The Gentle Giant

It was an early morning sun that greeted a small group slowly collecting at a suburban bus stop. Twilight was already there, along with a couple of her friends, Sunset Shimmer and Applejack. Fluttershy was making her way towards them, dragging a suitcase behind her.

"Why did we agree to get here so early again?" Sunset yawned, trying to work the sleepyness out of her system. She still wore her favorite leather jacket and tanktop/miniskirt combo, though the few extra inches she'd grown over the years made it show off a little bit more skin than usual, but she didn't mind.

"Least it's daylight out." Applejack replied, wearing jeans and a slighly tight-fitting flannel shirt. She adjusted her old stetson and looked at Twilight. "So, you gonna tell us what this 'surprise

"Yeah, you sounded really happy about it last night." Fluttershy added once she reached them, wearing her familiar yellow and green sundress.

"Sorry girls, but you're gonna have to wait till everyone's here." Twilight replied, humming a little tune to herself. She'd opted for some basic black shorts and a t-shirt that day.

They were quickly interrupted by the sound of jogging coming towards then, along with a shout of "Rainbow Dash, will you wait up!?"

They all looked to see Rainbow, wearing her usual skintight spandex jogging pants and tanktop, and carrying a backpack. She'd recently traded in her long ponytail for a pixie-style that framed her face due to a bet she'd lost with Rarity.

The fashion-conscious girl was right behind her, wearing a simple white and purple dress, and lugging almost twice what the others were carrying.

"Not my fault you wanted to bring so much, Rarity!" Rainbow shot back. "You know it's close enough for us to head back and pick up more."

"And you know I never like to bring only one bag on a trip!"

"All right you two, chill out." Twilight said, giving them both a look. "Now, where's Pinkie?"

"Present!" The party girl chirped, making them all jump. She was dressed in a pink t-shirt and overall shorts with a balloon motiff.

"When in sam hill did you get here!?" Applejack yelped once her heart stopped pounding.

"While you were watching Rarity and Dashie. I didn't want to interrupt." She answered.

A few minutes later, the bus arrived and after making sure their bags were stowed, the group climbed on board.

"All right Twilight, we're all here and on our way, so you finally gonna tell us what this surprise is?" Rainbow asked, looking like she'd been waiting all day for the answer.

"Oh right. Well, I was chatting with him last night, and he's on his way here!"

"Ooh, you mean he's managed to come visit?" Pinkie asked, leaving over the seat at her.

"Even better, he's moving back here! He's enrolled at the same college!"

"That's wonderful, Twilight." Fluttershy piped up. "But, what do you mean 'moving back'?"

"I told you he used to live here, remember?" Twilight replied. "At least until his adopted parents decided to move."

"So...does that call for a 'Welcome to Canterlot City' party, or a 'Welcome Back to Your Old Home Town' party?" Pinkie asked, sinking into a thinking pose. "Hmm..."

"Sunset, you really think this Spike is real?" Rainbow whispered, double-checking to be sure Twilight couldn't hear them. "I wanna believe her, but...why hasn't he come to visit her? And she hasn't shown us any pictures."

Sunset shrugged. "I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt."

"Ah'm with Sunny on this. It just don't seem in Twilight's nature to be this excited unless she's got reason to." Applejack looked over at the giddy girl.

Rarity, however, remained quiet. While she never really voiced her opinion on the matter, truth be told...

She didn't really believe it. What proof Twilight did provide was just too vague and nebulous for her to honestly believe. But, while she didn't buy it, she believed her friend meant nothing malicious in doing this. Most of them had dated at least once during their time in high school.

Sunset and Flash Sentry took a shot at getting back together, although it didn't pan out. She herself had dated a few boys, hoping to find Mr. Right. Rainbow had agreed to go to a movie with Soarin, except they learned fairly quickly it wasn't working. And even Fluttershy took a chance and went out once with Micro Chips, even though they agreed they made better friends than a couple.

In all honesty, she figured Twilight felt left out from this, and fabricated this Spike fellow in an attempt to fit in. The only problem was, Twilight seemed so happy about the situation that Rarity just couldn't bring herself to call her out on it, even though she felt it wasn't healthy to continue this fantasy.

'You've got to at least talk to her about it!' Her conscience yelled at her. 'What's going to happen if someone like Trixie or that Cozy Glow brat finds out? They wouldn't think twice about using this against her, either as blackmail or just telling everyone for the heck of it. She'll be HUMILIATED!

Rarity looked over at the still (somewhat) socially awkward girl and sighed. She knew it was going to hurt, but she had to do this. Twilight didn't deserve to have that happen. She'd try and talk to her when they arrived.

After an hour or so, the bus came to a stop outside the college and the girls all got off. After getting their luggage, they looked out towards the college's main building.

"Well, girls." Twilight smiled. "This is it. Our first day of college life. Let's hurry and get registered, I gotta check this place out!"

"Twilight. Hold on a moment." Rarity said, catching up to her. "I...I need to talk to you about something."

"Hm?"

"Look....darling, I..." She groaned. "Why is this so hard? Look, it's about this 'Spike' fellow. I know that you-"

Before she could continue, another bus pulled up, taking the first one's place. However, this one looked a little off to them.

"Is it just me, or is that bus leaning to the side some?" Sunset asked.

"Maybe the suspension's getting lousy?" Rainbow suggested as the door opened. "Probably hasn't been checked in a whhiiiii..." Her voice trailed away into a low drone, coupled with more than one jaw dropping when they saw who stepped out.