Spike's Out of His Depthby TheSecretBronyChaptersChapter 1: Picking up where we left off.Chapter 2: Passing the Time.Chapter 3: Apologizing can be Hard to Do.Chapter 4: Picking at EmbersChapter 1: Picking up where we left off. Spike's Out of His Depth. Official Sequel to Spike's Home Alone by ~TheSecretBrony Colored fonts are used, for best reading experience please adjust the background color to a darker setting Sorry for the long hiatus! Three weeks had passed since Twilight Sparkle had returned from her week in Canterlot and finally it seemed there was a return to normalcy. She thought her week away was something worthy of note, it isn't everyday the Princess asks you to teach at her prestigious school after all. Who'd have thought she'd be one upped, by Spike no less. At first she'd thought she'd misheard him, it was so preposterous, Spike and Fluttershy? Even Celestia was surprised when she received the friendship report written by Spike, so it's no wonder that it sent poor Twilight's mind for a spin. Thankfully that was in the past now and whilst public opinion of Spike and Fluttershy's relationship was varied at best, she and the other elements had come to accept it as the norm, even if they didn't approve too much of Twilight's coping mechanism. The library had recently undergone some drastic renovation, namely the addition of a new bedroom for Spike. After all, he was a growing dragon who could no longer fit in the little basket at the foot of Twilight's bed, and considering his newfound maturity, a little privacy wasn't exactly out of the question. Spike's room was converted from the practically disused laboratory, the study of the magic of friendship hardly called for the usage of such sophisticated scientific equipment. Twilight was actually a little jealous, the ex-laboratory was much more spacious than her room, though given Spike was going to grow quite a bit more in the coming years, she couldn't protest. He'd decorated it as simply as he could, not wanting to trigger another greed-growth. He had a wardrobe for his small collection of suits and outfits, a dresser for personal items, upon which rested a picture frame, showing Fluttershy and himself, and a bed. He could hardly believe his eyes when it was delivered, a king-sized bed big enough for four ponies. One thing was certain Spike wasn't going to wake up with any back problems in the foreseeable future. It was on this bed Spike now lay, his limbs splayed out in all directions and his forked tongue hanging down his cheek as he snored. Twilight was upstairs busily rushing about, constantly flicking her gaze to the clock and her frustration growing with each glance. "It's nearly noon! Why isn't he up yet!" She cried. Today was important to Twilight, namely reshelving day and her so called "Number One Assistant" wasn't about to help. His door was locked and he couldn't seem to hear her shouting on the other side of it. True she could probably teleport into the room, maybe take a bucket of cold water with her, but she didn't want to be the one to breach the agreement between them. Though each passing second made the thought more and more tempting. "Honestly I pay through the nose renovating that room for him and how does he repay me? Sleeping in!" Before the disgruntled unicorn could continue with her rant, however there was a knocking at the door. Dropping the books she was levitating, Twilight walked over, taking a moment to collect herself. It wouldn't do to scare away a customer. Mentally checking that she'd reached a level of calm, Twilight slowly opened the door. Waiting on the other side, picnic basket held under one wing and a book under the other, was Fluttershy. "Oh good morning Twilight!" Fluttershy said as she walked past Twilight, added the book to one of the many piles and began looking about the library. "Morning Fluttershy, how can I help you?" Twilight pushed the door shut before returning to organising the books. "Oh it's nothing, I just came by to drop the novel I borrowed, thanks for recommending it by the way." "My pleasure is that all you wanted, I'm a bit busy today..." Twilight said, taking note of the basket. "Oh! Spike and I had a little picnic planned for today, if that's okay. Where is he?" Fluttershy said, remarking the surprising lack of certain purple scaled assistant. "Oh great so he's going to be spending all day with you again..." she muttered. "What?" "Nothing,nothing!" Twilight rolled her eyes and scoffed. "He is still in bed would you believe." "Really?" She threw a hoof in the air "Yeah! And on reshelving day of all days!" "Oh dear..." Fluttershy began pawing at the ground. "Well how about I go and get him?" "By all means, but I'm telling you he's practically comatose, how else could he not hear me screaming?" "I don't know, I'll go see." She silently tiptoed her way downstairs, being sure not to interrupt Twilight's work. Twilight however shouted down after her "Fluttershy?!" "Yes Twilight?" "I really hate to do this but please can I borrow your boyfriend for a couple of hours, I need all the help I can get!" She pleaded out of pure desperation. She'd only been at it for an hour or so but she was already lost without Spike noting everything down. "I don't know Twilight, I'll try to get him up first." "Thanks!" As she approached the large door to Spike's room she reached into her picnic basket, producing a bronze key. She slotted it into the door and turned it, sure enough the lock clicked and the door swung open. As quiet as a mouse she approached the side of Spike's bed and nudged him. "Spike? Wakey-wakey." Spike's eyes fluttered as he stirred, as his eyes fell on Fluttershy they shot open and Spike careered backwards of the bed dragging his quilt with him. "F-Fluttershy? How did you get in here?!" "Good morning Spike. You gave me a key remember?" To prove it she waved it in front of him, before returning it to the basket. "Oh, right er good morning?" He said sheepishly which Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at. Taking a couple of seconds to make his bed, he turned beaming at Fluttershy. "Shall we?" Fluttershy nodded and the pair started making their way upstairs. As they approached the top Spike held his arm across, stopping Fluttershy in her tracks. She looked at him in confusion. He pressed a claw to his lips, signalling for them to be quiet. Twilight was too lost in her work to notice them, and given what they had planned for today it didn't serve Spike any justice to be caught by her now. Not unless he wanted to spend all day reshelving. Slowly the pair crept along the floor of the library occasionally ducking behind stacks of books, doing everything they could not to be seen. However when they were mere feet from the door, Spike's tail accidently knocked over one of the ladders propped against the shelves. Twilight was on the sound instantly, glowering she turned on Spike snorting like a bull. Wide-eyed Spike turned to Fluttershy and shouted one word. "RUN!" They bolted, Spike having to duck to avoid the large dictionary Twilight threw at him, pretty soon they were off and down the street, leaving the librarian to scream after them. "COME BACK HERE YOU TWO!" She quickly retreated back into the library however, after realising her shouting had drawn maybe just a little too much attention. Out of breath, the two stopped near Sugarcube corner, Spike laughing victoriously. "Oh man, did you see her face, she was livid." He rubbed the back of his head and grinned "I am so gonna get it when I get home!" "Wasn't that mean, I mean she just wanted you to help her?" "Knowing Twilight, not at all, besides I've been helping her for years. Is it so wrong for me to want a break from time to time?" "I guess not." "She'll make up for lost time when I get back I'm sure, totally worth it though." Fluttershy laughed as Spike pulled her towards him. "So what now?" "Hey guys!" "Gah!" The couple split apart in shock as Pinkie dropped between them. Spike clutching his chest looked at her in disbelief. "Pinkie! What have I said about sneaking up on me like that!" Ignoring the the sugar-fuelled sneak for a moment he walked over to his startled marefriend, who in the commotion had taken refuge in a nearby plantpot. "Fluttershy, it's fine, just Pinkie Pie." "Oh hi Pinkie." Fluttershy said nervously as clumps of dirts started to tumble from her mane. She removed the shrub from the top of her head and replanted it before returning to Spike's side. "So what are my favourite couple up to? You two on a date, huh? Are you? Are you? Oooo picnic basket!" Not waiting for an invitation Pinkie dived under Fluttershy's wing and buried her head firmly into the basket. "There is a lot of stuff in here huh?" Before Spike could interject Pinkie had darted over to the doors of Sugarcube Corner, opened them and proceeded to bounce up and down excitedly in the doorway. "I know, I know, I know, come in, come in I have something to give you." Spike and Fluttershy looked at each other, then back to the jittery mare, then back to each other. Shrugging they walked into the bakery, following Pinkie who had sinced disappeared without a trace. Waving to the Cakes who responded with a pair of warm smiles, the couple sat down at one of the tables by the window as they awaited Pinkie's return. Around five minutes passed in awkward silence, Spike resting his head in his hands. "Do you know what she's getting us?" Fluttershy shook her head, "No, I have no idea, but knowing Pinkie it could be anything." "It's odd really, it's not like Pinkie to take so much time, I swear one of these days I'm going to figure her out but right now I can't make heads or tails." "I wouldn't worry Spike, I don't think anypony in town 'gets' Pinkie, besides she always has the best intentions." "True." Spike and Fluttershy began to pass the time, going over their plans for the day once more. A simple picnic in the park, a walk through town before heading back to Fluttershy's. As much as the pair enjoyed spending time with each other, Fluttershy's duties to the town's animal population had to take precedent, Spike didn't mind though. He actually found it to be an endearing quality and served as a constant reminder that he was the lucky boyfriend of probably the sweetest, kindest pony in Equestria. Spike had ordered a milkshake whilst waiting for Pinkie, that turned out to be a mistake as mid-drink she popped up behind him, clutching a present by the ribbon in her teeth. The scene that followed should be reminscent to any who've ever had milk spurt out their nose. After cleaning the resultant mess, for which both Spike and Fluttershy apologised repeatedly to the Cakes for, Pinkie placed the gift on the table. "Here you go!" "Okay Pinkie, I'll bite what is it?" "It's a surprise silly!" Spike clutched the bridge of his snout, "Pinkie, I swear to Celestia, if anything pops out at me..." Tentatively Spike cut away the ribbon and peeled away the wrapping, at arms length of course. Under the wrapping was a simple, white carboard box. Slower still Spike pulled the lid up. Nothing exploded, popped, burst, sprung or jumped. Taking that as a good sign both Fluttershy and Spike peered into the box. Reaching inside they retrieved their gifts, smiling with uncertainty at Pinkie who, as always had a huge grin on her face. "Do you like them?" Pinkie's gifts were a pair of plushies, one of Spike and one of Fluttershy, each labelled as being for the other. Fluttershy cuddled hers whilst Spike just stared at his perplexed. "I asked Rarity to make them, look she did one of me as well." Sure enough Pinkie produced a plushie of herself from her mane. "Aren't they just the cutest, you can cuddle them and snuggle them and they're oh so soft. I thought it was a good idea, this way you can always hug your special somepony, even when they aren't there!" Fluttershy smiled and hugged Pinkie "Thank you Pinkie, this is so sweet of you, you shouldn't have." "Yeah, really you shouldn't..." "Spike?" "Sorry it's just, aren't I a little old for this." "Oh I wouldn't worry Spike, I'm pretty sure Big Mac still has that Smarty Pants doll. If a tough guy like him can have a doll, surely you can." Spike looked up at her slightly hurt. "Are you saying I'm not tough?" He said puffing up his chest. Fluttershy giggled and turned to her friend "He loves it really Pinkie, thanks." "No problem." Then for a moment she stopped, "Hang on, that's reminded me. Have either of you actually spoken to Rarity recently?" Spike and Fluttershy looked at each other, mouths open then down at the table, each cuddling their plushies. Spike spoke first. "Actually no, from what I've heard she doesn't leave the boutique much." "Me either, she keeps canceling our spa appointments." Spike waved a hand dismissively, "Meh, I wouldn't worry about we all know what Rarity's like right? She's probably just buried in her work again. She's always taking on more than she can handle, I should know I worked there often enough." Fluttershy then spoke up "Actually Spike I've been meaning to ask you about that." "Huh?" "When was the last time you visited the boutique." "I dunno, three weeks? Oh..." How could I have missed that?! The whole reason I started going there... "What is it?" "I just realised, since I've started dating you, I haven't been anywhere near the boutique." "Really?" Oh...my... Spike looked down, twiddling his thumbs "Yeah, man, it makes me sound really shallow but I think maybe, maybe my er, my crush was the only reason I helped out there." Fluttershy nodded thoughtfully "Well I guess that makes sense, it was a way to spend time with her. But your over that now, right?" Spike, becoming flustered, sat up quickly "Absolutely! Or should I kiss you again to make sure?" Fluttershy turned bright red as Spike planted a kiss on her cheek and hid behind her mane in embarrassment as the young drake chuckled to himself. She is so cute when she does that! I really wish he wouldn't do that in public! Oh my, is-is anypony staring? I don't think I could take it if they were staring! Pinkie silently d'awwed, when suddenly she sat up, like an electric shock had just been sent through her chair. "Oh, oh, maybe we should visit her! We could go now!" "Ehhh, I don't know if that's a good idea." Spike said, earning him shocked glances from both Pinkie and Fluttershy. "What? Trust me, if she's buried in work and I'm pretty sure that's all it is, us visiting her is going to be the last thing she wants. Believe me she barely has time for her little sister when that happens, never mind friends. Got to admire the dedication really." Fluttershy nodded "Alright, but I still think we should stop by and say hello at some point." "How 'bout this? If we don't hear from her by the end of the week, I will go over there and drag her away from the sewing machine personally." Spike cracked his knuckles and stood up, Fluttershy followed suite "Now then, shall we carry on with our date?" "Lead the way!" The two walked off side by side, leaving Pinkie humming to herself. I wonder if I should get Rarity something, maybe a surprise, oh I know, I could get her a plushie too, and Twilight and AJ and Dashie, we could all get plushies! Oh wait, Rarity makes the plushies, silly Pinkie! It's not a surprise if she makes it! How about cake, she'll probably be stressed after all that hard work and cakes really good, or ice cream, or better yet ice cream WITH cake, it can have sprinkles and frosting and- Suddenly Pinkie Pie stopped thinking all together. She began to shudder. "Oh! Another doozy! I wonder what this one could be!" She looked around expectantly for something to happen, when nothing did however she returned to skipping about the bakery before heading into the kitchen. "Now what flavour would Rarity like..." Chapter 2: Passing the Time. Twilight lay in the middle of the library floor defeated. With no Spike to assist her, the library had won. Organisation was one of her strong points. She'd successfully co-ordinated winter wrap up, on time and on schedule. She'd never missed a deadline on a report, the thought of which made her shudder, and her level of focus was unrivalled. Yet there she was, surrounded by a seemingly endless piles of books, taunting her just by being there. "I hope Spike comes home soon..." she whispered, before rising to her feet. She was happy for him, she truly was. It was Spike's first real relationship and she understood that now he had other priorities, he wasn't always going to be there when she needed him. He was still her assistant but she wasn't the only important pony in his life anymore. In truth, Twilight was jealous though she would never willingly admit it, how silly would it make her look, being jealous of Spike? She was the personal student to Princess Celestia, the Element of Magic, she had five of the most adoring friends she could ever want. She was the quite possibly the worlds biggest bibliophile and she lived in a library. All of her needs were met, except for one. She walked into the kitchen, using her magic she removed the lock on the one cupboard Spike wasn't allowed to open. From within it she produced a bottle of wine and a glass. A birthday present, courtesy of Berry Punch, she frowned when she saw half of it was gone already. "Going to have to buy more..." she grumbled as she poured herself a small amount. Twilight wasn't much in the way of a drinker, all through school she'd often looked down on her classmates who grinned with pride as they recalled their exploits under the influence. Drunken fools were drunken fools and Twilight liked to think she wasn't a fool. The alcohol just helped calm her nerves a little, that's all, besides a little wine never hurt anyone. Given how she felt at the moment, she welcomed the eventual numbing of emotions that would soon follow, maybe then she could collect her thoughts enough to finish reshelving. Even if Spike wasn't there to help she was determined to get it done. She felt saddened as she remembered the reason he wasn't there. "It isn't fair." She moaned. "Why is it everypony else seems to have a special somepony but me? My brother's happily married, my assistant has a marefriend and it's Fluttershy! The last pony anyone would have expected get in a relationship with the only dragon in town! She's supposed to afraid of dragons for Celestia's sake. Even the girls have their little stories, they're often about relationships gone wrong but still, they've had at least one." She downed her drink and started to pour a second. "I think Applejack is the only one I haven't heard bragging but come on, AJ spends all day on the farm, nopony's going to ask her out with her brother nearby..." She began to pace about the library, an excercise she often took to when in deep thought. No book could provide an answer as to why, or a solution for her predicament, and Twilight had looked. No matter how many novels, guides or manuals she read on the subject, romance was just too elusive for her to pin down. She sat, thinking long and hard, sipping on her wine, covering every possible outcome, as she was want to do in a crisis and to her this qualified as such. Suddenly she bolted upright, in a eureka moment, as she reached the only conclusion she could think of to make any sense. "I know what's wrong. Nopony wants to date the nerdy librarian! Nopony wants to date someone smarter than them." Her moping quickly turned to anger at this and she quickly finished her third glass. "That has to be it, I mean what else could it be? I'm not ugly am I?" She walked upstairs, stumbling on the steps a little as her focus started to falter. "No, it's because I'm an geek isn't it? I'm not normal enough for any of the stallions in this town..." Her train of thoughts quickly followed down this track, it was true wasn't it? Rainbow Dash had often taunted her for being an egghead, out of playful bater of course but that was just it wasn't it, she was an egghead. The only stallion like her in town was that sickly looking one, who wore glasses and was still suffering from acne despite puberty passing him a long time ago. She prayed that he would never ask her out, yet was seemingly hurt by the fact that he hadn't. Oh let's face it, that guy's quite literally the bottom of the barrel and even he hasn't bothered, odd considering he's always in here reading comic. Comics! They aren't even proper books, what are they even doing in a library! Defeated and feeling quite drained, the alcohol making her feel sleepy, Twilight decided to retire. A quick glance at the clock told her it was still early in the afternoon, she could sneak a quick nap and still have time left over to sort the mess downstairs. As her eyelids started to feel heavy, she let out a large yawn. Before she drifted off her final thoughts were of Spike and Fluttershy. She hoped they were having a better time than she was. Spike and Fluttershy were indeed having a good time, their little picnic becoming something of an unusual spectacle. The Ponyville weather department had scheduled a light downpour over the town at the request of the farmers, fortunately thanks to a timely intervention by Rainbow Dash, the date was not ruined. True to form as a loyal she had punched a hole in the cloud cover over the pair so that they wouldn't have to change their plans because of the bad weather, protocol be damned. Anypony who happened to look would see that despite the rest of the town getting wet, the couple were safe in their little cone of sunlight. After enjoying their meal, at which time the rain had come to a more natural stop, the two carried on with their walk through town. Rose the florist waved at them as they passed the market, clearly happy to see yet another relationship in Ponyville she'd had a hoof in creating, regardless of how small her role was. Their destination was Sweet Apple acres. Apparently Winona had acquired an injury whilst helping herd the cattle and Fluttershy had offered her services. "Howdy y'all!" The greeting came from Applejack who welcomed Spike and Fluttershy as they approached the homestead. "Good afternoon Applejack." "Hey AJ!" Spike said with a wave. She tipped her stetson at them, as was the common courtesy amongst the Apples. "Nice to see you two, still getting along I see, how is everything if you don't mind me askin'?" "Everything's fine, why do you ask?" "No reason, just curious." She said, though unnoticed by Fluttershy, Spike was quick to pick up on the nervousness in her voice. He also noticed the subtle glance out to the south, where he could hear the sound of a pair of mighty hooves striking bark. Deciding it was no business of his Spike tapped Fluttershy on the shoulder. "D'you mind if I dash off? I figure it's better to get whatever Twilight's got planned for me out of the way, you don't need me for this right?" Fluttershy shook her head. "No thank you Spike, see you later?" "Definitely!" And with that he started back towards home, leaving the two mares to talk. They headed towards the barn, Fluttershy started to look a little concerned as she could hear Winona's whimpering, she doubted the injury was cause for much concern but it still pained her to hear an animal in pain. "You sure you two are okay?" Applejack asked again once Spike fell out of earshot. "Yes." Fluttershy was puzzled by this, Spike was just here, he was happy and so was she, just what was Applejack expecting? "Absolutely sure?" "Yes". Is she hiding something again? Applejack you know you're a terrible liar, can't you tell me what's wrong? Applejack looked at the ground ahead of her. "Sorry, jus' making sure, can't be too careful can you?" "I suppose not." Something is definetely bothering her... Well, I'm sure she'll tell me eventually, I mean, I trusted her with my secrets, right?...Right? As they approached the door to the barn, Winona, smelling her owner on the wind, had limped out to meet them. Her right hindleg was held painfully against her stomach, leaving the poor dog to balance on three legs. She still had that cheerful smile, but every step was clearly causing a lot of discomfort. Fluttershy flew over to the wounded hound and scooped her up in her hooves. Thankful to be off her feet, Winona began lapping at her face. "Hehe, it's nice to see you again Winona! Would you mind if I took a look at your leg?" Seemingly understanding the soothing words of the pegasus Winona nodded, carefully Fluttershy lay the dog down and began to examine her injured leg. "What happened?" She asked Applejack who was stood watching from a distance, not wanting to interfere. Fluttershy just couldn't shake the feeling though that not all of her concern was focused on Winona. Applejack tapped her chin as she tried to recall the incident. "Not too sure, reckon a bit of carelessness was involved though, either she's slipped up and caught it on something, or she got to close to the pack and got trampled. All I know is one minute we were herding the cows back into their pen, the next Winona is whimpering like a lost puppy pining for it's mother." Fluttershy huffed. Maybe it didn't bug ponies like Applejack but Fluttershy secretly hated the whole notion of farming animals. Cows could talk, they were intelligent creatures, but ponies still found it neccesary to lock them up in pens. "Haven't you ever considered asking the cows to get into their pen? They might not be ponies but they aren't stupid." To her surpise Applejack started laughing "Now where's the fun in that?" "Fun?" She replied through gritted teeth. "Sure besides applebucking there ain't much to do this side of town. I'm pretty sure the cows don't mind, like you said if they had a problem with it, they'd be able to tell me." "I guess..." Fluttershy continued to work in silence, scrutinizing the limb whilst being careful not to cause any pain. Eventually Applejack felt the need to speak up. "So what's the verdict?" "It's just a sprain, probably from running too fast." She looked at Winona. "Now you be a good little puppy and stay off that leg for a least a week, do you understand?" Once again Winona nodded. "Good, Applejack it may help if you could bind the leg to stop it moving, she'll need a rest and plenty of food and water. Okay?" She stood up, being careful when placing Winona on the ground "Sure thing Fluttershy!" Applejack said, grateful that her companion wasn't that seriously harmed. "Thanks for stopping by." Applejack began walking towards the house to retrieve some bandages, more than eager to follow Fluttershy's instructions. Looking back however she noticed Fluttershy following her. "There a problem sugarcube?" Fluttershy became slightly flustered, as though she'd been caught out. "Oh no, it's just well, I have a question." Applejack turned to face her. "Shoot." "Okay erm, w-why did you seem so worried?" AJ started to scratch her head "About Winona?" She shrugged "I've had her since she was a little puppy, she's an Apple through and through, course I got-" "Not about Winona, Applejack, about me and Spike." Now it was Applejack's turn to look flustered, her eyes darted left and right, hoping to find some form of distraction or diversion. "Oh er... Listen sugarcube, it doesn't matter you're both fine so that's that, now I really gotta see about fixing that leg of Winona's." "Applejack, what's wrong." Fluttershy stared at her for the longest time, eventually cracking under the pressure AJ threw her hat on the ground, frustrated. Oh darn, I can't say no to Fluttershy can I? Damn you honesty! "Applejack?" "Ah consarnit, I can't hide nothing can I?" "I wasn't going to say anything but you seemed a little, distracted." Applejack sighed "If you must know sugarcube, I was a little worried about you and Spike, turns out there was no need though, y'all are doing just fine without me moseying in on your business" That last statement had Fluttershy even more confused. "What were you expecting?" "Ah don't rightly know sugarcube, guess I was just being paranoid." "That's not like you." "I know! Look can you keep things quiet, this don't leave us y'hear." "Sure thing, you kept my secret!" Applejack contemplated for a moment deciding the best way to explain herself, eventually she found the words and started to talk. Ushering Fluttershy closer she spoke in the quietest of whispers. "Alright look, I don't know the details but Big Mac's been acting awful peculier these past couple a' days. Now the last time I saw him acting like this was after that whole mess with Cheerilee, you know the love potion my sister and her friends slipped 'em." Fluttershy nodded. "So the way I figure, Big Mac's having girl trouble again and that got me worrying. I know it's silly but thinking about his problems with relationships, which are his business and his business alone, I was worried maybe something might have gone wrong between you two as well. It's superstitious nonsense but there it is." "Oh my is he alright?" Fluttershy asked. "Yeah the big lug'll be right as rain after a couple a days, probably burn through a couple a barrels of the good stuff but he''ll bounce back. It was you I was worried about." "Do you know who the marefriend is?" "Nope and I get the feeling I don't want to know so I haven't asked. Don't matter anyway, I ain't proud to admit but stallions of Big Mac's... build are hard to come by, specially in this town. Knowing him he'll already three new marefriends lined up. Assuming his latest one's gone off him." "Oh okay." Thanks Applejack, that was a little too much information "So that's all that was. Sorry if I ruffled your feathers any, I didn't mean it." "Don't worry you were just concerned for a friend, nothing wrong with that" "Well, if that's all I best be getting back to work. See you on Friday?" "Friday?" "Twi's sleepover remember?" "Oh okay, see you then!" Oh darn I completely forgot about that! His date now officially over Spike walked his way back through town. He walked with a smile and a spring in his step, why wouldn't he? As far as he was concerned everything in his life was fine and dandy, it didn't really matter to him what Twilight could do to him for skipping out on his chores, he in too good of a mood for that. As he passed the boutique however he stopped. He pondered for a moment as to whether he should go in, but it didn't appear to be open, all curtains were drawn and the windows were shut. That and the big "closed" sign pinned to the door. He shrugged and continued his way home. Unbeknownst to him however a figure was watching from the shadows, wearing a hooded cloak and fuming at the very sight of him. "Skip along little Dragon, skip along. I hope you enjoy things as they are because I guarantee they aren't going to last. I'll make sure of that." Whipping the tail of their cloak around the stranger disappeared into the alleyway. "Poor little Spike, maybe someone needs to remind you what you are hmm? And I shall be the one to do it!" Author's Note I don't know why but I feel like I've lost my mojo a bit. I hope this chapter is at least readable, if not I apologise, I haven't been sleeping well so maybe that's to blame. Anyways here's hoping I get the next chapter done by (you guessed it) Friday! ~TheSecretBrony P.S I wrote this on my new Kindle Fire! The autocorrect causes some problems but I wanted to give it a go. My verdict? Stick to PC, it's much easier. Though it's still great for reading stuff. Chapter 3: Apologizing can be Hard to Do. The sun began to descend as the little dragon finally managed to get home. It usually didn't take quite so long to walk to the library from Sweet Apple acres, but be it from guilt, laziness or simply from being absentminded, Spike had dragged his feet a little, opting for the long way home and taking his time to do so. There isn't a pony or dragon alive that would hurry towards their inevitable punishment, at least none that Spike knew of. He opened the door to the library, yelling as he did. He hoped that it would give him a chance to get a word in, as he braced for the shouting. "Sorry Twilight, please don't be mad, I promise I'll make up the time!" The lights were off and he almost tripped as his feet caught on the books still covering the floor. After flicking on the light switch, Spike was astounded at what he saw. Given Twilight's usually exemplary work ethic, the fact that she hadn't even begun to finish was cause for alarm. "Twilight?" No reply. He tiptoed delicately past the books, not wanting to cause yet another avalanche. He was in enough trouble as it was. The library was eerily quiet, not that unusual considering it was a library but still, it gave Spike the chills. Normally at this hour, Twilight was either hard at work, or had her muzzle planted firmly in a book, sleep never came very easy for her so she had to find ways to pass the time. Once again he called out. "Twilight?" Just where the hay is that pony? He shrugged, deciding that it would be best to get to bed and take his punishment in the morning, he started towards his room, when he heard his stomach grumble. He laughed nervously, taking the long route home was a sure way to build up an appetite. Spinning round he headed into the kitchen. As he helped himself to the remnants left in the fridge, he happened to notice that the sink was empty. She wasn't the best cook, but that didn't mean Twilight couldn't have whipped up a quick bite to eat with Spike gone. Spike then noticed something even more peculiar. An unusual smell that lingered on the air, bitter yet slightly aromatic. The plate holding Spike's supper slipped between his claws as worry took hold, whirring his head around he confirmed his fears. Twilight had opened that drawer. When the pony you live with is an extremely powerful unicorn, with an aptitude for innovation and a love of experimentation, you learn to be a little cautious. The only reason Spike was able to sleep in the same room as Twilight when he was younger, was because her curiousity was tempered by both her morality and her reasoning. If Twilight had been drinking, she was no longer restrained by either. The first time Spike had witnessed Twilight drunk was coincidentally the evening after his first date with Fluttershy, where after a week of being overworked by a class of teenagers, Spike's unexpected revelation had caused Twilight to have a mental collapse. When Spike came home Twilight had smelt something foul, greeting him with a grin that was borderline masochistic and kept ranting about "fixing it", whatever "It" was. If she hadn't collapsed from overdoing it, leaving an awful mess on the floor by the way, Spike doubted he would have lived to see the morning. This is bad, this is very, very bad! Arming himself with whatever he could reach, in this instance a frying pan, Spike went to search for the missing librarian, if she was drunk, then she was incredibly dangerous and Spike couldn't forgive himself if she went rampant about the town. The first place he checked was his room, fearful of a Twilight hiding in wait, like the monsters from so many fairytales. He checked his closet, under his bed and behind the door but found no sign of her. He knew she wouldn't be in the kitchen or the main section of the library, so that left one more place, her bedroom. As Spike headed up the stairs, his senses seemed to increase tenfold, the smell of alcohol grew stronger, and every creak that arose from the old wooden steps were louder than normal. He could feel his heart beating in his chest ever faster, he felt the surge of adrenaline as his claws wrapped around the handle of Twilight's door. He breathed slowly and slower still pushed open the door to her room. "T-twilight? You in here?" This time he got a response, a jumble of unintelligle jibberish, followed by a very loud snore, Spike allowed himself to relax. Praise Celestia! She fell asleep! Spike smiled a little as he celebrated in the fact that Drunk Twilight hadn't done anything during her little visit, though this was quickly soured when he realised that tomorrow Normal Twilight would be hungover, and therefore even more irritable than usual. He sighed, this was his fault in part he realised, stressing her out like that. Was he being selfish? Maybe a little but what was he supposed to do, stand up his marefriend? Not unless he wanted the relationship to last, and considering Fluttershy was the only pony in town, who had shown any sort of romantic interest in him. He wanted it to last. It also helped that she was so cute. He approached the side of the bed and pulled the covers over Twilight, who had in her drunken stupor, literally thrown herself onto the bed. Kicking the covers aside as she had streched out on the bed. Spike noticed the wet stains on her pillow. Has she been...crying? He'd made Twilight cry? If Spike hadn't felt bad before, he sure felt bad now. He'd abandoned her, as hard as he found that to believe, he knew that's what he'd done. He sat down on the side of the bed looking at her. Even now the unicorn shivered, plagued by a nightmare it seemed, as she moaned and sobbed under the sheets. Spike tried his best to calm her without waking her, shushing and stroking the top of her head gently, as Twilight had often done for him whenever he got upset or frightened. I...I've got to do something about this, I've... He swallowed deeply as he realised now, he'd felt something in the back of his mind as he ran and heard Twilight screaming after her. You're crying, because, you think I've replaced you! Spike remembered how he felt when Owlicious first turned up, how he felt abandoned and alone because he thought Twilight had found someone better. It sickened Spike to know that, however inadvertently, he'd made Twilight feel like that. He had to apologize to her, make her see that he was still her assistant, that much was clear to him. He hoped that she would see this was just a big misunderstanding. "Sorry Twilight..." He knew she probably couldn't hear him, she'd probably wouldn't even remember in the morning but still he felt obligated to apologize right there and then. He pulled the door shut, before heading down to his room. No longer feeling the tension that had plagued him not moments before, Spike was able to relax, sleep coming quickly for him. Together, Twilight and Spike quickly filled the library with the sound of their snoring. Little did they know of the powers at work, if they did, sleep would have been the last thing on their minds. The hooded figure, the one whom had been watching Spike and Fluttershy mere hours before, felt disgusted as they watched Spike sleep through the window. They'd dealt with dragons before, brutish, foul-mouthed, malicious creatures, who only cared about feeding their greed and fighting just because they found it fun. The hooded figure had been tolerant of Spike's presence in Ponyville before, they assumed him a servant, a slave to Twilight Sparkle, forced to do her bidding. That, they thought, was an acceptable fate for the young drake, given the atrocities his species had commited. "And yet here you lay." They whispered angrily. "Sleeping soundly, not a care in the world." As it turned out their assumption was incorrect. Not only was Spike not a slave, nor a servant he was actually considered a citizen. This had made the figure's blood boil, how could this be? Dragons belong in woods or in caves, far from where any pony would have to suffer their presence. He'd even begun to date one of the residents, someone who the hooded figure happened to be quite fond of. Clearly he'd forced the timid mare to date him, no pony would ever willingly date a dragon. The way she'd recoiled in fear at his kiss back at Sugarcube corner, that had been the last straw. Celestia may have been content to let wolves sleep amongst the sheep, but not the hooded figure. They would be sure to remind that annoying little serpent of their place in the world. Of course the task at hand required subtlety, removing the dragon would be a difficult task, given his strong ties to Celestia. Murder was out of the question, too many questions and investigations, but maybe, just maybe they could the town against the resident dragon. Given what the hooded figure knew about their species that didn't pose to much of a challenge, for now though all they could do was wait for the oppurtune moment to strike. With a flash of magic the figure disappeared without a trace, leaving the night to progress. The next morning, Twilight awoke, her head beating like a drum and the light burning in her retina's. She rubbed her temples as she tried to remember what could have caused this, then her eyes fell to the empty wine bottle on the dresser. She groaned, "Guess I got a little carried away again last night? Ow... my head." She flung back the covers and headed over to her table to brush her mane, as was her morning ritual, though the throbbing in her skull made it difficult to concentrate and more than once the brush was released from her magical grip, hitting the ground loudly with a dull thunk. A very unwelcome noise to anyone suffering from a hangover, but through some miracle, Twilight had managed to tame her bed-mane somewhat. "You'd have thought I'd learnt something from the last time...". Miserable, Twilight crawled her way to the door and down the stairs, stopping halfway when she saw the library floor. It was... Clean?! She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Was she still drunk, was she still in the same library? Even though her memory of last night was somewhat hazy, she had some vague recollection that the library was in shambles, reshelving having been abandoned after Spike had ran off. Come to think of it, where is that runaway drake? Her question was quickly answered as Spike ran across the library floor, not noticing Twilight was on the stairwell. He ran over to a shelf, pulled down a book and headed towards the kitchen. "Spike?" Twilight said as loud as she dared. Startled, Spike tripped up over his tail, sending the book into the air. Desperately grabbing claws reached up into the air, knocking the book back upwards but never catching it. As Spike fell flat on his front, the book slammed down on the wooden floor. The noise caused Twilight to cringe. She was annoyed, but her curiousity beckoned. "What in the wide, wide world of Equestria are you doing?" Spike replied shakily, the fall having knocked the wind out of him "Nothing." She shot him a skeptical glance, looking between him and the book on the floor. "Then what's the book for?" "I can't reach the top of the cupboards?" He said sheepishly. Twilight could tell when he was lying, she'd known him long enough for that. She replied in a calm but stern tone. "Spike." Instead of replying, Spike darted back into the kitchen taking the book with him. Twilight huffed, deciding that whatever Spike was doing, she would find out eventually. Until then, the couch certainly looked very inviting. She stretched out on the upholstery, resting her head on the arm, she closed her eyes. "What did I do last night..." She remembered being very sad for some reason, something to do with Spike... Oh, that's right… Back came that lonely feeling, that harrowing sensation that she had tried to bury, to drown in wine. She was still single, and that was upsetting. Hearing some shuffling behind her, Twilight was quick to wipe away the crystal tears that had formed in her eyes. Imagine if Spike saw her crying? He'd probably bend over backward trying to cheer her- Spike saw me crying yesterday didn't he? Sure enough the young drake shuffled into the room carrying a platter of food, piled so high it was a wonder how he could see where he was going, before setting it down in front of her. Eagerly he grabbed a glass and pushed it under Twilight's face. He beamed at her "Here drink this!" She wrinkled her nose at the smell coming from the glass, looking in she saw a foul looking red slush. "What-" The smell caused her to gag quite violently. "What is that?" Spike shrugged "Can't remember the name but the book said this was an excellent cure for hangovers!" "What's in it?" Spike paused as he thought then began to list off all the ingredients he could remember, counting them off on his fingers. "Well I put in tomato juice, a raw egg, parsley, chilli powder-" Seeing the look of apprehension on Twilight's face Spike couldn't help but chuckle. "What? I followed the recipe to the letter." "Spike, I'm not drinking that..." "Come on Twi-" "No." She said firmly, glowering at him as though he'd just tried to poison her, which looking at the beverage before her, he may have well just have. Spike looked down at the floor forlorn. "Oh...okay. I get it you're still mad at me." Twilight looked at him puzzled. "Why would I be mad? So you ran off yesterday, so what?" Now it was Spike's turn to be confused, Hadn't his selfishness been the cause of her little drinking session yesterday?Twilight began to pick at the food Spike had brought. "You're allowed to spend your time as you want, did I ever get mad because you'd ran off to the boutique? No. If you want to spend your time with Fluttershy that's okay with me." Her words were true, she didn't mad at Spike, at least not any more. Whilst she may have been mad at the time, Spike had clearly been hard at work rectifying the situation. The library was clean, he was home safe and the breakfast he'd provided looked delicious, if anything the only one she was mad at was herself. Though her relationship problems would have to wait, judging from the look on Spike's face, she'd have to try to calm him down first, she didn't need anyone fussing over her, least of all Spike. "Okay?" Twilight had a quick look round. He'd done a remarkable job and in record time, guilt was a good motivator it seemed. "Besides you've gotten the job done, without me as well." "Twilight, I don't get it if your not mad at me? Why did you, you know?" He said flicking his head in the direction of the kitchen. Twilight sighed "Call it mare problems." "Mare problems?" She shook her head, if only he knew the half of it. "Don't worry you're not to blame, nor do I think you could help. Don't worry I'll be fine really!" "You sure?" She reaffirms this with a nod, before gesturing him away with a wave of her hoof. "Positive, now run along, I don't have anything for you to do just yet." "Okay, oh and Twilight?" "You know I'm sorry right?" "I know, you're forgiven" Spike smiled. That was way easier than expected. Author's Note If you're busy thinking "By the gods, these chapters keep getting shorter!" Don't worry, after the next one there are going to be a couple of BIG ones, Like 10k words big. So big it'll take me a while to write them. You can wait right? Oh and going off what I've read in the comments, Rarity is not pregnant, some of you may be disappointed at that but Rarity is a classy mare. I take her as the type who'd save herself for marriage. As for her being the cloaked pony, that's a little obvious isn't it? Nice try though. Chapter 4: Picking at EmbersChapter 4: Picking at Embers Story by TheSecretBrony Thanks to Brony2893 for helping with the edit and for proofreading. Spike had a little spring in his step, the birds were singing, the sun was bright and he had the whole day to do whatever he wanted, wherever. Fluttershy, Twilight, and the rest of the girls were busy planning the schedule for their sleepover at a cafe on the other side of town. Initially Spike was disappointed when he was informed that the event was ‘Mares Only’, Twilight was always leaving him out of stuff. Though knowing what Twilight could be like with schedules, he was a little relieved. Hopefully she had learned something from Applejack’s little mishap at the Family reunion. Social gatherings were supposed to flow naturally, not follow a strict timeline. In all honesty though, Spike had no clue how he should spend his afternoon, and then it hit him. Hard. His only warning being the shrill shrieks of three foals and an orange blur, Spike found himself being crushed beneath the wheels of a wagon. The occupants had relocated to a nearby bush, and the driver having only been saved through their reflexes. Slightly stunned, Spike could only just hear the shouting match that followed. "Scootaloo, are you crazy?" Sweetie Belle said, shoving her friend on the shoulder. Scootaloo started stomping her hooves on the ground and kicking up dust. "Hey, don't yell at me like that, I didn't see him!" "Not see him?" Sweetie pointed a hoof at Spike from behind the bush. "How could you not see him? He's a dragon for Celstia's sake, kinda hard to miss!" "Hey, don't start, you’re the one who makes me drive you guys everywhere." Scootaloo shot back. "You call that driving?!" Sweetie retorted. Having regained his senses, Spike peeled the wagon off of his face and threw it away. The first thing he saw was Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle about to trade blows, the latter practically screaming. Off to one side he could see another victim, not Applebloom but a pinto pony whom he recognized to be young Pipsqueak, rubbing his head and looking bemused at the pair. From his expression and the slight tinge of fear he could see in the young colt's eyes, Spike knew he probably wouldn't dare try to intervene. Spike sighed, it looked like the responsibility fell to him. He put his fingers in his mouth and blew. The high pitched whistle did the trick as he managed to grab their attention. "Good you've shut up," Spike said cheerfully, hearing a sigh of relief from the young Pipsqueak. "Now, do you girls want to tell me why I just got flattened?" He said irritably. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shared a quick glance at each other before looking down at the ground. "Sorry, Spike" Scootaloo apologized meekly. "It's just we were showing Pip what we do, what with Applebloom having to stay home we were lacking a crusader. Pip's the only other blank flank in town, so we thought he could join. I guess we just got carried away." Scootaloo looked away whilst rubbing her forelegs. Sweetie Belle nodded vigorously. "It's true, we promise!" Spike shrugged, he'd be more mad had he'd not done his fair share of stupid stuff before. Heh, Rainbow is still mad at me for that! Don’t know why though, we managed to get the glue off. "Alright, alright, just do me and everyone else a favor and slow down okay, not everyone has scales to protect them, speaking of which are you three okay?" He asked, Pip having taken his place beside Scootaloo and Sweetie. The trio examined themselves for any scrapes or bruises, when Sweetie Belle let out a groan. Concerned, Spike walked towards her as she pulled her crusader cape off her shoulders, holding it up for Spike to see. "I've ruined my cape! How can I be a crusader without a cape!?" She whined. Sure enough, a large jagged tear down the middle threatened to split the cape in half. Judging from the frayed edges, it appeared as though she'd caught it on a twig. Pip smiled and put a hoof on her shoulder "It's okay Sweetie!" he said "I don't have a cape and I'm still a crusader, right? Besides, your sister can fix it in no time!" Rather than her cheering up as Spike had expected, Sweetie Belle dropped to her haunches. "She won't fix it," Sweetie grumbled. Spike nodded knowingly "Yep, Rarity's been cooped up in the boutique these past few weeks, whatever she's working on must be huge, huh?" Sweetie looked at Spike with a confused look. "Working on what? She hasn't had any customers, Spike." He was taken back at this "What!? Then what has she been doing all this time?" Sweetie shrugged. "Don't know, she's just locks herself in her room all day. She gets food delivered and she keeps turning away customers." Spike looked at her wide eyed, and spoke with an increasing amount of concern."And this doesn't worry you, not in the slightest? That doesn't sound at all like Rarity. Did something happen?" Sweetie looked hurt at the dragon’s words. "Hey!" shouted Scootaloo, "She does care, but every time we try to see what's wrong, Rarity just starts shouting and slams the door in our faces!" Sweetie nodded slowly in agreement, before sniffling and wiping her eyes. Spike stopped for a moment to let it all sink in. This was troublesome, maybe more than he'd initially thought. "Sorry, but this sounds bad. Sweetie, has she said anything about why she's in there?" "No." Sweetie stood up. "I can't understand a word, but I think, I think she's been crying, a lot." What in Equestria could do that, I've never seen Rarity cry over anything...Unless— The image of a certain red stallion flickered in Spike's mind. Big Macintosh and Rarity had been seeing each other in secret. Even now, Spike and for some reason Pinkie, were the only ones who knew, when Spike had found out he'd overheard them having an arguement about... Oh no! Snapping to attention, Spike approached Scootaloo. "How quickly can you get across town?" "I thought you wanted me to slow down? Whatever, I can get across town..." Scootaloo grinned smugly, "In-" "Say ten seconds flat and I'm gonna bop you." Sweetie said. "Im'ma still think it!" She said sticking out her tongue. "Why?" "I need you to deliver a message to Twilight and the others, they're over at that new cafe near the lake. Tell them to get over to the boutique as quickly as possible, I'm going on ahead." Spike started to run off, Scootaloo whizzed around the front and cut him off. "Hold up, can't you send messages? Why should I go?" "My messages only go to the Princess, besides you owe me." He said pointing to the site of the crash where Pipsqueak and Sweetie Belle were busily picking twigs out of their manes. "Oh yeah, heh, my bad. Alright but just this once. Cutie Mark Crusaders Couriers go!" After righting the wagon and ensuring both Pip and Sweetie were holding on tight, Scootaloo whizzed off, once again becoming a blur. I really hope I'm wrong, but if I'm not one thing's for certain... This is going to be a long day. Spike had been in Ponyville for a few years now, but this was the first time he was actually afraid to approach Carousel Boutique. As it loomed over the horizon, he gulped. To the passersby it was just another building, albeit slightly more grand than those surrounding it. Spike slowed as he approached. A closed sign was hung from the door, written in a hurried scrawl, not Rarity's usually elegant curvature. The curtains were still drawn, the front door was locked. However that didn't deter him, having been here more than enough Spike had no difficulty getting inside. Rarity always hid the spare key to the back door leading into the kitchen, in one of the window boxes. He paused, should he do this? Technically he'd broken in, even if it was with a key. If he was wrong, or Sweetie was lying, Rarity would be furious. Spike quickly regained his composure ,however when he saw the piles of takeaway boxes stacked up beside the bin and saw the tattered, mismatched dresses desecrating the dress-forms, and the cobwebs that clung to the ceiling. Even if he was wrong about why, Spike was now certain. Rarity had snapped. The boutique was dark, making finding his way around slightly difficult. He knew the layout of the boutique like the back of his claw, but still found himself bumping into things. He made his way across the room, tripping and slipping as he did so. This was wrong, so very wrong. He wondered how Sweetie Belle coped, she couldn't possibly be living here, not in these conditions. He guessed she must have been sleeping over at Scootaloo's house. Sending for help was a smart move. Coming here alone, less so. Spike made it about halfway up the stairs when one of the steps creaked. He could hear a mare shouting in response. "Sweetie, I told you no! Go and play with your friends or something, just leave me alone!" Unperturbed, Spike continue until he reached Rarity's door. This was it, time for him to see just what Rarity had become. He thought it funny, now he was shaking, him, a dragon, shaking. Oh come on, grow up! After all, what's the worst that could happen? He knocked on the door. It was flung open with such tremendous force that Spike had to jump back to avoid being slammed into the wall. "I’ve already told you once to leave me alone Sweetie—" he stopped when she realized that instead of her younger sister, she was shouting at. "...Spike?" Spike took a moment to assess the situation. Was Rarity mad? Well she was just shouting like a maniac, and she looks a mess. Check. Was she mad at him? Judging from her sudden silence, no. Was he freaked out? A little. Final question: what should he do now? "Hey Rarit-ack!" Before he'd even finished speaking, Rarity had wrapped her hooves around his neck, pulled him in and slammed the door behind them. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "So girls, what do you think, are you excited?" Twilight asked, beaming. "I don't know..." Fluttershy trailed off, unsure. "Yeah I mean I've heard about girls doing weird stuff at sleepovers but still..." Rainbow Dash said. "Come on, we're all good friends here right?" Twilight asked. "Well yeah, but still, it seems like it might makes things a little, awkward." Rainbow Dash replied. "Can't we do like makeovers and stuff?" Fluttershy offered. "Yeah, I mean come on, even I'd rather have a makeover than do... that. " Rainbow confessed. "Ah don't know I mean it could be fun?" Applejack murmured, idly twirling the straw in her drink. "Yeah I know, but it's like we're mares, I don't think it's normal for us to do that." Rainbow Dash pointed out. "Come on girls," Twilight moaned "I've never had the chance to do this with anypony before." She looked eagerly between her friends, their faces a mixture of confusion, disgust, curiosity and for some reason Pinkie Pie was shuddering again. Seeing that nopony shared her optimism, her head hit the table. Fluttershy patted her on the back. "Sorry Twilight, I just don't think ‘Dungeons and Diamond Dogs’ is right for us." Twilight lifted her head from the table and started nibbling on her sandwich with a sour expression, when suddenly she heard someone calling her name. "Twilight!" Scootaloo came to a skidding halt in front of the table, slightly damaged wagon still in tow. "Hey squirt what’s up?" Rainbow asked the young pegasus. The two unfortunate passengers pulled themselves off the bottom of the wagon’s interior. "My blood pressure?" Pipsqueak said before rushing off inside, his face green with nausea. Startled ponies could be heard inside as Pip steered his way to the closest restroom, his unsteady legs unfortunately carrying him into the ladies room. Ignoring the screams, Rainbow greeted the orange filly with a hoof bump. Scootaloo returned the gesture, but failed to completely suppress the squeal that followed, Rainbow Dash snickered as Scoot's face took on reddish hue. She shook her head and cleared her throat before she replied, not wanting to embarrass herself further. "Nothing much, hey Twilight you got a second?" Scootaloo asked. "Certainly Scootaloo, what is it?" Twilight replied. "I have a message from Spike." She examined her flank for any message-delivery cutie mark, both disappointed and secretly relieved that there was none. "Let me guess, he's bored and wants to go to the sleepover,? Well you can tell Spike to forget it, mares only means mares only!" Twilight said crossing her hooves in an act of finality. "That's not the message though... what did he say?” Scoots patted at her chin in thought. “Oh yeah, umm, he wants you to meet him at the boutique as soon as possible." "The boutique? What's Spike doing over there?” Twilight wondered. “Can you start from the beginning?" "Sure, you see. Sweetie Belle, Pip and I were speeding along when—" :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Spike blinked, being pulled suddenly into the well-lit room had hurt his eyes. Rarity had spun him round and around, pulling him tight to her chest. Eventually she stopped, both of them quite dizzy, had ended up in the middle of the room. "It is so good to see you again Spike!" Rarity cooed, nuzzling him as they still stood in the center of the bedroom. Spike noticed that her room—unlike the rest of the boutique—was in immaculate condition. Every surface shone, the only thing showing any kind of wear was the unicorn in front of him. The one who was busy polishing his scales with her cheek. He saw her horn glow and heard a click. He didn't look but he was pretty sure she'd just locked the door. Correction, very creeped out. "Well, I'm sorry you had to see me like this Spikey-Wikey, I'm afraid I've been a little distracted recently..." Okay, so she’s using the nickname again, odd, she hasn’t called me that since the Royal Wedding. Spike shook his head quickly, putting a hand on Rarity's shoulder, he pushed her back and looked in her eyes. "Rarity, is there maybe something you want to talk about?" "Whatever do you mean Spike, I'm fine, you're fine, we're both fine, there's nothing wrong with us, either of us, nothing wrong!" She started to laugh, this wasn't happy, this wasn't nervous, this wasn't even that fake laugh she used whenever she was embarrassed. This was just maniacal. "What do you mean 'nothing wrong', Rarity? You haven't left the house in days, none of the girls have heard from you and Sweetie didn't say it but I could tell she was worried sick about you." Spike said concerned. Rarity walked over to a table, upon which sat a teapot and some cups. "Would you like something to drink? I have some delightful Oolong tea, or perhaps you'd like a gem? I believe I had a chest of them around here somewhere." She quickly ran to the other side of the room, ignoring the little dragon. "Rarity." "Oh I'm just joking of course you'd want a gem! Now where did I put them, what would you prefer ,an emerald, or a diamond maybe?" Still looking, she began digging through some drawers. "Rarity!" "I think I have some sapphires around here too as well. Or would you just want the tea..." Now she was looking around the room whilst pacing, as if she would find them on the ceiling. "Rarity!" Rarity stopped galloping around her bedroom and looked at Spike, she saw the stern, yet concerned look on his face and her grin slowly fell into a frown. She began to cry. Aw geez... "I-it's, it’s just not fair!" Spike sidled up to the distraught Rarity and placed a comforting hand on her back. Alright, better get this over with, no sense in dancing round the issue. "Rarity, is this about Big Mac?" She nodded slowly "He... he called it off, he said he couldn't date somepony who was ashamed of him." "What happened? From what you told me at that party, you were only keeping it a secret to spare my feelings. Why didn't you tell anyone else?" "I don't know! I got scared, I wasn't ready to. He and I started to fight more and more, and then one day he just left a note, saying he wasn't coming back!" She began to cry even louder, burying her head into Spike's shoulder. Slightly bewildered, Spike patted her gently on the back, unsure of how he felt about the new touchy-feely Rarity. Were all mares like this when they get dumped? Spike couldn't help but wonder. "Shhhh, it's alright, it's alright. Let's just calm down." The dragon soothed. "Why... why does every stallion I take a fancy to turn out to be a, a scoundrel! First Blueblood and now Mackie... What's wrong with me Spikey?" "Nothing is wrong with you Rarity, so you've had a couple of bad dates, not every guy is like that, just look at me!" Rarity did, she looked at Spike, she saw the arm gently cradling her, the calming words, that charming smile. She stared into his eyes, her mind at war with itself. He's always been such a gentledrake... No, bad Rarity! He's dating Fluttershy, you can't! Just forget it you're always going to be lonely, don't ruin it for everypony else. But what about my happiness? When is it my turn!? He's dating your best friend. Fluttershy's a nice pony, it'll be easy for her to find a new coltfriend! You'll never be able to forgive yourself. I just want a special somepony... You just have to be patient. Spike contemplated his position, here he was hugging his childhood crush who was having break up issues, his marefriend, Twilight and their other friends were on the way and all Spike had to do was sit tight. He'd felt nervous around Rarity when he was younger. Who isn't around their crush? Now though, he just felt uncomfortable about this whole situation. Alright she's calmed down a little bit, though she still looking at me funny, oh don't cry again! "Come on show me a smile, I think you look better when you smile." Rarity did, her first genuinely happy smile in days. This is what she missed the most, being held by a caring, handsome individual. Wait...did I just think that Spike was handsome? "Thanks, but you don't have to be polite, I know I look a mess," Rarity smiled and looked at her mane for a moment. "What are you talking about? Okay you're mane's gone a bit messy, still look okay to me." "You mean it?" Rarity beamed. "Yeah, with looks like yours you'll have them lining up in no time!" Did I say something wrong? She's stopped smiling, kinda looking she’s giving me that weird look again. Spike continued. "I'll help you clean up downstairs, see about getting you something proper to eat because I happen to know you've eaten nothing but junk for the past few weeks. Maybe you and Fluttershy can go to the spa like you used to, get yourself cleaned up. Get things back to how they were." He smiled, Rarity's expression hadn't changed, she seemed to be thinking about something. Oh... buck it! "Er.. Rarity are you ok—" Spike was interrupted yet again as Rarity leant forward, their lips making contact as the mare threw her forelegs around the unsuspecting dragon, pulling him close. Spike was too in shock to react at first and went stiff as a board as Rarity pressed her lips more and more into the kiss. After what seemed an eternity to the young dragon, though was only a couple seconds, he pushed her away and stared, absolutely stunned. That couldn't have happened, that didn't, it shouldn't. "Rarity what in Equestria are you doing!?" He shouted. Seeing how dreadfully she'd misjudged the situation, Rarity watched in horror as Spike back-peddled away from her. "I'm sorry, it's just you were being so nice and thoughtful, I thought maybe—" Spike cut her off, "That what? Rarity, I moved on, you made it clear that we were just friends! Why would you do that?" He growled. He threw his hands down and glared at her, she cowered under his gaze. Anger quickling replacing the worry in his eyes. Rarity had curled up into a quivering ball, clutching her hindlegs to her chest. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight! You don't know how lonely I've been!" she howled. "I think I should go." As he stood up to leave, Rarity leaped and grabbed onto his arm. Spike pulled it away as if she’d bit him "Please don't go! I don't want to be alone again!" Rarity cried, nearly dragging him to the floor. "I... I'm sorry this is just... I gotta go, now!" Spike darted out, grabbing a key he saw on her dresser, he opened the lock on the door and ran, leaving Rarity to sit on the floor of her boutique. Seeing the look of fear in Spike's eyes, Rarity chastised herself for being so reckless. She felt the tears welling up again and this time, she realised she had no one to blame but herself. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "—and that's why we rushed over here so fast." Scoot said. "Is Spike still at the boutique?" Twilight asked as she put away her quill and parchment, having taken careful note of everything. Scootaloo nodded "I think so, he was running pretty quick so it must have been important." "Come on girls, this sounds like an emergency!" Twilight exclaimed. The five quickly gathered themselves and galloped off towards the library. Struggling to keep pace, Fluttershy managed to get alongside and whisper to Twilight. "I hope Spike is alright, it sounds like Rarity is in a really bad place right now." The butter-yellow pegasus muttered. “I'm worried too Fluttershy, though I think Spike is more capable than he thinks. Still we should hurry,” Twilight replied. Twilight took the lead with the others running behind in single file. They too had been worried about Rarity, but it was Spike's idea to all go as a group at the end of the week. They weren't sure why Spike had suddenly become so concerned, or why he hadn't waited for them, considering how dismissive he had been about the whole affair. But Spike knew Rarity better than any of them, so they trusted him. One thing was certain though, they needed to pick up the pace. Ducking, diving, dipping and dodging through the crowds in the market, they eventually arrived. Twilight loudly knocked on the front door. "Spike? Rarity? We're here!" She pulled on the door. "Locked." "Maybe we should try the back? Fluttershy offered. "Good idea, Rainbow, Applejack you stay here in case one of them opens the front door." Twilight ordered. "Got it," Rainbow saluted and Applejack tipped her hat in agreement. Fluttershy, Twilight and Pinkie made their way around to the rear of the building, as they rounded the corner, they caught Spike, barrelling out of the door. "Spike, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Fluttershy said as she flew over and embraced Spike, he barely moved, his arms hanging loosely by his sides. "Spike what's the matter?" She asked, slightly pulling back to give him room to breathe. Spike stepped back and slid down the door sitting on the step. "Rarity is inside." He looked up at three worried faces. "Did you bring Applejack and Rainbow?" "Spike, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked. "What? Oh yeah, yeah sorry just a little shaken up by what I saw in there, it was... creepy." Spike shuddered slightly, the memory of earlier still fresh in his mind. "Come on, let's go get Rainbow and AJ, they're waiting round the front." Twilight said, offering her hoof to him. Spike ignored it. "Good." He got to his feet and brushed himself down. "I think it's best if you all heard this, 'cause I only want to say it once, come on." He waved an arm for them to follow. They did, if slightly hesitant, Twilight shot a look at the back door. Shouldn't we be going to see Rarity? What happened in there? :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!" Rarity buried her head in her pillow as she berated herself. "Honestly Rarity, what were you thinking! First Big Mac leaves you high and dry and then you scare away the only male in this town who' s ever shown you any decency." The distressed mare’s ears perked up as she heard voices at the foot of her window. "They sound familiar..." She walked up to the window and peeked through the curtains. "All of my friends, they came to see me! Oh no, they're talking to Spike..." She walked over to her dresser, pulling out a comb. "No doubt he's telling them everything," She sighed. "I just hope Fluttershy can forgive me." As she stared into the mirror, she couldn't help but think that she was looking at a complete stranger. Just what had possessed her to kiss Spike? That wasn't like her at all, he was a dear friend to her, in a committed relationship with her best friend. She didn't even like him like that. "You are a fool Rarity, a fool, he was just trying to cheer you up." She put the brush down. "When did I get so... desperate?" She walked to the door of her room. "Well, no sense in moping, you're a grown mare Rarity, it's time for you to face the music." She shut the door behind her and proceeded on her death march down the stairs and to the front door, steeling herself for what was to come. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "Big Mac did what?!" The girls said in unison. "Spike is this true?" Twilight asked. "Every word," Spike nodded, confirming his earlier statement. Rainbow Dash scratched her head. "So, let me get this straight, you're telling us that Rarity and Big McIntosh were dating, and the whole reason she's been cooped up in the boutique is because he dumped her." "Why that arrogant, when Ah see my brother Ah'm gonna... What kind of no good snake dumps a pony by note, didn't even have the apples to say it to her face!" Applejack stomped furiously, snorting like a bull. "Look, I think you better go in there." He started to walk away. "Spike are you coming?" Twilight curiously asked. "What? Oh, oh no no, she needs her friends to talk too, she's not... up to having guys around her right now, you know considering," Spike finished with a shrug. Twilight nodded "Well where will you go?" "As far away as possible..." He muttered. "What was that?" Twilight asked. "I said Sugarcube Corner, you can meet me there later if you want." He said loud enough for them to hear. "I could really use a coffee and some donuts right around now." He added quietly. As he slipped out of view Twilight and her friends congregated around the front door. "So, should we go in? No sense in waiting around." There attention was drawn by the sound of a door swinging open, in the doorway stood Rarity. "Hello girls," She greeted. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The hooded figure laughed to themselves, this was perfect, the opportunity they had been waiting for finally arrived. They never thought it possible, but Spike had just handed them his downfall on a silver platter. They had been watching patiently, sneaking away to stalk the dragon whenever they could, and it had paid off. His infidelity provided the hooded figure with the means to succeed. Spike had chosen to omit that little nugget of information when informing them of Rarity's plight. “That took less time than I expected, not that I can complain, besides he's a Dragon, loyalty is hardly a defining quality,” They noted something that they had heard once “Breaking a friend's trust is the quickest way to lose a friend. I wonder, how will Fluttershy react when she learns of how you betrayed her trust?" The hooded figure had been at the gala, they'd seen Fluttershy's fury in full force. They smirked, that would be the perfect trigger. "Dragons are far from stable creatures, will you be able to cope Spike?" :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Spike slammed the empty coffee cup on the table, reaching into a nearby box, he grabbed a handful of donuts and stuffed them, rather unceremoniously into his gaping maw. He knew he had a bad feeling about that boutique and he was right. Just what was Rarity thinking!? Why did she kiss him? Did she genuinely like him like that? No that's just silly, she's just shaken up after the break up, still, she crossed a line. He felt sickened, both at himself and at Rarity. She needed help but she wasn't going to get it from him, not now. He despised himself for lying to his friends and most importantly, his marefriend like that but what else could he do? If he'd have told them what Rarity had done, they'd probably never speak to her again. She just had a moment of madness and insecurity, that's all it was. Spike just wanted to pretend as though it had never happened, hopefully Rarity would feel the same way. He waved his hand at the counter where Mrs. Cake was busy counting the bits in the register, in the back he could hear Mr. Cake cooking away, pans clattering together. "Can I get another refill please?" The depressed dragon asked. "Are you sure Spike? that's your third cup and you're on your fourth box of donuts," Mrs. Cake unsurely asked. Spike looked at him angrily "I'm paying you aren't I? Just—!" He stopped as he realized he'd been shouting, the coffee pot in Mrs. Cake's hoof was shaking quite rapidly, several ponies were staring at him. He hung his head and sighed. "...Sorry, bad day, just bring the donuts. Please," He quickly added. The ponies around the store returned to their private conversations, though Spike saw the occasional glance his way. Oh go ahead and stare, it's not going to change what happened. Twilight was right, the ponies in this town are crazy, at least the ones I know... :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: When Rarity opened the door she was expecting a torrent of abuse, mostly from Applejack and Fluttershy, maybe a disappointed glare from Twilight, she wasn't expecting the crushing group hug. Even Rainbow joined in. Fluttershy was first to speak "Oh Rarity, we were so worried!" "You mean, you aren't mad at me?" Rarity asked, perplexed. "Mad at you, why would we be mad at you?" Twilight asked. "Wasn't Spike just out here? I thought he would have told you what happened?" Rarity asked, looking around for the small dragon. Now it was Pinkie's turn to chime in. "Of course he did silly, he told us how you and Mac were special someponies and now you're not and that made you really sad. So sad you went loco in the cocoa but your friends are to make you all better, just like how we helped Twilight when she went bonkers." "Hey!" Twilight glared at the pink pony. "That's all that Spike told you?" Rarity disbelievingly asked. Did he not tell them about... That? Fluttershy is still smiling so I guess not, but why would he cover for me? Because he's trying to be a good friend, be grateful. Now I just feel guilty... You should! "Hey, Equestria to Rarity, you in there?" Rainbow Dash’s voice chimed in. Rarity, realising she'd just zoned out responded quickly, speaking in a hurried manner. "I'm fine thank you!" Fluttershy pulled her friend into another hug, triggering yet another sickening wave of shame to wash over the fashionista. "I know what will cheer you up! How about we go to the spa? You're always so happy afterwards," Fluttershy offered as she squeezed her friend tighter. Rarity knew that, given the circumstances, she should say no, being alone with Fluttershy, after what had just happened, seemed to her as the height of social awkwardness. Though it did provide her with an opportunity to try and smooth things out in a more discreet manner. No sense in confessing her sin to all of her friends at once. "That sounds lovely Fluttershy," Rarity finally answered At least I can get you alone to apologise this way. "Want us to come too?" Twilight asked. "No! I mean, um, Twilight, I would hate to impose, you have a lot of planning to do for the sleepover, yes I got the invitation, thank you, and I know how much Applejack and Rainbow Dash hate the spa. Pinkie, no offence but you're not, how shall we say, familiar with the concept of calm, I need to relax after all. So no, but don't worry I'm sure the element of kindness is just the kind of company I need right now." For more reason than one... If Twilight was at all hurt by Rarity's refusal of her company she didn't show it, instead she nodded and she Applejack and Pinkie started to make the journey to Sugarcube corner to check on Spike. Rainbow had disappeared behind a trail of colours, leaving Rarity alone with Fluttershy. They began their walk to the spa in silence.. This is going to be a very... very long day...
Chapter 1: Picking up where we left off. Spike's Out of His Depth. Official Sequel to Spike's Home Alone by ~TheSecretBrony Colored fonts are used, for best reading experience please adjust the background color to a darker setting Sorry for the long hiatus! Three weeks had passed since Twilight Sparkle had returned from her week in Canterlot and finally it seemed there was a return to normalcy. She thought her week away was something worthy of note, it isn't everyday the Princess asks you to teach at her prestigious school after all. Who'd have thought she'd be one upped, by Spike no less. At first she'd thought she'd misheard him, it was so preposterous, Spike and Fluttershy? Even Celestia was surprised when she received the friendship report written by Spike, so it's no wonder that it sent poor Twilight's mind for a spin. Thankfully that was in the past now and whilst public opinion of Spike and Fluttershy's relationship was varied at best, she and the other elements had come to accept it as the norm, even if they didn't approve too much of Twilight's coping mechanism. The library had recently undergone some drastic renovation, namely the addition of a new bedroom for Spike. After all, he was a growing dragon who could no longer fit in the little basket at the foot of Twilight's bed, and considering his newfound maturity, a little privacy wasn't exactly out of the question. Spike's room was converted from the practically disused laboratory, the study of the magic of friendship hardly called for the usage of such sophisticated scientific equipment. Twilight was actually a little jealous, the ex-laboratory was much more spacious than her room, though given Spike was going to grow quite a bit more in the coming years, she couldn't protest. He'd decorated it as simply as he could, not wanting to trigger another greed-growth. He had a wardrobe for his small collection of suits and outfits, a dresser for personal items, upon which rested a picture frame, showing Fluttershy and himself, and a bed. He could hardly believe his eyes when it was delivered, a king-sized bed big enough for four ponies. One thing was certain Spike wasn't going to wake up with any back problems in the foreseeable future. It was on this bed Spike now lay, his limbs splayed out in all directions and his forked tongue hanging down his cheek as he snored. Twilight was upstairs busily rushing about, constantly flicking her gaze to the clock and her frustration growing with each glance. "It's nearly noon! Why isn't he up yet!" She cried. Today was important to Twilight, namely reshelving day and her so called "Number One Assistant" wasn't about to help. His door was locked and he couldn't seem to hear her shouting on the other side of it. True she could probably teleport into the room, maybe take a bucket of cold water with her, but she didn't want to be the one to breach the agreement between them. Though each passing second made the thought more and more tempting. "Honestly I pay through the nose renovating that room for him and how does he repay me? Sleeping in!" Before the disgruntled unicorn could continue with her rant, however there was a knocking at the door. Dropping the books she was levitating, Twilight walked over, taking a moment to collect herself. It wouldn't do to scare away a customer. Mentally checking that she'd reached a level of calm, Twilight slowly opened the door. Waiting on the other side, picnic basket held under one wing and a book under the other, was Fluttershy. "Oh good morning Twilight!" Fluttershy said as she walked past Twilight, added the book to one of the many piles and began looking about the library. "Morning Fluttershy, how can I help you?" Twilight pushed the door shut before returning to organising the books. "Oh it's nothing, I just came by to drop the novel I borrowed, thanks for recommending it by the way." "My pleasure is that all you wanted, I'm a bit busy today..." Twilight said, taking note of the basket. "Oh! Spike and I had a little picnic planned for today, if that's okay. Where is he?" Fluttershy said, remarking the surprising lack of certain purple scaled assistant. "Oh great so he's going to be spending all day with you again..." she muttered. "What?" "Nothing,nothing!" Twilight rolled her eyes and scoffed. "He is still in bed would you believe." "Really?" She threw a hoof in the air "Yeah! And on reshelving day of all days!" "Oh dear..." Fluttershy began pawing at the ground. "Well how about I go and get him?" "By all means, but I'm telling you he's practically comatose, how else could he not hear me screaming?" "I don't know, I'll go see." She silently tiptoed her way downstairs, being sure not to interrupt Twilight's work. Twilight however shouted down after her "Fluttershy?!" "Yes Twilight?" "I really hate to do this but please can I borrow your boyfriend for a couple of hours, I need all the help I can get!" She pleaded out of pure desperation. She'd only been at it for an hour or so but she was already lost without Spike noting everything down. "I don't know Twilight, I'll try to get him up first." "Thanks!" As she approached the large door to Spike's room she reached into her picnic basket, producing a bronze key. She slotted it into the door and turned it, sure enough the lock clicked and the door swung open. As quiet as a mouse she approached the side of Spike's bed and nudged him. "Spike? Wakey-wakey." Spike's eyes fluttered as he stirred, as his eyes fell on Fluttershy they shot open and Spike careered backwards of the bed dragging his quilt with him. "F-Fluttershy? How did you get in here?!" "Good morning Spike. You gave me a key remember?" To prove it she waved it in front of him, before returning it to the basket. "Oh, right er good morning?" He said sheepishly which Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at. Taking a couple of seconds to make his bed, he turned beaming at Fluttershy. "Shall we?" Fluttershy nodded and the pair started making their way upstairs. As they approached the top Spike held his arm across, stopping Fluttershy in her tracks. She looked at him in confusion. He pressed a claw to his lips, signalling for them to be quiet. Twilight was too lost in her work to notice them, and given what they had planned for today it didn't serve Spike any justice to be caught by her now. Not unless he wanted to spend all day reshelving. Slowly the pair crept along the floor of the library occasionally ducking behind stacks of books, doing everything they could not to be seen. However when they were mere feet from the door, Spike's tail accidently knocked over one of the ladders propped against the shelves. Twilight was on the sound instantly, glowering she turned on Spike snorting like a bull. Wide-eyed Spike turned to Fluttershy and shouted one word. "RUN!" They bolted, Spike having to duck to avoid the large dictionary Twilight threw at him, pretty soon they were off and down the street, leaving the librarian to scream after them. "COME BACK HERE YOU TWO!" She quickly retreated back into the library however, after realising her shouting had drawn maybe just a little too much attention. Out of breath, the two stopped near Sugarcube corner, Spike laughing victoriously. "Oh man, did you see her face, she was livid." He rubbed the back of his head and grinned "I am so gonna get it when I get home!" "Wasn't that mean, I mean she just wanted you to help her?" "Knowing Twilight, not at all, besides I've been helping her for years. Is it so wrong for me to want a break from time to time?" "I guess not." "She'll make up for lost time when I get back I'm sure, totally worth it though." Fluttershy laughed as Spike pulled her towards him. "So what now?" "Hey guys!" "Gah!" The couple split apart in shock as Pinkie dropped between them. Spike clutching his chest looked at her in disbelief. "Pinkie! What have I said about sneaking up on me like that!" Ignoring the the sugar-fuelled sneak for a moment he walked over to his startled marefriend, who in the commotion had taken refuge in a nearby plantpot. "Fluttershy, it's fine, just Pinkie Pie." "Oh hi Pinkie." Fluttershy said nervously as clumps of dirts started to tumble from her mane. She removed the shrub from the top of her head and replanted it before returning to Spike's side. "So what are my favourite couple up to? You two on a date, huh? Are you? Are you? Oooo picnic basket!" Not waiting for an invitation Pinkie dived under Fluttershy's wing and buried her head firmly into the basket. "There is a lot of stuff in here huh?" Before Spike could interject Pinkie had darted over to the doors of Sugarcube Corner, opened them and proceeded to bounce up and down excitedly in the doorway. "I know, I know, I know, come in, come in I have something to give you." Spike and Fluttershy looked at each other, then back to the jittery mare, then back to each other. Shrugging they walked into the bakery, following Pinkie who had sinced disappeared without a trace. Waving to the Cakes who responded with a pair of warm smiles, the couple sat down at one of the tables by the window as they awaited Pinkie's return. Around five minutes passed in awkward silence, Spike resting his head in his hands. "Do you know what she's getting us?" Fluttershy shook her head, "No, I have no idea, but knowing Pinkie it could be anything." "It's odd really, it's not like Pinkie to take so much time, I swear one of these days I'm going to figure her out but right now I can't make heads or tails." "I wouldn't worry Spike, I don't think anypony in town 'gets' Pinkie, besides she always has the best intentions." "True." Spike and Fluttershy began to pass the time, going over their plans for the day once more. A simple picnic in the park, a walk through town before heading back to Fluttershy's. As much as the pair enjoyed spending time with each other, Fluttershy's duties to the town's animal population had to take precedent, Spike didn't mind though. He actually found it to be an endearing quality and served as a constant reminder that he was the lucky boyfriend of probably the sweetest, kindest pony in Equestria. Spike had ordered a milkshake whilst waiting for Pinkie, that turned out to be a mistake as mid-drink she popped up behind him, clutching a present by the ribbon in her teeth. The scene that followed should be reminscent to any who've ever had milk spurt out their nose. After cleaning the resultant mess, for which both Spike and Fluttershy apologised repeatedly to the Cakes for, Pinkie placed the gift on the table. "Here you go!" "Okay Pinkie, I'll bite what is it?" "It's a surprise silly!" Spike clutched the bridge of his snout, "Pinkie, I swear to Celestia, if anything pops out at me..." Tentatively Spike cut away the ribbon and peeled away the wrapping, at arms length of course. Under the wrapping was a simple, white carboard box. Slower still Spike pulled the lid up. Nothing exploded, popped, burst, sprung or jumped. Taking that as a good sign both Fluttershy and Spike peered into the box. Reaching inside they retrieved their gifts, smiling with uncertainty at Pinkie who, as always had a huge grin on her face. "Do you like them?" Pinkie's gifts were a pair of plushies, one of Spike and one of Fluttershy, each labelled as being for the other. Fluttershy cuddled hers whilst Spike just stared at his perplexed. "I asked Rarity to make them, look she did one of me as well." Sure enough Pinkie produced a plushie of herself from her mane. "Aren't they just the cutest, you can cuddle them and snuggle them and they're oh so soft. I thought it was a good idea, this way you can always hug your special somepony, even when they aren't there!" Fluttershy smiled and hugged Pinkie "Thank you Pinkie, this is so sweet of you, you shouldn't have." "Yeah, really you shouldn't..." "Spike?" "Sorry it's just, aren't I a little old for this." "Oh I wouldn't worry Spike, I'm pretty sure Big Mac still has that Smarty Pants doll. If a tough guy like him can have a doll, surely you can." Spike looked up at her slightly hurt. "Are you saying I'm not tough?" He said puffing up his chest. Fluttershy giggled and turned to her friend "He loves it really Pinkie, thanks." "No problem." Then for a moment she stopped, "Hang on, that's reminded me. Have either of you actually spoken to Rarity recently?" Spike and Fluttershy looked at each other, mouths open then down at the table, each cuddling their plushies. Spike spoke first. "Actually no, from what I've heard she doesn't leave the boutique much." "Me either, she keeps canceling our spa appointments." Spike waved a hand dismissively, "Meh, I wouldn't worry about we all know what Rarity's like right? She's probably just buried in her work again. She's always taking on more than she can handle, I should know I worked there often enough." Fluttershy then spoke up "Actually Spike I've been meaning to ask you about that." "Huh?" "When was the last time you visited the boutique." "I dunno, three weeks? Oh..." How could I have missed that?! The whole reason I started going there... "What is it?" "I just realised, since I've started dating you, I haven't been anywhere near the boutique." "Really?" Oh...my... Spike looked down, twiddling his thumbs "Yeah, man, it makes me sound really shallow but I think maybe, maybe my er, my crush was the only reason I helped out there." Fluttershy nodded thoughtfully "Well I guess that makes sense, it was a way to spend time with her. But your over that now, right?" Spike, becoming flustered, sat up quickly "Absolutely! Or should I kiss you again to make sure?" Fluttershy turned bright red as Spike planted a kiss on her cheek and hid behind her mane in embarrassment as the young drake chuckled to himself. She is so cute when she does that! I really wish he wouldn't do that in public! Oh my, is-is anypony staring? I don't think I could take it if they were staring! Pinkie silently d'awwed, when suddenly she sat up, like an electric shock had just been sent through her chair. "Oh, oh, maybe we should visit her! We could go now!" "Ehhh, I don't know if that's a good idea." Spike said, earning him shocked glances from both Pinkie and Fluttershy. "What? Trust me, if she's buried in work and I'm pretty sure that's all it is, us visiting her is going to be the last thing she wants. Believe me she barely has time for her little sister when that happens, never mind friends. Got to admire the dedication really." Fluttershy nodded "Alright, but I still think we should stop by and say hello at some point." "How 'bout this? If we don't hear from her by the end of the week, I will go over there and drag her away from the sewing machine personally." Spike cracked his knuckles and stood up, Fluttershy followed suite "Now then, shall we carry on with our date?" "Lead the way!" The two walked off side by side, leaving Pinkie humming to herself. I wonder if I should get Rarity something, maybe a surprise, oh I know, I could get her a plushie too, and Twilight and AJ and Dashie, we could all get plushies! Oh wait, Rarity makes the plushies, silly Pinkie! It's not a surprise if she makes it! How about cake, she'll probably be stressed after all that hard work and cakes really good, or ice cream, or better yet ice cream WITH cake, it can have sprinkles and frosting and- Suddenly Pinkie Pie stopped thinking all together. She began to shudder. "Oh! Another doozy! I wonder what this one could be!" She looked around expectantly for something to happen, when nothing did however she returned to skipping about the bakery before heading into the kitchen. "Now what flavour would Rarity like..."
Chapter 2: Passing the Time. Twilight lay in the middle of the library floor defeated. With no Spike to assist her, the library had won. Organisation was one of her strong points. She'd successfully co-ordinated winter wrap up, on time and on schedule. She'd never missed a deadline on a report, the thought of which made her shudder, and her level of focus was unrivalled. Yet there she was, surrounded by a seemingly endless piles of books, taunting her just by being there. "I hope Spike comes home soon..." she whispered, before rising to her feet. She was happy for him, she truly was. It was Spike's first real relationship and she understood that now he had other priorities, he wasn't always going to be there when she needed him. He was still her assistant but she wasn't the only important pony in his life anymore. In truth, Twilight was jealous though she would never willingly admit it, how silly would it make her look, being jealous of Spike? She was the personal student to Princess Celestia, the Element of Magic, she had five of the most adoring friends she could ever want. She was the quite possibly the worlds biggest bibliophile and she lived in a library. All of her needs were met, except for one. She walked into the kitchen, using her magic she removed the lock on the one cupboard Spike wasn't allowed to open. From within it she produced a bottle of wine and a glass. A birthday present, courtesy of Berry Punch, she frowned when she saw half of it was gone already. "Going to have to buy more..." she grumbled as she poured herself a small amount. Twilight wasn't much in the way of a drinker, all through school she'd often looked down on her classmates who grinned with pride as they recalled their exploits under the influence. Drunken fools were drunken fools and Twilight liked to think she wasn't a fool. The alcohol just helped calm her nerves a little, that's all, besides a little wine never hurt anyone. Given how she felt at the moment, she welcomed the eventual numbing of emotions that would soon follow, maybe then she could collect her thoughts enough to finish reshelving. Even if Spike wasn't there to help she was determined to get it done. She felt saddened as she remembered the reason he wasn't there. "It isn't fair." She moaned. "Why is it everypony else seems to have a special somepony but me? My brother's happily married, my assistant has a marefriend and it's Fluttershy! The last pony anyone would have expected get in a relationship with the only dragon in town! She's supposed to afraid of dragons for Celestia's sake. Even the girls have their little stories, they're often about relationships gone wrong but still, they've had at least one." She downed her drink and started to pour a second. "I think Applejack is the only one I haven't heard bragging but come on, AJ spends all day on the farm, nopony's going to ask her out with her brother nearby..." She began to pace about the library, an excercise she often took to when in deep thought. No book could provide an answer as to why, or a solution for her predicament, and Twilight had looked. No matter how many novels, guides or manuals she read on the subject, romance was just too elusive for her to pin down. She sat, thinking long and hard, sipping on her wine, covering every possible outcome, as she was want to do in a crisis and to her this qualified as such. Suddenly she bolted upright, in a eureka moment, as she reached the only conclusion she could think of to make any sense. "I know what's wrong. Nopony wants to date the nerdy librarian! Nopony wants to date someone smarter than them." Her moping quickly turned to anger at this and she quickly finished her third glass. "That has to be it, I mean what else could it be? I'm not ugly am I?" She walked upstairs, stumbling on the steps a little as her focus started to falter. "No, it's because I'm an geek isn't it? I'm not normal enough for any of the stallions in this town..." Her train of thoughts quickly followed down this track, it was true wasn't it? Rainbow Dash had often taunted her for being an egghead, out of playful bater of course but that was just it wasn't it, she was an egghead. The only stallion like her in town was that sickly looking one, who wore glasses and was still suffering from acne despite puberty passing him a long time ago. She prayed that he would never ask her out, yet was seemingly hurt by the fact that he hadn't. Oh let's face it, that guy's quite literally the bottom of the barrel and even he hasn't bothered, odd considering he's always in here reading comic. Comics! They aren't even proper books, what are they even doing in a library! Defeated and feeling quite drained, the alcohol making her feel sleepy, Twilight decided to retire. A quick glance at the clock told her it was still early in the afternoon, she could sneak a quick nap and still have time left over to sort the mess downstairs. As her eyelids started to feel heavy, she let out a large yawn. Before she drifted off her final thoughts were of Spike and Fluttershy. She hoped they were having a better time than she was. Spike and Fluttershy were indeed having a good time, their little picnic becoming something of an unusual spectacle. The Ponyville weather department had scheduled a light downpour over the town at the request of the farmers, fortunately thanks to a timely intervention by Rainbow Dash, the date was not ruined. True to form as a loyal she had punched a hole in the cloud cover over the pair so that they wouldn't have to change their plans because of the bad weather, protocol be damned. Anypony who happened to look would see that despite the rest of the town getting wet, the couple were safe in their little cone of sunlight. After enjoying their meal, at which time the rain had come to a more natural stop, the two carried on with their walk through town. Rose the florist waved at them as they passed the market, clearly happy to see yet another relationship in Ponyville she'd had a hoof in creating, regardless of how small her role was. Their destination was Sweet Apple acres. Apparently Winona had acquired an injury whilst helping herd the cattle and Fluttershy had offered her services. "Howdy y'all!" The greeting came from Applejack who welcomed Spike and Fluttershy as they approached the homestead. "Good afternoon Applejack." "Hey AJ!" Spike said with a wave. She tipped her stetson at them, as was the common courtesy amongst the Apples. "Nice to see you two, still getting along I see, how is everything if you don't mind me askin'?" "Everything's fine, why do you ask?" "No reason, just curious." She said, though unnoticed by Fluttershy, Spike was quick to pick up on the nervousness in her voice. He also noticed the subtle glance out to the south, where he could hear the sound of a pair of mighty hooves striking bark. Deciding it was no business of his Spike tapped Fluttershy on the shoulder. "D'you mind if I dash off? I figure it's better to get whatever Twilight's got planned for me out of the way, you don't need me for this right?" Fluttershy shook her head. "No thank you Spike, see you later?" "Definitely!" And with that he started back towards home, leaving the two mares to talk. They headed towards the barn, Fluttershy started to look a little concerned as she could hear Winona's whimpering, she doubted the injury was cause for much concern but it still pained her to hear an animal in pain. "You sure you two are okay?" Applejack asked again once Spike fell out of earshot. "Yes." Fluttershy was puzzled by this, Spike was just here, he was happy and so was she, just what was Applejack expecting? "Absolutely sure?" "Yes". Is she hiding something again? Applejack you know you're a terrible liar, can't you tell me what's wrong? Applejack looked at the ground ahead of her. "Sorry, jus' making sure, can't be too careful can you?" "I suppose not." Something is definetely bothering her... Well, I'm sure she'll tell me eventually, I mean, I trusted her with my secrets, right?...Right? As they approached the door to the barn, Winona, smelling her owner on the wind, had limped out to meet them. Her right hindleg was held painfully against her stomach, leaving the poor dog to balance on three legs. She still had that cheerful smile, but every step was clearly causing a lot of discomfort. Fluttershy flew over to the wounded hound and scooped her up in her hooves. Thankful to be off her feet, Winona began lapping at her face. "Hehe, it's nice to see you again Winona! Would you mind if I took a look at your leg?" Seemingly understanding the soothing words of the pegasus Winona nodded, carefully Fluttershy lay the dog down and began to examine her injured leg. "What happened?" She asked Applejack who was stood watching from a distance, not wanting to interfere. Fluttershy just couldn't shake the feeling though that not all of her concern was focused on Winona. Applejack tapped her chin as she tried to recall the incident. "Not too sure, reckon a bit of carelessness was involved though, either she's slipped up and caught it on something, or she got to close to the pack and got trampled. All I know is one minute we were herding the cows back into their pen, the next Winona is whimpering like a lost puppy pining for it's mother." Fluttershy huffed. Maybe it didn't bug ponies like Applejack but Fluttershy secretly hated the whole notion of farming animals. Cows could talk, they were intelligent creatures, but ponies still found it neccesary to lock them up in pens. "Haven't you ever considered asking the cows to get into their pen? They might not be ponies but they aren't stupid." To her surpise Applejack started laughing "Now where's the fun in that?" "Fun?" She replied through gritted teeth. "Sure besides applebucking there ain't much to do this side of town. I'm pretty sure the cows don't mind, like you said if they had a problem with it, they'd be able to tell me." "I guess..." Fluttershy continued to work in silence, scrutinizing the limb whilst being careful not to cause any pain. Eventually Applejack felt the need to speak up. "So what's the verdict?" "It's just a sprain, probably from running too fast." She looked at Winona. "Now you be a good little puppy and stay off that leg for a least a week, do you understand?" Once again Winona nodded. "Good, Applejack it may help if you could bind the leg to stop it moving, she'll need a rest and plenty of food and water. Okay?" She stood up, being careful when placing Winona on the ground "Sure thing Fluttershy!" Applejack said, grateful that her companion wasn't that seriously harmed. "Thanks for stopping by." Applejack began walking towards the house to retrieve some bandages, more than eager to follow Fluttershy's instructions. Looking back however she noticed Fluttershy following her. "There a problem sugarcube?" Fluttershy became slightly flustered, as though she'd been caught out. "Oh no, it's just well, I have a question." Applejack turned to face her. "Shoot." "Okay erm, w-why did you seem so worried?" AJ started to scratch her head "About Winona?" She shrugged "I've had her since she was a little puppy, she's an Apple through and through, course I got-" "Not about Winona, Applejack, about me and Spike." Now it was Applejack's turn to look flustered, her eyes darted left and right, hoping to find some form of distraction or diversion. "Oh er... Listen sugarcube, it doesn't matter you're both fine so that's that, now I really gotta see about fixing that leg of Winona's." "Applejack, what's wrong." Fluttershy stared at her for the longest time, eventually cracking under the pressure AJ threw her hat on the ground, frustrated. Oh darn, I can't say no to Fluttershy can I? Damn you honesty! "Applejack?" "Ah consarnit, I can't hide nothing can I?" "I wasn't going to say anything but you seemed a little, distracted." Applejack sighed "If you must know sugarcube, I was a little worried about you and Spike, turns out there was no need though, y'all are doing just fine without me moseying in on your business" That last statement had Fluttershy even more confused. "What were you expecting?" "Ah don't rightly know sugarcube, guess I was just being paranoid." "That's not like you." "I know! Look can you keep things quiet, this don't leave us y'hear." "Sure thing, you kept my secret!" Applejack contemplated for a moment deciding the best way to explain herself, eventually she found the words and started to talk. Ushering Fluttershy closer she spoke in the quietest of whispers. "Alright look, I don't know the details but Big Mac's been acting awful peculier these past couple a' days. Now the last time I saw him acting like this was after that whole mess with Cheerilee, you know the love potion my sister and her friends slipped 'em." Fluttershy nodded. "So the way I figure, Big Mac's having girl trouble again and that got me worrying. I know it's silly but thinking about his problems with relationships, which are his business and his business alone, I was worried maybe something might have gone wrong between you two as well. It's superstitious nonsense but there it is." "Oh my is he alright?" Fluttershy asked. "Yeah the big lug'll be right as rain after a couple a days, probably burn through a couple a barrels of the good stuff but he''ll bounce back. It was you I was worried about." "Do you know who the marefriend is?" "Nope and I get the feeling I don't want to know so I haven't asked. Don't matter anyway, I ain't proud to admit but stallions of Big Mac's... build are hard to come by, specially in this town. Knowing him he'll already three new marefriends lined up. Assuming his latest one's gone off him." "Oh okay." Thanks Applejack, that was a little too much information "So that's all that was. Sorry if I ruffled your feathers any, I didn't mean it." "Don't worry you were just concerned for a friend, nothing wrong with that" "Well, if that's all I best be getting back to work. See you on Friday?" "Friday?" "Twi's sleepover remember?" "Oh okay, see you then!" Oh darn I completely forgot about that! His date now officially over Spike walked his way back through town. He walked with a smile and a spring in his step, why wouldn't he? As far as he was concerned everything in his life was fine and dandy, it didn't really matter to him what Twilight could do to him for skipping out on his chores, he in too good of a mood for that. As he passed the boutique however he stopped. He pondered for a moment as to whether he should go in, but it didn't appear to be open, all curtains were drawn and the windows were shut. That and the big "closed" sign pinned to the door. He shrugged and continued his way home. Unbeknownst to him however a figure was watching from the shadows, wearing a hooded cloak and fuming at the very sight of him. "Skip along little Dragon, skip along. I hope you enjoy things as they are because I guarantee they aren't going to last. I'll make sure of that." Whipping the tail of their cloak around the stranger disappeared into the alleyway. "Poor little Spike, maybe someone needs to remind you what you are hmm? And I shall be the one to do it!" Author's Note I don't know why but I feel like I've lost my mojo a bit. I hope this chapter is at least readable, if not I apologise, I haven't been sleeping well so maybe that's to blame. Anyways here's hoping I get the next chapter done by (you guessed it) Friday! ~TheSecretBrony P.S I wrote this on my new Kindle Fire! The autocorrect causes some problems but I wanted to give it a go. My verdict? Stick to PC, it's much easier. Though it's still great for reading stuff.
Chapter 3: Apologizing can be Hard to Do. The sun began to descend as the little dragon finally managed to get home. It usually didn't take quite so long to walk to the library from Sweet Apple acres, but be it from guilt, laziness or simply from being absentminded, Spike had dragged his feet a little, opting for the long way home and taking his time to do so. There isn't a pony or dragon alive that would hurry towards their inevitable punishment, at least none that Spike knew of. He opened the door to the library, yelling as he did. He hoped that it would give him a chance to get a word in, as he braced for the shouting. "Sorry Twilight, please don't be mad, I promise I'll make up the time!" The lights were off and he almost tripped as his feet caught on the books still covering the floor. After flicking on the light switch, Spike was astounded at what he saw. Given Twilight's usually exemplary work ethic, the fact that she hadn't even begun to finish was cause for alarm. "Twilight?" No reply. He tiptoed delicately past the books, not wanting to cause yet another avalanche. He was in enough trouble as it was. The library was eerily quiet, not that unusual considering it was a library but still, it gave Spike the chills. Normally at this hour, Twilight was either hard at work, or had her muzzle planted firmly in a book, sleep never came very easy for her so she had to find ways to pass the time. Once again he called out. "Twilight?" Just where the hay is that pony? He shrugged, deciding that it would be best to get to bed and take his punishment in the morning, he started towards his room, when he heard his stomach grumble. He laughed nervously, taking the long route home was a sure way to build up an appetite. Spinning round he headed into the kitchen. As he helped himself to the remnants left in the fridge, he happened to notice that the sink was empty. She wasn't the best cook, but that didn't mean Twilight couldn't have whipped up a quick bite to eat with Spike gone. Spike then noticed something even more peculiar. An unusual smell that lingered on the air, bitter yet slightly aromatic. The plate holding Spike's supper slipped between his claws as worry took hold, whirring his head around he confirmed his fears. Twilight had opened that drawer. When the pony you live with is an extremely powerful unicorn, with an aptitude for innovation and a love of experimentation, you learn to be a little cautious. The only reason Spike was able to sleep in the same room as Twilight when he was younger, was because her curiousity was tempered by both her morality and her reasoning. If Twilight had been drinking, she was no longer restrained by either. The first time Spike had witnessed Twilight drunk was coincidentally the evening after his first date with Fluttershy, where after a week of being overworked by a class of teenagers, Spike's unexpected revelation had caused Twilight to have a mental collapse. When Spike came home Twilight had smelt something foul, greeting him with a grin that was borderline masochistic and kept ranting about "fixing it", whatever "It" was. If she hadn't collapsed from overdoing it, leaving an awful mess on the floor by the way, Spike doubted he would have lived to see the morning. This is bad, this is very, very bad! Arming himself with whatever he could reach, in this instance a frying pan, Spike went to search for the missing librarian, if she was drunk, then she was incredibly dangerous and Spike couldn't forgive himself if she went rampant about the town. The first place he checked was his room, fearful of a Twilight hiding in wait, like the monsters from so many fairytales. He checked his closet, under his bed and behind the door but found no sign of her. He knew she wouldn't be in the kitchen or the main section of the library, so that left one more place, her bedroom. As Spike headed up the stairs, his senses seemed to increase tenfold, the smell of alcohol grew stronger, and every creak that arose from the old wooden steps were louder than normal. He could feel his heart beating in his chest ever faster, he felt the surge of adrenaline as his claws wrapped around the handle of Twilight's door. He breathed slowly and slower still pushed open the door to her room. "T-twilight? You in here?" This time he got a response, a jumble of unintelligle jibberish, followed by a very loud snore, Spike allowed himself to relax. Praise Celestia! She fell asleep! Spike smiled a little as he celebrated in the fact that Drunk Twilight hadn't done anything during her little visit, though this was quickly soured when he realised that tomorrow Normal Twilight would be hungover, and therefore even more irritable than usual. He sighed, this was his fault in part he realised, stressing her out like that. Was he being selfish? Maybe a little but what was he supposed to do, stand up his marefriend? Not unless he wanted the relationship to last, and considering Fluttershy was the only pony in town, who had shown any sort of romantic interest in him. He wanted it to last. It also helped that she was so cute. He approached the side of the bed and pulled the covers over Twilight, who had in her drunken stupor, literally thrown herself onto the bed. Kicking the covers aside as she had streched out on the bed. Spike noticed the wet stains on her pillow. Has she been...crying? He'd made Twilight cry? If Spike hadn't felt bad before, he sure felt bad now. He'd abandoned her, as hard as he found that to believe, he knew that's what he'd done. He sat down on the side of the bed looking at her. Even now the unicorn shivered, plagued by a nightmare it seemed, as she moaned and sobbed under the sheets. Spike tried his best to calm her without waking her, shushing and stroking the top of her head gently, as Twilight had often done for him whenever he got upset or frightened. I...I've got to do something about this, I've... He swallowed deeply as he realised now, he'd felt something in the back of his mind as he ran and heard Twilight screaming after her. You're crying, because, you think I've replaced you! Spike remembered how he felt when Owlicious first turned up, how he felt abandoned and alone because he thought Twilight had found someone better. It sickened Spike to know that, however inadvertently, he'd made Twilight feel like that. He had to apologize to her, make her see that he was still her assistant, that much was clear to him. He hoped that she would see this was just a big misunderstanding. "Sorry Twilight..." He knew she probably couldn't hear him, she'd probably wouldn't even remember in the morning but still he felt obligated to apologize right there and then. He pulled the door shut, before heading down to his room. No longer feeling the tension that had plagued him not moments before, Spike was able to relax, sleep coming quickly for him. Together, Twilight and Spike quickly filled the library with the sound of their snoring. Little did they know of the powers at work, if they did, sleep would have been the last thing on their minds. The hooded figure, the one whom had been watching Spike and Fluttershy mere hours before, felt disgusted as they watched Spike sleep through the window. They'd dealt with dragons before, brutish, foul-mouthed, malicious creatures, who only cared about feeding their greed and fighting just because they found it fun. The hooded figure had been tolerant of Spike's presence in Ponyville before, they assumed him a servant, a slave to Twilight Sparkle, forced to do her bidding. That, they thought, was an acceptable fate for the young drake, given the atrocities his species had commited. "And yet here you lay." They whispered angrily. "Sleeping soundly, not a care in the world." As it turned out their assumption was incorrect. Not only was Spike not a slave, nor a servant he was actually considered a citizen. This had made the figure's blood boil, how could this be? Dragons belong in woods or in caves, far from where any pony would have to suffer their presence. He'd even begun to date one of the residents, someone who the hooded figure happened to be quite fond of. Clearly he'd forced the timid mare to date him, no pony would ever willingly date a dragon. The way she'd recoiled in fear at his kiss back at Sugarcube corner, that had been the last straw. Celestia may have been content to let wolves sleep amongst the sheep, but not the hooded figure. They would be sure to remind that annoying little serpent of their place in the world. Of course the task at hand required subtlety, removing the dragon would be a difficult task, given his strong ties to Celestia. Murder was out of the question, too many questions and investigations, but maybe, just maybe they could the town against the resident dragon. Given what the hooded figure knew about their species that didn't pose to much of a challenge, for now though all they could do was wait for the oppurtune moment to strike. With a flash of magic the figure disappeared without a trace, leaving the night to progress. The next morning, Twilight awoke, her head beating like a drum and the light burning in her retina's. She rubbed her temples as she tried to remember what could have caused this, then her eyes fell to the empty wine bottle on the dresser. She groaned, "Guess I got a little carried away again last night? Ow... my head." She flung back the covers and headed over to her table to brush her mane, as was her morning ritual, though the throbbing in her skull made it difficult to concentrate and more than once the brush was released from her magical grip, hitting the ground loudly with a dull thunk. A very unwelcome noise to anyone suffering from a hangover, but through some miracle, Twilight had managed to tame her bed-mane somewhat. "You'd have thought I'd learnt something from the last time...". Miserable, Twilight crawled her way to the door and down the stairs, stopping halfway when she saw the library floor. It was... Clean?! She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Was she still drunk, was she still in the same library? Even though her memory of last night was somewhat hazy, she had some vague recollection that the library was in shambles, reshelving having been abandoned after Spike had ran off. Come to think of it, where is that runaway drake? Her question was quickly answered as Spike ran across the library floor, not noticing Twilight was on the stairwell. He ran over to a shelf, pulled down a book and headed towards the kitchen. "Spike?" Twilight said as loud as she dared. Startled, Spike tripped up over his tail, sending the book into the air. Desperately grabbing claws reached up into the air, knocking the book back upwards but never catching it. As Spike fell flat on his front, the book slammed down on the wooden floor. The noise caused Twilight to cringe. She was annoyed, but her curiousity beckoned. "What in the wide, wide world of Equestria are you doing?" Spike replied shakily, the fall having knocked the wind out of him "Nothing." She shot him a skeptical glance, looking between him and the book on the floor. "Then what's the book for?" "I can't reach the top of the cupboards?" He said sheepishly. Twilight could tell when he was lying, she'd known him long enough for that. She replied in a calm but stern tone. "Spike." Instead of replying, Spike darted back into the kitchen taking the book with him. Twilight huffed, deciding that whatever Spike was doing, she would find out eventually. Until then, the couch certainly looked very inviting. She stretched out on the upholstery, resting her head on the arm, she closed her eyes. "What did I do last night..." She remembered being very sad for some reason, something to do with Spike... Oh, that's right… Back came that lonely feeling, that harrowing sensation that she had tried to bury, to drown in wine. She was still single, and that was upsetting. Hearing some shuffling behind her, Twilight was quick to wipe away the crystal tears that had formed in her eyes. Imagine if Spike saw her crying? He'd probably bend over backward trying to cheer her- Spike saw me crying yesterday didn't he? Sure enough the young drake shuffled into the room carrying a platter of food, piled so high it was a wonder how he could see where he was going, before setting it down in front of her. Eagerly he grabbed a glass and pushed it under Twilight's face. He beamed at her "Here drink this!" She wrinkled her nose at the smell coming from the glass, looking in she saw a foul looking red slush. "What-" The smell caused her to gag quite violently. "What is that?" Spike shrugged "Can't remember the name but the book said this was an excellent cure for hangovers!" "What's in it?" Spike paused as he thought then began to list off all the ingredients he could remember, counting them off on his fingers. "Well I put in tomato juice, a raw egg, parsley, chilli powder-" Seeing the look of apprehension on Twilight's face Spike couldn't help but chuckle. "What? I followed the recipe to the letter." "Spike, I'm not drinking that..." "Come on Twi-" "No." She said firmly, glowering at him as though he'd just tried to poison her, which looking at the beverage before her, he may have well just have. Spike looked down at the floor forlorn. "Oh...okay. I get it you're still mad at me." Twilight looked at him puzzled. "Why would I be mad? So you ran off yesterday, so what?" Now it was Spike's turn to be confused, Hadn't his selfishness been the cause of her little drinking session yesterday?Twilight began to pick at the food Spike had brought. "You're allowed to spend your time as you want, did I ever get mad because you'd ran off to the boutique? No. If you want to spend your time with Fluttershy that's okay with me." Her words were true, she didn't mad at Spike, at least not any more. Whilst she may have been mad at the time, Spike had clearly been hard at work rectifying the situation. The library was clean, he was home safe and the breakfast he'd provided looked delicious, if anything the only one she was mad at was herself. Though her relationship problems would have to wait, judging from the look on Spike's face, she'd have to try to calm him down first, she didn't need anyone fussing over her, least of all Spike. "Okay?" Twilight had a quick look round. He'd done a remarkable job and in record time, guilt was a good motivator it seemed. "Besides you've gotten the job done, without me as well." "Twilight, I don't get it if your not mad at me? Why did you, you know?" He said flicking his head in the direction of the kitchen. Twilight sighed "Call it mare problems." "Mare problems?" She shook her head, if only he knew the half of it. "Don't worry you're not to blame, nor do I think you could help. Don't worry I'll be fine really!" "You sure?" She reaffirms this with a nod, before gesturing him away with a wave of her hoof. "Positive, now run along, I don't have anything for you to do just yet." "Okay, oh and Twilight?" "You know I'm sorry right?" "I know, you're forgiven" Spike smiled. That was way easier than expected. Author's Note If you're busy thinking "By the gods, these chapters keep getting shorter!" Don't worry, after the next one there are going to be a couple of BIG ones, Like 10k words big. So big it'll take me a while to write them. You can wait right? Oh and going off what I've read in the comments, Rarity is not pregnant, some of you may be disappointed at that but Rarity is a classy mare. I take her as the type who'd save herself for marriage. As for her being the cloaked pony, that's a little obvious isn't it? Nice try though.
Chapter 4: Picking at EmbersChapter 4: Picking at Embers Story by TheSecretBrony Thanks to Brony2893 for helping with the edit and for proofreading. Spike had a little spring in his step, the birds were singing, the sun was bright and he had the whole day to do whatever he wanted, wherever. Fluttershy, Twilight, and the rest of the girls were busy planning the schedule for their sleepover at a cafe on the other side of town. Initially Spike was disappointed when he was informed that the event was ‘Mares Only’, Twilight was always leaving him out of stuff. Though knowing what Twilight could be like with schedules, he was a little relieved. Hopefully she had learned something from Applejack’s little mishap at the Family reunion. Social gatherings were supposed to flow naturally, not follow a strict timeline. In all honesty though, Spike had no clue how he should spend his afternoon, and then it hit him. Hard. His only warning being the shrill shrieks of three foals and an orange blur, Spike found himself being crushed beneath the wheels of a wagon. The occupants had relocated to a nearby bush, and the driver having only been saved through their reflexes. Slightly stunned, Spike could only just hear the shouting match that followed. "Scootaloo, are you crazy?" Sweetie Belle said, shoving her friend on the shoulder. Scootaloo started stomping her hooves on the ground and kicking up dust. "Hey, don't yell at me like that, I didn't see him!" "Not see him?" Sweetie pointed a hoof at Spike from behind the bush. "How could you not see him? He's a dragon for Celstia's sake, kinda hard to miss!" "Hey, don't start, you’re the one who makes me drive you guys everywhere." Scootaloo shot back. "You call that driving?!" Sweetie retorted. Having regained his senses, Spike peeled the wagon off of his face and threw it away. The first thing he saw was Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle about to trade blows, the latter practically screaming. Off to one side he could see another victim, not Applebloom but a pinto pony whom he recognized to be young Pipsqueak, rubbing his head and looking bemused at the pair. From his expression and the slight tinge of fear he could see in the young colt's eyes, Spike knew he probably wouldn't dare try to intervene. Spike sighed, it looked like the responsibility fell to him. He put his fingers in his mouth and blew. The high pitched whistle did the trick as he managed to grab their attention. "Good you've shut up," Spike said cheerfully, hearing a sigh of relief from the young Pipsqueak. "Now, do you girls want to tell me why I just got flattened?" He said irritably. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shared a quick glance at each other before looking down at the ground. "Sorry, Spike" Scootaloo apologized meekly. "It's just we were showing Pip what we do, what with Applebloom having to stay home we were lacking a crusader. Pip's the only other blank flank in town, so we thought he could join. I guess we just got carried away." Scootaloo looked away whilst rubbing her forelegs. Sweetie Belle nodded vigorously. "It's true, we promise!" Spike shrugged, he'd be more mad had he'd not done his fair share of stupid stuff before. Heh, Rainbow is still mad at me for that! Don’t know why though, we managed to get the glue off. "Alright, alright, just do me and everyone else a favor and slow down okay, not everyone has scales to protect them, speaking of which are you three okay?" He asked, Pip having taken his place beside Scootaloo and Sweetie. The trio examined themselves for any scrapes or bruises, when Sweetie Belle let out a groan. Concerned, Spike walked towards her as she pulled her crusader cape off her shoulders, holding it up for Spike to see. "I've ruined my cape! How can I be a crusader without a cape!?" She whined. Sure enough, a large jagged tear down the middle threatened to split the cape in half. Judging from the frayed edges, it appeared as though she'd caught it on a twig. Pip smiled and put a hoof on her shoulder "It's okay Sweetie!" he said "I don't have a cape and I'm still a crusader, right? Besides, your sister can fix it in no time!" Rather than her cheering up as Spike had expected, Sweetie Belle dropped to her haunches. "She won't fix it," Sweetie grumbled. Spike nodded knowingly "Yep, Rarity's been cooped up in the boutique these past few weeks, whatever she's working on must be huge, huh?" Sweetie looked at Spike with a confused look. "Working on what? She hasn't had any customers, Spike." He was taken back at this "What!? Then what has she been doing all this time?" Sweetie shrugged. "Don't know, she's just locks herself in her room all day. She gets food delivered and she keeps turning away customers." Spike looked at her wide eyed, and spoke with an increasing amount of concern."And this doesn't worry you, not in the slightest? That doesn't sound at all like Rarity. Did something happen?" Sweetie looked hurt at the dragon’s words. "Hey!" shouted Scootaloo, "She does care, but every time we try to see what's wrong, Rarity just starts shouting and slams the door in our faces!" Sweetie nodded slowly in agreement, before sniffling and wiping her eyes. Spike stopped for a moment to let it all sink in. This was troublesome, maybe more than he'd initially thought. "Sorry, but this sounds bad. Sweetie, has she said anything about why she's in there?" "No." Sweetie stood up. "I can't understand a word, but I think, I think she's been crying, a lot." What in Equestria could do that, I've never seen Rarity cry over anything...Unless— The image of a certain red stallion flickered in Spike's mind. Big Macintosh and Rarity had been seeing each other in secret. Even now, Spike and for some reason Pinkie, were the only ones who knew, when Spike had found out he'd overheard them having an arguement about... Oh no! Snapping to attention, Spike approached Scootaloo. "How quickly can you get across town?" "I thought you wanted me to slow down? Whatever, I can get across town..." Scootaloo grinned smugly, "In-" "Say ten seconds flat and I'm gonna bop you." Sweetie said. "Im'ma still think it!" She said sticking out her tongue. "Why?" "I need you to deliver a message to Twilight and the others, they're over at that new cafe near the lake. Tell them to get over to the boutique as quickly as possible, I'm going on ahead." Spike started to run off, Scootaloo whizzed around the front and cut him off. "Hold up, can't you send messages? Why should I go?" "My messages only go to the Princess, besides you owe me." He said pointing to the site of the crash where Pipsqueak and Sweetie Belle were busily picking twigs out of their manes. "Oh yeah, heh, my bad. Alright but just this once. Cutie Mark Crusaders Couriers go!" After righting the wagon and ensuring both Pip and Sweetie were holding on tight, Scootaloo whizzed off, once again becoming a blur. I really hope I'm wrong, but if I'm not one thing's for certain... This is going to be a long day. Spike had been in Ponyville for a few years now, but this was the first time he was actually afraid to approach Carousel Boutique. As it loomed over the horizon, he gulped. To the passersby it was just another building, albeit slightly more grand than those surrounding it. Spike slowed as he approached. A closed sign was hung from the door, written in a hurried scrawl, not Rarity's usually elegant curvature. The curtains were still drawn, the front door was locked. However that didn't deter him, having been here more than enough Spike had no difficulty getting inside. Rarity always hid the spare key to the back door leading into the kitchen, in one of the window boxes. He paused, should he do this? Technically he'd broken in, even if it was with a key. If he was wrong, or Sweetie was lying, Rarity would be furious. Spike quickly regained his composure ,however when he saw the piles of takeaway boxes stacked up beside the bin and saw the tattered, mismatched dresses desecrating the dress-forms, and the cobwebs that clung to the ceiling. Even if he was wrong about why, Spike was now certain. Rarity had snapped. The boutique was dark, making finding his way around slightly difficult. He knew the layout of the boutique like the back of his claw, but still found himself bumping into things. He made his way across the room, tripping and slipping as he did so. This was wrong, so very wrong. He wondered how Sweetie Belle coped, she couldn't possibly be living here, not in these conditions. He guessed she must have been sleeping over at Scootaloo's house. Sending for help was a smart move. Coming here alone, less so. Spike made it about halfway up the stairs when one of the steps creaked. He could hear a mare shouting in response. "Sweetie, I told you no! Go and play with your friends or something, just leave me alone!" Unperturbed, Spike continue until he reached Rarity's door. This was it, time for him to see just what Rarity had become. He thought it funny, now he was shaking, him, a dragon, shaking. Oh come on, grow up! After all, what's the worst that could happen? He knocked on the door. It was flung open with such tremendous force that Spike had to jump back to avoid being slammed into the wall. "I’ve already told you once to leave me alone Sweetie—" he stopped when she realized that instead of her younger sister, she was shouting at. "...Spike?" Spike took a moment to assess the situation. Was Rarity mad? Well she was just shouting like a maniac, and she looks a mess. Check. Was she mad at him? Judging from her sudden silence, no. Was he freaked out? A little. Final question: what should he do now? "Hey Rarit-ack!" Before he'd even finished speaking, Rarity had wrapped her hooves around his neck, pulled him in and slammed the door behind them. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "So girls, what do you think, are you excited?" Twilight asked, beaming. "I don't know..." Fluttershy trailed off, unsure. "Yeah I mean I've heard about girls doing weird stuff at sleepovers but still..." Rainbow Dash said. "Come on, we're all good friends here right?" Twilight asked. "Well yeah, but still, it seems like it might makes things a little, awkward." Rainbow Dash replied. "Can't we do like makeovers and stuff?" Fluttershy offered. "Yeah, I mean come on, even I'd rather have a makeover than do... that. " Rainbow confessed. "Ah don't know I mean it could be fun?" Applejack murmured, idly twirling the straw in her drink. "Yeah I know, but it's like we're mares, I don't think it's normal for us to do that." Rainbow Dash pointed out. "Come on girls," Twilight moaned "I've never had the chance to do this with anypony before." She looked eagerly between her friends, their faces a mixture of confusion, disgust, curiosity and for some reason Pinkie Pie was shuddering again. Seeing that nopony shared her optimism, her head hit the table. Fluttershy patted her on the back. "Sorry Twilight, I just don't think ‘Dungeons and Diamond Dogs’ is right for us." Twilight lifted her head from the table and started nibbling on her sandwich with a sour expression, when suddenly she heard someone calling her name. "Twilight!" Scootaloo came to a skidding halt in front of the table, slightly damaged wagon still in tow. "Hey squirt what’s up?" Rainbow asked the young pegasus. The two unfortunate passengers pulled themselves off the bottom of the wagon’s interior. "My blood pressure?" Pipsqueak said before rushing off inside, his face green with nausea. Startled ponies could be heard inside as Pip steered his way to the closest restroom, his unsteady legs unfortunately carrying him into the ladies room. Ignoring the screams, Rainbow greeted the orange filly with a hoof bump. Scootaloo returned the gesture, but failed to completely suppress the squeal that followed, Rainbow Dash snickered as Scoot's face took on reddish hue. She shook her head and cleared her throat before she replied, not wanting to embarrass herself further. "Nothing much, hey Twilight you got a second?" Scootaloo asked. "Certainly Scootaloo, what is it?" Twilight replied. "I have a message from Spike." She examined her flank for any message-delivery cutie mark, both disappointed and secretly relieved that there was none. "Let me guess, he's bored and wants to go to the sleepover,? Well you can tell Spike to forget it, mares only means mares only!" Twilight said crossing her hooves in an act of finality. "That's not the message though... what did he say?” Scoots patted at her chin in thought. “Oh yeah, umm, he wants you to meet him at the boutique as soon as possible." "The boutique? What's Spike doing over there?” Twilight wondered. “Can you start from the beginning?" "Sure, you see. Sweetie Belle, Pip and I were speeding along when—" :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Spike blinked, being pulled suddenly into the well-lit room had hurt his eyes. Rarity had spun him round and around, pulling him tight to her chest. Eventually she stopped, both of them quite dizzy, had ended up in the middle of the room. "It is so good to see you again Spike!" Rarity cooed, nuzzling him as they still stood in the center of the bedroom. Spike noticed that her room—unlike the rest of the boutique—was in immaculate condition. Every surface shone, the only thing showing any kind of wear was the unicorn in front of him. The one who was busy polishing his scales with her cheek. He saw her horn glow and heard a click. He didn't look but he was pretty sure she'd just locked the door. Correction, very creeped out. "Well, I'm sorry you had to see me like this Spikey-Wikey, I'm afraid I've been a little distracted recently..." Okay, so she’s using the nickname again, odd, she hasn’t called me that since the Royal Wedding. Spike shook his head quickly, putting a hand on Rarity's shoulder, he pushed her back and looked in her eyes. "Rarity, is there maybe something you want to talk about?" "Whatever do you mean Spike, I'm fine, you're fine, we're both fine, there's nothing wrong with us, either of us, nothing wrong!" She started to laugh, this wasn't happy, this wasn't nervous, this wasn't even that fake laugh she used whenever she was embarrassed. This was just maniacal. "What do you mean 'nothing wrong', Rarity? You haven't left the house in days, none of the girls have heard from you and Sweetie didn't say it but I could tell she was worried sick about you." Spike said concerned. Rarity walked over to a table, upon which sat a teapot and some cups. "Would you like something to drink? I have some delightful Oolong tea, or perhaps you'd like a gem? I believe I had a chest of them around here somewhere." She quickly ran to the other side of the room, ignoring the little dragon. "Rarity." "Oh I'm just joking of course you'd want a gem! Now where did I put them, what would you prefer ,an emerald, or a diamond maybe?" Still looking, she began digging through some drawers. "Rarity!" "I think I have some sapphires around here too as well. Or would you just want the tea..." Now she was looking around the room whilst pacing, as if she would find them on the ceiling. "Rarity!" Rarity stopped galloping around her bedroom and looked at Spike, she saw the stern, yet concerned look on his face and her grin slowly fell into a frown. She began to cry. Aw geez... "I-it's, it’s just not fair!" Spike sidled up to the distraught Rarity and placed a comforting hand on her back. Alright, better get this over with, no sense in dancing round the issue. "Rarity, is this about Big Mac?" She nodded slowly "He... he called it off, he said he couldn't date somepony who was ashamed of him." "What happened? From what you told me at that party, you were only keeping it a secret to spare my feelings. Why didn't you tell anyone else?" "I don't know! I got scared, I wasn't ready to. He and I started to fight more and more, and then one day he just left a note, saying he wasn't coming back!" She began to cry even louder, burying her head into Spike's shoulder. Slightly bewildered, Spike patted her gently on the back, unsure of how he felt about the new touchy-feely Rarity. Were all mares like this when they get dumped? Spike couldn't help but wonder. "Shhhh, it's alright, it's alright. Let's just calm down." The dragon soothed. "Why... why does every stallion I take a fancy to turn out to be a, a scoundrel! First Blueblood and now Mackie... What's wrong with me Spikey?" "Nothing is wrong with you Rarity, so you've had a couple of bad dates, not every guy is like that, just look at me!" Rarity did, she looked at Spike, she saw the arm gently cradling her, the calming words, that charming smile. She stared into his eyes, her mind at war with itself. He's always been such a gentledrake... No, bad Rarity! He's dating Fluttershy, you can't! Just forget it you're always going to be lonely, don't ruin it for everypony else. But what about my happiness? When is it my turn!? He's dating your best friend. Fluttershy's a nice pony, it'll be easy for her to find a new coltfriend! You'll never be able to forgive yourself. I just want a special somepony... You just have to be patient. Spike contemplated his position, here he was hugging his childhood crush who was having break up issues, his marefriend, Twilight and their other friends were on the way and all Spike had to do was sit tight. He'd felt nervous around Rarity when he was younger. Who isn't around their crush? Now though, he just felt uncomfortable about this whole situation. Alright she's calmed down a little bit, though she still looking at me funny, oh don't cry again! "Come on show me a smile, I think you look better when you smile." Rarity did, her first genuinely happy smile in days. This is what she missed the most, being held by a caring, handsome individual. Wait...did I just think that Spike was handsome? "Thanks, but you don't have to be polite, I know I look a mess," Rarity smiled and looked at her mane for a moment. "What are you talking about? Okay you're mane's gone a bit messy, still look okay to me." "You mean it?" Rarity beamed. "Yeah, with looks like yours you'll have them lining up in no time!" Did I say something wrong? She's stopped smiling, kinda looking she’s giving me that weird look again. Spike continued. "I'll help you clean up downstairs, see about getting you something proper to eat because I happen to know you've eaten nothing but junk for the past few weeks. Maybe you and Fluttershy can go to the spa like you used to, get yourself cleaned up. Get things back to how they were." He smiled, Rarity's expression hadn't changed, she seemed to be thinking about something. Oh... buck it! "Er.. Rarity are you ok—" Spike was interrupted yet again as Rarity leant forward, their lips making contact as the mare threw her forelegs around the unsuspecting dragon, pulling him close. Spike was too in shock to react at first and went stiff as a board as Rarity pressed her lips more and more into the kiss. After what seemed an eternity to the young dragon, though was only a couple seconds, he pushed her away and stared, absolutely stunned. That couldn't have happened, that didn't, it shouldn't. "Rarity what in Equestria are you doing!?" He shouted. Seeing how dreadfully she'd misjudged the situation, Rarity watched in horror as Spike back-peddled away from her. "I'm sorry, it's just you were being so nice and thoughtful, I thought maybe—" Spike cut her off, "That what? Rarity, I moved on, you made it clear that we were just friends! Why would you do that?" He growled. He threw his hands down and glared at her, she cowered under his gaze. Anger quickling replacing the worry in his eyes. Rarity had curled up into a quivering ball, clutching her hindlegs to her chest. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight! You don't know how lonely I've been!" she howled. "I think I should go." As he stood up to leave, Rarity leaped and grabbed onto his arm. Spike pulled it away as if she’d bit him "Please don't go! I don't want to be alone again!" Rarity cried, nearly dragging him to the floor. "I... I'm sorry this is just... I gotta go, now!" Spike darted out, grabbing a key he saw on her dresser, he opened the lock on the door and ran, leaving Rarity to sit on the floor of her boutique. Seeing the look of fear in Spike's eyes, Rarity chastised herself for being so reckless. She felt the tears welling up again and this time, she realised she had no one to blame but herself. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "—and that's why we rushed over here so fast." Scoot said. "Is Spike still at the boutique?" Twilight asked as she put away her quill and parchment, having taken careful note of everything. Scootaloo nodded "I think so, he was running pretty quick so it must have been important." "Come on girls, this sounds like an emergency!" Twilight exclaimed. The five quickly gathered themselves and galloped off towards the library. Struggling to keep pace, Fluttershy managed to get alongside and whisper to Twilight. "I hope Spike is alright, it sounds like Rarity is in a really bad place right now." The butter-yellow pegasus muttered. “I'm worried too Fluttershy, though I think Spike is more capable than he thinks. Still we should hurry,” Twilight replied. Twilight took the lead with the others running behind in single file. They too had been worried about Rarity, but it was Spike's idea to all go as a group at the end of the week. They weren't sure why Spike had suddenly become so concerned, or why he hadn't waited for them, considering how dismissive he had been about the whole affair. But Spike knew Rarity better than any of them, so they trusted him. One thing was certain though, they needed to pick up the pace. Ducking, diving, dipping and dodging through the crowds in the market, they eventually arrived. Twilight loudly knocked on the front door. "Spike? Rarity? We're here!" She pulled on the door. "Locked." "Maybe we should try the back? Fluttershy offered. "Good idea, Rainbow, Applejack you stay here in case one of them opens the front door." Twilight ordered. "Got it," Rainbow saluted and Applejack tipped her hat in agreement. Fluttershy, Twilight and Pinkie made their way around to the rear of the building, as they rounded the corner, they caught Spike, barrelling out of the door. "Spike, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Fluttershy said as she flew over and embraced Spike, he barely moved, his arms hanging loosely by his sides. "Spike what's the matter?" She asked, slightly pulling back to give him room to breathe. Spike stepped back and slid down the door sitting on the step. "Rarity is inside." He looked up at three worried faces. "Did you bring Applejack and Rainbow?" "Spike, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked. "What? Oh yeah, yeah sorry just a little shaken up by what I saw in there, it was... creepy." Spike shuddered slightly, the memory of earlier still fresh in his mind. "Come on, let's go get Rainbow and AJ, they're waiting round the front." Twilight said, offering her hoof to him. Spike ignored it. "Good." He got to his feet and brushed himself down. "I think it's best if you all heard this, 'cause I only want to say it once, come on." He waved an arm for them to follow. They did, if slightly hesitant, Twilight shot a look at the back door. Shouldn't we be going to see Rarity? What happened in there? :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!" Rarity buried her head in her pillow as she berated herself. "Honestly Rarity, what were you thinking! First Big Mac leaves you high and dry and then you scare away the only male in this town who' s ever shown you any decency." The distressed mare’s ears perked up as she heard voices at the foot of her window. "They sound familiar..." She walked up to the window and peeked through the curtains. "All of my friends, they came to see me! Oh no, they're talking to Spike..." She walked over to her dresser, pulling out a comb. "No doubt he's telling them everything," She sighed. "I just hope Fluttershy can forgive me." As she stared into the mirror, she couldn't help but think that she was looking at a complete stranger. Just what had possessed her to kiss Spike? That wasn't like her at all, he was a dear friend to her, in a committed relationship with her best friend. She didn't even like him like that. "You are a fool Rarity, a fool, he was just trying to cheer you up." She put the brush down. "When did I get so... desperate?" She walked to the door of her room. "Well, no sense in moping, you're a grown mare Rarity, it's time for you to face the music." She shut the door behind her and proceeded on her death march down the stairs and to the front door, steeling herself for what was to come. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "Big Mac did what?!" The girls said in unison. "Spike is this true?" Twilight asked. "Every word," Spike nodded, confirming his earlier statement. Rainbow Dash scratched her head. "So, let me get this straight, you're telling us that Rarity and Big McIntosh were dating, and the whole reason she's been cooped up in the boutique is because he dumped her." "Why that arrogant, when Ah see my brother Ah'm gonna... What kind of no good snake dumps a pony by note, didn't even have the apples to say it to her face!" Applejack stomped furiously, snorting like a bull. "Look, I think you better go in there." He started to walk away. "Spike are you coming?" Twilight curiously asked. "What? Oh, oh no no, she needs her friends to talk too, she's not... up to having guys around her right now, you know considering," Spike finished with a shrug. Twilight nodded "Well where will you go?" "As far away as possible..." He muttered. "What was that?" Twilight asked. "I said Sugarcube Corner, you can meet me there later if you want." He said loud enough for them to hear. "I could really use a coffee and some donuts right around now." He added quietly. As he slipped out of view Twilight and her friends congregated around the front door. "So, should we go in? No sense in waiting around." There attention was drawn by the sound of a door swinging open, in the doorway stood Rarity. "Hello girls," She greeted. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The hooded figure laughed to themselves, this was perfect, the opportunity they had been waiting for finally arrived. They never thought it possible, but Spike had just handed them his downfall on a silver platter. They had been watching patiently, sneaking away to stalk the dragon whenever they could, and it had paid off. His infidelity provided the hooded figure with the means to succeed. Spike had chosen to omit that little nugget of information when informing them of Rarity's plight. “That took less time than I expected, not that I can complain, besides he's a Dragon, loyalty is hardly a defining quality,” They noted something that they had heard once “Breaking a friend's trust is the quickest way to lose a friend. I wonder, how will Fluttershy react when she learns of how you betrayed her trust?" The hooded figure had been at the gala, they'd seen Fluttershy's fury in full force. They smirked, that would be the perfect trigger. "Dragons are far from stable creatures, will you be able to cope Spike?" :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Spike slammed the empty coffee cup on the table, reaching into a nearby box, he grabbed a handful of donuts and stuffed them, rather unceremoniously into his gaping maw. He knew he had a bad feeling about that boutique and he was right. Just what was Rarity thinking!? Why did she kiss him? Did she genuinely like him like that? No that's just silly, she's just shaken up after the break up, still, she crossed a line. He felt sickened, both at himself and at Rarity. She needed help but she wasn't going to get it from him, not now. He despised himself for lying to his friends and most importantly, his marefriend like that but what else could he do? If he'd have told them what Rarity had done, they'd probably never speak to her again. She just had a moment of madness and insecurity, that's all it was. Spike just wanted to pretend as though it had never happened, hopefully Rarity would feel the same way. He waved his hand at the counter where Mrs. Cake was busy counting the bits in the register, in the back he could hear Mr. Cake cooking away, pans clattering together. "Can I get another refill please?" The depressed dragon asked. "Are you sure Spike? that's your third cup and you're on your fourth box of donuts," Mrs. Cake unsurely asked. Spike looked at him angrily "I'm paying you aren't I? Just—!" He stopped as he realized he'd been shouting, the coffee pot in Mrs. Cake's hoof was shaking quite rapidly, several ponies were staring at him. He hung his head and sighed. "...Sorry, bad day, just bring the donuts. Please," He quickly added. The ponies around the store returned to their private conversations, though Spike saw the occasional glance his way. Oh go ahead and stare, it's not going to change what happened. Twilight was right, the ponies in this town are crazy, at least the ones I know... :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: When Rarity opened the door she was expecting a torrent of abuse, mostly from Applejack and Fluttershy, maybe a disappointed glare from Twilight, she wasn't expecting the crushing group hug. Even Rainbow joined in. Fluttershy was first to speak "Oh Rarity, we were so worried!" "You mean, you aren't mad at me?" Rarity asked, perplexed. "Mad at you, why would we be mad at you?" Twilight asked. "Wasn't Spike just out here? I thought he would have told you what happened?" Rarity asked, looking around for the small dragon. Now it was Pinkie's turn to chime in. "Of course he did silly, he told us how you and Mac were special someponies and now you're not and that made you really sad. So sad you went loco in the cocoa but your friends are to make you all better, just like how we helped Twilight when she went bonkers." "Hey!" Twilight glared at the pink pony. "That's all that Spike told you?" Rarity disbelievingly asked. Did he not tell them about... That? Fluttershy is still smiling so I guess not, but why would he cover for me? Because he's trying to be a good friend, be grateful. Now I just feel guilty... You should! "Hey, Equestria to Rarity, you in there?" Rainbow Dash’s voice chimed in. Rarity, realising she'd just zoned out responded quickly, speaking in a hurried manner. "I'm fine thank you!" Fluttershy pulled her friend into another hug, triggering yet another sickening wave of shame to wash over the fashionista. "I know what will cheer you up! How about we go to the spa? You're always so happy afterwards," Fluttershy offered as she squeezed her friend tighter. Rarity knew that, given the circumstances, she should say no, being alone with Fluttershy, after what had just happened, seemed to her as the height of social awkwardness. Though it did provide her with an opportunity to try and smooth things out in a more discreet manner. No sense in confessing her sin to all of her friends at once. "That sounds lovely Fluttershy," Rarity finally answered At least I can get you alone to apologise this way. "Want us to come too?" Twilight asked. "No! I mean, um, Twilight, I would hate to impose, you have a lot of planning to do for the sleepover, yes I got the invitation, thank you, and I know how much Applejack and Rainbow Dash hate the spa. Pinkie, no offence but you're not, how shall we say, familiar with the concept of calm, I need to relax after all. So no, but don't worry I'm sure the element of kindness is just the kind of company I need right now." For more reason than one... If Twilight was at all hurt by Rarity's refusal of her company she didn't show it, instead she nodded and she Applejack and Pinkie started to make the journey to Sugarcube corner to check on Spike. Rainbow had disappeared behind a trail of colours, leaving Rarity alone with Fluttershy. They began their walk to the spa in silence.. This is going to be a very... very long day...
