Chapter I: You've failed me every time
Chapter I: You've Failed me Every Time
The night sky of Equestria was beaming with light cast off by Luna's moon, as well as the millions of stars that littered the night sky like snow on a winter's day. The night itself was perfect for couples to go out and have some fun, date, or just take a nice walk around the town. Mares and Stallions trotted down the brick paths that led towards the multiple restaurants and taverns that were brimming with life. Many of the ponies ,that were taking one of the many paths, were dressed in exquisite gowns and suits. Others wore nothing at all, and simple galloped down the small pathway that led to a few trails in the Ponyville Park. The night itself was truly perfect. About a few blocks down the paths, Spike the Dragon was waiting outside the Castle of Friendship. He was dressed in a very fancy tuxedo, with matching cufflinks as well. The excitement on the little drake's face was one of complete unfathomable excitement. Today had been the day that him and Thorax, his changeling friend and mate, where going to have a nice dinner at one of Ponyville's fanciest restaurants "The Eifel Poni". It was one of the most popular restaurant in town, and Spike (after many months) finally managed to get reservations. Spike glanced down at his watch, 9:30. He had less than twenty minutes to get his table on time.
"Come on Thorax, where are you?" Spike said as he glanced at his watch
Thorax was late, and Spike knew that getting another table would be practically impossible. So, he decided to just make his way over to the restaurant himself. At least he knew that if Thorax was late, he would be able to get to his seat without seeing another pony occupying it. It wasn't a very long run, but it sure was tiring. Once Spike had made his way to the entrance, he made his way inside. Opening up the door, he was immediately greeted by a large diamond chandelier that hung above the ceiling in front of him. Walking up towards the stand, he glanced up at the stallion dressed in a fancy suit and tie and said
"Hi there, table for two please. I have a reservation."
The stallion immediately looked down at the dragon in front of him, and gave a warm smile
"Ah. Wi Wi. Please come, I have your table ready for you. Right this way."
The stallion placed Spike on his back, and made his way towards Spike's table. Upon arrival, Spike sat himself down in one of the chairs.
"Your waiter will be with you shortly sir." The stallion said in his strong french accent.
"Thank you very much." replied Spike
As the stallion walked away, Spike took some time to admire the scenery in the restaurant. The walls were adorned in a very fancy like wallpaper with gold molding etched around each corner of the wall. Paintings and other famous work covered the walls like trophies in a trophy case. Chandeliers hung from multiple parts of the ceiling, giving off an elegant glow. All of the chairs were littered with ponies of every shape and size. All where wearing fancy attire. Spike glanced down at his watch once more, 11:00p.m. This was getting ridiculous. Thorax had promised him that he would be here by at least 9:20. What was taking so long? As Spike was contemplating the situation , a mare dressed in a chef's outfit, with matching hat, walked up to Spike.
"Bonjour, Monsieur Spike. My name is Daphne. How may I serve you tonight?"
"I'll have a water, and..."
Spike looked over at the empty seat in front of him. He quickly glanced over at his watch, almost midnight. Spike sighed. He had been let down, again.
"Is something the matter Monsieur?" The chef asked
"No..Nothing's wrong. I'll have a water. And I guess I'll take the chef's special as well." Spike said glancing at the menu board in front of him
"Excellent choice Monsieur. I will have that out for you in a bit."
With that, the mare walked off, and made her way to the kitchen. Spike stared back at the empty seat in front of him, then glanced back at his watch. He kept on doing this over and over again. When the meal finally arrived, Spike had lost any appetite that he once had entering the restaurant. However, in order to not offend, he made himself eat the entire dish that was served to him. The meal itself was quite nice. A nice strip of stake cut up into thick chunks and drizzled with , what he thought was an almond glaze. On the side of the plate was a fancy pastry with what looked like apples and pears in it. It didn't taste as good as Applejack's pastries, but it was good. After the meal, Spike paid the bill, gave the chef/ waitress a large sum of bits as a tip, and made his way out. As he walked out the restaurant, he took one more look at his watch. 1:30 a.m. Spike's eyes began to water at the realization that Thorax had broken yet another promise to him. Thorax had promised him that he would be their for their big date, but (of course) he didn't show. Thorax had done this more than once, actually he did about twelve times. The trip home was quicker than when he had left. That was because, everypony was already in bed sleeping, as he should've been. Upon making his way inside the castle, Spike took off his fancy coat, and made his way towards the table/map of friendship. He pulled out a weird looking device that Thorax had given him some time back, and placed it on the table. Within seconds, the device (which resembled a Scarab Beetle) began glowing a bright green. A green beam of light shot out from the middle of the device, forming a screen. It didn't take long for the screen to show a very familiar image. Thorax.
"Hello?" Thorax began
"Hello, Thorax." Spike said flatly
"Oh Spike, hey what's up? How have things been going?" Thorax replied with a grin on his face
Spike looked at the Changeling in front of him, and pointed his finger towards the tux that he was wearing. Thorax looked at the dragon in horror, as the realization hit him. He had forgotten about their date, again.
"Oh Spike" Thorax began " I'm really sorry that I missed our date. Tell you what, I'll make it up too you. How about dinner tomorrow.."
Thorax was interrupted with Spike saying ,"No."
"How many times are you going to do this Thorax?" Spike began " Every time you say that you'll make it up to me, you always forget."
Spike was starting to tear up. Thorax said nothing, he just stared. Spike continued
"Why do you do this to me Thorax? I mean, I know that you have a hive too deal with, and I understand that your not always going to be there for me. But the least you could do is actually show up for a date!" Spike snapped
"Spike...I" Thorax began, but Spike cut him off
"I can't do this anymore Thorax. I just can't..." Spike's eyes watered as he began choking up.
" What do you mean?" Thorax asked with a ting of fear building up in his throat
Spike looked up at the changeling, tears streaming down his face as he said
"I'm tired of being abandoned all of the time. I'm tired of the broken promises...I ... We're through Thorax. This relationship is over."
Thorax's eyes widened.
"Spike, no.. Wai..!" Thorax began, but Spike had already removed the Scarab from the table, thus ending the conversation. Spike just sat there, breathing heavily. Hot tears flowing down his face, as he fought the urge to start bawling right then and there. Quietly, he got up, and made his way towards the guest bedroom in the castle. No way was he going to wake up Twilight or Starlight. Spike climbed up on the guest bed, and like a hose on a fire hydrant, he let his tears flow from his eyes. He buried his head in the pillow and let out his sobs. Thorax, on the other hand, stood where the screen had once been. Shock plastered on his face. It only lasted for a minute, as he collapsed on the ground, and started bawling.
The next three days where probably one of the worst days in both Spike and Thorax's lives. Neither of them came out of their rooms during the duration of their mourning process. This was most certainly true for Spike, as he had taken the breakup the hardest. He just locked himself in his room, not bothering to come down and interact with Twilight or any one of his friends. The only things that he did were cry, and gorge himself with a large stash of gem stones in order to try and fill the void that was left in his heart. Neither of which helped him ease the pain of regret for what he had done. He had just lost his best friend, his lover, and now he was back to being the lonely dragon in a sea of ponies. As the third day came to a close, Spike made his way out of his small bathroom and back to his bed. Climbing into the covers, he turned towards the small nightstand that connected with the bed he was sleeping on. On it, he saw his lamp, alarm clock, and his picture Twilight and the rest of the mane six. Resting in the corner of the picture frame, was a row of pictures from a photo booth. Spike sighed, and grabbed the pictures. He sat up in bed, and gazed down at the small photo album that was in his claws. The first panel showed both him and Thorax in a goofy position, the next panel showed the two of them embracing one another, the third panel showed the two of them mooning the camera for the heck of it, and the final panel was what got to him the most. It was a picture of the two of them giving each other their first kiss. Memories of that day flooded Spike's mind, as a flashback played in his head.
FLASHBACK:
" Wow Spike, I had a great day today!" Thorax exclaimed as he bit into his cotton candy
" Well, I did want to make our first date special, and I thought why not have it at the Carnival." Spike said giggling
Thorax smiled and began nuzzling Spike gently. Spike shuttered with pleasure as Thorax rubbed his muzzle against his neck. It didn't take long for the both of them to notice that all of the rides and booths where all closing for the night.
" I guess it's time to get going." Thorax said sadly
Spike gave a disappointed look at first, but then noticed a photo booth right next to the entrance. His eyes beamed with excitement as he said
"Hey Thorax, how about we both make these memories permanent?"
Thorax was about to ask what Spike meant, until he noticed the photo booth as well. The two of them gave sly grins to each other, and in a matter of two point five seconds, the two of them shouted
"Race Ya!"
The race towards the photo booth was about as short as anything, but for the two of them it was fun. As the two of them made their way inside the booth, they both started trying to keep themselves from laughing as the camera took their pictures. A few minutes of photo taking later, and the two of them were out of the booth. In a matter of a minute, two copies of pictures slid out of the slot that dispensed them. Spike grabbed them and placed one of the pictures into Thorax's hoof.
"Now this memory can last us for a very long time." Spike said grinning
"I like that Spike, I really do." Thorax said with a smile
END OF FLASHBACK
Spike's claws were trembling now, and soon his entire body fallowed suit. Spike began hiccuping, as hot tears flowed down his face at the memory that had just played in his head. He was surprised that he could even cry, after doing so for nearly three days now. He had cried for so long, that small scars had began to show on his face from all of that crying. Regardless, he just let all of it out. He hugged the picture in his claw and bawled like a infant being separated from its mother for the first time.
"Thorax!" Spike cried as he hugged the photos even tighter than before.
There was nothing else he could do, but just cry...and cry some more.
Meanwhile, back at the Changeling kingdom, Thorax was in a similar state at Spike. However, instead of crying, he just lied in bed with a small plush of Spike cuddled up next to him. The reason why he wasn't bawling his eyes out, was because he had already let out all of his tears the day that Spike had broken up with him. Now, he was just a mess. He didn't eat, he barely slept, he just shut down. Many of Thorax's subjects became worried the health and well being of their King. Some even went so far to sneak into Thorax's bed chambers, while Thorax was asleep, just to make sure that he was still breathing. Many of them were concerned at what had happened to cause Thorax to just shut down like that. Many of the Changelings remembered when they saw Thorax running towards his bed chambers, and a few even recounted that they had seen him crying. Many of them wanted to see what was ailing their king so much, but they decided to let him be, at least for the next few days that is. However, things were starting to slow down a lot more now that Thorax wasn't giving directions anymore. Because of this, their hive (although livable) was still in need of repairs, and the love that they sustained was starting to wear thin. They all knew that something had to be done, and quick, in order for everything to stay in order. After drawing rocks, Rummy ( a changeling with red eyes and red tips on his ears) was selected to go and talk with the king. This , of course, was not going to be an easy task.
