A determined Spike and Rainbow Dash were soon making their way through the air, following the path that would lead them to the other villages. Today was the day that Spike would prove to Twilight that he was more than capable of completing a friendship mission outside of Ponyville, and he knew that wouldn't fail because he had made a new friend in Granger and now had a special somepony that he could call his own in Rainbow Dash. The sun was now out completely and warming up the valley, now hinting that summer was indeed almost over.

"You're confident that this mission will work?" Rainbow called to Spike. Spike rubbed her behind the ears and smiled.

"Absolutely, a hundred percent!" He replied. "This probably ain't going to be easy, but with my good will and your determination there ain't a friendship problem that we can't solve!" Rainbow grinned brightly hearing Spike's bold words. As long as he was confident then she was too. She then flapped her wings even faster and then bolted through the air, with Spike holding on as tightly as he could.

Earlier:

"You really think that by helping me repair my friendship with my friends, is the friendship problem you two are looking for?" The silver stallion asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"I'm positive that this is what we are supposed to do." Spike replied, "It just seems to me that this is the right thing to do!"

"And by repairing your friendship with them, think of much better you will feel and how much your attitude will improve!" Rainbow Dash said confidently. "And who knows, maybe this will help you out with your business as well...."

Granger was put off by what Rainbow had said and quickly interrupted her.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Spike and Rainbow Dash were surprised by what Granger had just said.

"What do you mean no?" Spike asked.

"I don't know if I can do repair things with my friends, I just don't think I can!" He replied. The stallion then laid his head on table and began to sob again.

"Whats wrong Granger?" Asked Spike, " Why do you think that things cannot be repaired between you and your friends? You just mentioned to us how you miss your friends!" Granger then looked up at the young dragon and cyan mare and then sniffled loudly.

"I do miss my friends, but I don't want to patch things up with my friends if it means trying to save my business. I don't want my old greedy self to come back. I would rather lose my business then go back to my old greedy ways!" He declared. Spike and Rainbow could see where Granger was coming from, but they knew that they had to help their new friend and get him and his friends back to speaking terms.

"Let us try, and see what happens." The two said, "But trust us, everything will be alright. Just leave everything to us!" Granger let a small smile sneak onto his face, and then got up from the table.

"Well I hope you two are right" He stated, "But when things start to go sour because of my old greedy ways, don't say that didn't warn you." He then walked slowly to the back door of the cabin and then went outside. It was then that Spike and Rainbow gulped and hoped that what they were doing was the right thing, and that it wouldn't make things worse.

Present:

Meanwhile as Rainbow with Spike on her back were flying through the valley, they soon approached a fork in the road that appeared on the map that they had.

"Think it's best if we split up and try the cabins on the path that we take." Spike said to Dash. She nodded her head and then flew off following the trail that went to the left, and Spike began to walk along the trail that went to the right. But before he really went anywhere Rainbow Dash flew back and landed by him.

"You wouldn't happen to know what Granger's friends names are, and what they look like do you?" Rainbow asked. Spike then groaned and then smacked the palm of his claw against his forehead.

"Oh for bucks sake!" Spike sighed.

Soooooooooooooo, Rainbow and Spike had to quickly fly back to Granger's and ask him what his friends names are, and whereabouts they live. To make things even more difficult Granger told them that they were living separately in three of the four villages that they had already visited, because the other four villages were shut down for the year. Spike and Rainbow groaned and then headed back to the villages they went to previously. So far this mission was starting to become more and more of a hassle.

"Okay, let's try this again!" Rainbow chuckled while Spike sat on her back with his arms crossed.

"Better be worth the effort" Spike muttered to himself.

Later that day:

It had become quiet now that Spike and Rainbow Dash had left Granger's cabin. He didn't want to admit it, but he began to feel even more alone now that the cabin which was all that he had had been so quiet for so long. Deep down he hoped that his new friends could help him and his old friends become close again, but he was still trying to figure out what he was going to say to his old friends when he saw them. Would they take him back as a friend? Would they say mean things to him? Would they even say anything to him at all? There were so many things playing throughout his mind that he began to tear up again. All these days he had spent to himself for the past year had been tough on the stallion, but he knew that Spike and Rainbow Dash were going to do everything that they could to help him, and he knew deep down in his heart that he was a good pony and that he wanted to do good by the other ponies that he cared about.

Then after what felt like it had been another year, but in fact had only been a few hours the door to his cabin opened up. Granger peered at the front door, and noticed a familiar looking dragon walking through the door.

"Hey there Spike" Granger said excitingly. "You're back! How did things go with you and Rainbow Dash on finding my friends?" Spike looked at the silver stallion and gave him a small smile.

"Come and see for yourself." Spike instructed.

Granger then walked to the front door and peered outside. When he looked he saw three familiar ponies, a earth pony with a dark brown coat and lighter brown mane, and two unicorns. One with a maroon coat and yellow mane and the other one with a dark green coat and black mane. He recognized the earth pony as Freerun, the maroon unicorn as Beaver Tail and the dark green unicorn as Maple Leaf. Granger's jaw dropped and he stood perfectly still. As much as he wanted to run up to his friends his hooves felt as they were frozen to the ground, and he couldn't speak as his mouth just seemed to not want to function.

"Granger?" Maple Leaf asked with a surprised look on his face.

"Is that you?" Freerun questioned. Granger still couldn't come up with the words to say anything. He just looked at the ground and then nodded. He didn't know what they would say next, and then to his surprise he felt the ground shake and then the hooves of his three friends wrap themselves around him.

"We were so worried about you!" Beaver Tail sobbed. She couldn't contain her tears from running down her face, neither could the others. Granger was completely frozen in shock. The ponies who he thought had hurt with his greedy personality had all along been worried about him, and had seemed to have really missed him as much as he did them. Granger then began to tear up and then he wrapped his hooves around his three old friends.

"I'm so happy to see you three!" Granger cried. His friends smiled brightly and chuckled as they continued their hug. Afterwards Granger then wiped his eyes and then looked at his friends.

"Did Spike and Rainbow Dash tell you I was living here?" His friends looked at him and shook their heads.

"Actually they told us about a cabin in the woods that needed some "TLC" and that we should check it out" Freerun replied. "They never told us that you were here!"

"We didn't know where you disappeared to" Beaver Tail said, "We went to find you but when we went to your house you weren't there!" Granger was surprised that his friends were saying these kind words, the pain that he thought he did to them had only had been done to himself.

"Why did you run away?" Maple Leaf asked him. Granger looked away and gulped.

"Because I thought you three didn't want to be friends with me anymore after what a jerk I was. You guys didn't want to be involved with me no more so I decided to leave." Granger explained. His three friends were stunned to hear what he had to say, and then they looked at him and smiled.

"We never did say that we were cutting ties with you." Freerun said kindly. "You did act a little selfish and we were upset with how you tried to take everything over for yourself, but we knew that you made a mistake and we were going to talk with you the day after but you had vanished!"

"We did look for you and we were hoping that you would return" Beaver Tail chimed in, "We knew that you didn't mean to act that way, we actually felt bad for getting upset when we should've tried to sort things out from the start. You didn't mean to act that way right?"

Granger looked at his three friends right in their eyes, and he immediately shook his head.

"No. I was just a stupid stallion who thought that bits was more important than friendship, but when I left our village and went off on my own I realized that bits are not the answer to any ponies problems. I wanted to come back and talk with you three but I was just too nervous and upset with myself to face you all again because of my actions. I made a mistake and I know I can't turn back time and fix things but I have learned from my mistakes. Can you all forgive me?"

Before he could say another word, his three friends then once again wrapped their hooves around him and pulled him in for a big hug. No words were said as none needed to be said as Granger knew that he was friends once again with the ponies that he cared for the most.

Spike and Rainbow Dash had been watching the whole time, and had a hard time holding back tears of their own. To them it reminded of their friendship with Twilight and the others. It wasn't a sappy feeling, but it was a heartwarming feeling. They soon walked over to the group of reconnected friends, who were very happy to see them. Especially Granger.

"Thanks you two for helping me get reunited with my friends. I can't thank you enough for all that you have done!"

Rainbow Dash and Spike beamed proudly, and then gave each other a hoof bump. They felt great about themselves, thinking that their friendship mission that they were to complete was finished. Rainbow then looked at her flank to look at her cutie mark, and Spike looked up at his scales, hoping to see them pulsate with a green color. But as they kept looking something happened, something that shocked the both of them.

Nothing!!!

Neither Rainbow's cutie mark or Spike scales glowed. Rainbow had to smack herself across the face to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. Spike's could feel his heart sink to the bottom of his chest, and then he felt like crying. All the hard work that him and Rainbow had done was not their friendship mission after all. They then put on their strong faces and joined in with the group.

The Next Day:

Spike walked the slowest he probably ever walked in his life as he and Rainbow Dash made their way back to Ponyville. It had been a long night for the two as they spent another night at Granger's cabin, talking and spending time with him and his old friends. They were all very nice ponies, and they all thanked them for their help as well. Throughout the night, Spike was restless and it took him awhile to fall asleep. Rainbow too had some difficulty sleeping, and was very groggy when the morning sun lit up the cabin.

Earlier that morning:

"Are you sure you two can't stay for another day?" The kind silver stallion as his two new friends.

"Sorry Granger, but we have to get back to Ponyville." Spike replied, "but we will come see you again very soon."

"Yeah, and this time we'll bring our friends so they can meet your friends" Rainbow Dash said kindly. No matter how happy they were that they helped Granger repair his friendships with Freerun, Maple Leaf and Beaver Tail, they were still down from their mission failing. As they began to turn to leave the cabin, Granger spoke up in low voice that only Spike and Rainbow could hear.

"This wasn't your friendship mission. Was it?" He asked, his curiosity plaguing in his mind. The young drake and cyan pegasus quickly winced, the words sounding like a dagger into their backsides. They then turned to face Granger, but they couldn't bring themselves to bring the words out, instead they only shook their heads with disappointment. Granger's ears went back, and he looked sadly at the ground.

"I had a feeling it wasn't, I could tell by the looks on both your faces yesterday. I'm sorry you two, I wish there was something I could do."

Spike and Rainbow felt terrible inside. But before they could manage to give a reply, Granger then looked back up with a smile.

"But I am very grateful for you two in helping me, even though it wasn't your mission. I'm still very happy to have met the two of you!" Spike and Rainbow Dash's spirits then brightened. To hear these kind words from such a friendly stallion like Granger was enough to make them feel better and forget about the mission all together. They then smiled brightly and shook hooves with their new friend.

"It was very nice to meet you too Granger" The both of them said happily. They soon got their things, and waved goodbye to the kind stallion and leaving behind the cabin that they had a wonderful time in. There was without a doubt, that the two of them would be back!

Meanwhile:

"Spike, are you doing okay?" Rainbow asked. She had noticed that the young dragon that seemed to be growing more and more by the day, had been rather quiet for the last few hours.

"Oh sorry, Yeah I'm fine Dash." Spike replied, "just been thinking about some things that's all."

"Are you thinking about the friendship mission?"

"Yeah that's one thing I was thinking about. I just can't come to grips that we couldn't find the problem, even when we helped Granger repair his friendship with his three friends. It doesn't make any sense!"

Rainbow couldn't agree more. As much as she loved solving friendship problems, she just had that feeling that they lost to a problem that they could of easily solved, and Dash really really hated losing. Especially to something like a friendship mission.

"It's a head scratcher alright" The loyal pegasus chimed in, "I definitely think that the cutie map has to be on the fritz this time, or either that egghead Twilight planned this out as a joke!" Rainbow then looked at Spike who now had a look of even more disappointment and then held his down and let out a sad sigh.

"There you go again Dash, making the poor guy feel sorry for himself! So much for being a loyal friend!" She thought to herself.

The rooftops of Ponyville could now be seen in the distance, even though they had been gone for four days, the town that they both called home seemed different yet also bigger. Rainbow then looked over at Spike again, who now looked like he was going to break down and cry. Rainbow now felt even more upset for her friend, she wanted to say something cocky but didn't think it was right for her to say something like that, then she took a deep breath and began to break the awkward silence.

"For all its worth Spike, even though you didn't complete your mission, you faced it head on and didn't give up. You braved a mighty storm just to find us supplies, and you even helped a kind pony get things right with his three friends and got them talking to each other again, even though it wasn't the mission we were sent to do. No matter what any pony says you're not a failure, you in fact my little purple scaled friend are one of the biggest winners in all of Equestria!" She declared. Spike took in her words on what she was saying, and then turned his head to look at her.

"How do you mean Dash?" Rainbow let out a small laugh, and then wrapped her wings around Spike to bring him closer to her. She gave him a small kiss on the side of his head and then proceeded to give him a noogie.

"Because you got the most loyal pony in Ponyville and the awesomest flier in Equestria as your marefriend buddy!" She finished with a smirk on her face. Spike laughed as Rainbow continued to rub the top of his head with her hoof. He knew that she was right on everything that she had said. The pony that he thought was the coolest, radical and by far the most fun pony to be around was now his special somepony. He knew that she deeply cared about him and he knew for sure that he cared about her a lot too. He then took another long gaze into her eyes and grabbed her around her head and brought her face close to his.

"And I feel the same way Dash. I too am glad that I got to go on this mission with you". Spike replied and then he planted his lips against hers, which she was quick to oblige. Then they closed their eyes as they made out with their most passionate kiss.

Then the two began to feel different and then they heard a familiar noise. Rainbow turned her head to look at her cutie mark while Spike looked at his scales. To their utter shock and disbelief, they were pulsating with their colors which then told the two of them that their mission was somehow complete.

"What...Whats happening?" A confused Rainbow Dash asked. Spike didn't respond right away as he was just as confused as she was. As much as this was exciting that her cutie mark and his scales were glowing, it didn't seem right for them to just start glowing right out of the blue, especially since they couldn't figure out what the mission was or what it could of been. Then to Spike, it hit him like a ton a bricks. The truth was right there, in front of him all along. He then smiled from ear to ear, a smile that would put Pinkie's to shame and then he hugged Rainbow Dash as tightly as he could. Rainbow couldn't figure out at first why he just started smiling and then gave her a big hug. And then it came to her. She then realized what the mission was and had been from the start. She then smiled brightly and then returned the hug Spike was giving her, only to squeeze back even tighter. She didn't want Spike to one up her at giving the best hug after all.

For Rainbow Dash and Spike, their mission was over and happily was a success!

End of Chapter Seven.

Author's Note

This chapter I wanted to add in some new characters and tried to make them so they wouldn't represent any other characters in the show.

Freerun is based off a horse that my mother owned when I was a little kid, Beaver Tail is based off the colors and the design of the Canadian Pacific Railway logo: http://www.thegreatcanadiangiftcompany.com/assets/images/CP_Beaver.gif

And Maple Leaf off the old Canadian National Railway colors and logo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Canadian_National_Railways_first_logo.svg/2000px-Canadian_National_Railways_first_logo.svg.png

Go figure, I'm Canadian eh?

And I love trains lol.

I just wanted to go with my gut, and try to make this chapter as funny as possible. I thought, why not make it so they have to retrace their steps and have to go back the way they came? Why not have it so they were so quick to complete their mission, they completely forgot to ask Granger what his friends looked like or what their names were? I mean c'mon man, you guys can't be that stupid right? And they call themselves professionals lol.

I had thought about making it so the mission that they had was to reunite Granger with his friends and that was that! But I then thought what if it wasn't? That has to be the biggest troll anyone or anything could do to someone/somepony. I had debated over it for sometime and had to come up with a decision.

So anyway, for all its worth, I think this is so far going pretty well for my first story.
Hope you all stick around till the end. Next chapter is the finale!