Feral

"Treasure your relationships, not your possessions."
-Anthony J. D'Angelo

14,239 years ago, during the 'Age of Steel'...

"Keep the beast under control!" screamed the high ranking officer from atop his steed.

Behind him was the massive army comprised of faithful Zealum worshipers, sent from the capital of Sylvanis Mera. The God of War and Peace's capital was vast and even once dwarfed the size of Alawen, which was now lost to mankind and claimed by the Vampire race. The war with the Nosferatu had been going on for almost eight hundred years now, since the first time the dreaded Vampire King walked among the world of the living. Many a human had fallen in this time, but fortunately for them, they multiply very quickly. Whenever it seemed like one man had fallen, another child would be born to take his place in future battles.

One such battle was going to happen soon, in the now baron swamps of Undreal. Behind high ranking officer Lokir Rudayn, a General of Sylvanis Mera, there stood an army of over ten-thousand men clad in full steel plate. Each plate armor was adorned with the symbol of a large sword pierced through a heart. In the middle of the army, there was a huge beast with brown and black scales. This breed of creature was extremely dangerous and new to the realm of creation. A mindless beast that was supposed to be unrivaled in strength and ferocity.

"RAAAAAAAWWWWHH!" the huge lizard roared, shooting a gout of fire out of its gaping maw and dragging several men across the ground who held onto the chains around its entire body.

"Dammit! I said keep that dragon under control!" General Rudayn screamed to the hundred men that held onto the chains. Occasionally the dragon would thrash and flex its wings that were bound underneath the warded chains. A normal action for a dragon being held captive and used for war. After scolding the warriors holding down the dragon, General Rudayn cast his glance back towards the hill across the baron wasteland, clouded in darkness from the night sky. Every other member of the ten-thousand strong army held a torch, which somewhat illuminated their empty and lifeless surroundings.

A single scout dressed in orange dyed leather armor was sent over the empty hill several hours ago to check on the distance of the Vampire's forces that they planned on meeting and ambushing in the bleak, dead swamps. He had not returned, so the General assumed that the Scout was almost certainly captured and killed. So the massive army of men sat with their dragon, waiting and praying to Zealum that they would be victorious in their battle.

They wouldn't be.

Over the horizon, the General began to see something on the large hill. Expecting to see an entire army of Vampire warriors, he was clearly on edge. As his vision settled on what the small blemish was, his eyes widened.

Rudayn then laughed loudly into the foggy night sky before turning his glance back to the huge army that so blindly followed him out here. He pointed his finger towards the hill and spoke,

"Do you see!? We plan for months and the city of Sylvanis Mera sends out its finest warriors, and the Vampires don't even take us seriously! We assemble an army of ten-thousand strong and bring one of Zealum's greatest gifts to our cause, and they send only two warriors!" the General yelled to his to his men.

He cast his glance back to the hill and sure enough, only two Vampires stood on the hill, shrouded in night. One of them was very large and wore a black coat with Masquerade Ankhs decorating it and the other was short and wore a black leather and cloth outfit with a hood over his head.

It seemed like they were having a conversation on the hill, but no one could hear them.

"I still do not see why you dragged me all the way out here just to deal with them, Lyre," the large Vampire spoke to his brother. Lyre gave him a smirk.

"Oh, don't give me that Marius. You are cooped up inside the castle every day and night, toiling away in the lab. It would do you good to get out once in while," he advised. "Kill some humans, have sex with a few of the many Vampire women of Walpurgis, do something interesting for once!"

Marius turned his head and raised his eyebrow, giving Lyre a curious look.

"Ok, fine. If you insist, I will try to have more fun in the future. I can't promise anything though, as we seem to enjoy somewhat different pastimes. For instance: I enjoy writing tomes, reading scrolls, and Alchemical research. You on the other hand, enjoy orgies and being a fool," Marius smirked while speaking to his brother.

"Hahahaha! I love you too, Marius. While this is true, at least we both enjoy dealing death to these humans!" Lyre told his brother while letting lose a high pitched cackling laughter.

Marius gave a small chuckle before turning his head forward to look at the huge army. Lyre let out a small whistle before speaking,

"So, what's your guess? Around eight or nine thousand?" he asked.

"I would say closer to ten, plus the dragon," Marius answered.

Lyre started to laugh again.

"Not a very fair fight, is it?" he asked. Marius merely scoffed as he looked out at the small sea of steel plate wearing warriors.

"Not really. They should have brought twice as many," Marius answered with a smirk.

General Rudayn had sat for several minutes and watched the inaudible conversation between the two Vampires who stood upon the hill. They had stopped a while ago and had stood and watched the army, one with orange and pale blue eyes and one with glowing red eyes. The General had enough of their staring.

"You three!" he screamed while pointing to three of his elite guard.

"Go capture them so we can interoga-"

SHING....

Rudayn never spoke the rest of those words as two shortswords sliced through his helmet and the top of his head like butter. The top of his head and upper jaw flew in the air along with a fountain of blood, while his tongue flailed wildly, lapping at the air. Rudayn's men watched in horror as the short Vampire assassin who was crouched on the General's steed reached his hand forward and gripped the late General's tongue with his thumb and index finger. He then proceeded to take one of his short, slightly curved blades and slowly saw the tongue out of the gaping neck and lower jaw. Once it was severed, he tossed it in the air and caught it again like a softball before putting it in his pocket. He then gave a smile to the elite men who still stood parylized in horror after watching Lyre kill their military leader in the blink of an eye.

In an instant, he was a mile away standing beside his brother once more and they both watched General Rudayn's steed explode from hundreds of unseen slashes and Rudayn's mangled body fall to the ground with a *thud*. Both of which covered the surrounding men in blood. The men who couldn't see up front and were all the way in the back of the massive army merely threw questions from one to the other asking what happened, while even the Dragon just sat and stared at the brothers in horror, no longer thrashing in the chains that had it bound to the ground.

"Why did you keep his tongue?" Marius asked his brother.

"Well, I'm starting a collection. I think with all the high ranking people I assassinate, if I keep their teeth, tongues, and even eyes, I could have them mounted and collect them like one would collect trophies!" Lyre told him.

"Ahh, I see," was the only response he received from Marius. The large Vampire simply inhaled and let out a long sigh.

"Well...let's get this over with," he spoke as he started walking towards the army. This seemed to cause many a men to snap out of their stupor, including Rudayn's second-in command.

"RELEASE THE DRAGON! RELEASE IT NOW!" the plate clad warrior screamed. At the request, each man in the army dropped the chains they had ahold of that held the dragon and ran for their life.

Immediately, the beast flung the chains off with its huge wings, turned its head to the right, and grabbed one of the human soldiers in its mouth. It then took off into the air and sped towards the Vampires while chewing on its newly acquired snack.

"The rest of you men, line up in rank and prepare for battle!" they were ordered by the newly appointed General. "With the Dragon and all ten-thousand of our best men against them, the unholy creatures do not stand a chance against us! Even with their incredible speed, our numbers will overwhelm them eventually!" he raged. Every man unsheathed his sword from his side and held it high in the air as they all gave a war cry loud enough to be heard from their home in Sylvanis Mera. All the while, the dragon closed in on Marius and Lyre.

In one fluid movement, Marius grabbed his much shorter brother by the back of his hooded coat and flung him into the air with one heave. While in the air, four narrow bat wings burst from Lyre's back. The bottom wings were half as short as the wings near his shoulders, and they both worked in unison to help Lyre glide into the air. While Lyre was headed towards the dragon's mouth, Marius started casually walking down the hill and towards the army that was readying themselves for battle.

"This should be fun!" Lyre screamed while sailing towards the roaring dragon, all the while having a wicked smile plastered on his face. The short, blonde haired Vampire unsheathed his swords from his back and twirled them in his hands. He extended both arms into a V formation with his blades resting on the sides of his arms while his thumbs rested on the flat pommels. Lyre was several hundred meters from making contact with the dragon, before the large beast inhaled a deep breath.

"GRAAAAWW!" it roared while having a long gout of fire spew from its scaly mouth. Lyre barrel rolled to his right, narrowly avoiding the flames that scorched the air, dodging them just in time to bring his arms up and cross his swords. With a loud tear, the Vampire assassin shredded through the scales and soft tissue of the dragon's left wing. Just as he neared the end of the wing joint, Lyre forced his arms forward in an arc. This sliced the dragon's wing and rear leg off and in a loud cry, the dragon thrashed in the air and began plummeting toward the ground. Lyre snapped his body around and flattened his arms and legs to his side, falling headfirst towards the crippled creature. At the sight of the gallons of blood gushing from where its wings and leg once were, Lyre laughed uncontrollably while falling.

"You may as well call me father," he spoke. "Because you just got GROUNDED!"

Lyre continued to laugh while swan diving thousands of feet in the air when the dragon slammed into the ground right next to the strolling Marius. It was hard enough to put a crater in the ground and kick up a huge amount of mud. The humans watched the dragon make contact with the ground in horrified awe, as the Vampire King continued to walk at the same pace towards them, unfazed. The dragon shook itself off after the crash. In a fit of pain and rage it lunged toward Marius, opening its maw to swallow him whole. As the mythical beast brought its teeth down, it was stopped short as Marius grabbed the top and bottom jaw of the dragon.

Marius jumped into the air and spun while still holding onto the beast's jaws.

With an earshattering *SNAP*, Marius broke its neck, only he didn't stop when the beast was dead. He continued to spin until the dragon's head was completely twisted off, before throwing the huge severed head towards the human army. It landed on top of their elite ranks and crushed all two-hundred of their best warriors.

"Retreat!" the newly-appointed and terrified general screamed. "They're not ordinary Vampires, they're monsters!" he ordered the men as he turned around to begin running.

Marius made contact with the ground once more with one knee, before standing up. Blood had begun to rain on the battleground from the dragon that was dismembered in the air. The human military had begun to turn and retreat as Marius put his hand up. The Vampire's clawed hand emitted a dark red glow and the air around the battlefield seemed to freeze as an arcane barrier wrapped around the battlefield, turning into a large red bubble that prevented anyone from escaping. Lyre was inside the barrier as it closed and he slammed into the ground next to his brother. Lyre slowly got up off of one knee as the humans at the rear of the army attempted to claw, bash, and dig their way through the barrier.

"It won't break!" one screamed as he attempted to bash through it with his shield.

The now standing and completely relaxed Vampires watched the men try and prevent the inevitable. After a few minutes of attempted breaking through, the majority of Zealum worshipers turned before many of their expressions sunk, for they realized that their imminent death was soon at hand.

"Well, this is going to be a slaughter," Lyre spoke with a chuckle.

Marius took his right hand out of his pocket and held it out to his side. A stream of dark blood poured from his palm and formed into a massive sword, the hilt of which resembled a skull with three pairs of spikes curled down towards the bottom of the wide blade that seemed to be wrapped in shadow. The skulls eyes were identical to the Vampire King's and the pommel seemed to be a huge ruby. Marius turned his wrist to the side and readied the blade with a smirk. The blade gave a low, demonic growl in response.

"As it should be..." Marius replied.

One swing was all it took to cleave through thousands of huddled human warriors. Marius' blade morphed and extended endlessly before it glided through their midsections with ease. The many screams of agony reverberated through the air, making it seem like there was a thunderstorm in the huge red bubble that kept them trapped. Some were trying to put their top half and bottom half back together, sifting through their intestinal tracts while in shock. Some just sat on the ground, crying for their mother as if they were a child while they vomited the majority of their blood onto the now moist soil of the swamp land.

One sword swing had killed half of their army.

Lyre began to speed through what was left of them, carving through them with ease. He moved so fast it was as if there were five of him throughout the crowd of men. Pieces of arms, legs, and heads all flew through the air like a gruesome confetti from the incredible speed of the Vampire assassin. After halving what was left of their army, Marius was now killing one human at a time. They attempted to block him or fight him back. He impaled one warrior through his shield and flung him down on the ground like he was a sack of meat, while turning his sword around and caving one's skull in with the ruby pommel. Occasionally, a sword or dagger would pierce through the Vampire's coat and flesh. He treated it as one would a mosquito bite before lifting up the warrior who attacked him, sinking his teeth through their so-called 'armor' and into their neck before yanking their head off with a violent jerk, fangs still sunk into each neck as he held their decapitated head in his mouth.

The army of Sylvanis Mera was whittled down to only a hundred men in a mere half an hour. Marius and Lyre were drenched in blood while smiling. Their monstrous nature enjoyed every minute of the slaughter. Marius finally stopped after cleaving the last man who stood fighting up his middle like one would a loaf of bread. Marius' blood-soaked sword then liquefied and was sucked into the open wound in his palm. Said wound closed the instant the sword was sheathed into his arm. Marius looked over to his brother who was also covered in gore. Lyre slowly brought his right sword up to his mouth and ran his tongue along the blade, savoring every last drop of deliciously sweet life's nectar before twirling them both in his thumbs and sheathing them on his back.

The two Vampires that were the source of the army's demise looked around them. Inside the pulsating red barrier a sea of gore. Thousands and thousands of men lay on the ground dead, while the hundred men that remained lay on the ground in the fetal position, whispering to themselves as if they were mad. Lyre and Marius looked to one another.

"Men of the Army of Zealum!" Marius called out to them in a commanding voice. It snapped them out of their horror and drew every eye to him.

"I am the monster that you tell your children about and the one you infinitely despise for abhorring your foolish and self-destructive ways. My name is Marius, the Vampire King!" he yelled into the air so every man could hear him.

"If you are still alive, it is because I wanted you alive! All of you that are left are good men and have families whom you care deeply for. As such, you do not deserve death. I offer you three available actions you can take: One, you can be turned and join the ranks of Walpurgis, bringing your family along to be cared for in one of our human safehavens that I have established. Two, you can choose not to be turned and live with your family in one of our human safehavens under Vampiric protection, or three, you can return to Sylvanis Mera, unprotected and unsafe, until we eventually bring it toppling down. We have nearly crushed and destroyed your entire military, so it would be wise if you left with us today," he explained to them.

Slowly, each man left alive stood up. They looked to each other across the gruesome battlefield, while staring at their fallen brethren. The men remaining men just stood baffled at the Vampire King in all of his blood spattered glory.

They had to make a decision between abandoning the Gods and everything they were taught from birth or being destroyed in the future by legions of Nosferatu. One of the warriors swallowed his pride and walked over to Marius. He slowly took his helmet off and looked up into Marius' glowing red eyes. The red haired warrior in plate mail didn't realize how tall the Vampire was until then.

He then bowed before his new leader and spoke,

"I, Sir Tylera Vindicus, do swear to serve you Vampire King, for my family and nothing else. Even though my hate still burns deeply for your kind..." the warrior trailed off while looking down at the dead body rested at his knees. He gave a defeated sigh before continuing,

"I shall join you."

After Tylera bowed, the other men soon followed, kneeling one at a time before their despised enemy. They knew after seeing what the Vampires had done to their army, this war's victor was already decided. Even with the God's gifts such as Zealum's dragons and Shi'vara's solar magic, it wouldn't stop them. Tylera was shocked when Marius rested his hand upon his pauldron. The stunned soldier looked up and saw that the Vampire King was smiling at him.

"Do not be afraid," he spoke softly to the warrior. "In time, this land will no longer be plagued by war. I realize you loathe me and my kind, but know this: I will reshape this world. No more war, no more death and destruction. One day, all of this carnage will be a prelude to a place we can all live in, Vampire and Mortal alike. In peace..." he told the warrior. Every single warrior heard him and they were all shocked that the Vampire King had such pure intentions, but couldn't believe the brutal methods he used to reach them. They had no clue what to think of Marius and his brother Lyre anymore.

Lyre smiled before running his blood soaked fingers through his dirty blonde hair.

"Well brother, how do we plan on getting their families?" Lyre asked.

Marius gave his brother a wicked smirk before replying,

"Well, that's where you come in Lyre. I happen to have a special assignment for you..."

*Knock, knock, knock...*

"Coooomiiiiing!" Rarity sing-songed towards the door. She then turned her head toward the stairs.

"Marius darling, would it be too much trouble for you to get that?" she asked towards the second floor.

"Not at all," her servant spoke as he strode down the stairs and towards the boutique's door.

"Thank you, Marius. It is a rather large bother to get the door while I'm busy finishing these designs," Rarity said.

Sure enough, the alabaster unicorn was almost burning quills while writing elegant designs. Since last night, the fashionista had a burst of genius. When the Cutie Mark Crusaders had decided to play Vampire Hunter, they were quite enthusiastic. Marius, being the large undead man-child that he was, loved the idea and decided to play along with them. There was blood everywhere in the aftermath of their playing and every single piece of silverware in the boutique was plunged into the Vampire's body. All the while, Marius and the murderous fillies laughed and laughed while they repeatedly stabbed him and turned the Vampire into a fleshy pin cushion. Rarity nearly lost her voice from the sheer amount of screaming she did while her servant enjoyed spilling his blood on every piece of furniture in her house.

After scolding the Crusaders and making Marius clean up every drop of spilled blood, they all settled down and went to bed. Marius tucked them all into bed like every other night that week. The only difference was that there were three fillies to sing a lullaby to, not just one. They absolutely adored the Father Bird lullaby. That night, out of her frustration, Rarity had a spark of inspiration during her sleep. Several elegant designs and bold patterns dancing through her head were still fresh and they had continued to stay that way until the current time, six in the evening on Friday.

Marius wrapped his hand around the door and turned the knob. He had a smirk on his face because he knew exactly who it was, and he knew his master would be very regretful and a lot of apologizing would be done in that moment.

Sure enough, once Marius opened the door, the next words he spoke caused Rarity to drop her quill and widen her eyes as far as they could go.

"Hello Spike," Marius spoke to the tiny dragon at the door. "You are looking very nice this evening."

"Spike!" Rarity yelled and shot towards the door, leaving her quill hovering in midair. When she got to the door she gasped and her eyes began to shimmer with tears.

There Spike stood in the doorway wearing the red bow tie adorned with many chunks of different colored gemstones she had made him the night of the centennial meteor shower several months ago. He also wore a suave tuxedo jacket with gold cuff links that accented his light purple scales perfectly. He had grown a bit taller since she made him that bow tie and now he seemed to be only a few inches shorter than Rarity. He also had a dozen roses in his claws.

The young, adolescent dragon looked absolutely adorable.

"Umm.....Hi Rarity," he spoke with a slight blush.

"Spike..." she said breathlessly. "You look absolutely dashing, but I have something to confess," she spoke before looking down.

"I completely forgot about the plans we had scheduled tonight. I am so terribly sorry, my Spikey-Wikey. Here I am, completely lost in my work and not preparing myself for our dinner date. You must think me absolutely horrid," she spoke sadly while staring at the tile floor of her boutique, the curl of her mane draping itself down in front of her right eye.

"No Rarity! It's alright, really!" he said while handing her the roses, trying to cheer her up. Marius now stood behind the door listening to them converse.

"So...you aren't upset with me that I completely forgot?" she asked while looking his deep green eyes, trying to remain hopeful.

"Of course not Rarity! I could...umm," he crossed his hands behind his back awkwardly.

"I could never be upset with you," he said softly, his blush only deepening.

"So, do you still want to go out with me tonight?" he asked with his claws crossed behind his back. Rarity cradled the roses with her right hoof and gave a sad smile to Spike.

"Well....I don't know dear. You look so dashing and I haven't prepared a dress or any appropriate garment for a date this evening, plus I would need time to freshen up, and many other things. I suppose we'll have to postpone," she said sadly. "You do understand, don't you?"

She was answered by the dragon as he slouched his arms to his side and let out a large sigh.

"That's alright, I understand," he spoke in sad and defeated tone, before turning his back and walking away from the door. Rarity immediately felt herself begin to tear up and she brought her well groomed hoof to her mouth to stifle her whimper. She was about to call out to him, but was stopped by a voice inside of her head.

'Rarity...if you do not go out with him tonight like you promised to, I plan on locking you out of the boutique for a week.' her servant told her telepathically, not bothering to mask his annoyance.

"Spike, wait!" she called out to the drake while throwing her hoof towards the air in desperation.

"I could throw something together and we could go and have a nice dinner, if you don't mind waiting that is," she told him. Spike perked up so much, it was almost like he jumped off the ground before speeding towards the boutique's door

"Of course! I don't mind waiting," he told her happily. She led the well dressed dragon back into the boutique and Marius closed the door behind them. Rarity trotted up the stairs, absolutely beaming that her night was still salvageable.

"Give me a little while and I should be ready," she spoke to them as she trotted up towards her bedroom while levitating her roses. Spike walked into the kitchen and pulled an elegantly carved chair out from the table to sit on its plush red cushion.

Thankfully, Sweetie decided to stay the night at her parent's house, while the rest of the Crusaders stayed with their respective guardians; Apple Bloom at her house and Scootaloo with Rainbow Dash. What was odd to the fillies though, was the fact that ever since the night of Rainbow's near fatal race with Marius, she and Scootaloo had been staying at the Apple Farm every night since. It was only two days, but it still seemed odd to the Crusaders. Spike continued to sit in the kitchen chair while Marius stood by the stairway with his arms crossed. Making sure Rarity was out of earshot, her Vampire servant asked,

"So...you really love her, don't you?"

Spike began to stammer at the question.

"Well, ya see...I...er...that is, uhh," the little drake tried to counter the Vampire but couldn't find the right words.

Marius found Spike's stammering to be quite amusing.

"Hmhmhm," he gave a soft chuckle through his lips. "You can tell me Spike. Even though she is my master, I am not bound to tell her anything as long as you ask that it stay between us," Marius reassured him.

Spike cast his glance down and twiddled his claws while talking softly,

"Well, I mean...of course I love her. She knew that I had a crush on her evidently, but we've known each other for two years. Now, it's more than just a crush. It's like every day I spend with her, the more my feelings grow, you know?" Spike asked him, hoping Marius would understand.

"Indeed, I know child. I can tell what you harbour for her is something much deeper than just a simple...damn it all. What was it you called it? A crush?" Marius asked the handsome little dragon.

"Yeah, that's what it's called," Spike deadpanned, not believing that the old fashioned Vampire didn't know what a crush was for a second. Marius smirked while walking over to the Spike, still sitting in the kitchen chair.

"Well, a crush is supposed to be a small form of flattery, and you do not just have this. I can tell you have something much stronger. Continuing your pursuits may eventually reward you," he spoke to Spike as he placed his hands on the purple drake's shoulders.

"But if you plan on protecting my master and being with her in her future endeavors, I will be by your side as well. Is this understood?" he asked.

Spike thought about it for a moment.

"Can you see into the future?" Spike asked him.

"Not at all," the Vampire replied. "But I happen to make well calculated decisions based on certain actions and patterns of emotion laid out by those around me. It makes things quite predictable," he finished.

Suddenly, Marius' demeanor completely changed and he became dead serious before speaking,

"Spike...All things aside, I'm going to speak to you as an adult now. Is this understood?" he asked.

Spike, who was shaken by the change in tone from the Vampire narrowed his eyes in certainty.

"Understood," he spoke.

Marius, hands still on the dragon's shoulders, leaned down very far and got right next to the Spike's left ear.

"If your relationship blooms with Rarity, you will have to remember one thing: You are a dragon. You and I will both continue to live as we watch her and everyone around us grow old and die," Marius spoke softly to him.

Spike's heart sank as the realization hit him.

'Am I...really going to watch everypony around me die? Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and even...Rarity?' he thought as a single steamy tear rolled down his cheek.

"It's alright. The death of loved ones is something we have to accept. On that day, when they do pass away, we will celebrate their lives and continue to watch over their families and their loved ones. That even includes the family that you and Rarity may have one day," Marius spoke with a smile on his face.

"What I ask you next, Spike the Dragon, is important. I ask that as you grow older, you help me. Help me watch over them, and their children, and their children's children as a fellow guardian. Do you accept this offer I extend to you?" he asked Spike with a hint of warmth in his voice.

Spike had never thought about it before, but due to his draconic nature he would outlive all of his friends. He would even see the love of his life take her last breath.

"I'll do it...for everypony. I will protect them, and I will watch over them alongside you for as long as I live," Spike said sternly. The little dragon had never been more determined to do anything in his life when he spoke those words. Something inside him seemed to roar like a fire and burn with more intensity than the sun.

Marius stood back up and put his hands in his pockets.

"Good," Marius said simply. His deep and soothing voice always seemed to add finality to whatever he spoke.

'After all, you're going to need all the help you can get watching over your children.' Marius thought to himself with a smirk.

"I'm ready!" came a sweet voice that cascaded down the stairs.

Spike got out of the chair and recomposed himself after the conversation with Marius. When the drake saw Rarity, his jaw nearly hit the ground.

The fashionista had decided to curl her mane in a perfectly symmetrical and dainty bun, with one single curled lock draping lightly over the right side of her face. The dress she decided to rewear had a long, blue flounce which faded from a darker blue to a more cyan color before ending in a gold sheen. On the back of the flounce, where it covered her flank, lay a single gold bow. With the dress, she wore an indigo jacket adorned with baby blue sapphires and a circular golden choker that matched her eyes perfectly. They also happened to be Spike's favourite gems that he ever had the pleasure of eating. All of this was topped with beautiful golden hoof slippers. Even Marius was visibly shocked at how utterly gorgeous the mare looked.

They both stood there for a few minutes, gawking at her. Rarity noticed and started to develop a frown.

"Whatever is wrong boys? Do you...not like it?" she asked with a small pout.

It took Spike and Rarity a little while to get a table. Since they had left the boutique about six forty-five, it took about fifteen minutes to walk across town to Rarity's favorite restaurant in Ponyville, 'The Gilded Lily'. It was a small, yet elegant place that happened to have the best chopped Lily salads in town. While walking toward their destination, Spike decided to become a little bold. He would normally not act on his desire to show affection, for he would be too shy. Fortunately, his little chat with Marius about the future boldened him in a way he could not explain.

"Rarity, would it be alright if I, like...held your hoof?" he asked the absolutely beautiful mare beside him. This time, it was Rarity who had a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Well...um, rather...I don't see why not?" it came out like a question as they continued to walk towards the restaurant. Containing himself and not cartwheeling in joy, he slowly took his left arm and wrapped his scaled hand gently around her soft hoof as she brought it up to be level with his side. The sensation of her soft and delicate fur in his palm caused him to shudder in delight. They both looked into each others eyes, and Rarity batted her eyelashes while they both gave a content smile to one another. It was a truly touching moment between them.

"Spike, I am not sure how this will progress, so let's take this slow, alright? As close friends...for now," she told him a barely above a whisper.

"As you wish...m'lady," he told her shyly. She giggled to herself at the cute response from the little drake.

Eventually, they finally reached their destination. 'The Gilded Lily' was one of the few buildings in Ponyville that was made from stone. It had several stained glass windows and a beautiful interior adorned with plush red carpet. There were booths with red, velvety cushions scattered around the large interior. They were laid out in a circle in front of a large stage that had a unicorn playing a piano on top.

The melody he played was beautiful.

"Right this way, sir and mad'am," their waiter told them as he led them to the single booth that lay closest to the stage. On top of the booth's table lay a vase with a single red rose in it. Spike helped Rarity into her side of the booth.

"Can I get you both something to drink?" asked the waiter when they were both nestled inside of the comfortable booth. The cushion itself wrapped all the way around the circular table, that way they could both sit next to each other.

"A glass of your finest sparkling cider," replied Spike happily as he was settled inside the booth and next to Rarity.

"I'll have the same, please," she told the grey coated unicorn that waited on them. Said unicorn with the wine glass cutie mark bowed his head to both of them.

"Very well, I will be back with your drinks shortly," he spoke before walking back towards the large double doors that led to the kitchen.

Once he was gone, Rarity moved herself over until she was sitting right next to Spike, with her back legs nestled inside the seat like most ponies sit, excluding the mint-green unicorn considered a tad bit odd by the rest of Ponyville.

Spike slowly took her hoof in his claw once more and let it rest gently inside of his palm on the seat. She turned her head towards him after the affectionate action, and to his surprise, moved over more until her soft, fur covered thigh was pressed next to his own scaly thigh. She then rested it gently on top of table and turned to ask him,

"Spike, what made you ask me out tonight?" she asked in a soft tone. Her voice barely stood out over the dulcet tones that emanated from the pianist on stage.

"Well, I mean...It was mainly a talk I had with Twilight. I was jealous," he looked away from her large, shimmering eyes.

"I was jealous that you were saved by Marius and that I wasn't able to help you whatsoever. So, like a big baby, I cried about it. I cried my eyes out to Twilight, and she told me to not be sad. She told me to remain persistent and to be there for you in your times of need...and she was right," he said he cast his glance down towards the ground. "Because no matter how I feel, my ultimate goal is to protect you."

He looked up into Rarity's eyes, which began to well up with tears. He wrapped his other claw around her hoof so that he was cradling the white appendage with both claws while it rested on top of their table.

"They say that a dragon has a deep-seeded desire to hoard what he holds dear. His gems and the other stuff he owns is what he's supposed to treasure, but Rarity," he tried to hold back the sobs that were threatening to escape him.

"I don't treasure what I own, or even what is given to me. Ever since my last birthday when you transformed me back, I realized that it's my relationship with the mare of my dreams that I truly treasure. I don't like sounding corny or anything like that," he smiled sadly.

"But you are the only gem I'll ever need, Rarity," he told her in a loving tone.

To his surprise, Rarity pulled her hoof from his claws and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace while nuzzling her cheek to his.

"Oh Spike..." she whispered next to his ear.

He only gave a faint smile through the tears that he shed and returned her hug, wrapping his arms around her back and holding her gently against his chest. They stood there for several minutes, not speaking a word and enjoying the feeling of being held in one another's arms.

"Ahem..." the grey unicorn spoke to them.

They quickly let go and recomposed themselves while giving embarrassed coughs, Rarity flattening her dress out once more as she sat and Spike straightening his bow tie with his claws.

"The house special," he told them. "A fine Apple Family sparkling cider with a hint of ginger root for a little...extra kick."

He levitated a silver platter with two wine glasses full of sparkling cider down to the table before flipping a white towel over his shoulders. Spike quickly took ahold of one glass and began drinking as Rarity took the other and brought it to her lips.

"I trust everything is to your liking?" he asked them with a sly smile.

The dragon and pony couple both laughed sheepishly at the waiter.

"Very," was all that Rarity spoke.

"Wonderful," the grey waiter happily spoke before levitating a notepad with a pencil out of his tuxedo pocket.

"Now, are you both ready to place your order?" he asked.

"Very smooth Spike. It was clever, speaking what you held within your heart," said the Vampire who was hanging upside down from Sugarcube Corner's roof.

"Hey Mari', do you want another cupcake?!" came a bubbly voice from inside the window located behind his head.

"No thank you, Pinkie. One hot sauce cupcake is plenty," he deadpanned back to the voice inside the window.

'Who makes hot sauce cupcakes to begin with? I wouldn't have thought a confectionery master would love spicy foods so much.' he thought to himself while continuing to gaze forward.

Marius was several miles away, but could easily see into the window of 'The Gilded Lily' from the roof of Sugarcube Corner with his incredible vision. He had watched their whole date transpire up to the point of where they both had their Lily salads delivered to them. Evidently, the reason why the restaurant was named 'The Gilded Lily' was because they knew over five hundred different main courses that involved cooking with Lilies.

"Are you sure, Mari?!" she popped in front of his face wearing a huge smile, also hanging upside down from the edge of the roof. Marius grabbed her and lightly tossed her back in the window to her room, not bothering to question how she got on the roof to begin with.

"I'm sure Pinkie, but thank you for asking," he told her.

"You're welcome, Mari'!" she practically yelled before shooting down the stairs, to attend to three tiered cake that she started baking in the oven earlier.

Marius let out a small laugh at the party pony's antics before returning to the task at hand.

"Well, their date is going well so far. They're one of only three couples in the restaurant, so there is a good chance they won't be disturbed."

Marius changed his vision to something a little more useful, and looked through the stone walls of the building as if they were ethereal. He saw one couple in the far back of the room. It seemed to be a white unicorn with an electric blue mane with sunglasses on whispering sweet nothings into a grey earth pony's ear, causing her to slightly giggle. Both were mares and Marius could see a treble clef cutie mark on the flank of the earth pony. He was wrong about three couples, though. Near the edge of the dining area where Rarity and Spike were, there was a certain lavender pony that seemed vaguely familiar, but it seemed like she tried to mask all the parts of her body with a black catsuit.

"Waiter!" the mare whispered loudly to the waiter serving Rarity and Spike as he passed by her table. The waiter looked to the couple several feet away to make sure they were no longer looking towards him. He trotted over to the location of the lavender unicorn, who hid in the seat, trying to remain inconspicuous.

"Yes Ms. Sparkle?" the waiter asked her in a harsh whisper of his own. The poorly disguised Twilight looked over to Spike and Rarity. Both had a smile on their face and were chatting back and forth. Something Spike said caused Rarity to gale her head back in laughter , which he quickly did himself. The entire time that they had been talking on their date, they were hoof-in-claw, occasionally giving loving looks to each other and Rarity would slowly lean close and nuzzle Spike's cheek. Twilight looked at the waiter with a determined scowl.

"What are they talking about now?" she asked trying to remain quiet for the sake of being discovered.

"Well...they seemed to be talking about all the odd things that have been happening with her servant. What was his name again...Mathias?" pondered the waiter.

"It's Marius!" she scolded the waiter quietly. "What kinds of odd things?" she asked him.

"Oh, something about him getting in a race with that one mare, Rainbow Dash, the one responsible for handling the majority of Ponyville's weather. Evidently she got in a huge crash, and he saved her life."

Twilight's eyes widened.

'Rainbow was hurt in a race? I'll have to go check on her tomorrow. I hope she's alright.' she thought to herself.

Twilight unfortunately remained very busy this entire week, studying the strange behavior and characteristics of the animals in the Everfree and other places, trying to help her mentor with her investigation on the attacks that had been happening all over Equestria. Twilight still remained oblivious to the killings that Celestia knew about.

"What else?" she asked him.

"The other day he went with her sister for Show and Tell and she seemed to speak very angrily about having to deal with them trying to be Vampire Hunters last night, whatever that means," the stallion told Twilight. "Other than the ideas she had last night about some new designs for her Winter fashion lineup, that's pretty much the sum of what they have talked about so far."

Twilight shook her head up and down as she levitated two bits out of her pockets, which was interesting because the catsuit didn't even seem to have pockets. She lightly put them on the table and pushed them towards the stallion.

"Alright. Please continue to report to me anything and everything they talk about," Twilight told the waiter. The stallion in question just rolled his eyes and levitated the two bits into his tuxedo pockets.

"Whatever you say, Ms. Sparkle."

While walking away, Twilight ducked back into the edge of the booth's cushion, that way she was just out of view if Spike and Rarity decided to look behind them. Twilight thought she heard the waiter mumble something along the lines of "Crazy bucking mare" as the waiter walked away, but she concluded it was just her imagination.

Marius started to develop a smile as he continued to hang from the roof of Ponyville's number one bakery.

"Shame on you Twilight. Spying on your brother during his very first date. It is understandable that you worry about him, but this is just in bad taste," Marius concluded as he started to give a deep laugh.

"Hahaha. Well, I'm sorry to do this to you, but..." he lifted his hand and pointed a finger towards the building. "They need to be alone tonight," he spoke.

With a red glow enveloping his hand, Marius did something very rude.

Miles away, inside of the elegant restaurant, Twilight Sparkle felt and odd sensation build up inside of her. Then it hit her like a brick. Eyes widening and panicking, she charged towards the back of the restaurant and into the kitchen where several mares and stallions stood looking at the panicking mare.

"Where's your restroom?!" she screamed.

Every hoof pointed towards the little fillie's room at the edge of the large industrial sink and Twilight seemed to launch herself through the door and into the stall.

One stallion looked to a mare that was chopping a stock of celery and started to giggle under his breath.

"Well, when you gotta go, you gotta go."

"Thank you so much for a wonderful evening, Spike. I enjoyed your company and what you spoke earlier was truly one of the kindest and sweetest things that has ever been said to me," she told him.

Their meal and date had been lovely as they had talked about Marius, her future designs, the crush that Spike harboured for the longest time for her, and even past and current circumstances and innocent gossip about their friends. After paying for their delicious, freshly cut Lily salads and their apple cider, they bid farewell to the pianist and were on their way back to Carousel Boutique. As they walked out and towards the door, Rarity saw Octavia and Vinyl Scratch over in the dimly lit booths on the side of the wall. She figured it was best not to disturb them with her simple hello when she saw that they were getting quite intimate underneath the soft candlelight of the fixture that was mounted above them. With that, Spike and Rarity headed out the door and took the fifteen minute stroll back to the boutique, hoof-in-claw the whole way.

They were now back at the front entrance of the boutique and were saying their goodbyes to each other.

"Aww shucks, Rarity..." the dragon crossed his arms behind his back once more as he lightly kicked the ground with his right foot.

"You know I meant it, right?" he asked while looking into the eyes that made his heart flutter.

"Of course I know. That's what makes it even more special, dear," she spoke as she closed in on the dragon to embrace him.

Their hug lasted for a little while before they broke their embrace. They stood staring into each other's eyes for a minute. Spike found himself looking into the entrancing blue pools that made up Rarity's iris. He seemed to be lost in them, being pulled toward them like they were a low, glistening tide, pulling him out to sea. Rarity was also transfixed by his, almost as if she saw a passionate green fire within them that burned into her very soul. Both of them seemed to slowly move forward closer and closer, their eyelids drifting down as one. The heat from Spike's breath could be felt on her muzzle for what seemed like forever.

"Remember....I said we..." she began to say.

"should..." she continued to speak lazily as they moved closer.

"take it-" she was cut off as the soft caress of his lips were felt on hers and both of their eyes finally closed shut.

Time halted.

Nay, it didn't exist, as their lips moved and the warmth between them could be felt throughout both of their entire bodies. The soft and delicate kiss between them slowly deepened as Rarity wrapped her hooves around Spike, who's head was mere inches from being level with hers, and brought him closer until his chest was touching her's. Spike moved his arms upward, wrapped them around Rarity's midsection, and cradled her into his body as they began to move their mouths in sync. Their lips pressed just a little harder into the other's and parted slightly. Spike began to inch his tongue through her lips, slowly at first to make sure that the beautiful mare would allow it. She allowed it without hesitation.

The tips of their tongues met and began to slowly massage each other. His slightly forked tongue pressed into the center of her's and they began to take their time as they swirled around each other, exploring and playing with the inner-most parts of each other's mouths. He savored the way she tasted, which was a faint medley of honey and lilac, while she absolutely adored how his lightly rough and scaly lips had a certain warmth deep inside them, while his tongue gave her the aftertaste of pine and the radiant heat of his own flame. Rarity let out a small, ladylike moan into Spike's mouth which vibrated him to his core and made him deepen the kiss, as his tongue continued to dance an intimate dance with her's that made the most valiant of attempts to display his true feelings.

Her knees became weak after a few seconds of the passionate kissing with the drake and she gave a small stumble down while she continued to kiss him. He caught her before their mouths could pull away and he brought her back up to his level, never breaking their kiss.

They continued for what seemed like hours. They finally pulled away (reluctantly) from each other's lips and opened their eyes. They looked at each other for a while, both of them with a content smile on their faces.

"slow," Spike said with a dreamy smile, finishing her previous statement. Rarity let out a small chuckle underneath her breath before leaning forward and planting one final kiss on his lips. She pulled away from him and hugged him once more, putting her mouth right next to his ear.

"I look forward to doing this again, my Spikey-Wikey...and that does mean soon," she whispered sensually into his ear, sending shivers up his spine in the process. She nuzzled his cheek while hugging him and then set off towards the door, purposefully swaying her hips and looking back at him with a sultry look the entire time before lightly closing her front door behind her.

"Wow...." spoke the dragon dreamily.

"She likes me too."

His eyes widened at the realization.

"SHE LIKES ME TOO!" Spike screamed as loud as he could as he ran back to the Ponyville library, jumping and smiling the entire way.

Rarity slumped her back up against her door and slowly slid down, giggling like a schoolfilly the whole way.

"I take it the date went well?" asked a deep and soothing voice from the entrance to the kitchen. She turned her head towards her servant and gave him a lazy smile.

"Marius, do you know how ponies say that it is controversial for Spike to be so interested in me, since he is a little over fourteen years old?" she asked.

"I can recall," Marius spoke.

'Of course many of them do not know how quickly dragons mature in their life cycles.' Marius thought. Rarity giggled before speaking,

"Yes...well...they can go buck themselves."

The hall was damp and filthy.

The tan unicorn with a dirty blonde mane found himself disgusted at the condition that they kept the dark, stone hallways of his family's sanctuary. He strode down the hall, occasionally glancing over to the makeshift homes that he passed. They were made from Everfree lumber and very sturdy. After a long while of walking he came upon what he searched for. Three huge pegasi that had a brown coat. The much smaller tan unicorn walked up behind the largest of them, jumped into the air, and grabbed the right wing of the huge pesasus with his mouth before snaping it backwards.

The violent action caused the wing to dislocate and the large pegasus fell down on the ground before the tan unicorn that was only half his size. While the pegasus lay on the ground, the unicorn picked him up by the chin with his hoof and slammed him into the stone wall with an otherworldly strength, making a small crater and cracking a large section of laid stone in the process. After the now nearly dead pony fell to the ground, blood leaking from the side of his mouth, the furious tan unicorn looked towards the other two stunned pegasus warriors.

"Who told you to kill the Canterlot dignitary?" he asked sternly towards them in a smooth yet murderous voice.

"No one told us to kill her, sire. We just figured-"

The pegasus on the right was cut off as he looked into the glaring blue eyes of the short unicorn before them.

"You just figured, what?!" he screamed.

"You just figured that you could draw unwanted attention from the Princess and her guard, is that it? Just to prove the fact that you could easily kill and eat one weak and defenseless mare?!" he screamed throughout the halls.

This was the first time they had seen him so furious. He was usually very gentle and kind with them, but they knew that what they did to the Canterlot pony would bring much sorrow and difficulty to their tribe. The lumbering pegasus warriors kneeled before the short unicorn.

"We are so sorry Prince Phoenix. Please forgive us," they begged.

They stood there for a minute or two, unsure of their own fate before Phoenix let out a large, irritated sigh.

"I suppose I'll forgive you, but remember this..." a blue spark ignited from his horn and wrapped down his right hoof, circling and forming a long blade composed of an intensely hot blue flame.

"I will do whatever is necessary to keep the rest of the tribe safe, and that includes killing those who bring unwanted danger to it."

The unicorn let the blade of blue flame dissipate and cast his glance over to the broken and injured pegasi that he used like a ragdoll.

"Take him to the shamans. He can regenerate his wounds there," he spoke.

He then turned his back on them and walked down the hall, heading back to his father's throne room.