Suffice to say, following a rather lengthy chase across Ponyville’s night sky, eventually the young drake was caught, with the aid of a rainbow-maned mare that, after seeing the chase herself and being given a brief summary of the events that led up to the chase, took it upon herself to bring the little show to an end. After all, with the amount of obscenities the young monarch was spouting about, it was evident dragging the chase out was only going to be detrimental. And so, after catching up to the two, rather easily, the mare brought them home to quite the reception; a few visibly ticked off mares, the resident apple farming mare had just arrived after seeing the chase in the sky and was perhaps the only one out of loop. Shinning, for some odd reason, was lightly shivering, beside his wife, looking rather pale each time Pinkie spared a glance his way. The few mares visibly worried over the whole thing were Princess Luna, Trixie, and Starlight.

And though it took a good chunk of time, all present in Twilight Sparkle’s castle; the Elements of Harmony, the Princesses, the Royals of the Crystal Empire, the young drake, and the two former antagonists of the current princess of Ponyville were all seated in the library. The seats were arranged so as to have those present sit in a circular pattern, allowing all to be seen and heard. To add to the growing tension, Spike was seated just across from Twilight, the mare hadn’t ceased her narrowed glare, marked especially for him.

Though she displayed malice, within Twilight’s head was a storm of emotions, the main ones being fear and anger. The fear came from the thought of her closest friend leaving her side. It was enough of a wakeup call when her friends began to go their own ways when their greatest threats were seemingly put to rest. The only one to have stayed by her side through it all, to have remained always with her…and he wanted to leave. There were moments Twilight would contemplate his reasons for wanting to go, but her fears and insecurities got the best of her; she would assume the worst, mostly that he’d either go on an adventure and never return…or he’d just wanted to escape from her for being treated similarly to a butler than a friend. That was one hell of a slap in the face, but she owned up to it. Though, that is where the anger comes in.

She had hoped the two had put this idea of him leaving behind them. And for a time, he kept true to his word and said nothing about moving out. If anything, Spike appeared almost content at just being home, especially after spending a few nights, and on occasions an entire month in the Crystal Empire with Shinning for ‘guy time’. He promised everything was fine. He promised he had no thoughts of leaving her.

He lied.

When Pinkie strode up to them, gently placing a scroll in front of her and hovering over her brother and whispering death into his ears, Twilight had half a mind to chew her out. However, upon seeing the Crystal military insignia stamped on the parchment, it peaked the mare’s interest, especially since it was in Pinkie’s hands of all people. What she didn’t expect, what nearly made her heart stop dead in its tracks were the signatures of both the Crystal Military General and Spike’s. Everything was there; the stamp of approval, the drake’s signature and information. All that was missing was to send the form in, and by the law of the Crystal Empire; Spike would become an enlisted. Her mind paced at a thousand words per minute, wondering what drove Spike to consider making a career in the military, as well as dreading every second of him being out in the field, just waiting for one wrong move and for young ponies to be driven into conflict.

The very image of watching her friend leave was anxiety inducing enough, but the possibility of him returning broken…or not at all, frightened the princess to a greater degree. She couldn’t help it, she snapped; both fear and anger drove her chase down the dragon and demand an explanation. However, before she was any inch closer to nabbing him, both she and the drake were intercepted by their friends, and now forced to sit across from one another.

Beside Twilight were Fluttershy and Rarity, both comforting their friend, trying to help cease her anger. Neither achieved much, though, they did often peek a small glance at the drake every so often. Fluttershy’s eyes would linger, the redness indicating a recent buildup of tears. Rarity’s would be quick, though, her clenched fists would often tremble when her eyes drifted away from him.

Princesse Celestia and Luna sat beside Fluttershy, while the Crystal Royals sat at Rarity’s side.

Taking Spike’s sides were Trixie and Starlight, both visibly uncomfortable with the dense tension between the two halves of the circle. True to her word, Starlight took the young drake’s side in regards to him being free to choose what he wanted to do with his life. Though, with Pinkie’s and Cadence’s interrogation, and Shinning spilling what little he could, there was a bigger topic of discussion for the group. And when giving the three currently absent ponies a faint glance as they caught up the apple farmer on the current situation, she couldn’t help but wonder how exactly this was all going to play out. Some of the more stubborn mares wouldn’t exactly take this news lying down, especially if/when they discovered what Spike has been doing during his ‘visits’ to the Crystal Empire.

*ahem*

All eyes turned to the resident apple farmer as she returned with Rainbow and a visibly unsettled Pinkie.

“So, before we begin, any of ya’ll have somethin to get out of yer chests?” Though she asked the group, her eyes were locked unto Spike. Surprisingly enough, she showed no open hostility towards him, especially if she knew of his little secret. It was possible she knew nothing, but seeing the way Shinning would pale whenever he heard Pinkie’s voice, no doubt he spilled enough for the mares to call this meeting into place.

Deciding to make things easier down the line, the drake raised his hand, earning a worried glance from the mares beside Twilight, and a faint huff from the aforementioned princess.

“Okay, Sugarcube, lay it on us.” The three took free chairs and sat in the circle. All eyes were now on Spike, the dragon feeling the overwhelming weight of his secrets finally dawning on him, when he thought on it, he didn’t have much either way, the nature of his contracts were a sensitive topic and the General preferred he keep his mouth shut in regards to the Crystal’s efforts to keep their kingdom safe. And he agreed, but now, he had to come clean while staying true to his oath and not disclosing military information.

Still, the drake had the option to stall, keep their attention focused elsewhere. “I considered enlisting with the Crystal Empire military, I spoke with the General and he gave me that form. Since I’m a dragon, and an ally to Equestria, I figured I had a good chance at receiving an approval to join…I guess I was right, it came signed with his approval.” He wasn’t lying, being a dragon had its perks, especially to a kingdom that was not only limited in regards to their military power, but Spike was in fact a well-known individual in the north. Comically, it was almost as if he were a royal there as well, given the title the ponies chose to brand him with each time they saw him. “But like I said, it was just something I considered, nothing about it was final.”

Applejack nodded, her fingers rubbing the tip of her chin as she pointed out a little detail that would surely be brought up. “But your bits were completed too.”

In response Spike nodded as well, his eyes focusing on the reasonable mare, thus far. “Yea, but that was just in case. Like I said, I’m not sure what I want to do, but in the case I decide to enlist, all I’d have to do is send it in.” His comment was met with another uncomfortable shift from where Twilight sat.

“Anything else?” Rainbow asked, surprisingly playing subtlety to a believable degree.

Seeing he had no way of dodging this interrogation, and he definitely wouldn’t get very far with Rainbow Dash here, he chose to come clean, albeit if only enough info to keep them satisfied. Although, with what he had share next, he was unsure whether any further response he would give after this would satisfy their curiosity.

Although, truth be told there wasn’t anything to suggest Shinning revealed anything and his assumptions would lead to a bigger shouting match. Spike had his fair share of secrets, most he kept from his friends, and given the nature of many of his contracts, he preferred to keep them oblivious to the dangers he placed himself in.

“Keep in mind…” Spike’s eyes turned to a rather determined looking Luna, eyeing him with equal parts anger and worry. “Even without magic, we have ways of obtaining information. It would be best if you were honest from here on out.” Though a little irritated at the threat, Spike chose to keep calm with his response.

“Remind me why this is such a big deal?” Oh how he wish he could’ve said anything but that. As soon as those words left his lips, the faces of the mares around him furrowed, after a small moment of shock at his poor choice in words.

“Are you serious right now?” That threatening voice came from the one mare he had been hoping not to respond first. It wasn’t surprising for Twilight to be the one to speak up, but the level of anger in her tone was sending shivers up his spine. He knew the levels of anger she was capable of conjuring up, his reluctance came in with whether or not he was willing to face her off in a room where he was outnumbered. “You want to run off and play soldier for who knows what reason, needlessly endangering yourself in a time of peace, and hiding it away from your family…under what situation is that not a bucking big deal?”

A few of the company present showed visible shock at the princess’s choice of words.

“…” Spike was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts, which only served to infuriate the purple mare. “Ok, bad choice of words on my part.” He admitted. “But, I clearly said it was just an option, I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to go or not. Secondly, I’m not throwing myself into danger, I was aiming for work in either in the medical field, or possibly in maintenance. Lastly, yes, I know; hiding it was a bad move on my part.” A few of the mares nodded, seeing him accept responsibility for hiding something this important was a big deal. Though, Twilight and Pinkie remained skeptical. “But, can you blame me?” And there it was.

Almost immediately, all eyes in the room bulged. The mares looked to one another, as if hoping if one of them knew of what the drake spoke of. Only one remained unaffected by Spike’s question; Starlight. And in an instance, Twilight’s attention was zeroed in on her pupil. Before being able to question the aforementioned mare, Rainbow Dash’s voice snapped her back to the conversation amongst them. “Uh, mind telling us what you mean by that?” There was hesitation in her voice, as if she was unsure whether or not she wanted to hear what he had to say.

It didn’t surprise the drake, and in all honesty, he was wondering whether or not to throw in his two cents at all. He’d been hoping to ease into this topic, to find a way to downplay how he felt towards them and their attitudes in regards to him. So, he instead chose to give in to half-truths.

“I’ve been stuck in Ponyville all my life, there are places I’d like to see, friends I want to visit without needing to be accompanied by a guardian.” That last bit was aimed at Twilight, and it showed when her brow twitched. “I just wanted my options to not be limited to whatever I can find in town.” His eyes drifted to an open window, the sight of the moon hovering in the night sky filled him with ease. “I didn’t mean to hide all of this, but after what happened last time…” He trailed off, the Starlight and the Elements of Harmony all flinched at that memory; the words spoken that day still stung to present day. “I love all of you, and I’ll always be grateful for everything you’ve given me, all the lessons I’ve learned, and all the memories we’ve made…but I just don’t see myself settling down just yet. Not when there’s still so much to do. But I can’t do that when I have someponies who think I can’t go outside my own home without announcing where I’m going. Especially when I get an earful just for considering the idea of moving out.”

He hooked his left hand unto his right arm; his eyes averted meeting anyone’s gaze as his words settled in the minds of those listening.

“Do you have an idea about what you want to do?” It was Fluttershy who spoke up, and though her tone was meek, she could still be heard loud and clear.

Spike nodded half-heartedly. “I’ve got an idea, a few drafts; any job that involves helping people would be preferable. The end game revolves mostly around getting a place of my own, finding the right mate, getting married, having kids. That sort of thing.” While he seemed to ramble on, the drake failed to notice the ominous aura from a few of the mares present when he spoke of finding the ‘right mate’ with that small touch of naïve tone one would expect from an inexperienced child being asked what they wanted to be in the future. There were two mares, however, who seemed positively thrilled at the prospect of seeing little hatchling or fillies running around.

‘Grandfillies!’ Was the inward squeal of a joyful mother, who still had in mind her son was young and would have to wait quite a while before even considering such…fornications. Still, it didn’t stop her mind from playing out plentiful scenarios regarding the prospect of having little ones to spoil.

Rainbow Dash, though, seemed almost entertained by his little plan. And though she earned a playful glare from the drake, she still chuckled at it all.

“Something funny?” He asked, arms crossed.

“Maybe think try getting a marefriend before you start talking about kids.” She jabbed, playfully. And for a moment, it seemingly dissipated the tension in the room. Especially with the princesses remembering that their little drake was indeed inexperienced in the realms of relationships and-

“I’ve had a marefriend.”

…

And just like that, any form of peace came crashing down. The mares stared wide-eyed at the young drake, a few were trembling in their seat, and others appeared almost unfazed by the little revelation. Of course, whatever was going on in their heads was for their minds only.

“C-come again.” Though she asked for clarification, the wonderbolt was not so sure she wanted the answer, mostly for the drake’s sake.

Still, Spike was happy to oblige her request. “I’ve had marefriends before.” That made it worse, the fact that his claim went from singular to plural unnerved a few of the mares. The silence that came with his statement slightly unnerved him, most with the shocked expressions his friends were giving him. “Did…did you girls really think I wouldn’t have?” His question caused a few to avert their gazes, though, Pinkie’s remained firm on the young drake, her eye was twitching once more, this time with her smile faltering.

Applejack was quick to speak out, noticing Pinkie’s current state. “It’s not that we don’t believe it, Sugarcube, is just that ya don’t bring it up…or told anypony fer that matter.”

“Yea, and we thought you were hots for Rarity.” Rainbow Dash quickly added, much to Rarity’s irritation at the hidden pun she threw in.

Spike, to his credit, only showed mild shock at the fashionista’s name being mentioned. He gave a curt chuckle, before giving his two-bits. “Yea, as a hatchling. But it’s like you told me before Dash; it was just a childhood crush, it wouldn’t go anywhere, and it would be best if I focused on my life and have a little fun her and there.”

Rainbow felt a collective of heated gazes being directed at her, and for the life of her she chose to avoid finding the sources of ‘em. Though, she did in fact hear a faint guttural growl from the fashionista’s direction.

“So you’re saying you’re over your crush on Rarity?” Trixie asked, a gleam of hope was sewn in her tone.

To which Spike shook his head, albeit hesitantly. “No, those feelings are still there. But they’re not as extreme as when I was younger. It was actually Vinyl that helped me focus on other hobbies.” He gestured to a small stack of books placed beside a guitar on a table at the edge of the library. “Spent a lot of time with practicing guitar with her, I actually performed a few numbers in some of her gigs. Can’t thank her enough for the lessons, Octavia too.”

The mention of the musical ponies managed to snap Pinkie out of her trance, remembering a time when the dj mare would smile either way too often, or would have her head in the clouds. There was always a previous engagement that took up her time when she was in town, and she had also…taken on a student. She shook her head, unwilling to accept the implications her imagination conjured up. Perhaps she was just glad to have a pupil, someone who enjoyed music just as much as she did. But then, Spike’s preferred genre was either; what you’d hear a rowdy group chant or…romance songs…Pinkie hadn’t noticed, but she’d been silently hyperventilating, the thought of her friend being involved with her baby were stirring up an uneasy emotion in her chest.

But, it was just assumption, and one helluva coincidence. After all, Vinyl would never involve herself with Spike…right?

Twilight herself was still reeling in from the sudden collapsing image she held of her little drake. She would pride herself in being one of the few ponies the drake would confide in with when it came to private matters. Spike, her closest and dearest friend had grown up much faster than she would’ve wanted. It was as if she blinked and in place of the baby drake stood a maturing dragon. The marefriends comment was what made the princess shiver; why wasn’t she made aware of this little piece of information? Why did Spike feel it appropriate to not tell her? So many questions swarmed in her head, all of it came to a conclusion she was in constant denial over, but given the recent revelations; the fear was prodding harder into reality. The fear of him no longer needing her, him branching out and spreading his wings, finding a place of his own, and slowly fading out of her life.

It was a fear that drove them into a shouting brawl the first time around, and it was prevalent in the discovery of the enlistment form by Pinkie. But now, what was to be done?

She didn’t want him to leave, and she sure as hell didn’t want him to feel caged or bound by force to his home. But, she wasn’t ready she didn’t want her drake to fly out of the nest yet. There was still so much to do together. Yes, she did have her duties as a princess, and it went without saying; she had to focus most if not all her time on Ponyville’s affairs.

“Ok, Trixie thinks we’ve gone off topic long enough.” The blue mare was trying to divert the conversation back to the military, mostly due to it being an easier route; Spike already admitted to himself being at fault for not informing his family of his thoughts on moving to the Crystal Empire to join the military. All he had to do was agree to inform them of any big life changing decisions he’d made in the future and from there they’d be able to patch the smaller details up…that was before he opened his snout and revealed he had already entered the dating scene. Both she and Trixie watched as Pinkie and Twilight trembled in place, resisting the urge to find the little she-harlot that sunk her chomps into Spike.

As for Trixie herself, she was, although a bit jealous, more surprised over how much Spike had changed since she last saw him. Upon her return to Ponyville, she expected few things to remain the same; Starlight still being Twilight’s pupil was one of them. And at the forefront of her expectations was to see the drake, although older, to have grown by a few inches, not to be a lumbering tower akin to the apple farmer’s sibling.

It wasn’t an unwelcomed change; more mature features, a frame most stallions his age would kill for, a knack for music, a good heart he wears on his sleeves, and with previous dating experiences meant he had an idea as to what a mare wants. Of course, that is if he and his partners were ever….intimate…

And just like that, Trixie felt an aching pain in her chest, and a sudden urgency to act on certain sentiments. And judging by the reactions of the mares before her; it would be one helluva chore to get the drake alone after all this.

Starlight was quick to chime in. “Trixie is right…surprisingly…”

“Oi!”

Starlight ignored the little outburst and jab to her ribs. “We know Spike isn’t entirely sure if the military is a sure option, but as his closest friends; I think we should…” She hesitated, if only when her eyes met with Twilight’s. There was no fury or malice in the alicorn’s eyes, there were no cursed enchantments under her breaths, and there were now visible steams of aura emitting from the princess. Instead, what Starlight saw was Twilight silently staring at her with pleading eyes; pleading for her pupil to take her side and to keep the drake here in Ponyville, by her side. And truth be told, she might’ve done so as well. However, having been a apart of their lives for the last few years, and seeing herself as a part of their family, albeit with a mild hesitation, Starlight knew the value of freedom and what it meant to a growing colt. “Spike should be able to decide what he wants. His birthday is coming up soon, and by Equestrian law, and Ponyville too apparently; Spike will be legally allowed to do as he pleases. After all, he’ll be seen as a grown stallion/dragon at that point.”

There was a moment of silence, no mare dared speak, however, there were two individuals the group had their eyes on; Twilight, and Princess Celestia. Both were well known to be rather protective of the drake, with the princess being a bit more subtle and the newly crowned alicorn having small moments of anxiety when the drake was gone for a relatively long period of time, the longest being a week of no contact before unceremoniously slamming the front doors of thee castle open and passing out on the library floor. Suffice to say, the young princess was in a near state of hysteria following his discovery.

“I agree.” All eyes snapped towards the mare that dared utter those words, and there were brows raised as they realized who it was.

“Y-you…you do?” Fluttershy asked, uncertain if this was some form of mind trick her friend had conjured up.

To which the pink mare nodded, albeit hesitantly. “Yea…I do.” Pinkie’s eyes grazed slowly towards the young drake. Her angered glare had softened, and the gaze she had fixed on the drake was one of nurture and affection. She had gotten up, trotting calmly towards him until she was standing in front of the drake. “I won’t lie, I’m not happy about being left in the dark about all of this…” Her eyes glanced towards the scroll, solemnly. Only to harden and dull when she glanced back to Spike. “And I still wanna know who your first marefriend was…and the ones that came after…” There was something about her tone that unnerved the young drake, and the mares around her. In an instant, the ominous aura disappeared, replaced by a mildly downtrodden pony. “We can’t stop you from growing up…but we wanna be there, for every step.” A smile graced her lips as she placed a soft hand on his shoulder. When she needed to be, Pinkie was as soft and tender-hearted as the Fluttershy, and where folks often didn’t give her enough credit was her ability to be mature when the situation called for it. Yes, one would do a double take when the words Pinkie and mature were used in the same sentence, or used in synonymy. “And no more secrets, please.” She almost pleaded, had she not held back.

Before giving the drake a chance to respond, the mare felt something beneath his shirt, and each time she applied the slightest pressure, she watched Spike’s eyes twitch and his teeth faintly bared. Not to mention, she swore there was something akin to layers that she was feeling up, and it took all her mental strength to not rip apart his clothing and confirm her suspicions.

“Ah agree with Pinkie…” Applejack spoke up; earning raised eyebrows from the mare’s present before glancing at Twilight. “No more secrets and no more babying. We gotta see it for wat it is; Spike’s a grown dragon now.” Her bluntness was expected, but it didn’t make Twilight’s accepting of reality any easier. She didn’t want him to be grown up just yet, she still wanted her baby dragon…but the reality of it all was forcing its way in, and now when she gazed upon the drake, all she saw was him all grown and ready to leave the nest. To leave her, and it cracked her heart with each reminder.

Spike, seeing the inner torment his childhood friend was going through; took it upon himself to act. After managing to removed Pinkie’s grip on him, albeit with a bit of force, the drake was able to rise up and walk over to where Twilight was sitting. The purple mare glanced up, meeting him at eye-level. The two said nothing, though, she slightly flinched when his palm reached out to her and grasp the scroll in her hands.

When he tugged, for a moment, she gripped it tighter, unwilling to let him take it. But her grip faltered, and the drake was now in possession of the enlistment form. She waited, half-expected him to engulf it in flames and send it straight to the General via magic.

Instead, Spike took one long look at the form before rolling it back up and staring at his life-long friend. “Twi…” Though he started off, for the life of him; any words he had in mind just suddenly evaporated and left him with a blank slate. And though he had her attention, the last thing the drake wanted to do was drive her away. He wanted to go out and explore, see the world and enjoy many of life’s mysterious and wonders. But there was always one thing he knew for certain; if Twilight ever needed him he would always come back to her. Why wouldn’t he? She was the one who hatched him, the egg that was lying dormant among Princess Celestia’s belongings for who knows how long, kept alive solely through an influx of her magic.

Twilight was more than just a friend; at times, he considered her a sister, a mother if he went far enough. And in no way would he leave her with the impression that he wanted to leave solely to get away from her. Tartarus would freeze over before the day came where Spike would no longer need Twilight in his life. He’s said this to her countless times, but admittingly, hiding the form from her was not exactly his best play as of late.

“I’m sorry.” He breathed out, his eyes wandered to all the mares in the room. “I promise I’ll be up front with you girls more often.” Spike landed his gaze on Pinkie. “And I swear you’ll be seeing me more often than these last few months. Ponyville is my home, and I’m not thinking of leaving it anytime soon.” His gaze landed back on Twilight.

This wasn’t over, he knew that for a fact. As soon as everyone was satisfied and gone their separate ways; Twilight was gonna let him have a piece of her mind. As such, he chose to nip the possibility of a scolding, or at the very least diminish the eventual conversation between them. With this many of their friends present, it gave him an advantage, enough to simmer Twilight’s anger and allow a civil conversation.

Without another word; Spike held out the scroll towards the alicorn. For a second, the mare should genuine confusion, followed instantly by a skeptical glare. Though, Spike met hers with a neutral expression. “Twi, I love you.” That was met with instant reaction; the purple mare’s eyes snapped wide open, clearly caught off guard by his confession. The mares around showed a similar reaction, with Pinkie’s being perhaps the most contained of the few, surprisingly. For a moment, Twilight felt a chill crawl up her spine when she swear there were a few fixed glares on her. Of course, she chose to avert her eyes from the sources of the malicious auras, focusing instead on her baby drake. “I can’t tell you how much you mean to me, you’ve been my best friend since the day I was hatched. We’ve been through a lot, and I know we’ve still got some more memories to make. There will never be a day when I won’t need my best friend in my life. But I can’t change how you think, and I know you don’t deal well with big change.” That was a little jab at her, and for once, she let it pass without a thought of future repercussion. “So, I want you to hold unto this for me. And when the times right, I’ll trust you’ll give it to me.”

There was an underlying message hidden in him giving her his scroll, she didn’t miss it. The others felt a little confused by the gesture, with the royals seemingly being the only ones to catch on to the message behind Spike giving up his scroll.

It was all up to Twilight now; she could take the scroll and assure her drake would stay by her side. Or…she could reject it, give him his freedom and let him leave. It would’ve been so easy to just take the piece of parchment and lock it away for good…but that would just cement a negative image of her. The last thing she wanted was to alienate her friend, let alone make him feel like a prisoner in his own home. In a way, this felt oddly familiar. It took the alicorn a second to think it over before she came to the realization; this was a test, something Celestia would do. It seemed as though those mother/son bonding days, in which Celestia ‘suggested’ Twilight send Spike her way, left an impression on the drake. He was using a tactic his mother would often use to teach certain ponies lessons. While there was a moment of anger in the alicorn, believing the drake was pulling off one of his mother’s stunts, realization soon pushed anger aside and made way for logic.

Spike was putting his trust in her. He knew how she felt towards him leaving, and she knew how adventurous his heart had grown since their last biggest adventure together. This was less of whether she thought he was ready for the military, and more akin to him saying; when you’re ready, I’ll fly. But until she was, he would willingly stay with her. While the notion made her feel guilty, she still couldn’t help but feel relaxed at the thought of the drake willing staying.

Without exchanging a word, she reached out and accepted the scroll, a half-baked smile crossed her lips, replaced by a guilt-frown when she realized what she just accepted; his freedom. She held his freedom tightly in her grasps, wondering whether or not she would ever be able to let him go. Her closest friend, her baby dragon…in many ways, she had grown to see Spike as a sibling. But recent events and emotions proved there was something more; a son? No, Celestia already claimed the mother title, and the only other mare vying for that position was the pink-themed pony. So then, what was that feeling?

As for Spike, though he had just willingly grounded himself for the foreseeable future, chose instead to look at the bright side of all this; he’d be able to spend more time perfecting his craft, play a couple songs here and there, enjoy the upcoming festivals, and maybe meet up with some old friends.

“Um, are we gonna ignore the marefriends thing?” Came the stern, yet also shaky voice from Shinning. To the which the Elements of Harmony and the princess’s quickly realized they had almost allowed that little bit to pass by.

Spike’s eyes darted to Shinning’s, their eyes communicating an array of emotions one would expect from brothers being caught in some troublesome scenarios.

“What’s there to talk about?” Spike argued, his brows narrowed, indicating that the stallion should stop while he’s ahead.

Finding his nerves, Shinning continued, ignoring the dragon’s silent threats. “Well, who were they?” He included that list bit to emphasize the drake associated plural when it came to the subject of marefriends.

“That’s none of anyponies business.” The drake answered curtly, ignoring the stern glare he was receiving from his mother.

“Actually, I’m kind curious.” Rainbow Dash noted, though, unlike the mares around her, it was more for mischief and teasing material.

“Hey now, if he don wanna talk about it, it’s his business.” Applejack, like the heaven-sent she was, came to the drake’s defence. That is of course, until Shinning slammed the final nail on his coffin.

“Even if the mare was older than him?” And just like that, the room feel deathly silent. It was no secret, in just a few months; Spike would become of age according to Ponyville law. However, that did not extend to other pony locations. In Canterlot, the age was just a bit higher, and in the Crystal Empire, he was already of age. And in recent years, Spike did indeed spend quite a lot of time up north, and even a few weeks with Pinkie at her family’s farm, but that was beside the point.

Spike faced his brother with a slightly betrayed, slightly amused expression. ‘Bro, you sold me out?!’

‘Oi, you did it too.’ Shinning subtly gestured to his wife. ‘And she made me spill everything. EVERYTHING.’

‘That’s different.’

Shinning’s eyes bulged. ‘HOW?!’

To which Spike gestured to the mares with shadowed eyes, and small wisps of malicious auras emitting from their beings. The main ones being Pinkie and Celestia; the overprotective mothers of the bunch. ‘I live with them.’

“Spike~” He shivered, every fiber of his being was begging him to sprint and run. Hell, his wings almost flapped open and shot him upwards. However, knowing full well he’d be caught within seconds of even lifting himself off the ground. As he dared to glance around, he noted a collective of reactions from the mares around him. Dash was, from what he could ascertain, almost beaming at him with some measure of pride. No question, she was proud of him, and she’d pry him on details when the fires died down, if they ever did. Applejack was slightly worried over this revelation, her eyes darting amongst the mares she knew would be most affected by. Fluttershy and Rarity were both with widened eyes, the fashionista herself was trembling quite visibly following the revelation of Spikey’s previous engagements. The shy mare was…just shocked stiff. She didn’t tremble; her body wasn’t shuddering like the fashionista’s. Though, if you observed closely enough; you’d see her left eye twitching. Cadence was, although stunned to hear this, narrowed a glare at her husband since he seemed to have knowledge of Spike’s activities. Trixie was…hopeful? Yes, she wasn’t exactly on board with the implications that came with Spike’s previous marefriends. However, it meant that the possibility of dating older mares was not out of the question for him. Starlight…was more worried than anything, mostly due to her having been Spike’s guarding when Twilight wasn’t around, and if any of his little adventures happened when she was in charge of him…she could only imagine what Twilight would do with her.

Speaking of…

*THUD*

Twilight fainted, no surprise there. Princess Celestia? Now that was a surprise. Luna…also a surprise, but he could understand why; the last thing any doting mother or aunt wants to hear is their little one being involved, romantically, with anypony older than them.

As for Pinkie…

“How old was she Spike?” Pinkie asked, inching ever closer to her baby, her mind unable to process that some cradle robber was the culprit for her drake’s fast maturing. And she actively refused to picture anything remotely intimate. A harlot was…not fine, but manageable enough. But an older mare, depending on how old, would determine how severe the pink mare would be in delivering justice.

“….old enough?” He suggested, hoping it would suffice. It didn’t, and for the better part of that night, he would not be allowed to sleep. And in three separate locations across Equestria, three mares felt shivers running up their spines. Two of which felt the eerie sense of dread and showed visible fear of what the foreshadowing entailed for them. The third…shrugged it off and went back to studying her collection of minerals.

Author's Note

Buckle up kiddos, the next few chapters will be one helluva ride before the main plot comes along. For now, i hope ya'll will enjoy these little moments before the heavier bulk comes along.