Spike's Family Journey

by frenettek314

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Starlight Glimmer
Length: 49895

*An AU extended ending to Season 8 - "Father Knows Beast"* When Spike goes and tells each of the Mane 6 what happened with Sludge, he discovers he may have already had a family after all.

Cover Image URL - Click Here

*An AU extended ending to Season 8 - "Father Knows Beast"*

It's been days since the greedy manipulator Sludge was revealed to have lied about being Spike's Father. Spike, originally excited to have had an actual dragon as a parental figure, now fears he will never have a family outside of Twilight to call his own.

However, despite Spike's hesitations, Twilight insists that he goes on a mission to tell each of their close friends what happened in regards to Sludge's scheme and form a bond with them. Spike has his doubts though as he fears the others aren't family and will reject him. Nevertheless, he sets out on a very personal mission.

How will each pony react to finding out that the baby dragon was taken advantage of as an excuse for room and board? Will they be able to help Spike and show that they love him? Will Spike discover that there's more to a family than he originally thought?

Published 2020-07-22 22:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-08-07 22:42:58 UTC

Epilogue: "The Beginning of New Journeys Ahead"

Spike skipped happily as he made his way to the front door of the castle, happy that his mission was finally over. Despite his emotions being exhausted from a campaign of truths, fears, secrets, and a whole lot of tears, he wouldn't have had it any other way - not with the awesome family he made.

These ponies - these 5... well 6 with Starlight - these ponies and their families that he had known for many years, these ponies he thought saw nothing more in him than a servant, or a random dragon, or some princess's dorky brother, these ponies he thought would never like him... these ponies had become the family he always wanted after so long of searching and pining.

He could've been happy with just Twilight - the one who had hatched and raised him, the one who would always be there for him no matter what; but he had always wanted more. Maybe it was selfish for a dragon like him to crave more -but instead of material possessions, all he wanted was love. He wanted those who admired him for who he truly was, those who he could confide in, those who would always have his back.

Spike never could've imagined that these ponies would've become that family to him. He left his mind to be consumed with feelings of doubt, fear, sadness, anger - he never allowed himself to move on or to step up and challenge his inner turmoil.

Until Twilight made that request.

While originally skeptical about the whole ordeal, Spike began to realize the alicorn was entirely right on her idea. It gave the dragon a chance to spend some solo time with each pony on his own, to finally release his thoughts and feelings after hiding them for so long, to finally discover the truths each held.

And the truth was that he had these ponies by his side all along. If he had just tried approaching them before, he could've had these questions answered a long time ago.

Despite this minor setback of hindsight, Spike was finally at peace and he couldn't be any happier. No longer he held concerns about his heritage, his worries about those around him, the fear that he was destined to only be allowed one equine in his life.

For the first time in ages, Spike felt free - free without a care or concern in the world. Like a hundred tons were lifted off his shoulders.

As the dragon stepped up to the big booming doors of the castle, he allowed himself a small chuckle of wisdom as he began pushing the door to home open.

"This is all thanks to Twilight. She knew just what to do. I don't know what I'd do without her."

Spike excitedly opened the doors of the castle and happily began running around the castle (his wings forgotten at the moment) as he desperately looked for the lavender alicorn figure.

"Twilight! I'm home! I'm finally home!"

He began searching the castle, but to his displeasure couldn't find a single pony anywhere. The throne room, the study, the library, they were all empty.

"Twilight?! Starlight?! Anyone?!"

Then almost as if by fate, Spike noticed the door to his bedroom was slightly creaked open as a faint glimmer of light shined in the crystal hallway, practically begging for him to investigate.

"What the...?" he muttered before entering his room to discover...

"SURPRISE!"

A room full of ponies cheered as Spike jumped a couple inches back, finally processing the crowded room as streamers and balloons tugged over the walls and corners of his humble abode.

There they were.

His Sister, Rarity.

His Auntie Pinkie Pie.

His Cousins Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

His Snarky Sister, Starlight.

His Second Mother, Fluttershy.

Even Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

And last but not least...

"Spike!" a purple blur came racing over to him before wrapping him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Twilight!" he called back, grinning fondly as he returned the force of the embrace.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

The full room (minus Rainbow and Scootaloo who just knowingly smiled) erupted into a chorus of "Awww's" as the two hugged for another moment before releasing.

"What's all this for?" the dragon curiously asked as he gazed around the room filled with ponies and decorations.

"It's a..." Twilight began before a hyperactive pink pony interrupted her.

"It's a 'Congratulations on Completing Your Journey, We're so Proud of You and We Want This to Be the Start of a Brand New Family Party'!" Pinkie lectured, before levitating back towards the others.

"Right, what she said." Twilight concluded, seemingly not bothered at all by the interruption.

Spike admired the party with a warm smile for a brief moment, before a thought interrupted him.

"Wait... how did you know I was coming home tod...?" before he paused and spoke again with an all-knowing smirk.

"Pinkie sense."

"That's my nephew." confirmed a proud Pinkie Pie.

Spike then developed another question.

"But, wait. I just saw Fluttershy go back to her cottage. How did..?"

"I have my ways." the pegasus repeated her sly comment from earlier with an equally sly grin.

"Guys... this is amazing! Thank you." the dragon blushed, seeing all of his loved ones right there.

Twilight took the chance to grab Spike's shoulder with a front hoof as the others all slowly trotted closer with smiles on their faces.

"Well, we hope you learned alot from your journey."

Spike viewed all the ponies in the room before he settled back on Twilight's wise and graceful smile, slowly finding one himself.

"As a matter of fact, I did."

He slowly felt those all too familiar sentimental tears kicking up again as he began concluding the results of his quest while focusing on each respective member of the room.

"I learned that a strong bond requires those in it to effectively communicate with each other."

Rarity nodded serenely as she dabbed one of her eyes with a hoof.

"I learned that we can help each other learn and grow from our problems."

Pinkie's eyes began watering as she clenched her eyes with a warm smile to stop herself.

"I learned that you shouldn't have to hide yourself from those who care about you."

Rainbow gave the dragon a firm smile and a mock salute with her wing.

"I learned that one needs to let go and trust others in order to help those they care about."

Applejack brought her hat over her eyes in a modest display as the CMC each gave Spike a slow nod.

"And I learned to put my fears and mistakes in the past, to focus on the present and create a better future."

Fluttershy too had her eyes watering, touched at the drake's words, as she gave him a warm smile with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Twilight and Starlight both appeared proud as they stood over Spike, each placing a hoof on a shoulder.

"Now do you believe us when I said you had a family?" lightly teased Twilight, who only received a nod in reply.

"And we all promise we'll continue to be one together. For annoying Twi... uh flying kites." Starlight quickly rerouted her sentence as Twilight shot her a warning look, much to Spike's amusement.

"Finding new activities to do together." stated Rarity.

"Making new memories!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

"Going on new, awesome adventures." quoted Rainbow Dash.

"Overcoming new obstacles along the way." piped Applejack.

"And discovering new ideas to grow even closer." assured Fluttershy.

Spike nodded his head appreciatively as felt his heart explode in an aura of warmth and love. Everyone was here at last, and it was the best thing he could ever hope for! Now, all he needed to do was...

Spike paused as he suddenly looked down for a moment before bringing his head back up to meet Twilight with a serious expression.

"Hey, Twi. Everyone. Mind if I say a few words?" he asked, seeing everyone gaze eagerly at him, wondering what was on his mind now.

"Sure? Go ahead." answered a slightly confused Twilight.

Spike slowly walked away from everyone for a couple steps before turning back around to address... his family.

"I just wanted to say, these past few weeks... they've probably been the most important weeks of my life. For as long as I can remember, I've always struggled with finding out who my family was - not necessarily in the physical sense, but emotional sense."

The room watched on with rapt attention.

"I've had Twilight ever since I was hatched and I wouldn't trade her for anything in this world. All the games we play, the books we read, every day with her is a treasure..."

Twilight's lips quivered upon hearing her favorite dragon appreciate their time together.

"...but when I moved to Ponyville and we met all of you, I was scared. Suddenly Twilight had all these new amazing ponies that were as close a family as you could get, while I always felt I was left on the sidelines."

Almost all the ponies in the rooms felt their heads lower in guilt upon that last statement.

"For years now, I built my mind to think that you all wanted nothing to do with me, thinking I knew the answer already before trying anything else. It kept building and building until I met Sludge. I was so happy to think I finally had someone besides Twilight who loved me, until I found out he was nothing but a big phony."

All the mares in the room glared at the mention of Sludge and his antics.

"If I ever see him in Ponyville, he should be prepared for quite the lashing." thought Rarity.

"He broke my nephew's heart, so I'm going to break something of his." muttered Pinkie.

"How far can I throw a shower?" devilishly questioned Starlight.

"I'm going to sonic rainboom his flank." scowled Rainbow.

"Next week. That's how far I'm kicking him." reconfirmed Applejack.

"If I ever see him near my baby again, he'll be sorry. No one messes with Mama Shy." fumed Fluttershy.

Twilight didn't have any outward quote of thoughts, but she was all the sudden picturing the deepest pits of Tartarus.

Spike's speech continued.

"Then all the sudden, I was back to square one. I felt alone, I felt I had pieces missing. Fortunately, I went on this journey and got to be closer with all of you. We had some fun times and some sad ones too, but I finally got to dispel my fears after living with them for so long. After each pony, I suddenly felt more at ease, like I could do it, so I kept myself going."

"And now - now that my journey is finally over - I feel... free. I don't really know how to describe it, but all of my fears, all of my worries, all those questions that I had about each of you, they're gone. I finally feel fully loved after so long and it's..."

Spike's tears began falling.

"It's the best feeling of my life. I feel loved and nothing can replace this feeling in my heart. I... I finally let go of the past and for the first time in forever, I have what I always wanted - a complete family."

Everyone began silently sobbing at this point, even Rainbow and Scootaloo much to their reluctance.

"And it's all thanks to each and every one of you. I know things won't always be easy and we'll certainly have bumps along the way, but I want nothing more than to have you all as my family - through the good and the bad."

The dragon slowly walked over to a crying Twilight as he wrapped his frame around her neck.

"Thank you especially Twilight. You made me go on this journey, even when I had my doubts. If it wasn't for you, I don't know where I'd be now or in life in general."

"Thanks, Twi. I love you."

"Spike!" Twilight openly sobbed as every single pony rushed into the pair to deliver the most powerful group hug Spike had ever witnessed. A hug so full of love, of positively - a hug that promised itself good times ahead. Spike wished this one moment could last forever.

"Good night, Spike." Twilight whispered as she tucked the dragon into his bed before exiting the room, smiling warmly at being offered the chance to partake in the nostalgia of wishing her Spike good night.

As Spike began to drift off to sleep, he then noticed 5 treasures placed high on his shelf.

A miniature ruby heart, a mini party cannon, a special tree seed, and two differently colored pegasi feathers.

Family used to be a complicated term for Spike to define, but as the drake slowly drifted off to sleep, he realized it was no longer that difficult of a word.

Because he knew he would live that word everyday.

Author's Note

Well everyone, Spike's search for family may finally be over, but the rest of his life with his beloved family starts now.

I honestly just wish to say thank you so much for all the support this story has received in the last week. Like I mentioned earlier, within the first two chapters this story had already become my most popular, and it is continuing to climb.

When I first started this story about a week ago, I really didn't know what to expect:

Was I expecting an AU episode ending story to be almost 50,000 words? Ha, Ha! No. In fact, I originally planned to have much shorter chapters, but I kept finding myself engaged in the character interactions and the story progression that I ended up absentmindedly typing out a lot more. I never thought I could type so much in such short time, but I feel kind of proud to have done it.

Was I expecting this story to be as well received as it is? Not in a million years. Not trying to sound too whiny, but I never know what to expect when I publish a story. When I read other peoples' works, I often find stories I feel should be more well-read with barely any traffic at all. I greatly appreciate everyone of you for following this, but my advice is you can never expect how well a story picks up. Everybody has different tastes.

But I hope that if/when I post another new story, someone out there will enjoy it. I can't guarantee how much I'll be around (if/when I create a fic) as my education is returning soon (and life happens and etc.) but 2020 has given me the opportunity to distract myself and improve my writing after so long. I still can't believe myself at some of my new stories, but it felt really great to do. If there's one thing I can offer - explore different passions and interests. Even if it's been years, even if you can't do it consistently, you'll never know what you can do.

Well, this is goodbye until next time. Thank you all so much.

Whether I make another FimFiction story or not (not trying to scare people, just keeping that possibility open each time in case...), I hope you continue to stay happy and healthy out there.

Sincerely,

-frenettek314

Author's Notes: "An Anthology Sequel?!"

Author's Notes: "An Anthology Sequel?!"

Hello to all of you who have read "Spike's Family Journey".

Now that Spike has officially found a forever family to be a part of, I know what you're thinking....

"But where can I see Spike and his family in fun, comedic, and sometimes emotional story format?"

Well, good news oddly specific viewer - now you can!

Introducing an official anthology sequel - "Spike's Family Chronicles"!

Spike, the Mane 6, Starlight Glimmer, and all your favorites are back in a growing collection of one-shot family stories that detail all the wacky slice-of-life adventures they have together in Ponyville! Together, they'll grow even closer as a family! There will be jokes to be had, tears to be shed, and oh so many hugs that Rainbow secretly likes!

And there's all new stuff in this sequel too! Including a growing cast of both ponies and other Ponyville-residing creatures alike!

So go check out the first chapter of the sequel now by clicking here!

(*Still can't believe this story got over 50 likes...*)

Hope you enjoy if you do! See you next time!

Sincerely,

frenettek314

Twilight and Starlight (Prologue) : "A New Light Glimmers"

Family. Now that was a weird word to think about. While it looked like a simple word in theory, it was actually filled with many depths and meanings. Now, if you asked any random pony to define what 'family' meant, they'd simply laugh in confusion and simply say that family was those who were closest to you, who cared about you and were always there for you no matter what.

Spike was not any random pony though.

As the young purple and green dragon stared outside the window of the Castle of Friendship's library, he sighed in contemplation. Originally discovered on the outskirts of Equestria as an abandoned egg by students of the famed Princess Celestia, ponies who knew of his existence believed he may never be hatched.

Boy were they wrong.

It all started as a 'test' for the School of Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot to see whether any prestigious unicorn's magic would be able to successfully hatch the abandoned creature; many skilled magicians have tried and failed the test, claiming that the egg would be sealed forever.

Then, Twilight Sparkle came.

A lavender unicorn filly said to possess a very special gift in magic - even she had no success at hatching the egg at first, until a sudden sonic rainboom in the distance enhanced her magical abilities enough to give life to the forgotten dragon. Of course, Twilight's magic went haywire and turned her parents into plants, but she did pass after being calmed down by the regal ruler herself.

Then the dragon's well-being was placed into the care of the studious filly and history was made. Spike and Twilight did everything together in Canterlot. He had learned to read and write from her, he helped her with her studies, and most importantly, he and Twilight shared a special bond that no creature could break - no matter what obstacle came their way, they would always be together.

They had become a family.

But was she the only family he could ever have?

True there was Twilight's parents and her brother, Shining Armor, but he rarely saw them enough to consider them more than really close friends. No, Spike wanted others who he could always see, who he could always believe in.

Now, many years later in the small town of Ponyville, inside a not-so-small crystal castle, Spike sighed as he began to think of who his family was supposed to be. Who really cared for him?

Of course, Twilight is and always would be like a sister... mother?... sis-mother?.... Twilight, she would always be a Twilight to him and nothing made the dragon happier knowing that; but surely he had more than one mare to cherish, right?

Twilight's adventures in Ponyville had resulted in the creation of five very special friendships (eventually six if you counted her student). The six ponies had formed the Elements of Harmony - a special bond that has saved Equestria multiple times at this point and allowed Twilight to learn about the magic of friendship, even later becoming the proclaimed "Princess of Friendship". However, the bond also did something much more significant - it gave Twilight best friends - her family.

As Spike glanced outside to see the streets of Ponyville in the distance, he gave a soft sigh thinking about the other Elements. Over the several years the dragon and his nerdy... Twilight... have lived in the small town, he grew to love each of the girls with sincerity as he never saw Twilight so adventurous and full of life until she had met them, and for that he would always appreciate them for loving and encouraging her. And yet, it often seemed like that bond wasn't reciprocated to himself. On multiple occasions, Twilight and the girls would often go on fun adventures or various friendship activities while excluding the baby dragon from participating. True, the group did have their moments where they offered the olive branch of friendship to him and include him, but it seemed like those moments could be few and far between sometimes.

With the girls themselves, Spike never felt he had really connected with them independently. If he wasn't by Twilight's side whenever he was included, it was like he didn't exist. Was it because he was a boy and the girls felt awkward having him around? Was it because he was a dragon and they weren't used to a usually hostile creature? True, they were polite and friendly to him, but it felt more like a courteous act than anything else. Many questions dived into Spike's head, searching for a possible answer but only one conclusion came. He never really got the chance to truly bond with each one of them. He was simply their best friend's little brother...son?... this time Spike decided on brother. He was just the friend's little brother who occasionally tagged along and it pained for him to think like that, but he thought it was the truth.

As such, Spike could never really consider them part of his family.

At long last, Spike finally thought he had someone else to relate to - to consider family, and heck if it wasn't a bonus he was a dragon! He could finally learn what it meant to be a dragon in a world which had only previously contained colorful ponies who knew nothing about dragon culture. It was a dream come true!

Too bad, it only ended up being a horrible nightmare.

It all started a couple weeks ago when Spike and his recently new dragon-friend Smolder had discovered an adult dragon literally crash into the middle of Ponyville. He had called himself Sludge and despite his rough demeanor they could tell he was badly hurt.

So, with some help from ~~his~~ Twilight's family, they helped Sludge recover from his rather critical injuries until he was completely revitalized. The friends and him were all happy to know that they had helped someone in need and were about ready to properly wish him farewell until the older dragon revealed something that shook everyone to their very core.

He was Spike's father.

Spike currently closed his eyes in hurt, reflecting back on the memory. He should've known Sludge was lying from the very start. There were many hints and flaws that suggested he was deceiving all of them, but Spike foolishly accepted him without any trouble.

Sludge had gone off on a rather vague story that involved Spike's supposed mother disappearing for several years, leaving his egg behind with Sludge having gone off on some fantastical journey to reunite the family. Then Sludge had apparently been captured by 'scale collectors' for several years as he hid Spike's egg from his capturers, leaving the egg to eventually be found in Equestria.

Spike clenched his shaky fist in anger as he realized how pathetic Sludge's story actually was. Many of the ponies had even questioned some noticeable flaws in the tale - such as where his mother was, or how his egg made it to Equestria - but all Sludge did was weakly shrug off any inquiries. And Spike bought it.

From that point on, Sludge began to live in the castle as he 'attempted' to be the good father figure for his son, showing him what a 'true dragon was'. Spike could only snort in disgust as the thought of Sludge's teachings being beneficial made his mind recoil.

"Hoarding stuff? Massaging his feet? Sleeping outside while he sleeps comfortably in my bed?" he thought bitterly. "Yeah nothing like a true Dad there..."

But Spike was too blind by the aspect of finally having a parent, a dragon to himself. He even managed to snap at Twilight for disliking Sludge, who in reality was the one who was concerned about the baby dragon at all. He started to wipe away a few stray tears as he blamed himself for yelling at the only mare who gave him the time of day. He almost destroyed his one, true relationship for some destined fantasy that sounded too good to be true.

Fortunately, Spike's potential family destruction was prevented a few days ago when Sludge was discovered to have lied. He lied and purposefully took advantage of someone who thought he was their father just to live in some kind of rich palace! Because he did "what any real dragon would have done".

Spike pounded his fist on the nearby wall as he felt his emotions overflowing.

"He used me as a son for his own luxury! He made me think I knew who I was!" he internally roared.

But really, after Sludge had left a heartbroken Spike to ponder his true identity - he realized who he was all along. He had Twilight as a family and he had turned her away.

Thankfully, after Spike open-heartedly apologized for his actions while admitting Sludge's true intentions, Twilight embraced him with the full concern and love a mother...sister... Twilight had as he knew from that moment on that he always had her. Spike smiled back at this in fondness as he knew she would always be there.

Now back to the present though, a few days after Sludge's big reveal, Spike looked back out the window and frowned in contemplation again. He knew who he was, he knew that Twilight was his family and they would always have each other, but none of those things were problems anymore.

The problem now was that Sludge had made him think he could have more of a family than just Twilight and that thought ate him up inside. He thought he had someone else to love and appreciate, to open his heart up to, but it had all been nothing more than some cruel joke.

Spike looked down at his claws with a concentrated look as he tried to think.

"Can I ever have more than one in my family?"

"Spike? Are you ok?" a concerned voice echoed from behind the now sulking dragon. Spike did his best to hide the pain he was feeling before turning around to discover two ponies in front of him, both faces etched with worry for the poor creature. Twilight was the first one while the other was a unicorn with a lilac coat as well as purple mane and tail - Starlight Glimmer.

Starlight, once a cold and diabolic dictator with the goal of ensuring cutie marks would never separate friends soon saw the errors of her ways and became the newly crowned princess of friendship's pupil. Ever since Starlight moved into the castle with him and Twilight, he actually grew really close to her as a friend; sure it took a while for her to open up to others, but the dragon soon discovered that she was a very articulate and intelligent mare who also had a heart of gold deep down that could protect her friends whenever they needed her. Plus she had a sarcastic and witty personality, which she and Spike both admired about each other as they would often pester an annoyed alicorn much to her own chagrin.

"Yeah Spike, are you feeling ok? You've been like this for days now." spoke the aforementioned unicorn, displaying as much of a caring expression as Twilight did.

Spike tried to hide his real issues with an awkward smile, but upon further staring into the eyes of the two ponies in front of him, he could tell they weren't buying it as his face fell with an audible sigh.

"Just thinking about...what happened recently." spoke a dejected Spike, telling the half-truth as he didn't want to worry the two magic-wielders with his still apparent concerns about family.

"Oh, Spike." cooed a motherly Twilight. "I'm so sorry about what happened with Sludge. I know you wanted to find out abou..." she began before a dragon quietly shushed her.

"Hey, hey. It's not about that. I already told you that I know who I really am and I wouldn't change that for the world" he said, displaying a sincere moment of warmth as he wanted to reassure Twilight the best as he could.

Twilight seemed more relaxed before a frowning Starlight spoke up, "But still, just because that issue is over doesn't negate the fact that Sludge used and hurt you..." a scowl appearing on her face near the end of her exclamation.

Spike took notice at Starlight's apparent anger with curiosity, "Starlight?"

The unicorn in response quickly shook her head before sighing with a more resentful look, "Sorry. I'm just angry he hurt you like that. You're like a brother to me and I hate to see you like this. I swear if that creature ever steps foot here again I'll..." she began muttering before Spike, with a look of surprise on his face drew her attention.

"Wait, wait! Back up. What was that?" he asked, Twilight and Starlight both looking at him in confusion.

"I'm angry?" Starlight cautiously questioned.

"After that."

"I want to hurt him?"

At this, Spike and Twilight glanced at each other in concern.

"Ok...before that."

"You're like a brother to me?" Starlight finally guessed correctly.

Spike nodded his head in confirmation. "Yeah that!" he exclaimed before he froze and looked down at himself in nervous thought.

"Am I...really like a brother to you?" he almost whispered.

At this utterance, Starlight's eyes widened before she wrapped a hoof around his frame and gave him a soft embrace with a warm smirk, Twilight smiling appreciatively in the distance.

"Of course I am, ya big goof!" she quipped before her smirk was replaced with a serious frown. "Why would you ask that?"

Spike nervously rubbed his claws together as the two ponies once again gazed at him with concern and questioning. It looks like he wouldn't even be able to keep his half-truth for very long as he knew they would keep on bugging him until they got their answer.

"Well, it's just that...I didn't think anypony besides Twilight cared for me like family." he admitted.

A lilac hoof rushed underneath his chin to draw his gaze upwards towards the face of a very serious big sister.

"Spike, of course I see you as family. You and I have made some great memories over the years. You've helped me a lot, especially with some of my...earlier friendship missions." she rubbed her other front hoof sheepishly remembering the failures and problems she caused by worrying about her friendships. "You've helped me grow into the mare I am today and I will always be there for you when you need me." she concluded her speech warmly as she suddenly found a slightly teary-eyed dragon tackling her into a hard hug which she happily returned.

Twilight felt tears threatening her muzzle at the heartwarming display before a thought suddenly sprang in her head.

"Spike. Of course you have other family! What about the girls?" she asked inquisitively.

Spike instantly knew who Twilight was referring to: Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.

The elements.

The dragon stopped the hug as his focus shifted towards the alicorn. He displayed a downcast expression as he spoke.

"They're not really family. We're not even that close. I'm more like their best friend's little brother who they tolerate for a little while." he concluded glumly, much to the apparent horror of Twilight and the wide-eyed concern of Starlight.

"Spike," Twilight began, "you can't honestly believe that. They love you like family" she said, Starlight nodding in agreement.

Spike let out a sarcastic snort at the comment.

"Yeah, right. All those adventures, parties, and hang-outs I wasn't invited to. Just like family." he countered.

Twilight's eyes softened in sympathy, seeing the dragon admit his true heartache.

"Spike, that was mostly my fault. I've honestly forgotten to invite you to a lot of times; but the girls do care. A lot actually- they always wonder where you are or why you weren't invited."

Spike at this, only rolled his eyes.

"Ok, that still doesn't excuse the fact that they never offer me to hang out with them on their own." he muttered.

Starlight finally decided to step into the conversation as she suddenly had an idea from Spike's own admittance.

"Have you ever asked them?" she asked simply.

He sharply froze as the air sucked out of his lungs.

"What?" was all Spike could say as he and Twilight both froze and glanced at Starlight in surprise.

"Have you ever asked any of the girls yourself?" she repeated before elaborating, "Maybe they're just unsure how to approach you alone, seeing as Twilight's always with you" she theorized, grabbing Spike's attention.

"I...I guess I haven't" Spike stuttered, never realizing he hadn't made the push to find out himself. Was he afraid to approach the other girls or had he just assumed they would never want anything to do with him? Either way, it was a new development the dragon hadn't anticipated.

"Then maybe it's time for you to bridge the gap. Make the effort with each of them." Starlight proposed, thinking that the dragon approaching them might alleviate any setbacks the ponies had consulting him one-on-one.

Spike's mind began to sweat as an alarming realization came to mind.

"What if they reject me?"

As Spike began battling with his mind, Twilight suddenly felt a light-bulb go off inside of her head as she had a plan on how to help Spike's relationship with the girls.

"Spike!" she exclaimed, snapping him out of his train of thought.

"I have an idea! You should go on a journey!"

"A journey?" Spike was puzzled. "That didn't exactly work out the last time when I went to the Dragonlands..." he remembered his first solo quest to discover the other dragons after the dragon migration. That didn't end well as he found himself with Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity running away from a whole bunch of teenage dragons all while holding a non-smashed phoenix egg.

Come to think of it, why did his adventures involving dragons always involve some sort of identity crisis?

"No, no. Nothing like that. I meant here in Ponyville. Think of it more like a friendship mission!" Twilight replied.

"A friendship mission?" Spike asked with a pique of interest.

Twilight nodded. "As the Princess of Friendship, I order you, Spike, to go visit each of the five remaining elements. Spend some quality time with them and tell them about what happened to your 'father'" she quoted in disgust. "I'm sure they're curious as to what happened and would be able to help you through it" she spoke with an aura of wisdom in her voice.

The wisdom was cut short by a snarky unicorn.

"Can you really order friendship missions?" Starlight asked, with a smirk and one eyebrow raised.

Twilight gave a friendly glare to her student before focusing back on Spike.

"Ok, maybe not order, but I'd still like you to go. Even if it takes a couple of days, or a week, or longer. I think it'd be good for you"

Spike's mind came to a halt as he pondered what the princess had previously said.

"Wait, they don't know about Sludge?" he questioned.

Twilight shook her head no as she elaborated, "I figured you could be the one to do it."

Spike however seemed skeptical about this and looked at Twilight with a slight dejection in his voice.

"I don't know Twilight. I'm not sure I want to have 15 seconds of pity before the six of you go out on another adventure." he reasoned with a noticeable sense of hurt in his voice.

"Spike, I promise you that I know they care about you. Trust me, I think you could learn quite a lot from doing this."

"What if they just say that?" his mind echoed.

Spike didn't say anything in response, still mulling over the idea. He did have to admit though he grew more tempted at the idea.

"You should at least try." Starlight reasoned.

Twilight, seeing Spike's apprehension and remembering his earlier remarks about abandonment decided to sell the deal.

"You know what, Spike? If you do this, you can release any vent up feelings or doubts you have about the girls. Releasing the stress could be very cathartic and knowing you've been holding it in for years, I'll gladly vouch for you to the others if something goes wrong or they get mad, but I don't think they're going to. Besides, if you open up, maybe that'd help improve your relationships." she spoke in a very business-like tone, trying to appease the dragon's rebuttals.

Spike's eyes widened at that thought. Twilight inwardly smiled as she knew she had him.

"You mean if I was upset about anything they did, I could tell them?" Spike awed, much akin to a child discovering an endless supply of ice cream.

"Mmm hmm" Twilight nodded.

"And I could even spend time with each of them?" Spike asked, eyes glowing brighter.

"I'd finally have closure... I wouldn't have to live in doubt?!" his brain echoed.

"You can have as much time as you need. I'll send you a letter to check in with you every once in a while, but besides that, it's your mission." she nodded sagely.

Spike finally made up his mind. "Alright, I'll do it..." he began before he paused for a split second, "...but what if you're wrong? What if the others don't care or they get mad or..." he rambled before a warm lavender hoof embraced him.

"Then you can always come home, but I know you can do this. And trust me when I say, I think you'll have a family." she spoke with upmost confidence, getting Spike to agree with the usually anxious princess despite his own worries about the mission.

Another hour had passed, before the dragon found himself outside the castle, with a decent-sized (but surprisingly easily manageable) backpack on his back as he looked back at the two ponies formally wishing him good luck.

Starlight approached him and wrapped him in a hug, "Good luck and stay out of trouble." she lightly chastised.

"Who, me?" Spike innocently asked before the two broke out in infectious laughter.

They soon hugged again.

"See you soon, bro."

Spike felt his eyes quivering as he tightened his grip on the hug.

"See you soon... sis."

Then, Spike approached Twilight who tackled him into an over-affectionate hug.

"You'll do great, Spike! I know you've never really felt you had opportunity to be with the girls on your own before. That's why I'm so happy you're going now. I hope you can see how much they love you, almost as much as I do." she softly whispered.

"Thanks Twilight. I... I appreciate you doing this. I love you." he spoke warmly.

"I love you too." she replied, both wishing this hug could last forever before Twilight slowly pulled away.

"Now go see the rest of your family!" she proclaimed with a hoof-wave goodbye, Starlight joining her.

Spike waved a hearty goodbye as well, before taking off towards the center of town.

"A family..." Spike thought, his feet carrying him away from the castle.

"Would they even see me as one?" he debated, before steeling his resolve and setting out on what may not be the most epic quest, but perhaps the most important one.

Author's Note

Here we are with a brand new Spike story. I always love seeing Spike get some attention from the Mane 6 so I think this story will be a great one to write. (*The show itself didn't do this too often, so I'm excited to do it now*)

Despite this not being an "Adventure" tag type of story, I will warn all of you that I plan to have a ton of drama and emotional moments ahead, so if that's not your cup of tea....

But regardless, I hope you follow Spike and discover the important ponies he comes across on the way.

-frenettek314

Rarity: "Here's Spikey-Wikey!"

Spike, fresh on his journey from the comfort that was Twilight's castle took the time to decide which of the five ponies he should tackle first. Truth be told, he didn't want any of them to go first because that was implying he was starting a very emotional quest for himself - finally figuring out what each of his supposed friends meant to him. He was already dreading the idea of opening himself up and possibly releasing some of his frustrations onto them.

"What if they get upset? What if they don't like me? What if they..." Spike started hyperventilating, his thoughts already overwhelming him like a swarm of angry bees; but then a calm presence echoed in his head:

"I know you can do this!"

Twilight.

Twilight, the one who had suggested this mission in the first place, she believed that he and the others could work out any sort of problem between them. She believed they could help him. She believed they loved him.

She believed in him.

With newfound resolve, Spike figured out where he was going first as he started heading towards a very familiar boutique.

Many who knew the drake long enough to understand the dynamic between dragon and unicorn would question why he would've chosen her first out of all the other ponies on his objective, especially considering they figured she would be the hardest for him to conquer.

While they would have a point, seeing as Spike found himself closest to Rarity (not easing his nervousness at all), he found himself thinking that she would be the easiest one to talk to out of all of them; it would just be the conversation itself that was difficult as he really didn't want to ruin the relationship between them at all.

But if he got the most difficult out of the way first, the rest would be a breeze he figured, hoping for some sort of "ripping off a band-aid" confidence boost.

In the honest opinion of the resident dragon, Rarity was the most beautiful being he had ever witnessed. Perhaps it was just the sweet, innocent puppy love that Spike harbored for the unicorn all these years, but the dragon could swear he was staring into the eyes of an angel. True, while his infatuations for the mare slowly subsided with time, his feelings for her were still there; he knew she was out of his reach and the day she finally does, he would be the first one to cheer her on - but he still loved her with much of his beating heart. It ached him to know that she would eventually find someone else, but he still considered her one of his best friends and she always would be until the day he was no longer a part of this world.

Rarity herself, the Element of Generosity lived up to her name as she often gave more than she could ever receive. Often taking more clothing requests than she should honestly handle at some points, the baby dragon wondered how she even managed to survive - especially on top of her vibrant social life, her management of three very successful fashion shops, and most importantly, her dedication to her friends. She was truly one of the most giving ponies he had ever met and while others may consider her a bit of a 'drama queen' at points, her good qualities certainly overrode any negatives.

Spike was always willing to help Rarity no matter what, regardless of any other feelings he may have pined for her. To do the beautiful unicorn any sort of favor was always a welcome idea to Spike as he had admittedly spent more than a few nights over at her boutique to finish any late-night orders she found herself in. If he wasn't with Twilight or on his own somewhere in town, chances were he was at the boutique, waiting claw and foot for the fashionista who had captured him so.

But as Spike began to inch ever closer to the entrance of the boutique, one potent question appeared in his mind.

"Why do I do this?"

Again, Spike was always willing to help Rarity with whatever she needed, but Spike also found it difficult to think of many examples where that service was returned. She let him stay at the boutique during their late night hours, but he never would've thought the unicorn would kick him out after midnight. She fed him a few gems whenever they went gem-hunting, but he was always the one who did the digging, so it was more out of politeness than anything. As Spike recapped various expeditions, errands, and demands he would go out of his way to do for her, he realized the same couldn't be said.

Other than the Dragonlands quests, or the time a deaf Rarity got captured by a giant Roc bird, she more so used him to her advantage than anything else. When were the other times where he could've been invited in on the fun or when she could've been there for him? He wasn't really included in the gang's gala plans, He was uninvited to Twilight's birthday party in Canterlot that she had hosted, He was all alone during the Equestria Games events, but perhaps the worst thing that Rarity had done... she used him as a pin cushion. A literal pin cushion. When she had discovered that his scales were resistant to the pains of her sewing needles, rather than setting them down anywhere else, she inserted them into his back - barely able to move from the number of them she had.

Spike would seemingly go to the ends of the earth for Rarity and yet outside the few times she actually helped him, he was just a pin cushion. A push over. Something she expected would leisurely follow her at every whim. In fact at some points, it seemed like...

Spike abruptly paused and gasped as a realization came to his mind. She wasn't using his attraction to take advantage of him...was she?

Spike quickly shook his head to push away the thought. He wasn't going to assume said accusation right away. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt - and besides he wouldn't want to push such a heavy topic like that right out of the gate. Even if Twilight said he should communicate his thoughts and frustrations, he didn't want to scare the unicorn off right away; he really wanted to make sure their friendship stayed intact.

But even if a friendship stays 'intact', what if he wanted it to be better?

As Spike began thinking about how he wanted to open up his approach concerning the mission, he realized he hit the front door of the Carousel Boutique with his noggin, but it was too late.

With a loud THUD, Spike immediately recoiled backwards onto his back at the sudden pain that had hit his head.

Apparently though, he would no longer have to knock as a curious white unicorn with a fabulous purple mane opened the door, looking around for her guest before she found him still on the ground, clutching his head in pain.

"Ah, Spikey-Wikey. So nice of you to drop by." she ironically said obliviously.

"Off to a great start..." the dragon internally muttered, being offered a helping hoof before being led inside.

After a few frantic minutes of making sure the poor drake's head was alright, the prim and proper unicorn allowed herself a moment of relief before she sat down on one of her many comfortable couches, directly across from another hosting the dragon in question.

As Spike glanced around the common room of Rarity's boutique, he always marveled at how it was structured. Compared to Rarity's work rooms and closets which contained what she herself called "organized chaos", the common room was always spotless; an elegant table with only the finest table cloth sat in the middle while a few couches sat around it. Portraits and other framed photos of Rarity and her family decorated the walls of the room, giving it a sophisticated and yet personal vibe, almost like something you would see out of a museum painting.

Rarity's voice however managed to snap Spike out of his own admiration as she began to take notice of the backpack around the dragon's frame.

"So Spike, I can't help but notice the bag you've got proclaimed on the back. You do know those will be in season in a few more months right?" the unicorn asked, wondering if the dragon was attempting to make an odd, yet bold fashion choice.

Spike took notice of the bag himself and knew at that moment that he could no longer escape from this situation. Regrettably, he sighed.

"No, that's not it... you see, i'm sort of on a journey." he weakly replied, rubbing his claws together in anxiousness.

This got Rarity's interest, much like how a detective novel would.

"A journey, you say. Whatever for darling? Is this something you and your father are doing?" she asked with a cute tilt to the head.

While Spike himself would normally comment on the cuteness of said tilting gesture, he was unable to as any confidence he had left quickly vanished upon the mentioning of the supposed parental figure.

"Right, they don't know. Not looking forward to doing this a bunch of times." he thought, as his exterior was unable to produce any words; his eyes were suddenly fascinated with the floor tiling as he couldn't manage to look at the troubled pony in front of him.

After a few moments of rather awkward silence between the two, Rarity looked at Spike with overwhelming concern, slowly reaching over to put a hoof on his shoulder.

"Spikey?" she quietly muttered, not used to seeing the dragon so quiet around her.

"He lied" he suddenly muttered, abruptly stopping the white hoof from coming into contact as she quickly pulled away, freezing up faster than a dress in a blizzard snowstorm.

"I beg your pardon?" she breathily aired, not even realizing she said anything until the drake elaborated.

"He was never my father. I found out that he only pretended to be just so he could stay at the castle." he emotionlessly answered, finally glancing up at the unicorn with an utter look of defeat.

Rarity froze as she felt a stabbing pain in my heart. This cute little baby dragon she absolutely adored was taken advantage of by means of parental questioning. She couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of pain Spike was in right now.

"Oh, Spikey-Wikey." she softly whispered, slowly getting out of her seat and approaching the dragon with a soft hug, tears peaking out of the corners of her eyes.

"I'm so sorry."

Spike hesitated for a second, contemplating whether he should accept the hug or not before he ultimately accepted it with all his being.

"It's ok... I'll be..." he paused, thinking of how to continue "I will be fine eventually." he concluded with a smooth layer of optimism in his tone.

As the hug had naturally ended, Spike decided it was time to explain the rest of the story.

"That's why I'm on this journey, I guess. Twilight wanted me to tell each of the girls what happened with Sludge and for some reason... bond I guess?" he finished quizzically, not sure what to really expect from that part of the plan.

At this, Rarity's ears perked up as she gazed at Spike with a layer of warmth.

"Oh, Spike! That's a wonderful idea, darling! I'm sure seeing the others for a while will help you deal with some of the pain you're feeling."

"Even if part of the pain involves them?" he internally sighed before addressing the unicorn, a hint of optimism still with him.

"Really, you think so?"

"Absolutely darling!" she drawled before a brilliant idea dawned on her. "In fact, I have an idea that will cheer you right up" she marveled in glee as she went right up and nuzzled Spike's soft cheek.

Spike's optimism grew ten-fold as he finally felt more confident with Twilight's mission. "R---really?" he asked, eyes glistening in awe and excitement.

"Absolutely! Follow me!" Rarity proudly proclaimed, Spike cheerfully following behind her as the two ventured up the stairs of the boutique.

"This is going to be great!"

"This is the worst..." Spike miserably muttered as he felt the prick of a sewing needle clinging to the fabric on his arm.

"Just hold still, darling. I've got to make sure these measurements are perfect." she mindlessly answered, perfectly unaware of the dragon's growing dread.

Turns out Rarity's brilliant idea on spending time with Spike was by helping her fill her new shipment of orders.

"Of course it's work with Rarity when I'm around. It's always work."

Spike hollowly smiled as he endured the hours of labor and assistance Rarity requested of him. Sure, this was the exact opposite of what he needed right now, but he figured if he toughed this out long enough, they could finally do something else.

"At least one of us is happy right now." he sighed, trying to prevent himself from actually spouting his distaste.

As Rarity continued her threading and measurements on the modeled outfit, she decided to make small-talk as to not fill the room with an eerie silence.

"Ah, this is nice isn't it Spike?"

"Yep. Sure is..." Spike smiled as he clenched his teeth, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

"I know that it hurts now darling, but trust me when I say you're better off without Sludge. Besides you have others like me around."

"Yeah, wouldn't want me to miss out on being your source of labor." Spike bitterly thought. Suddenly, his earlier assumption that the unicorn was taking advantage of him seemed like it held a kernel of truth to it.

"And I know you'll have a fun time with the others as well!" she smiled with a small snicker of glee.

Spike's smile flashed genuinely for a second. At least that's a positive thing to think about. What could the others...

"You could buck apples with Applejack, help Pinkie with the bakery and Fluttershy with the animals. You may even help Rainbow..." she rattled on, though Spike was no longer paying attention as his smile visibly fell into a look of agitation.

"Work. It's always work with her. Does she think I live and breathe to serve others?" he groaned in his head.

"Now calm down, Spike. I'm sure Rarity doesn't mean to..." he tried to reasonably calm himself before the voice of a unicorn caught his attention.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Spikey-Wikey" she innocently cooed. "I can't even imagine a creature taking advantage of such a sweet little dragon like you..."

"That's it!"

"Like you?" Spike harshly growled in a low utterance, all the air in the room suddenly froze as he could feel several pins drop onto the floor.

To say Rarity was shocked would've been an understatement; upon hearing the dragon's rather pointed question, the unicorn suddenly lost all control of her magic, various pins and needles clattering to the ground as she herself found her brain froze in concern. She turned to look at the dragon in utter bafflement.

"I'm sorry?" she whispered, not wanting to believe her Spikey-Wikey would say such a thing.

Spike felt himself hit with a pang of guilt as he realized what he had just vocalized; but suddenly, that hesitation turned into resolve as he realized he couldn't hold in these thoughts anymore. Twilight was right. He needed to let them out, and no matter what happened next, it would be for the better for them to happen now than later.

Spike gave a deep sigh in frustration, calming himself before he faced the unicorn, his eyes sharply narrowed.

"You say you wouldn't imagine anyone taking advantage of me, but just think about yourself here. Everytime I come over here, I find myself being wrapped up in some favor to please you! Whether it be gem collecting, modelling, whatever, it always comes back to benefiting you. I do it to be a good, supportive friend but I'm finally sick of it! You think I like working all the time?!"

Rarity stuttered, unable to speak coherently as her eyes started to water.

"Bu... you... you always..." she stuttered helplessly.

Thankfully, Spike seemed to pick up on what she was trying to get at.

"Yes, I myself volunteered a lot of times, you're right. But after awhile, I did it less out of trying to be nice and more being worried about trying to please you and thinking what would happen if I suddenly stopped." he paused, before his eyes steeled even more, turning into a harsher glare.

"But that doesn't excuse the fact that I know you knew I had a crush on you. You never stopped to consider I was just doing this to please you. In fact, I think it made everything worse because you've used your looks to get me to do you a favor on multiple occasions!"

By now, Rarity was full on crying as she looked at Spike with immediate regret.

"Spike..." she silently worded out.

"And what about me, huh? Besides the two Dragonlands trips, when have you been there for me?! Heck, you even threw Twilight a birthday party in Canterlot and didn't even think of inviting me! You think about others all the time but when it comes to me, it's all the sudden 'Oh what can Spike do for me today?!'" he exclaimed, eyes clenched shut in hurt.

"Spike... I didn't mean to..." Rarity tried to start, but was cut off one last time.

The dragon suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the unicorn with grim defeat oozing out of him.

"I'm done. I'm sorry, but I couldn't keep that in any longer. I just... you say that I shouldn't have family that uses me, but I'm not sure if I want you included either. It's just too much now. I'm done!" he sniffled as he began exiting the throne room, passing by the mare who simply turned over her shoulder in shock, before finding his backpack downstairs on the couch where he had left it.

As he placed the backpack on and began to leave, a raspy voice called out to him from behind.

"Spike! Please wait!"

Before the dragon had the chance to turn around and address the voice, he suddenly found himself forced into the tightest most suffocating hug he ever had been a part of. At first, he thought Pinkie had sneaked behind him and braced him, yet as he saw traces of a white coat he knew who it was.

"Spike, sweetie..." Rarity choked out, holding back tears as she rubbed her hooves on the dragon's scaly back. "I'm so sorry... I-I never realized that you felt this way. I-I didn't know... but I should've... I-I just..." she sobbed, before another idea came into fruition, hoping this one would make up for all her previous ones.

"Spike..." she began after taking a moment to calm down, releasing Spike and placing him directly in front of her. "...there's something I want you to see..."

Spike just sighed, not too keen on this idea. "Rarity, I don't..." but was shushed by a white delicate hoof blocking his lips.

"Please just trust me on this one. After that, if you never want to speak to me again, I'll understand."

Rarity was playing a high-stakes game now. A game Spike knew she wouldn't play if she wasn't fully confident in it. With that in mind, Spike reluctantly followed her back upstairs, but this time in a different room. Her bedroom.

The dragon had never been invited to Rarity's personal quarters before. Normally, the pony would comment on "never peeking into a lady's room" or some form of chivalry like that, but for her to want him in there grabbed his attention. Whenever Spike was over on one of his many visits overnight, he'd find himself on one of the couches in the common room - not that he was complaining - nothing like a fainting couch to lull him to sleep - but still this was a rare circumstance.

Once Rarity opened the door to her room, inviting the dragon in, she quickly trotted over to a big foamy mattress - her bed, before motioning for him to look above it with a hoof, gesturing to something hanging on the wall. Spike squinted in puzzlement for a brief second at the wall before he silently gasped, his mouth left gaping as he found what looked to be a ruby heart framed on the wall. And not just any ruby heart...

"R--rarity. Th-this isn't... is it..." Spike stammered, gazing up at the majestic gem currently displayed before Rarity continued in a tone etched with warmth and fondness.

"It is. It's the fire ruby you gave me right before your birthday." she commented heavenly, clearly taken back by the memories surrounding it with an aura of peace and longing.

"You...you kept it?" Spike asked, his eyes peeled to the shape in awe as he felt his body stiffen in place.

"Indeed I did. It is one of my most precious keepsakes after all. Someone very special in my life gave it to me." she responded, turning to him with an all-knowing smile caved on her face.

Spike's eyes began to water in appreciation at the sentiment.

"Maybe she does care; but that still doesn't explain..."

"Look underneath." her voice cut out his inner musings.

"Huh?" he questioned back in bewilderment, finally looking at the unicorn with one eyebrow raised.

Rarity, however glued her attention back to the wall, her smile still on her face but this time he could see tears slowly falling down her cheek as she seemed utterly captivated by something.

"Look underneath the heart. The plaque underneath." she pointed out, waiting for Spike to figure it out on his own.

With great caution, Spike slowly walked closer to the bed, before glancing up at the wall again to get a better look at the gem and it's hidden message underneath.

Spike. My Little Brother Forever. etched in beautiful calligraphy.

Spike's heart completely stopped as he frantically found himself reading and re-reading the quote, seemingly mesmerized by it's mere existence as tears rapidly began to fall from his cheeks.

"B----brother?" Spike stammered out weakly, worried that he was dreaming.

Rarity, tears fresh on her face too, simply nodded as she walked over and stroked Spike's shoulder with a hoof.

"Always."

Spike couldn't take it anymore as he instinctively tackled Rarity and embraced her lower body, gripping himself tightly before letting out a multitude of high-pitched sobs, burying himself in the soft fur of the unicorn who had done this to him.

Rarity simply hugged him back and left the room fill with only sobs for what seemed like hours before he had finally stopped, indicating to her it was her time to speak.

"Spike. You are one of the most generous beings I know. You've always been there for me and I appreciate everything you do. I consider you a brother to me, but in truth, I have failed you as a big sister. I should've been there more in the past for you - all those adventures we did, all those times with the girls..."

Spike silently gazed up at her, showing that he was listening before she prodded on.

"But I didn't realize that and I'm sorry. In fact, I have a bigger confession to make."

"All this time, I kept inviting you and asking you to do favors and errands with me because I thought they made you happy. I remember when the very idea of you helping me gave you the biggest smile imaginable, so I always thought that the times you spent making dresses and digging gems with me... I thought they were things you wanted to do. I had no idea you felt like you were obligated to do them to get my attention."

"Rarity..." Spike whispered, but Rarity continued.

"But that was wrong of me to never think or ask you what you wanted. I want you to know that you should never have to feel like you owe me just to spend time with me. I should've made a more conscious effort towards your feelings and I hope that you can forgive me. From now on, I want us to be more open with each other like a family should."

Spike couldn't stop crying at this point, even if he wanted to. Finally, he found his voice.

"Rarity, this is my fault too. If I had told you how I was feeling in the first place..." but was forcibly cut off by the familiar white hoof from earlier.

"Now Spike, I will have none of that! We both could've communicated better, yes, but it wasn't your fault! You've been doing everything for me whereas I have yet to even attempt and return the favor."

Then, Rarity leaned down and softly whispered, "Spike, I love you. You're my baby brother. And I want to protect you from here on out. I want us to be better together because we both deserve to be happy. What do you say we spend some time doing some actual family bonding, hmm?"

Spike couldn't help but smile fondly in return as he gripped Rarity's neck in agreement.

"Wouldn't have it any other way... sis."

Over the course of the next three days, Spike had decided to stay with Rarity and catch up with his brand new big sister he never thought he had - and boy would he be the first to tell you they were probably some of the best days he ever experienced.

They had played rousing games of one-on-one buckball (even despite Rarity's usual cynicism to sports and the process of getting her coat dirty). They had gone one day to explore the bustling streets of Manehatten and gone on to see the show he had missed out on previously. They had walks in the park, a wide variety of board games, a surprisingly intense pillow fight and so much more. Spike got to choose most of these activities himself and he had loved every second of it, spending time with the unicorn who couldn't have been in a greater state of bliss herself.

Finally, on the evening of the third day, Spike had decided it was time to set out and find another one of the girls he was destined to find on his quest. Rarity gave him a sharp hug (along with a few gems in case he got hungry) as he was ready to venture out once more.

"Are you sure you'll be fine finishing those orders? I'm sorry you had to..."

"Darling! For the last time, I took that break myself and I am perfectly capable of getting myself back on track. Besides, there are some things more important than work wouldn't you say?" she questioned with a well-meaning smirk.

Spike couldn't help but chuckle heartily as he addressed back.

"I guess you're right, sis."

Rarity warmly smiled back at the dragon's newfound title for her, which she took in great stride.

"Off to find more family?"

"Hopefully." Spike faithfully answered back, now seemingly much more comfortable and willing to take part in this mission before he had stumbled into the boutique a couple days earlier.

"I know you will. Good luck Spike." she whispered as she lovingly embraced him one more time, before seeing him off.

Spike began walking into the cool, crisp sunset - ready to start a new chapter no matter what happened next; because he knew he always had a ruby heart inside him that would shine forever on.

"My Spikey-Wikey." a voice was heard in the distance, before proceeding to go back inside, the call of her job arising once again.

Author's Note

Spike's first step in his quest is over - and what a step it was!

Truth be told, I always have difficulty writing Rarity. I love seeing her over-the-top dramatics, but other times I find it difficult to characterize her (either when she's 'too snooty' or 'overly fashionable'). But I think I was able to focus on the Spike/Rarity dynamic quite well.

Hoping you guys like this chapter and I hope to have another one up soon.

Please let me know if you have any comments, suggestions, etc.

Sincerely,

-frenettek314

Pinkie Pie: "Sugar and Spike"

"Maybe I should've stayed with Rarity for one more night..." Spike nervously thought as his walking, which had began at a beautiful late sunset, soon found himself strolling through near empty streets under the mystical gaze of Luna's moon.

The dragon didn't really understand why he chose to embark so late in the evening - he could've stayed with the more than hospitable unicorn until morning; after all they were siblings now and siblings helped each other out. But as Spike contemplated this, he realized that Rarity had done more than help him over the last few days they shared. She practically gave him a shining beacon of hope that told him he was loved; all the games they had played, all the feelings they shared, she made him feel like he was worth it and he couldn't be more grateful.

The cost however came at the expense of Rarity's workload. The unicorn had told Spike that she needed a break and had more than enough room to do so, but he knew deep down that the work would come back to rear it's head sooner or later. As such, Spike figured he'd leave as soon as the both of them were in high spirits - one more night there could mean a dozens more dresses later and what's the sense in doing that when they already had three whole days worth of bonding? As he found himself shuffling in the vacant sounds of the night, Spike reassured himself that he and Rarity could spend more time soon enough and that was more than fine with him - however a bigger question suddenly reappeared in his mind.

Where was he going to sleep tonight?

As the drake began to mull over his options for shelter, a sudden glimmer captured his attention as he squinted his eyes to focus on the source of the light. A shiny pink and white building with a giant cupcake on top had beckoned for his presence to come ever closer; an all too familiar building that Spike was both grateful to see and yet also hesitant to walk towards, for he knew what would awaken if he dared take the chance on the comforts of the seemingly warm bakery - a certain pony by the name of Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie - the Element of Laughter herself. When Spike and Twilight had first arrived in Ponyville, they would've never imagined a pony or any creature for that matter capable of performing impossible feats that seemed to defy all traits of logic and common sense, all while hosting the most inviting smile they had ever seen.

But Pinkie seemed to have a gift for the impossible; for indeed, every little thing she did left the dragon in particular with an odd mixture of awe, wonder, fear, and bewilderment - all before turning into graceful acceptance.

Known as Ponyville's Premier Party Pony as well as one of the best bakers in Equestria, No one exactly knew how she could manage to host every single party, holiday, and gathering off the top of her head and cater as well, but the earth pony herself would merely shrug in what could be considered a humble act.

The truth of the matter was that Pinkie went to such impossible lengths because she had a simple, yet profound philosophy on life - she simply wanted to make others smile. With that thought, Spike couldn't help but smile himself. Pinkie was probably one of the most selfless mares he had ever met (even surpassing the lengths of ponies like Rarity and Fluttershy in some regards); she lived to create joy and happiness everywhere she happily bounced. Pinkie would do absolutely anything in her seemingly limitless power just to see others with any sort of grin, smirk, or chuckle she could get with a confetti cannon or a cupcake or two.

Like Rarity, Spike worried she took on more than she could possibly handle but the pony herself would politely disagree, probably saying something along the lines of "My Pinkie Powers will never rest" or something similar. While Pinkie's over-the-top antics to create some sort of fun or excitement could indeed be perceived as annoying or overbearing, even to her closest friends, they could never stay mad at her - she truly had the best intentions in her big bubbly heart and it was a rare thing to see in a world where sadness could be equally prevalent. Simply put, the world could use more Pinkie Pies (though not a whole army of clones at once). Her awkwardness and lack of social cues may be seen by some as a lack of intelligence but by no means was this true. Anyone who knew her long enough could attest that despite her overly happy and excited demeanor, she was a surprisingly smart mare deep down - knowing some surprising in's and out's about the workings of life and her logic, along with the capacity to pull through in desperate measures. Pinkie had her own way of thinking, but by Celestia it was an oddly brilliant spectacle to behold.

As Spike began thinking about his pink pony friend however, he thought of one thing that always seemed to bug him - her laughter. By no means was he saying it was a bad laugh or it was annoying, she truly had a wonderful laugh that could probably perk up any foal with it's mere presence. The main problem was the target of her laughter.

All too often, Spike could remember instances where the party pony's laughter was directed towards him, almost more so than any of their other friends. Being a primary target of her and Rainbow Dash's pranks was one reason, but the others seemed less...friendly. Whenever Spike was gifted the chance to be involved with the rest of the Elements, he very frequently found himself to be a sort of physical and emotional punching bag; whether he was hit with some form of comedic slapstick or a joke was played on his expense, the other ponies would unknowingly send their shrill, painful laughs at him - and the leader of those laughs always happened to be one Pinkie Pie.

It hurt to be laughed at all the time, to possibly be seen as nothing more than a source of comedic relief - a subtle indication that he was worth nothing more than a cheap laugh and some embarrassment. Maybe Pinkie didn't intentionally mean for it to happen that way, but it still hurt the dragon nonetheless. Besides this, Spike had instances where the normally perfect memory of Pinkie had forgotten about him much like the other girls; but the one that stung the worst still to this day was Maud's visit. When Pinkie's sister was first visiting Ponyville, she had hosted a huge celebration for all her friends to get to know the monotone pony better.

All her friends...except him apparently.

Even their pets were welcomed to join in Maud's company, yet the dragon himself was unaware until she had already left. They had even made decorated rock-candy necklaces which Spike would've loved to help make, yet he was thrown out of the loop for that as well. Pinkie usually thought of every creature, every single detail and whatnot to create the perfect party or recipe... so why was he forgotten?

As Spike inched ever closer to the entrance of the bakery, the lights still on indicating someone was up, Spike internally sighed as he contemplated what one of the friendliest, outgoing mares meant to him.

"Am I nothing more than a joke to her?"

With that thought in mind, Spike slowly paused before taking a quick step back around, beginning to walk away with anxiety.

"Maybe Rarity's isn't such a bad idea after all."

But the dragon was unable to get very far, as before he was aware of what was happening, the door to the bakery quickly opened as a pink blur of light instantly grabbed onto him and carried him inside; the blur displaying a concerned face as she almost flew inside.

"Spike? What are you doing out? It's too late for a nighttime run! Let's get you inside!" she quickly quipped before placing him down suddenly and closing the door behind her.

"Well, I guess this is happening no matter what." he steeled himself, seeing his exit being closed in front of him.

As Pinkie proceeded to walk towards the young dragon, she smiled and sighed a breath of relief.

"Thank goodness I saved you. Now you don't have to be in the dark all alone." she flashed him a grin before realizing the oddity of the situation and raising her eyebrows in confusion, her head tilted slightly.

"Wait a minute - what were you even doing out this late anyways? I never see you out there without Twilight." she asked, seemingly worried for the dragon's safety.

Spike sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, not expecting the usually cheery pony to display concern right away. Sighing to collect his thoughts, he muttered slowly.

"It's...kind of a long story."

Pinkie's smile returned as her head immediately perked back up - a reaction that would've happened too fast for any creature that wasn't her.

"Ooo... like a bedtime story? That will be perfect for our sleepover!"

Spike rapidly blinked in confusion, definitely not expecting that reaction.

"Wait? Sleepover?"

"Of course!" the mare replied nonchalantly. "If you're outside my door late at night, that means you were hoping to see me. And seeing me this late, it would be great to have a sleepover so we don't have to worry about getting you home too late."

Spike raised a claw to his chin in thought.

"Huh. I guess that makes sense..." he began before he suddenly remembered the pink menace that had dragged him inside from seemingly out of nowhere. "But how did you know I was even out there? Or that I was here for you?"

Pinkie blinked in a split second of processing the new questions before she waved a hoof absentmindedly.

"Oh that. The ol' Pinkie sense - Whenever my tail rotates counterclockwise, I can taste 3 grains of salt on my tongue, and my hoof is bleeding, that means a friend needs my help and they have incredibly bad news they need to get off their chest!" she trailed off, waving what was in fact a bleeding hoof in front of Spike's field of vision.

"Umm... should your hoof still be bleeding?" he cautiously asked, hoping to not upset the pony in front of him.

Pinkie glanced at it with curiosity before dismissing the concern. "Pffft. It's fine. It's just a little cut."

Spike, however felt uncomfortable with the pony displaying any amounts of pain or hurt as he tried to rationally reason with her.

"Well, I think you should put a Band-Aid on it before we start the sleepover." he replied, hoping to appease to the energetic bundle of pink.

Pinkie gazed at him with a slight scoff, her eyebrows slightly narrowing to show she wasn't that concerned.

"Spike, I'm fine really. It doesn't even hurt."

Spike decided to counter his with his ace in the hole - a tactic he knew the mare couldn't refuse.

"So if I started bleeding, I wouldn't need a band-aid?" he chastised as to scold the older pony in front of him.

Pinkie gasped in shock before grabbing onto his cheeks with her hooves in a startled fashion.

"What?! Of course if you were bleeding you'd need one. I wouldn't want to see you..." she trailed off before realizing what Spike was getting at and placing him gently down in defeat.

"Fine!" she muttered, making a quick face of faux frustration the dragon recognized as joking but appreciative. "If you care about me that much, I'll do it. But you meet me upstairs with your long story mister!" she quickly prodded before trotting off to the bathroom.

Spike gave a devilish smirk as he made his way upstairs in a victory sort of fashion.

"Nice try Pinks, but I've been living with Twilight for all my life. I know how to reason with stubborn."

Pinkie's bedroom was... honestly not what anyone would've expected from the hyperactive party planner. Sure she had bundles of party supplies everywhere and her room always smelled like frosting for some very weird reason, but the entirety of the room itself was... very organized.

Instead of a bunch of clutter everywhere, balloons, streamers, and other decorations were categorized in a very orderly fashion. Honestly, she could give Twilight a run for her money in terms of organization skills. Then again, Spike also reasoned that with how many parties Pinkie threw, she had no choice but to be organized, lest she live her life in an endless sea of party favors; that and he also had to reason the party cave's massive existence underneath the cake's house that stored most of Pinkie's stuff anyways. Regardless, Spike admired Pinkie's tidiness considering her usual personality. He waited for several minutes in the bright pink room before an equally bright pink pony made her appearance.

Pinkie performed her usual bounce before she leapt several feet in the air to dive bomb on top of the same bed Spike was currently sitting on the edge of. With a sudden bounce, Spike held on for dear life as the pink cannonball giggled violently before settling down and wrapping her hoof around the dragon's body.

"So, what has you here at the House of Pinks?" she asked with a slight dialect for effect.

Spike flashed an upsided grin before settling back down.

"One step at a time. Just like last time. You can do this."

"You remember Sludge, right?"

Pinkie rapidly nodded in confirmation. "Of course, silly. He's your dad. Your drago-dad. Your dad that really likes my cupcakes. Speaking of which we should..."

"He's not my dad."

And just like that, Pinkie's rambling had immediately ceased like a train without any coal left. Her pupils shrunk to the size of pins before trying to form some cohesiveness of a sentence, her gaze fixed on the wallowing drake the whole time.

"Huh?" was all she could say.

"He faked being my dad in order to keep living at the castle. Smolder and I found out and he took off." he summarized, eyes transfixed on the floor in some sort of trance, not really sure how Pinkie would react.

The earth pony herself was at a loss of words. She was expecting some kind of funny incident that would result in her and Spike being forced to live together, not a heartbreaking tale of parental deception and manipulation. Pinkie saw how sad Spike looked. She was sad from seeing how Spike looked. As the silence between the two prolonged however, she knew she had to say something, anything! But what could she say? She cheered up ponies when they were having a bad day, not when they found out a parent wasn't real!

"Spike thought he had a part of himself figured out, but it was all a lie by some big meanie! I have to say something, but I don't know what to do. Why did he come to me with this?! Uh-oh, better think of something fast..."

"Well... at least you don't have to worry about Father's Day anymore...?" she hastily pointed out, an attempt at a wide grin etched painfully on her face. Hopefully Spike could buy the smile she thought.

Thankfully, or rather un-thankfully, Spike did buy the smile as his eyes widened in horror from the floor, only to stare at the pink pony with a rather broad toothy grin burrowing it's way into his soul.

"She's trying to make jokes about this?"

"And you know, a dad's not always cracked up to be. Except they don't crack, because then they would be eggs..." she trailed off, wincing in pain upon realizing what her brain was absently telling her mouth to say.

"What am I even saying?"

"Y--yeah." Spike hesitantly staged a laugh, feeling very uncomfortable with Pinkie's attempts at humor, but ultimately deciding it was best to try and avoid it.

After another minute or so, Spike decided to take another shot at a conversation.

"So... I've just been... lonely with all of this... and I was wondering if maybe I could spend tomorrow with you?" he asked, hoping this wouldn't turn into another joke at his expense.

"Oh, thank Celestia! Something I can work with!" Pinkie silently prayed.

"Of course, Spike!" her smile turning genuine "We can do whatever you want to do tomorrow. I can even help you bake those cupcakes with gemstones you love so much..." before she realized something, "...except I ran out of gemstones..."

Then Spike, suddenly remembering the gems Rarity gave him before he left the boutique, quickly beamed up.

"I actually have some in my backpack we can use." he claimed, a slight smile flashing on his face.

"Perfect!" Pinkie exclaimed, quickly wrapping the dragon in a hug. "Then it's settled. Tomorrow will be Spinkie Day! That's Spike and Pinkie mixed together! It'll just be the two of us!"

Spike suddenly realized he hadn't seen or heard word from the Cakes or their twins since he got to the bakery.

"Wait, where are the Cakes?" he questioned.

"They're on vacation for a week or so. So it'll just be the two of us! Just you, me, and any customer that may come in between 8AM and 6PM..."

"...No parents around to bother us!" Pinkie proclaimed before she realized what she had just said.

The pony mentally face-hoofed herself. "Why did I say that?! I need to stop!"

Spike just froze as he cradled his way out of the hug, before glancing at Pinkie nervously with a shaky smile.

"Sure... that sounds good." he whispered, before he brought his head back down to his knees once again.

Pinkie felt her heart drop at Spike's downfallen expression.

"Oh, no Spike! I'm sorry, I'm trying! I just don't know how..."

"Here! You can sleep in the bed with me tonight! I don't bite and Gummy doesn't have teeth..." she quickly paused, motioning towards her beloved pet alligator in the distance, "...so you'll be all safe and snuggly until morning." she mentally made sure she would be providing no more hiccups tonight.

Spike just looked up at her and gave her the best reassuring smile he could muster.

"Thanks, Pinkie. I appreciate it." he said before he hopped himself up completely on the bed as Pinkie turned out the lights, anxious to regroup her thoughts and try her best tomorrow.

"Good night Spikey." she tried to warmly coo.

"I promise you I'll make this up to you. Somehow..."

"Good night, Pinkie." Spike replied in return before closing his eyes as he snuggled into the warm pony's fur.

"I really am just a joke to her..."

The awkward pair had both gotten up bright and early the following morning, although neither one seemed to find the right words to say to each other as the pair nervously grinned whenever they caught one looking at the other. Breakfast had been a silent affair of donuts and muffins - the pastries themselves were amongst the most delicious treats Spike had ever tasted, the stifling conversation between them - not so much.

Finally, after the very tense meal, the two made their way to the main part of the shop, ready to open for any pony willing to have their taste buds pleasured. At first, Spike had anticipated a rush of ponies entering the store - frantically trying to gain their hooves on a delectable morsel or two - but in reality, business was usual - not dead but not overwhelming either - something the pink wave of energy could accomplish without so much as breaking a sweat.

The duo silently found themselves invested in their work - Pinkie chatting with customers while making as many baked goods as she could, while Spike took orders and delivered to tables in a manner similar to how Twilight would ask for a book or scroll. The two were in a good rhythm as everything ran like clockwork, everyone satisfied and leaving behind their praises.

After a while of having a steady pace of customers obtaining breakfast, the line was empty, something Pinkie indicated would be the case outside of a straggler or two until early afternoon. With that realization made, Pinkie eagerly declared it was "Spinkie Cupcake Time", having forgotten her earlier anxiousness as the making of cupcakes filled her insides with a tingling bliss that very few other things could.

Spike proceeded to gather the gems from his backpack upstairs while Pinkie instantly gathered the remaining ingredients with such ease and precision, one might say she could do it blindfolded. As Spike walked in with the gems, Pinkie flashed him an eager, confident smile.

"Are you ready for cupcakes, mi scaly friend?" she challenged.

Spike immediately found his confidence, along with his cocky smirk back as he replied to the pink mare.

"Ready!"

"Maybe things will be alright after all." Spike silently hoped, as the two instantly began mixing the ingredients.

Cupcake preparation was going swimmingly as the two worked in perfect tandem, preparing measurements of ingredients and mixing batter with precision as the two were finally on to the last step of the plan - placing the gemstone cupcakes in the oven.

As Pinkie steadily placed the tray into the preheated baking device, the two smiled warmly at the sight of their creation preparing to start forming into a masterpiece very soon.

"Ah, isn't it a thing of beauty?" Pinkie airly asked, staring at the batter like it was a precious keepsake.

"It sure will be." the dragon agreed, gazing at the gems that coincided with the batter, thankful he had let them cook before trying to eat them this time.

"Baking is a labor of love. A connection between creator and creation that has the power to bring all sorts of creatures together in pure, tasting harmony." the earth pony commented sagely.

At the rather insightful speech from the perky pony, Spike turned away from the oven to gaze back up at her in bewilderment, not sure whether it was real or not.

"Where'd you get that from?" he asked in amusement.

"Oh, well one time I was baking with Maud and I mentioned my love of baking compared to her love of rocks. I mentioned that rocks really do rock (pun), while she quoted that little piece you just heard. Its stuck with me ever since." she explained with a wide, oblivious smile on her face.

Spike's amused grin fell the instant he heard that name. Maud.

"Everyone including the animals got to meet her, except for me."

Pinkie, however paid no attention to the silence as she forwarded herself with a different question.

"You remember Maud, right? The time she visited Ponyville and we shared those rock-candy necklaces?"

Spike gritted his teeth bitterly as he replied.

"No."

Pinkie's eyes finally snapped open out of her happy trance as she gazed at Spike with concern, wondering what he was getting at. Thankfully, Spike noticed Pinkie's sincere confusion and elaborated in a low tone of voice.

"I wasn't invited to meet Maud with the rest of you. I didn't even know you had a sister who was coming to Ponyville until after she was gone."

At that, Pinkie's entire body froze as she was filled with an unbearable amount of dread and grief.

"I forgot to invite Spike?! Oh no..."

"Oh..." she trailed off, eyeing around the room as she slowly felt her anxiety creep up at the awkward situation presented in front of her. "At least, you... uh... at least you got your rest that day..." she mumbled.

"Uh-oh! No! That was very bad to say! Just..."

"Really? That's what you say after forgetting about me?" a low but powerful voice snapped Pinkie out of her internal berating, shifting her focus back down to the dragon who was slowly forming tears at the corners of his eyes, his fists shaking as they were trying to stop the emotional storm from coming.

Pinkie felt her heart shakily vibrate from inside her chest.

"What? No Spike, I was just..."

"You're always making jokes like that towards me! You always think they're funny when sometimes they really hurt me!"

"Spikey?! I-I didn't..."

Spike's voice rose an octave as the tears finally fell freely.

"You think I like being made fun of for being 'girlier' than other dragons? You think I like being made a laughing stock at every single expense? You think I wanted to be excluded from meeting one of my friends' family only to be joked afterwards 'at least I got to sleep'?!" Spike cried as he gazed at the pony with hurt and betrayal shown through the irises of his eyes.

Pinkie suddenly found herself with tears in her eyes at a rapid rate. It wasn't supposed to be like this - she was supposed to make others happy. She was supposed to be the source of laughter, not tears. Not to a very special dragon!

"I-I..." she choked out, not getting any other words in.

"And then I told you about my fake father and all you can do is make jokes about not having to have him around anymore?! You think I wanted to be reminded that I don't have family?!"

Pinkie just stared back at the dragon, as loud sniffles erupted her throat.

"But I guess that's all I am to you. A joke! I thought I was more but..." he suddenly stopped in frustration, tears still falling as he raced upstairs to the bedroom without a second thought.

Pinkie's heart split in half, realizing how badly she had hurt a true dear friend to her. She had to fix this, and no matter how stricken she was with this new territory, that wouldn't deter her any longer.

With a narrow and determined stare on her face, she quickly chased up after the dragon, set on fixing this as if her life depended on it.

As Pinkie made her way back to her bedroom, she began to open the door before she heard a faint sound on the opposite side that stopped her dead in her tracks. Muffled sobbing began to penetrate her ears as she faintly remembered some distant memories from her youth.

"That crying... that sounds just like..."

With more determination than previously (if that were possible), she quickly opened the door to discover a small tiny bundle of purple and green, collapsed in on himself on the floor in a teary mess.

The sight was enough to make Pinkie wish she never had to see it again as her lips quivered in sympathy before refocusing herself and plopping down gently next to the shaking form.

Spike had failed to notice the new pony's presence until he felt a pink hoof resting gently on his back shoulder. He winced in realization before looking up and discovering the pained look of Pinkie softly rubbing his back, staring at him with great concern.

"Pinkie. This is not funny! If you think laughter's going to work..."

"It won't. I know it won't." she nodded in sympathy, albeit with a hint of her own misery as well as she stared at Spike's curious form with the most sincere and well-meaning face he had ever seen from the goofball.

"I don't want to be a joke to you." he lamely muttered as he glanced away from the earth pony to the floor he was huddled under.

Pinkie scooted even closer to Spike as they were now both mere centimeters apart before she found her voice.

"Spike, I never meant to make you feel like you were a joke or that I didn't care for your feelings. I never meant to make you feel like you weren't worth anything. It's just... I'm trying, but I've never been good with heavy subjects like this. I can make ponies smile, but when it comes to this level of sadness, I just freeze up. I try to make it better by joking, but I don't think..." she paused as she saw Spike's curiosity had gotten the better of him, staring up into her eyes with a sense of wonder to them.

Pinkie softly smiled before her serious expression returned, slowly hugging the dragon who made no resistance to pull away.

"Since we didn't really have much of a story last night, why don't I tell you a story now?"

Spike looked at Pinkie with a raised eyebrow, despite his still ever-present tears.

"Pinkie, I'm not..."

Pinkie quickly shook her head before reassuring the dragon.

"Trust me."

Spike took the seriousness of the hyperactive pony as a sign of importance as he slowly nodded his head, granting permission for Pinkie to begin her proposed story.

Pinkie cleared her throat gently before glancing up at the ceiling in concentration.

"Once upon a time on a rock farm lived a small pink earth pony amongst the rest of her earth pony family. Day in and day out, the family would be on the farm mining and processing rocks ever so quietly and dully on the dark and bland rock farm. Most of the ponies were used to it, they had been accustomed to the daily repetitive silent tasks of farm life as they went about their work without any sort of regrets or distractions."

"However, the small pink earth pony - the second youngest in a litter of four - never felt at home on the rock farm, which was strange to her because these ponies were her family and she had been doing the work ever since she could walk. She never felt at home in her own home and yet she was always forced to confine her thoughts to herself, her family never spoke to her unless mandatory and she didn't want to be shunned out of the only life she knew."

Spike started to realize who this story was really about as his crying had stopped, his face glancing up to Pinkie's dramatic gaze as his eyes widened in concern.

"Pinkie..."

Pinkie could only clench her eyes as Spike felt the hoof on his back had tightened as well before she continued the story.

"The pony continued to grow more miserable each and every day as she was forced to do something she never felt right doing. Eventually, the pain became so deep for the pony, she no longer slept. Instead, she openly cried almost every night in misery, her family had heard her but they would never help, they would only tell her to deal with it and accept her fate."

"So she cried and cried, her family distancing themselves more than they already had..."

Pinkie stopped for a brief moment. "Here comes the hard part."

"The pony eventually asked herself if it was even worth getting up in the morning anymore. She felt wrong being herself and yet she really didn't know who she was, who she was supposed to be... she felt like she was wrong."

She paused for a moment to take a couple few shaky breaths, her whole body trembling at the thought of the story as she tried to regain her composure.

Thankfully a now-once-again crying dragon had come to her rescue.

"What happened to the pony?" he asked as he lightly wrapped his claws around the pony's frame.

Pinkie smiled warmly at the gesture, tears still falling as she finally stared directly at him, continuing on.

"She discovered a sonic rainboom in the sky that had brought her so much joy, so much color and passion in it's brilliance that she decided to throw her first party in celebration. She didn't know what a party was before then, but she knew she wanted to invoke the same kind of joy in others."

"Eventually, her family discovered the party, which they for once had actually come to smile and accept. The pony soon discovered her cutie mark - her passion in life - and boldly decided to leave the rock farm on her own. She loved her family but with the new life she chose, she knew she would never have to look back." Pinkie had finally concluded, feeling like a hundred pounds of pressure had just been released from her chest.

Spike just simply gaped at the grand gesture of the story. He had never known Pinkie lived such a haunted past. Sure, he knew she wasn't happy at the rock farm, but for all her emotions and feelings to be explored gave the tiny dragon a new perspective he never would've thought possible.

He sighed, before glancing back down at his body again before musing a new thought.

"I never knew you felt like that, Pinkie... Like you didn't know who you are, like you almost had no one there for you..."

"...that's exactly how I feel..." he suddenly realized the connection between the stories as his eyes widened.

Then, in the fraction of a second, the pink blur had embraced Spike in the tightest hug he had ever felt - threatening to suffocate him if he hadn't found a convenient gap in her embrace around his neck.

"I know, Spike. I-I'm so sorry. I never meant to make you feel like that. It's..." she paused, before finding the right words.

"Because of my fillyhood, all I wanted to do was to make others smile, to catch up on the time I could've been happy."

"But there's also a bad part. I can cheer up a sad or crying filly but when it comes to the really big emotional stuff - like personal seeded stuff, I-I freeze up. I've hidden from those feelings for so long that whenever I encounter someone else with those problems, I..."

Spike dawned on an important realization as he concluded Pinkie's statement.

"You try to joke or laugh it off, to avoid having to deal with those circumstances..."

Pinkie merely nodded her head.

"That's why I got so nosy with Fluttershy when she mentioned her stage fright. Because I didn't want her to deal with something that could mess her up for life, I also didn't want to think about those things myself so I quickly tried to push everything away."

She sighed.

"But as you can see, in your and her's cases, me trying to force out laughter only made things worse. I'm lucky Fluttershy forgave me after that."

Spike smiled as he thought of that memory, lightening the mood.

"She's an angel, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is." Pinkie agreed with a smirk, before her attention was brought back to the issue at hoof.

"But the point is is that I don't want you to hide your feelings, because I know they'll only come back stronger if you don't. I never discussed my fillyhood with anyone and look where I'm at now. It didn't click until you mentioned me 'joking about your lack of family' that I realized you're going through the same things I'm going through."

"Pinkie, I never realized you felt this way. But you shouldn't have to hide something like that." Spike lightly chastised as he stared back up at Pinkie once again.

"I know, but I'm scared of letting them out. I'm scared of what others will think."

Spike suddenly felt his body tense up. This is what he's going through.

Cautiously, making sure he maintained eye contact with Pinkie, he asked:

"Hey, Pinkie. I never told you why I was outside last night, did I?"

Pinkie slowly shook her head, not quite sure where the dragon was getting at but allowing him to proceed.

"When I found out about Sludge lying, I felt alone. I felt like I finally had someone else besides Twilight to call a family only for that to be taken away. But then, Twilight suggested I go out and visit each of you and bond with you to find some answers."

Pinkie's ears shot up at the new information that was being processed to her as the drake continued, head lowering in shame.

"But I was... am... nervous about going. I thought that since none of you girls ever spent much time with me individually, that you really didn't like me. I'm worried everytime that I reveal Sludge and my feelings about family - my feelings about you girls - that you would turn me away."

Pinkie felt a new fresh wave of tears coming.

"So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I understand where you're coming from. I'm scared too." he hiccuped as Pinkie's grip on the drake had somehow tightened.

She cuddled him for a good long minute, before she whispered.

"Spike, I love you and I'm sorry if I ever abandoned you before. But you're very special to me and the others. Please don't ever be afraid of who you are because the real you will always be loved." she spoke tenderly as Spike clenched his eyes in bottled up emotions.

"Your Auntie Pinkie Pie will always love you, no matter what." she cooed softly, a motherly tone that both startled the dragon in surprise, and yet soothed him in familiarity. It was something that felt both new and yet so right for the bubbly pony.

Then Spike's eye shot open in surprise.

"Wait... Aunt?"

Pinkie merely smiled as she winked at him.

"Only if you want me to be - if you can forgive this silly mare."

Spike's heart rapidly beat in happiness at the prospect as he buried his face in the pink body once again.

"I forgive you, but only if we both promise to work on growing out of our comfort zones."

The two simultaneously shook out of the embrace as they both blankly looked at each other for several seconds before reciting a very familiar mantra.

"Cross My Heart, Hope to Fly, Stick a Cupcake in my Eye!" they replied in unison as they both broke out in uncontrollable laughter.

The infectious laughter had gone on for what seemed like hours as both dragon and pony felt relieved to be comfortable with each other once again. The moment could've lasted forever but a certain odor managed to grab their attention.

Spike sniffed the air several times.

"Hey, Pinkie? Do you smell something burning?"

Suddenly, both creatures shot up in panic, realizing their mistake.

"THE CUPCAKES!" they shouted as they both bolted downstairs to discover half the kitchen was spread with a black layer of smoke.

Pinkie instinctively grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out any smoke or flames that the oven produced as she turned the oven off successfully. She then proceeded to carefully grab the cupcakes out of the oven, seeing that even the gems had (somehow) been burnt to a dark, black crisp.

Spike winced in disappointment before turning his head towards Pinkie, knowing how seriously she took the destruction of any of her precious culinary masterpieces.

"Sorry about the cupcakes, Pinkie."

To his amazement however, instead of finding a disappointed Pinkie Pie, she had turned her attention towards him with her trademark cheerful smile adorned on her face.

"Oh, Spike. Don't worry about them! They were just cupcakes. A nephew is much more important."

Spike's eyes sparkled in appreciation as he realized that Pinkie really did care about him, her personality finally shining through for him, brighter than those gemstone cupcakes would've ever been.

"Let's go make some memories!" he declared, Pinkie vigorously nodding her head in agreement.

And with that, Spike and Pinkie had the most fun-filled two days either of them could've imagined. Filled with tons of games, a fantastical tour of the party cave, and even just simply helping out at Sugarcube Corner, Spike truly felt he was right at home with his Auntie Pinkie Pie.

While during the day, she was filled with her trademark peppiness and extroverted tendencies, the two managed to spend their nights together in the security of her bedroom - discussing their doubts and sharing ways in which the other could improve their communication and empathy skills.

This was the Pinkie Pie Spike knew was there all along. An extremely lovable pony who would do anything to make others happy - and seeing the ways in which she wanted to go the extra mile to improve herself for others - she was truly an inspiration to the ever-growing dragon. They both knew that with each other by their sides, they would be looking at a brighter tomorrow.

Finally, on the third morning, Spike was preparing his backpack just outside the entrance to the bakery, ready to be sent off by Pinkie before the pony stopped him with the carrying of several objects in her hooves.

"Wait!" she breathed as she quickly raced out to him before he tried to take off anywhere. "If you're going to see the other girls, take this stuff with you."

While Spike certainly had the room in his backpack, he was puzzled by the strange variety of objects being handed to him.

Included in Pinkie's delivery was what looked to be some sort of video tape, a miniature version of Applejack's trademark hat, and a big rectangular container that held inside... a dozen red velvet cupcakes?

"Don't worry, those cupcakes are magically preserved." Pinkie added.

Spike just slowly looked up at Pinkie, his eyebrows arched in severe questioning.

"Pinkie, why would I need these..." he began to question before an all too familiar answer popped in his head.

Seeing that the dragon had come to the correct answer, both dragon and pony stared at each other with knowing smirks on their faces.

"Pinkie Sense." Spike replied, shaking his head in a playful manner.

"Works every time." Pinkie casually shrugged, before giving the dragon a knowing wink as he quickly placed the now not-so-strange items in his bag. "They'll come in handy when you need them, trust me."

As Spike finished arranging his pack, he soon went up to Pinkie with one last hug, a few tears strained down his face.

"Thank you, Aunt Pinkie." he whispered.

"Anytime." Pinkie whispered right back, before ending the hug and sending him on his way.

"Think everything will work out ok in the end?" Spike asked as he looked back at the pony in the distance.

"Of course sill..." Pinkie began to exasperatingly exclaim before she knowingly stopped herself.

"I mean, I know it will." she nodded sagely before bouncing on her tail back inside the savory bakery she called home.

Spike knowingly shook his head in the direction of the bakery, before turning back around, a new chapter in his quest about to unfold once again.

"Sometimes you need more than a 'smile, smile, smile', but eventually a smile will find it's way again." he told himself as he followed the road ahead, knowing that the finish line would be worth it.

Author's Note

Spike's encounter with the Super Duper Party Pony is over as another chapter is officially up!

Instead of commenting on the writing, I'd just like to give a huge thank you to you guys - the readers of this fic. As I'm typing this up, this has become my most popular story (in terms of likes) all within the span of the first two chapters!

It's hard to believe all the positive feedback and likes I've received from this story already and I couldn't do it without all of you. In fact, this has also been featured on Fimfiction (I think my first story to accomplish that). I'm incredibly honored to have received such praise and I hope you continue reading along!

So with a sincere thank you, I'll see you next chapter!

-frenettek314

Rainbow Dash: "Loyalty Pains"

Rainbow Dash: "Loyalty Pains"

If there was one important thing Spike had learned on his journey so far, it was that the road to recovery was a high-risk, high-reward path; and yet, it was a path the dragon wouldn't have any other way. Before he left Twilight's Castle, he would've never expected to have already broken down multiple times - when they happened, it wasn't necessarily by design - but no matter what harsh words were spoken or what feelings were released from the pits of his heart, each experience so far had greatly benefited him in the end.

Every time so far he painfully and vulnerably exposed himself to the ponies he came across, he discovered certain facts and feelings about his friends... no his family... he would've never known about otherwise. With Rarity, he had learned that the relationship between them was muddled with failure to communicate properly - and when it was addressed, the bond between the two became stronger than ever. On the contrary with Pinkie Pie, he had turned what he assumed was the earth pony's hurtful humor towards him into the realization that she had possessed many of the fears and concerns he was plagued with, granting him yet another powerful bond that he never would've had if he hadn't been willing to try.

As Spike began recollecting on his previous endeavors so far, he came to the understanding that had he chosen to sit at home and continue to believe his friends didn't care, then he wouldn't have discovered the opposite held true - all while gaining a beautiful big sister and an absolutely amazing aunt in the process. As soon as he opened up, others did in response: sure he would've preferred if they had made the effort years ago, but could he really be one to talk if he hadn't jumped to conclusions himself? After all, Rarity and Pinkie seemed just as apprehensive as him at first, so that theory was entirely plausible.

Spike began walking through a rather open field on the border edges of town, looking back on his progress so far with a smile on his face. True, he was still hurting, but he knew with others by his side, it would be better. He gave a little snort with the smile still on his face as he continued to walk:

"Gotta hand it to Twi. I guess she really knew what she was doing after all."

Then, as if by sheer coincidence at the mention of the alicorn's name, Spike suddenly felt a familiar tickle through his throat as he burped out a perfect, white scroll. He decided to pause near a small river to take a break and see what the letter was for as he seat down against the sturdy body of his backpack.

Dear Spike,

It's been almost a week since you started your journey! How are you doing? I hope you're having fun and learning a lot along the way. Hope to hear from you soon.

Love,

Twilight

Spike upon reading the nice letter from his beloved alicorn guardian gave a small, warm chuckle before grabbing a roll of parchment and quill from his bag and writing a response.

Dear Twilight,

Things have actually been going really well so far. I've ran into 2 ponies so far, with 3 to go.

Oh, that reminds me. My sister Rarity and Auntie Pinkie Pie both say hello. I miss you, but I know this mission will be worth it, even if I may have doubts from time to time. Hope to see you soon.

Love,

Spike

Spike rolled up the scroll and sent it back to Twilight with a huff of his green-flamed dragon breath, taking the moment to relax before he decided it was time to get the show on the road again. However, before he had the chance to hoist himself up, he belched out another scroll with Twilight's seal on it, making him stop in his tracks.

"Wow, that was a fast reply." he thought, before taking a look at the new note presented to him.

That's great! I'm so proud of you! Knowing which ponies you have left though, I just remembered that Rainbow has one more day off today before she heads off to Wonderbolts Headquarters for a week or two. Perhaps it'd be best to see her now, before you miss your chance. See you soon!

Spike tensely gulped as he peered down at the pony mentioned in writing, completely having forgotten about the rather brash and jock-like pegasus with recent events still plaguing his mind. He knew he'd have to see her eventually, but now the trial was deliberately rubbing her rainbow mane right in his face.

The dragon stared out blankly for a minute, before ultimately deciding it was 'now or never'. At first, he was trying to think how he was going to make it to her cloud home before his newly hatched wings opened up, almost in indignation at the thought - of course he had wings! With his past self being stuck on the ground before a month or two ago, the dragon still routinely forgot about his new appendages, much to his sheepish chagrin and possibly a few instances of a deadpan expression from Starlight.

With his plans all set, yet his confidence clearly not, the dragon reaffirmed the backpack on his back before slowly opening up his wings and taking off towards the lofty cloud mansion that awaited him.

Indeed, every journey or mission was bound to have a road block or two along the way, but the dragon knew this next path would be filled with high-risks, whether he liked it or not.

Rainbow Dash - The Element of Loyalty. 'The Professional Daredevil', 'The Best Weather Mare This Side of Equestria', 'The Fastest Thing Alive', 'The Rising Wonderbolt Phenomenon', and 'The Coolest, Strongest, and Most Awesome Pony Who Ever Lived'. If these titles sounded like they were placing Rainbow on too high of a pedestal, she'd probably disagree with you and give you 5 more. The tomboyish pegasus lived the fast life - a life filled with aspirations and goals that she'd always try to push through no matter who or what stood in her way; she had a burning desire for being the very best and she was never one to back down.

Do a Sonic Rainboom? Done. Fight Legendary Monsters? That was This Morning. Become a Wonderbolt? Easy Peasy. True, Rainbow would casually shrug off her previous examples of the impossible - much like a certain Pinkie Pie would - but she truly worked hard to get where she is today. She practiced her flying and aerial maneuvers almost on a daily basis just to get into the Wonderbolts Academy and she continues to push herself even now, never seeing an opportunity to stop improving. Rainbow is truly a feisty, determined spirit who would always be flying, always up for a challenge no matter the odds.

Of course, while many would place these attributes as negatives (as indeed her ego had no bounds), her character resulted in the perfect reason why she was chosen to be an Element of Harmony - because she would always be there for her friends. Spike himself had to agree as he saw what many considered to be a thick exterior of rash attitude and cockiness was actually a golden interior that harbored a limitless love for those she held dear, even if she tries to hide it outright most of the time. The dragon had seen countless examples of the pegasus going out of her comfort zone or even areas of expertise to help others when they truly needed it the most - and in his eyes, that made Rainbow the hero she claimed to be.

While the hot-headed pegasus had been known to be rather insensitive or tactless in her approaches to addressing her friends, Spike mostly knew that the demeanor was not meant to be taken too literally; it was simply her way of expressing herself comfortably until she really got to know someone or understand the type of situation she was in. All the other elements, while annoyed a decent amount by it, ultimately accepted her for who she was. She's truly a tomboy at heart, and darn it if she probably wasn't an inspiration for many colts and fillies out there.

As Spike started reflecting on those times where he had seen the softer side to the athletic mare - all those times where she'd risk everything just for the happiness and safety of her friends - he soon discovered that she never really opened up those sort of pleasantries to him. In fact, if he was being honest, there were many times where he felt she was rather cruel to the poor drake.

"But she doesn't actually mean it...right?"

Spike has been a consistent target for pranks from Rainbow (and to a lesser, already proven extent - Pinkie), she seemed to treat him like he was some fancy toy that Twilight owned, constantly regarding him as a child who couldn't possibly comprehend what she was saying, but the worst was when she treated him like an 'actual' dragon.

The two specific instances that came to mind made Spike's body curl up inside of himself as he envisioned those incidents very vividly.

The first one was a part of the reason why he even went out to try and join the other dragons and their migration in the first place. Spike had been offering snacks and culinary platters to the rest of the gang during their watch of the dragons over Ponyville when Rainbow had out of nowhere began mocking his apron and his demeanor, quoting that he was lame for trying to prevent stains on his tough scales.

"One tough stain against one lame dragon."

The others to a lesser degree began agreeing with her, commenting on how he "didn't act like other dragons", capturing the embarrassed drake in a serious identity crisis. Of course, looking back at things in retrospect now, he realized that he never needed to be afraid of who he was because he would always be his own dragon; but still those words and the way she laughed at him truly stung. If she could be accepted for her demeanor and interests, why couldn't he?

The other incident, although not as major, still left a serious dent in the dragon's psyche. It had started when Rainbow began to fear that her tortoise, Tank was starting to hibernate and yet refused to believe the fact herself. After supposedly storming away from Fluttershy's honest evaluation of her pet, she had thought a dragon would be in the same family of expertise as a tortoise. Of course, Spike was miffed and insulted that Rainbow truly believed that he and Tank were in the same family, but the real offense came after he tried to reasonably explain that she should listen to Fluttershy.

"Well, what would you know?! You're a dragon!"

So suddenly his opinion didn't matter to her because of his species?!

Spike could chalk it up to her just being stubborn and aggravated, refusing to believe what anyone was telling her, but combining this with the previous case, he wasn't so sure about that theory. Heck, the pegasus had never even apologized in either scenario and that only worsened the drake's fears.

"Am I just some weak, lame dragon to her? Do I really not matter because of who I am?" he sighed bitterly before ultimately being taken out of his depressive trance as his wings had subconsciously taken him to the front door of his intended destination.

With very heavy reluctance, Spike was about ready to knock on the door of the cloud palace before a sudden thought froze him in his tracks.

"Wait a minute! I can't get emotional or sappy in front of Dash! She'd only think of me as more of a loser than I already am..."

Spike sighed outwardly, knowing his mind was probably right on this one. If the cyan mare even saw him be the least bit "lame" or "uncool", she'd hightail it out of there faster than she could do a sonic rainboom. He knew he had to be open about this, but how could he be...

"That's it. I've just got to be cool! If I act like Rainbow Dash, she won't reject me."

And so Spike breathed a sigh of relief as his new concocted plan gave the dragon a new sense of resolve. He just had to play his cards right, act like things were no big deal, crack a few sarcastic quips, and everything between the two would be fine.

Spike took his small fist and got ready to knock on the door again with a hopeful smile.

"Besides, I'm fine."

Spike fist halted inches before the door as it began shaking, his smile wavering rapidly.

"I'm fine."

The fist collided with the door a round of times, before awaiting a response that would hopefully bring him some form of solace.

No apparent acknowledgment to the dragon's knocking could be heard after a second of pause, so naturally the dragon prepared to once again lay a round of knocking before he heard several hoofsteps and a scratchy voice creeping closer to the other side of the door.

"It better not be another one of those sales-pegasi again, I swear to Celestia." he could hear the voice mutter.

Yep. Definitely Rainbow Dash.

Spike, decided he should respond back with a quip, settling into the "cool" persona to hopefully ease both himself and the Wonderbolt before she approached him.

"Twilight would have to fire me before I start door-to-door sales." he snarked through the door.

"Good, good. Keep it cool." his mind reaffirmed.

The pegasus on the other end definitely heard the banter as he heard her voice right before she opened the door.

"Wait... Spike?"

And with that, Rainbow had appeared in front of him from within the sanctity of her home as she looked down at the dragon with a mixture of surprise as well as confusion. This was an unexpected visitor for her.

"Hey, Rainbow." Spike casually replied, giving a small wave, which only further confused the pony opposing him.

"Hey...?" Rainbow paused, trying to find the right words. "What are you doing up here? I've never seen you up here by yourself before... does Twilight need help with something?"

Spike's smile subtly fell at the questioning yet he did his best not to show it from the outside.

"Does Twilight really need to be involved for me to be present?"

Spike twiddled his digits somewhat awkwardly before realizing he needed to cough up an explanation - and fast! He started to sputter before his brain hatched a brilliant excuse, remembering Twilight's letter.

"Well, Twilight told me that today was your last day here before you head back to Wonderbolts HQ for a while, so I decided to come visit before you leave..." he paused as his wings seemed to come to life - once again, his wings were there to the rescue before he even realized, "...and since I finally have wings, I figured I could finally come up here on my own!" he declared, hoping the pony in front of him would buy it.

Rainbow continued to gawk at him with an eyebrow raised for a few seconds, before her face finally melted into a grin, seemingly accepting the reasoning he had given her.

"Heh, alright. That's pretty cool of you." she smiled ruffing the top of his scales a bit.

"I have no one around today since Scoots and I just spent the afternoon yesterday. I was actually just watching some old movies I have - want to come in and hang for a bit?"

Spike's mind exploded with confetti, as if one of Pinkie's party cannons had set off in his head.

"I'm in!"

"Sure!" the dragon quickly nodded as he proceeded to walk into the lofty home behind the rainbow pony.

Spike had only ever been in Rainbow's house once or twice before when all the others girls were there as well, but from those few instances he had seen her residence, he was amazed by the almost impossible interior layout of it. Every single piece of furniture, tiling, or structure seemed to be made out of cloud - everypony who wasn't a pegasus would be confused as to how everything could stay grounded without floating away or evaporating, but Rainbow had explained before that clouds could be magically enhanced to form puffy, yet concrete structures that could support a tremendous amount of weight. Spike never thought he'd walk on a cloud before, but to see an entire house made up of the soft material was truly a sight to behold.

Aside from the main structure, Spike could tell Rainbow wasn't exactly the cleanest pony. From what he could see through the downstairs area, the small kitchen contained several dirty dishes that needed to be washed, along with a few scattered sources of food and ingredients everywhere. The dining room adjacent to the kitchen seemed to have not seen too much use as it was instead mended to be some form of athletic storage space - several headbands, water bottles, and Wonderbolt gear scattered across the table and onto the floor. The last room he could see, the biggest of the three being the living room, actually had a very nice set-up to it. The room contained a very large cloud couch along with a couple smaller love seats, a TV was decorated in front of the furniture as a large coffee table was positioned in the middle of the room. Sure, the room also had a bunch of video tapes scattered across the floor, alongside a drinking cup Rainbow seemed to be currently using, as well as a box of pizza resting dangerously close to the edge of the table, but the room itself had a certain charm to it.

All in all, Spike had to admit Rainbow had a very big and somewhat messy, yet charming place to call home.

Twilight would just have a heart attack if she ever saw it like this, he could imagine having to carry a fainted alicorn to the Ponyville Hospital.

"Make yourself at home." Rainbow announced, gesturing with a hoof to a spot on the couch which Spike gladly accepted as he walked into the living room, placing his bag down on the floor and sitting on the couch with a heavenly sigh.

"No wonder why she naps on clouds. This is the best." he dreamily muttered before a voice from the direction of the kitchen had caught his attention.

"Can I get you anything to drink? I've got water, a little bit of Apple Juice, some coffee...?"

"I'll just take some water please, thanks!" he called out as the pegasus soon joined him on the couch a minute later with a tall glass of water and several ice cubes inside.

Rainbow sat down a respectable distance away from the dragon before she focused her attention on her house-guest.

"So, what's new with you, kid? How are you and your dad doing?" she asked innocently enough.

Unfortunately, Spike was in the midst of swallowing a mouthful of water as the question was being asked, causing his insides to jolt as he began violently coughing the liquid that awkwardly entered his throat.

"Woah! Dude, you..." Rainbow nervously began, fearing she was going to have to squeeze the dragon to help him.

However, Spike soon found his bearings as he soon took a minute or two to compose himself with a couple of large gasps, before looking back at the still very concerned Dash.

"I'm ok, I'm ok!" he hastily said. "Sorry. Was not expecting that question right away..." he admitted.

Then again, he probably should have expected it considering the mare's previous experiences with tact and subtlety.

Rainbow just stood there exasperated until she began to visibly relax, resuming her normal demeanor.

"No sweat. But uh... your dad?" she asked, trying to get back to her original question that had caused such a response.

Yep, no tact whatsoever.

Spike's small grin fell, yet he made sure not to display a frown so as to not offset the pony, instead opting for a more serious trace of melancholy.

"Well..." he began, "I found out he was nothing more than a manipulator. Turns out he just wanted an extended stay at the castle and pretended to be my dad to get it." Spike spoke with an odd neutral inflection in his tone that sounded really unnatural to him as he heard it. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had noticed as he saw Rainbow's eye widen in shock before her brows narrowed in worry.

"I-I had no idea... I'm sorry to hear that. Are... are you ok?" she asked with great concern, yet with a soft voice that sounded more akin to Fluttershy or Rarity than her own.

Spike stared long into her, feeling the heat of the moment and wanting nothing more to do than to hug the pegasus for comfort.

"No, Spike! Stop. You've got to be cool. Don't make her kick you out."

Instead, he committed to a response that not only shocked him, but the normally brazen pony as well.

"I'm fine." he had said, trying his best to replicate his earlier grin.

Rainbow's concerned look didn't go away as she blinked several times, not believing the combination of what was just told to her and the dragon's response to it.

"You...you are?" she gaped, not really knowing how to respond otherwise.

"Totally. These things just happen, it's nothing you can do about it." he spoke, making sure his posture remained calm.

"They...they do?" she uttered as if someone had just struck her. This was very unlike the Spike she knew from the past and she wasn't sure she liked it.

"You don't want to talk about it or anything? You're not upset? You don't feel betrayed?" she asked rapidly, trying to find some answer as to why her usually sensitive but awesome friend was behaving so strangely.

Spike could feel a bead of sweat forming at his head, fearing he was going to crack under the pressure of the interrogation. He needed an escape out of this and he needed it now!

"Nah, it's fine. I'm a dragon. I'll live." he quickly exclaimed before he mentally winced as he realized what he just said.

"Darn it! Why did I just say that?! he internally cried, before a different sounding voice appeared in his head.

"...one lame dragon..." "What would you know?" a voice taunted him.

"Oh yeah, that's why..." he reminded himself.

"Spike?" a voice had called out to him, snapping him out of his musings.

Rainbow tried to reach out a hoof from her distance on the couch before the dragon immediately hopped off the couch and attempted his best reassuring grin.

"I'm fine." he quickly said, before he noticed a video tape left on the floor and proceeded to pick it up.

"Come on. Let's go watch some movies. I heard this one was great." he announced before walking over to the TV and putting the tape in the video slot.

"Yeah...sure." the mare still glazed at the back of the dragon with a skeptical look on her face, before ultimately deciding maybe the distraction was the best approach for now.

"I hope he's telling the truth." she sighed as she regained her focus back to the now illuminated screen.

Unbeknownst to her, as the dragon stared at the now closed video slot - his back from Rainbow Dash - his smile twitched rapidly before he perked himself back up and forced his retreat back to the comfy couch to hold two once again.

"I'm fine" his mind echoed.

It's been several glorious hours since the pair had sat down together and began binge-watching several classic comedy movies. Film after film of hilarious slapstick, absurd plots, and rather risque humor in some cases. The night seemed to be peeking in through one of Rainbow's windows, yet time now seemed irrelevant to the two as they had become entranced with constant entertainment, beckoning the both of them to bust out laughing on multiple occasions. Both parties had long forgotten about the earlier awkwardness that the dragon had brought to the table.

The duo had just finished another film as both pony and dragon sighed in contentment, both munching on various snacks they had consumed from the day - from popcorn, to chips and soda, to even slices of pizza left from the box that Rainbow insisted on sharing. Both creatures were deep in heavenly cinema bliss and the pair began to reminisce about the last movie.

"Oh Celestia that was a great one!" Spike sighed with a lazy smile on his face, slowly munching on a slice of pizza as he talked.

"Yeah," agreed Rainbow Dash. "...they don't make them like that anymore. Jim Carpony was one of the best comedians of his time." she stated as she continued munching through a bag of chips.

"No kidding. Twilight would probably faint if she saw one of these movies."

At that, the cocky pegasus burst out laughing, heaving her sides as tears began pouring out of her eyes.

"You've got that right. She'd probably try writing a report to Jim himself and ask him to 'define the essence of comedy'!"

Spike soon began laughing too and for several minutes as the credits rolled, the howling of the duo emulated the room before their antics naturally subsided.

"So what's next?" Spike asked, ready to start another tape as he made his way to the TV to retrieve the old one.

Rainbow began looking around at her scattered collection in the living room, before sighing in a show of defeat.

"Shoot, kid. I think we ran out of movies. I don't have anymore on me right now until I go and rent some more."

Spike sighed as well, wishing his newfound bond with the cyan pegasus didn't have to end so soon.

"Yeah, if only we had..." before his mind stopped as he flashed back to the gifts that Pinkie had given him back at Sugarcube Corner. The video tape!

"Wait a minute!" the dragon suddenly exclaimed as he hopped up from his position off the floor. "I think I may have one!" as he pulled out the previously mentioned gift from his treasure trove of rather random items.

Rainbow smiled excitedly as she viewed the tape in Spike's claws as a sight more precious than gold.

"Sweet!" she exclaimed, as she sat back up in her seat, ready for another flick. "Do you know what movie it is?"

At that question, Spike regarded the object in his hands with curiosity as there was no title or other indication of what could be stored within the tiny black rectangle.

"Huh. No idea. I got it from Pinkie Pie though so I'm sure it will be good."

Rainbow clapped her hooves excitedly, as she practically leapt from her position.

"Well what are you waiting for then?! Put it in!" she happily replied with glee before the dragon placed the tape in the video slot and ran back to the couch next to the rainbow pony in anticipation.

"Oh boy!" he chirped as the screen began flashing from static to video.

Soon the film began to star none other than... Spike and the others?

"What the...?" both instantly thought, curious to see where this was going.

It didn't take long for Spike to conclude where exactly this film was headed though as the scene focused itself on a very familiar sight. Spike appeared to be in some sort of ditch wearing a pink apron and passing out muffins as the other ponies around him were dressed in some sort of camo gear.

"Oh no!" his eyes widened in abject horror.

The ponies in the video soon began talking, as Rainbow's mouth gaped open, slowly remembering this specific event.

"Yeah, right, Spike. That's one of the scariest aprons I've ever seen!" spoke the Rainbow Dash in the video.

"Please! Not this!" Spike's mind instantly panicked as he began frantically searching for the long forgotten remote, quickly capturing the focus of Rainbow Dash.

"Spike?" she whispered as the video continued playing.

"What's wrong with wearing an apron? You won't be laughing when you spill blueberries all over your scales— feathers. That's one tough stain!"

"One tough stain against one lame dragon." quoted video Rainbow as she began to openly laugh in front of the blushing dragon, the others soon pestering him about how he didn't look or act like other dragons.

Spike shakily found the remote at long last, as he crazily began mashing buttons on the remote, hoping to end this torment as soon as possible.

Rainbow winced upon realizing her actions that day, before glancing over at the vibrating dragon and silently gaping in horror and concern.

"Spike?! Buddy?" she asked - earlier feelings of concern for her friend's strange behavior coming back in spades.

"Hold on!" Spike nervously yelled, pushing every button possible, "I almost...got it!" he cried as the scene of the migration stopped, the screen fading to black.

Spike sighed in relief, wiping a now noticeable bead of sweat from his forehead. The video was over.

But it wasn't.

Out of nowhere, a new scene began playing. Spike squinted at the TV wondering where this was going now before a familiar pegasus appeared on screen standing over himself and a very familiar tortoise.

Spike's panic and fear returned with immensely more force. "Stop! Please make it stop!" he began mashing on the remote again, but the video tape had a power of its own it seemed.

"But if you don't have to hibernate, why should Tank?!" quoted an irritated looking Rainbow Dash.

"Because he's a tortoise and I'm a dragon!" replied an equally annoyed Spike.

"Same family though, right?"

"No!"

"I'll take that as a yes."

Spike began to hyperventilate with the remote in his hands as he could feel the tears threatening to burst out of him like a dam. He should be used to crying with the escapades of his journey so far, but this was the one pony he didn't want to do that too.

Suddenly, the voices began talking on the screen again as Spike without a moment's hesitation leapt to the TV, pounding on the slot and trying to force the tape to eject.

"PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!" he finally released an external scream as he saw his fears flash before his eyes.

Rainbow, who had been glancing back and forth between the screen and the now emotionally breaking dragon, could now feel her heart drop as she slowly started to connect the dots together. While she wasn't the best pony at gathering context clues, enough was presented in front of her to realize what was going on. Her nerves began to tense as she suddenly shivered in fright.

"I didn't realize I was that bad to him. I thought he took it ok... I never thought..." she brokenly muttered, before the video continued playing as time seemed to come to a screeching halt.

"Ugh! Look, if Fluttershy says tortoises hibernate, then I guarantee tortoises hiber"—

"NO!" Spike yelled as he pounded on the machine, praying to the higher powers above that the madness stopped now.

"Well, what would you know?! You're a dragon!"

And just like that, everything came to a still as the tape finally decided it could now be ejected from Rainbow's device, sliding unceremoniously onto the cold hard floor. Suddenly the TV turned to an awkward, deafening static as Spike suddenly leapt up from his crouched position on the ground, his back turned towards Rainbow as the remote fell from his grip onto the ground with a soft "thud".

"SPIKE!" Rainbow yelled as her hooves finally felt feeling in them, leaping off the sofa and slowly walking up towards Spike with a frightened and worried look on her muzzle.

"Spike?! Are you ok?! Please say something!"

Slowly, Spike turned around to address the daredevil pony, who could only gasp motionlessly at what she saw. Spike seemed to have a fake cheerful grin on his face, similar to one of Pinkie's heart-stopping over-the-top fake smiles. What was more concerning however was the tears that openly fell from the dragon's soft cheeks as he continued to smile eerily.

"Of course! I'm fine, Rainbow. Why wouldn't it be? Everything's great - perfect in fact." he hushed ominously as his body now began to rapidly shake, much like earlier, bringing more alarm to the usually confident mare.

"Spike?!" Rainbow muttered, as she slowly took half a step away from her friend.

"Sure, after several fruitless years of trying to find anything I could to an answer to who my family could ever be, I finally find a dragon who claimed to have been my long lost father. Although he may or may not have totally manipulated me into serving his every claw and scale for the sake of 'parental guidance' just so he could live in my home, it's fine. I should've seen it coming, why would a dragon ever want a family right?" he nervously laughed.

"Spike... you're really starting to scare me." gulped a nervous Rainbow Dash as she slowly tried to reach out to the dragon currently having a breakdown.

"And maybe it hurt to feel for so many years that the only form of a family I could ever have would be Twilight. I mean, when I met you girls, I thought I could have more of a family - like how you became a part of her's - but that was just stupid of me. Why would any of you ponies want to hang out with a lame dragon like me anyways? Just a stupid dragon, after all." he began sobbing as he slowly felt his pained smile faltering.

"Spike. Please stop!" Rainbow exclaimed, feeling tears began creeping up in her own eyes. No matter how much she despised openly showing emotions in front of others, seeing the dragon crack down after watching moments of pain that she had apparently caused him - it broke her inside. She felt devastated. She never knew she could deal that much damage to her supposed friend. She was supposed to be better.

"It's ok. I'm used to it. Nopony would ever want to hang out with a dragon anyways. Heck, the ponies in Canterlot used to tell Twilight to put me on a leash or would run away in fear whenever I got close. Why would they care about me? Why would anyone care about me? What should I know? I'm just a dra..."

"SPIKE! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Rainbow cried out as she ran over to thoroughly embrace the sobbing creature before her. Her own tears unleashed freely onto the dragon's spines as she softly whispered into his ear, her hold on him daring to never let up.

"Please Spike. That's enough. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have to hide anything from me. Please." she sobbingly whispered as she slowly felt the dragon's claws return the hug around her neck, his tears dampening her coat yet she could care less right now.

She had someone special who she had inadvertently hurt. She was the Element of Loyalty and she wouldn't leave a friend hanging. No. She wouldn't leave family hanging.

"I'm sorry. I'm not ok. I'm not fine." the dragon sobbed trying to stop the onslaught of tears to no avail.

"It's ok. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." she affirmed as she held the dragon close for several minutes, neither saying another word as their soft embrace spoke all the words necessary. There would be a time for talking later, but this would suffice for the moment.

After a while, the sobs and shaking of both creatures had dissipated into nothing as they both slowly began releasing themselves from the embrace.

Rainbow slowly rose herself off from the cloud flooring before she reached out a hoof to help the dragon up.

"You ready to talk about this?" she asked with a sincere smile on her face, her outstretched limb hoping to help the dragon in any way it can.

Spike lightly chuckled to himself as he accepted the hoof with his claw, hoisting himself up.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

The two went back over to the previously occupied couch before re-finding themselves in the heavenly comfort, though the two were much closer this time as they focused their gazes on each other.

Rainbow was the first one to speak as she opted for a much somber tone as opposed to her typical scratchy one.

"Spike. I-I had no idea what you've been going through. With your father, but also with... y'know, my actions towards you. I never realized they hurt you as much as they did. I should've apologized. I should've listened. But I just assumed you were ok. I'm sorry".

The dragon could feel his heart beat rapidly in his chest as a warmth enveloped him from the usually brash mare's sincere apology. She was apologizing rather than avoiding the situation. She cared.

"It's not specifically your fault" he said with a soft, meaningful sigh. "I guess it's more of a combination of a bunch of things just reaching their breaking point. My childhood in Canterlot with everypony scared of me, My questionings of who my parents were, Sludge making me believe I found my father, My fears of the five of you girls. It just all finally erupted..."

Rainbow's eyes immediately hardened, but the sympathetic gaze she was giving him told the dragon that she was more upset with herself than with him.

"Yeah, but that still doesn't make what I did ok. The things I said to you were stupid and I should've known better- even back then. I should've paid more attention to you and how you were feeling rather than leaving you high and dry like that."

Spike's voice froze at the confession, not sure what to add. Instead, he opted for a silent nod of his head.

"How come you never told me about this though? If I had known maybe..." Rainbow trailed off. Spike waited for her to continue, but she kept staring at him, indicating it was now his turn to speak.

"Because I was worried you might think I was lame. When I came here today, I didn't want to get emotional because I was afraid you'd either laugh at me or kick me out." he admitted guiltily, head glancing down at the couch for a split second.

"I know I'm not the most 'sensitive' pony out there, and yeah that video showed me I did some really stupid mistakes, but I would never intentionally kick you out. But... I didn't really do much to make you think otherwise. I really am sorry."

Spike gave an appreciative smile for a brief moment before he sighed back in on himself again.

"It's not just you in that department either. All the other girls have never really made much of an effort to be as close to me as Twilight, although I guess I haven't made much of an effort either. Still, I thought you girls didn't really care much for me."

Rainbow's eyes widened attentively as Spike continued.

"But then Twilight sent me on this 'mission' to visit all of you and tell you about what happened with Sludge. But in reality, I think she sent me on this trip to discover you girls really do care about me. Although, it doesn't help that every time I run into one of you, I immediately expect the worst. I worried you'd reject me, so I figured if I pretended everything was fine..."

By this point, Rainbow had wrapped a wing around the small dragon next to her, reeling him in closer while also subtly stopping his rambling as she opted to find the right words to say.

"Kid, I'm going to tell you something that everyone needs to know. I don't care if we're talking about me, you, or even Daring Do - everyone has to learn this at some point or another."

"No one can always be ok."

Spike looked up at Rainbow in bafflement.

"What?"

"You heard me. Everyone has problems they need to deal with at some point or another. If you just try and pretend that everything is perfect, or that your problems don't exist, they'll come back and bite you later."

"You mean...like mine did, don't you?" Spike asked haphazardly, Rainbow giving him a sympathetic smirk as she nodded.

"The only way to truly live is to admit when you aren't feeling your best. That's what friends and family are for, they're there when you need it."

Spike could only look at Rainbow with skepticism, one fatal flaw in her speech leaving him puzzled.

"But what about you? You always act like everything you do is the best thing ever."

Rainbow's smile fell somewhat as she sighed rather forlornly before giving a quick chuckle.

"Guess I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't explain further on that huh?" she laughed, before wrapping the dragon closer, staring at him with a stern and serious expression.

"Look, Spike. I know that alot of the time I act like I'm this crazy, big hotshot..."

Spike gave her a deadpan look.

"Hey! I'm getting there!" she teasingly chastised before continuing.

"But the truth is, I have to battle with alot of my own insecurities as well."

"What do you mean?" asked Spike hesitantly.

"Do you know why I always tend to rush headfirst into things, or why I'm always pushing myself to be the best? It's because otherwise, I'll constantly bring myself down. I always fear that I'll fail and disappoint everyone if I don't talk myself up or charge 'into the fray' as it were. I may be lucky to be a fast flier and a Wonderbolt, but what if something happened to me? What if I let everyone down? Equestria, Ponyville, You, my friends, my parents, Scootaloo... " she paused as she felt tears threatening to fall again.

"But that's why I talk to my friends or parents when I feel this way. I may not be vocal about it all the time, but I know if I don't have anyone to trust, then what's the point? If I hold it in, I'm just hurting myself, if not also the ones around me." she finished.

Spike felt his mind explode as he let the contents of what he had just heard sink in. This ego-driven maniac who could stare a manticore in the eye and snarl at it without a second thought had just admitted that she was afraid. She was driven by her loyalty because she didn't want to lose anyone's trust. To some, it may be selfish, but Spike couldn't help but see not just a pony, but a soul who just wanted to be loved like everyone else.

And at that moment, he talked from his heart, not his mind.

"Rainbow, you're right. I shouldn't have kept my stuff in, I should've just told you - heck if you didn't listen, then you really weren't my friend anyways. But, I also never knew about you... about this... and perhaps I should've tried more with you as well."

"But I do know this - I will always be here for you. If you can accept me no matter what, I want to do the same for you. "

Rainbow shut her eyes tight for a second, fighting back her tears with all her strength before a hazy gaze stared back at the smiling dragon in front of her, a warm smile graced on her face as she hugged him once more.

"Thanks, kid."

Spike happily returned the hug before Rainbow let herself free and allowed herself another apology.

"And I really am sorry I've been a jerk to you. But just know that like the others, I do want to be there for you now if you let me..."

"...because you're not just a dragon, you're my cousin."

Spike wordlessly gaped at her before the contents of what she had said clicked in his mind.

"Cousin? You really mean it?"

Rainbow adopted back her trademark smirk as she ruffled the dragon's scales on top of his head.

"Of course. I've got to have a cool cousin in my family, y'know?"

But Spike knew what those words really meant deep down.

"Yes, I will always mean it."

After their long, emotional conversation, Spike and Rainbow soon found themselves dozing off on the couch at the late of the night before the slow, warm rise of Celestia's sun had woken them up for a brand new day.

The pair ate a quick breakfast of cereal in the dining room before Rainbow had gone upstairs to take a shower and quickly pack her things before she had to take off to the academy.

As she was doing this, Spike made sure to reorganize his backpack; however a certain video tape from yesterday on the floor caught his attention as he picked it up in his grasp. Eyeing the tape for a moment, he shook his head as a soft grin appeared on his face.

"I guess Pinkie was right about this after all."

As he was staring longingly at the tape however, a certain pegasus geared up in her traditional Wonderbolts uniform had appeared behind the dragon.

"I was wondering if you'd let me keep that tape here, to look back on." she had explained.

Spike quickly turned around to address the new occupant in the room with a skeptical look as he wondered why she would want to hang on to the footage she had seen.

"You do? Why?"

"So I can use it as an example to better myself. For my cousin of course." she added with a wink as Spike slowly nodded his head in understanding.

"Of course, I've got to give something to you in compensation. Here." she stated before she pulled back to her right wing and pulled out a blue feather from her appendage.

Spike gazed cautiously at the feather, before she placed it in his claw and explained.

"In pegasus history, A pegasus' feather as a gift is a symbol of a deep bond between said pony and someone she really cares about, like a family member. I want you to keep this baby nice and safe with you, for you to keep."

Spike felt his limbs shake as he stuttered helplessly, trying to find the proper way to express his gratitude.

"D-dash. I don't know what to say..."

"Then don't." she quirked in good nature before she sheepishly rubbed a hoof to the back of her mane. "Besides, I know we didn't really get to do the bonding thing before I leave, but when I get back I'm hoping that you and I can have another movie day."

Spike returned the smug look as he peered into Rainbow's eyes. "Jim Carpony and I won't tell Twilight?"

Rainbow gave a deep, hearty laugh before she rubbed the dragon's noggin again, Spike slowly getting used to the affectionate display.

"I like the way you think, kid."

Before Spike had talked to Dash, he knew that keeping himself hidden was not the proper solution that was needed. And yet he thought that just because she was different from the other ponies he met with so far, he needed to pretend to be someone different, to conceal his feelings so they wouldn't show.

Thankfully, a certain rainbow in the sky had guided him back onto the correct path once again. Someone who truly cares for you, no matter their initial appearance or personality, will always be there to help you when you really need it. Spike knew he should've been open from the start, but he foolishly believed his mask would help bring the two closer together.

Yet, it seems that the status quo ran true again. The willingness to express himself properly helped to not only deliver Spike's perspective to the prismatic-maned pony, but he had also received a new insight into the new pony he thought he had known so well. It seemed to him that the more willing he was to leave himself vulnerable, the stronger the bonds between him and his new family could go.

While the dragon still felt pain from his past experiences - combined with the regret of the mistakes he now realized he made in not confiding with others - he felt that with each pony he talked to, the pain inside faded more and more each time. Whether the pain would completely vanish or whether there would always be a linger of doubt was still a mystery, but Spike knew that the road he traveled - though with a few bumps on the way - would all be worth it in the end.

As Spike pondered his thoughts, Rainbow waved a hoof in his face frantically.

"Are you ok?" the Wonderbolt asked the dragon as she gazed at him with a judging look, awaiting his response.

Spike took a moment to think before he considered the skills he had been learning since he left and answered honestly.

"Better than yesterday." he beamed.

At that, Rainbow smiled as she knew this was the true Spike after all.

"Good. Before I go, I figured I could take you to your next destination. So, where are we headed?"

Spike mulled this over for a moment before his mind reached a definitive conclusion.

"Family."

"Sweet Apple Acres." he said as he hopped onto Rainbow's back with a look of pure confidence.

"Alrighty, let's go!"

And with that a sonic force carried two creatures out of the cloud home and towards the land below. To many it may have looked like a shooting star or a blast of magic, but if you looked closer, you could see it was really two creatures - each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses- yet their loyalty to each other was far stronger than any sound barrier the two could break.

Author's Note

And so concludes another glorious chapter in Spike's Journey.

Being honest with myself on this one, I'm almost worried I went too far in trying to deliver certain morals or themes in this chapter. I had a lot of good takes for a Spike/Rainbow chapter but I ended up deciding to mix a couple of them in as best I can. Though, I feel this chapter may have gone too much with multiple things, so I'm curious whether people will find this chapter "focused" or "too much all over the place".

I don't know - if I do get a lot of negative feedback on this chapter, I think my experiment of cramming several elements would be my biggest regret, but we'll see. I'm excited for the next few chapters though (I'm not sure how long or detailed they'll end up being, but I have good ideas...)

Let me know what you think. See you next chapter.

frenettek314

Applejack: "The Dragon Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree"

As a light gentle breeze echoed throughout the rustling leaves of the orchards of trees, the warm glimmer of the morning sun cascaded down through the treetops and onto the delectable natural beauties that were apples.

Sweet Apple Acres was truly a wonder of nature to behold. The soft grassy shady floor offered a cool escape from the glistening sun up above, yet still allowing the daylight to paint the landscape as a majestic canvas. The graceful melody of the birds flying overhead gave the land a warm, somber tone as many other smaller creatures such as the squirrels skipped quietly throughout the woods like an enchanted dance.

The famed apples themselves were the real prize of the orchards. A wide variety of all different shapes and sizes of the aforementioned fruit - from big juicy red ones to the rare exotic yellow specimens - decorated the sea of trees. Soon, these apples would be plucked from their hightop homes and harvested into a collection of various apple themed properties and baked goods that were said to be the heart and soul of cuisine to many of the folks in Ponyville and beyond. Perhaps what was most shocking however was that the animals respected the sources of food in a sort of symbiosis - almost as if they knew they could take enough for themselves, yet wanted to give plenty left for the fine family of Apple ponies that the creatures throughout the orchards had grown accustomed to. And here painted the overall portrait of what Sweet Apple Acres was all about - a wonderland that showcased the simple, yet profound beauty of nature and all the living organisms that accompanied it. The Apple family farms were a source of love and hard work that never ceased to amaze anyone passing through.

What did cease however was the whereabouts of a certain family of ponies who called this land their home and joy. A certain dragon and cyan pegasus walked through the various fields of the property, desperately searching for any sign of the earth ponies they were hoping to come across.

"Where are they? They should be around here somewhere." asked an annoyed Rainbow Dash.

Spike, who practically scouted every nook and cranny on the grass and dirt path, glanced at the pegasus pony currently accompanying him.

"You know if you have to get going, I can find them." he offered, hoping he wouldn't get the pony in trouble with her fellow Wonderbolts for being late.

Rainbow dismissively shook her head as she allowed a small grin to join her.

"Nah, it's cool. I made us leave plenty early so I could join you. I have a little bit of time." she coolly replied.

Though her grin faltered somewhat as she continued to find nothing but trees with the bright and shiny apples still latched on to the bushes and branches.

"Not a lot of time though..."

As the duo continued their search, Spike began thinking about one of the Apple family ponies in particular he was hoping to talk to today - a pony who he deeply admired for her good-leveled head and devotion to both her work and her family.

Applejack - the famed Element of Honesty. While to some, she may be seen as nothing more than your typical simple cowpony - grazing the lands of Sweet Apple Acres from dusk til dawn with no focus other than the safety of her home and the quality of her harvest - they'd be dead wrong in many ways.

The earth pony in many ways was a more simple creature, but the values she carried in herself and in others everyday was nothing short of amazing. She truly believed in the value of hard, yet honest work that proved to everyone she could go toe-to-toe with Rainbow Dash in grit and determination if she really wanted to. Although Applejack would never be one to brag or place herself in the spotlight, those who knew her knew she would never abandon her family or her friends, all while carrying around a cart full of apples for sale or simply helping another pony out with a project or favor wherever she went. She would always be right there in Ponyville, working on the farm with her beloved family by her side or tagging right alongside her friends no matter what crazy adventure they went on. For many ponies, it was a simple, yet oddly reliable comfort that drove its way into their hearts. No matter what happened, they took solace in that Applejack would always be around with her typical stetson hat, yee-hawing in the distance.

She prided herself everyday in displaying a good, honest style of living that showcased her as a dependable, caring, and yet humble being - not just for her own benefit, but for her family's. If there was one thing Applejack was more passionate about than...well apples...it was the well-being of her precious family. Ever since the founding of Ponyville, the Apple Family seemed to always uphold the spirits of hospitality and maintaining a good heart; however nopony seemed to carry those values more than her. The earth pony practically treated all her neighbors and close friends like they were family and she would kindly offer any available services without hesitation for them. She could practically give the hat off her back for anyone and do it all with a humble smile upon her face.

While she did what she could to help those around her, she never failed to be honest - even if the truth can hurt at points. No one could ever accuse Applejack of being anyone but her true self and that was what drove Spike's admiration for the beloved pony - she was a down-to-honest, sincere, hard working pony who carried with her a big heart wherever she went. It was weird for Spike though, he felt he could say everything and yet nothing about Applejack at the same time; she was so hard to articulate besides rambling on about her personality or devotion to family. She was so hard to pinpoint to a specific degree, yet she carried with her a simple, warming charm to her that he wouldn't ever change. The earth pony would always welcome a kindred soul with open hooves and knowing that made Spike's smile grow.

However, now that he thought about it - there was one very specific time he knew when the pony was anything but honest.

"That time when I tried to..."

"What's wrong? What'cha thinking about?" a voice had snapped him out of his thoughts as he turned around to gaze at an inquisitive Wonderbolt who had slowed down her pace so that she could walk with him side-by-side in order to judge his appearance.

"Wh-what?" he squeaked in a stupor, as if he had been struck suddenly in the gut.

"I know that look." warned Rainbow Dash.

"You get into these deep, spaced out thinking periods, and from what I saw yesterday, they typically brought you to bad thoughts or worries about me. And considering we're walking through Sweet Apple Acres and you're here to see Applejack, I'm assuming you're doing the same about her - so why don't you let it off your chest immediately for a first and I can try to help you?"

Spike blinked in bewilderment as he had never expected to be caught and read like an open book so easily.

He blinked rapidly for another moment before he had his response. "You sure you're not Pinkie Pie in a Wonderbolts uniform?"

Rainbow gave an ear-splitting smirk. "I've been hanging around her too much. So, you gonna spill?"

Spike sighed as he took a moment, collecting his thoughts to be properly vocalized.

"Well, you know how Applejack is the most honest pony around?"

"Yeah?"

"And she loves us like we're family, always helping us and standing by us?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, you remember my Dragon Code and when I kept trying to help Applejack as a form of a life debt?"

"Yeah?"

"But then she tried to turn me away by faking a timberwolf attack just so I wouldn't have to help her anymore?"

"Yeah? But what does that have to... oh."

"Yeah." Spike finally sighed. "I know I went way too overboard with the whole 'life debt' thing, but I've never seen Applejack lie like that under her own will.

"Just to be rid of me." he whispered dejectedly.

Rainbow quickly drew him right by her side with a wing as she sympathetically attempted to ease the dragon's mind.

"Hey, hey. I know she didn't mean it like that. I think she just didn't realize you really wanted to be of help to her deep down as well. I'm sure if you talk to her about it - just like you did to me - I'm sure she'll apologize for making you feel like that."

"You think so?" Spike beamed up at the pegasus with a curious smile on her face.

Rainbow did her typical noggin hoof rub to confirm her sincerity. "Of course. Besides, I think she has a real shining for you kid."

Spike smiled at that comment. Before his journey, if he had to say who he was closest to out of the five elements - Applejack would be second (behind Rarity obviously). She truly was a sincere, dependable pony who always made the dragon's spirits rise in earnest. If they could bond as well as the others he had met with so far on his mission, it would be a clear win.

Spike chuckled as he removed himself from the cyan pony's wing, walking a few feet side-by-side once again.

"Thanks, Rainbow. Now come on, let's see..."

"Dragon!" a shrill voice, called out - stopping the two creatures in their place with a slight panic as they wondered who issued that war cry.

Spike was about to turn around and look behind him to see if anyone was there before a cane had walloped him in the head. The poor drake let out a cry of pain as he fell to the ground, the cane repeatedly pelting him as Rainbow hovered several feet in the air in a mixture of surprise and concern.

"Don't worry, I'll get him!" the voice called out as it continued to punish the innocent creature on the ground.

Just then, a multitude of hooves came racing as four ponies - three earth ponies and one unicorn rushed to the dragon and pegasus in fear.

When they had gotten close enough, the pair realized who the group of ponies were:

Apple Bloom - the younger sister of Applejack and one of the three main members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders (the others being Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo). The earth pony prided herself in helping out around the farm with her siblings while also sporting a love for helping other fillies discover their talents. Despite a potential for trouble and mischief, she's a miniature version of her honest, reliable sister in almost every way.

Big Macintosh (or Big Mac for short) - the older brother of the three Apple siblings. While he was seen as a tall and buff stallion - his strength a force to be reckoned with in carrying cart loads of apples or offering physical labor around Ponyville - he's typically a quiet and laid-back creature, usually believing in the idea that words were more meaningful if they were quoted less. Regardless, he's a modest farmpony through and through - always doing what's best for the family. He's also known to be quite the Ogres and Oubliettes player alongside Spike whenever they have guys night, the two having a decently close bond.

Sugar Belle - The unicorn who's currently Big Mac's marefriend. Despite being relatively new to the family, she often visits to help or just to hang out, quickly capturing the hearts of the family around her. She's known to be an excellent baker who just so happens to love cooking with apples, as discovered when Big Mac first met her on a delivery.

And of course, the mare of the hour, Applejack herself. The orange mare with a blonde mane quickly galloping over towards the scene.

"GRANNY SMITH!" Applejack exclaimed as she saw Spike mercilessly being stricken with the older pony's cane.

Granny Smith - Said to have lived long enough to witness the founding of Ponyville (which just so happened to be with the use of these very fields). While she typically has plenty of wisdom and experience to offer her three grandchildren and anyone else willing to listen, she sometimes...wasn't all there in her old age.

"Granny, what are ya doing to Spike?!" Applejack yelled horrified as the three newcomers behind her stared on, eyes widened and mouths gasped in concern for the poor dragon.

"Whazzat? Spike?" Granny muttered as she seemed to come to her senses, realizing who the creature in front of her was as she ceased the rapid swinging of her cane.

Rainbow and the others could only watch in silence as they saw Spike slowly get up, rubbing his now sore head.

"I think we found her..." he muttered as he winced in pain.

After a few agonizing minutes of tending to the dragon and making sure his injuries weren't too severe, Applejack quickly brought herself back to the obviously not-so-frail elder pony who appeared to have developed a slight grimace, feeling sorry for what she did.

"Sorry young feller." Granny said, "Ah'm not used to seeing friendly dragons 'round these parts."

"Granny!" Applejack scorned as Apple Bloom and Sugar Belle gasped at the comment, while Big Mac and Rainbow glanced at each other with shocked looks.

"It's ok" Spike shrugged off, no longer feeling a pounding headache after Applejack had apparently gave him some form of aspirin, "You're not the only one."

At that comment, Rainbow glanced at him with a sympathetic look, while Applejack furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Long story. I'll explain later." he assured.

The younger Apple Bloom suddenly realized the unusual appearance of the dragon and the pegasus being here... well more so him than her, Rainbow had a few napping spots lying around.

"Wait a minute, what're ya'll doing here?" she asked curiously.

Rainbow decided to take the initiative this time. "Spike will explain why he's here soon enough I'm sure, but I was just dropping him off. I have to get going to HQ, so AJ, can you please make sure he's alive by the time I get back?" she warningly glared at her best friend and rival.

Applejack rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Ah'm not going to let him get hurt, don't y'all worry. Ya can get going if ya need to."

"Alright." she nodded seriously before glancing back at the dragon as she began taking off.

"See ya, cousin!"

"Bye!" Spike said as he waved happily in reply. The sentiment, while sweet, ultimately confused everyone around him as the five ponies all stared at him with questioning looks while also noticing the backpack he was carrying.

"Relates to the long story." he waved off, seeming to have appeased everyone's questions for the moment.

"Well, glad ya decided to visit us." Applejack replied with a warm smile on her face. "We were planning on doing some harvesting today and havin' a big dinner in the evening. Yer more than welcome to join us." she kindly offered.

Spike's eyes brightened up with glee, excited at getting to spend time with the family while also partaking in what would no doubt be a spectacular meal by the very talented cooks.

"Well, let's get a move on. Ah want to feel my gloots singin' with glee!" Granny Smith exclaimed.

Spike just stared at Applejack with a look of disbelief, who shook her head as if to say 'don't ask'.

"Let's get back to the house and ya'll can tell us the story before we work." she stated, bringing the conversation back on point, as to which everyone agreed.

As they began walking however, Spike's thoughts began to make their usual appearance.

"Guess it's better to get it over with."

As the group of ponies and dragon made it back to the mainlands of the acres, they all stepped inside the open and cozy living room as they all sat in a circle on the warm, cozy rug in the room. Spike had just finished his recap of all the events that transpired - the discovery that Sludge was a fake, the feelings of a loss of family, and the request by Twilight to visit each of the elements, along with the inclusion of the three ponies he had previously visited.

To say everyone in the room was shocked was an understatement as they all listened on, their expressions turning into shock and deep-seeded sympathy gradually over time. Everyone was horrified at what the small, innocent dragon had either recently gone through or had been feeling for such a long time; he could even see Apple Bloom and Sugar Belle had both started crying sometime throughout his tale.

The only part Spike dropped out was the incident with Applejack and the 'Dragon Code', but he honestly planned on telling her this later - preferably in private. If the dragon's experiences so far have taught him anything, it's that these personal situations concerning a specific pony came out afterwards.

"So, you've been wandering out this last week or so releasin' your emotions while tryin' to find yourself semblances of a family?" asked a gaping Apple Bloom.

Spike nodded with a look of reflection in his eyes. "That sums it up pretty well, yes."

Granny Smith decided to ponder. "An' this jerk... Sludge? He just up and left?"

"Yeah. Pretty much." Spike nodded again.

"That's terrible!" gasped an emotional Sugar Belle as she placed a hoof over her mouth in shock, her eyes still watering.

"Eeyup." Big Mac agreed, wrapping a hoof around Sugar Belle in a comforting hug while staring at Spike with an apologetic expression.

Applejack slowly trotted herself over to the dragon sitting a good distance away before removing her stetson hat as a sign of respect, hugging her friend softly, yet affectionately.

"Spike. Ah'm so, so sorry. For ya to have to find out about Sludge." her mind recoiled in disgust at the mere mention of his name.

"If ah ever see that poor excuse for a being ever set foot in Ponyville again, I'll buck him into next week."

"But sugarcube..." she vocally continued. "Ah want ya to know that ah'm sorry for also never knowing how you felt about...us. Ah do want ya to know though that ah and everyone else in this room love ya very much. Ya may have not been born here, but yer an honorary apple for life." she could feel the bitter stings of tears finally unleashing from her eyes as well.

"Mmm-hmm." everyone else affirmatively nodded, with soft smiles on their faces.

Spike felt the all too familiar tears well up as everyone soon joined Applejack and him in the group hug. He returned the powerful embrace as best he could, trying not to get too choked up.

"G-guys. I don't know what to say... thank you. This is all I could ever want." he happily whimpered.

"Wow... this is going smoother than I expected." his thoughts concluded, surprised at how natural and easy everything was turning out.

The group hug naturally ran its course as all parties made their way back to their retrospective spots on the floor.

"And yer welcome to stay as long as ya want Spike! Ya always will be." continued Applejack, placing the hat back on her head and wiping away a few stray tears left in her eyes.

"Yeah! And you can help us out with the chores if ya want, like gathering some of the apples." sweetly offered Apple Bloom.

"Eeyup." chorused Big Mac.

"Ooo! We could bake a cake together! I know how much you love baking and it could give us the chance to get to know each other better!" exclaimed an excited Sugar Belle as she clopped her front hooves together in glee.

"Mah bunions hurt." randomly whined Granny Smith as she made her way over to her rocking chair. No one seemed to acknowledge the random comment.

"NO!" suddenly burst Applejack as she leapt from her position on the floor with a look of fear in her eyes. Soon however, she noticed the confused and concerned looks everyone else around the room was giving her in regards to her shout.

The farm pony nervously glanced around before she backpedaled, clearing her throat rather uneasily.

"Ah...Ah mean ah have a special job for Spike to do. One that only he could do. Come along there sugarcube, I'll show you." she announced before offering a hoof to help up the dragon she approached once again. With a small amount of skepticism, Spike reached for the offered appendage as an all-too-eager earth pony and dragon left the room.

The remaining ponies all looked at one another with concern, wondering why the normally level-headed mare seemed so uptight all the sudden - even Granny Smith gave a narrow gaze towards the direction of the two's exit.

"What in tarnation is that pony up to?" she muttered.

As the rest of the gang decided to give each other a slow, frightful nod before deciding to carry on with the planned list of chores, Applejack and Spike began walking over to a way westward corner of the acres, the field already seemingly bucked for apples as the trees laid bare.

Spike took one look at the already cleared fields before glancing up at a nervously smiling Applejack - her hoof leading him begrudgingly along - as he stared back at the approaching destination.

"Maybe this won't be as easy as I thought..."

"So you need me to do what, exactly?"

"Ah need ya to stand here and protect these parts of the orchard. Just in case a critter or somethin' tries to overstep its bounds or somethin'." the cowpony announced quite proudly to the dragon next to her who looked anything but.

"These fields are already harvested though." came a deadpan response, clearly not buying Applejack's reasoning for this menial task.

"But the trees still need protectin'. They need to be kept safe so that they can grow bigger and stronger apples next year".

Spike merely looked at the pony with an unamused expression on his face. Applejack in turn, realized his sour response and sighed gently before addressing him with a softer tone.

"Look sugarcube, ah know this doesn't sound excitin', but ah just don't want ya to get hurt or end up wit' a mess too strong for ya to handle. Yer family and ah want ya safe."

Spike blinked in realization. "This is why she's acting this way. The life-debt, me screwing up..."

"Applejack, I know you're still scared about the 'Dragon...'"

"Please, Spike?" Applejack interrupted with a pleading look on her face, her pitiful look somehow rivaling those of say Rarity or Fluttershy. It was too much for the dragon's heart to take despite his displeasure with the work asked of him.

Spike gave a reluctant sigh.

"Alright."

Applejack gave a quick hug to Spike in appreciation.

"Thanks, sugarcube. Ah promise it won't be too long. Ah'll be back for ya soon."

As the farm pony began trotting away into the banks of the rest of the fields, Spike looked down and gave another dejected sigh.

"She still doesn't want me to help."

Meanwhile back in the center orchards, Big Mac, Sugar Belle and Apple Bloom were all preparing buckets of apples as Applejack met up with them once again.

"Hoo-wee! Let's get to some Apple Buckin!'" Applejack exclaimed excitedly as she reared her back hooves into the base of a nearby tree, several apples scattering into the buckets below.

Apple Bloom reveled in her sister's eagerness before she remembered the drake that was accompanying her not too long ago.

"Hey, sis. Where's Spike?" she asked with a tilt to her head. Big Mac and Sugar Belle each stopped what they were doing to glance at the other two as they were also curious of the dragon's whereabouts.

Applejack's smile faltered slightly before she replied in earnest.

"Ah gave him a special job only he could do."

Big Mac took the opportunity to speak more than a syllable as he felt a rising suspicion in the pit of his throat.

"What kind of job?"

His sister only waved her hoof dismissively as she rounded another powerful kick on the tree.

"A special project ah have him doin' in one of the other fields. He'll be fine there for a while."

Big Mac only narrowed his eyes as he didn't appreciate the honest pony's rather quick answers to important questions. Applejack took notice of her brother's rather judgmental disposition as she paused and felt her brow begin to sweat.

"Look, ya can check on him later if ya want, but he's fine. We should work on this part of the grove though while he does the other." she rationally tried to explain.

While Big Mac and the others still didn't seem to be too comfortable with the stubborn pony's rather brash dismissals, they ultimately knew she was right as they did have work to accomplish. Besides, they could always check up on him later.

The three simply looked at each other and turned back to Applejack with a slight nod of agreement. Though they still had a nagging query that something was amiss, they'd be able to find out soon enough.

The four ponies soon got back to arranging buckets on the ground and around the trees while bucking the prized fruits from their hanging places while a certain dragon in a separate field a good distance away silently marched back and forth, trying to fend off the sudden urge of boredom that was plaguing him.

This was going to be a long day.

After several long hours and over a third of the current section they were working in harvested, the ponies grew tired of the continuous labor and opted to take a much-needed break. The sun had practically started lowering it's gaze into the warm traces of the evening - indicating to everyone there that it was almost time for supper.

Apple Bloom sighed as she rested her back against a nice shady tree, taking comfort in the cool shadow it cast.

"Phew. That's quite a bit of work we've done today." she commented leisurely.

"Ya said it, Sugarcube. Ah'm beat!" Applejack announced.

Her stomach seemed to comment as well as it howled more like a bear than a pony.

"...and hungry." she finished with a weak blush on her muzzle.

Sugar Belle and Big Mac huddled together under an accompanying tree nearby as they both sighed in contentment.

"Me too. I don't know how you three do this all the time." Sugar Belle admitted, having gained a great amount of respect for the apple farmers ever since she had first joined the family.

"Heh heh. Eeyup." Big Mac chuckled bashfully, thankful the day was almost over and dinner would soon be upon them.

Applejack sighed peacefully. "Yep, it's been great."

Though as the cowpony began thinking to herself, she suddenly felt like she was forgetting something. Something important that she shouldn't have forgotten. Fortunately, or unfortunately for her, a small set of stomps accompanied by a sulking dragon made her remember real quick.

"Spike!" Applejack exclaimed, rushing over to hug the dragon as she silently berated herself for leaving the dragon alone all day in the fields. Truth be told, she had meant to check on him and have him do some other simple task but the rhythm of apple bucking and manual labor had distracted her from the new family member she promised to retrieve.

The farmpony slowly looked down at the dragon with a bit of regret.

"Ah'm awfully sorry I left you out there longer than I intended..."

"You forgot about me." he replied simply, just staring at her with a disappointed look.

"What?" she breathed frightfully as the dragon's presence made the other three ponies stand up and acknowledge him with worry.

"You promised you'd be back for me after a while. I eventually fell asleep from standing there and when I woke up, I saw it was almost dinner time."

Spike just stared at the pony in front of him with a downcast expression. He wished he could be angry, yell at her for just leaving him out there; but knowing the pony and his past troubles with her involving his wacky 'Dragon Code', he somewhat expected something like this to happen.

Applejack's heart froze in place. Yes, she wanted Spike away from more labor-intensive chores so she wouldn't have to worry about some silly accident or mishap, but she never wanted to outright abandon him like that.

The other three slowly approached the two as Sugar Belle haphazardly asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Spike? What have you been doing all day?"

Spike simply regarded Sugar Belle with a mere shrug before glancing back at Applejack and responding.

"I was over in the western-most fields - the ones already harvested. Applejack told to keep watch of the trees."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Big Mac suddenly yelled as Applejack found herself surrounded by three very upset ponies.

Big Mac glared daggers at his sister as she could tell he was rightfully furious with her. Apple Bloom merely looked at her with a look of utter disappointment as she shook her head back and forth disapprovingly. Sugar Belle had a reaction in between the other two ponies - while her eyes didn't seem to ignite like Big Mac's, her narrowed look told the farmpony she was quite angry as well.

Applejack's heart cracked underneath the guilt. She had let her family down. She failed someone who needed her.

She felt her eyes water as she looked at Spike with a sorrowful look.

"Spike... ah didn't mean to..."

"Dinner Time! Come an get it!" cried out a voice from outside the farmhouse as Granny Smith beckoned for everyone to come inside for a full hearty meal.

As the group reluctantly retreated for the sake of food, Applejack could feel her insides burst. Just a minute ago, she had been so hungry she could eat a buffet, but now food seemed like the last thing on her mind as she and the rest of the gang trotted on inside.

As everyone grabbed their plates and began eating - delicious roasted vegetables with steamed servings of hay and a heavenly apple cobbler - , Granny Smith couldn't help but begin to notice that the entire table was awfully quiet tonight. While everyone would normally chat up a storm with some story about their day or some other form of whimsy, everyone seemed to be eating in a thick, awkward tension. If there was one thing she knew about her family, it was that they loved to bask in each other's company so seeing the complete opposite of that filled the elderly mare with a sort of unease. Deciding she had enough of it, she innocently tried to break the ice between everyone.

"So Spike, did ya enjoy yer day on the farm?" she asked the sulking the dragon as he bitterly picked at his plate.

"As far as being a glorified scarecrow goes, it was alright." he muttered, which seemed to catch the attention of Applejack.

"Spike, ah didn't mean to leave ya out there all day. Ah just wanted to give ya something to do..."

"Then how come I couldn't do what the rest of you were doing?! How come I couldn't help out?!"

At that retort, Big Mac shot his sister a nasty glare before watching the ongoing conversation along with everyone else.

Applejack gulped. She knew she couldn't back out of this now.

"Because Spike, to be perfectly honest, the last time ya tried to help, ya made a lot of mess-ups."

Sugar Belle glanced between the two confusingly before Big Mac motioned for her to move in as he seemed to whisper the past experience, catching her up to speed.

"Ok, yeah. I made a lot of mess ups back then. But I was foolish with the whole 'Dragon Code' thing. I overexcited myself at the prospect of helping you, that I caused a lot of hiccups I wouldn't normally make and I'm sorry. But I've grown since then and I learned my lesson."

Applejack nodded in understanding, knowing perfectly well where the dragon was coming from - though it didn't exactly help to ease her nerves.

"Ah appreciate that Spike, ah really do. Ah know you can do a lot, but ah also know yer a little fella."

"Apple Bloom's younger and she can do it just fine." the dragon retorted as the filly seemed to agree with him.

"Ah'm just worried about ya is all sugarcube." Applejack winced sympathetically. "Ah don't want anything to hurt you."

"Or maybe you just don't want me around at all."

At that statement, you could hear several utensils drop as everypony seemed to have forgotten about the food on their plates. Everyone began glancing worriedly at the dragon, wondering why he would say such a thing. He was a part of their family after all - of course they would want him around!

Applejack felt her throat start to dry up as she stared miserably at the dragon with upmost sincerity.

"What makes ya say that, sugarcube?"

Now Spike was finally angry at the earth pony's failure to understand what was going on. If it wasn't bad enough what she did back then, she just repeated the same incident today under a different disguise. Spike knew that she couldn't just get away with what she had done wrong and he would be the one to tell her so.

The dragon cleared his throat as he glared bitterly at Applejack, fists shaking at his sides.

"I don't know, Applejack. Maybe the fact that the Element of Honesty decided to stage a fake timberwolf attack just to get me to stop helping may be a start!"

Everyone in the room glanced at Applejack with upset, yet also concerned looks as the pony herself felt like she was hit by a ton of bricks.

"Spike..."

"And then today, you say you 'love' me and 'care' about me, when you lie to me again by leaving me in that field to do nothing! I don't care if it was intentional or not - you still left me out there when all I wanted to do was help out with the rest of you and be a part of the family!"

Spike's fists pounded on the table with a loud "thud" for emphasis before he glared defiantly at his target.

"Spike!"

"You're honest with everyone else except for me apparently and I don't know why! I know I've made mistakes, but everyone does. I thought families were supposed to be honest and open with each other, but you're so worried about me doing something wrong or screwing something up, I almost have no leeway with you!"

"Ah do love ya Spike! Ah just don't wanna hurt your feelings!" she exclaimed, ending the dragon's rant and giving her full platform.

"Back then ah was worried that if ah outright said that ah didn't want your help, ah'd break your heart - because ah do love havin' ya around. After that, ah was worried about havin' ya back and causin' the same kind of ruckus again. Ah was so scared that ah would turn ya away, that ah never thought about how ya could change from the experience. Ah never stopped to think that if ah told the truth and offered ya a new chance, it could have been different from that one bad example."

"But instead, me tryin' to protect ya ended up hurtin' ya more than ah ever could otherwise and ah'm sorry." she began crying at this point as she placed her hat over her eyes to try and conceal them. Unfortunately, her quivering hooves and choked sobs ended up revealing her emotive state otherwise.

"Ah'm so sorry. Ah try to protect everyone, that ah don't know when to let go. Family's the most important thing in the world to me, but it doesn't mean a darn thing if ah end up chasing them away.

The dragon and other ponies in the room no longer looked angry with the confessing pony but instead developed soft, inquisitive expressions at seeing the mare break down like this. They all wanted to go and comfort her, but first they wanted to remind her that her situation with Spike wasn't the first time her overbearing nature got carried away. They wanted to make sure the lesson she was trying to learn stuck.

"Like today?" Spike asked.

"Or like that Apple Family Reunion where ya tried to run everything to be perfect while ignoring the actual concerns around you?" Big Mac questioned.

"Or that time ya kept tryin' to baby me because ya thought ah couldn't handle being on ma own?" added Apple Bloom.

"Or that time ya ate one of mah slippers?" asked an angry Granny Smith.

Everyone immediately stopped and regarded the elderly mare with bewilderment, wondering what she just said.

"No, wait... that may have been me." she decided to elaborate, returning the attention back to Applejack.

Applejack nodded her head silently for a moment, before collecting herself and speaking up.

Ah just try to watch over everyone, just like..."

She then suddenly paused as the weight of her situation developed an ugly realization. She quickly felt the tears stop as her mouth gaped open in shock. Everyone around her waited suspensefully, wondering what caused the mare such alarm.

"...just like ma and pa."

And just like that, everyone gave her a pitiful look of sympathy, each of them never realizing that the absence of her parents had caused such a deep-seeded issue. Big Mac, and Granny Smith in particular, also having known and remembering the pair, quickly felt their eyes well up as they rushed over to hug their kin.

Spike himself immediately felt remorse for what he had said. Sure what she did was still wrong but she had parental issues much like he did - and he could be the first to tell you, things like that left unchecked did some damage.

"Applejack, I..." Spike began.

Applejack abruptly stopped him with a soft smile on her face.

"Ah don't want an apology, Sugarcube. You were right to be upset and ah needed to hear it. Ah just hope you can accept mine."

Spike silently nodded an appreciative grin back, knowing that the honest and sincere pony's confession was genuine.

Applejack stated to herself, "Ah just know what they would say, they would..." before her mind flashed a brilliant idea.

"Ma parents. That's it!"

"Sugarcube..." she began out loud again, "After dinner I want to show y'all something. All of y'all.", this time her face brimmed with confidence as Big Mac and Granny Smith went back to their respective seats.

The five remaining creatures looked at each other for a moment before they all unanimously agreed, seeing Applejack's determination back once again. They knew that she always came through when it counted.

"But first, let's have a quality family dinner." she winked at Spike.

Suddenly, the previously stone-cold dining room had sprung back to life with heartwarming and meaningful conversation. Tales of past family outings and funny anecdotes lit up the room as Spike began to feel just as good about this part of the mission as he had felt during the initial confession and group hug. He knew that he mattered to these ponies and he saw Applejack regret what she had done, but he was also curious as to what the farmer's surprise could be.

"But for now, I just want to enjoy this meal." he decided as he continued to participate in a room full of laughter and smiles that seemed to carry the true essence of Sweet Apple Acres. A family.

The sounds of hoof and claw steps rustled on the nice, cool floor as the brilliant orange hue of sunset guided the group to their destination. Applejack led the way with a sure as steady smile and a slight emphasis on her steps as the others knew what she wanted to show would be important.

Spike had grabbed his backpack before they left, just in the case he needed it for something. Either that or he was slowly developing his Auntie's Pinkie Senses along with Rainbow Dash he wasn't sure, but he nevertheless followed the group through a trail of one of the orchards, anticipation building up inside of him.

As soon as they got to a nearby clearing - Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith all seemed to realize where the farmpony was leading them as they each developed a warm, somber smile. Spike and Sugar Belle merely glanced at each other with one eyebrow raised before they no sooner had reached their intended destination. The dragon's eyes widened in surprise at what he saw.

There, in the middle of a clearing stood a tall tree that he had never seen before. This was no ordinary tree however; as Spike looked up at the majestic sight he could see it was actually two different trees intertwined to form a single cohesive entity - a heart shaped opening in the middle allowed the sunshine to shine through. The entity itself produced not only the crisp sight of apples but also the illuminating shapes of pears as both fruits seemed to live in perfect harmony.

Spike was amazed to say the least. He had never known a tree like this had existed deep within the grove and he was almost positive he would never see anything like it again.

Applejack looked up longingly at the tree while also motioning for Spike to come closer, which he happily obliged.

"Spike, this tree ya see here - this is a very special one. It was grown by mah parents on the night of their wedding."

Spike's eyes widened as he swiftly turned towards Applejack. He had heard the apparent story of how the mare and stallion ended up falling in love despite coming from two rivaling fruit farmers - the apples and the pears. He learned that they were almost forcibly split up by their parents, but they still pulled through and ended up proclaiming their love. To hear the story was one thing, but to see living proof of their existence was on a totally different level. Spike's arms slumped to his sides in awe.

"This is actually... I-I..."

Applejack placed a hoof on his shoulder, regaining his attention as the pair continued to admire the tree.

"Despite mah folks bein' completely different from one another, they were as closest as can be. They grew to become the family we are today because they trusted each other and allowed themselves to conquer anything - the happy times, and the sad times. They never stopped believing in each other, even when it was rough, because they cared so much."

Big Mac and Sugar Belle both began silently tearing up with smiles on their faces as Apple Bloom hugged Granny Smith with a warm acceptance.

"Ah owe mah life to them because of the deep-seeded trust they shared."

But then Applejack's gaze lowered as she gave a bitter sigh.

"But all ah'm doing is going against their very existence. Ah've been trying to prevent the sad times from happening because ah worried it'd ruin the family."

Applejack's head rose back up with a spark however as she looked on with a somber expression.

"But a real family has to go through the bad at points. It's how they became closer and grew. If everything were always perfect, what would be the point of having each other? Ah tried to be perfect and protect those around me from the bad, but it only grew worse because ah held them back - ah prevented them from growing and learning, from opening up."

Applejack looked back at the rest of the group with a warm, watery smile before she looked back at Spike.

"Ya'll taught me a very important lesson today, Sugarcube. Ah was trying to protect ya from getting hurt but all I did was prevent you from becoming a true part of the family."

Applejack then slowly walked forward to the tree, surprising everybody, before she had grabbed what looked like something from the dirt and trotted back over to face the dragon.

"Ah know you already accepted ma apology, but I want you to have this." she announced as she placed what was finally revealed to be a seed in the dragon's open claws.

"It's one of the seeds from this tree. Ah want it to represent the bond ah hope we can have as family - despite our differences, despite the mistakes we will make along the way - ah want us to grow as close as cousins as we could ever hope to be."

The dragon could only grip onto the seed for dear life as he shakily began to sputter.

"Applejack... thank you..." he whispered as he placed the seed within the small compartment of his backpack before giving the pony's neck the biggest hug it ever had.

The embrace lasted a good long moment as the remaining ponies decided to join in the heartwarming display. The group hug felt as good as the first one, but Spike oddly felt like he was forgetting something. He internally pondered this for a moment before it struck him.

"Pinkie's gifts!" Specifically, a certain one.

Spike let the hug play out before he rustled with his backpack, much to the confusion of everyone else. Then, he had pulled it out! The miniature version of Applejack's trademark hat!

Spike turned back around towards Applejack, clutching the hat in his claws.

"Since you gave me something special, I want to return the favor." he said before carefully plopping the tiny hat in Applejack's hoof.

"I want you to keep this hat as a symbol of how much I want to be a part of this family. Keep it and know that we'll always be there for each other." he concluded proudly.

Applejack could only stare at the hat before her emotions overpowered her, suddenly tackling the dragon in an over-affectionate hug.

"Sugarcube..." she chokingly sobbed. Spike could only smile as he wouldn't trade this moment for anything in the world.

"Cousin..." Applejack audibly whispered, which took Spike for a surprise.

But then, he supposed life was full of surprises as he felt another hug being tacked on, each pony murmuring a single word.

"Cousin." muttered Apple Bloom.

"Cousin." agreed Big Mac.

"Cousin." cooed Sugar Belle.

"Cousin." replied Granny Smith.

Spike could only clench his eyes shut as a toothy grin overcame him.

"Cousins."

Life at Sweet Apple Acres was glorious for the past six days as Spike found himself basking in the simple pleasures of the farm life while also partaking in some quality time with a whole bunch of new cousins.

Applejack had taught him how to buck a tree, and while it wasn't as efficient for him as simply flying up and releasing an apple from a branch, he eventually managed to buck more than three apples down (even if one fell on his head).

Apple Bloom had invited the rest of the fellow crusaders over and invited Spike to take part in a 'cutie mark mission' which he thoroughly enjoyed. Even if it was simply helping a colt discover that his bookworm cutie mark didn't actually mean he had to keep worms, the dragon enjoyed the chaotic plans and hilarious moments they endured.

Big Mac, Spike, and even Discord managed to encourage Sugar Belle and Applejack to play a round of Ogres and Oubliettes one night. Despite the two newcomers' difficulties with the unique blend of strategy and action, everyone agreed it was a worthwhile experience.

Speaking of Sugar Belle, she managed to teach Spike a few of her recipes for delicious Apple Turnovers. Spike enjoyed getting to know the other honorary family member better, resulting in them talking for hours as they worked. It was no gem cake, but the time they had was something sweeter.

Finally, on the sixth afternoon, Spike stood outside the entrance to the main part of Sweet Apple Acres as everyone prepared to wish him a hearty goodbye. However, before he could make his emotional farewell, Applejack quickly galloped to him.

"Wait, sugarcube! Before you go - Ah ran into Pinkie and Rarity at the market the other day. They wanted me to give y'all these." she gestured as she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out two precious keepsakes that melted the creature's heart.

Rarity had appeared to give him a miniature version of the ruby heart he gave her a long time ago while Pinkie gave him an utterly adorable tiny scale model of her famous party cannon (complete with high-pitched sound effects and a few tiny particles of confetti).

"Ah don't know why they didn't give these to ya before, but better late than never ah suppose."

Spike took the precious treasures and placed them inside his bag before he gave Applejack one final hug.

"Thanks," he simply said. "for everything."

Applejack simply nodded before she pulled away, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Anytime."

"So anyways, who's left on yer journey?" she asked with sudden interest as she wanted to wish Spike good luck.

Spike's smile fell a bit as he expressed a more downcast emotion, Applejack taking notice as she tilted her head quizzically.

"Just one left. Fluttershy." he stated.

Applejack peered at him for a moment before she unexpectedly plastered a huge smirk on her face, chuckling a little as she addressed the concerned dragon.

"Aw, sugarcube. Ah'm not sure what yer hesitant about, but trust me when ah say this - you and Fluttershy will have a great time. She loves ya and you'll find that out soon enough."

Spike's smile grew back a bit but he was still unsure.

"How can you be so confident?" he asked.

Applejack merely shook her head before giving the drake the most obvious face in the world.

"If there's one thing ah know about more than apples, it's family."

Spike couldn't help but laugh as he realized the earth pony was indeed correct.

"Can't argue with you there." he replied.

Finally, after a quick round of goodbyes, Spike decided to use his wings for once as an exit as he decided he was determined to head to his final location.

As he slowly rose in the air, he could hear multiple voices wave at him from the ground below.

"See ya soon, sugarcube. Come back anytime ya feel like!"

"Bye, Spike! Good luck!"

"Eeyup!"

"Next time I see you, I'll make the biggest Apple Quiche you've ever seen!"

"Spike, you're a nice kitty." That one was met with looks of concern as an elderly hoof continued to obliviously wave.

Spike waved in response as he continued to fly above the trees, a cool breeze calmly at his backside.

Like many of the apples on the trees, family wasn't always perfect, but they were still the most important things one could inherit. Both in the orchards, and in the heart of one lucky dragon.

(*Wait, hold on... this chapter isn't over yet?!*)

The dragon flew ever so gracefully over the skies of the orchards and the ensuing nature that followed - his mind on autopilot for a bit as he lost himself in the ever so beautiful landscape and the fresh air that followed - before he had discovered a quaint little cottage on the outskirts of town, just before the feared treachery that was the Everfree Forest.

As the drake got closer to the lively abode below, he could see a wide variety of animals - furry and fuzzy, scaly and slimy, winged and tailed - all scatter in and out of the home as well as through the wide-open sanctuary that followed.

Yep. This was the place he was looking for alright. Fluttershy's cottage.

As Spike glided to a cool descent just right before the doorstep, his mind had a sudden relapse at the strange oddity of this situation.

"Shouldn't I be contemplating about her personality and my experiences with her before I do this?"

Spike's body outwardly shrugged, deciding to just go with the flow. His journey has consisted of many different scenarios and outcomes that he could've never prepared for, so why start questioning things now?

"Oh well. I'm sure I'll get the chance at some point."

As the dragon steeled himself for a brief moment, he soon found the strength to pound on the cottage door with enough strength to be audible. He began wondering how this experience would play out as he awaited a response. Would they be able to bond and connect like the others? Would she open up to him as well? Would things become extremely emotional?

Just then, the door slowly creaked open as Spike took a jump back in surprise. This was it! The last test to come as the door opened to reveal...

Angel Bunny?

The bunny simply stared at Spike with a sort of cautious and yet curious gaze, not exactly expecting the dragon to be paying a visit.

Despite Angel's tendencies to be extremely difficult and stubborn around everyone except his beloved pegasus owner, the dragon and bunny had a sort of mutual respect for each other after a rather harrowing trip to the Crystal Empire. Sure, there was a lot of fighting and arguments involved, but Spike soon learned an important lesson on caring for others and accepting responsibility when he had watched over all the ponies' pets. The two weren't best friends or anything by any means, but they've come to understand each other to establish a peaceful coexistence.

"Hey Angel." the dragon offered a courtesy wave, "Is Fluttershy home by any chance?"

The bunny neither confirmed or denied his question as he instead motioned for the dragon to follow him to the backyard where her sanctuary was located.

As they soon reached the animal paradise, Spike couldn't help but let out an impressive awe as he saw a plethora of various animals relaxing and exploring the habitats within. The dragon was definitely captivated by how far the pegasus had grown.

Before they met, she wouldn't even dare think about having the courage to set up a long term project like this; but over the years with her friends and the building of her confidence, she finally achieved a lifelong dream of hers. Through many hard-working hours and the pegasus's heart and soul focusing on the goal ahead, she had successfully completed her animal retreat that allowed many of nature's critters to come and go as they please.

It was indeed a passion of love that resembled the pony's humongous heart as Spike couldn't help but feel proud with the environment surrounding him.

However, upon his praising of the sanctuary itself, he almost failed to realize the pony currently massaging the neck of a giraffe who Angel began hopping towards.

"Dr. Fauna?" Spike curiously spoke up, grabbing the attention of Ponyville's veterinarian.

"Oh! Spike, hello!" she exclaimed in surprise as she finished the neck massage before slowly climbing down the heightened perch.

"What brings you here?"

Spike rubbed his shoulder as he mindlessly began searching for the missing mare.

"Well, I was actually looking for Fluttershy, when Angel sent me back here." he replied, Angel nodding his head in agreement.

"Oh, I see!" Dr. Fauna said, confusion wearing off as she offered an explanation.

"Fluttershy's actually visiting her parents in Cloudsdale for a couple days. I'm helping her out with the sanctuary while she's gone."

Spike blinked in slight bewilderment, yet ultimately understanding. He's never met the shy pony's parents before but he has remembered Twilight telling him that they still lived up in Cloudsdale. True, he did have a run-in with her brother, Zephyr Breeze once upon a time, but never her parents. He was kind of surprised she had left the safety and tranquility of her animals for a couple of days - then again, she was with her family and from what he heard they were pretty close so he supposed he could buy it.

"...but I'm sure if you head on up there, they'd let you in no problem." the vet finished, hoping to put the dragon's mind at ease.

Spike considered this for a moment. He would like the chance to better know her and the rest of her family; and with his new wings, Cloudsdale was no longer off limits. He finally made his decision as he flashed an appreciative smile at the pony and bunny as his goal was now set.

"Thanks, Dr. Fauna. I think I'll go up there and see." he said as he waved a quick goodbye to the two creatures before he took off once again....

...only to sheepishly float back down a minute later with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Uh... where exactly do they live?" he asked, causing the two creatures to giggle lightly at his misfortune. Angel in particular appeared to have developed a taste for his misfortune.

Spike knew his journey was full of twists and turns - of moments and experiences he never could've imagined he'd witness - but as he was finally ready to begin his ascent towards the cloudy city, he had a good feeling the surprises wouldn't stop anytime soon.

Author's Note

4 down, 1 more to go.

My apologies if the country dialect and grammar went a little too far for this chapter. I wanted to give the Apple Family their unique dialect like in the show, but I also hope I didn't overdo it.

(Also, I'm noticing these chapters are getting progressively longer.... huh.)

Anyways, Spike's on his way to meet up with Fluttershy! What do you think will happen next? What are you excited to see? What are your other thoughts so far? Please let me know in the comments as I love to hear from all of you.

Thank you for reading and see you next chapter!

frenettek314

Fluttershy: "Just You and Shy"

Flying through a whole city of almost exclusively pegasi was such a surreal experience for the drake. He had heard tales of the sky community from his friends, yet he had never truly witnessed its presence with his own two eyes before. Sure, Twilight and the others had traveled up a couple of times in the past, but even they rarely visited as not all of them had the means to do so without a super powerful spell.

Now, with his new wings, he was here. After years of frequenting the ground and its natural wonders, he felt his brain short circuit as he gazed upon a collection of cloud based structures and homes, an ocean of blue sky that followed him wherever he went, and most importantly, a population of flying ponies that traveled to and fro. All this time, he remained oblivious on the earth floor while this sky paradise had been above his reach all along. In many ways, it was amazing to think how much his world had opened up - not just with the exploration of Cloudsdale, but also remembering how much his journey had left him to explore more about the ponies he'd known for years. In a way, Cloudsdale felt like a physical representation of Spike's quest - a mass filled with knowledge and discoveries that the dragon had remained unaware of until he pushed through.

And yet, why did it feel like it always had to be him to make some sort of effort to find out the truth? Why was it that things remained hidden until he searched for them?

Spike collectively shook his head to clear that thought as he had a much more important task to deal with- finding Fluttershy's parents' house. As he quickly scouted the nearby city outskirt streets, trying to find the house that perfectly matched Dr. Fauna's description, his mind turned back to the yellow pegasus who he was looking for.

Fluttershy - the Element of Kindness. A being with a heart so large and caring that her soft soothing voice could penetrate even the darkest of souls if given a chance; the problem with that statement lied in that not everyone gave her a chance. That was one thing that drove Spike mad when thinking about Fluttershy - how could anyone see this mare with the purest of intentions and the grace of an angel - and want to manipulate, bully, or harass her? If there was a question that pointed out the sentiment that the world could be a cruel place, it'd be that.

While known to be quite the timid and gentle pony, whenever she was with any of her closest friends or any of the dozens of animals she cared for, her introverted shell broke free and became one of the most nurturing spirits the dragon swore he'd ever seen. Of course, it wasn't always that way and everyone who knew her knew exactly why. When she was a filly back in Cloudsdale, she was constantly bullied because of her lack of flight abilities; granted, thanks to a certain sonic rainboom, she had discovered the wonders of life below the grounds and her inspiring passion for the care of animals - rather than being forced to live a life of misery as a 'weak' pegasus - but the damage that the bullying and torment caused her had already been done.

Thankfully, meeting Twilight and becoming familiar with the rest of the girls proved to be one of the best possible things that could've happened to her. Constantly having to step outside of her comfort zone to help her friends and save Equestria on multiple occasions let her overcome many of her crippling anxieties and allowed the mare to become more assertive over time. Throughout the years, all her friends (Spike included) noticed how much she had grown; while still a pony who very much prefers to be as far away from the center of attention as possible, she now has the power to express herself freely with those closest to her, to enjoy the many facets of life without cowering in fear, and to defend herself and others whenever it was needed.

To say the dragon had grown proud of her growth was an understatement. He always knew deep down this sensitive pony had the caring and passion of Pinkie Pie, but to see it in full display was a thing of beauty. Whenever he or any of her friends see her take care of or even talk about an animal, there was a certain spark that shined brightly. Instead of seeing a stuttering introverted creature, she was a nurturing presence that would do anything in her power to help heal an injured animal. She was a warm embrace that could comfort any crying creature. She was a protector of the weak and a shining beacon of warmth for those who truly needed it.

Now over the years, she was finally at that potential. She felt completely comfortable with her friends, She overcame her stage fright gradually, she accomplished her life-long dream of building Ponyville's only animal sanctuary, she was happier than anyone had ever seen. Fluttershy was truly an inspiration that should be passed down for generations - a kindred spirit constantly overlooked and forgotten, soon blossoming into one of the sweetest ponies Spike had ever met. She would do anything for those she cared about, she gave the best hugs and offered the kindest words when they were needed, she was a source of good in the world that definitely needed more.

Spike's face contorted into a frown however as a bitter realization came to his attention.

"So why isn't she friends with me like she is with the rest of them?"

True, unlike the others, she had never gone out of her way to do anything to suggest they weren't friends but Spike could rearrange that sentence to form the truth.

She had never gone out of her way for him either.

Ok, maybe that wasn't entirely correct either. In fact, Spike could remember one vivid memory where the two actually did bond - it was his and Twilight's first day in Ponyville. What had started out as Twilight's mission to check up on the plans for the Summer Sun Celebration ended up being the day where they met the very skittish pegasus. The dragon could clearly remember hiding behind the bushes as Twilight attempted to introduce herself to the mare, complimenting her on her choir of birds; but alas, the introverted bundle of pony only ended up uttering a few indignant squeaks of response...until he came into the picture.

Suddenly, he found himself under the cute and adorable awe of the curious yellow pony wanting to know everything about a talking, baby dragon. Her shy nature forgotten, she had followed the travelling duo all the way back to the library as she and him constantly regaled stories back and forth until a frustrated Twilight had pretty much locked the two inside from the suddenly crazy mare.

But Fluttershy was never crazy to Spike. In fact, after that first encounter, Spike felt like he and the pegasus could become the best of friends.

Little did he know that first time had become the extent of their relationship.

Soon it was almost like he didn't exist. While Fluttershy and the others constantly embarked on adventures and had fun, all he would ever get was being asked if he could watch her animals while she was away. He almost didn't understand it - first he was this amazing find that she had fawned over and now he was nothing more than a convenient source of help?Someone to watch Angel while she went to the Crystal Empire? Someone to help her out when the others couldn't?

Spike was puzzled as to what encouraged her quick change in demeanor until his mind decided to speak up.

"What about her fear of dragons?"

While the drake would never want to imagine this sweet and loving pony would hate him because of his species, the idea sadly made more sense the more he thought about it. She never appeared back when everyone else was watching the dragon migration, she yelled and fled in terror during his greed-induced growth spurt and she never seemed to ask any more questions about him or his heritage.

But then why was she ok with dragons like Smolder suddenly at the School of Friendship? Heck, she even recently helped...

Spike's insides tightened as he finished that last statement.

"She helped Sludge."

"So what does she have against me if not other dragons? Is it me?"

"Is it always going to be like this?"

The dragon let out a bitter sigh as he tried to contemplate the reasoning behind her distance. They had the chance to know each other and bond for many years, just like that first day, but it never happened. Instead, Spike saw a pegasus that may never change her feelings towards him - if not now then when?

"Do I even want her as a friend?"

It felt weird to admit, but Fluttershy's treatment of Spike hurt him more than anypony else - including Rarity. While the others at least paid him some attention every once in a while before this journey (good or bad), Fluttershy did nothing; and for some reason that nothing made him angry.

It was like he was nothing to her.

Desperate to get out of the continuous cycle of negative thoughts, Spike refocused his attention to the streets below before his eyes caught the attention of a particular house.

"Light blue exterior with dark-navy bricks, purple doors and lavender curtains, rainbow fences..."

Realizing this house perfectly matched the description by Dr. Fauna, the dragon glided safely on the pathway to the house before slowly approaching the doorstep and delivering a soft, yet audible, round of knocks.

After Spike had knocked though did he realize the potential error involving a surprise visit with ponies he never met before.

"I hope Fluttershy opens the door." he plead while slightly wincing in fear before the door slowly creaked open.

His pleas were met with the slow, steady appearance of an older, bright yellow mare with red mane buns and a bright pair of light green glasses, who had decided to greet the guest with an exaggerated squeak as she saw him.

"DRAGON!" she yelled, her hooves shaking as she looked ready to faint.

"Definitely not Fluttershy!" his mind panicked before he heard another round of hoofsteps quickly approaching to the aid of the quivering mare, most likely hearing her screams.

Soon he was met by an older stallion with a light green coat along with pink mane and mustache as he shakily held a shovel in his wings which pointed sharply in the direction of the now fearful dragon.

"St--stay back... We don't want any trouble..." he stuttered, doing his best to look threatening as he prodded the shovel closer to the dragon's snout.

The good news was that these ponies clearly took after their presumed daughter and were much more afraid and soft-spoken as opposed to being hostile. The bad news was that they still felt threatened and Spike did not want to find out what they were planning to do with that shovel. He needed to defuse this situation and he needed to do it now.

"I-I'm sorry." he nervously gulped, glancing at the gardening tool before looking back to focus on the frightened and shaking pair. "I-I was just wondering if Fluttershy was around." he stuttered as he now held his claws to his face in self-defense.

Suddenly, like someone had flipped a light bulb, the two pegasi instantly lowered their guards as they looked at the frightened creature with curiosity.

"Wait... are you by any chance Spike?" the mare replied softly, yet with a small amount of fear still present.

"Y-yes?" the dragon replied, slowly removing his claws at the mere mention of his name.

Apparently that was all the confirmation they needed as the stallion quickly discarded the shovel.

"O-oh my goodness. We're so sorry. We didn't realize it was you. Please, please! Come in." he said with a gentle and thankful smile.

Spike slowly monitored the couple with a puzzled expression, unsure why their reactions were suddenly positive, before the mare led him to the sanctity of their home - their apparent nerves forgotten. She led him quickly into the pair's living room before she and the stallion turned to him with welcoming smiles.

"We didn't mean to scare you, dear. We just didn't realize you'd be visiting. It's so nice to finally meet you! I'm Fluttershy's mom, but you can call me Mrs. Shy."

"And I'm her father, but you can call me Mr. Shy. Fluttershy went out to do some shopping for us but she'll be back soon."

Spike felt a genuine smile on his face as he suddenly felt very welcomed by the two seemingly nice ponies - thankful their earlier fright seemed to be behind them. These two in front of him seemed like very hospitable ponies and he was thankful they seemed to be very accepting of him.

"I'm Spike, pleased to meet both of you.", offering a claw which the two ponies happily shook in return.

"Sorry if I was interrupting anything, I just heard in Ponyville that Fluttershy was visiting you two here, so I thought I could talk to her for a little bit."

"Oh, no. No trouble at all." Mr. Shy reassured. "Please, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like. We have plenty of room upstairs if you wish to spend the night."

Spike was absolutely floored. He had met these two nice ponies two seconds ago and they were already offering him a bed? He could gather they were very soft-spoken and gentle beings but apparently they had their daughter's caring and nurturing spirit as well. Still, he was confused as to why he was being welcome into the family with no hesitation, other than the clue that he knew Fluttershy.

"Oh, it's so nice to meet one of Fluttershy's closest friends." Mrs. Shy cooed, making the dragon question whether this was solving the mystery or enhancing it.

Spike slowly blinked, trying not to appear too shocked on the outside.

"It is?" he replied.

"Oh, yes. She talks about you a lot!" Mr. Shy happily responded.

Now Spike was absolutely confused.

"She does?" he blinked rapidly.

"Absolutely." Mrs. Shy agreed before going on a very sweet tangent.

"She talks about the time you delivered the Crystal Heart, the time you saved the Equestria Games , how you befriended and helped form alliances with both dragons and changelings. She mentions all the time about how you're the sweetest little guy she's ever met and how helpful and kind you always are. She says you're one of her very best friends!"

Spike's gut held a mixture of emotions. While on one hand it was actually very touching to hear all the compliments and praises she had for him, another part slowly grew furious as he wished she would say these things directly to him once in a while. In fact, it almost seemed like they were talking about someone else with how much she seemed to adore him. He wished it were true, but she seemed to be leaving out the parts involving her utterly ignoring him 90% of the time.

"How come she can't tell me we're best friends? Is she telling the truth or is she just lying about what's actually there?"

"You two must be so close with one another." Mr. Shy grinned with a heartwarming smile.

"We are?!" he thought, but decided he didn't want to lay out the reality of the situation right now - not without Fluttershy here.

"Absolutely!" he replied with a plastered grin before he decided he may as well be honest with the rest of his reply.

His smile was truly genuine this time. "I've never met such a kind and caring pony in my life. She's one of the sweetest beings in Equestria and I've seen her come out of her shell a lot in the time I've known her. You two must be proud."

"Even though I wish she spread that kindness towards me like you say."

Both pegasi were clearly touched by the sentiment as they wiped a few stray tears from their eyes with a hoof before addressing the dragon in front of them.

"Oh, Spike. Thank you so much. We're glad she has such an amazing friend like you!" Mrs. Shy uttered.

The dragon's heart cracked a bit at the painful thought.

"Are we though?"

Mr. Shy nodded his head, before walking over towards Spike with an outstretched hoof.

"Why don't we give you a tour of the house while we wait for her to return. In fact, I have some baby pictures of her we could look at."

Spike's heart rose a little bit at that.

"I'd get to know more about Fluttershy and hang out with these two nice ponies. Plus, I am curious what she looked like as a filly - even though she'd probably be embarrassed if I saw the pictures..." he imagined a blushing pegasus at the prospect as a small smirk etched on his face.

"Sure, that'd be great." he accepted the stallion's hoof as the three trotted over to the backyard garden.

A butterscotch pegasus with a bright pink mane soon approached her family's home sweet home while carrying in a few bags of groceries with her hooves as she began to make her way inside.

She had to admit to herself it was weird going a couple days without seeing her animal friends, but she couldn't remember the last time she had an extended visit with her parents. She loved her family very much and she figured she could use the break from the sanctuary. While her passion had and will always be the loving and caring of nature's creatures, even she needed a break from her daily routine every so often.

As she slowly began making her way to the kitchen though she began to hear three distinct laughs that made her ears perk right up. The first two laughs of course were her parents, that much she was sure of; but she had a difficult time deciphering the third voice.

"And this is her in the bathtub." she could hear her mother explaining and then the third voice carried out its laugh again.

"Sweet Celestia, these are great!" the voice laughed, followed by her parents.

Wait a second. That laugh. That voice. Fluttershy recognized that voice. Spike?

"Why is Spike here?" her mind began to wander before she dropped the bags on the counter with a sudden burst of energy, her eyes shrank considerably.

"Wait?! Did she say bathtub?!"

Fearing what they were laughing at, Fluttershy quickly trotted into the living room where she found her parents sitting down on the sofa, a photo album openly placed in the middle where it sat on... Spike's lap? So, Spike was here after all.

Her worries forgotten for the moment, Fluttershy glanced at the visitor with a look of surprise.

"Spike?"

The three instantly noticed the sudden appearance of their daughter as they all smiled warmly at her, although Spike's smile seemed a little bit shorter than those of her parents'.

"Hey, sweetie. Guess who came to visit." Mr. Shy proudly announced, gesturing to the dragon next to him who silently waved.

The pegasus quickly developed a sweet, ecstatic smile as she hurried her way over to the dragon, approaching him with a nice big wing hug.

"Oh, Spike! Hello! It's wonderful to see you!" she exclaimed as she lightly nuzzled his cheek.

Spike, not used to the affectionate gesture from her outside of a few rare instances replied somewhat hesitantly.

"Uh, hey Fluttershy. It's great to see you too."

Mrs. Shy decided to speak up next as she gestured to the photo album.

"While you were gone, Spike showed up and we decided to give him a quick tour before we found some baby pictures."

Fluttershy abruptly ended the hug as her body rigidly froze. Now she remembered why she hurried into the living room.

The others paid no mind as they all went back to viewing the collection of photos.

"And this is when we gave her a lemon for the first time." Mr. Shy narrated as he pointed to the photo of a small yellow filly giving the camera a sour pucker of the lips.

Spike immediately smiled as he began snorting, trying to prevent himself from outright bursting into tears with the respective pony in the room.

Then, like a lightning bolt out of nowhere, Fluttershy quickly snatched the book with her hooves before she narrowed her eyes slightly at her parents, her whole face turning a shade of crimson.

"Mom! Dad!" her voice squeaked with embarrassment, "Stop showing these to my friends!"

"Sorry dear! We were just trying to make it up to Spike." her mother replied with a sheepish grin.

The pegasus's blush disappeared as she set the book aside on a nearby coffee table for the moment.

"Make what up?" she tilted her head questioningly.

"Oh. Your dad threatened me with a shovel." Spike replied nonchalantly, much to the chagrin of the now guilty stallion.

Fluttershy's wings quickly spread from her sides as she fearfully addressed her parents.

"What?! Why would you threaten him with a shovel?!"

Mr. Shy rubbed his hoof behind his head, looking very uncomfortable at the question.

"Well, we kind of panicked when we saw him knocking on the door. We didn't realize he was Spike." Mrs. Shy bashfully admitted, turning her glance at the drake next to her who didn't seem the least bit upset with them, much to their relief.

Fluttershy's wings slowly folded back up as she had noticeably calmed down, nodding her head in understanding.

"Sorry about that, Spike. They didn't mean anything by it." she bowed her head softly in shame.

Spike simply dismissed it with a claw. "Meh, it's no big deal. I understand."

Both parents breathed out a sigh of relief, seeing that neither creature was upset with them as they smiled at the two before slowly raising themselves off the couch.

"Your mother and I are going to start preparing dinner if you're still joining us Spike." Mr. Shy stated.

"That sounds great if you'd have me." Spike nodded in appreciation, which all three pegasi warmly smiled in response.

"Oh, of course." Mrs. Shy replied. "Why don't you two talk for a bit while we go get it ready."

With the two ponies slowly making their way out of the room, Fluttershy focused her attention towards Spike who began snorting in restrained laughter again.

"Those photos were the best." he chuckled.

Fluttershy gave the dragon a light glare before she sighed in acceptance with a mild smile.

"Rainbow still jokingly places lemons in front of me." she muttered, before redirecting her focus on the guest's appearance.

"What brings you here Spike? Is everything ok?" she warmly asked, taking a seat on the couch right next to the drake.

At that, Spike slowly lost his smile as he glanced down at the floorboards in thought.

"Do I even really want to tell her about this? Of course, she'll offer sympathy, but would she mean it?"

Then his thoughts shifted back to her parent's recollection of her praises.

"Does she even mean what she told her parents? How do I know I can trust her?"

"Spike?!" the pegasus's voice returned his attention to the mare as she stared at him with a worried frown.

"Spike, are you alright? Why don't you tell me what's wrong." she politely offered, an outstretched wing slowly encompassing him.

Spike nervously twiddled his claws as he began glancing around the room.

"I know I'm supposed to be honest, but do I trust her?"

"Spike! It's ok, we're friends! You can tell me anything." she said confidently before sheepishly looking away from the dragon for a moment.

"You...you do trust me, right?" she uttered nervously before glancing back at the dragon with her resumed motherly concerned look.

Now Spike was on the spot. Does he actually trust her? How could he when they never really had the chance to connect? Heck, does she even trust him?

Then the anger part of Spike's psyche flashed for a split second as it reminded him of the lack of care she gave him while seemingly raving about him to her parents.

"Of course I do Fluttershy. I just never met your parents before and when I heard you were visiting, I thought this would be a good opportunity to meet them." he responded with a toothy smile, trying to sell the deal.

The pegasus didn't appear to have bought the explanation as she slowly rose an eyebrow in concern.

"He's never visited me at the cottage before..." her mind told her.

"Are you sure nothing's bothering you? How's your father doing?" she asked.

Spike inwardly gulped. Now he was on the spot.

"Great!" he all too hastily exclaimed. "He's just out of town for a couple days to... find a job in Equestria."

Fluttershy continued to monitor his expression for several agonizing moments. Each second felt like a gasp for air.

"Can you promise me you're telling me the truth?" she skeptically plead as Spike's could feel his body begin to sweat.

"Come clean now before it's too late. It'd break her heart if she discovered you were lying."

"No, don't! All you have to do is survive a night or two and then leave. She'll never know. She doesn't deserve it."

Spike wanted to be a great friend, he really did...or did he? Sure everypony on his journey so far ended up really loving him, but would she even feel the same way? Did he even want her to after so long of nothing?

Like an accidental burst of flame that escaped his mouth and burned multiple bridges, his mouth had betrayed him.

"I promise, Fluttershy. I trust you."

"Why did I just do that?!"

The pegasus acknowledged him for another scrutinizing moment before she flashed him a cheery smile.

"Well, as long as you say so."

She then proceeded to get up from her spot before turning back around to address him.

"I'm just going to check on dinner. I'll be right back." she happily whistled before skipping off to the other room.

Once she was gone, Spike felt his body collapse, placing his head deep within his legs in a crouched position.

"Why did I promise her? Why did I lie? If she finds out, she'll never want to speak to me again!"

"Like she talks to you so much anyways." another part of his mind countered before the dragon quickly shook his head in defiance.

He gulped as he stared at the lovely furnished living room, now feeling like a small room of torture.

"She can't find out."

Meanwhile, as Fluttershy walked into the kitchen, a conscious thought opened up in her head.

"Why do I still feel like Spike's hiding something?"

The pegasus quickly shook her head free of the thought, trying to sound more confident.

"That's silly! Spike promised - he trusts me..."

"...he does trust me, right?"

A couple of extremely tense hours had passed for the dragon as he tried to forget about his deceit with a few wonderful rounds of 'go fish' played with Fluttershy. It didn't help that the mare smiling at him with a hoof-full of cards was the one he lied to, but it served as enough of a distraction for the time being.

Finally, after they had just finished their 7th or 8th match (he couldn't remember) he heard the soft, yet appropriately loud call of Mrs. Shy beckoning them for dinner. As the dragon and pegasus arrived at the dining room table, they both let their eyes widen in wonder as they gazed upon an elegant feast of daffodil sandwiches, garden salad, and tomato soup laid out in front of them.

"Oh my goodness, this looks amazing!" exclaimed a very happy Fluttershy as she hurriedly rushed for her seat at the table.

"I'll say. They must've worked really hard on this." he commented, before joining the pegasus in a chair of his own, the two parents followed in soon after.

After a few minutes that culminated in everyone beginning their meals and starting a light, friendly banter with each other, they each found themselves happy with the food and company they had to share. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Meaning that it would be ruined, albeit not intentionally.

Soon, they heard a side door open in front of them as in popped a light green pegasus stallion with a blonde mane bun.

"Hey family! How's it going?" cried out the new voice as everyone welcomed him in with a friendly smile.

Fluttershy's brother, Zephyr Breeze was here.

Despite his rather unfortunate first encounter with the pegasus - when Fluttershy kept trying to find her deadbeat brother a job after being kicked out of his parents' place, that may or may not have resulted in the dragon being tricked by the pony into washing a castle-full of windows - Spike actually got along great with Zephyr now.

After finally gaining the courage to achieve something on his own and successfully graduating from Mane Therapy School, Zephyr quickly found a job at the mane salon in Ponyville, where he had become quite the successful mane stylist. Spike was shocked after running into Zephyr again - what he knew once as a sort of con artist and lazy pony was suddenly a determined worker who was actually nice to have a conversation with once in a while. As such, Spike and the rest of Fluttershy's friends soon found themselves befriending the new pony as they each visited him every so often.

"Hey, Zeph." Spike playfully called out, which got the attention of the green pegasus.

"Spike?" he asked with a look of confusion. "What's going on? What are you doing here?"

"Spike's here to visit us for a bit. Come, sit down and have dinner with us." Mr. Shy invited, much to the pony's pleasure.

"Well, don't mind if I do then. Thanks, pop." Zephyr said as he quickly found a fifth seat to join the group at the table.

"How has work been?" asked a grinning Fluttershy, who hadn't seen her brother in a week or two.

"Stylin' manes to everyone who came." he playfully quoted as his sister lightly giggled in her hoof.

He then began playfully digging his plate before a sudden memory came to him, re-focusing his attention on the guest of honor.

"By the way, Spike. I had Rarity come in the other day for her mane and she told me all about your situation. I'm sorry to hear about what happened." he lightly announced before he dug in to a piece of lettuce with his fork.

Meanwhile, Spike felt the grip on his fork loosen as he suddenly dropped the utensil onto his plate with a loud 'clang'. His mouth hung open like a fish out of water as his pupils shrank.

"No... please not now" his mind begged, hoping some greater power would stop this madness before it was too late.

The three other pegasi in the room had both heard and seen Spike's reaction to said statement as they glanced at each other in confusion before turning back around to face Zephyr.

"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Shy, hoping for some elaboration.

Zephyr noticed the looks everyone was giving him as he swallowed his current bite before talking.

"Oh, about how Spike's father..."

"...is looking for a job. Yeah. It's great isn't it?" Spike quickly interrupted, hoping his sudden demeanor was believable enough.

It wasn't.

"No, that wasn't what Rarity told me at all. She told me..."

"Zephyr! Buddy. Maybe this is a conversation for the two of us in private." Spike blinked rapidly, hoping the oblivious pegasus would buy the hint.

Fluttershy however wasn't amused by Spike's odd behavior as she raised a skeptical eyebrow at him before turning back to her brother.

"Zephyr, what did Rarity actually say?" she asked in a polite, yet firm tone - suddenly worrying that Spike's honesty earlier wasn't all that was cracked up to be.

"Uhh..." Spike began stammering, "Zeph's really tired and..."

"Spike..." Fluttershy shot him a warning look as both her eyes began narrowing at him. "Please let him speak."

Spike tried to argue back, but Fluttershy's stern face told him he wasn't getting out of this. He knew he was now suffering for lying to the kind pony as he sulked in his seat - being forced to watch the bombshell be dropped as a form of internal torture.

Mr and Mrs. Shy simply gave each other a concerned look, before also turning to Zephyr.

Zephyr took another slow bite of his food, before clearing his throat. Sighing for a moment upon realizing how serious this situation actually was - Fluttershy with a hardened, yet concerned stare, his parents looking worried, and Spike looking like he wanted to melt in his chair. He wasn't exactly sure what was happening, but he knew that the truth was about to open things up.

"Rarity told me about this dragon that came to the castle and claimed to be Spike's father... Sludge I believe? Anyways, Spike found out that this Sludge guy was only pretending to be his father so he could stay in the castle, but took off when he was confronted. After that, I guess Spike was feeling down because he felt he had no family besides Twilight and he felt that 'the girls' as Rarity says, never really liked him. So, Rarity told me that Spike soon arrived at her boutique, claiming to be on a mission by Twilight to bond with each of the others and confess to them about the fake father. She told me that he was absolutely miserable when he arrived because something about the others never spending time with him or something but they eventually made up, bonded, and last she saw him, he was headed to find the rest."

"That's all Rarity told me anyways." Zephyr sagely concluded as he soon gulped a cup of water down his throat.

Spike felt like he could simply crumble at the spot at any precise moment. As soon as the pegasus had finished his story, all other ponies turned to look at him with different levels of reaction. Mr. and Mrs. Shy both looked shocked as he simply raised his brow in sympathy while she held a hoof over her opened mouth.

Fluttershy's look however made Spike regret ever lying to the pony if he hadn't already. She simply stared at him with her sharp glaring eyes piercing into his soul as he could see tears starting to form at the corners of them. She was sad, she was shocked, she was angry, she was worried, she was all of these - but one emotion spoke volumes louder than the rest.

She was upset with him.

Feeling the weight of all the ponies at the table (Zephyr now included) casting the attention over to him, Spike felt his heart beat rapidly as he tried to think of any course of action, anything he could say to diffuse everything.

"Well..." Spike tapped his claws rapidly on the table. "I did say he was out of town, and I did say I wanted to see you guys..." he nervously laughed.

Fluttershy ceremoniously dropped her silverware on her plate in a huff as she quickly stood from her chair.

"I need to be excused." she said, with a ice-cold tone that sent shivers down Spike's spine. She was very upset with him and it was all his fault. No matter how he felt about her at the moment, she didn't deserve this.

As the sulking pegasus exited out of the dining room and headed towards the upstairs portion of the house through the living room, Spike quickly took the initiative to leap out of his own spot at the table, quickly approaching the mare at the bottom base of the stairs.

"Fluttershy! Wait!" he called out just as a single hoof began climbing the stairs.

"Fluttershy, please! Can we talk about this?" he begged mercifully.

She didn't even bother to turn around, instead her head slowly rose a bit as she gave a slight huff.

"No, Spike we can't talk. I gave you a chance to tell me the truth, and not only did you lie to my face, you broke a promise. If you didn't want to say, you could've just said so. But instead, you openly lied and had the nerve to say you trusted me! I'm so upset right now, I can't even look at you, so please - leave me alone."

She began slowly reaching for the steps again, the dragon frantically searching for the right thing to say to make it all up right now. He had to say something, anything to stop her from shutting him out of her life.

And for the second time today, Spike's mouth deliberately betrayed him in the worst way possible.

"I don't know why you're so upset about all this! Everything is happening to me, not you."

Fluttershy's hoof again abruptly stopped, but this time she did manage to turn around and address the drake with a piercing glare.

Spike's heart stopped as he suddenly felt his veins freezing over at the normally sweet pegasus's anger.

"Uh oh..."

At that same moment, the rest of the family had decided to abandon their meals and venture out to the living room, only to see a very hurt looking pegasus slowly walk towards a very nervous dragon. The three could only walk a little closer to the chaos before stopping at the perfect side view between the two arguing creatures.

"I'm upset..." Fluttershy placed with emphasis, "...because not only did I just discover that one of the creatures I care most about was cruelly manipulated, nor did I just discover that he secretly thought I didn't like him and never told me, but I also found out that he comes here to explain this to me, only to then lie about it and falsely claim that he trusts me!"

At the end of her rant, the pegasus was almost muzzle to muzzle with the dragon.

Now, if Spike were smart, he would do his best to apologize and explain things from his perspective the best he could. He should've done that and he knew it, but one simple phrase sent his brain into his concealed anger once again.

"One of the creatures I care most about..."

Perhaps it was the drake's exhaustion from the long emotional mission he had endured so far, perhaps it was the way in which the pony was getting in his face, perhaps it was simply his frustration that he felt like he had to be the one to offer the claw of friendship to the others while they only had to sit back and accept it while initially barely trying themselves...

Scratch that, it was mostly the last one.

But regardless, suddenly appeasing the situation was no longer an option. He grew angry at the pony in front of him who seemed like they had put the least amount of effort in the past. He was furious and if she was going to get angry with him, then he wasn't backing down.

Spike suddenly developed a slight snarl as he pushed his way closer to the mare in front of him.

"Oh, please! I'm not the only one here who's putting on a charade!"

Fluttershy was taken back for a moment, before her glare returned.

"And what is that supposed to mean?!"

"Please!" Spike rolled his eyes as he jabbed a claw in the pony's chest.

"Besides the very first day we met where you were so excited at meeting a 'baby dragon', You've spent absolutely zero time with me, yet I'm finding out from your parents that you go around spieling about how I'm 'one of your best friends'?! You act like we're so close yet what's the longest conversation we've held since I moved to Ponyville? 'Hey Spike, can you watch my bunny like the sidekick you are while everyone else gets to go visit the Crystal Empire and partake in the Equestria Games?' Some friendship we have there!"

At that, Fluttershy's anger had completely left her face and was replaced with overwhelming sadness. She tried to stop the tears from falling but was unable to do so as she felt her choked sobs begin overwhelming her.

Her parents and Zephyr simply stood there in shock at the ensuing fight, unable to stop the madness.

"Of course you're one of my best friends!" Fluttershy breathed out, before she found her glare return, although having lost some of its impact with tears running down her face. "I love you Spike and I'm sorry I haven't tried enough, but you haven't really tried with me either!"

Spike didn't even blink as his anger continued to release.

"What am I supposed to do?! Try and start hanging out with the pony who has a crippling fear of dragons?! Yeah that will end up well. You were absolutely petrified of me when I had my growth spurt!"

"That's because that wasn't you! That wasn't the Spike we all love, the one I love! I'm not afraid of you now at all, am I?!" she jabbed an accusatory hoof at his snout.

Spike simply placed the hoof off his face before continuing with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh, come on! We both know that if I ever became a permanent adult dragon, you'd be the first to run out of town!"

Fluttershy loudly gasped at this as the tears started on anew, yet her fury returned full force as she developed an open scowl herself.

"How dare you say that?! I would never ever run away from you if that was really who you were! What would ever make you think that?!"

"Oh, I don't know, ask the dragon migration that everyone except you went to!"

Fluttershy took a step back at this, as she took a breath to relax before she approached the dragon much more calmly. She never realized that particular event wounded so deeply. She was afraid of seeing the older dragons, but she was never afraid of Spike. She loved Spike and he.... he should know that right?

She felt new tears coming on as she looked extremely pitiful.

"Spike, that was a long time ago, and I apologize if I ended up hurting your feelings. If I had known it was so important to you, I would've gone."

Spike's scowl dropped as well as the anger left his face, approaching his next question much more softly. Tears began pouring down his face at a rapid rate as his head remained down.

"Do you even care about me at all? How can I even trust you if I feel there's nothing at all?"

Fluttershy's heart leapt out of her chest. This poor creature was suffering because of her and while she initially blamed him for hiding everything, she realized she was hiding too. This was her fault as well!

She walked over to the dragon again, with a soft, gentle voice as she tried reaching out to him.

"Spike..."

Then suddenly, his anger returned for one final outburst, the final nail in the coffin as it were.

"Throughout this whole journey, I've had to constantly learn it was up to me to make the effort with you girls! It was up to me to make a connection! It didn't matter that none of you ever invited me to anything or offered to spend time with me specifically! I had to be the one responsible for years of constantly thinking that 5 mares I constantly saw with Twilight wanted nothing to do with me!"

"Spike..." Fluttershy's heart felt like ripping in half from the pain he was releasing. She should've made the effort too, but a shy pegasus like her always worried or made excuses - and look what those excuses had done now.

"I'm sick of it! What do I matter to you?! Who am I to you?! Where has it been hiding all this time?! Tell me!"

Fluttershy was absolutely miserable as she shakily tried to reach out to her best friend, her dragon.

Her baby.

"TELL ME!"

"YOU'RE LIKE A CHILD TO ME, ALRIGHT!"

"W-what?" Spike paused, his anger completely vanished.

"I wanted to be like a second mother to you, ok!" she continued as her voice pained her and tears blurred her vision.

"After a while of getting to know you and realizing that you really didn't have a family, I wanted to become a second mother behind Twilight for you. I wanted to protect you and keep you safe!"

"But after the first day we met, seeing Twilight shoo me away from you and me worrying about messing up a creature I knew next to nothing about... I grew scared alright! I was worried if I tried too hard or told you how I felt, I'd end up pushing you away and you'd end up hating me!"

Spike remained silent as all traces of words were unable to come out.

"But look at where that got me now! You don't trust me! You think I hate you! I screwed up anyways! I'm a failure! I'M A TERRIBLE MOTHER!" she let off one last roar before she sobbingly bolted up the stairs and entered her bedroom with a quick slamming of the door.

Mr. and Mrs. Shy quickly hopped off the couch and approached the base of the stairs where Spike was currently staring off into the distance.

The dragon slowly fell to his knees as he felt his world come crashing down.

"I could've had a mom." he choked out before bringing his head down to the floor.

Spike soon found himself propped up on the couch sitting next to Mr. Shy who tried to comfort the poor creature with a reassuring hoof on his shoulder, and Zephyr who looked equally concerned yet couldn't find the right words to say. Spike greatly appreciated the two's efforts to cheer him up and he felt like they would've worked...

...if the audible sobs of a heartbroken pegasus upstairs didn't mentally torment him.

Spike sniffled as he let out a long sigh.

"This is all my fault. I didn't want to get so angry, I-I just... I got tired of others only caring about me from a distance. I just wanted to feel loved. I-I'm so sorry."

Mr. Shy gently guided Spike's face up to meet his gaze as he spoke calmly.

"Spike, it's ok. I don't blame you. Fluttershy never told us about the 'mom' thing either... I understand how hurt you must be to have to feel like you had to hide yourself in doubt for so long - to then realize you could've had something else all along. I'm sure she feels the same way too - she didn't want to hide either, but she got upset when she realized she could've made a difference a long time ago."

At his father's reassuring speech, Zephyr's eyes suddenly widened in realization as a familiar event played in his head.

Just then, they could hear several light knocks on the door as Mrs. Shy's voice rang through the room.

"Fluttershy, sweetie. Won't you please let me in so we can talk about this?"

"No!" came a choked reply as Spike's guilt immediately worsened.

"I know you're upset right now, but I think talking will make you feel better."

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel like talking right now!"

"But... you barely touched your dinner."

"I'm not hungry!"

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"Please, I just want to be alone right now!"

Soon they could hear Mrs. Shy slowly trot down the stairs as the crying from upstairs resumed, albeit with less force than before.

She slowly turned to the three other creatures' frowns as she sighed with a lopsided smile.

"She's just upset right now. I'm sure she'll be alright though. She just needs time." she warmly reassured.

Mr. Shy returned the odd smile as he nodded his head.

Spike though, felt extremely low as his body tensed up with regret.

"This is all my fault. I should've talked to her before. I should've told the truth. I..."

Mrs. Shy quickly walked over to the miserable drake and patted a hoof on his back.

"No sweetie. It's not all your fault. You made mistakes, but I think Fluttershy was more upset with herself for making you feel like you had to lie."

Spike's head drooped lower. "That makes it worse."

He sighed again, as he turned to look at the pitied looks of the adults in front of him.

"Throughout this journey, I've had to battle my fears of the others. For so long, I felt like I didn't belong with them - that they were Twilight's friends and family but never mine. But then, I start talking to them and they all the sudden regret everything in the past, and we become family just like that. Don't get me wrong, I love that they love me back and now we can hopefully be super close but... it makes me think... I could've had this years ago. If I or any of them had had these conversations years ago, I could've been much happier then; yet it's always me that has to put in the time and effort and it took me this long to do it! So why couldn't I have said something back then, why did I have to hurt for so long? Why couldn't I have known how they felt then?!"

Zephyr's eyes immediately hardened in a surprisingly serious nature as he stared at the dragon and his two consoling parents.

"Because you and them are both wrong." he spoke in a low hardened tone, quickly catching the attention of everybody.

"Wh- what?" Spike asked, both parents looking at their youngest with intrigue.

"All of you kept pulling yourselves in doubts and fear. You all kept yourselves in the past, even if everyone did want to help, and that prevented you from focusing on the future."

No one said a word as everyone continued to stare at Zephyr with surprise, wondering what he meant.

The pegasus just sighed as he mentally prepared himself for what he was going to say next.

"Spike, do you remember before I got my Mane Therapy License? Back when I kept bouncing around between interests?"

Spike simply nodded his head while Zephyr's parents' eyes widened in realization as they continued to gawk.

"Back then, I kept my fears hidden. I thought I'd never be able to do anything right, but instead of facing the truth I ended up mooching off my parents for far too long. I hurt them by constantly invading their home, but worst of all was I hurt myself from never trying anything."

Mrs. Shy gasped, "Sweetie, no..." she began before Zephyr silently held out a hoof as a sign to let him continue.

"Flutters tried to help me find a job, she tried to help me achieve something, but the plans failed because I realized I kept pushing everything back. I was frustrated at first, I wanted to change but I wanted help in doing so. I never thought about why I was always stuck in the past, why I had to all the sudden be the one to want change."

Spike mentally drew himself closer to Zephyr, hanging on to every word as if they were written scripture. He realized that the two had gone through a similar process and he was desperate to know how to fix it.

"But then I finally figured it out. Other ponies did want to help me, they wanted me to have what I wanted, but I soon discovered that it takes everyone to make a difference."

Spike simply blinked as he tried to process this.

"When I found out I needed to help myself, I became angry. I thought, 'Why couldn't I have known about this years ago? Why is everything finally changing now? Why did my folks never tell me off before?'"

Mr. and Mrs. Shy both felt tears approaching at that.

"That's when I had my epiphany. We were both wrong. My parents never telling me to leave and find a job, and I, for always worrying about what could happen if I fail and never if I succeed. It still hurts to this day that I could've had so much more of my career if I had figured this out earlier, but then I wouldn't be able to focus on my job in the here and now. So, I guess what I'm saying is, if you truly want something, you have to go for it and not worry about what was or what could've been."

Spike's eyes shined brightly with awe as he had never heard the normally laid-back pony be so articulate before. Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Shy felt that same sentiment as they both smiled warmly at their son with tears in their eyes.

"So... what's the lesson here? If no one's right, then what?"

Zephyr simply chuckled.

"You're both wrong kid. You should've never held your feelings in or lied to Flutters, but she should've also been able to tell you her side before this. You both kept things hidden for years and I'm assuming your other friends did as well."

"So, why does it have to be me?" Spike retorted.

"Because if you want something, you have to go for it - even if you feel like they should've said something, you can make a difference here and now. I know it's not a totally positive feeling but think of it this way - you can close the gaps, you can be the one to make those connections. Sure, it hurts that your friends couldn't have come to you after all this time, but if you waited for them, would you have what you've received so far?"

Spike contemplated Zephyr's point. It hurt that no one was right in these situations, but if he pushed past those feelings, he could create potential happiness in the here and now. It was a give and take idea, but the rewards greatly justified the means in his mind.

"And if you and Fluttershy both want to work out your relationship, you're both going to have to address the past - which you two pretty much just did - and move forward towards creating a better tomorrow. Put behind past mistakes and work on what you two would like to see."

Spike smiled at that, before a skeptical pause jumped at him.

"What if it's too late? What if the pain has gone on for too long?"

Zephyr simply smirked at that, before a gentle smile accompanied him.

"What if it's not? What if you tried?"

Spike felt a sudden wave of confidence in him as he went over to bump Zephyr's hoof with his fist.

"Thanks Zephyr. Really - I needed that."

Zephyr grinned as he bumped the fist in return.

"Anytime."

Mr and Mrs. Shy both hugged their son as a sign of a job well done before they turned to Spike with a wave of confidence of their own.

"I'm sure Fluttershy's hurting too after never telling you this all these years, but she's told you now and it's up to the two of you to decide where it goes." Mr. Shy spoke.

"Just like you regret that you've hurt her, I'm positive she regrets hurting you. Either you can live your lives in regret and think about 'what could've been', or you can both stop running and take the leap forwards." Mrs. Shy agreed.

Spike nodded his head before he boldly leapt off the couch and stared defiantly at the second floor of the house.

"I'm going to go talk to her!"

Then, Spike's bravado suddenly flickered out as he realized one fatal flaw.

"But she's got to let me in first."

Everyone in the room began to think of a plan to convince an upset Fluttershy to let the dragon in for a conversation before Zephyr began chuckling.

"If we had her favorite dessert, she'd probably let you in. Even an upset Flutters couldn't resist her favorite treat."

Mr and Mrs. Shy looked knowingly at their son with small smirks whereas Spike was completely lost.

"Favorite dessert?"

Zephyr looked back at Spike.

"Sure. Red Velvet Cupcakes. She could probably eat a million of them if she wanted. She's always so happy whenever she sees one."

"Red Velvet Cupcakes? Why do I have the feeling that..."

Suddenly a metaphorical light bulb appeared over his head.

"That's it! Pinkie's final gift!"

Spike suddenly had an ear-splitting grin as he dug into his backpack beside the couch and pulled out the tin container containing the magically preserved treats.

"Ta-da!" he boldly announced as he showed off the inside of the container to three very surprised pegasi.

"How did you...?" Mrs. Shy began.

"Pinkie Pie." Spike simply stated as everyone in the room accepted that answer with no further questioning.

"Ah, I see." Mr. Shy responded. "Well, these should hopefully help. You and cupcakes should coax her out."

Before Spike started marching up the stairs though, Zephyr stopped him with a wing.

"Before you go up there Spike, are you sure this is what you want?"

Spike's mind immediately began to ponder before a single cohesive answer formed in his head.

"I want Fluttershy."

"Positive!" he eagerly replied with a thumbs up.

Zephyr and his parents smiled fondly as they watched the small dragon march up the stairs with pride - a tin held in his grasp.

"You can do it." he whispered.

There he was - mere inches from Fluttershy's bedroom. He could easily tell it was hers by the butterfly stickers that were decorated on it, that and he could hear sniffling come from the other side.

The good news was that she seemed to be out of tears as she no longer sobbed vocally like before, but he also knew that a second wind would be easy to pick up and he wanted to avoid that as best he could.

Spike quickly knocked on the door as he made himself known to the pony inside.

"Fluttershy, may I please come in? We really need to talk about this."

A voice quickly replied.

"No! I don't want to talk! I don't want to hurt you again!"

From her tone, he could clearly tell she was more distraught than angry or betrayed, which was somewhat of a good sign if not for his guilt. Then he remembered the meaning behind Zephyr's speech.

"Fluttershy, we both know we ended up hurting each other. I kept myself hidden from you for so long and you did the same with me. We both wanted to be there for each other but we were too afraid - but it's time to stop living in the past! Yes, we both ended up making horrible mistakes along the way, but we can't keep running away from our problems. I want you to be in my life if you'll have me in yours, but we can only do that if we work it out now and focus on what could be ahead. So, please. We can work this out - together."

"......."

Fluttershy's silence meant that the words had indeed struck the pegasus's fancy. He got her attention and she sincerely wanted to let him in but a lingering bit of doubt kept her from doing so.

"Time for the final push."

"I also figured you'd want some of these red velvet cupcakes Pinkie gave me."

The door slowly creaked open; although the pegasus was not currently seen, she had invited him in.

"....maybe I would..." he could hear her mutter as he quickly stepped inside the warm green bedroom.

The dragon began wondering where she was until he spotted on the bed what looked like a big pony-shaped lump lying down, hidden underneath the blankets. He inwardly chuckled as he sat next to the pony on the bed. "Some things never change"

Spike decided it'd be rude to try and force the pegasus to come out from underneath her comfort zone so he instead opened the tin up and placed it in front of the two of them.

A yellow hoof quickly shot out from its hidden domain as she instantly grabbed a cupcake and dove it back under.

"Red Velvet Cupcakes. Good to know..."

Spike sighed, taking the initiative to start the conversation.

"Fluttershy, I'm really sorry I lied to you about Sludge and about this whole journey thing in general. I got it stuck in my mind that none of you girls liked me if you never spent time with me, and my assumptions about you were probably the worst of all."

He saw the blanket had tilted its head.

"After our very first meeting, I got upset because we never really seemed to spend time after that. Then the thing with my birthday and the dragon migration showed up and I hastily concluded it was because of your fear of dragons and it really hurt me."

The blanket form slowly moved closer to the opening as it also shifted closer to the dragon.

Spike felt tears beginning to fill up his eyes again.

"But then, we had dragons at the school and then you and everyone else helped Sludge and.... it hurt. I became angry because I assumed it had something to do with me specifically. I felt like I could never trust you if you seemed to have a problem with me."

"Then I came here today and your parents are going on and on about how you always talk about me, and how much you appreciate me, and I grew even more angry and confused. I didn't know what to exactly think or say, but then it brought up past memories of this mission."

Spike sighed.

"All the others I had to open myself up to, only to discover that they wanted to be a part of my family all along. I'm happy that they love me, but I'm also upset because it felt like they never had to try and open up to me- it was on me to make a difference."

"But then your brother helped put things in perspective. The others held the same fears that I have. Sure, it doesn't fully excuse the fact that they never told me, but it also made me realize that if this was something I wanted, then I had the power to do it."

Spike felt the tears finally began falling as he clenched his eyes. Unbeknownst to him, a yellow figure slowly released herself from the blankets to stare at the dragon with large, quivering eyes.

"It was too late though. I ended up lying to you, hurt your feelings, and unleashed all my anger onto you when you didn't deserve it. Sure, I still wished you had told me how you felt a long time ago but now I can't help but feel that I screwed up any chance of a bond you and I could have right now."

The now fully revealed Fluttershy slowly felt her heartbeat patter for the creature as she slowly moved closer to him until she was right next to him, the dragon in his grief not realizing.

Spike looked down at the floor with a somewhat bittersweet smile as he still hadn't noticed the pegasus next to him.

"I did tell your parents one thing today that was the truth. I told them that you were probably the kindest and most caring being I've ever met. How you would always go to extreme lengths for your animals or your friends, and how much I admired that. I told them how much I and the others have seen you grow into such a beautiful, sweet, and more confident pony over the years and how proud we all are of you."

Fluttershy felt a bunch of silent tears fall down her cheeks as she graced the dragon with a large, quivering, warm smile.

Spike quivered one more time as he felt his tear drops hit the floor.

"I'd be honored to have someone like that as a second mother now. I don't care about what happened before - I just want you now. I'm-I'm so sorry." he began loudly sniffling.

Then, suddenly, he felt a soft yellow wing tenderly wipe away the remaining tears in his eyes. He slowly looked up in mild shock to see a sniffling, yet proudly smiling pegasus in front of him as she wrapped both wings around the smaller form.

Spike's head fell into the soft cozy chest of the pony as he nuzzled his way into the comfort as tight as he could.

A warm tender voice vacated his ears as he heard the love and nurturing behind it.

"It's ok, I forgive you. I have and will always love you. I love you so much."

Spike clutched around the pony's soft neck as the two fell into a loving embrace that lasted several minutes, letting the warmth around them substituting any silence.

Finally, Spike naturally released himself from the hug as he fell back onto the bed, sitting directly next to Fluttershy.

The pegasus in question silently took another cupcake from the container, before sliding it over to him with a gesture of her wing. Spike took a cupcake in return as he nodded to her.

"Thanks."

The two happily ate on the sugar confections for a moment before Fluttershy realized it was her time to speak.

"I'm sorry too. It was wrong of me to get so upset when I was hiding things too. I never meant to ignore you or make you think I didn't like you because you were a dragon. I always watched you from a distance with a feeling of pride. I saw how smart, brave, and helpful you are and it warmed me up inside. I always wanted to offer to be like a 'second mom' to you, but I didn't know how Twilight and the others would react. Heck, I wasn't sure how you would take it, and I just became..."

"...you mean you became shy?" Spike quipped.

Fluttershy gave a hearty snort as she delivered a playful smirk to her companion.

"Would you believe me of all ponies could be shy?"

The two gave a good laugh before Fluttershy resumed.

"I had no idea how much I could've hurt you and I'm really, really sorry. I didn't lie about everything however - everything I told my parents was true."

Spike mouth gaped open as he stuttered in awe for a moment, "R-really?"

Fluttershy nodded as she drew the dragon in close so their heads almost touched each other - however this time had both creatures in a much more positive atmosphere.

"Spike, you have no idea how proud I am of you. You saved the Crystal Empire twice, you befriended both Dragon Lord Ember and Changeling King Thorax, and you recently got your wings to save Twilight, Zecora, and Rarity. On top of all that, you've always been willing to help others and be your very best wherever you go. I've seen you grow over the years too and I couldn't be any more pleased with the dragon you are growing into; and mark my words that if you ever do grow, I will never be afraid because I will always see the best adopted son I could ever have."

Spike and Fluttershy both began to lightly sniffle as the mare lovingly nuzzled the dragon's quivering form.

"Does... does this mean we can be a family?" he asked, almost feeling as if this moment was too good to be true.

But it was true because the snuggle she wrapped him around in woke him up from any possible dream.

"I would love nothing more. I promise we can always make time for each other. I love you, Spike."

Spike warmly smiled in his embrace. He had done it, he had finally done it. Much like the others, he was able to let himself go as he had discovered another new member to his family. He felt loved, he felt wanted, it was everything he could've hoped for.

Still something felt different with this one though.

Then, suddenly like a hurricane, Zephyr's words came flooding back in, "Let go of the past."

"I... I did it. The past... it's no longer bothering me. It's finally gone. I'm free!"

Even though they weren't the loudest tears, they were probably the most powerful. He suddenly felt the weight of many pent-up years finally being released like a balloon. He had the trust of everypony he could ever want, his family issue was resolved, and he felt like he was 100% comfortable with himself.

He was finally free.

"I love you too... mom."

Spike, Fluttershy, Zephyr, and the Shy Family had a blast over the last 3 days. After the first night of the tearful union between dragon and pegasus, the whole group decided they would spend time together as one, big happy family.

They all took a tour of Cloudsdale together where they showed Spike all the amazing historical monuments and sites located within the cloudy city.

The Shy's and Spike all cooked together as even Zephyr had to admit he liked having a culinary side to him. Sure he wasn't as good as Spike or his folks, but the time they had laughing and baking more than made up for it. If only the same could be said for the half a dozen red velvet cupcakes Fluttershy consumed.

They went through photo albums of the children when they were younger, much to the chagrin of both Fluttershy and Zephyr; though seeing Spike's interested expression and his occasional bouts of laughter made them realize perhaps the embarrassment wasn't as bad after all.

They told stories, they played games with each other, all the things a typical family could do together. What made it the best though was getting to see a not-so-timid Fluttershy smile, laugh, quip, tease, run around, and partake in all the activities alongside Spike without a hint of fear in her body. She was being her true self around him and the motherly smile she blessed him with always guaranteed him happiness.

After the 3 days were up however, Fluttershy and Spike both decided they needed to return to Ponyville - animals and princesses waiting for them after all. After Spike and Fluttershy waved a hearty goodbye to the extremely nice pegasi couple and Zephyr, who promised they would visit the both of them soon and vice versa, both pegasus and dragon took off with a flap of their wings back to the beloved ground that they called home.

Both creatures flew down to a halfway meeting spot on the outskirts of town - one direction headed towards the animal caretaker's cottage near the Everfree Forest, while the other path headed towards a certain friendship castle in town.

The two stared at each other for a moment before a certain drake broke the silence.

"So... I guess this is goodbye then."

The mare rolled her eyes as she softly cooed in her typical tone.

"Spike, don't make it sound like we're never going to see each other again. You know where to find me, and I to you."

She then stepped closer as she playfully poked him in the chest, lightly chiding him.

"That means whenever you feel like coming over to talk or hang out and have tea, you come and do it. Understand, mister?"

Spike chuckled in response.

"Since when did you become a jokester?"

Fluttershy gave him a sly smile before she wrapped him in a hug.

"I have my ways."

As the hug subsided, Fluttershy then reached out her wing as she began talking, before pulling out a feather with her mouth.

"Before you go, I have a present for you. Have you heard the story of a pegasus's feathers before?"

Spike silently gasped before he instinctively grabbed the feather from a prodding hoof.

"Rainbow told me about it, but are you sure..."

"Of course I am." she responded with her trademark nurturing smile.

"I have one more gift for you before you go." she stated as she walked over towards Spike before crouching down to his level.

"Ever since the first day I met you, I knew you'd be someone special. Never forget that I always will."

She then gave him a tender smooch on the cheek.

Spike in a crazed stupor felt himself mindlessly take a couple steps back, Fluttershy hiding back her laughter with a hoof over her lips before the dragon regained focus.

He smiled sincerely at the form in front of him.

"Thanks, mom. See you soon?"

"Of course. I've got to make sure I let Dr. Fauna rest though. See you later, Spike!" as she trotted down her own path with a large wave of her hoof.

"Bye!" Spike waved back before he felt ready to walk alongside his own path back to Ponyville.

After what only felt like a couple slow steps however, the dragon's rhythm came to a screeching halt as his head swarmed with multiple truths.

"The past, my pain... it's gone. It's all gone!"

"I finally learned the other girls love me. I'm no longer afraid. After all these years, I know they love me!"

"I have my family! Almost all my life, I worried about a family and I now know who they are!"

Spike cracked a quivering smile as he felt a few loose tears stroll down his side.

"All my pain, my heartache... it's over now. I'm free! I'm free! The journey is over and I'm free!"

"Wait until I tell... TWILIGHT!"

Spike suddenly felt himself sprint full speed towards the castle with all of his energy. He hadn't seen Twilight in almost three weeks and he was practically bouncing for joy over telling her possibly the best news in his entire life.

He was going to return to the pony he loved most of all - running through town as he finally felt completely in peace with himself for a first in a very long time.

"I'm coming, Twilight!"

Author's Note

Spike's quest is almost over - all 5 ponies have given Spike the love in their hearts and now the dragon heads on home for a well-deserved conclusion.

Not going to lie, some of the ideas in this chapter play off one of my other stories, "Dragon Contemplation" (mainly the "Dragon Quest" stuff), but other than that, this chapter was a joy to write despite it's length.

I'm probably going to be posting the epilogue about the same time as this chapter, so stay tuned for that.

(*Also, if you haven't read "Dragon Contemplation" yet, you could... you know... click here...*)

Anyways, thank you for reading and see you next chapter!

Sincerely,

frenettek314