," came a deep, mostly warm voice from beside Spike.

He turned to the pony beside him, who had packed his newspaper into a soft suitcase on top of a much larger case on wheels.

"They come with the," Spike started, then flexed his back.

The pony looked a little confused, and Spike had to shake his head as he remembered.

"Sorry, they come with the scales," he quickly covered. "There was something else, but... well, I don't have them right now."

Slowly the pony nodded, looking a bit confused but not especially concerned enough to ask further. Spike sighed, relieved that his conversational partner didn't seem particularly nosy.

After only another minute or so, the train shuddered a bit as it completed its stop, and there was a magical hiss as the door released and slid along it's track. The stallion nodded to Spike, who gratefully stepped out onto the platform before quickly side-stepping out of the way.

Spike took a moment to straighten his spine and stand straight, a couple of cracks reverberating across the mostly empty platform as his vertebrae straightened.

Spike heard his new acquaintance let out a low whistle, and he stretched just a little bit farther before relaxing and looking down. At this height, he was easily shoulders over the train, and the pony beside him barely came up to his flank.

"I s'pose you're the local dragon I've heard 'bout, den?" the pony asked.

"Well, kind of," Spike said, looking over the new pony in the brighter natural light of the platform.

The pony was a dark metal gray, and he had a strange harness over one shoulder that connected to the large case. He had some slight scarring mussing up the fur on his barrel, and his cutie mark was a wooden disk being hit with a wooden mallet.

Shuffling one arm further below Fluttershy's back, he extended a paw towards the pony.

"I'm Spike," he started, gently grasping and shaking the hoof the pony reached out to him. "I helped out the Crystal Empire a long time ago, so I'm a bit of a local hero I guess, but I live in Ponyville."

"Clear Sights," the pony introduced himself. "Native of VanHoover." He pronounced the name as 'VahnHoova'. "Though I've been on tha move for tha better part of my life, so I dunno how much that counts for."

"Vacationing in the Empire?" Spike asked, adjusting Fluttershy as he looked around the station. Being a few minutes early, they seemed to have arrived before the escort Cadance had mentioned.

"Work," the stallion grunted, gently tapping the large case he was pulling around.

Spike waited a moment, then nodded when it was clear that he'd already received all the information he was going to.

"Hope it goes well," he said, getting a nod from Clear in return.

They both sat there for a moment, both of them looking around the station, before grinning at each other.

"Waitin' on someone yourself, then, huh?" Clear asked with a chuckle.

"We've got someone picking us up, yeah." Spike looked out on the empty streets, then back at a large clock posted in the station. "They look to be running a little late, though. On top of us being early."

The two continued to peer out into the streets, before Spike noted the presence of a couple of ponies walking their way from where the Castle lay. He started to turn to Clear Sights, but the pony was standing up and checking his luggage.

"Think my people are finally getting here," Clear muttered, nodding at the two ponies in the distance.

Spike double checked, and caught the glint of metal from the approaching party. "Those are Castle Guards," he said, nodding at the duo.

Clear looked up at him, surprised for a moment. "Good eyes," he said, then continued, "Yeah, my work's taking me up to the Castle. Got some official business and stuff to bring up with the Prince Consort, Shining Armor."

Spike nodded, smiling to himself.

Both of them moved over to the front of the station, Clear looking up at Spike strangely. Both guards drew close, and came to an abrupt stop in front of the small group.

The first guard snapped a hoof to the corner of his eyes, staring at Clear Sights. Clear returned the salute, and the crystalline pony started reciting, "First Lieutenant Amethyst Star, reporting for escort of Judge Advocate General Clear Sights."

The second guard then approached Spike, saluted, and said, "Second Lieutenant Bright Cluster, reporting for escort of Element of Harmony Bearer Fluttershy, and Savior of the Crystal Empire Spike Draconia."

Chuckling, Spike nodded his head. "At east, Lieutenant Cluster," he said. "They sent out guys of your rank for us, huh?"

Sharply, the officer's foreleg snapped back to rest lightly on the ground. "Yes sir," he said, smiling a bit. "Nothing but the best for our VIPs."

A small chuckle from their side broke the conversation, and a gruff voice asked, "Their best, huh, Bright Cluster?"

Immediately, Bright Cluster snapped back to attention, glancing nervously at the grinning Clear Sights.

"Oh yeah," Clear drawled slightly, still grinning as he returned Amethyst's salute. "I've seen some paperwork pass over my desk about you, Cluster. Feeling very hungover today?"

The lieutenant's mouth squirmed, and he muttered, "Not today, sir."

Chuckling, Clear nodded to Amethyst. "Let's get on with it, then," he said, motioning towards the castle. "Town's gonna wake up soon, and the quicker we get off the streets the better I'll feel about being shoved on tha overnight train."

Author's Note

Hope you enjoy this chapter! I like it a whole lot more than the last one, and I feel it's much better written.

Unfortunately for most of you guys, I'm putting a small hiatus on more chapters of this story. Not long, I hope not nearly as long as the last time. I'm wanting to put more time into another one of my stories, just to refresh myself.

See you lot next time I get on this thing!

Breakfast with Family

Knocking gently on the door, Lieutenant Bright Cluster waited for the door to crack to whisper something under his breath to the guard on the other side of the door. Fluttershy tapped his arm, and Spike let her down. They heard hurried speech from the other side of the door, before a warm feminine voice spoke up.

"Oh, don't make them wait too long, Carrot, they've had quite a train trip from Ponyville."

There was a last whisper between the cracks in the door. Cluster nodded, then pushed the door open and moved to hold it against the wall.

"Announcing Princess Flurry Heart, warmth of the kingdom; announcing Fluttershy of Ponyville, Element of Kindness and savior of the lands overarching; announcing Spike Draconia, hero of these lands and other."

There was a beat of silence, before gentle clapping from the long table across the room filled it.

"I see you've made use of that thesaurus, Cluster," called a chuckling male voice, just slightly rasping on the end of 'thesaurus'.

"Very eloquent, dear lieutenant," came the same feminine voice, smile reverberating through her tone.

Flurry dipped quickly inside the room before Spike made his way through the door, ducking through it as Fluttershy walked beside him. He looked across the room, smiling at the couple he saw seated in the middle of the other side of the table. There were many other chairs at the table, but none at either end.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza sat on one side of the exacting middle of the table, lacking any sort of the jewelry of her office. Her hair was already up in an official looking bun, except for one lock that swayed to the left of her eyes.

Shining Armor was similarly unadorned. His hair was perhaps a little too shaggy for a Prince, but the more surprising fact was that parts of the navy blue mane were going a silvery gray.

"Hey guys, Flurry," he greeted, holding a hoof out to his daughter.

Flurry walked up and met his hoof with one of her own, then held her other out to her mother.

Cadance leaned into Shining as all three held their hooves for a long moment, smiling at each other.

Spike was surprised when a dim glow settled over the three of them, before filtering into a liquid stream that flew through the air and out a window. Standing on his tip-toes, he was able to just barely glimpse the courtyard outside, with a slowly spinning Crystal Heart on display to the public.

"Wow," he said, looking back to the trio.

Flurry just nodded, slipping into a chair on the middle of the table opposite of her parents.

"It's a bonding experience," Cadance said, gesturing to the chairs lining the table. "We've been doing it since Flurry was still little. I'm a bit surprised Twilight didn't say anything about it, she was quite excited when we wrote her about the occurrence."

Spike hummed as he moved over to the table, pulling out a pair of chairs next to Flurry on Cadance's side of the table. "You know," he said, "she very well might have. It sounds like it's been years now, so I probably just forgot."

Fluttershy hopped up into the furthest chair, and Spike slid into the remaining one between her and Flurry.

"Perhaps. But," Cadance said, with a glittering in her eyes, "that is not what you traveled all this way for. I hear that not only have you two entered a relationship," she said, nodding to the couple, "but you believe it to be quite serious, yes?"

Blushing, Spike reached over and took one of Fluttershy's hooves in his paw.

"It certainly feels much more serious than previous relationships, yes," he said, gently squeezing her hoof. "Knowing my previous relationship, that is saying a bit for me."

"The lady Rarity, correct?" she asked.

Breathing in slightly, Spike nodded. He jumped a little, before looking down at the paw that had two yellow hooves wrapped around it, squeezing gently. He followed them up to a smiling face, and he nervously smiled back.

Cadance hummed thoughtfully to herself, before meeting the gaze of a clothed pony in the corner of the room. She nodded to him, and he bowed before exiting the room.

"Fortunately, these things are quite stable enough to put off for a short while," Cadance said, smiling at Spike. "Perhaps long enough for breakfast?"

"Absolutely," Spike agreed.

Cadance nodded, inclining her head at the side door. "It will be ready soon enough. In the mean time, Fluttershy?"

The mare straightened in her chair a little, nervously looking over at the Princess.

"Oh, uhm, yes Princess Cadance?"

Cadance kept her gentle smile as she said, "I'll be needed Spike to myself, at least some of today. Might I interest you in the castle's zoo, or perhaps the royal mud baths?"

"O-oh, uhm," she muttered, looking up at the drake beside her. He smiled, and nodded. Smiling back, she looked back at Cadance. "Both of those sound lovely, your highness."

"Excellent!" Cadance said. "If it's okay with you, may I assign you the same escort?"

"Oh, yes Princess."

"Map boy is going to lead her around?" Spike chuckled.

Cadance pouted while Shining and Flurry chuckled.

"He's been getting better," Shining said, wiping a tear away from his eye. "Used to get lost looking for the barracks, ended up in the Maid's rooms once. Almost got a court-martial for that one, until all of the staff members spoke up for him."

"Poor guy was apparently too busy blushing and stuttering to actually do any peeping, according to the mare that found him," Flurry added, causing Shining's laughing to ratchet up a notch.

Cadance 'Hmph'-ed at the other two, before cracking a small smile. "Remember that night he accidentally snuck into our room, Shiny?"

Immediately his chuckles transformed into a scowl, and Flurry's face took on a greenish tint.

"I still don't think it's funny that you invited him to, what was it, 'come on up and take a spin,'?"

Spike smothered a chortle while Fluttershy flushed, mouthing her trademark, "Oh my."

"Oh Shiny, you know I was only joking." Her grin grew a little wider. "Unless...?"

"Not Bright Cluster," Shining deadpanned. "Definitely not Bright Cluster." Shining suddenly chuckled, and said his thought out loud.

"Imagine, if he gets lost just walking down the hall..."

The table was quiet for a moment, then three, before everyone in the room succumbed to various forms of laughter.

ĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦ

Spike and Fluttershy brought up the end of the line as the group of royals led the way into the hallway. Flurry Heart leaned forward to kiss her mother's cheek, then leaned over to Shining to receive his kiss on her forehead.

"Later Spike," she said, walking down the hall. "I meant it about that live game, right?"

"Looking forward to keeping you out of any acid pits," he said, waving after her.

Looking around, Spike quickly identified one of the three guards keeping place outside of the door. Chuckling, he waved Bright Cluster over.

"Lieutenant, Miss Fluttershy has been given leave to any section of the castle, except for the few forbidden areas," Shining said when the pony got close enough to comfortably talk to. "You have been selected to continue escort of the VIP. Any objections?"

"Negative, sir," said Bright with a salute.

Shining returned the motion, then turned to Fluttershy. "He's yours, dear. Let me know if he does the smallest thing out of order, okay?"

With a giggle, Fluttershy drew her own salute, then turned to Bright Cluster.

"Can we please go to the zoo, lieutenant?"

Cluster saluted sharply, before turning and pacing to the end of the hallway. Spike heard a crinkling of paper as he drew away, and held back a grin as he leaned forward to kiss Fluttershy.

"See you soon," he said.

Smiling up at him, she nodded before turning to her escort and trotting up to him. She looked over his shoulder at something he was holding in front of him, then pointed to the left. They turned, and were out of sight.

Spike turned to the others, the smile slipping from his face as he looked at the suddenly grim Shining Armor, and the nervously worried face of Cadance.

"Uh oh," he said, a paw lifting to smooth at the spines on his head. "Those are the looks of trouble. Did I take the last cookie again, Shining Armor?"

For a moment Shining's gaze wavered, before slipping into the same worried look Cadance had. He turned to her, and started whispering.

They conferred between themselves for a full minute, and then some, before they both pulled back to look at Spike.

"Spike, before we get into our talks, aunt Celestia asked us to do something for her. Something none of the three of us," she said, gesturing at Shining, "feel is necessary. Will you trust us when we say it's not nearly as bad as it's going to sound?"

Spike looked between the two nervous ponies before nodding. "Of course I trust you two. Though I do have to say that all the cloak and dagger is making me pretty nervous."

Shining's worried frown solidified into something more concrete.

"This is dumb Cadance, why can't we say anything to him?"

Sighing, she pressed a hoof to her forehead gently. "They think he'd be a flight hazard if he knew," she muttered.

Snorting, Spike muttered, "Not much of a chance of that right now," as he stretched his back.

Shining let out a snort of his own as he covered his muzzle, while Cadance let her small smile show.

"That's the right way to think of this, Spike," she said. "Be serious during, but after I think we can all agree to laugh at it."

"Ah, I hope so," he said, his paws still coming up in front of him and working over each other. He looked around himself for a second, then glanced at his paws. Making a face, he leaned down and came to rest on all four of his legs. "Uh, whenever you're ready, I guess."

Cadance nodded, before taking a moment to look up at Spike. "Are you taller again?"

Making a face, Spike nodded.

"Yeah, but not quite naturally. I'm sure you've heard of my experience with the Ursa from Twilight?"

Making a strange face, Cadance nodded. "She mentioned that your wings weren't showing up for some reason, but I thought Twilight got you back to your original size?"

"Almost," Spike said. "I think I'm about seven inches taller than before, but that might change as my magic rebuilds itself. But, once again, we digress," he said with a small smile.

Sticking her tongue out, Cadance gave Spike another smile before turning to Shining Armor. "I believe you know the way best, dear."

Shining inclined his head before he turned and started walking up the hallway, away from the direction that Bright Cluster had led Fluttershy. Cadance fell beside him, behind by about one step, and Spike hurried to catch up. He heard the other two guards step up behind him, and the nervousness in his stomach grew.

Spike shook his head slightly as he concentrated on following the royal couple.

After a three minute walk, mostly filled with a nervous silence, Shining stopped in front of a door. Looking back at Spike, he held up a hoof before knocking on the door twice, poking his head in after.

Spike barely heard a muffled gruff voice.

"Yeah, we brought him," Shining replied. "Are you set up and ready?"

Spike heard what he was pretty sure was an affirmative, as Shining pulled his head out of the doorway to look at Spike.

"Are you ready, little guy?" he asked, giving a smile as he pulled up the old nickname.

"Any time you are, muscle-head," Spike replied with a small smile of his own.

Shining nodded before entering, Cadance right behind him.

Spike took a breath before walking up and pushing open the door.

The first thing he noticed was a pony sitting in a corner of the small room, with what seemed like a typewriter in front of her. It had a strange blue glow around it, and a long scroll was already fed into the machine.

Sweeping his eyes to the other side of the room, he watched as Shining Armor and Cadance took to a couple of chairs lining that side.

Finally, he let his eyes sweep to the center of the room, and stiffened.

Behind a large wooden desk sat Clear Sights, adorned by a heavily starched white uniform Spike recognized as an Officer's Dress Uniform. Several large medals decorated one side of Sights' chest, the other taken up by a steel nameplate and symbols for the Royal Equestrian Military. On the desk in front of him sat a small wooden disk and a mallet, as well as a decent stack of paperwork.

Clear Sights nodded at Spike, his mouth in a grim line. When Spike nodded back, Clear Sights raised the mallet and looked over at the stallion in the corner, who raised his hooves and nodded.

Tapping the disk lightly, Clear Sights announced, "This Court Martial is now in session. The Case is the Society of Nobility in Canterlot, versus Spike Draconia. Spike," he said, sighing gently before continuing, "you have been brought before the courts because recently you have shown an ability, a terrible potential, to become a threat to the lives and property of the ponies of Equestria."

Clear Sights paused and gave Spike a long, hard look.

"Now that you have left Equestria, what reason do the courts have to let you come back, and not merely command a full banishment to prevent any damages you may cause to the people of the country?"

Author's Note

Wooo, new stuff! I've been able to put out (heh) enough that I'm taking this poor thing off'a hiatus. Hopefully more work follows as steadily as it has been. See you lot next chapter!

The Trial

The first to act was Cadance. Standing, her mouth cracked to let out a single word.

"What?"

If she hadn't have whispered the word, Spike felt as though he might've gone deaf. As it was, everyone else in attendance was left rubbing at their ears to try and ease the ringing.

"But Auntie Celestia-" she started, only for Clear Sights' eyes to widen and one of his hooves to snap out towards her.

"Surely Princess Cadance, this is the first thing you've heard of this trial, and you are not insinuating in any fashion Princess Celestia might have shared delicate legal information with another country, no matter how warm the relationship is between said parties?" he quickly asked, glancing over at the pony at the typewriter.

Cadance chewed on her lip for a moment, before spitting out, "Of course not. I merely assumed a few key points in your own, coincidental, arrival alongside the party being tried by the courts today."

Clear Sights seemed to mull over her words in his mind for a moment, before nodding. "Understandable. Unfortunately, you would be unable to extrapolate the reasoning for the trial, without outside information."

"Provided by my sister-in-law, Twilight Sparkle," Cadance replied immediately. "We have regular correspondence by letter, and she spoke to me of Spike's recent troubles. I was able to safely assume the reasoning with this information."

Spike looked confused, his gaze flickering between the two before wandering over to Shining Armor.

His mouth in a thin line, Shining shook his head slowly, before putting a hoof to his pursed lips.

Spike nodded, sitting down on the crystal floor and waiting to be called upon. His mind whirled with the Legalese still now being tossed between the two ponies currently arguing, but he frowned as he thought about Clear Sights' words to him.

"I'm being banished?" he asked out loud, frowning.

The other two stopped speaking for a moment, and Clear shook his head side to side.

"No Spike, not at the moment," the judge said. "This trial is to determine if you should be or not, but the official paperwork for a banishment must be filled out with an assenting Princess or Prince in attendance to seal the page and make it official."

"Which none of us would ever do," Cadance said, holding her head high.

"At least one of you tried," Clear Sights said, shuffling around his paperwork and pulling out a roll of parchment. Unwinding it, he casually displayed the foot-and-a-half long piece of parchment, stamped over multiple times with red ink. At the bottom was a large, looping signature in blue ink that sparkled with gold shavings.

Three sets of eyes narrowed at the signature, easily recognizable even at this distance.

"Of course, I could never tell you who that pony was," Clear Sights said with a sigh, rolling away the scroll. "Only know that one of the higher members of Caterlot's echelons made the attempt. He," Clear coughed lightly, "They were turned down immediately by multiple signatures, but insisted on this trial at the minimum. Many other noble parties agreed with them, and the court system was levied to act."

"Alright, so can I get some laypony's terms here?" Spike asked. "I'm kind of floating around in all these terms and official words and junk."

Clear Sights grinned over at Spike.

"In simple terms, Spike, you scared someone pretty high up in the systems, and they want assurance that you're not going to do it again. However," he said, raising a hoof, "I was given another set of restrictions for you, from slightly higher up still."

Clear coughed, low in his throat. "But, we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves. First, I need you to hear what exactly it is you're being accused of, and to tell me whether or not you feel yourself guilty or innocent. Easy enough?"

Spike licked his lips with a dry tongue, wishing for some water, as he nodded.

"Good, good," Clear muttered, pulling out a couple of scrolls and unrolling them slightly to glance at the top, putting them back and trying again. After a moment, he seemed to find what he was looking for, and replaced all the other scrolls as he opened a thin one onto his desk. From where Spike was sitting, he saw several red marks on the page already.

"Now, some of these have been preemptively overturned by either the judge who recorded this list of proposed grievances, or by the one who was determining if this was actually a case or not," Clear Sights spoke, raising a quill and ink bottle onto the desk from a drawer.

"Willful terrorism," Clear started, before drawing a line through it. "Overturned, as the first thing you did when you transformed was go into the Everfree.

"Endangerment of innocent lives," Clear said, before striking through that line as well. "See above."

Spike tried to swallow, his mouth sandy. He glanced around the room, and spotted only one thing to drink in the room: a singular glass of water, ice cubes floating on top of the drink as condensation dripped down the side of it.

Clear Sights reached out and sipped indifferently at it before setting it down and continuing.

"Endangerment of properties belonging to others," he stated. He paused, his eyes coming up to meet Spike's. "Luckily, the only property around belongs to a certain family of orchard caretakers, who has refused to press any sort of charge against you," he said, drawing a line through the accusation.

Shining Armor cleared his throat, and Clear Sights sighed.

"I'll be honest Spike, I don't wanna sit here an' tell ya' all the things they couldn't get to stick ta' ya'," he said, his accent coming through a little stronger. "So, tell ya' what, I'll get'cha a copy after this, if ya want."

Spike nodded quickly, licking his lips.

"A'ight, so," Clear said, scratching through the scroll several times before coming to a place near the bottom of the scroll.

"The first one the court can't just hoof-wave is this one," he said, meeting Spike's eyes for a moment before reading aloud, "Willful transformation into a powerful being."

Frowning, Spike asked, "There's actually a law against that?"

Clear shrugged. "After Tirek, yeah. There's been quite a few new ones put to paper actually, since Princess Luna's return."

Sighing, Spike said, "Not guilty. The transformation was unwilling."

Nodding, Clear started writing on the side of the scroll.

"Purposeful or permanent destruction of beings or properties."

"Not guilty," Spike said, a little more confidently. "The only thing I hurt at all while transformed was the Ursa, and considering the fact that she walked away, I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything permanent to her."

Clear took a sip of his water before reading, "Terrorism slash menacing of the general populace on a greater scale."

"You mean Ponyville?" Spike asked. When Clear Sights nodded, Spike smiled a bit. "Actually, I was able to walk through town transformed, on the way to Twilight's castle. Not only did no one freak out, but I had a few of them reassuring me on the way through. So, not guilty."

Clear nodded, scribbling still on the scroll. Sighing, he laid it to the side and looked up to meet Spike's gaze. "Hard one for the finale. Poor or complete lack of control over one's own powers, either natural or obtained."

Spike flinched, frowning heavily. "I had control," he whispered. "At the end, I had control..."

"But you didn't start with it, did ya?" Clear asked, surprising gently.

Spike's eyes flicked back and forth over the floor as he relived the moment that the Ursa had lumbered out of the woods, and he sighed.

A couple of salt-water drops hit the floor as he whispered, "Guilty."

A loud screech echoed through the room as a wooden chair was pushed roughly aside, and Spike looked up in surprise as Cadance stormed out of the room, slamming the door roughly behind her.

Clear Sights looked distantly at the door, then turned to Shining Armor to raise an eyebrow.

"Please, continue," Shining said, nodding at the judge.

Clear Sights nodded, before scratching some notes down on the scroll. Blowing briefly on the ink, he re-rolled the paper before putting it off to the side.

"Okay Spike, there's one last thing I need from ya before I can say anything officially."

Wiping at an eye, Spike nodded at Clear Sights. "What do you need?"

Clear moved away from the desk, and Spike had a glimpse of the large dark suitcase that Clear had been towing with him this morning. It was open, and Clear reached into it to pull out two clear glass orbs.

"Scrying crystals?" Spike asked.

"Same difference, really," Clear said, placing both on the desk. "It's got a fancy magic name I can't remember half the time, but it boils down to I relive some'a your memories. I hold one, you hold one, you think real hard about what you want me to see, an' I see it. 'Course, there are powerful enchantments on both to make sure that you're not just telling a real good story, so nothing funny, right?"

Spike nodded, reaching forward to cup one of the orbs in a paw. It was maybe a foot across, and looking into it, Spike saw a dim green glow in the center.

"So, I just-" Spike started, before something behind his ears starting itching. The scratch spread over his skull, before drifting down and into his mind.

“Mine,” he growled, setting his teeth. Rolling, he flexed his shoulders as he felt his wings withdraw.

“She is mine,” he said, feeling his back crackle and pop as it lengthened.

“You will not touch,” he growled, the bear turning to look at the growing dragon.

“Mine,” he growled into the ground, his head straight down.

“Mine, mine, MINE.”

Gasping, Spike tried to drop the ball, but his digits clenched around the glass. His forelegs spasmed as the spell took over his mind and he felt another consciousness drift over his mind. It had a sense about, almost a smell, and Spike felt several things called to mind.

Old cigars. The dusty smell of a lonely apartment. The smell of oiled steel. A hint of iron-heavy blood. The brief pink feeling of love, soon blooming redder. The heavy feeling of duty.

With a shudder, he felt the other pull away from his mind, and he let the heavy orb roll from his paws.

It seemed to bounce off the floor soundlessly, and at the top of it's arc it actually floated over to rest on the desk with it's twin.

"Sorry about tha," Clear said, rubbing his forehead just between his eyes. "Can't warn ya about it, or you put up more blocks, ya know?"

Shaking his head, Spike snorted and shook his head roughly. "Did you at least get what you were after?" he asked, a little roughly.

Clear Sights nodded, seemingly ignoring Spike's tone, as he closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, I got it," he muttered, his eyes whipping back and forth underneath his closed eyelids.

Spike continued to scratch at his skull, trying to get the tingling sensation from under his scales.

Clear took a couple minutes to himself, muttering under his breath as he did whatever it was the orb had enabled him to do. Opening his eyes, he nodded to himself before looking at Shining Armor. "Do you want to call the Princess in?"

Shining chuckled darkly. "Depends on what it is you're about to say, General," he said, before walking over to the door and cracking it. He nodded to someone out of view, and then widened the door for Cadance to walk in.

They both took up a place on either side of Spike, Cadance laying a wing on his shoulder as Shining copied the action with his hoof.

Clearing his throat, Clear Sights sat completely upright in his chair before tapping the wooden disk on his desk.

"I have come to several conclusions, based on factual evidence gathered from the defendant himself. In many of these matters brought before the court, we find Spike Draconia to be innocent."

Cadance breathed out, slumping a bit, but Clear frowned.

"However, another thing has been made clear before the courts. Spike has had no training, in any form, in controlling or containing his powers. Thus, we do find him guilty of being unable to control his, potentially considerable, powers."

Cadance sucked her breath back in, puffing up her chest and giving the judge a wild glare.\

"Wait," Clear said, holding up a hoof. "I know that this outcome is unfavorable, but I think you'll find the sentencing acceptable."

Cadance lifted an eyebrow, but slowly released the air she'd taken captive.

Sighing in relief, Clear Sights leveled his mallet at the drake. "Spike, in light of this conclusion, I hereby sentence you to one hour of community service, to be issued and observed by any member of nobility or any hero of the lands."

Spike twitched, a small grin coming to his face. "Such as the Elements of Harmony?"

"Excellent suggestion Spike, they would do just fine," Clear said, nodding. "However, I am also tasking you with one extra thing, the aforementioned restrictions by the power above the courts. One of the Diarchs themselves is tasking you with experimenting with your powers, and finding the boundaries of your transformations. Find the trigger, basically, and figure out how to defuse it.

"Or use it on command," he followed up with. "The guard could definitely use a powerhouse like you around, even with the Elements taking up most of our defensive forces."

Spike frowned. "One of the Princesses want me to figure out how to turn into a monster... on purpose?"

Frowning, Clear Sights leaned over his desk. "Spike, would you like some advice from an old soldier, an older judge?" When Spike nodded, Clear looked deep into his eyes as he said, "There are no such things as monsters. Only beings who act monstrously."

With a satisfied nod, he roughly clapped his mallet against the disc on his desk. The pony in the corner tapped on his keys for another couple of moments, before pulling the lengthy scroll out of the typewriter and securing it in a case.

"Ya make me nice and professional, Keys?" Clear asked.

"I wrote exactly as you spoke, sir," the stallion spoke softly, his voice whispery and soft.

"Damn," Clear Sights chuckled. "Next time, then."

"I-is that it?" asked Spike, relaxing his posture a bit.

"That's it. You have officially been admonished by an agent of the crowns and their courts. Complete that community service in a reasonable amount of time, say, a year, or you'll be called back before us." Clear Sights sighed.

"I am real sorry about this, Spike," he said. "You're a good kid, I can tell. Buckers down south get a stick up themselves, and you know how they get."

"Which house was it?" Spike asked, leaning against the alicorn beside him. "Or is that classified?"

"Oh, you know who it was," Clear said, starting to stack his paperwork in the suitcase. "Can't say it myself, but you know who it was."

"Wonder what set him off," Spike said. "We never had much interaction before."

"Blonde bastard says he saw your transformation, from one of his villas on the edge of Canterlot," Clear said, packing away the rest of his supplies and leaving the desk clean. "You spooked him, Spike, and he lashed out."

Spike blew a breath from between his lips, letting them flap a bit. "Well, whatever. Hopefully this'll satisfy him."

Clear pulled out a form from inside the case before he zippered the entire thing closed, placing a padlock on the closed zippers. He tossed it up on the desk, then nodded at it.

"Have ya honey or whoever fill that out, and your community service will be done wit," he said, pulling the harness onto his shoulder and hooking it all up. "I'm off, though. Ya can send it off by mail, or I think I remember ya being able to just send it direct to a Princess. Anyhow ya wanna do it."

Sighing, Cadance pulled away from Spike and walked forward a bit. "Uhm, Clear Sights, I just..."

He immediately started waving his hoof. "Nah nah nah," he said, shaking his head with a smile. "Ya think I ain't had worse yellin's at in my life? Ya's good, Princess."

Giggling lightly, she said, "Nonetheless, I'd like to extend the hospitality of the castle. Feel free to stay as long as you're allowed by your duties, and be welcome to a spare room here."

"Kind of ya," he said, chuckling, "but I'd ratha be home, all the same."

Cadance nodded, using magic to open the door as Clear Sights walked from around the desk and towards it. "Later then, the offer will stand."

Smiling, he nodded, giving Spike a nudge on the way past. "Buy ya a drink next time, yeah, dragon?"

Chuckling, Spike reached over and gave Clear a pat on a shoulder. "Yeah Clear, no hard feelings about doing a job."

With a final smile and a nod to the room, Clear Sights left while closing the door behind him.

With a sigh, Spike glanced over at Cadance. "How much of that did you know about, then?"

She blew a short raspberry. "It was supposed to be a short, slap on the wrist trial that the nobles were pressuring Celestia into. I guess at some point, they got to the orders after she did and added some stuff onto the trial."

Spike blew a raspberry of his own, before chuckling. "Still, not so bad. Hour of community service, plus actually learning more about," he shuddered a bit, "I dunno, the more feral side of myself, I guess. At least I have the rest of the day to de-stress from that."

He heard a small cough from beside him, and looked over at Cadance, who had a small, saccharine smile.

"So, I just happened to notice that Rarity didn't join you on the trip?" she stated, curling the end of the sentence into a question.

Spike groaned, and slapped his paw over his eyes.

Author's Note

Alright guys, not so bad as some of you were making it out to be, huh? Still, I wonder what the ripples that spread from this will look like, eh?

Thanks so much for the reading, and the continued support!

Talks of Old Romance

The first thing they did when the duo entered the room was walk to a set of seats. Cadance had an L shaped desk, having positioned it so that when seated on her circular cushion she was still easily accessible and seen.

Spike sat on a what he'd been told was a tuffet, and he called comfy. It was essentially a bean bag with a frame, and it let him easily lay on it with his upper body still up and attentive. A short table sat in front of his seat, several thin wooden coasters strewn around to protect the wood.

Cadance used her magic to rustle quickly through a couple drawers, pulling a blank scroll from one and a quill and ink set from another. Quickly dipping the large white and gray pen, Cadance took a minute to write out a medium length message on the scroll.

"If you want her to write back, you should send along an extra enchanted scroll," Spike piped up, looking away when Cadance's gaze swept over to his. "Or ask her to go to Twilight, of course."

He heard Cadance hum in response, before one of her drawers opened and closed again.

After another moment of brief scratching on paper, Spike felt something firm but giving bop him on the top of the head, and he turned to face the levitating scroll in front of his nose.

"Go on, then," Cadance said, smiling. "I know you've memorized the sending of letters to her."

"Memorized you," Spike muttered, pulling the pages out of the air. Cadance giggled at him as he concentrated on Rarity, on the boutique she usually spent her time in, before letting a gentle lick of flame curl out from his mouth to consume the parchment.

He waited for a moment, before nodding as the gentle tingling on his tongue let him know that the letter had arrived.

"She has it," he told Cadance, who nodded.

"Then while we wait for her reply," Cadance said, "how about some refreshments? I can have any sort of tea or baked good brought up from the kitchens directly, and I have a certain bottle stashed in desk for special visitors like yourself," she said with a bit of a faux naughty smile.

Chuckling, Spike waved a paw towards her. "Thanks, but I think maybe some coffee would be nicer." He licked his lips a bit. "Maybe some small cakes?"

"The best of both Twilight and Celestia, I see," Cadance said with a laugh, before knocking on the inside of the door. A guard popped his head in, and she asked, "Would you have a staff member fetch a pot of coffee, and some snacking cakes?"

The guard bowed his head, which was a sight considering how it was his only visible part, before gently closing the door.

Spike returned his attention to Cadance, who had pulled open two of her desk's drawers again. From the first she withdrew two scrolls, pretty long looking from their thickness. From a long, thin drawer, she withdrew a simple black rectangle. Opening them, she pulled out a set of small black spectacles, placing them on her muzzle as she unfurled one of the scrolls. Clearing her throat, she looked over at Spike.

"While we're waiting, maybe you can tell me some things about the relationship between you and Fluttershy?" she said, dipping her quill and setting it to paper. "How long have you two cuties been together?"

Spike frowned, counting through the last few days before laughing quietly to himself, slapping a paw over his eyes. "By the Princesses, I'm doing it again," he muttered, before turning to Cadance. "It's something close to eleven days."

Cadance was instantly taking notes, scratching the quill across the parchment.

"What are you doing again, Spike?" Cadance asked, looking over at him as her quill continued across the page.

With a sigh, Spike slumped a bit in his chair. "Rushing things along," he said. "With Rarity, I was always rushing myself, either to give her what she wanted or what I thought she wanted. And now, I've already got the two of us almost living together, and it's been barely a week and a half since we started dating. Just a little over a month since Rarity broke it off, on top of that."

Cadance nodded, lighting up a drawer with her magic. She pulled out a small metal box before opening it. From within floated out two flat suckers, clear and brightly colored. She stashed the rest of the box before floating over a shiny brown disk.

"Root beer?" Spike asked, taking the offered sweet. "I thought we we waiting on coffee and stuff?"

Cadance shrugged, pulling the cellophane off her own dark green treat. "The sugar helps me think," she said, popping the sucker into her mouth to rest against her cheek. "More sweetness later isn't a bad thing, as long as we're good the rest of the day," she said with a grin.

Spike shrugged, placing the candy delicately on the table in front of him.

Cadance took a moment to finish writing on her scroll. "So, you feel like your relationship with Fluttershy is advancing too fast? Too fast for you, or for her?"

Spike thought about it and lifted his shoulders. "I don't know. For her, I guess? I'm fine with our pace, but I don't want to make her uncomfortable..."

"Have you?" Cadance asked, dipping her quill and gently scraping away the extra ink on the bottle. "Rather, has she said that you've made her uncomfortable or shown you discomfort at any of your actions?"

"Well, she hasn't said anything, and I haven't noticed anything," Spike started. "Not since that first morning-"

Cadance perked up, sitting forward.

"Well," he said, shifting from side to side, "I accidentally slept over at her house a couple of times at the beginning. One of those times we woke up together on the floor. She was in my forelegs, and I was..." Blushing, he cleared his throat. "I was experiencing the morning issue some stallions have, sometimes."

Cadance nodded encouragingly at him. "What happened?"

"Well, I was," Spike coughed again, "I was poking her flank, and she got all red and blush-y on me. I apologized, she said it wasn't a big deal, and we had breakfast together."

"But she told you she was uncomfortable?" Cadance asked.

"Yes, as soon as I woke up," Spike said, nodding. "Said she wasn't ready for, that, yet. She pulled away, before she kissed me on the jaw and ran off."

Cadance nodded, switching her sucker to the other side of her mouth before asking, "Has she been ready for 'that' yet?"

Blushing, Spike looked off. "Maybe, but I haven't pressed my luck on that yet. Not to say that we've been celibate," he clarified, holding up a claw, "just that we haven't gone that far yet."

Pausing briefly, Cadance gave him a grinning look as she continued scratching at her page. "How far exactly have you gone, then?"

Spike sighed, giving her a look as one of his paws slid up over his eyes. Lowering the leg slightly, he gave her a one-eyed gaze as he asked, "Is this a question for me, or gossip for you?"

"Little bit of both," she said cheerfully. She took a moment to give him a level gaze. "You know this whole discussion is in confidence, right? Not even Twilight or Auntie Celestia gets to know about anything we talk about while that door is closed."

"Or Shining," Spike said, nodding at her. "Still, gossip kept between two is still gossip," he said, sighing as he tacked on, "I think most ponies call it third base?"

Cadance nodded, making a couple of notations on her sheet. "Both of you?"

"Yeah, we reciprocate," Spike murmured, his neck sinking and withdrawing into his shoulders.

"Bet you do," Cadance muttered, giggling as Spike snatched up a coaster and lobbed it gently at her. "Alright, alright. Seriously though, is it always something returned, or do you both actually start it independently?"

"Well, it's not like we've gone at each other every day," Spike said. "We've only gone over each other... three, maybe four times total."

"Less than me and Shiny," Cadance noted, punctuating the point with another dip in her inkwell. Tapping on the side of the jar, she amended, "Withing the first couple weeks, anyway."

"If I remember, though," Spike said, raising a claw, "you two were on each other almost right away. Shining had that one mare at the very beginning, but he dropped her after he found her with that other stallion."

Cadance scowled, the quill pressing into the page hard enough to poke through with a small ripping noise. Sighing, she pulled the feather out of the page and sealed the rip with a spell. "We don't talk about Sherry," she muttered, darkly.

Gulping, Spike nodded quickly. "Uh, still, the point I was trying to make was that you and Shining seemed to have feelings for each other from the very start. While Fluttershy and I have been pretty okay friends, much more so in the last month, I can't say that I had these kinds of feelings until..."

Cadance let the silence trail for a minute, before saying, "Until something happened between you two?"

Spike nodded, slowly, reliving the memory of that half-awake morning. "She kissed me," he told Cadance. "We were both half asleep, and I was waiting on her to clear the bathroom. When she left, she sort of... pressed herself into me. She used her hoof to cup my jaw," he muttered, placing a paw of his own where she had touched him so long ago, "and then she pulled me down..."

Cadance grinned and clapped her two forehooves together gently, bouncing a little in her chair as she finished her sentence with a flourish. "Oh Spike, that sounds so romantic!" she giggled, giving a little, tiny squeal at the end.

Blushing, Spike ran a paw over the spines running up his neck. "Yeah, looking back, it kind of was," he said. "In the moment though, she wasn't really acting on anything. I talked with her about it that morning, and we both mentioned that while we considered each other really good friends, we hadn't thought any deeper than that. Of course, before that, we sort of... made out. Over the breakfast table." Spike wiped a paw across his face, looking away from Cadance. "A couple of times."

Giggling, Cadance nodded as she reached the end of the scroll. Blowing gently on the ink, she nodded, satisfied. "Sounds like a passionate beginning for a passionate pair. I'm not especially surprised in your case in particular, Spike. Twilight sent me letters about you and Rarity, so I know that you're not exactly, well, dispassionate. And just because Fluttershy is a quiet pony, doesn't mean that she doesn't like feeling wanted, or doesn't sometimes feel that same wanting.

"You're not even going that fast," she said, looking back over her notes. "It seems to me that you are both taking enough time to talk with each other, and are being extremely considerate of each other's feelings."

Spike sighed, heavily. "I guess I'm just used to the pace Rarity set the two of us," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "When we finally got together, it was months before we even kissed properly, much less anything more... intimate?"

"And that was after, what, years of you courting her?" Cadance asked, rolling up her current scroll and pulling out the other clean one. Spike got a glance of the writing on the scroll, almost as dense and neat as Twilight's own.

"Yeah," he muttered, scratching at one of his ear spines. "It was at least, I don't know, seven or eight years."

"Pretty fair to say that she saw you grow up, then," Cadance remarked, dipping her quill and starting on her second roll of parchment. "Not as much as Twilight or I, but eight years is quite the length of time still."

"That was the excuse I gave her," he answered frankly. "I always chalked it up to her having to get over the previous memories of me, when I was still her "chubby little cherubim"," he said, using his claws to mark the quotations.

Cadance snorted and paused her quill. "She didn't actually say that to you...?"

"Oh yeah," Spike countered, nodding his head. "That one only saw light once or twice, but she had all kinds of pet names for me. They felt endearing when I was little, ya know, take what I can get and such. Once we started dating though..." Spike shrugged. "They felt awkward. Matronizing, I guess."

"Your significant other, mom-ing you? Sounds pretty awkward," Cadance muttered, peering through her glasses at the scroll. She murmured something under her breath, and Spike watched as a line of ink peeled off the page and back into the inkwell. Replacing the text, she nodded to herself.

Looking up, she met Spike's gaze as she asked, "Honestly Spike, how was the sex?"

Spike sputtered and stuttered, stammering to get anything more than a vowel out for half a minute.

Luckily for him, he was saved from answering by a gentle knocking on the door.

Cadance put the scroll on the desk and opened the door with her magic, nodding and smiling at the pony bowing in the doorway. Without a word, the pony pulled in a tiered service tray on wheels, stopping the laden cart at the end of the table. Bowing again, they smiled at Cadance before leaving, closing the door carefully behind them.

"Now Spike," Cadance said, lifting the covering on top of the tray away and setting it to the side. The top was covered by two settings, a large silver kettle and another silver platter covered with small eclairs and gently frosted cakes. "You know I wasn't asking about how good it was or anything so vulgar as that. What were the feelings behind the acts, what were the emotions?"

Sighing, Spike chuckled as he pulled a mug from the second shelf of the cart. Cadance pulled out her own teacup, and poured a cup of golden brown tea.

"You can say I know that," he said, pulling the other kettle over and pouring a steaming mug of much darker coffee, "but I can't swear that I'd be surprised if you did.

"Uhm," he uttered, taking a sip as he thought. "Well, I can't really tell you her emotions of course. I was... Well, elated, would be the least I could say. The first time, it was one of the most intimate and gentle things I've ever experienced. She gave me an outlet, and let me put every minute I'd ever loved her into the act. Our first, er, expression, lasted for hours, just treating and taking care of each other."

"You don't have to dance around it, Spike," Cadance interrupted. "What did you and Rarity call your little get together-s?"

"Well, I called it making love," Spike said, lowering his head as he thought, "but she always had a name for it. It sort of irritated me towards the end, how she always called them 'Exorcises' or 'Sessions' or something. My least favorite was always when she called it 'Getting Dirty'." His head snapped up, and he had to work to pull the frown from his face. "It made me feel like I was dirtying her, or something. Like my expression of love was causing her discomfort."

"What did she say when you brought it up?" Cadance asked gently.

Spike huffed, blowing air through his lips before looking away from her. "The one time I brought it up with her, she blew me off. 'Of course I enjoy our time together, but you can't deny that I get quite sweaty', or something close to that."

"While that does sound awfully dismissive," Cadance said softly, "I think you should have spoken with her more than once, especially if this bothered you so much."

Spike raised a paw, mouth open to countermand her words... then sighed as he nodded.

"Yeah, I should have tried harder," he said, taking a drink of his cooling beverage. "It's easier to admit after the fact. I just didn't want to bother her at the time, you know? I felt so lucky, I just didn't want to question anything she said or told me, in case she changed her mind." He snorted. "That worked out."

Cadance sighed, putting everything down and placing her sucker on a shallow porcelain dish on her desk. She hopped lightly up from her chair, making her way over to Spike. He let her move the mug out of his paw, giving her a confused look.

He stiffened a bit when she flared her wings, but he relaxed into her as she wrapped her hooves around him and pulled him to her chest. He took a moment to carefully place his paws on her back before he pulled her into the hug. They stayed like that for a moment, Cadance half standing as Spike held the alicorn to his chest.

After a minute Spike chuckled, pulling away from her a bit. "Your legs are trembling," he said, pushing her gently into a sitting position, her torso still extended towards him.

She pouted up at him, reaching out a hoof to gently tap on his pushing foreleg. "I've always got hugs for you, Spike, whether my legs can hold up or not."

Laughing, Spike sat up on his cushion before sweeping out with his forelegs, picking up the alicorn and hugging her against him. She was just a little too heavy for him to hold, but he was able to set her haunches on the bit of cushion he'd freed up.

She squeaked a bit when his paw swept under her thigh, but she wrapped her forelegs around his neck as she giggled.

"Aren't I supposed to be the one picking you up?" she asked, pressing their chests together as she enclosed his back with her wings. "Little brother," she added, teasingly, but also just a little carefully.

Spike pulled back, looking into her face. She was smiling widely, but there was a cautious look in her eyes.

"First time you've ever called me that, Cadance," Spike said. "I don't mind," he said quickly, when her face started to fall. "But that's the first time you've ever been that explicit about it."

"Well," she said, leaning away a bit. She wobbled on the cushion a bit, and Spike put a paw around her lower back to steady her. "I'm sort of doing a, well, a therapy thing. Doctors like to establish stronger bonds between them and their patients, because-"

Spike snorted. "Cadance, you're my second favorite sister," he said, smiling. "You don't have to fake a bond we already have," he said as he used his free paw to tap gently against her muzzle.

Sighing, Cadance smiled and nodded. "Sorry, it just gets weird going from appointments with strangers to having these sorts of conversations with family."

She gave him one more brief hug before hopping down, sighing as she walked over to her chair.

"Feeling better?" Spike asked, causing her to stop and give him a look.

"Spike, that was supposed to be helping you feel better," she said slowly. "You were getting pretty angry there."

Spike shook his head.

"Cadance, I felt better as soon as we stopped talking about Rarity. The hug was nice, but I was mostly trying to help you feel a little less weighed down." He chuckled a bit, saying, "Living with Twilight, I've gotten pretty good at letting stress slip by me. 'Fix the problem, no more stress', is my thinking. Only problem with that," he sighed, "are the longstanding problems you can't do anything about. Or don't want to do anything about."

"Such as some of your issues with Rarity," Cadance said, slipping back into her chair and picking up her quill and scroll again.

"For example," he said, dipping his head in acknowledgment. "But it wasn't all bad, of course," he said, waving a paw through the air before extending it towards his coffee mug on the table. "That's just where we focused first."

"It's where the first tangent led," Cadance said with a nod, lifting her sucker from the dish and popping it back into a cheek. "Why don't we look at some of the fonder memories, next? What were some of your favorite times with Ms. Rarity?"

Spike slowly sipped at his coffee.

"Well, there were the 'fun' times, of course," he said, blushing. "Rarity is the kind of mare who knows exactly what she wants, when she wants it, and how she wants it. That translates into her work life, her personal life, and her love life.

"That was one of our first hurdles to get over, actually," he said, stirring his cup idly.

"Oh?" Cadance prompted.

Spike gave a small start, his blush deepening. "Oh, uh..." He looked away as he muttered something under his breath.

"Spike, if you don't want to tell me-" Cadance started.

"There are some... anatomical, differences, between me and your standard stallion," he said, scratching behind one of his ear spines. "Rarity perhaps wasn't prepared for that, her first time. She, uh, had a small freak-out and locked herself in her room for a night."

"Oh, Spike," Cadance said, blushing lightly but mostly just frowning. "That can't have been good for you."

"Oh yeah, that one hurt for a bit," he said, nodding. "I've always felt like an outsider, being draconian in a pony society. Ponyville's always been good to me, but you know how Canterlot was at times. When she did that, it sort of felt like it was all coming back..."

Cadance made to get up again, but Spike held up a claw and shook his head, smiling.

"I'm alright, Cadance," he said, sighing as he put down his empty mug. "It was a while ago, and Rarity and I have talked it through pretty extensively. She felt awful about it, we hugged it out, I told her why it bothered me so much, and we hugged it out some more. It's healed over, mostly."

Cadance slowly nodded, still frowning heavily.

They sat in relative silence for a moment, the only sound in the room being Cadance catching up on her notes. Spike was staring at an uninteresting painting on the wall, eyes following along with the painted ocean waves while losing himself in his memories for a moment.

Spike huffed after a moment, chuckling to himself. "I think you asked for some good memories. Sorry, guess I'm just feeling a bit negative right now."

He forcefully blew the air from his lungs, taking a deep breath as he covered his eyes and scrubbed at them with a paw.

"Uh, happy," he muttered. "Well, just spending time with her was always nice. She's very good at conversation, not just talking but knowing when the other person wants to talk, so we were never one of those couples that just sat around. It was sort of awkward sometimes, but never bad."

"What sort of things did you talk about?" Cadance asked, floating one of the small cakes on the service tray over to her desk.

Leaning forward, Spike took one as well, pouring another cup of coffee at the same time.

"The standard things," he said, placing the steaming cup on the table. "How her day went, how mine was, anything interesting we'd seen or done that day. What clothes she'd sold or certain orders she received that stood out, some of the more interesting things Twilight had me doing and the weirder books I'd seen that day." He paused to take a bite of the little cake.

"It sounds like she was a very good friend," Cadance said lightly.

Spike frowned a bit. "She was my very best friend, Cadance. She knows some things about me that even Twilight doesn't know, and I'm not just talking physically. We talked about some of the very deepest thoughts I've had."

Cadance withdrew the stick of the sucker from her mouth, tossing the item in a nearby wastebasket. "I didn't mean anything by that, Spike," she said, taking a sip out of her own cup. "Friendship is the best building block for romance, after all."

Spike sighed, running a claw along the side of his mug on the table. "Sorry," he murmured. "I guess I'm still a little sore about the whole friendship thing with her." He met Cadance's eyes. "That's a bit of why she broke it off with me. She said I still felt like a friend, instead of anything more."

Cadance nodded, adding something to her scroll. "Twilight mentioned that to me," she admitted. "I hope you don't mind?"

He shook his head. "It's fine, not really a secret."

They sat in silence for a moment, Spike lifting his mug to sip at it, Cadance enjoying the cake as she let him think.

"Spike?"

He looked up, meeting Cadance's gaze.

"Were you happy?"

They sat there for a moment, gazing at each other.

Breaking the gaze, Spike looked into his mug. "If you'd asked me at the time, the answer would have been yes, I would have gushed and told you how ecstatic I was. But...

"I don't think I was," he said quietly.

Author's Note

Sorry about that gap there, I've had a nasty cough for a bit and any sickness kind of completely wrecks me :pinkiesick:

I don't think this chapter is quite complete, but I do think it's got a fairly good place for a break. Part two, incoming! :pinkiegasp:

(As always, love you guys)

Just Nervous Paces, Bracing for Bad News

They took a break there. Spike wanted to stretch his legs and gather his thoughts, and Cadance had no problems leading him into the small gardens on the grounds of the castle. She told him to take his time, and left him with a single guard as an escort, who stood at the entry door.

Spike wandered through the small flower beds, neatly tended. He paused and gently touched a sunny crystalline blossom, before continuing towards a short tree bearing blue fruit.

He placed a paw gently on the trunk, running his palm over the smooth bark, before laying down on the soft grass. He rolled onto his back, propping his head on a knot in the roots to gaze up into the sky between the leaves.

He laid there for what seemed like hours, trying to think over his relationship with the bearer of Generosity. His head gave him no such concrete thing, and he couldn't do anything more than lay there and relive the precious memories he still had.

Eventually, his thoughts were interrupted by the gentle crunching of grass below hooves. Listening to the slow movement, he perked his head up to be sure of who it was.

She smiled down at him, and they shared a nuzzle before she laid beside him, one of her wings covering him as she leaned into his side. They laid in silence for a while, before Spike broke it.

"Have I been out here long?"

"Maybe a little over an hour," she said, putting her head on his chest. She hummed as he lifted a paw and started running through her mane. "Cadance wants you to take all the time you need, she says."

"Oh, I'm not really getting anywhere. I'll probably head back in there in a minute. How about you? Cluster lead you into any weird places?"

Fluttershy giggled, shaking her head. "We went to the Filly's restroom a little before I was quite ready, but other than that he was good. I don't know where he got that map, it's hoof drawn, but it's very detailed and well labeled. He isn't so great at reading it, but the two of us got to everything easily enough."

"Good, good," Spike murmured, stroking through her mane. "Any plans for this afternoon?"

"I don't think so," she murmured. "I was thinking that their library would have some older texts about animals, maybe some medicines that we've forgotten over time. That's probably a relaxing way to spend an afternoon, don't you think?"

"Sounds pretty chill," he murmured, lifting his head to nuzzle into the top of her head a bit. "I think I'm ready to head back to Cadance, if you're done relaxing here?"

She wriggled a little and lifted her head to give Spike a chaste smooch.

"Another couple of minutes?"

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Cadance looked up from her notes at a soft knock on her office's door, and smiled up at Spike when he entered.

"Your guy out here said I was good to come in?" he asked, looking around the room to make sure no-one else was in there.

"Yes Spike, you're my focus today," she said with a chuckle, stretching a hoof towards his previous seat. The serving tray was still there, once again covered by the silver dome. As Spike walked over to it, Cadance's magic lit up one of the panels and pulled out a canister with a coffee bean marked on the side.

"Did you have a productive time out there?" Cadance asked, as she begun preparing two different kettles for the beverage.

Spike let out a quick bark of laughter, a short, "Ha! Absolutely, as long as staring up at the sky can be considered productive. I just reminisced, instead of actually thinking about anything." He sighed. "I wanted to actually reflect on our interactions, but I just lost myself."

Cadance actually smiled a bit, giving Spike a nod. "Our thoughts can be like that." She set the metal kettle onto a small net of woven wires on the table, and sparked her magic into a contained flame. Almost instantly, the water inside could be heard bubbling and swirling.

She looked over the scrolls on her desk, and looked back to Spike. "We can talk some more tomorrow, if you'd prefer? I have all of today, but if you're not up for it, for any reason...?"

Spike shook his head, sitting heavily on the cushion. "I'd like to get as much out today as possible. I'm not really sure what else there is to talk about, though..." He sighed heavily, before reaching out to the tray and snagging a cake.

"Well, before we separated, we were looking into how happy you were with Ms Rarity," Cadance started, looking over her notes as she turned the small magical fire on the cart off.

"Ah, but was I?" Spike said, shaking his head.

Cadance looked over at him, her gaze level as she floated the kettle of hot water over to the coffee maker.

"Does it matter anymore?" she asked bluntly.

He blinked before biting his lip and thinking about it for a moment.

"You know," he said, shaking his head, "I don't think it does."

Cadance smiled and nodded, writing on her scroll as the smell of fresh coffee finally hit the room. Spike watched her juggling the levitation of her ink quill, the kettle full of water, and then her paper as she picked it up to allow for her to look at both it and him.

"You know, you're one of five mares that I know of that can do all that at the same time," he said, waving a claw at the various airborne objects.

"Not trying to distract you," he said quickly as she raised an eyebrow at the non-sequitur. "It's impressive, is all."

She smiled and dipped her head, nodding at Spike. "Well then, thank you.

"To continue on earlier, though," she said, eyeing over her scroll. "Whenever we tried to talk about what made you happy with Rarity, we kept getting sidetracked into bad places. Right now, I'd like to talk about what made you happy during that time, in general," she said.

"Oh, uhm," he murmured, his mental gears grinding as he tried to change his thought's directions. "In general? Uhm, I really enjoyed reading comics, and at some point me, Mac, and Disscy started getting together to play games..."

"Disscy?" Cadance asked, amusement dancing between her eyes and her tone.

"Yeah, don't let him know we called him that," he said absently. "I'm sure he knows, but he hasn't let us know that he knows, so he doesn't know," Spike muttered.

"...Oh?" Cadance said, her eyebrows wrinkled now.

"Yeah," Spike agreed, eyes still distant. "Uhm, I spent a lot of time with Rarity, of course, as much as she would allow... Me and the guy's games suffered a bit, and I don't remember buying many comic books around that time, she always thought... well, that they were childish."

Cadance shook her head gently, as thought clearing cobwebs from her ears, before very quickly and briefly scratching on her roll of paper. She watched Spike think for a minute without interrupting, before she turned her eyes to the cart.

Spike was startled out of his thoughts by a warm mug passing in front of his eyes, and he reflexively took it. "Oh, thanks," he said, looking over at Cadance and smiling.

It didn't quite reach his eyes, though.

"Spike," she said, quietly. "What are you thinking, right now?"

He hesitated for a second, before he asked, "Did I have a life outside of her? She definitely had her own, outside of me."

Cadance hesitated, before carefully saying, "Well, Spike, I could give you my opinion, but that's all it would be; an opinion." She shifted a bit in her chair before asking, "What's your opinion, Spike?"

Spike drew in a short breath, before letting out a weak chuckle.

"I was pretty fucking pathetic, wasn't I?"

Cadance physically recoiled from the swear, her ears flicking back and forth as she tried to hide her surprise.

"Spike, language, please," she murmured, looking into his face with a gaze of deep concern. "Where did you even learn that word?"

"But it's true, isn't it?" he insisted. "After one fu-" he bit his lip at Cadance's look, "one bucking look at her, I decided to just utterly commit myself to her, be her willing servant or pincushion or whatever she wanted or I could think of, and for what?"

He slumped in his seat, letting his mug clatter heavily on the table in front of him as he covered his face with his paws.

"I wasted ten years of my life on her," he muttered into the soft leather of his palms, trying to push the tears forming back into his eyes, "a decade for what? Hurt feelings and the realization as to how fucking pitiful, how pathetic-"

"Spike!" Cadance called out, but he just shivered and ignored her, muttering now under his breath as he slumped forward, his paws running over his neck as he started to curl up on himself in his chair.

Cadance hopped out of her chair, her wings still closed but fluttering by her sides as she rushed to his side. She gently pulled him to her chest, but he pulled away from her as he shrunk into himself, rolling tightly into a ball on the seat. She watched his back flex, and recognized it as an attempt to cover oneself with a set of wings.

She'd performed the action often enough herself, after all.

Not sure what else to do, Cadance pulled a chair over next to him and sat on it, leaning heavily on him. He shivered and tried to pull away at first, but stopped when she placed her wings over him. After a moment, he even relaxed a bit, though he stayed curled up.

"Spike?" Cadance asked. She sighed at his lack of reply, then settled in more fully into the chair and on his side.

"You know, I bet this is what a mother chicken feels like when she lays an egg too large for her," she pretended to gripe, hugging onto Spike with her wings. "Then she has to figure out how to actually sit on it."

Spike remained silent for long enough that she thought he was either ignoring her, or just in a place he couldn't hear her.

Until he muttered something under his breath.

Eyebrow cocked, Cadance leaned down and put her ear to his lips. "Hmm?" she asked quietly.

Spike cleared his throat before muttering, "She would have to figure out how to sit again, first..."

Cadance let the air out of her lungs, letting a light chuckle rumble through her throat as she pressed the bottom of her muzzle against the top of his head, rubbing it back and forth over his scales.

"Ooo Spike, you can't scare an old pony like that," she breathed, warm feelings moving through her pelt as he relaxed and finally started hugging her back. "Even if it doesn't kill me, a heart attack would still hurt you know."

He pulled his head from his chest, flinching lightly when Cadance began to clean his face with a tissue. He waved his claw after it, until Cadance leaned back a bit and looked into his eyes. Quickly averting them, he let her clean the tears and snot from his face and chin before he let a bit of fire out of his nose at the tissue.

"Was this your first panic attack in a while?" she asked, gently taking his muzzle and pulling it to face her again.

"Ever since the growth," he said bluntly.

"But a while before that, right?" she pressed gently.

Spike scratched the side of his face, thinking. "Probably not for a couple months, since the falling out with Rarity. Before that though, a while. It's been a rough, what, half of a year," he snorted.

Cadance nodded, leaning forward and giving him a gentle kiss between his nostrils. "It would probably be best to stop for the day here. Are you okay with that?"

He nodded, wiping at a lingering bit of moisture caught between his eye and his muzzle.

"Alright Spike, then feel free to show up when you'd like to tomorrow. I've cleared my week to catch up on paperwork, so barring emergencies I'm here for you."

He nodded, then hesitated for a second before hugging her. She wrapped her forelimbs around him and squeezed tightly. She let go easily when he pulled away, and smiled and waved at him as he left.

Spike breathed deeply, closing his eyes and focusing on his breath's tempo as he leaned on the thick wooden door to Cadance's office. After a minute of clearing his mind, he shook his neck roughly and started walking away.

Wonder if she's already through with the zoo yet...

He nodded to himself, a half-seen pony he was walking past nodding back, as he let his thoughts wander to Fluttershy.

He paused as a familiar tickle started it's way up his throat, and he looked around to make sure he was alone before breathing an enveloped letter into his palm.

Confused, he twirled the letter in his claw and found it to be plain, unadorned by name or seal.

Using a claw, he pried the lip of the envelope away from the body of the postage, and froze. Shivers running up his back, he blew air harshly through his nose to carry the scent away before he roughly pulled the letter out.

An indigo ink proclaimed, simply, "I am on my way.

"Rarity"

Author's Note

Surprise! Also Happy Halloween! See you guys in another ****** minutes!

Wandering and Wondering

Spike stood there for a full minute, his indecision freezing him, before he breathed out through his nose, pulling the air back in as part of the same motion. He knew she was coming, he had to have known she would have cleared her schedule as soon as the letter from Cadance reached her.

He let his mind settle on Cadance, on the office he just left, and sent a jet of green flame through the letter in his paw.

Standing there and breathing for another few minutes, he nodded slowly to himself, then started walking.

"I'll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow," he muttered. "Today, the rest of it, is for me."

He took the next left he came to, a swirl of butterflies in a field of daises his only thought.

Unfortunately, if only slightly, the next pony he saw was one of the crystalline guards, who perked up and headed his way.

"Mr. Spike, sir," the guard said with a small bow. "Apologies for the disturbance, but Princess Cadance has indicated that someone needed to tell you that you are, 'Expected to join me for dinner again tonight', sir. Her words, slightly paraphrased, sir."

Spike looked askance at the guard, then shook his head lightly. "Enough sirs, sir. Would you let her know that I'm going to find my marefriend right now, but I'll be there tonight?"

"Of course, uhm, Mr. Spike," he said with a nod, before he trotted back to his post. Spike watched him activate a crystal in the middle of his chest piece and speak quietly into it. After the guard finished he looked up and saw Spike still looking his way, and he nodded and saluted.

Spike nodded himself, and added a wave, before he started off towards the entrance to the castle.

With minimal wandering, he found the large entry hallway and made his ways to the outer doors. He hesitated in front of them for a moment, before he noticed a small servant's entry to the side. Not bothering with the, frankly, ridiculously sized doors, he was soon standing in the gateway of the Crystal Castle, looking around and peering closer at the surroundings.

"Alright now, Fluttershy said she was heading to the zoo... Oh, and then I saw her in the gardens," Spike was muttering to himself, "and she said she'd already done that, and was... heading for the... library..."

Spike sighed heavily and looked mournfully back at the castle doors.

"The castle library, or the public one?"

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Fluttershy was trotting happily on her way back to the castle, having just left the library near the edge of town. The custodian had been kind enough to allow her to borrow a number of tomes based on the castle's credit, and Bright Cluster had been more than happy to secure the books in his saddlebags.

The two of them paused at an intersection, looking first one way, then the other, at the long row of unrecognized houses on either side.

Fluttershy glanced at Bright Cluster, who glanced back at Fluttershy. After a moment something in his head clicked, and he mouthed an 'oh' as he reached into his armor for the map. He paled a bit, a feat for the crystalline stallion, before he turned and plunged his hoof into a saddlebag.

"Oohhh," he groaned before he searched his other saddlebag. "I think I left it at the library..."

Fluttershy looked at him, her eyebrows creased. "Should we go back for it?"

Sighing, he shook his head. "That's not necessary, ma'am. Prince Shining Armor had it enchanted so that it can't be copied, and it'll return to me after a while." He huffed. "He also had the enchantment set for six hours from the last time I touched it, 'As punishment for losing it'."

Fluttershy covered her muzzle and giggled lightly, before nodding. "Nothing for it but to go forward, then. Unless you think you can get us back to the library?"

Bright Cluster sighed before glancing around, making sure no one was around, before he lifted up his bag on the side facing her.

His cutie mark was a compass, but instead of one red arrow facing north, it had four that twisted around each other and pointed in three different directions, two joining to face the same south-easterly direction.

"Ah," said Fluttershy, nodding before looking up at the sun. "At least it won't get dark anytime soon. And we can see the castle, so we shouldn't get too lost."

"Right, right," said Bright Cluster, not at all reassured. "Just, uh, don't let me lead through anywhere I call a shortcut. Sometimes my brain makes claims my sense of direction can't deliver."

Giggling, Fluttershy nodded. "Then I suppose I'll lead." She looked up and down the street, then up at the structure in the distance, lofty spires just visible over the houses in between them. "Let's try this way first," she said, pointing a hoof down the street.

Bright Cluster looked ready to say something, until he caught a glimpse of her slowly wilting expression. "Better than standing here," he quickly supplied, nodding with a smile.

"Alright Fluttershy, time to lead the group to victory," she whispered to herself, no more than a breath on the wind.

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Fluttershy looked almost ready to cry when Bright Cluster perked up, almost two hours after they had left the library.

"Miss Fluttershy! Look, at the end of the street!"

Hesitating, not looking forward to seeing the same tavern for a third time, her ears still fell when she saw the building in the distance.

"The train station?"

"Yeah, the train station!" Bright said, trotting towards it with a spring in his step. "The main street that leads through town starts at the station, and ends at the castle! It'll be a straight shot once we get there!"

"Oh!" Fluttershy said, her ears perking forward as he face lifted into a smile. "Oh, well then, let's-"

She trailed off as a bright purple light appeared over the landing platform, appearing first as the size of a pebble, then an orange, then a grapefruit, then even larger as a seven foot sphere eventually spun from the middle of the area. The air itself was disturbed as eddies of dust made their way from the sphere, and a high pitched squealing noise started to emanate from it.

Then the orb seemed to flex, and with an audible, "Pt'oooey!" noise, the screeching noise became that much louder as a white unicorn fell out of the vortex, followed by the pattering of two suitcases. The pony came out spread-eagle, and her screaming was unmercifuly silenced by the wood of the platform.

Fluttershy and Bright Cluster froze, both staring open-mouthed and wide-eyed at this spectacle.

The orb quickly swallowed itself, and the noise of the air died down to an overbearing silence. Then, the unicorn muttered into the floor, slowly rolling onto it's back and groaning quietly.

"Uhm, ma'am?" called out Bright Cluster. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

The unicorn groaned louder, putting her forehooves over her eyes as her back hooves paddled in the air. She continued for at least half a minute before she stilled. Rolling quickly, she regained her hooves and swooped her long, indigo hair dramatically over her shoulder.

"Why of course I'm all right, darling," she said with a wavering smile. "After all, Rarity is back the Crystal Empire."

Author's Note

Another one guys! Maybe trading word count will help me update more often; we'll see soon enough, huh?

Coming to Terms

Fluttershy quickly made her way towards her friend, ignoring the shock, then nervousness, that played across Rarity's face.

"Rarity, I didn't know you could teleport! And such a distance, too!" she said as she gently took Rarity's muzzle between her hooves. "Did you hurt yourself? Are you okay?"

Rarity scrunched her muzzle, her eyes searching Fluttershy's face and eyes for a moment before she softly smiled.

"Yes, dear, I'm alright," she almost whispered. "Although," she said, straitening her back and looking down her nose at Fluttershy, albeit with a small grin, "I was wounded when I heard Spike chose to leave me behind on this venture of his."

Her smile slowly dripped off of her lips, and her eyes went teary as she lowered them to the ground.

"Did I do something wrong? Is he avoiding me?"

Fluttershy looked back at Bright Cluster for a moment, who still looked shell-shocked. Chewing on her bottom lip slightly, she turned back to Rarity, who sighed.

"I don't know if he's purposefully avoiding you," Fluttershy whispered. "I think you two need to have a talk. I think that's why Cadance called you up here."

Rarity nodded, looking back towards her two suitcases, then to the castle.

"Lieutenant, would you mind helping my friend with her luggage? I believe she'll be staying at the castle with us," Fluttershy said, smiling at Bright Cluster.

Rarity looked over at him and gave a small smile, and he shook his head before nodding, moving over to the bags and settling them on his back.

"Thank you, Lieutenant...?"

"Bright Cluster, ma'am," he said, dipping his head into a bow before he straightened his back, one of the bags threatening to slide off.

"Lieutenant Cluster, thank you," she said again, quietly.

She jumped a little when Fluttershy bumped into her shoulder, and she smiled a bit when she felt her friend press into her side.

"You know, Fluttershy," Rarity said as they started walking, "not many mares would be so gentle with their stallion's ex. Especially when they've apparently been so horrid as to send the poor gentle-colt to therapy."

"Well," Fluttershy said, slowly, "I think that most of that tension would normally be fear. But Rarity, you are one of my three absolute best friends," she said with a smile and a nuzzle into Rarity's shoulder, "and I'm not afraid of you trying to hurt me, or Spike. And I know that no matter what, Spike is going to do what he thinks is best for all of us.

"So while I admit, I'm a little anxious towards him," she admitted, her ears flicking down before righting themselves, "I'm not afraid. I know that what is going to happen is what should happen, you know?"

Rarity sniffed, a little stunned by her friend's words. Pausing, she daintily wiped at her nose with a hoof before she said, "You've been hanging out with Rainbow Dash recently, then?"

Fluttershy laughed, not a gut-busting floor-roller or a petite little giggle, but a genuine burst of joy that came from being caught off guard.

When she finished, she continued to smile as she softly pressed her hip into Rarity's. "Sometimes she's right, though."

They walked in companionable silence for a moment, before Fluttershy once again spoke up.

"Oh, Rarity, I almost forgot. I was going to ask when you learned long-distance teleportation? And when you were going to summon the rest of your bags?"

"Oh, uhm, well, Cadance's letter caught me a little off-guard," Rarity said, smiling with a blush. "So I only had time enough to pack those two bags before I went screaming off towards Twilight. I must have spooked the poor mare because her sending was... a little rough this time," she said.

"Oh, so that's why you tried to plant your face in the train station," Bright Cluster piped up from the rear of their entourage.

Both mares turned to look at him, both eyebrows arched on their wide-eyed faces.

"I mean, that's why your baggage arrived as roughly as it did," he said, face trained into a blank slate with his eyes gazing towards the horizon.

Rarity slightly relaxed her face, staring at the lieutenant with one eyebrow raised and her eyes nearly slits. "Indeed," she said carefully, before turning back to the front as both mares started walking, once again ignoring the stallion behind them as he let out a sigh.

"But yes, that is why my arrival was, let us say less than graceful," Rarity finished.

"Are you sure your poor muzzle is alright? You landed pretty hard," Fluttershy said with concern.

"Oh yes dear, quite alright," Rarity said, waving a hoof through the air in front of her face. "The only thing I hurt in that fall was my pride."

"If you're sure," Fluttershy said hesitantly, before dropping the subject.

Quickly breaking the looming silence, Rarity asked, "So, what have you two been doing so far?"

"Well," Fluttershy began, before giving Rarity a very brief rundown of Spike's meetings with Cadance, and then launching into a very long play-by-play of every animal she'd encountered at the zoo, followed by her trip to the library.

"Well, I am glad that you're having a delightful time, dear," Rarity said with a small smile.

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy said with a nod. "I just hope Spike has a bit more free time soon. I'd like the three of us to spend some time together up here now that we're all here. I think you two could really benefit from it, and I'd enjoy the time with both of you."

"Yes, well, that does sound lovely," Rarity said, inclining her head slightly. "As long as everyone feels comfortable with it, of course."

Fluttershy stopped, sighed, and to most of the group's surprise, sat down and gently took Rarity's muzzle between her forehooves.

"Fluttershy!?"

"Rarity," she said, kindly, but with steel in her voice. "How old are you?"

"W-w-well, I'm coming up on twenty-eight, I believe?" she said.

"And how old is Spike?"

"I never was able to pin down his birthday, with him spending it with Twilight almost every year," she admitted. "He's twenty-three?"

Fluttershy's expression wavered, but she shook her head and continued, "Neither of you are teenagers. No more adolescent hormones making everything twenty shades more intense than they're supposed to be," she said. "You guys aren't going to fight, Rarity. It may be awkward, and it will definitely be tense. But neither of you are going to yell, and neither of you are going to throw each other away."

She sucked in her lip for a moment, not quite nibbling it, before smiling.

"Your friendship is stronger than that, Rarity."

Rarity's eyes had been softening throughout the entire lecture, her tail and ears slowly drooping, but at the last bit her eyes finally filled with tears, and she fell into a hug with Fluttershy, quietly shaking as she buried her muzzle into her friend's mane.

"B-but Fu-Fluttershy," she whispered, sniffling. "Wu-what if he-he doesn't want t-to talk to me at all?"

Her legs wrapped around Rarity, Fluttershy only pulled her deeper into a hug.

"He will. He might not want to, at first, but he'll talk with you all night if we let him."

Rarity giggled a little, before hiccuping.

"Oh, I'm a mess," she moaned, slumping into her friend's embrace. "At least I didn't have time to put on any make-up on, I suppose. Nothing to streak anyway."

Fluttershy pulled back and looked again at her friend's face, taking in the deep purple she'd taken for tired, botched eye-shadow.

"Let's get you to the castle," she said, a new worry in her voice. "Maybe a small nap before talking with Spike."

"Maybe," Rarity agreed, sniffling and wiping her nose on a hoof kerchief offered by Bright Cluster.

Fluttershy and Rarity both stood, the former bumping her hip and shoulder into her friend's as they started walking.

"Oh, and Rarity?"

"Yes dear?"

"April twenty-eighth. Spike is twenty-four."

Author's Note

Some filler? Some character growth? Some genre-savviness? I don't know man. Hope you enjoy though :heart:

Crystalline Tears

Author's Note

Heya guys. I think I have some of the ADD. Been self-medicating with some basic caffeine pills (no worries guys, I'm keeping a handle on how much and whens) and I ground this out in the last... seven hours? Gonna talk to a doctor and see how that goes.

Anyhow! Hope you guys like this one. Let me know of any weird stuffs, I'll fix it. :twilightblush: :twilightsmile:

Crystalline Tears

Spike spun around in the four-way cross-section of the hallways he found himself, frowning heavily. He'd made his way over to the library outside of the castle first, on a hunch, but according to the master of books there he'd missed the duo by mere moments.

Sighing, he'd quickly hustled back to the castle, taking a few moments to measure out the best path on a weird paper map that he'd found stuck to the bottom of one of his paws before he left the library.

Once he'd arrived, however, the door guard had let him know that Fluttershy hadn't made it back yet. He'd asked the guard to ask her to meet him in the dining room, and then asked where it was.

And now here he rotated slowly, eyeing each identical hallway as he slowly turned.

"I'm starting to feel like a rotisserie in Gryphus," he muttered before picking a way at random. Left, left, right, straight through this hallway...

He ran into a window and grinned to himself as he looked down into the gardens that he'd rested in before. Turning the latch he shoved the window up, then looked straight down at the storey-high drop.

He scoffed before he pulled himself out onto the slight ledge, the talons on his feet keeping him suspended as he pulled the window most of the way closed. Then, slipping his tail into the small opening he'd left, he turned and leaned his top half down, until he was almost doing a head-stand. Letting go with his tail he dropped to his forepaws, then rolled onto the soft grass with a sigh.

A gentle clopping caught his ears, and his head shot up to look at the two guards on either side of the garden that were putting their hooves together for his maneuver.

"Ah yes, thank you, thaaank youuuu," he muttered with a wide, awkward grin, before dropping his head back into the lawn and sighing.

He let himself rest for a minute before rolling over and walking towards the nearest guard, who dropped his speaking stone from his ear as Spike approached.

"Uhm, can I get directions to the main dining area, please?"

The guard gave him a strange look before hiding their smile behind a hoof. Coughing a couple of times, the guard trained the same hoof on a familiar window on the second floor. "Straight through there, and three doors to the east."

Spike gazed blankly at the pony.

"Of course, there's a stairway in the door behind me, if you'd like to take it and then a couple of rights instead?"

Shining Armor looked up as Spike walked into the main dining area, panting slightly.

"Woo there bud, you look like you just got done sprinting a lap," he said, smiling and waving Spike over to the table, where several holograms were playing out over slates of marble.

"More like mountain climbing, actually," Spike said, wiping his forehead with a paw and wandering over to the unicorn.

On his way over though, another member of the guard trotted up to him from the side of the room, an earth crystal pony.

"Apologies sirs," she said with a dip of the head, "but I have an update for Mr. Spike. Lady Fluttershy had arrived at the castle, and wants us to let you know that she's freshening up in her rooms and will meet you here for dinner."

"Oh, okay," he said, a little disappointed to be losing time with her. "Thank you for letting me know, ma'am."

She nodded before retreating back to the side of the room she'd been posted at.

"Always sucks when the ladies are busy, huh?" said Shining with a small, understanding smile. "That's alright though, because now I get to show off this stuff!" he said with a wave at the table, still sparkling with tablets and magical moving pictures.

"Oh, uh, sure?" Spike said, walking over to the table and checking out the flashing, slightly grainy images. "This looks pretty intricate. What's up, are you designing drills, or maybe some super cool stealth mission thing?"

"Way more important, and wayyyy cooler," Shining said, nodding to a holographic chart with a massive list of names on it with a giant grin.

"Fantasy. Buckball. Drafts."

Spike dropped his head into his paws and groaned quietly.

ꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓꭓ

Cadance pranced into the dining room, smiling when she saw two of her favorite ponies flanking her favorite drake.

"No, dad, look at it this way," Flurry Heart murmured, switching two of the tablets on the table. "Way stronger starting offense, and she's proven herself fifty times over. Even if her accuracy isn't the best, with this defense the team will be unstoppable."

Shining shook his head, swapping two of the other tablets. "He's got that bum wing, from last season, remember? With this defender though, and this catcher, your gal might be unstoppable," he pulled forward another trio, showing three completely different ponies. "Until they come up to these three."

Flurry let loose a raspberry. "You couldn't pay Thunder Hawk and Lightning Swirl to play on the same team."

Shining smiled. "Which is why this is Fantasy Buckball," he said, nodding to the table.

Spike moaned quietly, lifting his head long enough to toss a small white tablet into his mouth along with a cupful of what smelled like very strong tea and a little alcohol, then returning it to his cupped paws.

Cadance shimmied around the table and over to Spike, crouching beside him.

"How long have they been at this?" she whispered to him.

"I think I've been here for eighty hours," Spike said into his hands. "Flurry got here about halfway between then and now."

Cadance looked over to the crystal guard at the side of the room, who mouthed, two hours.

Cadance chuckled before standing up and clearing her throat. "Dears, my darlings? I think it's time to put your decks away, it's nearly time for dinner."

Shining and Flurry both jumped, with her dropping a tablet loudly on the table.

"Oh, uh, sure honey," Shining said with a wilted smile, his horn lighting as two cases floated over and scooped up the slates on the table, clearing the surface of the flickering, moving pictures of ponies. "Uh, sorry about that Spike. Today's the first day and all, and I wanna make sure I draft correctly before Flurry here gets her and her friend's teams up and running."

"It's cool, Shining," Spike said with a sigh, straightening his spine. "It's just not something I can get into, yeah?"

Shining smiled and offered a hoof, which Spike returned with a balled fist.

"I get it, it's not every pony's thing," he said, storing the cases in a corner of the room. "Still, got your mind off of things for a bit, yeah?"

Spike chuckled, nodding his head. "I guess it did."

The ones present that weren't sitting yet took up places at the table, and the neatly uniformed pegasus that had brought Spike his tea trotted out of the door beside the guardspony. She took drink requests and bowed slightly before heading back out of the room, leaving the family to fall into an easy chatter between the mother and her husband and their daughter, the duo very briefly speaking with her about their sports picks before moving on to state and other matters.

Spike, for his part, finally fully relaxed as he listened idly to their natter. A smile slowly grew across his muzzle as he breathed in the steam from his fresh tea, and he fully settled into the chair.

His smile widened when he saw the main entrance door open a bit, before a yellow muzzle poked through, followed by a pair of wonderfully blue eyes. His smile did halt though, when that set of eyes matched his before quickly wrinkling and turning downward, despite the slightly strained smile on her face.

"Fluttershy?" he half asked, tensing his legs to get up.

"Hi Spike," she called, as loud as she ever got, while she trotted over to the table. She reached the table and stretched her neck over it to nuzzle the drake, before retracting a bit and giving him a nervous smile. "Uhm, Rarity arrived this afternoon."

"Ah," he said, his eyes focusing on the door. He licked his lips, his mouth suddenly sand-papery. "Well, she should, uhm, join us for dinner?" he asked, glancing over at Cadance, who had stiffened.

"Well," she said slowly, looking over to the door and the large eyes hiding behind it from Spike, "I suppose that would be your call, Spike. As long as everything remains civil, as I expect it to, there shouldn't be any harm."

Spike nodded, then turned to the door and attempted a smile before sighing and just calling out, "Come on in Rarity, sorry."

Rarity pushed her head through the crack in the door, her blues nervously meeting his greens. "Are you sure dear? I can sit this one out if it makes you more comfortable?"

Since when are you so worried about how I feel/
Too much of coward suddenly, D-a-r-l-i-n-g?

Spike's head rocked back a little as the dual thoughts roared through his head, snorting fire as he shook the thoughts out of his head. "Yeah Rarity, it'll be okay. C'mon in, please?"

She slowly nodded, before walking slowly over and taking a place beside Fluttershy and across from Spike, next to Shining who was near the head of the table. Flurry was directly across from her dad, and Spike was a bit down the table from her. Cadance, of course, was at the head of the table.

"Well, with that settled," Cadance started, "I believe we can start dinner. Lowery, if you could let us know what the kitchen has been up to this afternoon while Miss Rarity orders her beverage?"

The same uniformed pegasus nodded as she tucked away a piece of note parchment under her wing.

Spike tuned out as she spoke, looking at his empty place setting and breathing slowly, attempting to control his rushing thoughts. Eventually, he was able to at least wrangle it into a background of white noise, and he slowly lifted his head to look across the table.

Fluttershy was there, and gave him a worried smile as they met with their eyes.

It took a moment, and a deep breath, but he was able to conjure up at least a wan smile. She smiled a little more herself, and that was enough to relax him as he breathed out and turned his head to look at the white mare next to his marefriend.

It almost felt like time slowed down as he studied Rarity.

The first thing he noticed was a slight glittering in her one of her eyelashes as she spoke with Lowery; not the sparkle of one of her elegant eye shadows filled with gems but the yellowish glint of a crust leftover from sleep. She'd probably been sleeping just before coming to dinner and had rushed through her routine to make it here in time.

Looking into her face, he felt his tension leaving as his eyes traced the bags under hers, almost covered by a simple concealer that obviously wasn't hers; I only almost matched her coat tinge.

He watched her speak with Cadance, watching her lightly glassy eyes as she smiled and made some pleasant small talk with the others at the table, briefly glancing at him before flitting away quickly. Small pools of blush slowly appeared as she spoke with Flurry about something he couldn't hear, he was far too focused on her...

"Spike?"

"She just looks so tired," he said out loud, before blinking and looking over at Fluttershy.

The table had quieted as he spoke, even as softly as he had said it, and Rarity's blush grew far more pronounced as she hid her eyes and muzzle behind her hooves.

"You were still staring pretty hard," Fluttershy chided, giving him a thin smile. "A mare could get jealous, Spike."

His shoulders slumped, and he held a paw across the table. "It wasn't that kind of staring, Flutters," he said softly.

She nodded, placing a hoof in his paw and smiling a bit more as he traced over the frog.

"I know," she said, nodding. "Still. It's rude."

He chuckled, nodding. "Yes, ma'am." He turned his head to Rarity, still tucked behind her hooves with just her eyes peering out at him. "Sorry. Lost in my head, and stuff."

Rarity nodded, then slowly dropped her hooves. "You always could tell. What gave it away?"

"Oh, uhm..." He looked over at Fluttershy, who cocked her head before she smiled at him. "Well, I noticed the concealer, which is a couple of shades off from the one you use whenever you have to pull an all-nighter. Oh, which means you probably only brought the emergency bags. Plus, you were napping right before dinner, when you would normally be getting ready, which means it was more than just a single all-night gig and you're wearing yourself too thin again. So I drug you not only away from a very important job, but with almost no warning as well."

He scratched the back of his head, dipping it towards the table. "Sorry, again. If you need some help with that project, I can lend a claw, of course..."

The table was silent for a moment, before he looked up at her.

Rarity, of course, was not bug-eyed, and she would throw hooves if anyone would even insinuate as such. Though she did eventually let a small chuckle slip, along with a single tear that she dotted at with her napkin.

"That's my Spike," she said hoarsely, before clearing her throat gently and taking a sip from her teacup. "Well, I will admit to having had my share of sleepless nights recently. If only it was as easy to deal with as a dress, or any other order.

"Spike, I've been sleeping so poorly for almost two weeks now, and I was pretty restless for a couple of months before that."

Cadance hummed as Spike nodded, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, uhm, I did notice that about five or so weeks before you-" He shook his head. "Hm, before we split, I noticed that when I slept over you either found a reason to stay up until I'd gone to sleep, or just didn't come to bed. I thought I'd done something wrong, until that day at least."

Rarity was quiet a bit, tapping the table gently with a hoof. "I thought it was because I felt guilty," she admitted. "I thought it was because I felt like I was leading you along, and I was starting to realize what I was going to do."

She shook her head.

"I thought I would sleep better afterward," she murmured, almost absent. "But it never got better. Then, when you told me about Fluttershy, it actually got worse."

She hummed to herself for a moment. "I don't think I've slept more than four hours in a row for the last two weeks."

Spike didn't say anything, couldn't think of anything to say.

"Why do you think that is, Rarity?" asked a feminine voice from the head of the table, and Spike jumped a bit as he remembered Cadance, and all of her family, at that end of the table.

"... I think it may be because I stopped just wanting Spike to be happy," Rarity almost whispered. "I think I started being happy with him. I think...

"I think part of me realized that I was starting to love him," she finished.

Spike breathed out, a hundred questions rushing into his head and just obliterating themselves into pieces of words, parts of questions running into each other and shredding into so much confetti. He sat and just breathed for a while, her head down and staring into a swirl of the wood.

"I would ask," he started, and she lifted her face and gazed at him with watery eyes.

"I would ask," he began again, "why you split with me if you thought, even subconsciously, that you could love me. But I think all three of us," he said, indicating Cadance as well, "know the popular answer to that question.

"Fear. You were afraid of loving me," he whispered, and she sniffled as she nodded. "Why, Rarity?"

She sighed and wiped at her nose with a napkin. "Well, there's the whole spiel. I've never really loved anyone other than my family, despite the number of want-to-be paramours I've trotted through the paces. Then there's just the fact that I don't really have time to find true love, regardless of what I may say my business does take up just so much time. And there's-"

"But," he said, raising a paw. "But those aren't the reason. I've seen how much you love your friends, and you know I can at least get close to matching your pace with certain parts of your works. Rarity, what's the truth?"

She breathed in, her lip trembling. She reached out and drained the rest of her tea, and wiped at the corner of her eye before she looked directly into his eyes.

"Spike, I'm afraid of loving you, because... Because yo-" She took a breath, steadying herself against the table before she looked at him.

"Spike, it's because I'm afraid of more than just loving you," she said, tears starting to stream in earnest from her eyes.

"Spike, you're a Dragon," she whispered with a shiver. "I am afraid of you, because you're a Dragon, Spike."

Dragonflight

"Oh," Spike muttered, letting his paws rest on the table, his head having naturally trained on the ceiling after the proclamation.

"Oh," he said again, rolling the sound around his maw and letting it drop from his lips. He couldn't make his eyes lower to gaze at any of the ponies around him, and he was just barely able to keep his breath even and slow.

"Yeah, I get that," he said, nodding and looking up at the ceiling. "I mean, that's the obvious reason, isn't it."

He stood up from the table, slowly, and nodded again.

"I'm going to my room for a bit," he said lightly, before looking down at the table where his paws had been resting, and at the crescents that had been taken out of the slab of crystal. He raised his left paw, and forced the digits to unclench, powdered rock sieving through his fingers and trickling onto the tabletop.

"Sorry," he said, still looking above the heads of every pony in the room, before he moved to leave. He started to lower himself to four feet, but paused when he remembered the reason he usually tried to walk at the same height as everypony around him.

"Guess it doesn't make a difference," he muttered as he rose to his two hind legs, standing a little taller than Discord would be.

"Goodnight," he said again, before his legs started mechanically moving him towards the door.

He stopped when a light weight settled against him, wrapping her hooves around his waist as she squeezed. He waited until he felt her stop, then let a claw wander over and trail along her hair a couple of times, petting her like he would a cat.

"Be careful, Fluttershy," he said, finally looking down into a pair of red and blue waterlogged eyes. "I don't want to hurt you. I'm a monster, after all."

Gently, he placed his paws underneath either of her forelegs and picked her up, moving her to the side. Setting her down as gently as he could, he walked to the door, opened it, and left.

ꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞ

Cadance's breath caught in her throat, and her eyes snapped to the drake. His eyes had wandered to the undecorated ceiling, his head leaning to look higher up.

"Oh," he said, almost experimentally. She watched as the first of his tears welled at the bottom of his eyes, as it started to flow like a river down his cheek to drip from the bottom of his jaw.

"Oh," he said again, rolling his jaw as he did so, almost like a snake getting ready to unhinge and eat, and she could hear the splintering of rock as his paws gripped the table. Feeling a deep shame in her heart, Cadance let a bit of magic siphon into her horn, readying a spell in case his draconic side made its appearance.

"Yeah, I get that," he said, and she felt her heart break as he started nodding towards the roof. "I mean, that's the obvious reason..." he said, mumbling the rest of his sentence. Slowly he stood up from the table, still nodding.

"I'm going to my room for a bit," he said, almost starting to choke on the words at the end, his eyes blinking rapidly as the saltwater streamed down his face. She watched him take a step before raising a paw to his face, letting the glittering dust fall from his palms as the other paw at his waist also opened.

"Sorry," he muttered, under his breath. He started to hunch, letting his forelegs stretch before him, before pausing. He considered something for a moment, still talking to himself, before he straightened, walking towards the door on two legs, much like Discord had.

Fluttershy, who had been stricken up to this point, shook her head lightly before she ran over to the door, blocking his way.

"Spike, wait!" she cried, tears trickling down her face as well. "Please, we can talk about this, please-"

But he continued to walk closer to the door. As he neared, she reared up on her own hind legs and took a shaky step forward, gently coming to rest against his mid stomach and wrapping her forelegs around him.

Cadance relaxed a bit when his paw wandered over to her head, petting her slowly.

"Please Spike, let us talk about this," Fluttershy cried into his stomach, and Cadance felt her heart rise when he finally looked down into her eyes.

"Be careful, Fluttershy. I don't want to hurt you.

"I'm a monster, after all."

Cadance felt her own tears come as he picked Fluttershy up, moved her out of his way, and walked through the door. She watched Fluttershy look physically struck by the words, before she curled up into a ball, her own sobs muffled by her tail.

Cadance looked down the table, and Rarity withered further upon her gaze.

"Congratulations, Generosity," she said, edging into her Royal Diction tone. "You have broken a hero of the realms, and one who thought he was your best friend. Congratulations."

Then she left her seat, striding over to the door. She paused by Fluttershy, nosing her way through her tail to touch their muzzles together.

"Come now dear," she said, quietly. "He needs us right now."

Snuffling, her sobs slowed, before the yellow mare nodded, shakily coming to her hooves. Without looking back into the dining room, the two left after one who held both of their hearts in different ways.

ꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞ

Spike entered the room he'd been given, his thoughts racing but only coming up with three words.

You're a Dragon

He looked listlessly around his room, at the one small bag he had for general toiletries and showering items he still had packed on the bed, and the community service form from Clear Sights next to it.

You're a Dragon

He picked up the community service form, looking it over and remembering that one of the Princesses had asked him to learn how to control his transformations, to find a trigger for them that he could use whenever he needed it.

You're a Dragon

"If I'm a monster, I may as well be a useful monster," he whispered to himself, crumpling the form and dropping it to the bed.

He looked over to the window, striding over and unlatching it quickly. He threw himself out without looking, coming to a rolling stop in a large garden in the middle of the castle. Instead of an area with the trees he was used to, this one was filled with beds of pretty, well-scented flowers.

You're a Dragon

He stopped trying to block those words. He stopped trying to not hear them, again and again.

You're a Dragon
You're a Dragon
You're a Dragon

He let himself feel the true weight of those words, and the cold tears he now felt flowing from the corners of his eyes.

"I'm a Dragon," he whispered, and then shivered as the magic came over his pelt. He felt his joints straining again, and his scales flexed as his body readied itself to grow again.

But he was aware this time, and he knew what he wanted, and he focused the building power into the muscles on his back.

Immediately he felt twin spots of searing pain, and he grimaced as the bones first formed, then shot out of his back, covered in thin pebbled skin. The limbs formed quickly, but they left an ache in his back that caused him to whine as his head dipped to the grass below him.

You're a Dragon

"I'm a dragon," he whispered, the pain subsiding as he let the magic go.

He straightened his neck, lifting his head into the air as he flexed the old, familiar muscles.

"I'm a Dragon," he whispered again, before crouching down and flinging himself into the air, much like Rainbow Dash had taught him all those years ago. His back flexed, and he felt the new nerves in his fresh wings sing as the tips scraped the ground, then lifted him higher and higher over the castle.

ꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞꭞ

Cadance rushed around a corner, right into a guard speaking into his stone.

"My Lady!" he yelped, before pointing to a window. "Above the castle!"

"What!?" she asked, rushing over to the window and throwing it open, not bothering with the latch that shattered under the pressure of her hooves. She poked her head out and looked up, gawking at the deep indigo wings that stretched much too large for a creature the size of her little brother in the middle.

Then, with a flap, he disappeared into the sky.

She threw herself from the window, her own wings unfurling as she sped into the sky, intending to fly him down herself.

When she reached the level he'd been at, she gasped as she saw him far, far in the distance. She watched the massive set of wings flap once more before he dipped behind one of the mountains to the south.

Moments later Fluttershy joined the princess, panting a little with the effort she was putting into her wings.

"Where?" she asked, looking all around them for Spike.

"Gone," Cadance whispered, letting her wings beat slower as she descended. "He's gone."

Author's Note

Sorry for the bit of repetition at the start, it just felt right to show it from two different sides. Hope you guys enjoyed the two days in a row, I make no promises but hopefully this caffeine can keep it going :yay: :moustache:

Conference

Cadance's first action was to fall slowly to the ground, moving to help Fluttershy land and hold her in an embrace. She held the mare gently, wrapping her wings around Fluttershy and thinking, her mind racing as she supported the pegasus.

The second thing she did was return to the dining room.

"Please, Cadance," Fluttershy called, galloping after the marching alicorn. "There's no way she could known Spike would react like that! I know that she didn't mean-"

"Didn't mean to call my little brother a monster?" Cadance asked coldly, not breaking stride. "Didn't mean to confirm his worst fear, his darkest dream? Didn't mean to break his soul, like she broke his heart?"

"Cadance, of course she didn't!" Fluttershy yelped, now using her wings to augment her run. "Why on equestria would she have said that if the thought even occurred to her?"

"I don't know!" Cadance yelled, stomping a back leg. She pulled the limb out of the crater swiftly, crumbs of stone and crystal following the hoof. "But I'm going to find out!"

Panting, Cadance reached the door and yanked it open, her eyes darting over to the white mare currently hunched over the table with her shoulders shaking.

"Wh-!"

"Cadance," Shining Armor called out first, and she turned to look at the stallion who had moved to take her space at the table. "Ladybug."

Fluttershy ran up to the panting alicorn. "Cadance, please-"

Shining Armor held up a hoof, still watching his panting wife.

Slowly, she raised her foreleg out in front of her, then drew it to her chest as she breathed in. Stretching her leg out horizontally again, she breathed out, her eyelids fluttering closed as she repeated the physical mantra until her breathing calmed down.

"Now sweetie, I'd really like you to listen to me on this one," Shining said carefully.

"Mmm?" was her reply, hummed out in between motions.

"Swap out," he said, and her eyes slammed open.

"Excuse-"

"Swap. Out," he said, steel in his eyes and pleading in his voice. "You're too close to this one. Let me handle it, or a professional, but not you. Not for a while."

She stared down her husband, her lips moving as her eyes narrowed, speaking under her breath as she looked over at the pale mare.

Snorting, she stomped her back leg again, not breaking anything this time, before she stalked over to the chair opposite of Rarity, where Spike had been sitting. Not saying anything, she gestured to Shining Armor, who nodded and breathed out through his lips.

"Fluttershy, Rarity, ladies? This is feeling like it's going to be a long conference," he started, waving to the same guard next to the kitchen. "I'm going to go ahead and order some sandwiches and tea. Does anyone want anything else?"

Flurry Heart slowly raised a hoof. "Should I, uhm, be here?" she asked. "This seems like a lover's thing, and that's something I'm still very, very new to?"

Shining Armor furrowed his eyebrows, blowing air out through his pursed lips. "Mmm, I'm going to say your call. Probably not in the lover's area, but you still know Spike well enough to hop on my and Twilight's letters to each other, plus you talk at least weekly."

"Okay," she murmured, shifting a bit before she asked, "Is this one of those gross snack food for dinner nights?"

Shining snorted, and even Fluttershy smiled a tiny bit.

"Nah, but I'll make sure you get in on some ice cream later," her dad, nodding to the guard, who slipped her head through the doorway for a moment before she closed it, nodding at Shining.

"Alright, with blood sugar and hydration taken care of," he said, checking off an imaginary list, "we need to get into the meat of the conversation, no dancing around I feel.

"Miss Rarity?" he asked, the hiccuping mare slowly pulling her face out of the table. "I am very sorry, but I think everyone at the table needs this conversation. Do you think you can pull through for us?"

Slowly she nodded, lighting her horn and floating a wad of fresh linen napkin towards her. She swiped at the makeup streaking down her cheeks first; Cadance's gaze softened as she saw the large, purple bags underneath the other mare's eyes. She then blew her nose, hard, before tossing the cloth back on the table near her setting.

"I am, afraid of dragons," she admitted slowly. "It started with that large, red brute we had to deal with right around the time we first met Twilight," she said, turning and speaking with Fluttershy. "When I saw it just scare poor Rainbow away, I thought the mon-" she flinched, glancing at Cadance, "I-I thought he'd killed her, suffocated her with it's smoke. For weeks after that I needed to sleep with a little bit of wine in me to get through the night, and I couldn't light my candles because the matches and the smoke reminded me of that cave on top of the mountain.

"And then there were those awful teenagers," she said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "They were so talkative, I felt for sure that we'd stumbled into an actual society, something civilized. But while the others were busy watching over Spike, I saw..." She shuddered, her eyes squeezing together as she stuttered out, "I-I sa-saw what some of th-the adults were eating.

"Not just gems," she whispered. "That might have been the first time I saw a changeling, and one of the first times I saw one of the deer." She wiped at her eyes with the napkin in front of her. "They were being eaten. Leg by leg. Thankfully they weren't... alive, anymore, and I didn't really see any need to let poor Twilight and you know," she said, looking over at a pale Fluttershy. "But from then on, I couldn't look at a dragon the same way."

She wiped at her nose again.

"But Spike was different," she said, forcefully. "At first he was just so round and cute, and I never felt even a twinge around him.

She grew quiet.

"And then he wasn't," Fluttershy said, laying a hoof on her shoulder.

Rarity shuddered, nodding. "And then he had that greed attack. And he said how much he wanted me, of all ponies, and all I could imagine, all I could think of, were those changeling and deer that that adult was eating..."

She sniffed heavily.

"I was so scared when he changed back, that I almost couldn't bear to hear him speak. I had to shush him up there, or I'm afraid of what I would have said. Do you know, I gave him a kiss on the cheek after that? I felt like I had to, I mean he had sort of saved me, in a round-a-bout way." She was silent for a moment. "I vomited that night, thinking about how close I was to his teeth and how easily he could have just torn my face off."

Cadance looked like she was in physical pain, listening to Rarity. Fluttershy had long since just rested her leg on her friend's shoulder, and even Shining looked to be glittering around his eyes.

"But that isn't Spike," Flurry said, shaking her head. "We both know he's vegetarian, he's been on protein pills and legumes since he was born! He's told me about one of our griffin buddies offering him some cooked game, but he turned her down, flat. He's no interest, says the thought makes him-"

"He never told me," Rarity said, just loud enough to be heard. "I never talked to him about his diet, we never had reason to. He just liked to cook what I liked."

Shining held up a hoof.

"Let's table that for now," he said. "Regardless of his actual diet, Spike has always been vegetarian, though, as far as I know" he said, nodding towards Flurry as she opened her muzzle to argue.

She nodded, leaning back in her chair.

"Let's move on, Rarity," he said, voice even and soft. "After his greed incident?"

"Well, there's not much to say until I finally folded to his feelings," Rarity said, a little stronger now. "Of course I'd realized about his crush, he was a darling child but not very surreptitious, you know? And even after we had to deal with that large red male I continued to think he was cute, and I figured he'd move on at some point.

"Once the dragon migration happened, that changed a little. I found myself watching him, waiting for something to happen," she said, coughing a little.

"Uhm, my throat...?"

"Ah, right," Shining said, looking over at the mare near the kitchen. "Status?"

She nodded, dipping out of the room for a moment before returning with a uniformed stallion pushing a tea service along on top of a metal cart.

"The tea migh' be a little weak," he said apologetically, using his wings to serve out saucers and cups with small strainers covering them. He started to move the cart around, but Shining picked up the rest of the service and set it in the middle of the table while floating the other cups around.

"Thank you," said Shining with a dip of his head. "If you could keep some water on the back-burner as well, that would be nice."

"O-of course," the stallion said, with a dip of his head. "Uhm, the food'll be in soon, as well."

"Thank you," said Shining again, and the stallion bowed his way out of the room with the cart.

Rarity levitated a spoon with syrupy honey towards her cup, before pouring the light, steaming liquid into the cup. She hummed at the sight, then removed the strainer to sip lightly at the hot beverage.

"It is a touch weak still," she mentioned softly, before sipping at it again.

"Uhm, right," she said, nodding to herself. "I started noticing myself watching Spike as he assisted me around the shop. I'd watch him as he helped me cut fabric with scissors, and whenever he'd distract Opal by playing with her." She scoffed at herself. "There was an evening I had a nightmare, where he ate my entire stock of gems, then my cat, and then... And then my sister, and he finished it off with eating me," she said, closing her eyes and shivering as she relived the memory.

"And I still didn't quite realize what was wrong those few months, until I saw him enwrapped with greed and grown to his monstrous form," she said, not able to see Cadance's frown with her eyes still closed.

"That was the day I realized, and the night that I couldn't sleep," she said, opening her eyes and taking a larger sip of the tea. "That was the night that... that I bought something a little heavier than wine to help me to sleep."

"Rarity," Fluttershy murmured, leaning over and wrapping her forelegs around the seamstress.

Rarity quickly returned the hug, shivering a little as she squeezed her friend.

She pushed away after a minute, clearing her throat.

"From there I attempted to get him together with a couple of other mares," she said, taking a sip of her tea, "but he wasn't biting. As the years passed he grew, and even through my fear I could tell he was a very handsome drake. He kept up, always there but never pressing the issue, just trying his best to be my perfect match. I gave in. We dated. We slept together, and I drank myself to sleep on those nights. Then, I found myself not needing it, and towards the end, I found myself trusting him to keep me safe.

"Do you know how terrifying that was?" she asked the table. "To finally feel safe, with something that I'd had nightmares about for years, always afraid he would kill me. He'd kiss me, and I wondered every time where he would stop; at my neck, my torso? Maybe all the way down to the hooves?"

There was silence for a while, broken by Fluttershy.

"Why didn't you tell him? Or anyone?" she asked. "I would have listened, Rarity. Twilight would have listened, or even Starlight, or-"

Rarity snorted, quietly.

"Because I hated myself for it," she said, evenly. "I hated so much how scared I was of that poor, sweet boy, for something as little as what he was born as. I hated how I nearly wet myself whenever he leaned too close to me too quickly, how I almost wished he would just bite me and get it over with. I hated..."

She sobbed, once.

"I hated how much I hated him for making me feel so scared when I knew damned well he had no say in it. I hated how much I had to drink, and then I hated when I didn't need to touch a drop and still lingered in his kisses. I hated my friends for not ever noticing, and I hated myself for every lie I told to make sure none of you knew."

"You were caught in a maelstrom of your own creation," Cadance said, her voice croaking a little from both the lengthy silence, and the outpouring of emotion from the mare.

Rarity nodded, miserable tears falling from her fatigued eyes.

Shining looked around the room, then gently clopped his hooves together.

"I think that's enough for now. Rarity, you must be exhausted, and I need to figure out what to do about Spike. I think we should eat now, and maybe talk about what to do with salvaging yours and Spike's relationship."

Again, Rarity snorted.

"No, he's right," Cadance said, surprising everypony. "There's still something there, or he wouldn't have reacted the way he did. I think right now, we should figure out where he is, where he's going, and how to get him back here. Or get us there, whichever needs to happen."

Lowering her head, Rarity stared into the table before she muttered, "Thank you. I know I don't deserve this..."

Flurry Heart chuckled and looked at her mom while she said, "Love isn't a thing where you can do something to deserve it. And between companions, or between friends, love is love."

v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v

Spike flew south. On the horizon, he saw a small town in the shadow of a large mountain. Turning to the mountain, he sped towards Canterlot.

Author's Note

Alright guys, I'm for sure taking a break tomorrow, so this'll be it for a bit. Hopefully this clears up a bit of Rarity's character and sets up nicely for what I think Spike's planning on doing. Thank you so much for the storm of comments I've had the last few days, even if I don't have anything to reply to them I do read every single one of them. Love you losers, see ya later :raritystarry: :heart:

Castle Walk

Spike landed heavily, just outside of town, his breath steaming in the cool night as he panted to catch his wind. He looked around the worn path, normally crowded with ponies and wagons coming up the mountain when they couldn't get a train for whatever reason, and then looked up at the large wall leading into the actual city.

He shivered, his back spasming as he felt the weight of his wings vanishing once again. Looking over his shoulder he saw the very essence of the over-sized appendages dusting into the air, until he was once again merely a drake.

"Alright then," he whispered, before heading towards the massive door ahead of him. Once again he caught himself leaning forward to walk on all fours and again chose to remain standing.

As he reached the opening in the stone, he stopped and looked around, seeking out a guard.

"Hello?" he called out, his voice rasping. He swallowed, mouth dry from the long flight, as well as the revelation he'd had at dinner.

There came a grunt from a door in the thick wall, situated in the middle of the two portals. A white unicorn wearing the standard gold armor stuck his head out, looking up at Spike before nodding in recognition.

"Lord Spike, welcome," he greeted, walking out and taking up a place beside the door. "Sorry, I had to use the stallion's room, and it's been quite slow today."

"No worries," Spike said, dipping his head. "Am I alright to go in then?"

The guard blinked at him.

"Uhm, yes?" he said, nodding slowly. "Free passage to the masses, as long as they're peaceful, per the Princesses."

"Oh," said Spike, looking up at the moon. "Sorry, guess I thought it was later than it is," he lied, feeling too awkward to admit he had been afraid of being turned away from the city.

"Ah, no, we're not closing the gate for another hour or so," said the guard, "It's only just nightfall."

"Right," said Spike, coughing as they looked at each other for a moment. "Well, goodbye," he said before pacing through the opening.

"Oh, yes, good... bye?"

Spike stalked forward, mentally berating himself as he walked through into the city and into a trickle of ponies still out in the lamplight, several wearing scarfs and a couple even wielding light jackets against the thin mountain air.

He started to duck into the river of ponies, but to his surprise the current parted around him. Ponies looked up and gave him brief smiles, and a few of them even greeted him, but most of them just moved around him.

Looking around himself as he slowly walked towards the castle, he was able to see just how many ponies still took to the street, a few of them wearing the ear studs and loud collars and shirts that signified the louder club population, some of them wearing black and white suits, still others in uniforms that moved swiftly through the sea of ponies to complete some late-night task.

And he stood in the middle, walking smoothly for one of the first times; not that strange rocking pattern that he was used to when on all fours but just, forward.

I wonder if this is how the Princesses feel, he wondered, looking around at shops that looked just a little too short now, doors a couple of feet short of his current eye-line. He looked up as he watched a couple of pegasi flew through the air just above him, well above the throng he was wading through.

His heart squeezed as he saw one of their cutie marks; a trio of pink roses, the second time he glanced at it.

He bumped into a pony with one of his legs and looked down in surprise. "Oh, sorry there," he said, craning his serpentine neck down.

"Oh," came a soft voice, a pleasantly round mare smiling up at him, "no worries sir, my fault, of course, sorry."

His chest rung hollowly as she scuttled away from him, head forward as she hurried away. He looked up again, and his shoulders slumped as he saw several ponies eyeing him, some curious. Some judgmental. A couple accusatory.

Ducking his eyes, he strode through the grouping of ponies, once again striding towards the castle taking up the near vista.

The ponies around him thinned slowly as he neared the palace, until it was just him heading towards it and a few suited ponies heading away. He even saw a couple he recognized. He waved back to one of those that greeted him, but the rest he dipped his head and walked past, unseen at least long enough to not worry about them calling out to him.

He was exhausted by the time he reached the castle gates. For some reason, just moving through the throngs he was supposed to be used had tired him more than the cross-country flight, and if he'd had wings he felt like they'd be dragging the ground at this point.

Nearing the actual heavy door, he groaned slightly when he saw them start moving towards each other, closing.

He started to raise a claw and run, until he saw the doors stop on their own.

Scanning the wall above the doors, he saw a mare waving at him, and he was able to quickly jog through the doors before they closed behind him, a large clunk coming from the locking mechanism inside.

"Well hey there, Lord Spike," came a voice from on top of the wall, down to him. He looked up and, to his surprise, discovered a muzzle gazing down at him from less than ten feet away. The mare from before nodded to him. "Sorry about almost closin' the door on ya there, I didn't know we were expectin' ya."

"Oh, uhm, it's kind of a surprise visit," he said, looking around at the mostly empty courtyard. "Uh, do you know if Clear Sights has arrived back yet? I think he was on a morning train in from the Crystal Empire."

"Oh, well, I'm about to be off in half an hour, and I ain't seen him, so I doubt it," she said, looking over to her side. "Ay, Buttercup, seen Clear Sights recently?"

"The JAG commander?"

"Redundant, but yeah, him."

"You're bucking redundant."

Her face disappeared for a moment, before the sound of a small scuffle broke out on top of the door. After a minute the sounds stopped, and she poked her head back over.

"Nah, Lord Spike, Buttercup ain't seen him either." She looked over her shoulder and smirked. "Recently."

"Ah, alright," he said, feeling a small smile come to his lips before sliding away. "And, thank you."

The mare looked down at him, her eyes widening for a second before she scratched at her mane with a hoof. "Oh, uhm, yes sir," she said, muttering.

Nodding, Spike raised a claw in farewell before turning away, walking towards the castle along a simple but clean gravel path. The door guard nodded to him as her horn lit up and the door itself sparkled dimly, moving quietly out of the way as he entered.

He breathed out a little as he took in the old, familiar settings of the entryway to the castle of the two heavenly princesses. He felt a bit of the tension bleed off of him as he stepped further into the castle, making for the stairs that led up to the main courtroom on the second floor.

"Evening, Lord Spike."

He jumped a bit away from the voice, his head snapping down to glance in surprise at the mare standing beside him, smiling benignly up at him.

"Stars, Raven, why?" he asked, suddenly panting.

"Oh, you know why, Lord Spike," said the pale mare, adjusting her slightly blocky black glasses with her magic. "What that out of the way, we didn't receive notice that you were arriving. Twilight is usually on top of such things, is everything alright?" she finished, a concerned look making it's way behind her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, this is kind of a surprise visit," he said, sighing as the repeated explanation. "Uhm, is Celestia available? I was gonna talk to Clear Sights first, but he isn't here yet."

"Oh, I believe she's reading in her room," Raven said, pulling an antique brass clockwork watch from her simple graying auburn mane. "Luna is free is it's something official...?"

"It's personal," he said, muttering down to the floor. "If she's available?"

"A moment then, please," said Raven, pulling out a simple pad of pages and scribbling a note on the top page. After a few seconds the message faded, and after another few seconds a message bled up into the page.

"She's happy to receive you, of course," she said with a smile. "Should I arrange for refreshments? I believe you're old enough for maybe a nightcap?"

"Ah, no thank you," he said, shaking his head. "But if she wants anything, I think I'll stop by the kitchens for at least a jug of water."

"I'll make the arrangements," Raven said with a nod and smile. "Have a good night then, Lord Spike, and don't spill the tea, right?"

He smiled, nodding down at her. "I remember your lessons, Raven. Been a while since I was tiny and chubby, after all."

Snickering, Raven lifted a hoof, Spike lowering his head so that she could pinch his cheek with the frog of her hoof. "Not that long, Spike," she said with a soft smile. "Not that long."

Nodding slowly, he turned and walked towards the staff entrances, looking back to see Raven smiling as she scribbled onto her notepad. Shaking his head, he moved toward the kitchen, who had his 'order' ready when he arrived there.

Taking a deep breath, he walked up the servant's stairs into the personal quarters of the nobility, including the diarchy. Knocking softly on the door with a simple golden sun embossed into the warm oak wood, he walked into her quarters when the doors opened. He saw the warm magic light up around a certain door frame, and he walked to it.

Noting that he didn't have to duck, he walked through the portal and gazed at Celestia as she reclined on a sofa with one arm, a paperback book floating in front of her.

Her magic gently took the refreshments and set them on a nearby table, and she marked her place in the book before setting it on the same surface.

"Hello there Spike," she said, giving him a small smile, almost shy and definitely searching.

He tried to smile at her, but just moving his mouth shifted everything on his face, and he sniffled as he felt tears start to pool in his eyes again as he looked over at the mare, holding her forelegs out already as he stumbled towards her. Falling to his knees, he buried his face in the soft fur on her chest, wrapping his long forelegs... no, his arms around her.

"Hey mom," he croaked out.

"What happened," she asked gently, pulling him closer to her barrel with her legs and wings.

He snuffled again, raising a claw to wipe at his nose.

"I think I'm a danger to regular ponies, mom," he admitted. "Clear Sights mentioned that I needed training, and I thought...

"Well, I thought that if I needed training, I should probably consider joining the guard."

Author's Note

Ah, and She finally appears :trollestia: A little bit of clarification, a not unexpected reveal of family ties, and some peeking into Spike's currently fragile mind. Love you guys :heart:

Running - Bad End, 1/3

Author's Note

This is the first of three endings for this story. As it says above this, it is the absolute worst ending I will write. It is an imagining of what may have happened is Spike had ran as he'd intended to, guarding his wounded heart. This is a tragic ending, heartbreaking, so be ready before you read on.

It is the first of three.

Running - Bad End, 1/3

Spike did just as he wished, enlisting in the guard the next morning. Cadance, Fluttershy, and Rarity all tried their best to convince him to change his mind, but he remained distant and kept his heart guarded against them after Rarity's revelation. After all, what pony could truly love him, a monstrous dragon?

As part of his enlistment he learned to manage his transformations, initially merely augmenting specific parts of his body to give him sudden bursts of growth in combat. In the end he learned how to control the flow of magic to effect his entire body, gaining the thorned form he'd accidentally discovered earlier that year. As soon as his training was done he signed up for a post across the sea in bugbear territory, leaving with only a letter to Twilight.

He remained there for the entirety of his first two tours of duty, a total of four years. He rose through the ranks easily, but refused to take any position behind a desk and remained in the fields. At the end he attempted to sign up for another tour, but found himself blocked by his commanding officer. Attempting to go over her head he found himself further blocked, all the way up to Princess Celestia herself.

He returned to Canterlot to find Celestia and demand explanation. Upon arrival he found Twilight and each of their friends there, ready to beg for his return to Ponyville.

But a dragon's heart could be hard, and the military hardened it further, and he turned away all of them easily, even Fluttershy.

Celestia relented and allowed Spike to rejoin the local Royal Guard, now as an officer. He found himself behind the desk he'd been running from, but reasoned that anything was better than nothing and dug into the chair behind the stacks of paperwork.

He stayed where he was for a couple of years, until a magical insurrection had him using his magic to defend Canterlot.

In the process of the battle he rescued an officer from a monstrosity, and earned himself a battlefield promotion to the officer's position after the battle.

He found himself moved up the ranks almost periodically now, until he wound up at Princess Celestia's side as one of the comanders of her personal guard. He took to the job exactly as he always had; mechanically, with all of his being.

It was during these years that he received an invitation in the mail; a wedding, between Rarity and some stallion he'd never head of.

He burned it, and continued on with his work.

He spent so many years immersed in his job and the reams, yards of paperwork, that it was a complete shock to him when he received the next bit of news from the Elements; a funeral announcement, for Rainbow Dash. He began to treat it as he had the first letter, but couldn't manage to throw it into the hearth, and it ended up in a drawer in his desk.

AJ's wasn't much of a surprise after RD; he knew that spouses seldom outlived their significant others for any stretch of time. He put her invitation with Dash's. Years later Pinkie's joined them.

The next time he surfaced from his work was when he got a dragonfire scroll from Twilight, telling him that Fluttershy was sick and probably not going to get any better. His years of building up walls around himself cracked, and he found himself taking a weekend off of work (the first since he'd been assigned to Canterlot) to fly down to Ponyville.

He found the village a small city now, with several apartment complexes and an outdoor mall where the market had been. Twilight's castle was the same though, and she answered the door herself when he knocked.

She didn't look any older than she had when he last saw her, but was now taller and as built as Luna was, on her way to Celestia's stature.

They tried to talk to each other as they had all those decades ago, but found the other alien now, and Spike quickly excused himself to go see Fluttershy.

Her hospital room was small for him. The clean walls smelled of chemicals, and the floors shined beneath the fluorescent lights that had long ago been installed in the hallways. He'd shown his badge to the desk, and was now sitting in an uncomfortable chair beside a beeping machine.

She was smaller than he remembered, and the wrinkles were new. Something had taken a bite out of her ear over the years, and she had a nasty scar along her chest, but otherwise it was Fluttershy. Small, yellow, long hair. Cute.

He stretched out a claw and gently grasped her hoof, staying away from the clear line that pierced her leg and delivered the clear contents of the bag over his shoulder into her frail body.

Her heart rate dipped, and his spiked as he saw her open her eyes. Her felt the moisture gather in the creases below his eyes as she blinked against the light. Her head tilted, and his heart shattered under the slim smile she graced him with.

"I knew you'd come," she whispered.

His tongue tangled in his maw as he strained to think of what to say.

It didn't matter.

A moment later, the pulsing beep that filled the room became a single, monotonous tone.

He was too late, he realized.

He was seventy years too late.

Pekoe Nightcap

Spike watched her face carefully. Even he had to, or he'd miss times like now, when Celestia stepped into her mask to hide her true feelings.

"That bad, huh," he murmured, burying his face in her chest fur again, blinking the still-coming large tears from his eyes.

He felt her sigh, and she lowered her head to rest in between his shoulders.

"If that is what you feel is right, then I would be wrong to stop you. But I still don't know everything, Spike. It feels like you're making a rash decision, one that could take up two months of your life at the very least." She pulled away, wrapping one of her hooves around his neck and the other hooking under his muzzle. Gazing into his eyes, her own furrowed. "Please tell me more about what happened?"

Spike's lips trembled as he tried to answer, before he closed his eyes and took a wavering breath.

"Rarity told me the real reason she broke up with me," he said, voice steady but watery, thin. "She told me why it took use so long to even get together, and- and why she made me leave in the end."

"And why would that make you think yourself a danger to ponies, my son, my sun?" she asked, giving that special lilt to the last word that used to make him grin, rubbing his back slowly as he swallowed heavily instead.

"It's because I terrified her," he said, letting the words drop like stone from his tongue. "It's because I'm a monster. Because I'm a Dragon."

"Ah," she said.

He waited for more, but she merely continued to rub his back slowly with the frog of her hoof.

"Mom?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry," she said lightly. "Just weighing the benefits of Tartaurus and either the Sun or the Moon."

Spike, caught off guard, snorted, then flinched as he covered his nose in horror as more than air came out.

Pretending not to see it, Celestia craned her head back to look at the ceiling as she floated a cloth tissue over, stage whispering, "Of course, I could always banish her, then send her to a dungeon in the place I banished her. That's a popular one, I hear."

Spike snorted again, covering his nose and blowing it in the same moment.

"Alright, sure," he said, smiling weakly. "We both know you're not gonna do more than talk to her."

Once again her mask slipped on as her smile turned slightly frosty around the eyes.

"To begin with," she agreed, and Spike stopped smiling.

"Mom, she kind of has a point," he said, raising a paw up to her and placing it on her chest. "I mean, look at what happened less than a week ago. I nearly tore apart an Ursa, just for looking at Fluttershy wrong. That's not a pony thing to do."

Celestia looked down at him, still schooled into her plain face. "Spike? You are not a pony, and even if you were, you have never, ever acted like a monster."

"Bullapples, mom," he immediately replied. "You didn't see what I did to that Ursa, what I still do to it in my dreams some nights. You weren't there when I turned into that giant monster the first time, when I destroyed the homes of several of my loved ones and terrorized a mare that I was deeply in love with, even then. You weren't-"

He lifted his head and flinched, seeing water pooling in her eyes.

"Ah buck, sorry mom," he said, wrapping her in a hug. "I know we've talked about how you wanted to be around and that stuff-"

"No, no, it's alright," she cut him off, sniffling herself. "This isn't about me right now, sorry..."

He smiled a bit as he said, "Like the world itself revolves around you."

She snorted, lightly thumping him on his back before he heard her blow her nose. Into her own tissue, he hoped for moment before snickering once.

"That's more like it," she said quietly, leaning back and giving him a thin smile. "Alright, now that my mind's straight-"

"When did that happen," Spike said, the flesh on his back tensing when he'd realized exactly what he said, looking up into his mom's disbelieving face. "Wait, sorry, that's a Starlight response, uh..."

Her mouth split into a smile, her hoof raising to her lips as she giggled.

"Sounds like you've been reading into the romance tabloids," she said, her eyes glittering as she laughed quietly.

"Better than the smut Twilight has laying around," he said, testing his own smile and finding it sound enough. He looked down at the ground before looking back up into her eyes. "Thanks. I needed a little silliness."

"I thought that might have been the case." Looking down at him, she used her magic to levitate over a chair she'd had built specifically for when he visited. "Are you ready to really talk about it, or do you still want to go into the army?"

He exhaled through his lips, slouching into the cushioned wood. "I don't even know any more. My head's all a mess. On top of what Rarity said, we were with Cadance at the time, and I'm afraid of what she might have said to Rares when I left. You know how mother hen she can get."

Celestia cocked her head, eyes crumpling slightly. "...Did you let them know where you were going? And where were you three that you got here and away from them without your wings?"

"Oh, uh..." Spike looked around the room. "Uhm, can I borrow a paper and pen? I should probably let them know where I am."

Celestia stared at him for a moment before floating over a roll of paper and an inked quill. "You're too much like your sister sometimes."

"Starlight isn't my sister," he muttered as he took the writing tools, ignoring her as she gave him a gentle swat to his head with a wing. Scribbling a quick line, then marking through it and writing it a bit clearer, he blew on the ink twice to dry it before rolling it into a tube and breathing fire through it from his lungs and the living mechanisms that made his magical fire-

And it was whisked through the cracked window, towards Cadance and company.

*****

Cadance felt a familiar tickling around the tip of her horn, and as she looked up a thin scroll materialized just in front of it. Catching it with ease, she gave a small smile at the paper making it up. Lightly, she tapped the crystalline table in front of her with a metal shoe. The other four ponies looked at her, and the scroll she was unrolling.

"I know where he went," she said, scanning over the two lines on the page. "Shining, do you want to help me with a quick long-distance? You're still better at pinpointing than I am."

"A teleport? Uhm, sure," he said, brain having to switch gears a bit as he pulled his thoughts away from the previous conversation. "Co-ordinates needed for?"

"Main hall for the Canterlot Castle." She turned to look at Rarity. "Here, before we go, we need to have a quick talk."

Rarity gulped.

******

Spike scratched the back of his neck, looking back at Celestia. "You think they'll take the train?"

Celestia merely smiled, looking up at a time-piece on her wall.

"Five, four, three-"

His eyes widened, and he looked around the two of them as he knelt in front of her.

"-Two, one."

"SPIKE-

"IGNIS-

"DRACONIA."

Spike flinched as each intonation filled his ears.

"I hear Cadance has been working on her royal speaking volume," Celestia said with a bit of a smirk, her magic reaching over to her side table and bringing her cup over. "Mmmm, Ceylawn pekoe."

She looked down at him, eyebrows raised in mock surprise.

"You're still here? I think you've got, maybe, thirteen seconds to respond." She smiled at him, warm and lovingly. "Eleven."

Spike looked around the room, brain locked down in panic, before he saw something on the far side of the room. Pushing down with his claws, he backed himself up to the door behind him before he leaned forward, resting on his paws once again.

"Spike, what-?"

"You've still got a pond outside of your balcony, right?" Spike asked, wriggling his hips and tail before he pushed down, running on two legs through a pair of lacy, gently wafting curtains.

Her laughter followed him down.

***** ***** *****

Shining Armor removed the hooves from his ears, the drums inside still vibrating as he recovered from the wince he'd executed a few moments earlier. He sighed as he looked around at the large welcoming hall they'd arrived in, as well as up the massive marble staircase directly in front of them.

"Sweetness, I know we've talked about tinnitus before," he murmured, shaking his head lightly as he turned to Cadance.

"WHAT?" called out the white mare at his side, Rarity flinching as he pulled away from her with his ears tucking against his skull. "Oh, uhm, sorry about that," she said, rubbing her own ear. "Thought you were talking to me."

Shaking his head, he turned to face towards Cadance, only to gulp and spring forward, covering her muzzle as she was sucking in another lungful of air. "Ah, maybe more than fifteen seconds on this one? I think it's getting on in the night, and I'm sure even Ponyville heard that last one."

Her eyes narrowed, her own ears flicking back, and she waited for Shining Armor to remove his hoof before she said, "Thirty. Twenty-nine."

"Oh, er, right," he said, looking worriedly towards the other three mares. "Flurry Heart? Can you tell where he is?"

Startled, Flurry looked around the hall and nodded, before closing her eyes and lighting her horn, a slow pulse washing out from the tip to disappear into the ether before her. She hummed for a moment, swaying slightly, as she concentrated on the spell.

"Twelve. Eleven. Ten," Cadance intoned, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. "Nine, Eight-"

With a twinkling noise, Flurry's eyes opened as she whipped her head to the top of the staircase. "There," she called, flicking a leg up to point at the door at the opposite side of the landing at the top of the stairs.

Cadance stopped counting, and the group looked as one up to the door.

After ten seconds Cadance's eyes narrowed.

After fifteen her ears flicked back.

At twenty, she barked out, "SPIKE!"

There was a loud thud from behind the door before it cracked, swinging wide and bumping softly against the wall it was mounted in.

From behind it Spike stooped through the doorway, dripping water. Stopping at the top of the staircase, he looked down at the nonplussed group, one of his claws swinging at his side as he shook some of the water off it.

"Uh, hey guys," he said, raising a paw as he stepped down towards them.

Unfortunately when he'd paused, he'd given the water an opportunity to pool beneath him. As he stepped down into the shallow pool, his heel landed directly in the water and squeaked forward, off of the step. Wobbling, his other paw sought purchase before he overbalanced himself backwards, the remaining paw shooting out as it, too, slid through the water.

His arms whirling, his backside landed heavily on the stone step, causing him to yelp and stiffen his legs. Of course he bounced forward from his sudden sitting, his legs straight beneath him as he pitched forward, curling into a ball as he rattled down the staircase.

After one of the nastier bounces he landed flat on his back, about six steps up from the bottom, and found his motion harshly arrested. With a groan he wriggled his back gently to figure out what had happened, and discovered his spines had apparently lodged into the stone he'd landed on.

Muttering, he flinched as a pink muzzle blocked out some of the light above him.

"Dude, you totally just bit it," Flurry said in wonder. "Awesome, stallion. You a'ight?"

"Everyone see that?" he asked, pushing down behind himself with his legs and arms. With a clattering noise, he was able to at least sit up.

"I mean, only the rulers of the Crystal Empire," she said, sitting down beside him and bringing forth her wings to check off primaries as she continued to list, "your current lady, your ex, I know Celestia and Luna will hear about it because the staff in the hall-"

Groaning, he raised a paw and shoved at her head, pushing her away as he grabbed the tip of his tail and pulled it roughly to dislodge the rest of his spinal spikes.

"List not necessary, Ranger Heart," he said, stretching his arms above his shoulders and tensing as a loud crack echoed through the hall, after which he exhaled. Opening his eyes, he flinched a bit before he smiled, stretching his arms forward this time and placing a hand on either side of Fluttershy's jaw, the pegasus having taken to the air to hover in front of him with worry on her face.

"Sorry about that Fluttershy," he said, rubbing a thumb over the bone he was cupping. "I took a shortcut down from the fifth floor, and there happens to be a pool-"

He staggered as she flung herself at him, wrapping her hooves around his neck and her wings around his shoulders, and he had to sit, hard, back on the stairs to not end up tumbling down the staircase again.

"You're not a monster," she said from the place she'd buried her face in the side of his shoulder, and he shivered as he felt the first hot tears hit his scales.

Spike opened his mouth, felt his long tongue flick through his sharp teeth as it sometimes did, felt her warm fur on his scales chilled by the night air, felt her soft strength push against his long and slender muscle.

Felt the lie, the fib that he was okay, that he was alright, lodge in his throat and die on his breath.

"Okay," was all he could say, his arms slowly encircling her middle and pulling her closer. "Okay."

He felt her shudder, her tears growing into sobs as she clutched at him. He looked down the stairs at the rest of the group, wincing slightly as something white and purple caught in the corner of his eye, and he moved to tuck his head between his love's wings.

"Okay Fluttershy," he said, shivering again as she reflexively fluffed her wings. "Okay," he said, softer yet, repeating it aloud as a mantra even as the previous one rung in his head.

Dragon, it said, and he heard as though whispered lovingly in his ear.

Mine, it said, and he rolled further in on the pegasus clinging to his torso.

He shivered when a shadow fell over them, and he looked up into Cadance's face.

She pushed her muzzle forward, and he accepted and reciprocated her nuzzling as her soft nose trailed along his jaw to meet his shoulder, the one opposite Fluttershy.

"We'll keep telling you that, as well," she whispered, "until you believe it."

He bit back the reply, and merely buried his face in her shoulder as he wings spread and cradled both of the ones sitting on the stairs.

He heard the gentle clicking of hooves on marble, and raised his head to watch the last two ponies approaching. He focused on the left side of Cadance as Shining came to stand by his wife. The stallion smiled at him, nodding solidly, before clearing his throat and nodding to the other side of the alicorn.

Slowly he stretched his neck until he could just see the mare over Cadance's shoulder.

Rarity stood there, face down and tears dripping from her muzzle.

With a pang Spike thought, I'm sure getting tired of seeing her like that, before he felt a harsher stab of guilt.

Slowly he reached out with his left paw and let it rest on her muzzle, her ear poking from between two of his digits as he used a thumb to trace down the trek her tears had made.

"I'm not mad at you," he said, lowering his gaze. "You only said something that's been on my own mind for a while. I reacted poorly, and-"

He jerked his paw back as she swatted it away, and his gaze jumped back up to her face.

She was glaring at him now, tears streaming from her slit eyes.

"Spike, that's not-... That's not the only reason I-I'm teary," she huffed, rubbing a foreleg coarsely across her nose and sniffing heavily. "Spike, Cadance and I had a conversation before we teleported."She whipped her head from side to side, actually gritting her teeth as she looked at him. "Spike, I was a terror to you for so long! So wrapped up in my own Celestia-damned problems that I ignored everything I was doing to you! Why didn't..."

She bit her lip, looking down again.

"Why didn't I notice?" she asked, putting special emphasis on the noun. "I should have noticed, I could have done something before it got to this-"

Once again he raised his paw to her and took her muzzle. She tried to pull away but his claw was large enough to reach under her muzzle and pull her to him.

He felt his heart sink, further, when her irises shrank and her breath caught, but she kept his gaze for long enough.

"We can trade blame all you like," he said, smiling as his own tears pooled and threatened escape. "You feel bad, I feel bad, it's just a circle-jerk of suck."

He snickered a bit as her face wrinkled.

"Yeah, I know," he said apologetically. "Point was, though, maybe we could put that aside for now, and stop over-reacting and just sit down for a talk?"

There was a snorting sound as she attempted to stop her nose from leaking, before she broke their gaze and looked down as she scrubbed her leg against her nose again.

Fluttershy squirmed a bit in his lap, and he instinctively clutched at her as she moved her bottom legs to more fully embrace him.

Rarity looked back up, taking his paw in between her hooves and shaking it.

"Deal. No more flying away?"

He snorted. "Depends on your ability to grow wings, doesn't it?"

She punched him weakly in his bicep, before looking at the ball of cuddle on the stairs.

"Uhm, would it be too early to, well, 'get in on that', I think Rainbow would say?"

Spike looked down at Fluttershy, who looked up when she felt him pulling away slightly. She nodded a bit before burying herself back in his chest. Looking up at her, Spike held his arm out and gestured by swiping his claw through the air towards him.

She folded herself into his arm, and her head took up the shoulder abandoned by Fluttershy when she'd tucking into his chest.

He pitched forward suddenly as a weight settled on top of his craned neck and head, and he rolled his eyes up to look at the pale pink of Flurry's muzzle.

"Ah yeah," he groused, smiling still, "pile on. C'mon Shiny, get in on this."

"Oho, art thou having a pile-up on the stairs!?"

"Oh gods no," Spike whispered.

"Huzzah!" he heard from above him, at the top of the stairs, and he heard a couple of run up steps before a shadow fell across the pile.

"Tell Twilight I love her," he said to Shining, who was too busy spinning and bolting away to hear him. He felt Cadance brace herself, and then a great weight hit him from behind and the cuddle pile was flying down towards the landing.

With an immaterial twinkling, a sphere gathered from the bottom of of the bunch, light pink and quickly thickening. The lot of them hit the landing and bounced, ricocheting against the far wall and spinning wildly around the bottom half of the room before coming to stop, Spike stuck on the bottom of the whole mess with Luna splayed across the top.

Which became important as the sphere was dismissed, landing the group of them on top of the poor drake.

A quarter of a minute later, Spike was finally able to stop wheezing long enough to pull in a breath, enough to mutter, "I regret everything, except the comics," before he pretended to pass out.

There was some shuffling, before his breathing eased greatly, and he felt a feather being worked across the skin between his nostrils. He snorted at it, his tongue flopping out comically as he let out a quiet, eaughhhhhhhhhhh, then continued to be motionless.

"Ah, woe," he heard a serious voice intone above him. "The fourth member of family I have deceased in such a manner." There was a pause, seconds long. "He will make a lovely chair, though."

He couldn't help the snort, and soon he opened his eyes as several members of the group started chortling, leaving Flurry to look at Rarity and Fluttershy askance.

"Are you guys sure you want in on this?" she asked, gesturing at the two bodies on the floor giggling up at the two looking down at them, giggling back down.

"Yes," said Fluttershy immediately, looking up across the floor and over at Spike, who hadn't heard either part of the conversation.

Rarity rolled over, looking nervously at Spike, then at Fluttershy, then at Flurry.

"Yes," she said, quieter even than Fluttershy, to them. "I think I would like that, if even possible at this point."

Flurry stiffened, looking over at Fluttershy for her reaction.

She seemed lost in thought at Rarity's words, her eyes glazing for a moment, before she smiled and reached out a hoof. Hesitantly, Rarity stretched out her own, and they met between each other.

"We can talk about that," Fluttershy said, agreeably.

Author's Note

I know this is getting pretty emotion-rollercoaster-ey, but believe me when I say that it's on purpose. Life usually is, especially when you stop to confront it like this motley crew is attempting.

Also, I apologize formally for that tea based pun. Gods, but that one's awful, innit?

Warmth from the Moon -Beginning of the Fracture-

Luna was the first to recover, holding a hoof over her muzzle and holding her breath to forestall the hiccups she usually caught after some particularly good giggling. She let out a breathy sigh after a moment, looking over at Shining Armor beside her, looking down at his wife and laughing quietly.

"I think we shall have a need to place a hold on that chair, good Prince. At least until it can stop chuckling."

Shining Armor, not quite fully recovered from laughing at Cadance's squirming dance at the floor, let loose a snort that turned into another set of chortles, leaning away and staggering towards the beginnings of the hoofrails on the stairs, leaning against the intricately worked wood as he faced away, attempting to catch his breath.

Cadance watched her husband totter away, then flopped her muzzle to carefully look at Spike, between her own light gasps for air.

He smiled at her, up at Luna, at anyone who would meet his attention.

But her laughter, then her smile faltered when she noticed him very, very specifically not looking over at a section of the room. Literally pulling his eyes away whenever they even got close to wandering that way. And when he caught Cadance looking at him, watching him, the smile faded.

Then Shining giggle-snorted again, and the two felt their smiles renewed, fanned as though flames by bellows.

Cadance looked at Spike, then carefully nodded, her eyes glancing pointedly over at the side group of mares. He froze for a second, before nodding back at her.

Slowly, he pushed his elbows under himself and looked over at the group, feeling the warm, fond smile grow as he took in his marefriend, hoof to hoof with...

Well, the smile wavered a bit and shrunk, but maintained itself as he looked over Rarity and Fluttershy. They were both hoof to hoof, meeting in some sort of agreement he wasn't privy to at the moment. Though from Fluttershy's serene smile and Rarity's almost shell-shocked expression, he hoped it was something he would find out about soon.

He shivered as a tingle worked itself up his spine.

"Which one do you have stronger feelings for, I wonder," Cadance whispered next to his head, making him jump slightly. "I know that Rarity's feelings must be roiling and confusing right now, but there is so much history there."

"And history too with the current object of thy affectations, as well," Luna murmured from his other side, making him flinch slightly towards Cadance. "A true friendship before, but how much more has it become in even this short time? We have seen the strongest of bonds formed in the spaces of breaths, and you have had much more than just those shared, at this point."

"Oooo, Auntie Luna, are you also interested in how this plays out?" Cadance whispered, sticking her head underneath Spike's to talk directly to Luna.

"Of course dear Niece. Long and ago I was the Princess of Love as well as the Moon, much as mine sister was over Magic for so long as well as her Sun. I believe it's noted somewhere in the tomes that my elements were Kindness, Honesty, and Loyalty? Such is largely the make-up of love magics, is it not still?"

Cadance's eyes gleamed as a smile took over her muzzle, but Spike cleared his throat before they could go on much longer.

"Uhm, ladies, we're all starting to sound like Twilight a bit, I think?" he said, scooting back to allow the other two some room in front of himself. "Cart before the horse, a bit, I think. Uhm, what's everyone doing right now? I know you five were probably here after me," he said, having the good social graces to at least look apologetic, "but uhm, Luna, what're you up to right now?"

"Oh, well, I was heading towards the heavenly courts," she said, tilting her head to the left as her horn lit up. A moment later, she sighed. "Though it is a slow night tonight, seemingly. There is only one petitioner, and it sounds like my viceroy has it well in hoof. Oh, uhm, the Royal Lunar Representative," she said, ducking her head towards Spike and his confused look. "Is viceroy archaic then?"

"A bit auntie, though you call your staff as you will," Cadance said with a nuzzle, touching her nose to Luna's and rubbing their fur together.

With a smile Luna nuzzled back, before pulling away.

"But yes, as long as my attending has matters in hoof, and she can message me if need be, then I am free." Her ears flicked back as she looked between the two. "Would my presence... be welcome?"

Spike blinked, once again caught off guard, before saying, "Uhm, I have nothing against it?" as he looked at Cadance.

She considered, looking between Spike and the other three mares now chatting quietly across the room. "As long as no one has any objection," Cadance said with a shrug. "Auntie Luna has a wildly different view of things from us, could be very helpful."

Spike nodded, before smiling over at Luna. "Would 'Auntie' perhaps consider helping out her nephew and niece?"

Luna snorted before reaching out with a massive wing, scooping Spike up and pulling him alongside her with a small yelp from him. "Anyyyyyything for my faaaaaaavorite nepheeeeeeeeew," Luna crooned, pinching Spike's cheek.

"Augh," he muttered miserably, attempting to roll away but just managing to tuck himself tighter against her side, despite his own flank pushing just past hers. He pushed against her side with all four legs, but only managed an inch or so of space before her wing flexed and pulled him back in.

"Mmm, you've grown a little since the last time we wrestled," Luna said with a smile, rolling them both over to wrap the drake in her legs. "You're longer than me, even without your tail, now."

Spike huffed, rolling his tail and flopping it against Luna's flank and the floor before going limp.

"Happens when you grow into a giant terrifying thorn reptile and go trampling through a giant magical forest, causing one of the nation's nobility to send someone who has much better things to do to give said reptile a smack on the claw," Spike groused dryly.

Luna relaxed a bit, her eyes getting a distant look to them before she sighed heavily, rolling over on top of Spike before she got to her hooves, pushing up to stand above him again.

"Would you like me to poison their cornflakes, or just geld them altogether?"

Spike hesitated for just a few moments too long, Shining snickering once as he moved to help Cadance off of the floor.

"Physical emasculation?"

He winced sympathetically, before shaking his head.

"No, no, it's fine Luna," he said, smiling up as he reached his paws up to her muzzle, ruffling the fur there. "Thank you for the thought though."

Luna looked down at him with a heavily considering look in her eyes before nodded. "Very well. Though the offer will stand for a while, if it is who I suspect it is." She chuffed a bit, ears flicking, before she moved back and offered him a hoof.

"I'll remember that," he said with a smile, getting his legs beneath himself as he used Luna's assistance to pull himself to a stand.

"Ah, taken up the gait of the minotaurs?" Luna asked, taking an additional step back and looking up to his face. "We remember many dragons prefer it."

He stiffened a bit before forcing his spine to relax, nodding down at Luna.

"That's where I've seen it!" Cadance said, taking a moment from dusting herself off from the floor to look Spike up and down. "I knew it wasn't just dragons, but I couldn't put my hoof on who else it was."

"Oh yes, Iron Will walked on his hind legs," Fluttershy called over, the two groups once again all speaking together. "At first I thought it was because he liked being taller than everypony, but it turns out their, uhm, arms, aren't really suited to being walked on anymore."

Spike flushed a little bit, looking down at the ground. "It's how all the dragons I've ever seen have walked," he murmured.

There was silence for a moment there, palpable, mercurial.

It was broken as the mares to the side moved up to the rest of the group. Fluttershy made the first move, walking in front of him and kicking off of the ground with her front hooves, taking an unsteady step forward to embrace him with her forelegs as he supported her with his arms.

"Does it make you feel happier?" she asked, looking up into his eyes as he met hers. "Or are you doing it because you feel you should?"

He considered the questions for a bit, thinking deeply, before shrugging. "I've only been trying it out for an hour or so," he admitted. "It definitely started because I felt like I should, but now I'm wondering if it doesn't just feel a little more natural...? I don't know yet."

She nodded.

"Just remember, Spike, that your species doesn't make you," she said, sternly. "That's something we teach little colts and fillies Spike, and I know Twilight taught it to you while you were growing up."

He felt his ear spines wilt a bit. "Uhm, that was more along Celestia's duties," he said softly.

"That's called deflection, Spike," Luna spoke up.

He winced a bit and drew away from the group, lowering Fluttershy to the ground before he sat on the stairs. "It was," he admitted. "I want to say that it's more intricate than that, BUT-" he said, holding up a paw as several ponies opened their mouths to say something, "but, I don't think we want to do this in the greeting room of the whole castle."

"No," Luna said slowly and hesitantly. "We wouldn't. But I will remember this Spike, don't think I'll forget," she said with tension in her tone.

Spike chuckled, waving his paws through the air over each other.

"The one thing you never want to do when deflecting is allow attention to be called to it," he said, smiling a bit. "It should be hidden in the middle of other things. But I really, really don't want to be walked in on, and I would like everyone to be as comfortable as possible."

Everypony was looking at him, some of their faces tense as others just looked sadly at him.

"Spike, where did you learn how to deflect like that?" Flurry asked, moving up to him and putting a hoof on his knee.

He didn't speak, but his eyes flicking to a white mare was more than enough answer.

Cadance cleared her throat before anyone could delve more into that. "Anyhow, yes, someplace more comfortable, and probably with some drinks and maybe-"

Spike's stomach let out a loud grumble.

"Mmm, yeah, that," Cadance said, nodding to him as he clasped his arms in front of his stomach. "I'm not sure how you grew those wings, but I'm guessing magic, and considering their size you must be starving. Let's find you something protein and carbs heavy, mmm?"

He frowned, nodding. "Just as long as they don't try and serve me from the carnivore larder again. I get it, with the teeth and all, but still."

Luna snorted. "We believe we had the staff responsible for that particular incident clean up the mess you made after biting into the meal. They have never made that assumption again."

Spike stared at Luna, Fluttershy looking between the two princesses in the room.

"You two are really protective of your family," she mentioned, both Princesses flickering their ears as she spoke.

Cadance looked away, glancing regretfully at Rarity for a moment, but Luna merely nodded.

"Dearest Niece has gotten a taste of it," Luna said regretfully, "but I know too well impermanence. If needs be I will always apologize later, but never will I stand for someone treating a part of my family as less than either I or themselves in the moment, even if they're adopted. There is no time or reason for such matters; life is too short."

Fluttershy blinked, heavy and slow, but Spike just snorted.

"Still no reason to make earth ponies clean up vomit, Luna," he gently reprimanded. "Would've taken you, what, a three-second spell?"

Luna opened her muzzle to argue, before flinching and muttering, "I made sure they had hoof protection..."

Spike snorted, shaking his head, before standing. "Do we have a certain dining room we're heading to?" he asked, stretching his neck and arms above his shoulders and smiling gently at the series of quick pops that rattled through his spine and spines.

"Ah, a moment," Luna said absently, her horn lighting, before a quiet popping echoed through the room, off of the suddenly empty stone room, the light disappearing with the rest of Luna's horn, and then the rest of her, and then everyone else in the room as she teleported them.

٭٭٭٭٭ ٭٭٭٭٭ ٭٭٭٭٭ ٭٭٭٭٭ ٭٭٭٭٭

They phased into the room, a few of them actually falling over from the strange teleport, Cadance's face green.

"Ugh auntie, you really need to update that one," she said, hurk-ing once as she put a hoof to her muzzle, coughing a couple of times before she took a deep breath as she fanned away the sulfuric smell in the air.

"There is nothing wrong with that spell," Luna scowled, glancing around the room at the tottering group, only Spike relatively unfazed. "And it uses less magic than your new one."

"You appeared me once without one of my spines," Spike responded, reaching over his head to flick the one in question.

"And it grew back fine," she complimented, before turning to face the smaller dining room she had pulled them to. "Now, I picked a snug one that happens to be closer to the kitchen." She looked around the assembled. "I believe we shall have plenty of space, though. Objections?"

The other six looked around the room briefly before murmuring assent, Rarity still quite green.

"Wondrous," she remarked dryly before reaching over and pulling on a thin cord, hidden in the decor of the wall, with her magic. By the time they'd shuffled around to their chairs, places for eight settings allowing them a relative choice, a well-dressed mare had poked her head into the room.

"A full evening meal, majesty?" she asked, bowing quickly to Luna.

"Please," Luna replied, nodding. "A carafe of coffee for myself," Spike raised his claw, "and an extra mug for my nephew."

The rest ordered quickly, most of the ponies getting light fare considering the food they'd managed before Cadance's teleport, while both Luna and Spike ordered large meals for themselves.

"And please, black bean for those hayburger patties," Spike stressed, the mare nodding before setting off towards the kitchen.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Flurry snorted and nudged Fluttershy with a hoof, sitting on the opposite side of the mare from Spike and across the table from her father. Rarity had boldly chosen the seat next to Cadance, across from Spike. Luna had chosen the end of the table nearest to Spike.

"Oh, uhm," Fluttershy said, blinking a few times as she recovered, "right. Rarity and I were talking while you were talking with Luna, and I think we should try and help her out with her phobia," she said, growing more and more confident as she spoke. "I think having you there will really accelerate the process, plus it will allow you two to work out your feelings towards one another," she said, with a small blush.

"Which is also something she and I talked about, but we're gonna wait a bit for that one," she said, this time getting quieter and quieter as she neared the end of the sentence until Spike had to lean forward to hear her.

Cadance immediately leaned forward.

"I think we should focus on Spike right now, and his feelings towards his species," she said, a little forcefully. "He needs to work on getting his mind and feelings sorted out before he can help anypony else."

"Which I would like to help with," Rarity chimed in, looking down at her setting. "If I can without messing everything up."

"He is right here," Spike said, tapping his setting lightly. "He would like to just repress all of this until he explodes, honestly, but I think some ponies would say that it's healthier to talk about this all and get it sorted. I also think that helping Rarity with her phobia would be beneficial, not only because it would be healthy for our relationship, but because it would probably help with how I view my species."

He looked around at the blank faces.

"I've read some of the books Twilight has that don't have pictures," he said with a smile. "That said, I'm not sure that either of us are actually in a good enough head-space to help each other," he said, nodding at Cadance. "And I don't know how long it would take for some sort of group therapy to have an effect. While Rarity and I could really help each other out, we could also end up with a repeat of this afternoon."

"I'd like to know how you did that, later," Shining spoke up.

Spike shook his head with a far-away, hard look in his eyes. "Unhealthy coping mechanism," he said, looking at the setting before forcing himself to reach to his side and gently touch Fluttershy's wither. He spread his digits and softly worked his paw into her fur, making her hum at the contact.

"But none of this is now talk," Flurry said, shaking her head. "We're putting pins in stuff without paper. What do we need to do right now, to help Spike and Rarity both?"

Cadance sighed, nodding at her daughter.

"You have a fantastic point sweetie. I think the best thing we could do is get Spike and Rarity in a room together to talk. Maybe even let them simmer over a bit, get the real feelings out and figure out where they're coming from," she said, her horn lighting as she summoned a notepad from somewhere, along with a pencil.

"I don't want to simmer over," Spike said, fatigue slipping into his tone. "I think that's what happened earlier. Plus I really don't relish the idea of yelling at her, even in the heat of the moment."

Raising a shaking foreleg, Rarity said, "I also would not like to be yelled at. Or yell myself."

"It's not necessary, of course," Cadance murmured, drafting out more points on her notepad. "But if the emotion is there, I just feel like it would be healthier, in the long run, to let it out. Especially when neither of you are the type to just yell at anypony, anyway. Simmering over doesn't have to be shouting, that's just the most obvious kind I guess..."

She trailed off, muttering under her breath as she continued scratching the summoned quill over the paper in front of her nose now.

Shining leaned forward. "You don't have to scream at each other to let your passion out," he said, nodding at Luna with a smirk. "As long as you're being passionate, the talking is probably working."

Spike looked up, across the table. Rarity's pupils narrowed as her eyes widened, before she started fidgeting, trying to keep his gaze as her eyes returned to normal.

She stopped fidgeting as he placed his paw on the table, slowly moving it towards her, before flipping it and offering his palm to her. Looking confused, she placed her hoof in his paw, not moving as he closed his digits over her and started gently stroking his thumb over her fetlock.

"I'm not sure how to talk to you right now," he admitted, Cadance's quill ceasing it's movement as her ears flicked up. "I mean, when I used to talk to you, it was always as someone trying to win your heart, and then as someone trying to keep it. Before that was just as someone in deep admiration. Now though..."

His gaze wavered for a second, his eyes dropping before he whipped them back up. Both of his paws squeezed slightly, his left gripping Rarity's hoof even as his right gripped Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Now I'm not sure how to talk to you," he said with a thin smile.

Rarity nodded, before returning his smile. "Well, I at least know how to talk to you now," she said, straightening her back a bit. "Spike, I have to, no, need to apologize for how I've treated you over the past years that we've known each other.

"At first I treated you like a cute toddler, some passing colt with a wandering fancy. Then as you grew up and the dragon migration passed over us, I pushed you away for a bit, for reasons I've told Princess Cadance and will tell you, later," she promised, stressing the word not only with emphasis but also by pressing into Spike's claw.

"And then I tried to act as though everything was the same as it had been, even as I watched you grow into a fine young drake right in front of me." She sighed, a far look to her eyes. "Then you pressed my hoof, as it were, by proposing that stargazing date last autumn."

"He asked me to postpone that meteor shower three times," Luna chimed in. Rarity dipped her head towards the princess.

"I knew that one of two things would happen that night," she said, looking back to Spike. "I would either break your heart, or I would put aside my fears to give you the proper chance you deserved.

"And then I didn't," she said, breaking eye contact as she gazed down at the table. She remained quiet for a second, until Spike gave her hoof a gentle squeeze.

"It never got better," she said, shaking her head. "I would tell myself daily that you would not, could not ever hurt me, and every day you proved yourself more and more, just the sweetest special somepony a lady could hope for."

The table was quiet for a bit after this.

Spike broke the silence. "I understand, at least a little bit," he said. "I mean, I met those same dragons when we went up the mountain, and-"

He broke off as Fluttershy leaned over to him and started whispering to him.

His eyebrows furrowed first, before his entire face went pale and slack as she kept speaking.

"Oh," he said, pulling his paw softly away from Rarity's hoof as his head dipped. "I'm, I'm sorry Rarity. I knew my lot were omnivores, but all I saw were gems. I-I didn't know about..."

Rarity shook her head, roughly. "Of course you didn't," she said, reaching out and capturing the retreating limb with both of her hooves. "I was the only one who saw that, and I didn't even tell Twilight or Fluttershy until earlier today. I never could have told you, ever."

Spike tried a little harder to pull his paw back, but Rarity huffed.

"Spike, if you keep trying to pull away, I'm going to sit on you," she warned. "I've seen Luna do it, so don't have me chancing Fluttershy's jealousy."

"Oh, you can go ahead Rarity," Fluttershy said with a smile, leaning over to press her side against his. "I've got his side, but there's so much that you should feel free."

Spike's head whipped up, the full extent of his neck allowing him to gaze at the wall above Rarity as he blushed.

"So, uhm, what exactly did you guys work out without me?" he asked.

"Nothing solid yet," Fluttershy said softly, reaching up to gently rub his neck with the frog of her hoof. "Not without talking to you first. We just established some boundaries between ourselves, so far; anything more we could talk about would be behind your back, so to say, so we're waiting on you."

He relaxed into her hoof a bit, releasing some of the tension in his neck and upper back.

"But you have talked about something," he said softly, looking over at the mare across from him, causing Rarity to blush and look away.

"We did," Rarity admitted. "We only talked about maybes, possibilities though. Nothing for sure, nothing concrete, at least not yet. Not until you could be involved, and not until you have settled your feelings, your thoughts."

Spike tried to think about that but merely blew some thin smoke from his nose as he shook his head.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I think I'll think about that later," he said, hunching forward to lean on the table.

At the same time though, he stretched one arm out to encircle Fluttershy and pull her a little nearer to his side.

And his other forlimb reached back out to take Rarity's hoof back into his paw.

Author's Note

Merry Yule/Happy holidays to yous guise. I hope today is one of the best days you can have, and see you lot later :yay: :heart:

EDIT- Here (/\/\/) begins the fracturing of the story. The next chapter will be the culmination of what I thought should be the ending. The chapter after will be the continuation of the story as I had it originally.

Truthfully? End 2/3

Author's Note

This is where I wanted the story to end up, eventually. When I started this journey I had a very clear goal in mind, and it muddied as time went on and I swayed between people's hopes and my own.

But I'm happy here, with this. I hope you can be, as well.

Truthfully? End 2/3

"Spike, if you keep trying to pull away, I'm going to sit on you," she warned. "I've seen Luna do it, so don't have me chancing Fluttershy's jealousy."

"Oh, you can go ahead Rarity," Fluttershy said with a smile, leaning over to press her side against his. "I've got his side, but there's so much that you should feel free."

Spike's head whipped up, the full extent of his neck allowing him to gaze at the wall above Rarity as he blushed.

"So, uhm, what exactly did you guys work out without me?" he asked.

He relaxed into her hoof a bit, releasing some of the tension in his neck and upper back.

"But you have talked about something," he said softly, looking over at the mare across from him, causing Rarity to blush and look away.

Spike tried to think about that but merely blew some thin smoke from his nose as he shook his head.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I-I can't," he said, drawing himself closer to Fluttershy. "Rarity, I..."

"Oh, it's okay Spikey," she quickly said, trying to smile. "You don't have to decide right now, it-"

"I have, though," he said softly, looking at her with watery eyes. "We can be friends Rarity, but the-there's too much there, already," he said, shaking his head. "I, I can't be intimate with someone who saw me as a child, and then a monster, Rarity, I can't."

Rarity took in a deep breath, tried to say something, then took in another breath. "Oh," she said limply, mouthing more before taking another breath. "Oh," she said again, trembling as tears began to drop off the tip of her muzzle.

"I understand," she whispered, before she slowly stood and started to slowly walk away.

Luna was the only presence at the table to speak up, gesturing over a guard and whispering into their ear before they nodded and followed Rarity out.

"That was a heavy thing you have done, Spike Ignis," she said, standing and walking over to him. When he refused to meet her eyes, she leaned forward and gave him a firm hug. "It was a hard thing for you to have done, Spike," she whispered. "I respect your decision Spike. You should always be sure that you are healthy, before sacrificing yourself for others."

Sniffling, Spike wrapped his arms around Luna. "That sounds so selfish," he said, burying his face into her shoulder.

"It is," she whispered, "but you can't destroy yourself just to help those around you. How could you help those in the future, otherwise?"

Spike felt another set of legs encircle him, before he heard Fluttershy's soft whispering that it was alright, everything would be alright.

His heart cracking in his chest, he broke down again, this time surrounded by people he loved and who loved him.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Spike straightened the jacket he was wearing, sighing as he looked into the mirror.

It had been years now since that somber dinner. Both he and Rarity had been to several psychologists, and had been able to speak freely and easily with each other in later sessions they'd had together. Through tears and a few heated counseling sessions, they'd become stronger friends then ever, though that passion he'd had for her never rekindled and she'd eventually moved on with her life.

He focused on his studies when he returned to Ponyville, learning how to control his emotions and transformations with some coaching from both Twilight and a captain stationed in Twilight's castle by Celestia to assist them. He never again lost his control, and when he did transform, it was never into that spiked, thorny form he'd descended into.

After he finished Captain Berrytwist's training he focused on his personal life, starting several hobbies and eventually becoming a trained archivist in Twilight's public and personal libraries. He eventually even found himself writing a script for a graphic novel adaptation of the first Daring Do novel, and found that he enjoyed scribbling scripts in between his duties under Twilight.

He stayed in his own apartment for seven and a half months, until he found that his resumed growth had forced him out of the small place.

Instead of moving back in with Twilight, he moved in with Fluttershy after a couple of long talks. The two of them grew ever closer until, half a year ago, Fluttershy had surprised him with the Question.

He'd agreed instantly, and now he stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the coat awkwardly until his tailor came in.

"Oh, please do leave it, Spike," Rarity said, using her magic to gently swat his paws away from where they worried at the ends of his jacket. "You'll wear it through before you even get to see her," she said as she threaded a dark strand of ribbon around the base of his neck, quickly trying it into a tight bow.

"Sorry," he said absently, his paws coming up to adjust his tie until her magic swatted him again. "Sorry," he murmured, fidgeting.

"It's fine, dear," she said with a breathy chuckle as she straightened his clothes. "Celestia knows I'd be nervous too."

"Will be," he corrected her, gaining a blushing giggle as she swatted at his leg. "How's things with your beau? Velvet, hrm, Emerald?"

"Oh, we're grand," she sighed, taking her own turn at fidgeting with Spike's jacket. "He nipped me a little too well a couple of nights ago and has been in the dog house, as it were, for it. You should teach him how you control yours, in the heat of the moment."

Raising an eyebrow, he glanced around before leaning over to whisper, "I'm not great at it either."

She snorted and pushed him away by his nose. "How vulgar," she pretended to complain as she giggled. "You know, I never will understand why you two pushed the engagement like this. I thought we had another month or two of planning," she complained, narrowing her eyes at a bit of embroidery on his chest and pulling out a portable sewing kit.

"Keep a secret?" Spike asked her. She lifted an eyebrow and nodded, crossing her chest and placing the hoof on her eye when he lifted both of his brows. "In about, say, ten and a half months, it'll be obvious."

Her eyes narrowed before widening. Her kit smacked into the floor as she gasped, "No! Really!?"

Chuckling, Spike nodded.

She sat on the floor and stared up at him with wide eyes and wider mouth for a long minute before emitting a squeal that would've deafened a diamond dog and launching herself up and latching around Spike's neck in a hug that would have put Harry to shame.

"Eeeeeeeeee, I'm so happy for you two!" Rarity squeaked into his chest as he held her, chuckling and shushing her in even measures.

"Hush, hush now, or ever canine in Ponyville will know," he said, laughing when she smacked his shoulder lightly.

"Oh, oh wow, Spike," she said, leaning back and gazing up at him with large eyes, perfectly made up with mascara and liner. "That's-"

A couple of instrumental notes sounded, and they both jerked at the noise.

"Oh!" Rarity gasped before lighting her horn, gathering the both of them in her magic and blinking the distance between them away, landing the two of them perfectly where they were supposed to be on the altar.

"Almost late," the judge muttered, nodding to Rarity. "On your big day, of all days."

"Thanks mom," he muttered back, rolling his eyes and straightening his back.

"You got it, sweetie," she whispered with a giggle, before she nodded to the ushers at the doors. They cracked the large slabs of wood, creaking open slowly.

The first three ponies between the doors were the flower fillies, a trio of beautiful grown mares reprising their roles from Cadance's wedding as they gracefully moved down the aisle, each shake of their baskets trailing multicolored flower petals.

Stretching his neck he caught sight of the mare of the hour, her long pink hair showing from beneath the not-quite-transparent lace. Her father stood beside her, the pale pegasus openly weeping joyous tears as he started walking with her behind the fillies.

His heart beat harder and harder as she neared him, parting with her parent at the foot of the stairs and moving up to stand beside him.

After a moment he heard her giggle as she reached up and threw her veil back over her head, nodding between them. "You should probably face the judge, Spike," Fluttershy whispered, winking at him as they both turned to face Celestia.

If Spike was being honest, he didn't hear a bucking word his mom said as the ceremony wound on; all of his concentration was on the mare beside him as he snuck peeks at her between long glances at the princess. As his gaze lingered on her, she looked at him and giggled before nodding back at Celestia, who gave him a long-suffering look.

"As I was saying," she called out to the congregation, to the merriment of the ponies there, "Spike Ignis, do you take this pony to be your wife? To-"

"Yes," he interrupted, blushing. "Ah, sorry, but yes, I do."

Rolling her eyes, Celestia dropped all pretense and raised an eyebrow at Fluttershy. "You sure about this one?"

"I am," she announced happily.

Celestia shrugged. "It's on you then. I announce you married, bound together by the strings of law and fate. Go, and be happy together."

The crowd cheered as Spike picked up his bride, deeply kissing the giggling pony he'd bound his life, his joy, to.

Lunar Warmth part Deux

Spike must have drifted off for a moment, as one moment he was lost in just gently ruffling the two mare's fur, one paw on Fluttershy's side and the other on Rarity's pastern. The next, Fluttershy was nudging him in the side and the serving stallion had needed to swing a plate away as his head shot up from the table.

"Hmmm?" he rumbled, deep in his chest, as he looked around himself.

Flurry definitely snickered while Shining Armor held a hoof to his muzzle. Cadance and Rarity were looking at him with concern though, and Fluttershy leaned over to his head.

"Do you need to get some rest before you eat?" she asked, rubbing his back with a hoof.

Spike snorted, blinking heavily before giving a small grin. "Nah, nah," he muttered, stretching out his arms and wriggling some of the blood back into them. "I'll be alright once I get some food, maybe some coffee in me."

She gave him a look, frowning and with slightly lidded eyes, and he smiled and nuzzled her.

"Really, I'm okay," he said. "Just tired. I didn't sleep well on the train this morning, and then everything else happened on top of that. I'll be okay for another while, but when I crash I'll be sleeping for a bit."

She still looked hesitant but nodded against his muzzle. "Don't press yourself too hard," she said, before pulling back to look at the light salad she'd ordered, along with almost everypony else.

Spike peeked down at his own plate, and his stomach decided to loudly ask the room why the food there wasn't in his mouth yet. Three burgers, with all of their toppings, on an onion flaked bun with a mound of fried potatoes beside them, and one of the small salads sitting beside it at the end of the table. Lifting the top, he poked at the patty and sighed with relief when it didn't bleed red.

Looking around the table, he blushed a bit when half of the ponies looking back at him were smirking.

"Ah, Rarity," he said, looking pointedly across the table. "I can't see Luna's spot too well, what did she order?"

"Oh," she said, looking down that way as her salad fork spun through the air. "It looks like a standard breakfast ensemble, a couple of fried eggs and a small stack of pancakes with fried hay on the side. Why do you..."

Rarity returned her gaze to more immediately in front of her, her eyes narrowing at Cadance's rapidly widening gaze as she looked across the table. Her nose whipped to stare suspiciously at the drake in front of her, who was currently running a tongue over his lips.

Glancing down, she let one of her eyebrows raise.

"Spike, darling," she deadpanned, "I could swear that you used to have three hayburgers. What in Celestia's name happened to the other two?"

He winced a bit. "Uhm, maybe a little too early for the pet names?" he said, and Rarity's face softened into concern. "No, it's okay, I get that it's a habit," he said quickly, holding up a paw. "Just, not yet?" he asked, almost pleading.

"Of course, Spike," she said, smiling over at him, before letting her smile widen a bit. "The other two, though?"

"What other two what?" he said blankly, glancing down at his plate. "Ah, look at that. Some of my food seems to have disappeared, how mysterious."

She snorted before balling up a napkin and throwing it at his muzzle.

"Please Spike, at least remember to breathe in between bites," she said, rolling her eyes. "I know for a fact that me, Twilight, Cadance, and probably Celestia have taught you better."

Luna snorted, swallowing her current bite before saying, "Knowing my sister and how much work she likes to pile upon herself, he learned such technique from watching her eat lunch in between petitioners."

"What are you saying, dear sister?"

Spike physically jumped to his right, his head whipping to his left to look at the mentioned princess, currently pulling a chair up to the table to sit next to Spike and Rarity at the opposite end from Luna.

Making a strangled noise in his throat, Spike gesticulated wildly at her, looking around the room and at the closed door at the other side of the hall.

"Oh, I got here maybe halfway through your nap," she said, leaning forward to touch their noses together with a smile before returning to her chair. "Cadance was lovely enough to catch me up on a few things, and I was waiting on someone to announce me before now."

"You asked us not-" Rarity started before Celestia glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "Ah. Right. Terribly rude of us, sorry."

"I was saying," Luna said, drawing herself up and swallowing the faceful of food she had, "that you inhale food like an alcoholic jumping off of the wagon snout-first."

"Eloquent," Celestia said with a smile and a dip of her head to her sister before she pulled the salad at the end of the table away from Spike's plate and towards herself. "I will be sure to take such pointers from the paragon of etiquette that is yourself."

Luna snorted again. "Food is to be either enjoyed or used for sustenance, not gabbled over like hens over feed."

Celestia sighed, picking delicately over her salad. "Were that it everypony agreed with you," she said forlornly, spearing a spinach leaf with her fork and bringing it to her mouth.

Rarity was busy trying to figure out if she should be looking appalled at Luna or Celestia, Spike was feeding himself fried potatoes with a claw while offering every other one to Fluttershy, and everypony else was either chuckling into their food or just enjoying it.

Spike caught her lost look and shrugged, offering her a fry.

Sighing, she took it in her magic and took a bit out of the cooked spud, humming in appreciation as the complex seasonings played across her tongue.

"Thank you, Spike, that tastes lovely," she said with a smile. "Really though, slow down on the food?"

He opened his mouth to reply before shuddering, closing his muzzle for a moment before just nodding. He held up a paw when she started to ask him a question about that, waving it away and shaking his head. She narrowed her eyes before taking a small bite of the greenery in front of her.

Luna was the second to finish her food, followed in short order by Cadance and Celestia; Spike had destroyed his last burger in two bites, avoiding admonishment from Rarity by simply showing her how much larger his maw was than the food. Soon enough it was just Flurry Heart picking over her food, everyone else sitting in comfortable silence while Spike gently returned to stroking Fluttershy's fur.

He was the first to break it though, loudly, by letting loose another yawn. He smacked his lips a couple of times afterward, blinking heavily, before noticing significant looks from everypony at the table.

"Fine!" he said, throwing his paws up in the air with a massive, effected frown. "I'll go to bed, buck. It's almost like some of you have seen me after three nights without sleep, I swear."

Fluttershy smiled, Celestia sighing even as her horn lit up.

"You really should take better care of yourself, Spike," the princess said. "Twilight should as well, that may be one of her worst habits for you to adopt.

"Now, Cadance, should I have a set of rooms drawn up for you, or?" she asked, glancing down the table.

"I don't think so," she said, looking at her husband and daughter. "I think we'll just teleport home. Spike, will you be coming back to the Crystal Empire with us?" she asked, swinging her head to the left slightly.

"Ah, yeah, I think so?" he asked, looking at the mares around him. "We never really resolved anything, I kind of bolted the first time."

Fluttershy and Rarity both nodded, the latter muttering, "I've closed the shop for a bit."

"I've still got plenty of magic to get us back up to the empire, so that's no problem," Cadance said to Rarity. "Anytime we're ready then."

Spike wrapped an arm around Celestia, giving her a small peck on her cheek as she wrapped a wing around him.

"I'm still not fond of your earlier idea, but if that's what you decide, let me know," she whispered to him, before pulling her wing back and smiling at him.

"I will," he said, getting up from his seat and walking up to hug Luna.

"You really helped me feel a lot better," he whispered to her as she returned his gesture. "Thank you, auntie."

Luna hummed and nodded up at him, and he walked over to stand behind Fluttershy.

"See you two later," he said, smiling at both of the princesses as Cadance and her family also made their good-byes. "I'll make sure to write a letter about what we get up to."

"You'd better," Celestia said over Cadance's head as she squeezed her niece in a hug.

With that, Cadance lit her horn along with Shining, concentrating as he was speaking quietly, numbers flowing from his lips as her magic stored power.

With a pop, they disappeared from one dining room and back into the first one, startling a servant in the process of polishing the tabletop.

"Oh, my liege," she said, holding a hoof up to her uniformed chest before looking over the group. "My lieges," she corrected, bowing. "Would it be time for a late dinner perhaps?"

"No thank you," Cadance said with a smile. "Just a convenient room."

With that she turned and hustled the group out of the room, spreading her wings and herding them out into the hallway.

"Well then, we prepared a room for you Spike, but that was when it was just you and Fluttershy," she said conversationally, lowering her wings and leading the group of them down the hallway. Flurry was quick to peel away though, leaving just the five of them walking. "Should we change your sleeping arrangements, or Ms. Rarity, would you like your own room?"

Fluttershy spoke up first, her hoof raising as she said, "Actually, unless she wants her own room, maybe we could get a room with two beds instead?" she flushed a bit as the group turned to look at her, a few eyebrows up. "I just thought maybe we'd talk a bit tonight," she said.

"Of course," Cadance said, face smoothing into a gentle smile. "I'll have it done right away. Spike, room..." she hummed to herself, thinking for a moment before saying, "I should think that room thirty-eight should do."

He raised an eyebrow ridge, smirking at her. "This a hotel now?"

She let a sigh slip from her lips as she looked pointedly at Shining. "Some of the guards work better when every room has either a label or a number. It would be...?" she trailed off, looking at him pointedly.

"Oh, Guest Quarters, Floor Three, Room Eight," he recited after a moment.

Spike snorted. "Sure, sure," he said, before fighting off another yawn with a claw covering his mouth. "Should I plan on seeing you at a certain time in the morning, Cadance?"

"Again, I've cleared my week for you," she said, shrugging. "So whenever all three of you feel ready. And yes," she said upon seeing his look, "all three, please."

He started to say something before shrugging and nodding.

"G'night then," he said, reaching out to ruffle some of the fur on her cheek, then balling his fist to bump against Shining Armor's hoof.

All four of the remaining ponies took turns bumping hooves gently against each other before splitting into two groups, two mares following behind the drake as he walked down the hall.

He waited until he passed a window to look out on the grounds, went up a single flight of stairs, then asked a guard about the eighth room as the two mares behind him giggled. Walking up to the door, he pressed the handle down and entered the cozy room, cozier still from the extra single-pony bed squeezed into the room, all of their luggage distributed on the tops of their blankets.

"So who's sharing the big bed?" he asked, looking down at the two mares as he ducked into the room. "You two? It's you two right?"

Rarity used her magic to move the baggage off of the beds while Fluttershy gave him a gentle swat to the shin.

"I'll see you in the morning, Spike," Rarity said firmly with a smile as she hopped up onto the extra bed.

He looked indecisive for a moment before he leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead, just below her horn. He then looked painfully conflicted for a moment, before turning to blurt out to Fluttershy, "That's what you two walked about, right?"

She smiled up at him, reaching up and kissing him gently on his lips.

"Goodnight Spike," she said, before walking into the attached bathroom.

He looked over at Rarity, who raised her eyebrows at him with a smile.

Puffing, he marched over to the bed and laid down atop the blanket, shimmying underneath it before pointing at the unicorn.

"You better hope these cushions are too comfy to let me stay awake, or I'll be listening in on you two tonight.

Her reply was lost on him as he blinked once, twice, then shut his eyes as his mind fogged over.

ՓՓՓՓՓ ՓՓՓՓՓ ՓՓՓՓՓ

Fluttershy smiled as she walked back into the room, seeing Spike already covered on the bed, his head resting towards the center even as a single arm stretched over the top of the blankets.

"Poor dear must have been well and truly exhausted," Rarity said with a smile. "He just finished threatening to listen in on us while pretending to sleep, you know."

Raising an eyebrow, Fluttershy walked over to the prone drake and raised a wing, prodding his snout with a primary. When nothing happened, she gently tickled one of his nostrils until she got a small sneeze and he rolled his head away, puffing a ball of smoke through his mouth before he fell still again.

"I'm pretty sure he's out," Fluttershy said with a smile, placing her forehooves on the bed and giving a small hop so she could crawl on top of the blankets; she curled up next to Spike, facing Rarity.

"Which gives us time to start that conversation I mentioned needing to have," Fluttershy said, rocking her hips as she got comfortable.

"Yes," Rarity said, straightening her back as she sat up, looking attentive.

Fluttershy looked her over, smiling as she cocked her head.

"Rarity," she said softly, reaching a hoof towards the mare, "please, relax. This isn't supposed to be me setting rules for you to follow, or anything like that. I think this is supposed to be us, two old friends, discussing the fact that we both like one drake, and that we think we could both have him if he desired. I'm here to talk with you, not at you."

Rarity sighed, relaxing her shoulders before she bit her lip.

"Uhm, do you suppose it would be possible to order something to drink before we start then? A simple sauvignon blanc or maybe a chardonnay?" she asked, looking around the room.

"Oh, I think that would be a question for one of the guards," Fluttershy replied, looking out the window before finding a clock sitting on the dresser. "It might be a bit late though, we didn't have dinner at Canterlot until half-past eight."

Rarity hummed before she hopped off of the bed, towards the door. "Well, nothing ventured and all that," she said with a small smile, opening the door and glancing over her shoulder. "I'll be right back, then."

Fluttershy waited patiently.

For the first fifteen minutes.

After that she found herself watching the clock on the dresser for a minute before she hopped off of the bed to scrounge around in her baggage for the book she'd started on the train. Twenty minutes into the wait she found herself shifting uncomfortably on the bed, wondering where her friend had gone.

It was thirty-three minutes after leaving that Rarity wandered back into the room, a pair of crystal goblets hovering beside a bottle in her magic, a frown settled onto her face.

"Well, I was able to talk the guard into walking me to the kitchens," she said, popping the cork and setting both of the goblets on the dresser. "Where I found the glasses easily enough, but all they had there was cooking sherry. So then I had to talk the gentlestallion into walking me to where the actual wine cellar was, and then I had to talk him into letting me keep a bottle!" she huffed, pouring out a glass of the pale wine.

Fluttershy demurred when Rarity nodded at the other glass, so the unicorn recorked the bottle and set it next to the glasses.

"Honestly, as though he didn't know who I was and under who's authority I was visiting." She sniffed before sipping at the glass she'd hovered over, taking a quiet sip and shivering with a smile. "Mmm, that is lovely though."

"I'm glad to hear the chase was worth it," Fluttershy said, just a smidgen of tease in her tone.

Rarity looked at her, clearly unimpressed. "You've been hanging out with Rainbow Dash too long," she said dryly. "Or Starlight."

Fluttershy giggled, leaning over and setting her book on top of the covers she still sat on. "I think it's been this one, actually," she said, gently nuzzling a bit of Spike's neck. He snorted gently, murmuring something, before lying still again. "But if you look at it a certain way, he probably got it from both of them, so I guess you're still right."

Rarity sipped again at her wine, looking at him carefully. "You know, he always talked so deliberately around me," she said, one of her hooves tapping against the soft down as she thought. "I suppose I never really got to know the real person beneath that presentation he always put up for me."

"You did," Fluttershy said firmly. "You might have only got to know one side of him over the years, but it is still a side of the real him. I honestly doubt that he put on a complete show around you. He just didn't feel the need to only show the one side to me, because we were friends before interest showed itself, and I can promise you that he showed you his true, if slightly perfected, self. He never had that chance to show you just him, not really. His crush just hit him too early in your relationship for him to have a chance to show you his true self."

Rarity swirled her glass in her magic as she gazed at her friend, who slowly grew red. "You've been thinking about this for a while, then?" she asked.

Fluttershy looked at Spike again before smiling apologetically at Rarity. "There may have been a betting pool as to your relationship. Years ago," she clarified quickly when Rarity's eyes widened. "About when Starlight joined Twilight in her castle. She, AJ, Rainbow and I were talking about it one day, though I didn't actually talk about putting any bits in. Twilight found out, made her case, and the other three dissolved the pool once she pointed out how mean it was to you two.

"Still, she made a pretty strong case about how well Spike was letting you get to know him," she said, smiling at the memory. "And both she and I talked about how we hoped he'd let the walls down eventually."

Rarity took a drink of her wine, coughing gently before she said, "Well, no time like the present. Maybe we can talk about this with him, and get him to loosen up a little around me." She smiled over at him. "I know I'm the reason he even feels like he needed to watch himself, but at this point we can probably just drop what pretense there still was. I'm pretty sure I like him, I think he could still like me. That's the important part, not the language we use to talk to each other."

Fluttershy reached over to a table beside the bed, picking up one of two small drinking glasses prepared there, and lifted it towards Rarity.

The glasses clinked, and they giggled at the toast as Rarity took a drink of her alcohol.

"While that is a great way to look forwards," Fluttershy said, setting her empty glass down, "it's not really what I meant to talk with you about."

Rarity hummed, nodding as she finished her drink and set her own crystal on the dresser next to the bottle.

"Right, right, we were supposed to be talking about what to do with the big lug over there," Rarity giggled, nodding over to the other bed. "Are we sharing, or are we forming an old fashioned herd, or is this going to be a group dating exercise? What are we thinking about right now?"

"Well," Fluttershy started, slowly, "I don't know exactly what a herd entails. I just want all of us to love each other. And I can tell you that between us, there's not nothing."

Fluttershy quirked her head when Rarity took a moment to just stare at her.

"I talked to Twilight about it once," Fluttershy went on. "I'm, uhm, demisexual, I think she said? I'll be comfortable as long as there's an emotional connection, and we both know that we have that."

"That's sort of right, I think," Rarity said, scrunching her muzzle. "I think you can still be heterosexual and demisexual at the same time? I haven't studied this like I'm sure Twilight has, but I'm pretty sure that's true."

Fluttershy gave a small smile, her eyes ducking a bit as she blushed.

"Trust me, then, Rarity. I'll have no problems being in a relationship that involves you."

The mentioned mare gulped dryly, taking a drink from her wineglass and noting it getting worryingly low on contents.

"I suppose I've never given it much thought," Rarity admitted, hovering over the bottle and pouring herself another half glass. "You are gorgeous of course, you were only a model for Celestia's sake and we can all see that edge hasn't worn off with time," she said, smiling as she watched Fluttershy's blush grew. "I've never thought about my own sexuality before, but I could certainly be bisexual for such a lovely mare, or at least give it a try."

Spike snorted in his sleep, Fluttershy jumping away and turning her blazing cheeks away from both him and Rarity.

"Nice," he muttered, before giving a soft snore.

"Oh, my," Fluttershy whispered, while Rarity tittered behind a hoof. "I suppose that settles that."

"Indeed, doesn't it just," Rarity said, taking a sip of her fresh beverage before looking over at her... well, she was her new marefriend-on-trial, wasn't she? "Now that we've got our own thoughts on each other out of the way; Spike, and the potential sharing of him?"

"I think that that is completely up to him," Fluttershy said without hesitation. "And honestly, I think 'sharing' is the wrong word, or at least brings in a wrong mindset. For me, sharing means taking a resource and splitting it between several ponies, right?" Fluttershy asked, Rarity nodding after thinking about it for a bit. "But Spike isn't a finite resource, and neither is his time or his feelings. Love isn't finite, so it's not sharing.

"We just want him to love us, both of us, at the same time, while we also love him. And probably each other."

Rarity thought about it, gazing into her wine glass while she swirled it gently.

She sniffed back and looked up at Fluttershy, watery eyes full of hope. "And you're sure it's that simple?"

Smiling, Fluttershy hopped off of the bed she was currently on, walking over to the other and gathering the mare in her forelegs, squeezing her softly but insistently.

"Yes."

Author's Note

This is probably gonna be the last of my Christmas break updates, so expect me to slow down as of this Saturday. That said, hope you guys all had happy holidays or will have them if you had to work and moved the holiday around as I did.

Anyhow, continuing to love you guys :heart: :yay:

Gentle Acceptance

Spike woke easily the next... well, looking at the clock on the dresser next to the bed, it was only barely still morning.

He shifted under the sheet, shuffling onto his back from his side and stretching, careful to keep his spikes down and not ruin the mattress he was on. Finally, after he relaxed with both arms on top of the sheet and his head staring up at the gentle swirl in the ceiling, he let himself think about yesterday and everything that had happened.

Spike, you're a Dragon.

He grunted, and used his imagination to visualize picking up a plain, if large, brown box and setting it to the side. It was a hurdle, but a race isn't only made of one jump. He sorted through his mind, trying to align everything else he had done or witnessed yesterday.

A lot had happened yesterday though.

The long train ride. The talk with Clear Sights.

The sessions with Cadance. Discovering just how unhappy he had been.

Rarity showing up. Her admitting that she had been avoiding him towards the end.

Her expressing fear of his species. Fear of him.

His literal flight away from here, from her, and the massive set of wings now melted away with the magic overnight.

His brief thought of going military.

Fluttershy's seeming acceptance.

He still cared for her.

He sighed, letting the air flow through his nose and releasing a trickle of the building tension in his spine, as well as a bit of smoke. He needed to be careful, to... Not to keep tight reins on his feeling, that was the opposite of helpful, but to keep a closer eye on them. Make sure they didn't overflow like yesterday. Take a break if they started to go haywire.

He rolled over, propping himself up on a limb as he looked around the room for the mares that had shared the room last night.

The first thing he noticed was that he seemed to be the only one that had slept in this bed, based on how the sheet was disturbed and the smells he could sense. Adding to this was the fact that the other, smaller, bed had two pillows on it that had divots from use.

Lifting an eyebrow he sniffed at the air in the room again, confirming that the only musk there was his own faint background smell.

He hadn't figured for anything to have happened, especially overnight, but curiosity has a tight grip.

He swept the sheet over him away, swinging his legs out of the bed and standing. He felt his spine ready itself to flex, and a half-smile pasted itself on his lips. Standing on his back two legs, he strode over to the door and opened it, looking out into the hallway.

He saw the one guard slowly making rounds through the hallway, and they nodded to each other as the mare passed him, but besides that the place was empty.

Ducking back into the room he inspected the tops of the furniture briefly, then the floor just in case, but wasn't able to find a note or anything of the like. He quickly made his way back to the door and looked down the hallway.

"Uhm, excuse me?" he called, and the guard that was a few rooms down turned and saluted. "Oh, thanks but that's not needed. Did anypony happen to leave a message with you guys about me?"

The mare's hoof returned to the floor as her eyes went slightly unfocused, chewing her bottom lip gently before shaking her head. "I'm sorry Sir Spike, but there was no such thing given to me by the guard I replaced, and my commander said nothing currently pertinent during the brief before my shift this morning."

"Oh, okay," he said, nodding. "Thank you."

She nodded, giving another quick salute before turning smartly and continuing her slow patrol of the palace wing.

His ear-spikes twitched as he watched the back of the mare's head walk away, his mind lost in possibilities and chances of where everyone was. He remained there, lost in thought until his stomach rumbled below his ribs.

He snorted at himself before he shrugged. Closing the door behind himself, he started for the popular dining room he'd been seeing ponies in for the last... day.

Damn, but didn't it feel like a lot longer to him.

The way was already as well as memorized for him still, and he made it there in a few minutes easily. Feeling a little weird he knocked on the door before entering, smiling when he saw Flurry Heart looking at him from the table where she had a book laying.

"Yo Wildberry," he said a bit wearily, taking up the seat directly across from her.

"Yo Grapes," she smirked with a nod. "You crash hard last night?"

"Like a stone chucked off Canterlot mountain," he chuckled. "Still feeling tired, but I think that's mostly mental at this point."

She nodded, smirk fading into a worried smile.

"You should take it easy big guy," she said, standing in her seat and reaching across the table to place a hoof on his forearm. "You've had a long few months, and yesterday was kinda like a massive volcano of those months. Rest up, huh?"

Spike twitched back a bit, surprised by the amount of worry in her voice, before he gently reached forward and pulled her forehead into contact with his, smiling a bit at the action usually taken by their RPG characters.

"I'm chill Flurry, promise," he said, crossing his heart. "I'll be alright, as soon as all of this is sorted out."

"Take your word on that," she said seriously, tapping a hoof on his muzzle as they separated.

He raised a paw and flattened the other over his heart, arranging his face into a cold, unwavering stare. After a moment, he popped his tongue straight out and held it for two seconds before letting it fall limply, hanging from his closed lips.

"Bucking skippy," she remarked, nodding seriously as he recalled his tongue.

"Well, those are words, I suppose," came a voice from the side of the room, Shining Armor walking out of the kitchen with a simple plate balanced between his shoulders. "I wouldn't let your mom hear them from you of course."

Flurry had the grace to at least blush and smile apologetically at her dad, who gave her a wry smile back and a wink before sliding the plate off of his back and tucking into one of the two sandwiches, not even bothering to sit in a near chair.

"Quick lunch today?" She asked, Spike leaning down to look at the simple peanut butter and berry filling.

Shining nodded, chewing and swallowing a massive bite before muttering, "Paperwork push today," and finishing another third of the offending meal.

"I'll let mom know," Flurry said, her horn lighting for a moment before flashing dimly. "She says she's on her way now, but she loves you if you gotta leave before she gets here."

Shining looks at the simple clock on the wall, swallowing the last of his current piece of food.

"I'll stay long enough to see her, at least," he muttered before picking up the other sandwich and starting to give it the same treatment as the first.

Flurry nodded to her dad before glancing at Spike, then returning to her thick book.

Glancing over and giving it a real look for the first time, he gave a small smile at the heavily colored pages.

He rested his eyes for a moment, just breathing and listening to the other two breathe.

And to one of them inhale a sandwich, but that was placed to the side.

After what he imagined to be four minutes he heard the door open and propped open his eyes for the three mares that entered.

Cadance marched to her husband, both of them with soft smiles as their noses came together and their eyes closed, slowly moving back and forth over their spouse's muzzles before their lips met in a cut-off kiss.

"Love you," Shining whispered. "I'll let you know if work keeps me tonight."

"Yeah you will," Cadance giggled, kissing Shining once more on his nose before they parted, Shining jogging out of the room with a sigh.

Spike turned his head away with a small smile to look down at the pair of mares that looked up at him. He grinned outright when Fluttershy beckoned him down with a smile, and they copied the royal couple nearly exactly, down to the kiss.

He pulled away a bit, smiling down at Fluttershy. His smile faded though when she raised her eyebrows and flicked her eyes over to Rarity, who was looking nervously up at him with a tiny smile of her own.

"You're taking a whole lot on faith right now, missy," he groused, plastering on a heavy frown. He gave her enough time for the certainty to fade from her eyes and the smile to slip a bit before he huffed some air through his nostrils, the smell of a campfire filling the air around them as he leaned over to Rarity and nuzzled her gently with his snout, kissing the top of her muzzle before leaning back into his chair.

Rarity looked surprised and pleased, while Fluttershy looked some combination of both nervous and relieved.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking down at her hooves and tapping her fetlocks together, "that was presumptuous, wasn't it? Sorry."

Spike sighed, reaching out with an arm and slowly pulling her up onto his torso, hugging her close.

"I understand it," he said, laying his head on top of hers. "And Tartarus, you're probably even justified. But that's kind of something we have to figure out, is all." He glanced over at Rarity, who was looking nervously up at them. "Unless you're suddenly no longer afraid of dragons?"

Rarity winced before straightening up. "Not as of yet," she said, resolutely. "But it was never as strong with you, and with both of your help, I know I can overcome this fear."

He blinked at her before looking over at Cadance, now sitting by her daughter, and cocking an eyebrow. He shifted as Fluttershy moved, wriggling to face towards the table and press her spine to Spike at the same time, but he kept the look even as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't only do amorous relationship counseling, or even stick to only counseling multiple ponies," Cadance said, raising her own brow back. "A happy relationship needs to be had with oneself before they can have a healthy relationship with another."

"Really?" he asked. "Needs?"

She sighed heavily. "Maybe not needs," she admitted, before stomping heavily on the table with a fore-hoof. "But by the Alicorns, does it make it so much easier!"

Spike snorted, but gently, not derisively as he could have. "So was that the menu of the morning? Getting Rarity's fear out to air?"

Cadance looked over to Rarity, who nodded, before she said, "We spent some of this morning in the office talking about that, yes, but we also went to the zoo. There are some carnivorous rescues there, and all three of us spoke with one of the keepers about their diets."

"To say it was stressful would be doing a disservice to the very word," Rarity said, pulling out the seat next to Spike and smirking at the now-cuddling couple beside her. "They asked if we would be interested in watching him... prepare the meats for their consumption. Then he and Fluttershy took a moment to, uhm, compare techniques," she said, sighing and turning to the table.

"All of the animals have to eat," Fluttershy murmured, shivering as Spike moved a palm to her scalp and started to gently massage between her ears. "And the better I prepare the food, the better they can eat, and with some of those skills I could harvest more and thus have to do it less often."

"You know, I still haven't seen where you prepare the food you make for Mr. Bear and the manticores and other creatures that visit you sometimes," Spike mentioned.

He felt her shrug under him. "I prepare it in the same shed I keep the rest of the food in. There's a box in the corner that I asked Twilight and Rainbow to help me make that keeps everything fresh. When I have enough to process I use the table and toolbox next to it, then bag everything and put it back to keep that fresh until some creature needs it."

"Huh," Spike murmured. "I've never smelled it before, I had no idea."

"Another thing Twilight helped with," Fluttershy said, a slight shiver running through the skin on her back before she whispered, "There was a long time where that was my carnivore only shed."

He tightened his arms a bit around her chest, and she lifted her fore-hooves to press against his arms to return the hug.

He felt her jump a bit as a white hoof came from their side and gently pressed itself against her thigh, under her cutie mark. She turned and placed a hoof on Rarity's leg, gently running her frog over the fetlock pressed against her.

They looked over as Cadance cleared her throat.

"This," she said, tapping the table with a hoof, "is the most important part of any relationship between more than two creatures. Every unit of the relationship needs to be there for every other part of the group. I've seen attempts like yours where it was two ponies who were singularly in love with a third, and they agreed to make an attempt like yours.

"I've seen it work once," she said, looking over all three of them. "If this is to work between the three of you, then it needs to be an all for one thought, not two for one."

Spike blew air through his nose, chuckling lightly as he leaned back in the chair, slumping a bit.

Cadance sighed before continuing, "If, of course, all three people wish to be in this sort of relationship."

Fluttershy wiggled in the chair, moving enough that she could face Spike with an apologetic look on her muzzle.

"Spike, I'm very sorry," she said, placing a hoof on his chest. "I promise that we're not ignoring the fact that you're still not decided about accepting Rarity, and we're not taking your choice for granted. This might not sound as much like a for instance as it actually is, but I promise that we're waiting for your choice."

"I'm not," Cadance said across the table, picking up her napkin and throwing it in a ball across the table, the cloth unfolding and draping across his muzzle. "I babysat the brat and we all know what he's going to do, he just has to come to terms with his choice before he says it out loud."

Spike blinked over at her, his nose twitching as his eyes moved to crease and furrow, thankful that the napkin hid the smile he was struggling with.

"You're projecting way too much of Twilight onto me," he griped, reaching up to the napkin and folding it gently before balling it and lobbing it back at her. He watched her cock an eyebrow and start to give him an assured grin even as the cloth caught her horn, coming to rest over her eyes.

"A bit of Shining Armor as well," she said, blindly grinning across at him. "Sorry Spike, but you are part of the 'Light's household. Some of you can be predictable about some things."

Spike sighed, still leaning back in his chair but now staring over at Rarity. He watched her ear twitch towards him, before flicking back to the table. She straightened a bit, letting her muzzle rest so that he had a perfect silhouette of her with a soft smile on her face.

"Well, I guess she is pretty enough," he said, almost dismissively, grin widening when she whipped her head over to glare darkly at him, her carefully spiraled hair bobbing as she stared him down.

He wiggled in his seat, chuckling, as Rarity not only leaned over to not-so-gently smack him in a leg but even Fluttershy nudged his ribs with a sharp elbow.

"Alright, alright, bad joke, messages received," he laughed, holding up a paw to deflect Rarity's still readied hoof, Flurry laughing behind a hoof from down the table. He leaned forward, his left arm cradling Fluttershy to his chest as his right grabbed the edge of Rarity's chair, pulling her to his side with a quiet scraping noise and letting the limb rest over Rarity's withers, pulling her to his side.

He rested there for a moment, letting Rarity awkwardly adjust against him before pulling her close to his side again. Looking over at Cadance, he smiled a bit.

"Alright, it's awkward as all Tartarus, but two has become three.

"What next?"

Author's Note

There we go, finally another Saturday update. Sorry for the month of updates followed by a month of near silence but health blah blah blah. Should be able to keep up with the Saturdays for the foreseeable future though, so look forward to that I guess :trollestia: :raritystarry: :heart:

Table Conference pt II, On the Move

"Spike, dear?"

He nodded, staring out the window. "Yeah, they're more common up here than around Ponyville," he said, slowly scanning the crowd. He felt his lips quirk up at the ensuing, vaguely awkward silence that he broke by leaning to the white mare beside him and stage whispering, "That was a joke."

He turned and smiled thinly over at Rarity, sitting next to him on the plushly padded bench seat.

"I'm okay guys, really," he said, reaching over with a paw and placing it on her shoulder as he turned the smile to Fluttershy, across from them. "It's a lot to take in, I'm just processing it all."

"Not bottling it up again, though?" Fluttershy said, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him, her mouth in the tiniest frown.

"No no, Pinkie promise," he said, reaching his other arm across to gently run his paw up the side of her neck. "Really, I'm mostly worried about how Twilight is going to react, she just had me move out after all. Plus, well," he said, dropping one of his arms as the other moved to scratch at one of his ear spines, "I'm kind of worried about making you jealous, too."

"Ah, that was one of my initial concerns as well," Rarity said, also smiling over at Fluttershy. "Especially with our history, and the relatively short amount of time you've been together..."

Fluttershy opened her mouth before pausing, taking a moment to consider herself for a moment before she shook her head. "I guess I am jealous, just a little," she quietly admitted. "But I'm not worried about you two, at all," she stated, smiling a bit at them. "I know that you have a history, and I supposed a tiny bit of me is worried that you'll pick up where you left off and leave me behind..."

She sniffed, tears forming in her eyes as she blinked heavily. Rarity switched seats, leaning on her as Spike reached across and laid his paws on her shoulders, hopefully comfortingly.

Her smile reassured them.

"But I trust all of us to talk," she finished. "And I know Spike wouldn't just leave me like that, and Rarity wouldn't either," she said, turning to bury her (thankfully dry) nose in Rarity's mane.

"Besides, even if you two just pick up right away," she said, starting to blush a bit, "maybe you could bring me along?"

Spike snorted, Rarity only blushing in response as Fluttershy giggled into her hair.

The group of them were interrupted by the short blast of a whistle, and a smooth-ish lurching under their seats let them know they were on their way.

Their train was moving, back to Ponyville.

ĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦ

Cadance had been the first to move at the table, her horn lighting as she turned her head towards the door at the side of the room.

Instead of one of the kitchen personnel appearing, one of the guards poked their head in.

"Please have the guest's effects packed and transported to the train station," she said with a smile. "They'll be leaving soon, in the Royal cab."

Spike made a quiet noise as the guard nodded, dipping fluidly from the room.

"Just like that, huh?" Spike asked, looking at the other two, who had looked slightly less flustered than he was feeling at the moment. "You tell me to move in with my ex-ex, and expect that to just clear everything up between the three of us?"

"Nope," she said, smiling sweetly over at him. "I expect all three of you to pay attention to each other, take care of everyone in your group, and..." She let herself trail off with a wide grin. "I expect progress reports."

It took Spike a moment, but he nearly had a visceral reaction when he got it, making a strangled gagging noise in his throat. "You want us to write you Friendship Reports about our relationship!?"

Cadance winked over at them, the two mares near him giggling while Flurry Heart was outright pointing at him and chortling.

"Yes, I think that should do quite nicely," she said, nodding with the same wide grin and adding in a pair of lidded eyes to make it into a smirk. "You'll live together with at least Rarity, and I'll expect a report from at least one of you either weekly, or whenever something happens. And before one of you go Twilight," she said, giggling for a moment before finishing, "a report of nothing special or outstanding happening is still a report."

Spike groaned, muffling the sound with his paws as he slumped in his chair and leaned his head back. "You know how many of those I wrote over the years?" he asked the ceiling, eyes tightly shut. "The scrolls dance in my dreams sometimes, whispering of the plants that were sacrificed to make them..."

Cadance snorted before looking over at Fluttershy, still in the drake's lap. "Is that acceptable to you two?" she asked as they ignored the traumatized reptile.

"It's been a while, so I might be rusty, but I'm okay with that," Fluttershy said with a grin.

"I have no issue practicing my penmareship," Rarity said, leaning over and fluttering her eyelashes at Spike, who peeked between his digits when he felt her hoof on her shoulder. "Unless I could impose on you Spike dear, your writing was always neater than mine?"

He groaned loudly again, slumping further in his chair as Fluttershy had to grab onto the table for balance, then eventually joining in the other's chuckling at his theatrics.

"I guess I could be bothered," he said with a lopsided smile.

ĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦ

He blinked as two white hooves came together sharply in front of his muzzle twice, Rarity giving him a slightly worried look.

"Sorry," he said, smiling and reaching up to take her hooves. "Got lost again. Anyways. Did you enjoy the short trip up to the Crystal Empire?"

She blinked, and he smiled as he watched her mentally flounder for a moment before she smiled wryly.

"You know I didn't have near enough time to do anything, Spike," she said, nudging Fluttershy gently with her shoulder. "But what about you two? Surely you got up to something fun before I stumbled in?" she asked, eyes widened slightly as she looked between the two.

Spike leaned back in his seat, smiling as he noticed Fluttershy slightly flushed as Rarity leaned against her, making a noise that was somewhere between a grunt and a verbal shrug.

"I mostly did some counseling therapy with Cadance," Spike said, giving a physical shrug. "I think it straightened out some of my perceptions. Otherwise, you were there for the big things. Fluttershy was living it up though," he said with a smile and a wink to the mare, "I even heard she visited a library. After the zoo, of course."

She blushed harder at his gentle tease, sticking out a hind leg and gently tapping his knee with a hoof. "I did indeed visit the Crystal Library," she said, raising her nose towards him with a tight smile. In a stage whisper, she said to Rarity, "They had some books there on the rarer animals in the Everfree."

The two of them started to laugh, Fluttershy joining in until she made a stricken face. "Oh no," she said, pulling her suitcase up from under their seat. "I checked some out based on the castle's credit, I wonder..."

When she opened the case she found the three books nestled carefully in between all of the overnight supplies she'd packed.

"Oh my," she muttered, opening the cover and looking at the stamp on the paper flap inside. "I wonder if they still want these back in two weeks? Maybe I can mail them back..."

"It's alright Flutters," Spike quickly soothed, "Twilight has an agreement with the Crystal Empire's libraries, if you turn them in to her she sends a letter telling the librarians in the Empire that she's sending them back with the Pony Express mail, she's already got a circulation system and everything."

Fluttershy took a breath, smiling and nodding at his quick reassurance.

"Of course she does, thank you for making sure I knew Spike," she said, leaning forward and letting him meet her in the middle for a quick muzzle nuzzle.

Rarity giggled behind a hoof as they blushed slightly, leaning back in their respective seats. "Ah, but you two are cute together," she said with a small grin. "Then again, I suppose Fluttershy here would be cute with anypony, no?"

Spike smiled as Fluttershy flushed a gentle crimson, tapping his chin with a digit. "Wouldn't she just be?" he said, leaning over and lifting an eyebrow. "How lucky we are, hmm?"

"Oh no," Fluttershy whispered, hiding her muzzle and eyes behind her hooves. "Is this a thing now? Everyone teases Fluttershy?"

Spike felt worry flicker over his face until he noted the bright red mare's slight smile between her forelegs. Winking over at Rarity, he leaned over and whispered in Fluttershy's ear, "Well, if you'd like, we could always coordinate and tease you at the same time?"

Rarity couldn't quite hear what he'd said, but watched her ear flick back before straining forward, Fluttershy dissolving into a giggling mess as he leaned back with an ever-so-slightly smug smile on his face.

"Well don't break the poor dear, Spike," she said with a smirk, wrapping a leg protectively around Fluttershy's shoulders and pulling the mare to her barrel.

Chuckling lightly, he held his arms up to his shoulders before leaning over and putting a gentle paw on Fluttershy's neck, massaging her slowly. He kept it up until she relaxed, leaning forward and dropping her hooves away from her cherry face, her smile soft and demure.

"Alright, we can give her a break," he said, smiling as he leaned over to give her a gentle peck on her nose. "Besides, we have some more important things to discuss anyway."

Sighing, he looked at the door that lead into their compartment before shrugging and shifting to sit on the floor in between the seats, his arms wrapping around the sides of the two mares in front of him, his paws spreading and resting on their haunches as he wriggled into a more comfortable position.

He sighed as the other two looked down at him, Rarity's head cocked a bit to the side, Fluttershy's blush fading slowly.

"We should really talk living arrangements," he said, running the tips of his claws along their cutie marks, looking down at the floor for a second before blinking and looking back up at Rarity. "Like, should I just move into the boutique, or are we going to move into my new place? Find another place closer to the carousel?"

"Oh, that hadn't occurred to me," Rarity said, blinking as her eyes unfocused a little. "Well, that depends on Fluttershy, really."

Fluttershy squeaked in surprise.

"Yes," Rarity said, smiling and rubbing her nose against Fluttershy's neck, just below her ear. "Cadance said Spike and I should live together, but never once said that we can't all just move in together. None of our current abodes will hold all three of us, I don't think, so someplace in between where we all work would be nice. I could convert my bedroom in the boutique into storage, or maybe even a dressing room? It would let those mares with flair walk dramatically down the stairs..."

She trailed off, murmuring under her breath as she stared over Spike's head and into the wall opposite her. Spike gently cleared his throat, and she gave a slight jump as her eyes refocused.

"Ah, hmm, excuse me," she said with a blush. "That's if you even want to move in with us? You could do much the same with your cottage if you did, I imagine. Maybe a medical room for the more injured of the animals that come to you?"

Fluttershy grew still, her ears the only movement she made as they flicked back and forth before slowly lowering. "Uhm, sorry, but I haven't really given much thought to moving away from my cottage," she said quietly. "I have thought about living together with Spike, but I suppose I always thought he'd move in with me..."

Rarity made a noise in her throat and moved to hug Fluttershy with her forelegs. "Oh, I'm so sorry darling, of course you haven't thought about moving," she quietly exclaimed, squeezing her gently. "That was insensitive, I'm so sorry!"

Giggling a bit, Fluttershy rubbed her muzzle along the top of Rarity's head and hugged her back. "It's okay, I just hadn't considered moving out of my home."

"Well," Spike said slowly, "the boutique and Fluttershy's cottage are on the same side of town," he pointed out. "Maybe with Twilight and Applejack's help, we could expand the cottage to include space for Rarity? That way she could still walk to the boutique, we all could live together, and Fluttershy wouldn't need to leave her home for us."

Fluttershy shifted in her seat, looking indecisive, and Spike chuckled before gently ruffling her mane. "But no pressure, 'Shy," he said, looking her in the eye. "If you're not sure about moving in with us or us moving in with you, I can just store some of my stuff and live with Rarity in the boutique for a while."

She smiled at him, looking relieved and whispering a thank you before she kissed his snout.

"I would like some time to think about it, is all, please?" she asked, smiling as the other two nodded to her. "Thank you."

Both of her partners murmured gentle reassurances, pressing in on her, and she grinned under the warm, fuzzy onslaught. Leaning forward, she grasped Spike's jaw and pulled it up, kissing him solidly on his lips, before pulling away and giving Rarity the same treatment, albeit with a little less force.

All three sat there, warmth in their chests and in their hearts, as the train chugged on towards home.

Author's Note

Alright boys, this one feels much better to me. We've got movement, some sweet scenes, talking about the future. Good stuff.

As always, loving you bunch :heart: Enjoy

7:15 to Ponyville

Spike was the first one to see the sleepy(-ish [mostly]) little town, smiling to himself as the top of Twilight's castle crested the horizon as they passed around the Canterlot mountain, the background sky freshly colored salmon, peach, and tangerine with the rising sun. Soon the nearly uniform pale green of the birch trees around them gained the rough and vibrant green of the wild trees of the Everfree, and then the train was slowing, the noise of the magical breaks jolting Rarity out of sleep and Fluttershy from her book.

"Are we just now hitting Neighagra Falls?" Rarity asked with a yawn, cuddling into the cushion of the seat on the wall.

"No, that was a couple of hours ago," Spike said with a smile, standing and stretching his arms to the top of the car. "This one's our stop. We're home," he said down at the sleepy mare, blinking up at him as his paws pressed on the ceiling.

"Oh, that's nice," she said blithely, blinking up at him as he smiled at her. He crooked his eyebrow and she blinked hard, her ears perking. "Oh! Already? I must have dozed all the way from the Crystal mountains!"

Grinning, Spike raised a paw and tilted it back and forth in the air, earning a chuckle from Fluttershy as she pushed her book into her small in-car bag.

"It's okay Rarity, you only snored a little bit," Fluttershy said, smiling gently at the other mare.

Her irises shrinking, Rarity placed a hoof on her nose and looked back and forth at the other two until Spike's austere face broke into a grin. She attempted to scowl at Fluttershy but only managed a half-stern grin.

"Have I told you that you're hanging out too much with Rainbow Dash?"

Fluttershy merely nodded with the same serene smile as she finished packing away her book and the large lunch that they'd shared, which had been resting on an empty seat.

"I think you might have said Spike once, even," she said, her smile deepening at Rarity's flushed cheeks.

"And you've learned a thing or two there as well I see," Rarity said primly, still struggling with the smile on her muzzle as she left her seat to check over her own carry-on.

Spike took a moment to run his muzzle over the base of her mane and the tops of her shoulder, smiling as she shivered before leaning further and doing the same to Fluttershy, who paused in her packing to run a hoof gently over his jawline before continuing to pack.

Spike stood around for a moment, watching Rarity root through her bag and Fluttershy get hers ready to tote before he scratched the back of his head and walked to the door. Sliding it open, he glanced around to see a couple of other compartments with open doors and a few ponies milling about in the aisle that were waiting on the train to stop.

Most of them glanced idly his way as the door slid open, and all but one waved as he smiled awkwardly down at the group.

The last pony, the one who merely nodded, was a toned mare with close-cropped mane and a heavy braided tail that laid close to her flank. She had a flinty look in her eye, and Spike could tell she was sizing him up.

"Guard?" he asked her, smiling a little as her pupils dilated while the rest of her showed no reaction. "Special assignment or just moving over from another town?"

She gazed up at him for a moment before she spoke, her tone clipped and blunt as she responded, "Both."

Spike blinked awkwardly, sensing that the conversation wasn't quite welcome.

"Ah. Well, have a good day I suppose," he said, withdrawing his head through the doorway and looking down at Rarity who was looking up at him, confused.

"Ponies these days," he remarked breezily, shrugging his shoulders and turning away before she could see him grinning at her perplexed expression. "Need any help with your bags? Fluttershy?"

"Oh I'm okay," she said, smiling up at him. "I'll bet Rarity will let you carry hers, though."

Rarity sighed when Spike looked back at her, the same lightly amused look on his muzzle, before offering up her carry-on with her magic. He lifted the strap over his head, snaking his neck through, before looking down to settle the lavender print bag on his torso.

"Masculine," he quipped with a smile, adjusting the strap further.

There was a loud hissing noise, a displacement of air, and the train shuddered softly before they felt the movement below them cease. Seconds later, they heard the outside door clunk and slide open, then the clicking of hooves as the rest of the train departed.

Spike straightened Rarity's bag and reached over to grab his own from the thick wire shelving above the seats, then moved out and into the through-way, then out of the train completely.

He moved to the side, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a prolonged sigh.

He smiled at the familiar scents playing in his nose; the wet smell of dew-laden grass, the fresh smell of bread from the shops in town, the older and wilder smell of the hay and wheat fields carried by the wind into town.

Then he blinked, and his eyes were filled with magenta irises.

"Hello Dash," he said, blinking at the fluttering pegasus before him.

"No time!" she yelled, spreading her limbs and pointing up the road through town. "Come on, we need you over there!" Without another word she took off, speeding through the air and checking over her shoulder.

Sighing again, Spike shed the bags and took off in a sprint, pumping his arms and raising his tail to keep balance. Fluttershy kept pace beside him, a worried look shared between them as they chased the multi-chromatic tail. Spike glanced quickly over his shoulder, Rarity just on the tip of his tail and breathing in a set pattern as she ran, the very face of control in keeping up with them.

They made it most of the way through the town before Spike put on a burst of speed, closing the gap between them and Rainbow.

"What's the situation?" he called up to her, breathing heavily but steadily.

"Situation?" she asked, rolling over to fly upside down and giving him a wicked grin. "I just thought you'd wanna join me on a morning jog!"

Spike blinked, losing concentration on his pacing as his foot came down just a bit too lightly and slid through the loose dirt. His mind comprehended her words as he fell, and it was with a flat and unamused grimace that he planted his muzzle in the dirt.

He felt one of the mares trip over the arms that were now spread to each of his sides and felt Rarity's horn jab into his hide as the panting mare ran bodily into his slumped back.

"Ow," he murmured into the dirt as he listened to Rainbow cackling above the three of them, and he raised his encrusted face just in time to hear the combustion of camera powder as a bright flash forced him to blink several times.

"I dunno Rainbow," he heard Scootaloo say, "it's pretty funny, but I don't think my editor would like it enough to run a story about playing a prank on your buds."

To his side, he heard a Fluttersigh, and a quite groaning came from the weight splayed across his back.

"Hey Rainbow," he called from the ground, his neck stretched flat along the road and his eyes closed. He waited for her snickering to quiet down, then started to call out, "Five. Four. Three-"

There was the noise of the whipping wind, and when he cleared a paw to pull the dirt from his eyes, the only ponies he could see were in the houses and yards around them, not a pegasus in the sky.

With a deep, breathy sigh, Spike arched his back to roll the unicorn off of it, the mare yelping before a quiet thud sounded through the street.

He straightened, wiping the dust and dirt from his face and belly, before declaring, "On this day do I, Spike Ignis, declare a blood feud with the line of Rainbow Dash. As of-"

He was interrupted by a hoof not-quite-gently meeting his shin, and he pulled air in through his teeth before looking down at Fluttershy smiling innocently up at him.

"Don't make me go get the paperwork for you, too," he said with a tone of warning before he turned and picked Rarity up from where she sprawled in the street. He watched for a moment as her slightly vacant eyes rolled in their sockets before he tucked her under his arm and turned back towards the train station. "I don't suppose the train's quartermaster would have put out our luggage?" he asked Fluttershy as she stood and used a wing to brush some of the dirt from her chest fur.

"They probably asked the town's guard to look after it," she said with a nod, extending the other wing to brush the dust from Rarity, who looked to be regaining some of her sense.

"Rainbow?" she asked thinly, blinking as she reached out absently and ran a hoof over Fluttershy's wing as it brushed at her coat.

"I'm composing the letter announcing our feud as we walk," Spike reassured her, patting her on the head as he started walking back the way they came. "Celestia will never have read anything so flowery in her life. It will be an epic that goes on for yards."

"Yards?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, it will be challenging to find a scroll of appropriate length, but I suppose I can always just tape multiples together," Spike said, raising his fist in a challenge to the sky.

"Oh," she said, then continued to let Spike carry her down the road.

After a minute she nudged Spike with an elbow and frowned up at him. "Thank you for carrying me dear," she said with a wiggle, "but does it have to be like a buckball? It is quite undignified..."

Spike grinned broadly as he lightly tossed the mare up in front of him, chuckling as she let out a quiet yip before he slid his other arm under her back and let her slide down to the crook of his elbow.

The oft sought-after Princess Carry. Few stallions had the dexterity to manage it for more than three steps, but Spike found it as simple as walking now that he was set on using just his back legs when possible.

Rarity firmly smacked a hoof against his chest, before wriggling deeper into his arms with a slight blush.

They arrived back at the train station to see a smirking Rainbow Dash, standing next to their luggage. To their slight surprise, they also saw the rest of the group standing there with welcoming smiles. Pinkie was sitting on her haunches with her front legs propped gently on a large box in front of her; Applejack was leaning lightly again Dash with a warm look at the small group; Dash herself there looking slightly red and trying just a bit too hard to keep her smile soft and open instead of smug; and Twilight, her face lit with her smile as she trotted forward, not satisfied with letting the trio come to them.

Spike propped Rarity on one arm as the alicorn approached, falling gently to his knees as Twilight reared back to wrap her hooves around the base of his neck, Rarity giggling as she was pressed into a group hug with the three of them. They were quickly joined by a set of pink forelegs and yellow wings, two mares standing apart but near and chuckling at the group.

"Hey guys," Spike murmured into the group, his neck allowing him just enough leverage to nuzzle against a few of the group. "Nice welcome you got there, mostly," he said with a glinting look towards Rainbow.

"I didn't know which train you were on," Twilight said back, "so I asked Rainbow to keep an eye out. The rest of it was her, though," she stage-whispered with a glance back at the mare, whose smile was getting more and more strained.

"Speaking of, I need to borrow a sheet of your longest parchment," Spike said, wincing only slightly as a hoof connected once again with his shin.

Giving him a confused nod, Twilight gave him a last squeeze before letting go to stand back. Pinkie took an extra moment to nuzzle against Spike's side before she bounced back towards her white and red wrapped box. Spike placed a hand against Rarity's barrel and tipped her out of his arm, setting her gently on the ground, before standing upright.

Twilight watched him for a second, shaking her head when he gave her a questioning look.

Pinkie took the opportunity to pronk over with the gift on her back, taking a moment to nuzzle both Rarity and Fluttershy.

"Congratulations~!" she called in a sing-song tone, bouncing in a loose circle around the trio. "I took the opportunity to decorate Spike's place for a Welcome Back party! Whenever you guys are ready, there's cake and ice cream!" Dropping into a whisper, she glanced around with narrowed eyes, muttering, "They said I couldn't make breakfast ice cream, but I proved them wrong, oh so deliciously wrong..."

Spike chuckled, trailing a hand over to muss her always immaculately curly mane. "Sounds fun Pinkie. Everyone coming then?"

There was a chorus of assent, and Spike walked over to grab most of the easily handled luggage, the rest hefted easily in a light mulberry field. He turned and led the procession towards his rented abode, talking easily to the questions they floated him about the trip.

"Yes, Cadance and CO are doing great, she says hi to everyone of course. Shining is getting back into the Fantasy buckball drafts; yeah, he got Flurry this year too Twilight. Yeah, the kingdom still looks great as usual; I didn't get a chance to see them but I think Fluttershy did? Rarity showed up a little late into the trip (thanks again Twilight for sending her, I appreciate it more than I thought I would), but we still had some time together on the train."

Then Rainbow asked the question.

"So, uh, what's going on with you three? You doing a group thing or-"

AJ was swift and merciless in applying her hat to the top of Rainbow's head, Dash scowling at her and rubbing the spot with a hoof.

"Short answer, kind of?" Spike said, trying to keep his tone light. "I'll let Rarity answer those questions, there's a bit of personal stuff I'm still not sure about."

Rarity let out a soft sigh and smiled a little. "I'm not sure any of us are really sure about what's going on," she said, "but I think we're all looking forward to what comes of it. I know I am."

Then Rainbow questioned the legality of marrying two mares, and Spike did his best impression of a walking tomato while Twilight did her best affectation of a law book, rattling off legalese while they finished the walk to Spike's.

Spike dug under one of his scales, the one he used to keep the key Twilight had enchanted to open almost every one of the doors in her castle, then sighed and pressed his forehead against the wood of his door.

"The key sort of disintegrated last time I used it, after I grew the second time," he murmured to the group. "Twilight, Pinkie, can you-?"

Pinkie nodded and, before Twilight could unlock it with her magic, pressed a hoof onto the doorknob. The tip of her tongue sticking from the side of her mouth, her teeth lightly biting down, she closed her eyes for a moment before a clicking was heard and she turned the knob before pronking in.

"When you asked her how she did that last time-?" Spike started to ask Twilight, but she just shook her head.

"I remember that she told me, and at the time the words made sense, but now it's just a bunch of trash syllables in my head," she said with a frown. "Something about manipulating the magic inherent in frogs, but not the ones on our hooves?"

"Ah," Spike said, letting the word draw out a bit as he nodded. "Of course."

Twilight glanced up at him, he shrugged, and they moved on. Literally, into his living room.

She looked up at him as he sighed and retook his familiar four-legged stance, feeling slightly awkward now. He couldn't quite remember how to move his arms right, and his elbows felt like they were sticking out at strange angles.

"I think this will have to be the only month I rent this one," he said to her with a chuckle. "Not quite as tall as I'm used to being right now."

"I've been meaning to ask," Twilight said, question heavily implied in the short sentence, but Spike shook his head.

"Later Twi, for sure, but I'm feeling a bit tired from the long train ride right now," he said, giving her a small smile that lent a feeling of promise to his words. "I'm just learning to feel some different things right now, and my walk is part of it."

Still looking unsure, she nodded nonetheless, before glancing into the kitchen where the rest of the group was. "Just remember, you can talk with me about anything, anything at all," she insisted.

He smiled and leaned against her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezing her briefly. "Always."

With that they wandered into the kitchen where Pinkie was explaining the breakfast she'd made, gesturing to the loaded table and counters as she explained each item.

"Potato pancakes," she said, gesturing at several towers of non-uniform circles cooked to a delicious golden-brown, "and that bowl is whipped tangy cream with chives, careful with them if you don't like garlic though. And over there," several glass dishes filled with a series of confections, "are three breakfast cakes; one's cinnamon and raisin, that one's blueberry, and the last one is raspberry with macadamia nuts.

"And then," she said, conspiratorially with a magnificent grin, "the pièce de résistance, something I've been working on for a while..." She trailed off purposefully as she moved gracefully over to the ice box in the corner and pulled out a white tub, holding it up in a hoof as a splinter of light came in through the window and lit the ice crystals on the outside of it, lighting up the tub with a rhinestone sparkle.

"Omelette du Fromage," she exhaled, reverently. "The culmination of years of breakfast research sciences."

Rarity pulled a face, Twilight looked curious, AJ and Dash looked lost, while Spike just adopted a thousand-yard stare.

"Cheese omelet?" Fluttershy asked, intrigued and lost in equal parts. "Is that... egg and cheese ice cream?"

Pinkie nodded slowly, reaching up with her other hoof and removing the top of the cylinder to reveal a sunny yellowish-orange cream, calling to mind a richer, deeper orange creamsicle.

"Try it," she said, lifting a hoof and pulling a set of spoons from the air.

The rest of the group looked among themselves, before shuffling forward and taking a spoon. They dug into the cream and, as one, shared a final glance before placing the orange mound in their muzzles.

There was a silence, lasting many moments, before Spike pulled the spoon from his mouth, looking as clean as though it had gone through a dishwasher.

"Pinkie," he said slowly, his somber eyes resting on her cheery ones, "how in Tartarus did you make egg and cheese ice cream work?"

She grinned up at his question, heavily self-assured beneath eyes that danced in joy. "I'll tell you, Spike-

"It wasn't much," she said, her grin spreading and becoming almost insultingly smug.

Spike groaned at the one-liner, reaching out and giving the now giggling mare a gentle shove to her chest. "I'm never letting you check out those comics again," he said, unable to help the laugh spilling from his muzzle. "But hey, really, gimme a bowl of that."

And then they fell onto the breakfast feast, sitting around the kitchen with only a table, no chairs, and eating in between making small talk as the food steadily disappeared.

Author's Note

A horse-apple-eating grin if you will, but I didn't know how to make that fit in with the narrative. Sorry for the large gap between chapters, this covid bullshit is messing with my steeze and making it difficult to find a quiet moment to sit and scrawl. All that said, bite me, love you, hope this lightens up your weekend, and don't be shy about letting me know where you want this story to go. I got ideas, but I'm a flexible mother (B_25 knows, don'tcha sweetie :raritywink: ) so incorporation will happen if it jives with me.

...Man, what the fuck am I even talking about anymore. I'm signing off now, laters babes :heart:

Waking up in Ponyville

Spike awoke slowly, blinking in dusty sunlight. He yawned and moved to stretch his arms, but found both of them a bit heavier than usual.

He stared at the ceiling for a bit, head buzzing with sleep, before tilting his muzzle towards his left. His lips wrapped in a grin at the sight of his marefriend dozing on her stomach, his forearm under her neck, and her ears tickling his jaw now.

He gently kissed the top of her head before turning to face the other direction, the light smile slipping from his lips as a tangle of conflicted emotions passed through his mind.

Rarity's horn pointed solidly away from him, her back cuddled to his side as she snored lightly. She murmured something in her sleep, her tail flicking against his thigh before coming to rest against her haunches. He flexed his arm a bit and smiled at the feeling of her short chest fluff in his paw.

He sighed and let his head come to rest against his pillow again, playing the last few days through his mind again. He blinked lightly before pushing the thoughts out of his head.

Raising his torso, he slipped his arms from under the mares to his sides out from underneath them as gently as he could, ruffling Fluttershy's mane when she blinked at him before smiling and closing her eyes again. Scratching his neck and settling the spines along his neck, he slipped off the end of the bed and headed into the kitchen.

He blinked at the pony spread eagle on his dining table, her multicolored locks drifting as she snoozed quietly. Hearing a grunt, he looked under his table and found her marefriend, face-down on the floor with her hat resting on the back of her head.

Taking a moment to look around, he found Twilight out on his couch, on her side. A bit of her hair fluttered as she breathed, tickling her nose as she slept. He carefully moved it from her face before heading back into the kitchen.

Rattling gently in the cupboard next to his oven, Spike pulled out the metal kettle he kept around for mornings like this. Pulling a waxed bag out of the cupboard directly over the first one, he opened the top of the kettle and settled the basket inside before filling it with ground beans. The sink seemed slightly louder than normal as he filled the maker with hot water, but no one so much as stirred as he continued the routine.

Settling the kettle on the enchanted flat-top of the stove, Spike used the next few minutes to ready as many of his mugs as he could find, hoping that at least one of the group wouldn't want anything.

Rainbow started shifting when the water started boiling into the glass knob on top of the kettle. By the time Spike had poured a couple of cups she had rolled onto her belly. As he turned around she blinked at him, uncomprehending. She glanced down at the mug he put in front of her, before turning to watch Applejack crawl out from under the table and pull up a chair.

"G'mornin'," she muttered, before blowing the steam from her cup and taking a loud sip.

"Buhmurg," Rainbow croaked conversationally before tilting her nose over the cup, inhaling the strong vapors for the moment as Spike chuckled over his mug.

"She's lucky I haven't opened the curtains yet," he said to AJ, who chuckled and nodded.

"So're you though. She might've flailed then and broken your," she lifted the mug and squinted at the writing on the side, "best savior of the Crystal Empire mug."

Spike shrugged. "As good a reason to go dish shopping as any, I suppose."

Twilight trotted into the kitchen then, her eyes glassy as she smiled at the group. She took the cup Spike offered her with a nod and slowly sipped at it as he poured another for himself.

"Where's Pinkie?" she asked, glancing around.

Glancing out the window, Spike muttered, "Probably at the bakery already, it has to be around eight-thirty by now."

The three of them grimaced before starting to blow away the steam on their cups and trying to down their drinks a little faster.

"It's Sunday," he added, and Twilight breathed out in relief before nodding.

AJ frowned a bit and downed the rest of her coffee before standing. "Still gotta check on Mac. Fool gets caught up in his projects sometimes and he hurt his leg a few days ago. Gonna make sure he gets his rest and don't hurt himself today. Sugar Belle might need a break herself if he's bein' real stubborn."

Spike nodded, holding out a paw for her to bump as she waved to the duo at the table and left the house.

Rainbow slid over the tabletop and into the chair AJ had just vacated, looking sadly at the mug she'd abandoned for a bit until Twilight levitated it over to her.

"How about you Twi?" Spike asked as he leaned against a counter. "Any big plans today? Small plans?"

She shrugged, wrapping her hooves around the sides of her mug as she hummed to herself. "Probably, but I'm not sure of anything right now," she admitted. "I was probably going to hit you up unless you have something to do? I've got some library duties to catch up on as well, but I think I'm going to go easy today."

Spike nodded, smiling at her. "I'm free unless Rarity or 'Shy has something they'd like from me."

She nodded before a shy look crept over her muzzle. "Honestly," she muttered, "I'm pretty curious as to what you talked out with Cadance...?"

"Ah," Spike said, before chewing on his lip for a moment. "I'm not sure how you're going to take this, but the biggest thing is that... Well, as I told AJ last night, the three of us are trying a herd thing, and due to some stuff I'm not sure she wants me talking about, Rarity and I are going to be living together for a bit."

"Ah," Twilight said, taking a sip of her cup. "Well, I wanted you to live by yourself for a bit longer than a week, but I'm sure Cadance's reasons are stronger than mine."

Spike smirked at her, and she made a face before smiling back.

"Is Flutters okay with all this?" Rainbow croaked out, taking a drink and making a face of her own at it. "You're not just shacking up with Rarity because you two want to have another go at each other?"

Spike blinked at her a second, feeling the blood rushing to his cheeks and biting off a sharp reply as he took a breath. "I'm not sure how okay with it she honestly is, but she seems to be willing to try at least as much as the rest of us," he said carefully.

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at him before nodding smartly, glancing down at her cup for a moment before asking, "You have any milk an' sugar?"

Spike snorted before he could stop himself, smiling crookedly as he dug a bottle out of the icebox and set it on the table, adding a tray with several covered bowls a moment later.

"So where are you setting up?" Twilight asked, blinking owlishly as Rainbow added three heaping spoons of sugar from one of the bowls to her cup. "I doubt Rarity wanted to move in here, and you were saying last night about how it was a little cramped now that you're bipedal instead of quad-?"

"Right, I think for now the plan is to move me into the boutique," he said, looking around the plain kitchen and smirking at the empty cabinets. "It's quite a bit taller, and if nothing else I can slouch my neck a bit when I stand."

"Uhm, can I ask now why it is you're upright?" Twilight asked. "The curiosity has been getting to me, a little," she clarified with a slight blush.

He took a deep breath, letting it out through his nose as he considered how to word it.

"I am... giving in to my baser nature, a bit," he said slowly, closing his eyes to think a bit harder. "I've been confining myself, I think, to act a bit more like a pony." He opened his eyes and gave a soft smile, making sure to show off his canines. "But I'm not. I'm a... I'm a dragon, and I think ignoring that has been giving me some problems that I don't even really know about. Definitely a complex of some sort, I discovered up there.

"On top of that, the courts of Canterlot gave me an order of sorts," he said with a quirk to his lips. "I'm to learn how to control my growth, uhm, thing, before it happens again."

"The courts?" she asked, concern burrowing into her eyes.

"Blueblood," he said dismissively. "He caught a glance of me from his terrace or something."

"Ah, that explains something," Twilight said with a smirk as her horn lit up, summoning a folded newspaper and slapping it against the table.

Spike leaned over, glancing at the headline before placing a paw over his muzzle to stop up the laughter that threatened to wake the rest of the house.

BLUEBLOOD UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR WASTING ROYAL RESOURCES

"Well, there you go, I suppose," he said with a grin. "Yeah, he sent somepony a little too high up after me and I guess the system didn't appreciate it much. Uhm, Clear Sights, the-"

Twilight made a noise and a thin stream of coffee flew from her lips, tracking a thin line over the paper. "He sent the bucking head of JAG at you?" she said after she'd swallowed the rest of her drink. "No wonder he got in trouble, you're barely military and Sights has way better things to take care of."

"Yeah, Blue made him come give me a court marshal or however it's called."

Twilight rolled her eyes while Rainbow frowned.

"You're military?" she asked Spike.

"Nah," he said, throwing her a thumbs down. "Most of the Royals have a compulsory period in the Guard, but there's a loophole Celestia called in for me and Twi. We're both technically standing members, but then so are the rest of the elements. Celestia just pulled the strings she needed to keep us from going through the training camp. I think you're each..." He looked at Twilight, who shrugged.

"We're capable of giving orders to quite a bit of the actual standing guard during emergency times, but the rest of it we're equal to the ponies doing the paperwork behind the scenes. In the hierarchy, but not part of it?"

Spike shrugged and gestured towards her. "There you go then."

Rainbow nodded, her ears lowering from their perked position. "So I can't just go up to a guard and tell them what to do," she paraphrased, making Spike snort into his coffee mug.

"Pretty much," he said with a smile. "You're only important enough during a crisis, as far as they're concerned."

She hummed quietly, her gaze moving across the room and settling on the closed curtain.

They passed a couple of moments just sipping at their mugs, before Rainbow tilted hers back and emptied it.

"Alright then, I'm off," she said, standing. "I'm sure AJ's got Mac in a choke-hold or something, and Sugar Belle will need somepony to separate them."

Spike gave her a mock salute and Twilight nodded. Rainbow flew over to the sink and placed the empty cup in one of the basins before tapping Spike's muzzle with a hoof and flying into the living room. They heard the door open, then shut.

Spike took a sip of his drink, blinking and smiling at the sounds of hooves moving from the bedroom into the bathroom.

By the time whichever pony it was finishedand walked into the kitchen, Spike had a mug cleaned and a teabag waiting in it with a tiny pot of water heating on the stove.

He put a paw out as she neared, and ran it gently between her ears and down her smoothly brushed mane.

Rarity took the moment to rub her neck on his hip, smiling up at him at he gently pet her again, before she moved with him over to the table, sitting across from Twilight as Spike poured the not-quite-boiling water over the teabag in the cup there.

She smiled over at him, and he returned it softly.

Twilight made a soft noise, almost a sigh, before she pressed a hoof to her mouth to hide a smile.

"It's really nice to see you two looking at each other again," she replied to their questioning looks, blushing a bit and looking off to the side.

"It's nice to be looked at again," Rarity said, voice quiet and rough from sleep.

Spike snorted, moving over a bowl from the tray he'd moved onto the table to her. "As if you'd ever had a single moment when you weren't being looked at," he said, taking the top off of the pot to display the golden honey within.

"Oh tosh," she said with a blush and small smile as she levitated the honey dipper out of the dish and drizzled a bit into her cup. "I should hope there's a few moments I could have to myself."

"At least the ones from a bit ago," Twilight murmured dryly, causing Spike to cough into his mug while Rarity frowned at her.

"Bathroom humor, Twilight?" Rarity asked, causing the mare to blush a bit.

"Trixie would've laughed," she said into her cup, taking a sip.

"Trixie would laugh at a bird flying into a window," Spike pointed out, causing the other two to snort, one of them directly into the cup she'd been sipping from.

"Oh, I hope not," a wispy, sleepy voice whispered from the doorway from his bedroom slash bathroom hallway. Fluttershy had a gentle frown as she moved to sit between Rarity and Twilight. "She's been with you and Starlight long enough now to have hopefully grown up, at least a little."

Twilight considered this for a moment before shrugging. "She'd probably at least feel bad about it?"

Sighing, Fluttershy nodded and murmured something about "more than nothing" under her breath while Spike picked up the kettle and the small pot from the stove. She nodded to the kettle when he lifted them up, smiling as he slid over the tray and a not-fully-filled cup of the dark coffee.

The four of them sat there in relative silence for a moment, sipping their beverages, before Twilight sat her cup down purposefully.

"Well, I suppose I'll be off to the castle, then," she said, looking around the room. "I'll be organizing a few things, if you'd like to swing by today to talk about stuff. Otherwise, next time I see you, I think we should start talking about setting up your training," she finished, raising her eyebrows at Spike.

With a heavy sigh, he nodded. "Sounds like... a plan," he said. "Remember, go easy today?"

Nodding, Twilight pushed away from the table and walked to Spike, standing on her back legs to wrap her forelegs around his neck as he bent his knees slightly and wrapped one of his arms around her, the other holding the remains of his coffee away from them.

After several moments she slowly let go, walking over to the table and giving both of her friends the same hug before leaving the room, then the house.

Spike took a heavy sip from his mug, draining the last of it, before placing it in the sink. With a step he was by the table, and with a last motion he sat in Twilight's chair. Slowly he reached out with both paws, taking a hoof from both of the mares also sitting there.

"First real day back home, huh?" he said with a smile, the other two returning it. "I think the most pressing thing is to check up on Fluttershy's animals, then on Rarity's boutique?"

Rarity nodded, but Fluttershy finished the drink she'd been in the middle of before flicking her muzzle at her.

"You two can go ahead," she said with a small smile. "Just because we're all together now, doesn't mean we have to do every little thing together. I can keep up with my chores just fine by myself," she held up a hoof to Spike as he started to say something, smiling, "just like I've done for the last ten years. Really, you two go ahead.

"Maybe you could even take some of your stuff to the boutique, figure out what space you have?" she finished, raising an eyebrow as she stood from the table, sliding her hoof from under his paw.

Spike and Rarity shared a look, Rarity smirking at him.

"Alright then, if you're sure," he said with his own smile. "You'll let us know if you need anything though, right? I can pick stuff up real good," he said, standing and moving over to kneel by Fluttershy and giving her a gentle hug.

"Absolutely. I'll meet you both there later?"

Rarity nodded when Spike glanced at her, and they all three nodded at each other a couple times before giggling, Spike letting go of Fluttershy only when she moved over to press her hoof to Rarity's own offered one.

She trotted out of the kitchen then, making her way out of the front door as she heard the other two moving through the kitchen.

As she closed the door behind her, she leaned against it and pressed her hooves to her eyes, the nightmare she'd had last night playing through her mind again.

"He still loves you," she whispered to herself, roughly wiping away the leaked saline on her cheeks. "He's not going to stop just because of Rarity."

With these two firm phrases, she spread her wings and flew to the southeast, towards her cabin and critters.

Author's Note

Heyo guys, sorry this took so long, I got stuck hard in the middle of the chapter for some reason. Anyhow, same love same gratefulness as usual, see you boys later (but hopefully not super later)

Breakfast, on the First Day Back

Spike watched Fluttershy leave, some little feeling in the back of his mind bothering him. Frowning, he shook it from his head before looking over at Rarity. Tapping a claw for her attention, he cleared his throat.

"So, potential list for the day; we'll decide what things of mine I'll need to bring to the Carousel, then bring them over; check for any orders that have come in from your other boutiques; check up on Fluttershy, see if she needs any help, maybe have lunch with her; then check in with Twilight? How does that sound?"

Rarity took a sip from her cup as she thought. "It depends on my orders, and we should probably also do some shopping in the market after seeing Twilight."

Her stomach spoke quietly into the room, and she blushed.

"Maybe some breakfast on the way home?" she said, looking into her cup until she stopped blushing. She glanced up at Spike and the blush returned upon seeing his smirk. "Perhaps a doughnut from Pinkie's?"

Spike snorted. "We can grab a box and some coffee first if you like?"

She opened her mouth to demure before her stomach interjected with some insistence.

"Very well," she pouted as he chuckled over her, downing the rest of the dregs of her tea before standing. "Come on then Giggles, let's hurry before that happens again."

Spike made a show of standing slowly, stretching languidly before he received a used tea bag to the snout. He raised an eyebrow towards her, staring at her obstinate expression as the bag slowly gave in to gravity and fell from his nose to splat on the floor.

He gazed coolly at her, slowly raising an eyebrow as he watched a bead of sweat appear on her forehead.

"That was a mistake, dear," she attempted, stopping when Spike smiled.

"How very perceptive of you," he said, slowly standing to his full height and taking a single step towards her. His smile widened when she took a step away, and taking another when he once again moved forward.

"Now Spike, you don't need to do this," Rarity said, her knees starting to shake. "We can talk this out-"

"Oh no, dear," he said, taking another ponderous step forward. "It is quite too late for that."

She froze when she felt something flat press into her flanks, and spared a glance behind her at the cupboard she was pressed in to. Her gaze shot forward, the dragon standing before her still moving forward, slow but unstoppable.

"Very well then," she said, her ears flicking back as she gazed up at him. "Do your worst."

He came to stand before her, with her neck stretched to look up at him. Reaching out in front of his chest, he laced his fingers together and tensed his arms, giving a series of sharp cracks that made her wince. Then, he lowered his hands to her head, her ears betraying her as they pointed up and forward, quivering gently as he touched their tips softly.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Ditzy was trotting past her own house, skipping it to deliver a couple of letters to Donny, the strange pony beside her that always seemed to be at the local bowling alley. She dipped into her saddlebags, making sure there wasn't any mail for her new draconian neighbor, before she started to move on down the road.

She paused, her ears upright and flicking, when a strange, warbling noise sounded through the air. She listened as the noise started to fade away, only to rekindle in a lower pitch.

Slowly, she made her way up to the door to Spike's house, raising a hoof before faltering as the sound renewed once again.

Biting her lip and blushing for a reason she could not discern, she slowly stood on her back hooves, pressing her front hooves to the wood wall as she peeked into the window beside the door. Between a crack in the curtains, she was barely able to take in the scene on the kitchen floor, where Spike was... wrestling? With Lady Rarity? The motions weren't right for, well, making foals, but Ditzy couldn't come up with any other reason for the two of them to be squirming together on the floor.

Trotting rapidly away, she whispered, "Definitely a sex thing," as she attempted to control her tail's side to side motions.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

A bit later, the front door opened, and Rarity drug herself out onto the stoop, panting and red, her ears twitching and flicking randomly.

"When did... you become... such a, such a brute," she asked between gulps for air.

She shivered when a shadow passed over her, looking up as Spike offered her his paw. He had the largest, most toothsome grin she'd ever seen from him, and his eyes glinted mischievously.

"Why, Lady Rarity," he said, affecting a deep pitch into his voice that made her skin break into goose bumps. "I have always been a brute. I merely hid it as to not insult your delicate sensibilities." His grin shrunk, slowly. "Are you alright?" he asked in his usual tone. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She took a moment to think about it, making a show of the ordeal, before lifting a hoof and booping his snout.

"I'm okay, darling," she said, with a crooked smile. "Though next time, I may ask Fluttershy to borrow her bear. Maybe if he sits on you, I'll be able to tickle you half to death."

He snorted, sneezing lightly, before he gently grabbed her torso and lifted her to her hooves.

"Good luck, me and Harry have an agreement." He gently brushed her fur with the sides of his paws, swiping away the dirt and dust that barely stuck to her coat. He paused when he felt a trembling, and he pulled back to look her in the eyes.

She hiccuped and looked away quickly, schooling her expression, but Spike had seen it before she could. The constricted pupils, the fast heartbeat he could feel pounding through her system, her shallow breaths.

"Sorry," he said, starting to pull his paws away slowly.

He froze when she lifted a foreleg and wrapped it around his wrist, holding him to hover in between them as Rarity took another, much deeper breath.

"No, Spike, I am sorry," she said, the shake in her voice working itself out as she continued, "I should be this riled up just from you getting close to me. I-I-"

She gave him a small smile that screamed Sorry.

"I think it's because you breathed on my neck, when you leaned in?"

"Ah," he said, nodding. He gently, firmly pulled away his paw, leaving it to entwine with his other digits for a moment before he let his arms flop beside him. "To the boutique then?"

She reached out with the hoof still hovering in the air, touching his hip uncertainly. He sighed, but didn't turn her away again, just ran a claw up her leg and patting the shoulder he eventually came to, before crouching and bringing his face closer.

"Rarity, at this point it's natural for you to still be afraid of me," he said, softly, as he kept her gaze. "But it's also natural for my feelings to be hurt over it. We'll get over it, one of us sooner than the other," he smirked at her, "but it's also okay to feel these things. It's the letting go that's important, at the end."

She stared at him, her lips parted and her eyes widened.

"Why Spike, how much time exactly did you spend with Cadence?"

He snorted, smiling again. "That tidbit is from Celestia, actually," he told her, letting the paw on her shoulder fall as he righted himself. "C'mon then, the bou-"

A growling interrupted him, again, and he put a paw to his snout to hide his grin.

"Apologies! To the bakery first," he said, bowing to her as she flushed crimson and scowled up her snout at him. "I must have forgotten sometime between tickling your ears and pinning you-"

Letting out a high-pitched laugh, Rarity placed her hoof on top of Spike's paw and leaned on it, giving him a look.

Spike gazed back at her. "Rarity, I've been wrestling with a bear, a couple of alligators, and even a young manitcore that didn't want its booster shots. You could pogo on those toes, if it makes you feel better," he told her, deadpan.

She pouted at him, and he pulled a long, deep sigh before he put his forearm up to his forehead, calling out, "Oh, woe is me, T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see!"

He pulled in another breath, ready to continue, but Rarity sighed and started walking away.

"You've been hanging around Pinkie Pie too much," she said dryly, unable to help her smile when he caught up with her, grinning. "Or maybe Discord himself. Has he returned yet?"

Spike shook his head, waving at a passing pony who had waved at him. "No, he's still on his jaunt. Fluttershy keeps correspondence of course, but he's having a blast out discovering..." Spike scratched his chin. "Stuff," he finished, waving a paw in front of his muzzle dismissively.

"Pass along my..." Her muzzle screwed up for a moment. "My best wishes?"

Spike let out a couple of short laughs, before nodding. "Sure, sure," he said with a smile. "I'll even leave out the fact that we were talking about him beforehand, so he doesn't think I accidentally had to goad you into thinking about him."

Rarity sighed, before looking around and whispering to Spike, "You know, some ponies still think that talking about him too much summons him."

They both paused in the road, looking around uneasily, before shrugging and continuing the walk.

"Check your pastry," Spike advised. "There was a time when I bit into a doughnut and it... it..." Spike shivered, at such an intensity to almost be a convulsion. "It made some noises that were too appreciative."

She shivered, a small and ladylike gagging noise making its way out of her throat. "Indeed," she said weakly.

They walked in silence for a bit, each lost in their own horror until they reached the bright store.

The bell jingled brightly as Spike pushed the door aside, ducking to enter the shop and smiling over at the mass of pink and hair that was bouncing in place.

"Heya Spike, Rarity!" Pinkie called from the other side of the counter, their side having a line of four. "See you sooooooon~!"

Spike chuckled while Rarity smiled and waved back, before they got in line and began discussing the variety of baked goods on proud display behind glass so clean you almost couldn't see it at all. Spike even took a second to tap on it, to be sure something hadn't happened to the case.

Spike noticed a couple of questioning looks shot his way, up at his new height, but was quickly distracted when Rarity nudged his hip with her shoulder.

"Look here Spikey-" She paused when he winced, and she cleared her throat. "I mean, look here Spike, it looks like they just put out some fresh eclair doughnuts, is that too rich for breakfast?"

"Well, it is a doughnut," he pointed out with a chuckle. "I'm sure it's not as bad as Pinkie's 'Party Cannon Pudding Smash Surprise', so I'm sure you could handle it."

Rarity shivered a bit at the mention of the one-time-only surprise that Pinkie had only given her once.

"Indeed," she said, looking at the chocolate frosted pastry. "Two for me, I believe I shall need the energy today. How about you Spike, they have those little quiche you seemed to like so much," she mumbled, looking at the single serving of tiny tart.

"I liked those because they're what got the least amount of harping from you if I ordered six," he said with a smirk.

She made a face up at him before turning back to the line. Lyra stood in front of them, staring vacantly up at the ceiling, while Berry Punch seemed to be ordering enough for a small army in front of her. Pinkie was quick though, and had the two ponies off with bulging saddlebags in minutes.

"And for the happy new slash old slash recently herded up?" she asked with anoverdone wink when Rarity came to rest in front of the register.

Spike blew a raspberry while Rarity said, "I'll take two of the creamed chocolate eclair doughnuts, and a cup of Earle Grey tea please." She then politely nudged Spike in a shin with her hoof, nodding to the Pinkie.

"Can I get a couple of the egg croissants, with hay bacon and cheddar slices, a large mug of coffee, and a cinnamon roll," he ordered, flicking three digits up and counting them down as he went.

Rarity side-eyed him right until Pinkie said, "Right, the regular!" with a happy giggle.

Rarity sighed as Spike pulled out his purse with his own chuckles, placing the coins on the counter while Pinkie assembled their 'eat-in' tray. Rarity took it in her magic as Pinkie slid it on the counter, floating it over to a table as Spike followed along.

"Your regular, hmm?" Rarity asked as Spike snagged his drink from the tray.

"Oh yeah, Pinkie knows what the good stuff is," he murmured, before taking a slow pull from the steaming cup. "She also knows that Dragons eat differently than Ponies," he said pointedly.

Rarity opened her mouth to argue, before slowly closing her muzzle.

"Of course you do," she said, hey eyes and shoulders drooping as she looked him over, from his neck hovering over the table itself to the tip of his tail, wrapping around the legs of her chair to keep it out of the walkway. "I mean, you're only twice my mass, and your body uses it's muscles and organs differently, so I'm sure you process food in other ways than mine as well."

Spike snorted and raised a paw to ruffle her hair gently.

"I know you mean well," he said warmly, with a small smile. "I just don't think I have to worry about fats and cholesterol like somepony like, say, your dad would."

Rarity blushed and flapped her hooves at his arm, before carefully smoothing her hair back into place.

"Now, speaking of, how has your dad been?" he asked, taking a bite out of one of his croissant sandwiches.

"You know, it's funny you asked," she said, dropping her teabag in to the steaming cup next to her doughnuts. "He was just asking after you the other day in a letter..."

And they took their time there, catching up on the last couple of month's worth of gossip and their life's goings-on.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Fluttershy wiped at a bead of sweat flowing between her eyes, flicking it away as she looked gratefully up at Harry with a smile.

"I guess it's been a while since I had to move one of these bags myself," she said, before grunting and hefting the last bag of seed from up her basement and into her outdoor storage shed. Harry let her pass, three of the bags on his back as he slowly maneuvered towards the open door.

Harry grumbled and growled under his breath, and Fluttershy set her bag down and flicked her bangs out of her eyes before saying, "He's on a date right now, with-"

The bear stood upright on his hind legs, letting out a disbelieving growl as he turned towards Ponyville, pushing up on his arms as though rolling up his sleeves.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Fluttershy called, dropping her own bag and darting in front of the bear, standing on her rear legs and gently pressing her forehooves against his chest, stopping the lumbering creature in its tracks. "I know about it, whoa. It's Miss Rarity, the white unicorn? We've..."

She blushed, looking down at the grass.

"We've formed a herd with her," she muttered, her heart squirming in her chest.

She wondered if it was from jealousy, or just from the thought of her drake-friend and mare-friend. Her herd-mates? Was that a more serious label than she was ready for? How did Spike and Rarity feel-

She felt a bit of vertigo as her front legs lost their bracing, Harry gently catching her by the barrel as she fell down.

"Oh, sorry there Harry," she said, smiling and running her hoof along his jaw. "I guess I got lost woolgathering. But really, it's okay, I'm... I'm also in the relationship, with her. And him." She paused, before tacking on, "With them."

Harry made a low, keening growl in his throat, and Fluttershy burst out laughing.

"It's confusing to me, too," she said, wiping away a tear with a primary feather. With a small giggle, she kissed his nose before trotting over to the bag she'd dropped. "But we'll figure it out, together," she said firmly, picking up the bag in her mouth and tossed it over her shoulders. "Let's get the rest of this seed put away, and then we can take a nice breakfast break, okay?"

Harry grunted, looking towards the town in the distance before walking over and picking up the sacks in either arm and waddling towards the shed.

His spirits lifted a bit, though, when she pulled out a wax paper satchel that smelled of filleted fish out of the enchanted ice box as they headed into the cottage and towards the dinner table.

Author's Note

Ooph, been a while huh? Sorry about that, got a bit bogged down in the middle and then lost my job and bluh bluh bluh. Whatever. Got a new chapter up, and broke 100,000 words! Wow! I truly never expected to take this thing more than, like, ten chapters tops, and it's grown into this whole thing :pinkiegasp:

Geeze. Anyhow, thanks so much guys for reading, and again, see you next chapter :heart:

Wait, Who?

"Hmm. Do you think I should order a bigger one?"

"I think the one you have is well and big enough for all of us."

"Well, I do want to be sure Fluttershy is happy with it. Are you sure it would be big enough for her?"

"I don't think she worries about size as much as you do."

"Well, it must be of a certain size, dear. No one likes one that is too small after all."

"It still needs to fit, Rares."

"I know, I know, but surely with a bit of time, work, and a good application of grease, anything could fit."

Spike sighed, rubbing his forehead as they stood at the baseboard of Rarity's four-poster bed. "Rarity, really, I think there's plenty of room on this thing to hold all three of us, and maybe Harry too. And again, Fluttershy isn't the type of pony to judge anything based on purely its size. That's a Canterlot thing.

"Plus," he said, looking around the room, "a bigger bed would just start to crowd out the rest of the room, wouldn't it? And you'd have to match your tables," he said as he pointed to the two small dressers, topped with matching lamps.

Rarity gazed around the room, at all of her matching and precisely placed furniture. Biting her lip, she looked up at Spike and started to ask, "Are you-?"

Laughing, Spike placed the palm of one paw over her nose and muzzle. "I'm sure, I'm sure."

Snorting, Rarity glared up at him until he removed his paw, clearing her throat with a pointed 'hem-hem' before saying, "Very well, if you're sure." She was quiet for a tic before muttering, "Still going to ask her though."

Snickering, Spike nodded before walking over to the door that didn't lead out onto the landing of the second floor. "As you will," he said, before opening the door and peering inside. "Wow, you've cleaned out since the last time I saw your closet," he said, whistling as he looked over the smaller room.

"Well, winter is coming dear, and with it racks of new dresses and ideas!" she said, prancing in place with a squee before stopping and clearing her throat again. "A lady must be prepared," she said with a sniff.

"R-i-ght," Spike said, drawing out the i. "Any case, I'm glad that Flutters only keeps a drawer or two's worth of clothing around," he said, idly glancing through Rarity's dress selection.

"Oh dear, she doesn't fold her dresses, does she?"

Spike snorted before shutting the door. "No, but if she wants to keep something warm over here, it's probably not going to be a dress," he said, placing the tip of his claw gently on her nose. "Luckier still, I also don't have much clothing, so your closet is destined to be all yours."

Rarity paused for a moment, looking over at the door before giving Spike a small smile. "Would it be rude of me to admit that I'm relieved?"

"Not rude, just pointing out the obvious," he said, giving her a smirk before moving out of the room and down the stairs. He paused at the bottom of the staircase, looking around the main landing of the boutique before he glanced back up at Rarity, paused four steps up.

"It's sobering," he said, looking around the space, "realizing how little stuff I have. What's the list? A single bed relegated back to Twilight's castle for the time being, and a few boxes and bookshelves of O and O stuff. The couch and stuff belong to the apartment. I guess there was a couple of shelves of comics I haven't read or kept up with for years. My two mugs." He glanced up at Rarity. "What have I been doing the last four years, even?"

He watched Rarity as she took a small breath, looking conflicted for a moment before saying, "Me?"

He snorted, placing the back of a paw onto his nose.

"I was hoping that'd help," she sighed before she joined him on the landing and nudged him with her hip.

"I'd say something deep about living in the here and now instead of lingering in the past, but I don't think I have that right," she said, gazing around the boutique critically and adjusting a hat bust with her magic. "The only thing I can really think to say is, well, I love you, and I am here for you this time."

Smiling, Spike lowered his head and gave her a quick peck on her lips.

His head jolted up when he heard a small squeak from the door. Glancing that way, he smiled at the mare smiling at them behind a curtain of pink hair, holding a picnic basket.

"Hey there 'Shy," he said with a chuckle, walking over to the mare stuttering at the door. "Nice to see you for lunch," he murmured, before reaching down and gently pulling her muzzle up. He placed his lips on hers, silencing her squeaking stuttering before he pulled away, smiling at her.

She grinned up at him and squeaked again, before she cleared her throat and said, "Hi. I, uhm, brought over some fresh vegetables. I thought we could eat and catch up on how the move's going?"

"Oh, the move's done," Spike said, gently taking the basket and walking towards the kitchen. "Turns out, I live like a monk devoted to minimalism. I only had, what, three boxes?" he asked Rarity, who nodded. "Most of that's under her bed now."

"Our bed," Rarity said, inclining her head to Fluttershy. "I wanted to get your input on it as well."

"Oh, there's no need," Fluttershy started.

"I insist," Rarity cut off, lifting an eyebrow and smiling at her. "After all, I do have every hope of you two joining me at some point, and I want all of us to be comfortable."

Fluttershy blushed and bit her lip slightly, before smiling and nodding.

"And how exactly were you planning on making sure we all fit, Miss Rarity?" Spike asked over his shoulder as he moved into the kitchen, placing the basket on the table as he started poking through it. "Fluttershy might have something to do after lunch, you pervert you."

Rarity made a smothered noise in her throat while Fluttershy giggled and sat one of the chairs around the table.

"Yeah, uh-huh," Spike murmured at her, raising an eyebrow with a grin at Fluttershy before pulling out some carrots, an onion, a head of cauliflower, and some potatoes. "We both know about your plans and your 'Afternoon Delight's."

Fluttershy pressed her hooves to her snout while Rarity sighed and gave up, sitting next to her.

"So, Fluttershy," she said, turning away from Spike, "how has your day gone? Did all of your animals do well in your absence?"

"Well," she said, looking down at her hooves for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, "when I looked over everything this morning everything was mostly good except for my bags of birdseed. I found the leftovers of them with holes in the corners, so I think some naughty dears must have gone through the whole things." She frowned. "I hope they didn't give themselves stomachaches," she murmured worriedly.

Spike snorted from the sink he was at, rinsing the veggies before placing them on a cutting board. "It was probably the squirrels," he said, opening a drawer and pulling out a short, squarish knife. "I hope they shared," he muttered as he started peeling some of the food on the board.

"Oh, dear," Fluttershy said, frowning further. "I hope so too, there are only three families and they went through a full bag."

Spike paused and snorted, hiding a smirk, before continuing his prep.

"But everything else was fine?" Rarity asked, leaning in a bit. "No new friends under your bed or couch or anything?"

"Like, babies? Oh no," Fluttershy giggled. "It's a little late in the year for those kinds of surprises. Oh, but, I did get to see one of the porcupettes this morning! His little waddle was so cute," she squeaked, giggling and pressing her hooves together. "He ran away from me at first, but his momma introduced us and he is just so sweet."

Rarity giggled and smiled back, more at Fluttershy than her tale. "Well I'm glad to hear you had a good morning," she said, raising a hoof to Fluttershy.

Hesitating for a moment, Fluttershy quickly raised her own hoof and pressed back against Rarity's with a smile. "What about you two?" she asked, looking back over to Spike chopping away at the board. "What have you been doing after the move?"

"Mostly just going around the boutique," Spike said back, kneeling for a moment and pulling out a large shallow pan and placing it on the stove-top. "Discussing what could need to be replaced or moved to better situate it for the three of us. I know," he said, pausing and looking at Fluttershy, "that you're not sure about, like, fully moving in, but we both still want this to be a more comfortable place for you.

" We wanna see you here often and whatnot," he said with a thin smile before dumping some of the vegetables and a bit of oil into the pan and lighting the range.

Fluttershy frowned and started to object, but Rarity's lifted eyebrow was enough to stop her.

"Fluttershy," she said, leaning forward. "I know that we don't have to. I know that I don't have to," she said, raising a leg to gently place her hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, "but I want to. I want to have every excuse possible to invite you here, to be with me, and to be with us."

Fluttershy blushed, smiling down at the table and over at Spike (who was smiling over his shoulder) and then back to Rarity.

"That sounds nice," she said, pausing before winking. "Eventually."

Rarity leaned back and let her laughter fill the room, Spike's gentle chuckling adding to the base sounds.

"Eventually then," Rarity said, wiping a tear from one of her eyes before scooting her chair closer and wrapping her forelegs around Fluttershy. "But not too long.

"Spike," she said, still holding on to Fluttershy but mock glaring over at the drake, "in his infinite gentledrakeness, has refused to," she paused, lifting an eyebrow before whispering into Fluttershy's ear, the yellow mare turning a beet red, "until you two do so first. And a mare has needs, you'll no doubt know."

She squeaked again, holding her hooves up to her mouth. "Th-th-that's no-no-not nec-nec-nec-"

"Oh, I know dear," Rarity said, sighing and throwing her hoof up to rest below her horn, leaning over and against Fluttershy, "but I'm afraid he insists, and unfortunately I do not believe it to be a horrible idea. He's just getting a kick out of teasing me, I swear to Celestia," she sighed, fluttering her eyelashes up at the ceiling.

"You leave my mom out of your bedroom talk," Spike called over the sizzling of the vegetables, before stage whispering to himself, "you hussy."

"Hussy! Hussy he says!" Rarity positively crowed, throwing herself into a giggling Fluttershy's lap. "Such an insult I have weathered before, but from my paramour directly! Oh, the stain! Oh, my heartbreak! Oh-"

"Oh your mouth," Spike said, grabbing a wooden spoon from a drawer and stirring the pan, smells of carrot and onion and garlic filling the room.

"Speaking of," Rarity said, dropping her pretenses and sitting upright, primping her hair back into style, "that smells heavenly Spike. What are you planning for that medley?"

"Some veggie stock, some rice," he said, pulling a pot from the cabinets and filling it with water before plunking it down on the stove. "Some spices," he said blandly, opening the cupboard next to and above her range, the clattering of glass jars audible.

"Some spices?" Rarity asked, licking her lips and praying the sweat wasn't showing. "Which ones, Spike?"

A chuckle was his only answer.

"Oh," Rarity said, her ears drooping a bit. "I was afraid you'd say that." She turned with a sigh. "Did you know that, once, I brought dear Spike leftovers from one of the spicier dishes at The Tasty Treat that I couldn't finish? He loved it so much that he asked me to introduce him to the chef. One, one, weekend later, he was whipping up the spiciest things," she said, biting her lip at the memory as a shiver worked over her coat. "I couldn't see clients after certain lunches without accidentally," another shiver, "burping fire at them. Me! Belching! Ugh."

Fluttershy giggled at the thought, while Spike wasn't half as conservative with his chuckling.

"But the taste Rarity! You never, ever, once ever complained about the flavor," he said, tapping the sizzling pan with the edge of his spoon.

She sighed, nodding. "No, no I didn't," she admitted, nodding. "Just the same, I'm glad I don't have any clients scheduled for today. Or the rest of the week," she said, narrowing her eyes at the paper calendar on her fridge. "Thanks to some-drake, I had to cancel all of my appointments. At the last minute too, for some of them."

Spike sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear," Rarity said, her expression falling. "That was supposed to just be another jab, you're much more important to me than some silly pony's complaints."

He smiled over his shoulder at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I know Rarity, but..." He paused, sighed, and put his spoon aside and turned around, saying, "But that's one of the things you used to complain about. Me trying to set up dates or lunches, and you'd tell me that you had a client that day, and lecture me about how bad it looks for you to cancel appointments suddenly."

Rarity flinched, frowning as she bit her lip and quietly thought to herself.

"Oh, well, damn," she said quietly. "I'm, I'm so sorry Spike. Uhm," she said, rolling a hoof through the air. "Uhm, I feel like I could justify myself, or just apologize, so again, I'm sorry Spike."

He smiled back at her, genuinely this time, nodding as he said, "Yeah, thank you."

Rarity gave him a sad smile as he turned around, but it just wouldn't stay. After a moment she put her head on the table, her eyes distant as she stared at Spike's back.

"How many others?"

"Hmm?"

"How many other things like that did I do to you?"

Spike shrugged, tossing the vegetables around the pan. "I didn't keep track. Felt mean to do. Plus it... It started adding up too quickly."

Rarity sighed and nodded. "You'll bring it up now, though, right?" She didn't quite give him long enough to reply before she tacked on, "Please?"

He nodded, reaching over and checking the pot next to the pan on the stove before giving it a stir. "I promise," he said easily, nodding to himself and the hot dishes before him as he reached up into a different cabinet and withdrew three bowls. He ladled the rice into them first before pouring a bit of the vegetable mixture over it, which had become a thick golden-brown gravy.

Placing one of the bowls on his forearm, he pulled three spoons out of a drawer before grabbing the other two bowls in his paws and turning around.

"Enough of that though," he said, taking a couple of steps and placing the bowls before the ladies and grabbing a chair for himself. "If you're wanting to get all of us crying, then wait until the spice hits so we have an excuse."

Rarity and Fluttershy chuckled, Rarity stopping Spike from completely sitting down. "Uhm, I have some bottles of milk in my fridge, please?"

Chuckling, Spike walked over to the fridge and opened it. "Do you want a glass or a bottle?"

Rarity opened her mouth to reply, but paused to sniff delicately at the food in front of her. "Erm, a bottle, if you will, please."

Chuckling, Spike withdrew two bottles, about a quart apiece, and grabbed two glasses from the cupboard. He set one of the bottles right beside Rarity's bowl, before pouring a glass and setting it beside Fluttershy's.

Settling, he cleared his throat before looking around the table, smirking as Rarity swallowed dryly. Picking up his spoon, he twirled it once between his digits before looking across the table.

"Feel free to begin," he said, before taking a heaping spoonful and placing it in his mouth.

Fluttershy copied him, shivering at the first taste and humming before taking another spoonful. "It's very good Spike, thank you for making lunch for us."

"Of course," he said with a smile before he cocked an eyebrow as Rarity gathered up her first spoonful. "Oh, and Rares?" She paused and looked at him, and he gave her a wide grin as he said, "I just wanted you to know that I held back, before. Not this time."

Rarity eyed the dish again and sighed. "Of course," she murmured, before visibly steeling herself and taking the first bite.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Fluttershy scraped the bottom of her bowl gently, piling up the rest of the coated rice and gravy into a last bite. After swallowing, she took a final sip of her glass, sighing and smiling over at Spike. "That was perfect," she said, giggling as he wiped his lips before stretching over to kiss her gently.

"I'm glad you thought so too," he said with a smile, before returning his gaze to beside her. "Are you almost done with yours?"

Rarity didn't reply for a moment, much too busy staring at the ceiling vacantly, slowly smacking her cherry-red lips together. Her ear twitched, and she lowered her head in a slow, loose rolling of the neck to stare down at her bowl. She blinked vacantly at the small mound of food left there, maybe a fourth of her serving.

"Rarity?" Spike asked, concern starting to eke into his voice. "I know we've been having a time out of making fun, but don't feel like you need to finish it if it's actually hurting you," he said, reaching a paw out to her.

Some animal part of her brain activated, and she let out a short, guttural growl before her hooves slammed onto the table and she scooped up the bowl, tossing it back and emptying the food into her mouth. With a keening whimper, she audibly swallowed the lot of it. With an exhalation, she dropped the bowl to the tabletop and grabbed the bottle of milk and threw her head back, draining it.

"Well alright then," Spike said, his paw landing flat on the table between them as he watched her pant for a second.

A growling, grinding, rumbling noise began to fill the small room, and Rarity lowered her muzzle and covered the very tip of her mouth and nose.

"Rarity?" Spike had time to ask, before she dropped her hoof and her jaw to begin what Spike was sure was a record rending belch, starting from the very bottom of her stomach and ricocheting its way up her windpipe, accompanied by a thin, bright, butane-blue gout of flame that completely enveloped Spike's entire head.

After a moment of surprise, Fluttershy leaned back and away from the torrent of fire being released from her marefriend, pressing a hoof to her own mouth to keep back either a giggle or a scream, she wasn't sure.

Spike was either entranced or uncomprehending, staying completely still for the entirety of the flame. Once Rarity had it out of her system, the flame died as abruptly as the ear-shattering squall, leaving Spike's soot-covered, deadpanning face to stare at her, slowly raising an eyebrow ridge.

"That was a full minute, Rarity," he said, reaching across the table and sliding the bowl away from her. "You'd have the record if you'd kept it up for, like, fifteen more seconds."

"Excuse me, dear," she said back, vacantly dabbing at her bottom lip with glassy eyes.

Shaking his head, Spike grinned nonetheless as he grabbed the bowls and stood to give them a quick rinse, along with his cooking utensils, before ducking his head under the spout and rinsing the soot away. Stopping the flow of water he blindly reached out and grabbed a kitchen towel before using it to dry his head.

As he loaded the sink-load into the dish cleanser between the stove and the sink, he heard Fluttershy murmuring at the table. Closing the swing-down door, he turned.

"Did she hurt herself?"

Fluttershy giggled as she fed Rarity another glass of milk from her own cup. "Maybe a little, but nothing that she isn't strong enough to recover from in a bit. Maybe next time you make a curry we can go the mild route?"

"So, what, four tabasco peppers instead of five?" he asked, frowning.

"How about one or two," Fluttershy giggled, patting Rarity gently on the back and getting another, much shorter belch followed by a hiccup and a quiet, "Excuse me."

He creased his eyebrows and scowled heavily at her, before shrugging and smiling. "I'll stick to something less extreme next time," he promised, turning around and returning the spices to the cabinet. Holding up the tall glass cylinder, he narrowed his eyes at the pods inside of it. "These might be bird's eye chilies," he muttered.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy giggled, pressing a hoof to her mouth to hold back her smile. "I thought it was quite spicy."

"Hmph," Spike snorted, before putting the rest of the stuff back into the cupboard and walking over to Rarity, bending his knees and placing a paw on her shoulder. "You okay?" he asked, tapping her nose a couple of times. "Anypony home?"

Rarity hiccuped again and muttered something under her breath before absently running her tongue up his finger. "Terribly rude of you to keep that candy cane from me, darling," she muttered when he whipped his paw away before she resumed blinking up at the ceiling.

Spike and Fluttershy both shared a worried glance before Spike spread his arms and his paws. Waiting for Fluttershy to cover her ears, he slammed his palms together with a massive THWAK.

Rarity flinched and blinked, blinked, blinked, before making a quiet whining noise in her throat and reaching out for the glass of milk with both hooves.

After draining half of it, she gave Spike one of the dirtiest looks he'd ever received from anypony.

"If you want to kill me then just do it," she squeaked, before swishing with another drink of the milk. "Or is this payback?"

Spike snorted, gently clapping a paw onto Rarity's shoulder as he looked at Fluttershy. "Yeah, she'll be okay," he said, clapping Rarity's shoulder again before retaking his seat. "So, what're we doing for the rest of the day?" he asked the table, settling his weight onto his elbows placed on the table. "I've been moved, Fluttershy's dealt with her birdseed, and Rarity has regained both her consciousness and her sanity. I'm open for the rest of the day, so...?" he finished, letting the last word dangle meaningfully.

"Oh, well, I needed to restock most of my animal feeds, but I did that easily enough from my storage," Fluttershy said, scratching an ear. "Uhm, I should check over my chickens and some of the smaller mammals, to make sure they haven't had any troubles with some of my more carnivorous friends."

"I don't have much honestly," Rarity murmured, setting down her glass. "I could do some designing, but I suppose getting my appointment schedule back up and running should take precedence."

Spike nodded. "Alright, then I could help you with the written side of that, I remember your format well enough I think. How many-"

A knocking interrupted, from the front of the boutique.

Spike cocked his head and glanced at Rarity, who shrugged. "I don't have anypony supposed to come over today. Maybe it's a package?" She touched her lips with a wince and fluttered her eyelashes at Spike. "Would you mind?"

Snorting, Spike gave her a small grin and moved through the building to answer the door, smiling back at Fluttershy as he heard her peek around the doorway.

Facing the door, he lowered his head as he opened it. "I'm sorry, but the boutique-"

"Spike Ignis?" the pony outside of the door deadpanned, looking up at him. It was the same dark, wine-colored pony from the train station that had been so terse with him. "I don't know if you remember me, but Princess Celestia has assigned me to assist you in your training to understand your powers better."

"We know each other?" Spike asked before his brain hiccuped and he said, "Help me understand my 'powers' better?"

She looked up at him for a moment before she smirked.

"Princess Celestia thought my training under the Storm King might assist you in the control of your emotions," she said, before sticking a hoof out to him. "I don't go by the name anymore, but you probably remember me better under his name for me.

"It used to be Tempest Shadow," she said, still smirking up at him, "but I go by my birth name these days. Captain Fizzlepop Berrytwist, sir, of her highness's Airship Battery Squadron."

Author's Note

I struggled briefly with whether or not to include her, but this is so far removed from any sort of cannon by this point that I just kind of said "Fuckit, why not."

So. Hope the read was good :rainbowlaugh: :heart:

Partial Chapter, followed by News

"Oh," Spike said, blinking before he shook his head roughly. "I mean, oh, uhm, hi Tempest- Uhm, Fizzle-." He gulped. "Err, Berrytwist?"

"Any of those works, sir," she said smartly, giving him a nod while retaining her smirk. "Though my soldiers usually stick to Captain Tempest, and my commanders tend towards Captain Berrytwist or Fizzle."

Spike hesitated for a moment, before asking, "Captain Tempest then?"

She laughed, tossing her head back and sitting down in the doorway. Wiping at her eyes, she shook her head. "No Spike, I owe you more than that. Just Tempest, or Fizzle. Fizzlepop if you're feeling figgy."

She chuckled when Spike blushed. "Ah, sorry, not used to being around royals anymore."

"Oh no," Spike said with a smile, "I can appreciate a dirty joke, but that one's closer to the line than I'm used to hearing. Uhm, oh, come... in...?"

He looked over his shoulder and called over his shoulder, "Ladies, this guest is one to stay," before he moved out of the doorway and gestured towards the open kitchen door. He watched Tempest raise one of her eyebrows before she moved in past him, pausing next to him as he shut the door.

Fluttershy popped her head out of the doorway again, glancing at him curiously until she spotted Tempest and froze, squeaking a couple of words.

"Yes ma'am, Tempest Shadow," Tempest said, dipping her head to Fluttershy. "Nice to see you again, Miss Fluttershy."

"Temp-," Spike interrupted himself, frowning, before saying, "Fizzle's here as a part of that training that Celestia wanted me to undergo, to control my draconic side."

"Oh," Fluttershy breathed out, nodding to Spike as Fizzlepop pulled out a notepad and used a charcoal pencil to write something down on it. "Right, sorry. I know it's been years, but I can be kind of jumpy," she said with a small smile.

"I've been briefed as such," Fizzlepop said absently, finishing her note and slipping the charcoal stick back into the loop onto the side of the pad before stowing it. "I know we didn't really interact much before-"

She stopped talking as Rarity poked her head out, around Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Miss Rarity," she said in greeting, her eyebrows scrunching in the middle. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Just lunch, Miss, uhm, Berrytwist," she said, wincing a little as she smiled politely. "I heard from the kitchen that you intend to train our drake? Would you care for some tea or coffee while we talk?"

"Oh, I'll take a coffee," she said, the crease between her eyebrows growing as she let herself be bustled over to the kitchen table.

"Uhm, I wasn't prepared for this to be a conversation," she said, sitting at the last of the chairs around the table. "I came here to talk with Spike and set up a schedule and a place for us to practice. I'm not sure what there is to talk about."

"Oh, we're just curious as to what shape his training will take," Rarity said lightly, filling a kettle from her sink before setting in on the stove-top.

Fizzle's mouth started dipping at the corners. "Well, I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I'm not sure that's anypony's business beyond mine and Spike's," she said, her mouth fulling forming a frown.

Rarity's ears twitched and she opened her mouth around her own frown but paused when Spike straightened up.

"I see you weren't fully briefed on every aspect of me at least," he chuckled. "We're a recently formed group, a herd," he said, gesturing from his chest to Fluttershy and Rarity. "You can speak as openly with them as you would with me," Spike said, frowning before adding, "Maybe not as guard-like, they're ladies."

"Oh, I see," Fizzle said, leaning back and letting the wrinkle between her eyes relax, before one brow quirked up. "Lucky drake. Congratulations."

He smirked through the blush, dipping his head her way.

"If I may pry, has there been a ceremony, or is this...?" she asked, trailing off.

"We're still just dating," Rarity said, pulling a solid mug out of her cabinets and putting a couple of spoonfuls of dark dust into it from a tin. "Dating with intent, I'd like to think," she said with a wink to Fluttershy that made both of them blush slightly, "but just dating right now."

Fizzlepop hummed and nodded, smiling gratefully as Rarity passed her the mug after filling it with steaming water from the kettle.

"Well, if you need security for the event, feel free to call upon me. I've done less for lower nobles on the rung," she said, blowing on her drink and taking a sip.

Rarity giggled, but Tempest blinked when Fluttershy did little more than blush and smile a bit.

"So, to steer us away from that for a moment," Spike said, clearing his throat, "what did you have in mind for me, Fizzle?"

She hummed again, looking Spike over. "From what I've heard, you're able to keep changes localized, like when you forced wings to allow flight from the Empire to Canterlot. We need to dig into how exactly you did that, and find a way for you to have complete control over it. After that, we figure out all the ways you can control the magic innate to you and how you can use them most effectively."

Spike frowned. "Use them effectively for what?" he asked, tone low.

Fizzlepop snorted, sipping her drink.

"Whatever you want to use them for, I assume," she said lightly. "I came here to train you, not enlist you, and have been given no orders otherwise."

Spike narrowed his eyes at her, and she smirked as she narrowed her own back. Rarity glanced between both of them before she rolled her eyes and trotted back over to the table, sitting on the other side from Fluttershy.

After a moment, Spike sighed and relaxed a bit. "Alright, fair. Can I ask who gave you your orders, then?"

"Big Sun herself," Fizzle said, glancing over at Rarity when the mare made a noise. "Ah, Princess Celestia."

"I assumed," Rarity said as she hid her smile behind a hoof. "Code name, or pet name?"

"Both," Spike said with a grin. "But it's too on the nose to use unless the code could either apply to her or the star itself."

Fizzlepop lifted the mug to Spike before taking another sip. Glancing at the mare sitting between herself and the drake, she asked, "Sorry, but do you happen to have any milk?"

Rarity shot Spike a dirty look before saying, "I'm sorry, but we've recently run out," as Spike whistled tunelessly.

"Uh-huh," Fizzle said, smiling gently over at Fluttershy as she giggled. "In-joke, gotcha."

"I made something spicy for lunch," Spike said as he waved his paw through the air. "But, once again, to get us back on track. Training?"

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

They set up a schedule quickly, and Fizzle left the group to settle herself more fully into the room that she'd set up with Twilight in the castle. After lunch the three of them hit the market and stocked up on everything Fluttershy needed for the coming weeks. Rarity then insisted that she come back to the boutique for dinner, cooked by the unicorn this time before the three of them walked to Fluttershy's cabin and helped her put everything away before spending the night in her extra-large bed.

Author's Note

EDIT - I've decided to do a variety of endings, so you can have a choice of where you want this story to canonically cease. These will be placed back into the story, where they would have gone had they been written at the time. Next one is the last chapter of this. Thanks for the ride. - EDIT

Hey guys. I'm sorry if the title gave some of you an anxiety spike, and I apologize further if you came here expecting or hoping for good news.

To get to the meat of the matter, this story is doing the absolute worst thing it could do; it's dying, slowly. It's overstayed it's welcome, and the chapters as of late are only underlining the problem. The threads of this story have come loose, and the painting on the canvas is starting to appear black from the overuse of paint.

It's become a chore to write, and a chore to read. It was good, and now it's not, and I don't want to drag the corpse any further than I already have. I'm throwing in twists and pieces that only serve to keep you reading, without the bread, the substance, to make it worth reading.

My question to you is, how should I end it? Should I just hit the Canceled tag and move on, should I do a clip show from the future to outline the ending? Should I say nothing more and just clip it from existence? Should I blast half the story and attempt to salvage what was good?

How could I finish this without just stepping on the corpse to piss on the gravestone, eh? I'm twisting in the wind here, mates.

The Storybook Ending, 3/3

Spike snorted himself awake, eyes barely squinting open as he looked around the room.

"Mhrbuhg?" he asked.

The was another snort before a hoof rose out of the darkness and somepony placed it on his snout.

"She's crying," a soft voice floated up, out of the midnight darkness. "Go make sure she didn't have another nightmare, please?"

Spike murmured something that wasn't words before he crawled out of the bed, crawling over to the door like a monitor lizard before he used his forelimbs to press himself against the wood. pushing with his back legs, he eventually rose into a stand, blinking another moment before opening the door and walking down the hallway.

Cracking the door, he pushed his snout between the wood of it and the frame, asking, "Yuhokahtbit?"

He smiled when he heard a watery chortling. "You suck at nighttime, daddy."

Yawning, he opened the door further with a yawn. "I think that's why your mom likes sending me," he muttered, looking around the room at the pale green walls with blue accents. A large chest at the foot of a thin bed held her 'treasures', and a wardrobe across the room held a scant few clothes she cared for.

Moving into the room he closed the door softly, padding across the carpet and kneeling beside the bed. Reaching out, her cupped her pale yellow cheek, running his thumb over her short fur as he looked into her turquoise eyes.

"What's got your spines in a bunch, tidbit?" he asked softly, using his thumb to wipe at the tear track under her eye.

She sniffled, looking across the room for a moment before whispering, "Daddy, remember when I started going to school, and that nasty pony said those mean things 'bout my back an' tail?"

The muscles in his back tensed. "Did someone say something mean again tidbit?"

She shook her head, her dark emerald mane swinging down into her face until he lifted a paw to tuck back behind her pointed ear. "No daddy, I'm okay so far. But," she said, looking across the room again, "tomorrow's Lavender's first day, right? What if she gets a super mean pony, or the same one comes back and says worse stuff, or-?"

Chuckling, Spike gently pulled the filly to his chest, holding her close as she nuzzled into his chest and used it to wipe her eyes and nose.

"Calla, that's a very sweet thing to be worried about," he murmured, running a paw softly down her back and over her pointed spines that aligned with her vertebrae. "But I think Ms. Cheerilee is ready for it this year. And even if she isn't, then you are. I know you won't take your eyes off your little sister, and with you helping, Lavender will have her best first day of school, ever."

The little filly sniffled again, before nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, I will," she said, with such steel and determination that he had to stifle another chuckle.

"All set then? No cup of water, no need to hit the bathroom?" he asked, looking down into her muzzle.

She scrunched her face up as she thought, before smiling and shaking her head. "I'm alright, daddy. Thanks for helpin' me feel better."

He kissed her forehead and waited for her to lay on her pillow before pulling her blankets back up over her shoulders. Standing, he walked to the other side of the room, where Lavender was laying half on top of her blankets, spread eagle, with her mouth wide open in a steady, see-sawing snore.

Considering the blankets, he sighed before shrugging and giving his other daughter a kiss on her cheek before walking out of the room, closing the door quietly behind himself before he yawned his way back to his bedroom.

He slunk back into the large bed, pushing himself under the blankets with his head at the base of the bed and crawling back into his spot.

"Is she alright?" Fluttershy's soft voice came up from the bed, a foreleg wrapping across his back.

"First day of school jitters, but for Lavender," he murmured, leaning forward and kissing the pegasus as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Was she awake too?" a voice from behind him asked, pulling gently on him with the leg she had around him.

"Nah, she was sleeping as hard as she usually does," he chuckled, flexing his back to rub her chest and tummy gently. "On top of the blankets, spread to the four winds, etcetera."

Rarity chuckled softly, before letting out a sigh and relaxing back into her pillows.

Pulling Fluttershy to his chest, with her giggling, he let himself relax back into his own pillow, and the bunch of them fell back into Luna's realms in each other's embrace.

Three Days Later

Author's Note

Those of you who've read Fluttering Around will recognize a chunk of the beginning; please persevere, as this is the story that was supposed to be before that one happened.

Three Days Later

Fluttershy woke up that day much as she did any other day; with a small yawn and a smile at the rooster crowing outside her window.

“Thank you, Early,” she called through the window with a wave. The rooster nodded to her, then walked out of sight, head bobbing with his stride.

Folding her blankets neatly off of her, she slid from the bed and stretched her back, her stance purposefully catlike. With the gentle popping of her spine out of the way, she walked to her small vanity and pulled a brush through her hair, swiping five times to straighten and style her hair to her liking.

She gave herself a smug smile in the mirror before giggling and walking out of her door, ready to start her day.

A knocking at her door froze the blood in her veins.

She wasn’t expecting any visitors, oh dear no, and a quick run through her mental lists showed no one who even woke up early enough to visit her before she fed her animals…

Another round of knocking knocked her mental train asunder, and she felt her legs trembling.

“It’s just me, Fluttershy.” His voice was weary, but she still recognized the young male. It calmed her instantly, and she allowed herself a smile.

“Sorry Spike,” she called towards the door as she trotted forward. “I just wasn’t expecting… anyone…”

She had slowed, her mind working double speed as she heard a soft sniffle through the wood. The second one almost stopped her. The sob kick-started her, and she sprinted the remaining distance and wrenched the door open.

The teenaged drake sniffled loudly, smiling around the twin fountains of his emerald eyes. His ear-fins drooped into his face, giving him a drowned look. Even his scales seemed less radiant than normal, and his large wings drooped to the ground.

“Heya, ‘Shy. Can I come in?” he asked around his pained smile, sniffling and shuffling on his four legs.

“Of course you can,” Fluttershy said, taking his foreleg and pulling him into her living room. “What’s happening, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, no-one’s hurt, it’s not an emergency,” he reassured, patting her neck lightly. “I just need someone to talk with right now…”

Fluttershy ran her options through her head and settled for, “Let me go put the kettle on. I’ll be right back.”

He nodded, snagging a cloth tissue from one of his scales and blowing his nose into it. “That sounds nice.”

She nodded and bustled him over to the couch before rushing into the kitchen. She set the clean pot into the sink and started the water as she ran to the back door. Cracking it, she lifted her leg as Angel Bunny flew through the crack, attempting one of his wilder kicks to her shin.

“No playing today, Angel,” she scolded as he peeled himself off the baseboard. “Spike’s here, so I need you to get Mr. Bear and have him help you feed the rest of our guests.”

Angel squeaked angrily, getting across his indignance at her attempt to unload the daily chores onto him.

“Angel, we both know that you give yourself more food than I would, and that this is a treat for you,” she interrupted, bringing a bashful blush to the rabbit’s face. “Now please, one of my very good friends needs me.”

He muttered under his breath, but hopped willingly back through the crack in the door.

“Thank you!” Fluttershy gently called, before shutting the door and turning off the water. Walking back into the living room, she started loading up the fireplace to set the kettle to boil.

“Here,” Spike muttered, holding out his foreleg with his claws spread. She handed the kettle to him, and he took a deep breath.

Knowing what he was doing, Fluttershy walked back into the kitchen to grab two mugs and her box of teas. There was the sound of his fire crackling, and then the whistle of the teapot. Setting everything on her back, she grabbed one of her cloth potholders and made her way to the short table in front of her couch.

Setting everything down, he set the kettle on the thick cloth pad and took his tea cup. He quickly opened the tea box and handed her the one he knew to be her favorite.

He had a different brew every time he drank tea, and Fluttershy had quite the collection. He flipped through it for a long moment, enough time for his host to pour herself a mugful of hot water over the bag of dried herbs and leaves.

“Spike?” she said, and he looked up at her through his watery gaze. “Uhm, you’re getting salt in my teabags…”

He blinked, then wiped the tears away from his snout. “Sorry, sorry…” He pulled a cleaner handkerchief from his scales and swiped at his eyes, clearing them as best as he could. When he had finished, he stared deep into the wrinkles of the cloth, thinking silently.

He jumped a bit when a blanket settled around his shoulders; it was the one used to decorate the back of Fluttershy’s couch. She plopped a bag of spiced chamomile into his mug and poured water over it, then rubbed his shoulder as she smiled at him.

Normally this would calm a pony down, stop the tears a bit.

Spike gently set his cup down, then sagged against her, renewed rivers of tears dampening her hair as he wrapped his arms around her and sobbed quietly.

She did the same thing almost anyone else surprised in such a way would do: She wrapped her legs back around him, patting his back and making soft sounds as she stared at the wall, bewildered.

The fresh wave passed after a minute, and he pulled away to blow his nose.

“Sorry,” he muttered, his throat feeling thicker than normal. “I didn’t mean to just unload on you like that…”

She shushed him, pressing a hoof to his mouth. “Are you ready to tell me about it?” she asked.

He nodded weakly, staring into his tissue again. She shifted on the couch, and he looked up into her eyes.

“Rarity broke up with me,” he muttered, sniffling.

She sat back, heavily.

“What?” she asked, then waved away his pained glance. “No, I’m sorry, I understood you, but… What?”

He chuckled a little, until he choked a bit on a sob. “Yeah, that sounds like what I said at first…”

“Oh Spike… What happened?”

“I dunno, she just said something about how she didn’t love me,” he muttered, glaring at his teacup.

“Spike,” Fluttershy admonished gently, “did she actually say that?”

“I don’t know,” he snapped, then flinched. “Sorry. I wasn’t listening too well,” he admitted. “The last thing I remember about that is her telling me that she still didn’t feel that sort of love for me… after six months…”

She touched his shoulder again, a sympathetic frown on her muzzle. “I’m so sorry it didn’t work out, Spike…”

He chuckled again. “At least she gave it a chance, I suppose. I jus’ thought, you know, after half a year of me doing my best for her…”

“Sometimes there’s just nothing we can do,” she said, trailing off. She pulled him to her, hugging him and stroking his back as he held her. “The heart does as the heart does…”

“Then it needs to learn the whole ‘Work Smarter, Not Harder’ thing,” he muttered. “Maybe Twilight could figure out how to give mine a lecture on that…”

He sniffled into her shoulder and ran a claw down her back, something Twilight would have appreciated.

Fluttershy shivered under the talons, and he stopped.

“Sorry, Twilight likes when I scratch her back…”

Fluttershy giggled at the image of Twilight getting her back scratched, arching it like a cat. She stopped as she remembered her own morning routine.

Spike pulled away, looking at her.

“Just, Twilight arching like a kitty as you scratch her back…”

He stared at her like that for another moment, then chuckled himself, the first true smile appearing since he’d gotten here.

She took ahold of his jaw, smiling as she looked into his eyes. “There we go. Life’s not so bad, huh? Not when we have kitty Twilight.”

He smiled again, returning her near-grin.

She looked closer, then frowned. “Spike, why are your eyes so baggy? I haven’t even seen Twilight with bags like these.”

He looked away, to the floor, his snout still in her hooves. “I haven’t slept since Rarity’s consolation speech.”

“Well, I did wonder while you were up so early…” Fluttershy muttered. “Was it late last night?”

He avoided her gaze.

“…”

“… How long ago, Spike?”

“… Three days…”

“…”

Fluttershy got up, pushing on his shoulder and shoving him towards the stairs that led to her room.

“It’s naptime for a sleepy dragon!” she called, her head in his back and shoving. “Poor tired Spike, no wonder you’re so distraught.”

“But my tea…?” he called weakly over his shoulder as he walked on his rear legs, like he used to as a child.

“Somedragon’s taking the train to sleepy-time junction,” she sing-songed up at him. “Somedragon is so tired he can barely function…”

Her gentle singing lasted all the way to her bed, where she tucked the giant lizard in and sang until he fell asleep; about twelve seconds later.

Sighing, she walked over to the desk under her window and pulled out a spare piece of paper and an inkpot. Scribbling briefly, she wrote Twilight a short note about what was going on with Spike and where he was.

Opening her window, she whistled quietly and gave the scroll to a Jay that flew down. “Take this to Twilight, please.” He sang cheerily, then took off. She then shuttered the windows, drawing the curtains after.

Sighing, Fluttershy left the room, then trotted downstairs and out her back door, ready to assist Angel and Mr. Bear with whatever was left of her chores.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Spike woke up six hours later. He definitely needed more sleep, but a certain distant-eyed mare had haunted his dreams, and her cold words had driven him to wakefulness.

With a yawn, he looked around the dimmed room and let his sluggish thoughts catch up to that morning. Licking his lips, he stretched out a claw and snagged Fluttershy’s water jug. He swirled it and peeked inside before downing the water.

Don’t want to drink another one of her fish…

He slithered out from under the sheets, fighting with his wings to do so, and stood on his back legs to walk over to the door. He still preferred walking as a biped, although at this point he was nearly as tall as Discord had been. Opening the door, he fell through it onto his front legs and pulled it closed with his tail on his way out.

“Fluttershy?” he called quietly. “Are you around?”

Nopony responded, but a mouse popped out of the wall to gesture at him. Lowering his head, he watched the little mouse pantomime.

“She’s outside?” he finally ventured, to the mouse’s nodding. “Do you know when she’s supposed to be back?”

The little rodent shrugged at him, before tapping its wrist twelve times.

“She’ll be back at midnight?” he asked, incredulous. The mouse gave him a look, and after a second he breathed in. “Oh, noon. Alright. Is it okay for me to wait for her in the living room?”

The mouse shrugged, before waving its paw towards downstairs and scampering back into her hole in the wall.

“Alright then.”

He made his way downstairs, avoiding a family of voles on his way to the living room. Inspecting it carefully, Spike flopped heavily onto the sagging couch. Stretching, he laid his chin on one legrest, the very tip of his tail twitching barely past the other.

“Hmm...” He looked up at a clock and resigned himself to waiting for at least another fifteen minutes.

“I wonder what she’s up to…” Spike stared into the wall beside the couch, his vision slowly blurring. Huffing, he pushed the thoughts of her away and closed his eyes, concentrating. He took hold of his breathing, slowing it as he cleared his mind.

Thank you, Twilight. Your panic attacks have taught me how to deal with my own.

He snorted, a bit of smoke curling from the barely upturned corners of his lips. Keeping his mind empty, he lost himself in the nothingness of his thoughts.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Fluttershy opened her door and pulled her narrow cart into the house. Angel Bunny closed the door from the back of the cart, and she thanked him as they rolled into the kitchen.

A snoring echoed from the living room, and she froze for a second, before remembering her early morning visitor.

“Oh no, I forgot all about him!” she squeaked at Angel. “Oh, I hope he’s okay…”

Spike was fine, mostly, though his neck struck a strange angle as he rested upon the arm of her couch. His nose was almost touching the wall; it was quickly acquiring a dark singe from his smoky snores.

Giggling at the sight, she struggled between waking him to save her wall and letting him snooze. Deciding that her wall may actually combust, she walked over and nudged his shoulder.

“Spike, please, you’re starting to…”

She froze as one of his forelegs lifted lazily, snagging her over her withers. “Spike?”

She gasped as his other foreleg shot beneath her barrel and between her front legs. She was airborne for a moment, then she was tucked into his chest, his forelimbs wrapped around her chest and cuddling her close.

“…”

Looking over her shoulder, she stared up at his muzzle lying along her foreleg. He sighed, the tiniest smile resting on his face.

She laid there a moment, stricken. Testing her gentle bonds, she found that she could move his forelegs elsewhere, but each shift brought a displeased grumbling. Her mind raced on numb legs, and she looked to the kitchen for help.

“Angel Bunny…?” she whispered.

He poked his head in, looked up at her, then disappeared. She heard a brief rustling in the kitchen, and he returned with his tool of choice.

*FLASH*

Fluttershy blinked the spots away as the camera dispensed its picture, Angel waving the magic-soaked paper to speed the print. Showing her the picture, he set the camera and print on the coffee table, before hopping back into the kitchen.

Fluttershy sighed heavily, before muttering a ‘Thank You’ under her breath. Wriggling slowly, she adjusted herself to the furnace beneath her, and settled in for a wait.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Spike woke up to gentle snoring and an almost familiar warmth.

“Mmm, Rares, when’d the wings come in?” he muttered, gently stroking a white wing lying across one of his shoulders. He imagined it was white, anyhow, with his still closed eyes. He couldn’t imagine her letting any other color stay and potentially clash with her coat.

“Always knew you were a princess…”

The wing shuffled around a bit, nudging him closer to consciousness.

“Mmh… Spike?”

The nudges became a shove, and he opened his eyes to find himself nose-to-nose with a set of the most perfect blue eyes… surrounded by pretty yellow fur.

“Ah. Hello, Flutters.” Spike blinked before yawning, stretching his jaw to the point of popping. “Sorry about that. Grab and snuggle?” Blushing, she nodded. “Yeah, Twi gets pretty fed up with it. She’s stopped coming into my room, you know.”

“Do you always do tha-that to her, as well?” she said with a small shudder and a shifting of her forelegs, tucked between them.

“Do what?” he asked, confused.

“You-you’re doing it n-n-now,” she stuttered, shivering again as she flicked her nose over her shoulder.

Looking, he finally felt his claws as he watched himself run the talons through her hair, an activity he used to enjoy with…

He made himself stop, dropping his arms limply by his sides. Fluttershy pulled her nose away, holding herself up on her fetlocks.

“Sorry. I used to… Rarity enjoyed it when I ran my talons through her coat.”

With a small noise, Fluttershy slid back down to touch their chests together, wrapping her forelegs around his neck. He patted her shoulders, awkwardly.

“I’ll… I’ll be okay, Flutters. Promise.”

She squeezed tighter for a second, then released him and sat up, balancing on his stomach.

“You should honestly check up on Rarity,” he said, settling his head deeper into her couch cushion. “I… may have been a bit brusque when I left.”

“Nothing too mean,” he said quickly when her eyes hardened. “A bit hurtful I’m sure, but I’m… I hope I’m not that kind of guy…” He stared up at the ceiling, losing his train of thought in a paint swirl. “I don’t really remember anymore.”

She looked down at him, a bit of his heartache mirrored in her eyes, before she nodded and slid down onto the floor.

“I tried checking on her when I was at the market earlier, but she was busy with one of her clients at the time,” she admitted, walking over to her cupboard. Unlocking it, she pulled out a tin of cat treats before closing and relocking it.

“She asked me to order her some imported treats for Opal, but I forgot to bring them along earlier; they’re pretty expensive, so I didn’t want to trust them to the Postal Service… I’ll go give them to her and chat a bit. Does that sound okay?”

“Absolutely, Fluttershy. Thanks for doing that for me,” Spike said, rubbing his eyes and sitting up on the couch. “I think I’ll stick around here for a bit, do a couple of chores as thanks for the bed.”

“Ah, you don’t have to, I really don’t mind…”

“I know, but I’d like to. You’ve been a big help, and I’d like to do something to really thank you.” He glanced over to the wall. “Think I’ll start with that. Angel, you know where the cleaning stuff is, right?”

The bunny nodded, staring haughtily up at Spike.

With a toothy grin, Spike straightened his spine and looked down at Angel Bunny.

“You’ll show me, right, Angel?”

The bunny’s gaze wavered, and with a couple of blinks and a sigh, Angel waved him out of the living room and towards the cleaning cupboard Fluttershy kept in the kitchen.

Standing up, he stretched and groaned as his back popped loudly. With a small smile, he wandered over and laid one of his paws on Fluttershy’s head, between her ears. “Really, Flutters, thank you. I’ll see if I can’t at least get the scorch marks out of your wall, and make sure your bedroom didn’t gain any for itself.”

“Well, if you’re sure… Thank you, Spike.”

“No problem,” he called over his shoulder, making his way towards the kitchen as she moved to the door. “See you in a bit.”

And they parted for a time.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The bell overhead rang quietly as Fluttershy stepped through the door.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique!” a cheery voice called from the back. “I’ll be just a moment!”

“Take your time, Rarity,” Fluttershy called back, as loudly as she dared.

The mare in question poked her head around the edge of her door, a tube of mascara still held in a gentle blue glow. One of her eyes was as pristine as ever, but the other was covered by a slice of cucumber.

“Oh, hello again, dear,” she said, smiling at Fluttershy as she tossed away the vegetable, revealing a naked, slightly puffy and red eye. “Sorry I couldn’t talk earlier, but you know how business can be.”

Wiping gently at her eye with a tissue, she ducked back behind the door, reappearing after a moment with completed make-up.

Fluttershy shifted awkwardly, attempting to think of a way to bring up Rarity’s obvious sorrow. Reaching into her bag, she offered forth the tin of treats.

“I got Opal’s treats in,” she started. “I had another reason earlier, but I thought you’d like it if I brought these along as well.”

“Oh, right!” Rarity levitated the treats from Fluttershy’s hoof, looking over the label with a distant smile. “I must admit darling, recent events had driven these from my memory.”

Rarity turned, scanning the room for her cat and shaking the tin lightly.

“Uhm, that’s actually the reason I was here earlier.”

“What is, darling?” Rarity looked over at Fluttershy, who was now staring at the floor. Confusion sketched itself on the white mare’s muzzle.

“Spike came to visit me this morning,” she said as she looked up from the rug, into her friend’s eyes.

“Oh.” Rarity’s face blanked, her lips wavering. “Right, right…”

She turned back to her showroom, the treats now just floating in the air. Opal had come and sat beneath the box eagerly.

Absently, Rarity peeled away a corner of the tin, lifting one of the exotic bites out and tossing it to the side, letting her cat chase it merrily across the room. Replacing the corner, she floated the box over to a shelf, away from her cat’s usual perches.

“How is he?” she asked suddenly, quietly.

“About as well as you are, I believe,” Fluttershy said as she walked up beside her friend and sat down next to her.

“Ah.”

Rarity continued to watch Opal play with the tidbit, looking away when the cat shoved the morsel into its awaiting maw.

“I couldn’t keep leading him on,” she told her friend. “It felt… selfish, in a way. He was always so nice to me… And I could never repay his generosity to me, I could never catch up…”

She sniffed loudly, levitating a box of tissues from behind the counter. Blowing her nose indelicately, she sniffed again… Then once more, smelling the smoke entwined in Fluttershy’s coat.

“He slept on my couch,” Fluttershy said quickly. “You remember how he snores. The poor dear hadn’t had any rest at all since… well, since your talk.”

“But that was days ago!” Rarity exclaimed, staring at Fluttershy, horrified.

“He’s a bit better now, of course,” Fluttershy said quickly. “He had a nap on my bed, and another on the couch. He’s awake right now, cleaning a scorch mark off the wall from his snoring.”

Rarity giggled, with a suspicious hiccup at the end. “He still does that? I remember, from when the poor dear was so little, he’d curl up on a couch while he was helping me, and I’d have this ratty old blanket I’d set under his head so he wouldn’t roast my cushions.”

Rarity giggled again, with Fluttershy providing a faint smile.

The unicorn nuzzled into the pegasus’ shoulder, breathing in short sniffles.

“I br-broke up with hi-him, Fluttershy. Why do I miss him so m-much?” she asked, the first of this bunch of tears falling to her friend’s shoulder.

Not knowing what else to do, Fluttershy pulled her wing around the seamstress, holding her tightly as the sobs came.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“I’m home,” Fluttershy called as she opened the door, reciting her customary greeting to Angel Bunny and the rest of her animal friends.

“Welcome back!” a masculine voice called from the kitchen.

She froze for a second, and then remembered that Spike was here. “Hello, Spike. What are you up… to…?”

She rounded the doorway leading out of the short entryway and walked into a warm kitchen. The table had four places set, one for each chair. The dragon was standing in front of the stove, roasting some vegetables on thin skewers.

“Heya Flutters,” he said, pausing in his flaming of the veggies. “I finished cleaning the wall, and your bedclothes too, so I started on some dinner for us. I hope you don’t mind?”

“N-No, of course not, but you didn’t have to…” she protested, eyes flitting back between the table and the stove.

“I know, but it’s an easy meal, and you’ve been… You’ve been here for me, today.” Spike blinked down at the skewers, before inspecting them and placing them on a plate to the side of the stove. “It really means a lot to me.”

He had to bend his knees to open the oven, but managed to pull the casserole dish off of the rack effortlessly. He tested its temperature before walking it over to the table, grabbing the plate of veggies and shutting the oven with his tail.

“Viola, rice and broccoli casserole, with Shish Kebabs for fun.”

Fluttershy clapped politely, smiling as Spike bowed over the food.

“I, uhm, wasn’t really sure how many of your animals eat with you, so I just filled in each side.” He rubbed the back of his head, glancing around the animal-less room. “Oh, uhm, drinks. Water?” She nodded, and he fetched two glasses from her cupboard.

“Oh, I usually eat after they all turn in for the night. Most of them go to sleep with the sun, so right now’s about the usual time.”

Spike peeked out the window over the sink, frowning. Moving back to the table, he set the drinks down.

“Aw, dang, I didn’t know it was already this late.” he muttered. “I should probably get to the library, Twilight’s gonna have a fit.”

Fluttershy shifted on her chair, looking at the two large dishes in front of her. “Oh, oh dear, uhm… I don’t think I can eat all this food by myself. And… and I wanted to tell you about… Ra-Rarity.”

His spines drooped, lying flat along his back and on his head. Sighing, he sat heavily. Reaching to the casserole, he dished himself a hunk of cheesy rice flecked with green, then offered the spoon to Fluttershy.

“How is she?” he asked suddenly, quietly.

Smiling sadly, she took the spoon and said, “About as well as you are, I believe.”

“Ah,” he said, snagging a wooden skewer from the pile, staring at it forlornly.

They ate in silence, Spike mechanically, Fluttershy with a bit more gusto.

“This is really good, Spike,” she said after clearing a bite from her mouth. “What cheese did you use?”

“Oh, I wandered into town and grabbed a bit of Pepper-Jack from Bessie’s stall. Mixed it with the Colby you had.”

“Well, it’s very good.”

“Thanks…”

They ate some more.

“Is she… She’s not depressed, is she?” he asked.

“I… I don’t think she’s that far. She is very distraught, though. Very sorrowful. ”

He perked up a little, a spark of hope fluttering in his eyes.

“… Regretful?”

Meeting his eyes, Fluttershy thought for a long time about it, then shook her head.

“No, Spike,” she whispered. “Not like you’re hoping.”

The spark died, and he stared down at his dish.

“I think I’m done,” he said, picking the kebab up and placing it back on the pile. “What should I do with the rest of the plate?” he asked, waving a hand over the nearly untouched mound.

“Back in the dish is fine with me.”

He nodded, scooping it back and getting up, placing the plate and glass in the sink. Looking back out the window, he sighed shallowly.

“Guess I’ll fly back to the library now.”

Fluttershy left her plate, walking with him to her door. He opened it, stepping onto her doorstep.

“Thank you for the meal, Spike, and for cleaning for me,” Fluttershy said, smiling up at him.

He smiled back, his lips wavering for a second before he shook his head. Reaching out, he pulled her into a brief, but intense hug.

“Thank you, Flutters, for being such a good friend.”

Stepping away, he snapped out his wings, flapping twice before taking off for town.

Fluttershy smiled to herself, thinking on the warmth of his hug for a moment, before turning back inside and closing the door behind her.

Eleven and Twelve Days Later

Author's Note

Points to those who get the reference without Google! See you next week.

EDIT: The Kreelix is the reference, it's from a book series I read as a kid and love :rainbowlaugh:

Eleven and Twelve Days Later

Eight days after she last had seen Spike, Fluttershy was watering her garden and humming to herself. She’d talked once more with Rarity, who seemed to be reconstructing herself and was starting to bounce back.

The only other visitor in that time had been Twilight, who had come over with an ‘Apple-Family style apple pie’ from Spike.

“I had no idea how despondent he was,” Twilight had cried, almost furious. “The stubborn hard-head refused to tell me anything! He just kept saying he was fine, or he was better! I could have helped,” she had grumped.

Still, she’d given her thanks along with Spike’s, then went back to, “Force the fool to feel better, or be scorched trying!”

Fluttershy had tried to talk Twilight out of it, but the Princess wasn’t willing to let her little brother just sit and stew, so she’d folded and asked one of her birds to bring Spike a letter, detailing refuge at her cottage should he need it.

So, she was only mildly surprised when he appeared over a tree, flying towards her and landing beside her garden; thankfully, a ways from her tomatoes.

“Heya, Fluttershy,” he said, smiling wearily at her.

“Hi, Spike. Twilight getting to you?” He nodded, and she smiled back at him. “That’s okay. She’s just worried about you, but we both know how she can worry sometimes.”

They nodded, Spike snickering at a memory, and Fluttershy giggling quietly at his snickering.

“She’ll get better, I promise.” She waved a foreleg at her garden, smiling at him. “Want to help me get rid of some of these weeds?”

Spike walked over, standing on two legs to thread his way between the rows. Reaching her, he peered at the plants.

“… Which ones are the weeds?”

“… O-Oh. Maybe you’d help me with the chickens, instead?”

Spike shook his head. “No, I can do this. Just… The weeds are the ones without edible parts, right?”

“Well, yes, but they’re not all as obvious as that. Really, Spike, wouldn’t you feed the chickens and ducks instead?”

He glared at the greenery for another moment, then nodded.

“The feed’s in the shed beside the house. One pitcher only, please.”

He nodded, walking over to the shed and pulling it open.

Digging around, he found an open bag and a plastic pitcher sitting inside it. Filling it, he left the shack and walked over to the coop, pouring it in the large dry bowl. Walking back, he tossed the pitcher into the same bag, then closed the door.

Hu-uh. Done, then.

He walked back over to Fluttershy, who had finished the row she’d been on. Moving back, he noticed she only had one more row. Instead of bothering her about something to do again, he elected to sit at the end of the row and watch her finish up.

She moved gracefully down the aisle towards him, nosing aside leaves to check their roots, for both weeds and infesters. He watched her move carefully between two larger plants, leaning over to snag at a dandelion growing unseen.

Biting the flower’s stem, she tossed the dirty roots over her shoulder, munching thoughtlessly on the dandelion as she checked the rest of the row.

Not paying attention, she bumped into Spike’s leg as she finished searching the vegetables. Looking over, she smiled up at him as she swallowed the rest of the tiny snack.

Chuckling, Spike reached over and took her chin in in his paw, lifting her head. Confused, she blushed at him as he ran his thumb over her lips, the top of it barely visible over her muzzle.

“Spike?” she asked softly.

Pulling the limb away, he showed her the crumbles of mud on his digit.

“You had some mud on your nose,” he chuckled, laughing when she reached up a hoof and pushed it to her snout, eyes wide. “And your hooves, I’m sure.”

She pulled the hoof away, revealing a neat circle of mud around her face.

Laughing, Spike set to work dusting the dirt off of her, using both paws to clean her faster.

“There,” he said with a nod, smiling at her. “Clean.”

She almost pressed her hooves to her cheeks, attempting to hide her small blush, but she pushed away the muddy limbs mentally.

“Th-Thank you, Spike.”

He nodded down at her.

“Now what?”

“Hmm… Would you like to help me mend a fence? Or maybe…”

They spent the rest of the day like that; Fluttershy finding chores for him to help with, and he doing what he could to assist her.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“So, this is your life, huh?” Spike asked, scribbling away on a paper detailing an order for medical supplies. “Take care of your animals in the morning, lunch, take care of your garden, fix up the ‘homestead’, dinner, then paperwork?”

“It’s not as set in stone as that,” Fluttershy said, sipping at the cooled tea she’d made them. “And most of the time I eat a light lunch. A vegetable or two as I look to the cottage. Lunch was mostly for your benefit.”

“Oh,” he said, pausing in his scribbling to meet her eyes. “Thank you, then. The cucumber salad was tasty.”

She dipped her head, then went back to looking over some letters some of the busier citizens of town had sent to her.

Looking over the last one she’d opened, she sighed.

“Spike, what are you doing tomorrow morning?”

“Huh? Um, nothing that I know of. Why, what’s up?”

“Would you mind going into the forest with me tonight?”

Spike sat up straight, gazing steadily at her.

“… The Everfree? Why are you going in there?”

She waved the letter she had been reading.

“This is from one of the unicorns in town. He knows I travel into the forest for certain medicinal supplies, so sometimes he pays me to grab some stuff for him.”

Spike nodded, following easily enough.

“Well, he’s got an urgent experiment, and needs fresh Jasper roots for one of his alchemical experiments.”

Frowning, Spike pawed through his mental card catalogue, installed by Twilight’s ceaseless study. After a moment, he spoke up.

“What would he need a numbing agent for?”

Fluttershy looked at him, shocked.

“But… How do you know what Jasper root does, and not know what garden weeds look like?”

Spike chuckled, running a claw along his neck. “Twilight only taught me the alchemical herbs. She never talked about the ones ponies eat.”

“Oh…” Fluttershy shook her head, smiling as she envisioned her friend lecturing the young Dragon on herbs, and their chemical properties. She returned to the letter, scanning it for information.

“The letter says a few of his lab assistants have a horrible stomachache, and he needs it to… ‘Nullify the caustic effects of a previous concoction on the stomach linings of several of my assistants…’.” She skimped back through the letter. “He also asked me to look for any Ginger or Mint, but says he has his own supplies if we can’t find those.”

Spike thought about it, looking out the window. He and Twilight had been through the forest a couple of times themselves, after the same sort of thing. Going through the forest with another one of his friends wouldn’t be that big of a deal…

“Sure, I’ll go with you. Let me run home and let Twilight know, get some of our gathering equipment. I’m sure she’ll want me to keep an eye out for some thing or another.”

Fluttershy shifted in her chair, letting her hair dip in front of her muzzle for a moment. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. Carefully slipping the lock of hair behind an ear, she raised her eyes to Spike’s.

“I… Uhm, I thought you were… avoiding Twilight.”

He stared blankly back for a moment, before shaking his head hard enough for his spines to flop against his jaws.

“Right, right… I’d honestly forgot…” He scratched at his chin, thoughts distant for a moment, before he shrugged. “I guess she’ll miss out. Do you have some extra gathering stuff I can borrow?”

Fluttershy looked over at her cabinet, taking stock mentally. “I’m sure I don’t have anything up to Twilight’s standards, but I’ve got an extra burlap sack or two.”

“Oh, alright,” he said, surprised. “I’m used to heavy gloves and plastic bags, but if your unicorn doesn’t mind…”

“He’s never complained,” she murmured. “I don’t think he uses any of my herbs in his magical experiments, just medicinal.”

Spike snickered a bit. “Yeah, Twi stopped messing with that after she made her coat fall out that one time.”

Fluttershy stared over at him, eyes and mouth wide open.

“What, she never told you that one?”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“Make sure you ask her about it next time you guys meet up,” Spike said as he shifted the small bundle tied to his back. They stood on the beginnings of the path to Zecora’s; a short walk from Fluttershy’s house, it was the one Twilight, and thus Spike, was used to.

“I don’t know. I doubt she wants Rainbow or Pinkie to know about it.”

“Exactly,” Spike muttered with a grin, looking around the vegetation of the forest.

Fluttershy smiled, shaking her head. “No need to be mean to her, Spike,” Fluttershy gently chastised. “She’s only worried.”

“Yeah, I know.” He sighed, picking up a rock and looking into the brush. “I’m not really mad at her. More like pettily annoyed?” He shrugged, before tossing the stone at a clump of bushes. A larger critter took flight, running almost quietly through the woods.

“Infant Bugbear,” Spike muttered, glaring after it. “Alright ‘Shy, I guess I’m set to go. Ready?”

She nodded, taking up the space beside him. They stayed slow, walking companionably, with quiet chatter trailing after them. Spike and Fluttershy both kept their eyes mostly on the forest around them, watching the trees and bushes for rustling or breaking branches.

They stayed unmolested as they threaded their way towards what Twilight jokingly referred to as “The Jumping Point”, a smaller trail marked only by the parting of the trees.

“Oh, I don’t like that grass. It always makes me super itchy.” Fluttershy frowned at it, as though her gaze alone might be enough to will it away.

“Well, you could always just do what Twilight and I do.” Spike looked down at her, an amused smile playing along his snout.

“What does Twilight usually do?”

With a smile, he lowered himself, so that he was touching the ground with his belly. Shifting the extra bags around, he fashioned a small cushion over one of his lower spikes, creating a sizable gap.

With a gentle wiggle of his hips, he twitched his head towards his back. “Hop on.”

Fluttershy stared at him, flabbergasted.

“Oh, come on. I used to ride on Twilight all the time, and I’ve had a pony-back ride from each of the girls, at one point. Several from you, yourself.” His tail swished across the ground. “I’m big enough to reciprocate, now. And hay, I’ll even bet you’re lighter than Twi, being a pegasus.”

“But the grass will still reach you…” Fluttershy mumbled, looking into her hair.

“Yeah, but all it does is tickle my scales. Really ‘Shy, it’s okay.” He smiled up at her, as encouragingly as he could.

“… Will you let me know if I get too heavy?”

“Of course.”

She moved over to him, fidgeting for a second before raising her forehooves and setting them gently on his back. She moved her hooves over his hide, testing it, before bending her rear legs and hopping onto the burlap cushion.

Spike waited for her to find her balance, before slowly standing up. She shifted to one side, but corrected herself. Placing her hooves carefully on either side of his spine, she nodded to him when he turned his head.

“I th-think I’m ready,” she muttered, clamping onto his suddenly too skinny hips with her legs.

“Relax, Flutters. If Twi can do it without falling off more than once, you can too.”

“Wait, how many times…”

She cut herself off with a small ‘eep’ as he started forward, clamping harder for a moment as his legs jostled her from side to side.

He was slow, and had learned how to walk like this with Twilight, so he managed to ‘catch’ her when she tilted to one side too far. Still, her legs started trembling as her muscles threatened to cramp, her eyes closed just as tightly.

With a sigh, she let go, waiting for the ground to rise up and greet her as she imagined herself falling.

After a moment, she opened her eyelids, looking around at the mid-height vegetation she was now on eye-level with.

“See?” he said. “Twi always said it made her feel real small, for some reason. I always felt much bigger, myself.”

Fluttershy nodded, looking around with new appreciation for the forest.

“Can you always see these flowers?” she asked as they passed a particularly dull bush, the sparkling violet flowers turned to the sky.

“Yeah, I can now. Twilight said they were called Noctus Liliaceae, but I made fun of her until she just started calling them Night Lilies.”

Fluttershy giggled. “They remind me of Twilight and Luna.”

Spike stumbled a bit, the tips of his ears coloring red.

“I wouldn’t say anything like that to Twi,” he warned. “She’d get mad at me for saying something I haven’t actually said.”

“… Oh. But…”

Spike shrugged carefully, trying to keep Fluttershy steady on his shoulders.

“I trust you,” Spike said. “Anyone else would tease or harass her about it, but I know you won’t say anything.”

Fluttershy blushed as Spike stopped, sniffing the air. “We’re close to the creek. Where’s Jasper supposed to grow?”

“Riverside, and it blooms in the moonlight.” She looked down at the still tall grass. “I guess I’ll have to fly to do any collecting myself…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Spike told her as he set off again, walking out of the tallest of the grass and into the small clearing, densely populated with various herbs. “Twilight just uses her magic, but if you hold the bag I can still pick and pass the stuff. Jasper, Ginger and Mint, right?”

“Yes, but really, I can…”

“Me too,” he quipped, with a soft smile. He stopped, peering closely at a couple of shoots growing out of the grass. Pulling at them, he slowly unearthed the ‘root’, a large clump of ginger rhizome.

“And if they’re all this easy, I’ll be done in no time,” he said, shaking the excess dirt away and walking to the small stream where he washed the rest of it in the clear water.

“Here,” he said, handing it over his shoulder.

The rest of the time was spent with Fluttershy acting as a lookout, directing Spike to the larger clumps of herbs as she saw them. It would have been a quick task, if not for the Jasper Root. The only reliable way to tell it from the rest of the herbage was the reddish bloom, which only opened in direct moonlight.

With the stroke of Midnight, signaled only by instinct, eight blooms unfolded as the moon finally cleared the canopy of the unforgiving forest.

“There we go,” Spike muttered, walking over to a dense patch of the flower. “Now we just…”

Pulling, he unearthed the round tuber known as Jasper root. Carefully, he washed it in the stream, before wrapping it in several large leaves growing nearby and passing it back.

“Urgh, I hate this,” he muttered, clenching and tensing his paws as they slowly numbed. “Stupid numb plant…”

“I think this should be enough,” Fluttershy murmured, hefting the quarter empty bag. “Plenty of everything, with the Jasper being that size.”

“Alright then, let’s get out of here,” Spike said, whipping his eyes around as several of the night birds called out. “I hate being out here at night…”

A soft whooping noise floated towards them, and they froze.

“Was that…?” Fluttershy started, only to freeze as Spike lifted his hand, staring hard into the undergrowth.

Slowly, Spike spread his wings, inhaling deeply. She felt the muscles underneath her hooves spasm, and then she realized there was a sudden, strong smell of lemons drifting through the air.

Arching his neck, Spike spat onto the ground in front of them, before clacking his teeth sharply together. Fluttershy was surprised to see a small spark jump from his incisors, and land in the puddle.

With a sharp movement of air, the saliva ignited, sending a dancing light around the small clearing. Fluttershy gasped as something flew over, landing roughly on a tree in front of them.

The large creature whooped again, its glassy eyes blinking in the sudden light. Its ears swiveled, the right one coming to bear on them before the left. The bulbous growth trembled as the large, flat mouth opened again, the bulging tongue sampling the air as it vocalized again.

The pair stood still, neither daring to breath as the thing gazed stupidly around the clearing. They stared until the creature shot its clawed wings to either side, taking off over the canopy and towards the deeper woods.

Still, they waited another few, precious moments before drawing in ragged, harsh breaths.

“I’ve never seen a Kreelix that size before,” Fluttershy gasped, shaking as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

“I have,” Spike murmured. “Once. It was fighting a Manticore for the beast’s kill. And it was winning.”

Shaking his head, Spike stomped out the fire he’d set. “Fluttershy, do you think you can hold onto me and our haul if I run?”

She squeaked, before tucking the bag of plants between them and grabbing onto Spike’s ribs as tightly as she could.

“Keep your head down,” he muttered in a low whisper.

She nodded into his shoulder, tucking her head into the vacancy between her chest and his back.

“Ready?”

His back legs bent and tensed as she nodded.

With a short leap, Spike dove into the grass, running through the foliage as a loud screech filled the air. A crash sounded from the canopy above, and the ground behind them shook.

Spike flinched as something swiped through the air, a stinging letting him know that the thing had gotten the tip of his tail, but the adrenaline masked the severity of it. For now.

Jumping up, Spike spread his wings enough to get himself a little extra distance, sailing over the grass. The monster screeched, barreling through the growth, its previous wing speed hampered by the trees, forced to scuttle on its large claws and tiny legs.

Spike could hear it getting further away, and he almost had time to cheer before one of his wings clipped a low branch.

He twirled from the force, landing on his side. Digging into the ground, he pushed away just as the creature plunged its teeth into the ground he’d just been laying on.

Pushing out his talons, he grabbed the bark of the tree he was flying towards, spitting a ball of fire towards the beast before he took off.

The Kreelix howled, but not in anger or hurt. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the thing lapping at the fiery oil splattered across the path.

“Spike, they eat magic!” Fluttershy squealed from his back.

With a huff, he turned his eyes back to the path, sprinting as quickly as he felt safe.

The monster behind them screeched again, and they both heard the sundering of branches as it tore itself through the trees. Heavy leather flapping announced its presence over them.

Spike grinned when he spotted the main path. His neck prickled, and he slammed his claws into the ground just as the beast threw itself between two massive branches. Jumping, he snagged one of the wings in his claws.

The Kreelix screamed as his talons tore through the bat-like wings, and flailed wildly to throw him off. Spike gouged at the thing’s torso with his back legs, before kicking off of it as it lunged towards him with its teeth.

He found himself flying through the air, spinning. He flung his wings open, beating at the air as he used the momentum as a take-off.

“Which way to town?” he called over his shoulder, straining to turn to his left.

“Straight now!” the pony on his back called, pointing at a glittering of lights.

Keeping low, Spike tucked his legs to his torso and pumped his wings as Rainbow had taught him, going for speed over technique. Soon, Fluttershy was going faster than she ever had, save the rides Rainbow Dash had given her as a filly.

Soon enough, she was topping even that speed.

Spike didn’t stop as they broke from the Everfree, straining as he glided for the lights of town. Tilting a wing, he steered toward the tall tree standing near the middle of town.

“Hope Twi has the balcony doors open!” Spike called over the rushing air, flaring his wings and letting his body droop in the air, attempting to create the necessary drag to brake.

With a clattering of his talons, Spike entered the library, skidding into one of the bookshelves next to Twilight’s bed and toppling it over onto himself.

There was a brief silence.

With a pop and a bit of purple light, Twilight appeared in the middle of the room, wide-eyed and twitching.

“What!?” she sputtered, looking at the bookshelf. “It is entirely too late for this nonsense, Rainbow Dash!”

Spike stood, shuffling quickly over to the doors and slamming them, staring up at the sky. “Heya, Twi.”

“Spike?”

“Oh, hello Twilight.”

“Fluttershy!?”

Spike let out a breath, sagging to the floor.

“I don’t think it followed us out,” he murmured, laughing breathlessly. “It stayed in the forest, we’re good…”

The Kreelix smashed against the glass, screeching through the doors at the trio.

Twilight screeched back and grabbed a heavy vase with her magic, flinging it straight through the glass and into the thing’s face.

It gurgled, clawing at the ponies. Twilight launched another object at it, a large dictionary she kept at her bedside shelf, and it took off, flapping lopsidedly back towards the Everfree.

Breathing heavily, Twilight looked over at the duo.

Fluttershy still clung to Spike’s back, both of them plastered with leaves, grass, and tree sap; Spike’s tail was bleeding slightly, and a large amount of his scales were scuffed by the rough run through the forest; Fluttershy’s hair was an unruly mess, and her eyes were bloodshot from the tears that joined her snot in moisturizing her face.

“You guys are a mess,” Twilight quipped, a few of her hairs shot off into random directions, her own eyes bloodshot from sleepless studying.

The three of them looked at each other, Spike bending his neck over his shoulder, then giggled at each other.

“I’m going to make us some hot chocolate,” Spike said, bending his legs and letting Fluttershy off. “Want any, Twi?

Speaking of Prench Dungeon Trolls...

Author's Note

Special Hiatus update! Writing on Lending Things has helped me clear a bit of the word block junking up my systems, so I got around to doing a new chapter here as well. Hopefully I can keep up with this outpouring, but just in case, this lady's staying on hiatus. See you lot next time!

Speaking of Prench Dungeon Trolls...

The castle was only a short trot away. Spike kept up pretty well with the stallions, especially since Clear Sights was lugging around the big suitcase with his shoulder harness.

"That looks pretty major," Spike spoke up, his tail weighed down with two suitcases and arms still full of sleeping pegasus. "What's in that thing?"

Clear grinned a bit as he said, "State secrets, kid. Papers," said like 'Paypahs', "important documents, and a little something," said as 'somenin', "to keep it all safe. Nothing to worry about for us though, yeah?"

Spike slowly nodded, looking a little closer at the case as the group made their way to the large crystal structure in the distance. It rolled along smoothly on the stone street, and as he concentrated on it, Spike would have sworn he could hear a ticking sound from within.

Taking a stealthy step away, Spike heard Clear chuckle as they neared the gates.

Two guards with halberds stood in front of the wooden barrier, but they only nodded at the group as the two escort guards passed by. Both gave a quick salute to Clear Sights, and just as quickly returned to their sentry positions.

"Judge Advocate General must be a pretty prestigious position, if the sentries break form for you," Spike said, ducking a bit as he passed through the gate.

"It's up there," Clear said, shrugging a bit. "Lots of work and all that jazz. Ya know the JAG corps?"

"Heard of them," Spike said, nodding. "I'm not up to date with all the aspects of the military anymore though, not since Twilight and I moved out of her house with Shining and their parents."

"Ah, fair," Clear nodded. "Anyhow, we're just the judicial part of the Military Police. The judges and whatnot."

"Ah, and I think I've learned what the J stands for," Spike said with a small smile."

They paused their conversation as they reached the front doors of the castle. The large slabs of wood seemed to have crystallized, and they gave off a faint glow of magic. Another sentry tapped on the right half of the door with the base of his halberd, and a small section of the wood parted soundlessly to allow them entry.

Spike once again ducked through the door, followed by their escort. The door closed gently after Clear Sights.

"This is where we part, sirs," Amethyst Star told the group. "We've been instructed to deliver the General to his office, and to bring Mr. Spike to the royal dining room for breakfast."

Spike nodded to the Lieutenant, then shuffled Fluttershy once again to offer his paw to the pony.

For some reason, Clear Sights seemed to hesitate for a moment, before taking Spike's paw with a small smile.

"Unfortunately, I'm sure that I'll see you again soon, young drake," he said, before nodding to Amethyst Star.

Spike stared at him for a moment before calling out, "That's not ominous at all!"

A throaty chuckle was the only reply, and the General and his escort soon turned down a hall and disappeared from sight.

Huffing, Spike shook his head and looked around at the dressings of the entryway, a simple affair compiling tapestries of several different colors to match the rulers of the land. A simple chandelier lit the small entryway, and two hallways split to the left and right as a double staircase led up and to either side of the upped floor.

Whistling, Spike looked to Bright Cluster.

"Glad I've got you," he said, smiling. "I get a feeling that this place might be tough to walk around without... a..."

He stopped talking as the Lieutenant looked up from a piece of parchment, covered with crisscrossing lines and layers. Spike could see the top two sections on the page.

"... Lieutenant Bright Cluster, is that a map of the castle?"

Cluster frowned, folding the page before tucking it back into his armor.

"Spike, sir, I'm not sure what it is you're implying," he said, before looking down a hallway. "The dining center shou-", a cough, "is this way. If you'll follow me."

The pony quickly started walking down the hallway, and Spike jogged for a second to catch up.

Sighing, he looked down at the pony in his arms.

She blinked up at him, before smiling sweetly.

"Good morning, Spike."

He blinked down at her, before giving her a small smile.

"Uh huh, 'good morning'. How long have you been awake?" he asked, leaning his neck down to plant a dry kiss on her nose.

"Vahnhoova," she enunciated, before both of them giggled.

"So, I carried you all the way up here for no reason?" he asked, looking up to make sure he was still following Cluster.

"Nope," she chirped, smiling up at him. "You carried me up here because you love me."

Blushing, Spike slowly nodded to her. "Yeah, alright then."

Spike continued down the hallway for a moment, lost in thought, before he heard a retching sound from a hallway just ahead of them.

"Max gross, Spike," came a young voice from down that hall. Spike grinned immediately as he recognized the vocals that somehow managed to mix Rarity's smooth audios with Rainbow Dash's rough vocabulary and cadence. "You're reminding me of mom and dad."

From around the corner came a very light pinkish violet mare, her purple and teal hair curling around her ears and at her shoulders. She scratched at the horn on her head as she yawned, before she stretched out a wing to scratch gently at some of the feathers there.

"Hey there Wildberry," Spike said, one of his paws automatically flicking out with a single digit pointing at the mare, his thumb pointing at the ceiling as the other three curled. "Kind of early for you, isn't it?"

"Hahaha, Grape Soda," the mare said, grinning still as one of her pinions separated to point back at him. "Not my fault that tart baker designed that single pastry after me." She yawned again, her wing coming back to cover her mouth. "You're the only reason I'm up right now, too."

"Oh yeah?" Spike said, adjusting Fluttershy. "Shiny want you at breakfast as well?"

"Yeah, guess he likes you or something," she said, smiling up at Fluttershy. "Hey there, Flutters."

"Hello there, Flurry Heart," Fluttershy said, wriggling so that she wasn't belly-up anymore. "It's been awhile since we talked, hasn't it?"

"Maybe for us, but me and Soda boy over there just had an O&O session this weekend, didn't we?" Flurry said with a grin.

"You know it uses up a spell slot for me to conjure up arrows for you, right?" Spike groused, frowning heavily.

"Eh, cheaper than carrying around a ton of them," Flurry said with a shrug. "Lighter, too."

"Don't talk to me about lighter, Ranger," Spike said, pointing at Flurry. "Six strength, remember?"

Flurry snorted and stage whispered to Cluster, "Wizards."

He chuckled weakly, looking around and meeting Fluttershy's gaze, who merely shrugged.

"Hey, maybe we could organize a game while you're up here, finally be able to play without a scrying ball all over the table," Flurry said, perking up. "How long are you planing on?"

"Oh, a week?" he said, looking at Fluttershy for confirmation. "We never really put a definite end on this vacation thingy."

"I'm sure we'll have time for a game," she assured. "Maybe a couple, if they're quick?"

Both of the other shared a look.

"Maybe a short one," Spike said, Flurry nodding.

"Our regular games go on for around eight hours, when everyone has time for that," he said. "Our short ones still go for three or four hours."

"Oh," Fluttershy said, a little surprised. "That's a bit of time to dedicate to a game."

Spike shrugged, smiling. "It's usually worth it."

They walked for a moment more, before Flurry looked around the hallway and paused.

"Hey Cluster," she said, looking up one of the hallways. "Where are we going?"

Lieutenant Bright Cluster looked around himself, pulled out his piece of paper from his armor, then sighed.

"Dammit," he muttered.

Table Conference pt 1

Cadance put her forehooves together and tapped them loudly, a minotaur and dragon custom they'd seen her use often, smiling just short of maniacally.

"Put the teeth away sweetie," Shining muttered, elbowing her gently.

She coughed, covering her muzzle long enough to school her expression before she nodded at the group across the table. "Well, to start, let me be the first to congratulate you on finally coming together and finding an arrangement that will hopefully work for everyone involved.

"As for what's next," she said, her hooves once again meeting in front of her muzzle but this time creating a bridge for her to lean on, contemplatively. "I'd say you three need to hammer out exactly what you want from this relationship, and how long you look to keep the relationship going. Are you looking for a lifelong partner, a short fling, or something in between."

She held up her hooves at the looks the rest of the table were giving her.

"I know, I know, by this point it is fairly obvious that none of you are only in this for a fling. Nonetheless, you need to discuss what you are in this for."

Spike looked at both of the mares, who were looking at each other with small smiles.

Fluttershy started, looking at Cadance as she said, "I'm in this for Spike's companionship. We were friends before, though probably not as good as we could have been. A month and a half ago, he came to me after having been awake, and probably alone, for three days straight. We spent a surprising amount of that day together after he'd woken up, and I found myself startled by how nice of a time I'd been having.

"After that, he started coming by more often, at first because of Twilight, but then..." She blushed heavily, pressing her back against his chest. "But then he started coming over for me," she said, a shy smile playing across her muzzle as she rubbed her back against him gently, the smile widening as he wrapped his arms around her.

"And I think I would be happy with just that," she said, looking up. "I just want him to keep wanting to spend time with me. I'll probably want more, later, but for now, that is plenty for me."

He tilted his face down, pressing his lips to her nose in between her nostrils, smiling widely.

Rarity cleared her throat then, and everyone turned to her.

She took a breath, blinking slowly a few times, before she said, "I want, first and foremost, Spike's forgiveness. Not," she said, holding up a hoof to him as he began to speak, "not for breaking up with you. While I am extremely sorry for that, I still feel like it was one of the better things I could do at the time. No, what I'm sorry for..."

She sniffled once, pressing a hoof to her nose for a second before continuing, "I would like you to forgive me for not being able to tell you about my fear. I want your forgiveness for keeping such a thing, such a disgustingly central thing about me, a secret from all of my friends."

And then she gave a smile, one that quickly became watery, as she firmly stated, "And I would like to continue where we last were when we were truly together, free of my negative expectations, years ago."

Spike lifted one of his arms from Fluttershy, raising it over Rarity's head and pulling her close to the other two, looping everyone in a group hug that both mares reciprocated; Fluttershy by raising one hoof to his arm and one over to Rarity, who simply turned her body and pulled the other two into a hug Pinkie Pie would've been proud of.

He slowly relaxed, then looked across the table at Cadance.

"We talked about this a bit before, but I'm just sort of along for the ride," Spike said with a small chuckle. "I would like to keep these two happy, and I definitely want to help Rarity with her phobia. But as long as we're all happy, I'll be set?"

"And everyone is good with that?" Cadance said, looking in between the three of them with her eyebrows raised.

Rarity hummed slightly before, with a blush, she raised a hoof. "Uhm, at some point, I would certainly like to have a foal," she said, almost whispering.

An electric tingle went up Spike's spine, the spikes along it standing at attention with a victimized groaning and splintering noise from the chair he was on. His mind quickly descended into a static, soft white noise.

"Ah, well, Kirin are a thing," Cadance chirped happily, and Spike mechanically turned his muzzle from the white mare to the pink one. "What, they are! At this point, they're mostly descendants from older pairings between dragons and ponies, but every now and then another one pops up from, let's say a shorter family tree."

Rarity reached up with a hoof and gently tapped Spike on his arm, waiting until he moved his head back around to face her before she said, "Probably not anytime soon dear, and definitely not before everyone is ready."

Spike closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, opening them and nodding before kissing her forehead and turning back to the table.

Fluttershy raised her head and smiled at him, before rapidly wiggling her eyebrows and winking.

Spike groaned loudly and gently pushed her muzzle away, arching his neck away and back from the table, his head ending up somewhere between his shoulder blades as the group laughed at his expense, Fluttershy muttering about taking care of cute little foals between giggles.

When Spike returned from his temporary absence they settled and he once again laid his head on top of Fluttershy's, huffing as he came to rest.

"Alright," Cadance said, pointing at both mares, "that is an example of something important to talk about. Spike," she said, glancing up at him and chasing away her grin to give him a serious look, "what exactly are your feelings on foals? Are you open to the idea of siring foals, or Kirin as it were? "

"Uhm," he said, concentrating to keep from freezing up again. "Not opposed, definitely, but... I'm not sure really. I haven't thought about it in much depth. It feels like something that happens later?"

Cadance nodded before turning her head to the two mares. "And are you ladies okay with not having pony foals? The children would come out as Kirin, a race that is known for their mostly pony attributes but the fiery temperament and horns of dragons. They would be healthy, unlike some certain cross breedings, but they would be, very obviously, not pure-blooded ponies."

Fluttershy immediately nodded. "They would be my children, and the prospect of Spike being their father doesn't bother me," she said, biting her lip. "It sounds really nice, actually... As long as they could be happy and healthy, I would be too."

Rarity hesitated, and Spike had to do every mental exercise available to him for that not to rip out his heart.

"Right now, there are some roadblocks for me," she admitted, looking up at Spike apologetically. "I would like for that not to matter, and I very much want it not to matter, but for now I'm afraid it does. Not enough to not want to try this, of course," she said quickly, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Again, I don't want this to matter, and I hope that it won't for long."

Spike finished his train of thoughts, letting them settle and analyzing them before he nodded.

"I understand, sort of," he said slowly. "I won't say that the answer doesn't hurt, but I will say that I understand, and if you'll let me, I would like the opportunity to change your mind in the future."

Rarity blushed, pushing on his shoulder with the hoof there. "That's a better pitch than some of the ponies looking to partner up with my Boutique," she said with a smile. "I am more than willing to receive your attempts."

"Alright," he said with his own smile. "Besides your phobia, any other things you can think of? Fluttershy?" he also asked, gentle ruffling her chest fluff with a paw.

"Well," Fluttershy said, glancing over at Rarity shy, "I think we both have a short bridge to cross when learning about we communicate romantically, especially with each other, but that's an over time lesson more than a sit-down and talk. I think I am ready for whatever the next step would be with helping Rarity with her phobia."

"I've had an idea about that, actually," Cadance said, looking across the table at them. "I'm just not too sure about how all three of you will feel about it. It could put some strain on the relationship Fluttershy already has with Spike, and it will certainly stress Rarity."

Fluttershy glanced over at Rarity with a smile. "I'm confident in the strength of what we have."

Rarity swallowed dryly before reaching a hoof out and taking up her teacup, sighing when she found it still clean and empty. Levitating over the pot, she poured a drink and downed it before filling her cup and setting the pot back where it was.

"I'm ready for whatever it is," she said, taking on a steely gaze and nodding to Cadance.

Who giggled. "It's nothing that bad. Honestly, it'll probably have the most impact on Spike." She nodded as he cocked his head. "What I have in mind is a sort of immersion therapy called exposure therapy, where Rarity would be constantly, well, exposed to her phobia. Through repeated interaction with this phobia, she would slowly acclimate to the source of the phobia, and eventually reconcile her fear to the point that it wouldn't impact her, at least nowhere as strongly."

"So basically, I spend time with her, being a dragon?" Spike asked, his head remaining tilted as he gave a small, but confused smile.

"You spend as much time together as physically possible," Cadance corrected sternly, raising her eyebrows. "You spend every waking minute as close to her as possible. As her mind processes you and your presence, it should get used to a dragon being near, and at some point, it'll stop mattering that you're a dragon at all. I think this is what was happening when Rarity panicked the first time and broke off with you."

Spike and Rarity looked at each other, understanding dawning in their eyes. Spike looked unsure, while Rarity was actively nervous with just a bit of a grin curling her muzzle.

"You want us to move in together?" Spike asked.

Cadance teethed her bottom lip, not quite biting it, before smiling and nodding.

"Yeah, that should work. Leave your bed behind, though."

Author's Note

So much for Saturday releases, huh. Ah well, I suppose. Updates are updates, as long as they're decent updates. This one doesn't feel completely decent, to be honest, but it does feel necessary. Quality should pick up when they get back to home base, which should be soon.

Anyhow, see ya bois later :rainbowkiss:

Author's Epilogue

Well, that was a ride, wasn't it? December 2015 all the way to January 2021, and 42 chapters, ending at over 100k words with 500 likes.

Fuck man, those are some great stats.

I wanted to use this space to talk about the story, where it went and where it should have gone, but those paths have been tread and the signs are about if you'd like to walk them. Instead, I'm going to thank a couple of people, and then tilt myself towards other projects (I'm already a chapter into a Spike-Pie story in the same vein as this one, as well as my other projects :yay: )

Now, I can't thank every single person that's read this individually, that's just ludicrous. So instead I'm going to cherry-pick the names I know, recognize, and love (platonically [mostly :raritywink: ]).

The first person is a salty, rowdy boy named B_25, without whom the later parts of this story would not exist. When I was at the lowest point in my writing and wavering on whether to even continue this story or not, he came across my dash and gave me the philosophical kick in the nads that got me writing with any sort of frequency and quality. Thanks to the boi and his entire Discord, which has supplied me with laughs and support just by existing.

The second person is one of my longtime serial commenter s, DarkDMan. This is one of those Bilbo Baggins bits, where I don't know you half as well as you deserve. But I do know that you've been here for at least four years, and you've always had something to say, always good as far as I remember. You're appreciated, and you helped me go on before B got to me like he did. Love to you, boi :heart:

Thanks to lazyreader19, in the same vein as Dark. You may not have been around for the same length of time, but I saw your comments at the same level as I did Dark's for the time you were here, and I appreciate you in the same way boi.

Love to Vinyl_Scratch-14 and chip43 and everyone else who PM'd me and drove me on to continue, you kept the momentum going when it needed going.

And love to everyone else here, still reading this, still getting this thing featured in the box every time I updated it. Thanks to all 8000 separate views I'm pretty sure this has gotten if I read the analytics right.

That's a lot of bois.

See you in the future, and love to you and those all around you. Thank you for the years of reading, and I hope that the next project brings you some of the same joy this one did.

:raritywink: :yay: :moustache: