The town always looked different at night. From Spike's perch on the town hall, he could see all of Ponyville surrounding him; it was like he was looking down on the world. There were few lights on at this hour and it was too dark to make out individual buildings, but Spike thought it was beautiful.
He heard a call from overhead and he looked up to see Rainbow Dash silhouetted against the stars, looking down at him.
"Spike? What are you doing up here?" She asked, dropping down beside him and flicking her mane out of her eyes. "It's a long way up and an equally long way down. You don't want to fall, do you?"
"It's not like I'm going to try," Spike grumbled, but moved away from the edge anyway. He looked back at the expectant pegasus, wondering what to say, although he had no reason to lie to her.
"So, why are you here?" She persisted.
"I'm escaping." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in alarm, and he quickly continued talking. "Not literally, I just wanted to have some time to myself for a bit."
"Is something wrong?" Rainbow Dash moved closer to him.
"Not exactly," Spike gave her a small, half-hearted smile. Without thinking, he blurted out "Can you keep a secret?"
"A secret? You can count on me!"
"I'm... kind of bored of my life." Spike grimaced and looked away.
"How so?"
"Everyday it's the same thing. I follow Twilight around all day and do whatever chores she asks me to do. I don't know, I guess I just want something to change. I just need some time to think."
"Why don't you just leave?" Spike opened his mouth to ask if she was joking, but when he looked at her her expression was completely serious.
"What do you mean... leave?"
"You know, leave. Just go on a journey and start a new life elsewhere."
"Sorry Dash, but that's just too unrealistic, and I couldn't do that to Twilight. She's always been there for me, and I need to be there for her. She needs me."
"Twilight will be fine on her own." Spike didn't respond, and after a moment of silence, she cleared her throat and smirked. "I'm leaving tonight, you know, if you want to come."
"What?!" Spike exclaimed, stumbling and almost falling off the roof in shock. "What did you say?"
"I'm leaving," she repeated, "there's a whole bunch of us too. You're not the only one who's unhappy with their life."
"Wait, let me get this straight, you're leaving Ponyville tonight?"
"That's right, and I don't plan on coming back any time soon."
"And you haven't told anyone?" Spike felt annoyance well up inside him. "You're planning on leaving without saying a word to anyone?"
"Well... Yeah, I guess." Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly. "That's just part of running away. But hey, I told you at least, so that must count."
"That's not fair," Spike insisted, but she just shrugged it off.
"Are you coming then?" She looked expectantly at him, and although Spike didn't want to admit it, his heart couldn't help but race at the thought of leaving. Somehow, the idea excited him.
"I don't know, Dash, this doesn't seem right..."
"Who cares? Come on Spike, you have to think about what you want. Not what's right, but what you want to do."
"I'm sorry," Spike let out the breath he hadn't realised he had been holding and shook his head. "I'll watch you leave, but I'm afraid I won't come with you. Sorry, Dash."
"Fair enough, if that's what you want."
Rainbow Dash spread her wings and took to the sky, with Spike following her lead. He wasn't sure where they were going, but it didn't take long for them to reach another rooftop. As they landed, he noticed a small group of ponies nearby.
"Rainbow Dash has arrived!" She announced loudly, walking over to them as they greeted her.
"Is Spike coming too?" A pegasus pony called out from the side, but Spike couldn't make out who it was. He opened his mouth to deny it, but Rainbow Dash interrupted.
"Indeed he is! Shall we get moving now?" Her words were greeted with a chorus of cheers, and almost immediately afterwards the ponies turned and began running. The sound of their hooves pounding against the rooftops was all that could be heard as they headed forwards through the disorientating darkness.
"Why would you say that?" Spike hissed to her, but she just gave him an unapologetic look.
"Why not? Give it a chance. If you don't want to come, you can always turn back."
When he didn't respond, Rainbow Dash began galloping after the group, and when Spike followed closely behind her, she grinned triumphantly.
Spike found that leaping over rooftops wasn't so bad once the initial fear was gone. In fact, he rather enjoyed it.
"Dead end!"
A shout came from ahead, but instead of slowing down, they continued onwards until they were walking on air. Before the could fall they spread their wings and pressed onwards, and it was only then that Spike noticed they were all pegasi.
"Now!"
At the word the crowd dropped suddenly downwards, plummeting towards the invisible ground. A sound escaped from Spike's mouth, but it was lost in the sounds of laughter and screams of joy.
Time seemed to slow down as they fell, until the group also began to slow, stretching their wings out to break their ascent.
They landed safely on another roof, but Spike couldn't make out where they were through the mass of ponies.
"What now?" He choked out, bleary-eyed and beginning to regret his decision.
"Just wait for it," Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, the wind whipping her mane around her face. Her eyes were wide, her grin wider.
"What are we waiting for?" Spike asked, but only a moment later the group fell eerily silent. In the quiet, Spike could hear the sound of rumbling and the familiar whistle of a train.
"No." Dread filled him and he turned to Rainbow Dash in horror, who didn't seem to be deterred in the slightest. "No way."
"Yes way, we're jumping it," she said, her eyes bright with excitement. "Isn't this awesome?"
Before Spike could reply the horn sounded again, this time much closer, and with a cheer the group paraded forwards to the edge of the roof, but Spike remained stationary.
"Come on, Spike," Rainbow Dash called back to him, but he could hear a hint of urgency in her voice. "We have to go now, or we won't make it!"
Spike was conflicted; it wasn't too late for him to turn back, but in the end, did he really want to?
"Spike!" Rainbow Dash was beginning to panic. "Isn't this what you wanted? This is our ticket out of here!"
The train was passing fast. He shouldn't be so scared; he'd already jumped across rooftops, but at least they had been stationary. The rest of the runaways had already leaped across the gap onto the roof, and Spike could hear their calls of encouragement begin to fade as the train took them further away. He hesitated for a moment, staring into Rainbow Dash's eyes that were bright with anticipation, before he ran forwards, his sensibility thrown to the wind. Beside him Rainbow Dash turned and cantered on towards the edge, and when they reached it Spike didn't think,
he just jumped.
