The Feelings We Keep Inside

by jw278

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Cadance, Spike, Rarity, Main 6, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance
Length: 40747

We all have feelings we keep inside. Some are better at doing this than others, question is. What happens when you've hidden them so well that you yourself have no idea about it.

We all have feelings we keep inside. Some are better at doing this than others, question is. What happens when you've hidden them so well that you yourself have no idea about it.

Please feel free to leave a comment and I hope you like it :twilightsmile:

As always thanks for the help HAKDurbin :twilightsmile: If you haven't already go check out his stories

Published 2020-12-26 16:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-02-02 04:48:11 UTC

Chapter 1

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and there isn’t a cloud in the sky as we join Rarity in Ponyville. She’s happily walking down the road greeting ponies as she makes her way to the Castle of Friendship. She comes to the castle door, knocks on it and waits for an answer. She soon hears a familiar voice from inside the castle say, “Coming.” As the door opens, Twilight is standing there with a smile on her face as she says, “Rarity, you made it. This is great. Everypony else is already here. Come on in.”

“Thank you, Twilight, dear. I do hope I’m not too late.” Rarity says with a warm smile as she makes her way inside the castle and the friends begin to walk down the corridor towards the dining room.

Twilight chuckles and says, “Not at all. You’re fashionably late as always, Rarity.” This made Rarity giggle along with her before they come to the dining room door and open it to walk in. As the mares do, a loud bang goes off and confetti comes down over them as Pinkie Pie goes running up to Rarity and pulls her into a bone crushing hug as she says, “Rarity, you’re here! Now we can start the party! YAY!”

As Pinkie releases her from the hug, Rarity gaps for air before smiling at her friend and removing some confetti from her mane as she says, “Yes, I suppose we can. Sorry for making you wait, Pinkie dear. I know how you like a good party.”

Pinkie Pie happily bounces over to her seat and says, “It’s ok. You’re here now. That’s the main thing,” as she lands in her seat with a smile. Twilight and Rarity make their way over to some seats around the table and join the others.

“Hello girls,” Rarity says with a smile. “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“That’s ok, Rarity,” Fluttershy says as she smiles at her friend.

“Yeah, don’t fret about it, sugar cube. You haven’t missed anything. It’s just nice to be able to take a break from the farm every now and then,” Applejack says as she looks at her friend, with a smile.

“Says you. I’m starving. What kept ya, Rarity?” Rainbow Dash asked as she glared at her friend with folded arms in annoyance at having to wait.

As Rarity clears her throat, she says, “Yes. Well, sorry, Rainbow Dash. I was just finishing off my latest creation and it took a little longer than I would have liked.”

“Called it,” Rainbow Dash said as she sniggered before holding out her hoof to Applejack. Applejack had a disgruntled face as she placed some bits into Rainbow Dashes hoof before saying, “I was so sure it was gonna be something else this time. Guess I should of known better.”

As Rainbow continues to laugh, Rarity looked shocked and said, “You bet on why I was going to be late?”

Rainbow stopped laughing and said, “It wasn’t much of a bet if you ask me.”

“Well, I never,” Rarity said looking a bit annoyed at her friends.

Applejack looked at Rarity and said with a smile, “We don’t mean anything bad. It was just a bit of harmless fun between friends.”

As Rarity takes a breath, she says, “Well I suppose you have a point,” as she smiles back at Applejack. Just then the dining room door opens and Cadance walks in.

“Oh, Rarity, you’re here,” Cadance says happily as she makes her way over to a seat next to Twilight and sits down.

Rarity smiles back and says, “Hello, Princess Cadance, what a pleasant surprise. I had no idea you were coming to our little lunch date today.”

Cadance giggled and said, “Please, Rarity, just call me Cadance. We’re all friends here. As for this little get together, Twilight invited me last night. I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it, but Shining Armor insisted that I come. Although I don’t like the idea of leaving him and little Flurry Heart at the Crystal Empire, he said that I never get any time off, so I should come and enjoy myself for a change. So here I am.”

As Cadance looks around the table and smiles at everyone she says, “Between you and me, it’s been such a long time since I got to just relax and be one of the girls. I’m really looking forward to just being able to let my mane down and not having to worry for a change.”

As everyone smiles back at Cadance, Rarity says, “Yes, I can’t imagine how hard it must be to be a princess with so many responsibilities. You must be worn out with all the work you have to do.”

“Hey! I’m a princess too you know, and I have to run the school of Friendship. It’s no picnic for me either, you know.” Twilight says as she folds her arms and looks at Rarity.

“Oh yes, yes. Of course, Twilight.” Rarity says with a sympathetic smile before saying, “All I meant was that Cadance has to run the whole Crystal Empire and never gets time to just relax like us, so I’m glad she was able to make it.”

Twilight unfolded her arms and laughed as she says, “I know Rarity. I was just playing with you. I think it’s great that Cadance was able to come. We hardly ever get to spend time together anymore... Well unless Equestria is in danger.”

“Well, my Pinkie sense isn’t going off, so nothing dangerous to worry about.” Pinkie Pie happily says with a big smile on her face.

“Oh, that’s good to hear. At least I don’t have to worry about my poor little animal friends getting hurt,” Fluttershy says as she takes a calming breath.

“Please, we’re amazing. Even if anything was to happen, we could deal with it within 10 seconds flat,” Rainbow Dash says with a smug grin on her face.

“Well, if you ask me the most dangerous thing is that ego of yours RD.” Applejack says as she began to laugh, joined shortly by all the others in the room.

Twilight stands up and says, “Let me just go get the food. I’ll be right back,” as she starts making her way out of the room.

“Hey Twily, let me help,” as Cadance starts to stand up before Twilight shakes her head and says, “Don’t be silly. You are all my guests. I’m quite capable of getting some food. Just sit back and relax,” she says as she walks out the room.

“Hmmm, that’s strange,” Rarity says as everyone looks at her, “Doesn’t Spikey-wikey, normally do that sort of thing? Come to think of it, where is he? He would normally be here to greet me by now.”

“Oh right. You weren’t here earlier,” Cadance says as she looks at Rarity. “Spike was here but was summoned to Canterlot Castle by Princess Celestia for some royal duties. He’ll probably be back later tonight.”

“Oh, I see. That’s too bad. I had hoped to see him today, but I guess it can wait till tomorrow,” Rarity says giving off a bit of a sad smile.

Just then, Twilight came back into the room carrying some big plates of food, smaller plates for her friends, drinks, and cupcakes and placed them on the table with her magic. After Twilight takes her seat, everyone starts to help themselves to the food and drink. All except Rarity. She clears her throat to get Twilight’s attention and says, “Twilight, I do hate to be a bother, I really do. It’s just I-“

As Twilight smiles at her friend a flash of purple light goes off in front of Rarity, cutting her off, as she looks down to see all her favourite foods on a plate for her and the daisy sandwiches with the crust cut off, just how she likes them. As Rarity looks back up at Twilight, she smiles as she says, “Oh, thank you Twilight. I do hope it wasn’t too much trouble. I don’t mean to be picky; I just can’t eat the crust.”

Twilight lets out a giggle and says, “It was no trouble for me at all. All this food was made by Spike this morning before he left. He knows how you like the crust cut off.”

As Rarity smiles warmly at the thought, she whispers, “Such a sweet little dragon.”

Just then, Pinkie Pie lets out a massive belly laugh and as everyone looks at her, she says, “That makes sense now. I thought these cupcakes tasted like Spike’s. I mean no offense Twilight, but you’re no baker.”

As everyone joins in on the laughter, Twilight says, “None taken, Pinkie Pie. I know where my talent lies and it’s not baking,” making everyone laugh harder.

As Pinkie pie scarfs down a cupcake, she says, “These are really good. I’m lucky he’s your number one assistant, Twilight, cuz if he ever went into business selling cupcakes, me and the Cake’s would have some real compaction on our hooves. Let me tell ya.”

Applejack joined in the conversation by saying, “I couldn’t agree more, Pinkie,” as she puts down her drink with a smile and then continues to say, “That little guy sure can cook.”

“Yeah, he’s not too bad,” Rainbow says as she finishes off her sandwich before saying, “He’s really come along in his flying as well. I mean, he’ll never be as awesome as me, but with a bit more training I recon he could even try out for the Wonderbolts. Hey, that’s not a bad idea. Just think about it. Spike being the first dragon to be a Wonderbolt. That would be so cool!”

As Twilight places her cup down on the table and grins at Rainbow Dash, she says, “Sorry, Rainbow. Not gonna happen. Spike’s my assistant and you can’t have him.” Rainbow shrugs her shoulders and goes back in for some more food.

As a few of the girls let out a few laughs, Cadance asks, “So what have you all been up to lately?”

Twilight smiles at her sister-in-law and says, “Well, since the students have broken up for the semester, I’ve just been working on plans for the new term.” As Twilight’s smile gets bigger, she says, “In fact, I worked out that if we can take registration more sufficiently. Then we could have 5 seconds off of form room and it will give the students more time to get to the first class.”

As the girls begin to snigger at what Twilight said, Cadance placed her hoof over her mouth and says, “Oh my, that is impressive, Twilight,” as she tried to hold back her laughter, so not to hurt Twilight’s feelings.

As Twilight stared at her friends with a look on her face that says, ‘See, I knew she’d be impressed,’ Rainbow Dash leaned back in her chair and said, “That’s Twilight for ya,” before saying, “As for yours truly, I’ve just been helping the weather team out and working on my routine with the Wonderbolt’s.”

Applejack put her drink down and says, “Well, as you know most of my time gets taken up by work on the farm. Fun thing though, I woke up this morning to go buck some apple tree’s and it was all done. In fact, the whole orchard was done.” Applejack turned and gave Futtershy a knowing smile.

Fluttershy let out a quiet little giggle as she looked back at Applejack and says, “Yeah, Discord was telling me that he wanted to talk to Big Mac about O&O. So, I may have mentioned that because of your work schedule, you and Big Mac don’t get a lot of time off. I may have also said that because of this, you may not be able to make it to our little lunch today. I guess Discord really wanted to talk to Big Mac about O&O,” as Fluttershy finished giggling, she says, “I do hope he didn’t cause you any problems?”

Applejack laughed and says, “Not at all. Gave us all a bit of a fright waking up to see all the apples in there baskets, but we were grateful for his help. Granny even made sure to make him an apple pie as thanks.”

Fluttershy smiled and says, “I’m so glad,” before looking over to Rarity and asking, “You just came back from your trip from Manehattan, right? How is Rarity For You doing?”

Rarity places her drink down and smiles as she says, “Yes, the shop is doing fine. Thank you for asking, dear. I just had to go over there and check up on things while dropping off some new designs. Although, I did meet a nice unicorn stallion while there by the name of Emerald Cloud and he mentioned that he was coming to Ponyville tomorrow, so I offered to meet up with him.”

“Oh, really?” Cadance asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Rarity smiles happily and says, “Yes, apparently he likes to travel to places he hasn’t been to before and said Ponyville sounded like a nice place to come see. So, I of course told him that Ponyville is like no other place, and after talking about how much I loved it here he said he just had to come see it himself.”

Twilight looks over to Rarity and says, “That’s great Rarity, sounds like you made a new friend.”

As Rarity picks up her drink, she smiles at Twilight and says, “It appears so.”

As time goes on, the girls happily chat away, enjoying themselves. Twilight decides to go get some more drinks and leaves the room, Rarity finishes the last bit of her sandwich and wipes her mouth before saying, “That was truly delicious. I must remember to thank Spike for putting on such a lovely spread.” Just then an idea came to her as she says with a bright smile, “I know. I have some gems from our last gem hunt together that I saw him eyeing up. I’ll give them to him as a thank you for going to such an effort.”

Cadance stifles a giggle and says, “I’m sure he’ll like that, Rarity. You know how he likes a good gem to snack on.”

Rarity lets out a giggle of her own and says, “It’s the least I could do for him. He’s such a hard working baby dragon. Why, it wouldn’t be right not to at least thank him in some way.”

Cadance lets out a small sigh, as she says, “Huh, right, of course.” Getting a confused look from Rarity, Cadance takes a deep breath before saying, “Why do you keep calling him a baby dragon?”

This gets the attention of the other girls as they all now look at Cadance, before Rainbow Dash says, “Err hello, cuz he is. I mean, he’s a baby dragon after all.” All the girls had the same look on their faces at Rainbow Dash’s answer, a look that said that’s right.

Cadance lets out another sigh as she shakes her head before looking at all the girls and saying, “Yes, technically, Spike is a baby dragon, however, do you even know how old he is?”

As the girls all look around at each other, not one of them could give an answer to Cadance’s question. Cadance gave them a saddened look as she said, “Spike has been in Ponyville for years and has even had birthdays here and you’re telling me not one of you even knows his age?”

As Cadance watched the girls looking around at each other feeling dejected, Pinkie Pie, looking sorrowful with her mane a bit deflated, says, “We have celebrated Spike’s birthday, but every time I try to find out how old he is, I was shot down by him. Even Twilight wouldn’t tell me.”

After hearing Pinkie’s answer, Cadance closed her eyes before saying, “It’s not hard to figure out if you put some thought into it. In fact, given how well you plan things, Pinkie, I thought you of all ponies would of figured it out.” As Cadance opened her eyes to look at them all, she continued to say, “Twilight hatched Spike when she got her Cutie Mark, as you all know since that is when you got your marks too.”

As a look of realisation washes over them all, they all sit there for a moment in shock before Pinkie asked, “What, are you saying Spike is only 4 years younger than Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy? This means he’s only 3 years younger than me and Rarity.”

As they all watch Cadance nod her head, Rarity shouts, “What!?! How can that be? I thought dragon’s age differently to ponies?”

Cadance looks around the room and says, “They don’t. They age at the same rate ponies do, only they live longer so their bodies normally take longer to grow like with the molt effect. However, a dragon can also grow in other ways, rather than growing naturally, they ca-

Just then, Fluttershy cuts in and asks, “You mean, like when Spike grew from his greed?”

Cadance smiles gently at her and says, “Yes, greed is one way they can grow, but from my understanding it isn’t greed that makes them grow, rather it’s the need to protect what is theirs that makes them grow. Most dragons grow when there is an overwhelming need to do so, be it to protect their treasure or for other reasons.” As Cadance sighs, she continues to say, “Which is why, because of his age, Spike is still seen as a baby dragon by dragon culture, but here in Equestria, where he was raised and lives, for all intense and purposes, Spike is an adult.”

As all the girls still sit there in shock of this new information about Spike, Rarity starts to stutter as she says, “B...bu...but Twilight still calls him her baby dragon!”

Cadance looks at Rarity and says, “Of course, she does. He is her baby brother after all. Not to mention Twilight and Spike have been together since she was young. She did hatch him after all. I mean, seriously, did none of you think it was strange how Spike was working as Twilight’s number one assistant if you thought he was only a baby? Or how about all the help he gives each of you when you need it? Not to mention the work he does for the other Princesses. What exactly do you think Spike does when he is summoned to Canterlot Castle for royal duties? Play games?”

As Cadance continues to look around at everyone looking shocked, she says, “Spike isn’t just Twilight’s number one assistant. He is without doubt one of the most trusted creatures in all of Equestria. It isn’t an exaggeration when I say that the Princesses, me included, have come to depend on him greatly. The help and support he has given us over the years is not something just any creature could do.” As Cadance smiles warmly at them all, she says, “The title of number one assistant truly is a title only he could hold. That is how amazing Spike truly is.”

After taking a quick drink and still seeing the girls sitting there in silence, Cadance says, “Admittedly, we have only come to understand this much about dragon culture because of how things are with the dragons now. Since the school of Friendship opened, Spike and Twilight have learnt all they can from Smolder about dragons, for instance, when a dragon reaches adulthood they gain the ability to control their size and can choose to be whatever size they wish.” As Cadance takes a breath, she asks, “Did none of you think to even inquire into dragon culture when there was a dragon at your school?”

Seeing the downtrodden looks on all their faces, Cadance snorts as she laughs and says, “I mean come on, I know Aunty Luna can be a bit scary at times, but not even she would put a baby to work,” getting a few half smiles from some of the girls at her attempted little joke.

A million thoughts begin to run through Rarity’s head as she says, “But, why didn’t he ever tell us? Tell me!?”

Cadance sighs before saying, “Can you imagine how hard it must be for him? A dragon living amongst ponies and looking like a baby, always being looked down upon? I guess he just figured it would be easier to play the part rather than having to try telling the ponies around him that he was actually around the same age as them each any every time. He did try to once or twice back in the day, but the ponies didn’t believe him and even worse, teased him about it. So I guess that’s why he never told any of you and knowing Spike, he probably asked Twilight not to say anything either.”

“But we’re his friends. We would have believed him!” Rarity said getting a bit angry at the idea of Spike keeping such a secret from her.

“Yeah, it doesn’t make a difference what age Spike is. He’s still our friend, no matter what!” Fluttershy said as a smile returned to her face.

Cadance couldn’t help smile at them all hearing Fluttershy say that and seeing them all nod in agreement. All except Rarity, who just sat there quietly, as Cadance looked over at Rarity with a sympathetic smile, she said, “I’m sure this isn’t easy for you all. But, Spike must have his reasons for not wanting to tell you- to tell all of you. In truth, I shouldn’t have told any of you this, but it wasn’t hidden from any of you. You just didn’t look into it. Maybe because it was easier not to do so.”

Rarity gives Cadance a small but yet sad smile before Cadance looks around at them all and says, “I would greatly appreciate it if you could all keep this to yourselves and not tell anyone, and not even discuss it with Twilight. Best to wait for Spike to come out and tell you himself,” as Cadance takes one last glance at Rarity and smiles, she says, “Maybe then you will find out the reason why he chose to keep this from you.”

As Cadance watched the girls give her a Pinkie promise, she smiles at them and says, “Thank you girls. I know it must of been shocking to find this out, but I wanted you to know, so you would have time to get used to the idea before Spike told you himself.”

As the girls all give Cadance a nod of understanding, she smiles and picks up her drink, saying, “So tell me, what’s it like being teachers?”

As the girls told Cadance about their experiences at teaching, they were happy for the change in conversation, none more than Rarity. Even though she joined in on the conversation, however, she was more quite now than before.

Just then, Twilight came back in with a smile on her face as she placed drinks down on the table and said, "Sorry for the wait, girls. How about some fresh drinks?” Before anyone had chance to answer, a scroll appeared in front of Twilight. As she used her magic to open it, she says, “It must be from Spike. I’m glad Celestia taught me the spell to be able to send and receive letters from Spike like her now.”

As she quickly scanned over the letter, she said, “It’s from Celestia. She says that she’s sorry to ask this, but she needs your assistance with a matter at Canterlot, Cadance.”

Cadance stands up and smiles as she says, “A princess' work is never done. Sorry to eat and run everypony, but it’s been nice speaking to you all. Twilight, could you tell her I’m on my way?” As Cadance watches Twilight send a response she smiles at her sister-in-law and gives her a quick hug before saying, “Thanks for the invite, Twily. Sorry about this and thanks again, girls. This was fun. Let’s do it again sometime,” before saying her final goodbyes to everyone and leaving for Canterlot Castle.

After she was gone, the girls stuck around for a few more hours to enjoy themselves before all deciding to call it a day and go their separate ways. Later, at night, as Rarity was getting ready for bed, she sat in front of her mirror and opened a drawer. She pulled out a box and took out the fire ruby Spike had so generously given her on his first birthday in Ponyville. As she touched it with her hoof, her thoughts went back to that day they were falling to their doom and of him going to tell her how he felt. A tear starts to form in her eye as she whispers, “Oh, Spike, why didn’t you tell me about all this?” before slamming the box closed, placing it back into the draw and climbing into bed.

Chapter 2

It’s another lovely day in Ponyville. The sun is shining and birds are chirping as we join Rarity walking through the street with Emerald Cloud. Rarity lets out a small sigh that Emerald Cloud catches and says, “I do hope I’m not boring you, Rarity.”

Rarity quickly snaps back to her senses and smiles at Emerald Cloud as she says, “Oh, no, not at all. Please forgive me. What were you saying?”

Emerald Cloud lets out a small chuckle as he says, “That’s good to hear. I said you were right about Ponyville. It sure is a beautiful place. Almost as beautiful as you.”

Rarity blushed slightly and said, “Oh, that’s very sweet and kind of you to say, Emerald. Thank you.”

Emerald Cloud cleared his throat and said, “Rarity, I mean no offence and I do hope you don’t mind me asking but, is everything ok? It’s just you seem, shall we say, a little out of it today. You hardly said a word or ate a bite at lunch today. If there’s anything bothering you, I’d like to help,” as Emerald Cloud starts scratching the back of his head, he nervously says, “Unless it’s me that’s bothering you and if it is I ca-“

“What!?! No, Emerald. You’ve been nothing but a gentlecolt all day,” Rarity replied before sighing and saying, “This is all my fault. I’m sorry. The truth is I’ve recently just found out something about a dear friend of mine and it’s knocked me through a loop a bit in all honesty. I hardly slept last night because of it.”

“Oh my. I see. Well, I don’t know how much help I could be, but if you want to talk about it I would gladly listen. Who knows? Maybe talking about it could help,” Emerald Cloud said with a smile.

Rarity smiled back as she gently shook her head and said, “That’s very kind of you to offer, but it’s not something I can share with anypony.”

As Emerald Cloud used his magic to pluck a flower from the ground, he said, “I understand,” before brushing Rarity’s mane back over her ear with his hoof and placed the flower behind her ear as he moved his face closer and said in a low calming voice, “This flower isn’t as beautiful as you but now that it’s with you, it will have a chance to bask in your radiance,” before kissing Rarity gently on her cheek.

Rarity quickly took a step back, blushing as she looked at Emerald Cloud. Before she had a chance to speak, Emerald Cloud said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I just thought... I don’t know what I thought to be honest. I was hoping it would cheer you up though, I guess.” Before he turned away and continued to say, “Now, not only have I made you feel uncomfortable, but I must look like a right fool. I’m sorry, I’ll just lea-“

“No!” Rarity said cutting him off and making him stop before turning him around with her magic and giving him a warm smile, saying, “It’s fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. You were just trying to cheer me up. Thank you.”

“Oh, what a relief,” Emerald Cloud said as he sighed before he began to let out a little chuckle and said, “I’d thought I’d messed things up.”

Rarity giggled and said, “No, don’t be silly. I thought it was very charming of you.”

As a big smile came on to Emerald Cloud’s face, he said, “Look, I hope this isn’t to forward of me, but I’m here in Ponyville for a few days and if you are free tomorrow night I would very much like to take you out to dinner. What do you say?”

Rarity thought for a few moments before saying, “Well, I do have some work that I need to get done,” as she was saying that she saw Emerald Cloud looking at her with a dejected look on his face and continued to say, “But, I don’t see it being a problem. We can class it as a do over for my behaviour at today’s lunch.”

Emerald Cloud had a smile on his face from ear to ear hearing that and said, “That’s great!” Getting all excited as he says, “But don’t worry about today. I was just grateful to be able to spend time with you. I’ll make the arrangements today and pick you up at 8 o' clock on the dot tomorrow night. How does that sound?”

Rarity couldn’t help but giggle at how happy Emerald Cloud looked and blushed slightly as she said, “That sounds great to me.”

As she stopped her giggling and smiled at Emerald Cloud, she heard a voice from behind her say, “Hi, Rarity.” Rarity stopped frozen for a moment as she recognised that voice and then turned around to see Spike standing behind them with a smile on his face “Spike! Oh no, how much of that did he hear or see?” Rarity thought to herself before saying, “Spike! What are you doing here?” surprised to see him.

Spike raised an eye at her and said, “I live here. Well, not here, here, but Ponyville.” He said with a chuckle before saying, “Are you ok? You’re acting kind of weird.”

Rarity laughed nervously and said, “Well, yes. I’m perfectly fine. You just surprised me. That’s all.”

Spike smiled and said, “That’s good to hear. I’ve just finished all my work for Twilight for the morning and had a bit of spare time, so I thought I’d pop over to the boutique to see if you needed a hand with anything when I saw you over here talking to somepony. I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

Rarity sighed, relieved that Spike didn't appear to have seen or heard any of the conversation that her and Emerald Cloud where talking about, before saying, “No, don’t be silly, Spikey-“ Rarity stopped for a second and started to remember what she learned yesterday about Spike. Getting another confused look from Spike, Rarity cleared her throat and said, “Of course, you’re not interrupting.” Rarity smiled at him and then turned to Emerald Cloud and continued to say, “Sorry. Let me introduce you. This is Emerald Cloud, a friend I met in Manehattan the other day and this is Sp-”

“So, you’re Spike,” Emerald Cloud said, cutting Rarity off as he smiled at Spike. “Rarity told me a lot about you when we met the other day and I must admit, I was intrigued. I’ve never met a dragon before and by the sounds of it, you are one hard working little dragon at that.”

Spike smiled pleasantly as he held out his claw and said, “Yep, that’s me. Spike the Dragon at your service. Pleasure to meet you, Emerald Cloud.”

As they shook each other’s hoof and claw, Spike laughed and said, “So what did Equestria’s number one fashion designer say about me? I hope it was all good.”

Rarity laughed out loud and said, “Oh, Spike, you litt- you flatterer, you. I may work hard, sure, but I wouldn’t say I’m the number one fashion designer.”

“I would,” Spike said happily, as he chuckled along.

Emerald Cloud joined in with a smile and said, “I’d have to agree with Spike on this one,” before continuing to say, “And don’t worry, Spike. Everything Rarity told me about you was nothing but good. In fact, I’d go as far as to say she couldn’t stop praising you and talking about how much you do to help her and your other friends.”

Rarity blushed slightly and said, “Well, yes, it’s true. Spike has been a great help to me over the years and I couldn’t ask for a greater friend,” as Rarity smiled at Spike she continued, “But, let’s not over do it. The last thing we need is for you to get an ego as big as Rainbow Dash.”

Spike sniggered and said, “Don’t worry. No pony could beat Rainbow when it comes to ego,” making himself and Rarity laugh out loud.

As they finished laughing Spiked asked, “So, do you need a hand at the boutique today Rarity?”

Rarity thought for a moment before saying, “Well, there are one or two things I could do with getting finished, but-”

As she said that, she glanced at Emerald Cloud and was about to continue when Emerald Cloud noticed and cut her off by saying, “Don’t worry about me, Rarity. The truth is I have some things to sort out myself, so why don’t we call it a day and I’ll catch you tomor-.

Rarity got a bit worried and cut Emerald Cloud off by saying, “Oh no, Emerald Cloud. I wasn’t implying that you were stopping me from doing my wor-“

Emerald Cloud chuckled and said, “I know, Rarity, but you do have some work to do and like I said, I also have things I must attend to, so it’s ok,” cutting Rarity off as he smiles at her.

As Rarity smiled apologetically at Emerald Cloud, she said, “Well, if you’re sure.”

Emerald Cloud nodded and said, “I’m sure,” before looking over at Spike, with a smile and saying, “It was really nice meeting you, Spike. I hope we get a chance to talk again before I have to leave Ponyville.”

Spike happily smiled back and with a little chuckle, said, “I’m sure we will. Ponyville isn’t very big, so chances are I’ll run into you at some point.”

Getting a laugh out of both Rarity and Emerald Cloud, the three parted ways after saying their goodbyes. Rarity and Spike made their way towards the Carousel Boutique as Emerald Cloud went on his way with a smile. Just as he went around the corner he saw a bucket of water against the wall, with a towel hung next to it, he stuck his hoof into the water to clean it and as he began to dry his hoof, the smile he wore was replaced with an angry look, as he said, “I can’t believe I let that filthy little thing touch me!” As he threw the towel to the floor he grinned and said, “No matter. It will all be worth it in the end,” as he walked off chuckling to himself.

As we join Rarity and Spike, they are just walking into the boutique after an unusual quiet walk to the shop. As Rarity walks into the shop, Spike follows behind, closing the door as he asks, “You sure everything's ok, Rarity?”

“Hmmm? Oh, why yes. Of course. Why do you ask?” Rarity answers as she trots over to her work station and sits at her sewing machine.

“Well, it’s just you seem, how do I say this? Unusually quiet today. I mean, we haven’t spoken since we left Emerald Cloud. Is something bothering you? Maybe I can help,” Spike replied with a hopeful smile.

“Is something bothering me? Is something bothering me?! How about, the fact that you’ve been keeping the secret that you’re only 3 years younger than me and running around like a kid with a school boy crush on me for years, and you’ve never told me!” Rarity thought to herself as she sat there starting to feel the anger rise. She snapped out of her thoughts at the realisation that she hadn’t said anything and gave Spike her best fake smile as she said, “No. Nothing's bothering me, Spike. I was just caught up in my thoughts of dress making. That is all, but thank you for worrying about me.”

Spike smiled happily at her and said, “If you’re sure,” after seeing Rarity nod her head, Spike said, “Well why don’t you get started on the work and I’ll make you a nice cup of coffee and then we really can get started," before he makes his way to the kitchen.

Rarity let out a sigh of relief as she saw him going into the other room and started her work shortly after Spike came back and placed her coffee on the table next to her and stood next to her as her pin cushion. As Rarity worked, she couldn’t help but notice how close Spike was to her and caught him glancing at her from time to time, as she thought to herself, “Has he always stood this close to me while I worked? Have I really never noticed the glances until now?” feeling a bit uncomfortable Rarity cleared her throat and said, “Spike, would you mind taking a step back?” As she said that, she saw a hint of pain in his eyes at her request as he did so and quickly said, “It’s just you’re standing in my light.”

Spike smiled at Rarity and said, “Oh, sorry, Rarity. I didn’t realise. Is this better?”

Rarity nodded her head and gave him a little smile back as she said, “Yes, that’s find dea- Spike.” Spike gave Rarity a funny look as she corrected herself. Not knowing why she had done that, Rarity quickly said, “Oh, that reminds me. I have yet to give you your gift,” as she carried on working to avoid Spike’s look. She then used her magic to bring out a basket full of gems and placed them on a table a few feet away.

Spike ran over with a smile and asked, “Are these all for me? And if so, why? I haven’t done anything to deserve them.”

Rarity chuckled at his questions, as she carried on working and said, “They are just a small token of my appreciation for that lovely lunch spread you put together yesterday. The food was delicious as always.”

Spike beamed with pride and said, “I’m glad you liked it, but I can’t accept all these gems, Rarity.”

“Nonsense. Of course you can. They are a gift and it would be rude to turn down a gift from a lady, Spike,” Rarity said with a little smile as she worked, knowing full well Spike wouldn’t be able to say no to her now she said that.

“Thank you, Rarity,” Spike said before he came running over and pulled her into a hug, surprising her and to both of their surprise, she instinctively pushed him away causing Spike to get worried as he asked, “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“Wha?! No, of course not! Don't be silly,” Rarity said in a panic and still a little shocked at herself for pushing him away. As she saw Spike looking at her, Rarity let out a fake laugh and smiled at Spike as she continued to say, “It’s just I’m working right now and I’ve worked up a bit of a sweat and wouldn’t want to make you dirty.”

Spike gave her a half-hearted smile and said, “Oh, yeah. I guess you’re right. Sorry. I guess I just got a bit over excited about the gems. We should probably get back to it.”

Rarity gave the same half-hearted smile back at Spike as she nodded and said, “It’s quite alright, Spike. I’m glad you like them.” Before they went back to work and the silence returned.

As they continued to work, Spike asked in a quiet, almost sad voice, “So, are you looking forward to your date with Emerald Cloud tomorrow?”

Rarity immediately stopped what she was doing and looked at Spike worryingly, as he pointed at her ear and continued to say, “He seems like a nice stallion. If that’s what’s been bothering you, don’t be. You have nothing to worry about. You’re great and there isn’t a stallion alive that wouldn’t like you. I’m sure it will work out for you,” as he gave her the best smile he could muster.

As Spike finished saying that, it dawned on Rarity, she still had the flower behind her ear, she had forgotten all about it when Spike turned up. Not only that, but if Spike knew about the dinner tomorrow night, it means he must have seen and heard everything.

“What? Date? No.” Rarity said as she laughed nervously before saying, “It’s not a date, Spike. It is simply two friends meeting up for dinner. I owe him that since I messed up our lunch today.” As Rarity pulls the flower out from behind her ear, she gets a little smile on her face as she looks at it and says, “Though, Emerald Cloud has been nothing but a gentlecolt and he does seem kind,” Rarity giggle slightly as she says, “If not a bit shy and nervous at times.”

Seeing Rarity smile and hearing her talk made Spike feel sick. He had seen her like this before. Like the time with Trenderhoof, he knew she was starting to like him and there was nothing he could do. He started to feel the anger growing inside of him and without thinking sarcastically said, “Who knows, maybe this time you’ve found your prince charming.”

Rarity, taken aback by Spike’s attitude and feeling her own anger starting to come back at how he was acting, shot back, “Well, yes. He is quite charming after all,” as she let out a fake giggle and grinned at Spike.

Spike, not missing a beat, shot back, “I’m so happy for you, Rarity. You’ve finally found a pony that can live up to your high standards, lucky you!” as he grins back at her with his own fake laugh and continued to say, “Your eyelids must be exhausted after all that fluttering!”

Rarity now stood up from her work bench shocked and used her magic to float the basket of gems in front of Spike and said, “I have no idea what’s gotten into you today, Spike, but I suggest you take your gems and go home before you say something you'll regret!”

Spike pushed the gems away and said, “What’s gotten into me?! That’s rich coming from you,” before continuing to say, “I changed my mind. I don’t want them after all.” As Rarity kept pushing them in his face and kept saying, “They're yours,” Spike kept pushing them away, and saying, “I don’t want them.” Each and every time he felt his anger growing, until he finally snapped and grabbed the basket and threw it to the floor, making the gems scatter all over the place as he screamed, “I said, I don’t want your stupid gems!”

Rarity was taken aback by his outburst, but not one to lose and too angry to think, shouted back, “Well, if this is how you are going to treat a gift that somepony gave you, you can forget about ever getting anything from me again!!!”

Now with both their anger at full, Spike shouted, “I never wanted anything from you to begin with!!!"

Rarity shouted, “Get out!”

As Spike started to angrily walk over to the door he said, “Don’t worry, I’m going! All the gems in Equestria wouldn’t make me stay!” As he swung open the door and walked through, he turned back around and shouted, “I’m Twilight’s assistant! Not yours!!!”

With one last scream of “OUTTTT!!!!” Rarity slammed the door, as Spike flew away. After a few moments of silence, Rarity’s legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor and began to cry her eyes out at what just happened, every now and then muttering Spikey to no one.

As for Spike he was still angry, but the more he flew away from the boutique, the less angry he became and as tears began to flow down his cheeks, all he could say was, “What have I done?”

Deciding to sit in a tree to calm down for a bit and trying to work out what he did wrong, Spike just happened to catch sight of Emerald Cloud with two other unicorns he’d never seen before, heading towards the outskirts of Ponyville. Knowing how dangerous it was for ponies to get to close to Everfree Forest and working out that Emerald Cloud and the others obviously didn’t know the dangers, he went to warn them.

Meanwhile at Carousel Boutique, after calming down a bit herself, Rarity was too exhausted from the fight she had with Spike to do anymore work or to do anything really. She locked up the shop, opting to leave the mess on the floor and just went and climbed into bed, still upset and crying from everything that had taken place.

Chapter 4

As we join Rarity, she is running around Ponyville looking for Spike, asking any pony if they have seen him. That’s when she ran into somepony that said they saw him in the park. Rarity ran as fast as she could to the park and frantically looked for him until she saw him sitting against a tree on top of the hill by himself with his head in his knees. She made her way over to him going at a very slow trot. As she got closer to him, she heard, “Don’t, just don’t. Please, just leave me alone, Rarity. I just want to be alone.”

Rarity’s heart fell as she heard Spike say that. After taking a moment to catch her breath, Rarity sighed and asked, “How did you know it was me?”

“I could smell your perfume because of how good my senses are. Being a dragon has some perks, after all,” Spike answered without looking at her.

Rarity gave off a weak smile as she said, “I never knew that,” before saying, “Very well, Spike. If you wish for me to leave you alone, then that is what I shall do, but not before saying what I must.” Rarity sat down on the other side of the tree and rested herself against it. She was quiet for a moment, struggling with what to say until she remembered what Cadance had told her about being honest and talking to him. “Spi-“

“I’m sorry!” Spike shouted, cutting Rarity off. “I’m sorry for everything! This is all my fault! I should have known better! I just...I can't do this anymore, Rarity!"

As Rarity listened, she could swear she heard him crying, and it was killing her to know it was because of her. “No, Spike. I’m the one that is sorry. You did nothing wrong. Everything that happened was my own doing. I’m a fool, Spike. A blind fool. No, I take that back. Not blind. I chose not to see, because it was easier to do so.”

“No, you’re not, Rarity,” Spike said in response. “You’re no fool. You’re kind, caring, hardworking and beau- and generous. Sometimes ponies can take advantage of that. Ponies like him.”

A gentle warm smile appeared on Rarity’s face before she said, “Thank you for saying that, Spike, but that’s not what I meant. I can see it now, though, thanks to a friend.” As Rarity let out a small sigh, she asked, “Tell me, Spike, do you even know why we had a fight yesterday?”

As Spike just sat there in silence, not answering her question, Rarity said, “I do. Or at least, now I do. Jealousy, Spike. I wanted you to be jealous. Or at least part of me did.”

“What!?!” Spike said in confusion "I don’t understand. Why would you want me to be jealous?”

Rarity let out a half baked smile and said, “Oh, I think you do understand, Spike. Have you ever wondered why I’ve never found my prince charming after all these years of knowing me? If you are to be believed that I am this great mare you speak of so fondly, then surely I should have found the right stallion by now.”

Again Spike said nothing, as Rarity thought, “I see. So you are going to make me be the one to say it. I suppose given everything that’s happened, it’s only fair. It’s time to be honest with him, but more importantly, with myself.” Rarity cleared her throat as she said, “You’ve always seen me through rose tinted glasses, Spike. Some perfect mare. Well, that is not the case. I am very flawed, vain, can be very insecure, and also very selfish.”

“What!?! Don’t be ridiculous!" Spike shouted. “You’re not any of those things. Sure, you can be a bit high maintenance sometimes, but that’s because you know what you like. There’s nothing wrong with that and being selfish. Please. You’re the literal embodiment of generosity, Rarity.”

Rarity half-heartedly chuckled and said, “And there you go again. Seeing me through those glasses of yours. Maybe that’s why it was so easy for me to choose not to see; because you made it so easy for me not to, Spike.” Rarity took a moment and breathed out slowly as she looked up to the sky and said, “I assure you, Spike, I am all those things and more. I have been very selfish and greedy over the years. I dare say I could give a dragon a run for their bits with how greedy I have been. Everypony could see it, but you. Like me, you chose not to see, but I think it’s time you took those glasses of yours off and saw the real me.”

Rarity slowly began to cry as she continued. “The greedy, selfish mare has done all she could to keep you to herself. Because she admired you. You who were different from any pony and yet showed more kindness, more gentleness, and more nobility than any pony ever could. I thought if I kept you by me, then maybe I could be like that. Maybe I could become that mare you saw when you looked at me. But, I can’t, Spike. That mare doesn’t exist. I know that now,” as Rarity took one last deep breath, she said, “Because, no matter how hard I try, I will always be greedy for the love of the dragon that has my heart. That is why I have never found my prince; because I found him long ago. I guess, I was just scared that I wasn’t good enough for you.”

Spike stood up and turned around to see Rarity crying. As he looked at her with a sad face of his own, he said, “Rarity, you mean you lo-”

“Yes, Spike,” Rarity said, cutting him off. “I love you. I think somewhere deep inside I’ve always known it, but I was too scared to admit it to anyone. Not even to myself.” As Rarity looked at Spike she said, “I know after all these years and everything that’s happened I don’t deserve you, but even so, can you find it in your heart to give me a chance? Can you love a mare as flawed as me?”

Spike closed his eyes and stood there in silence for a moment or two before taking a breath and saying, “Rarity, I’ve loved you since the first moment I laid my eyes on you. You’re perfect to me. Your so-called flaws are nothing more than perfect. To me.” As Spike saw a smile come on to Rarity’s face, he took a step back and said, “But, I’m sorry. We can’t be together. I’m a dragon, Rarity. I wish I wasn’t, but I am.”

“I don’t care that you’re a dragon!” Rarity shouted.

“But if it got out you and I were dating, it could ruin your social standing with the elite. Not to mention what it could do to your businesses,” Spike said. “While it’s true I never got the courage to tell you how I felt about you before, like you, I’m scared. What will ponies say when they see you with a baby dragon?”

Rarity got up with a serious look on her face and then pushed Spike to the floor, pinning him underneath her as she said, “No more lies, Spike!” As Spike looked at her confused, Rarity continued to say, “I know you’re only three years younger than me, Spike. As for my social standing, I could care less if ponies don’t want to socialise with me because of who I choose to love. That’s their problem, not ours. As for my businesses, I believe my work will speak for itself. I’m done running, Spike.”

Spike laid there pinned underneath Rarity, flabbergasted and asked, “Ho... how do you know that? Was it Twilight? I told her never to tell any pony.”

Rarity shook her head with a little smile and said, “No, it was Cadance. Seems she had enough of our little, 'Will they, won’t they' thing we had going on. Truth is, that is why I was acting so weird around you yesterday. I didn’t realize until Cadance told us all at our little lunch how old you really were. According to her, that was one of the walls I had put up around my heart, stopping me from being honest with you and myself.”

Spike grew angry and said, “She had no right. It wasn’t for her to tell.”

Rarity grinned and lowered her face closer to Spike as she said, “I’m glad she did, because now I get to do this,” before kissing him on the lips. It was just a quick peck on the lips, but it was enough to make Rarity blush as she moved her face away and saw Spike blushing with a goofy smile on his face.

As Rarity let out a little giggle, she said, “I never knew dragon lips were so soft. So, still mad that Cadance told me how old you are?”

As Spike snapped out of his trance, he said, “Hmmm, I don’t know. I may need another just to be sure.”

As Rarity released him from her hold, she stepped back and chuckled as she said, “Sorry, Spike, but if you want another, you’ll have to work for it. I’m a lady, after all and I can’t just give my kisses away so freely even if it is to the dragon that has my heart.”

As Spike sat up and folded his arms in fake annoyance, Rarity let out a little giggle before leaning over and kissing him one last time on the lips. This one was a bit longer and as she moved away to see the smile on Spike’s face, she said, “That one was for everything you did for me today. Thank you for coming to my aid.”

As Spike stood up and scratched his head, he looked up to the clear blue sky, to try and hide his embarrassment. That’s when Rarity asked, “There’s still something I need to know, Spike. Why didn’t you ever tell us, tell me, how old you really were? Why did you keep it a secret from us?”

Spike relaxed his arm back down to his side and sighed as he carried on looking up at the sky and said, “Like I said before, I was scared. I tried in the past to tell ponies how old I was, but they made fun of me or mocked me. In the end, it was just easier to not say anything.” As Spike tried to laugh it off, Rarity could hear the pain behind the laughter, “I mean, technically, I am still a baby by dragon custom anyway, so it’s not inaccurate to think of me as still a baby. I think that was also the reason why I never really told you how old I am and also the reason why I never came forward with my feelings about you. It’s kind of funny, if you think about it. You said that Cadance said, that my age was built up around your heart like a wall, stopping you from seeing how you felt about me. Well, in my case, it was the wall stopping me from telling you how I felt. I guess that makes us both fools now, huh, Rarity?”

“Hmmm, I suppose it does. A right couple of fools, we are,” Rarity said as she looked at Spike, who was still watching the sky. “But, you must have known we would have believed you. I would have believed you if you had told us, Spike.”

“I know, Rarity, but fear is a scary thing. So many times, I came so close to telling you how I really felt, but always held back out of fear. Fear of being made fun of, fear of not being good enough, but most of all, fear of rejection. The thought of you not feeling the same about me was my greatest fear. I’m used to being looked down on or even being made fun of, but the idea of telling you how I felt about you and being rejected by you, I couldn’t take that. So instead, I hid it all from you. I decided that if I wasn’t strong enough to come forward and tell you how I really felt, then I would stand by your side and make sure you were happy, even if that meant it wasn’t with me. As long as you were happy, that’s all I ever wanted.”

As Spike let off a big sigh, he continued, “But in the end, I even failed at that. I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to be around you. To hear you laugh or to see you smile. Every second I've spent with you was like heaven to me, and in the end no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop myself from loving you.”

As Spike turned to look at Rarity with tears forming in the corner of his eyes, he asked, “Rarity, tell me this isn’t a dream. Tell me this is real and I’m not gonna wake up in bed, because I don’t think I could take that. It would kill me.”

Rarity stood up and put her hoof on Spike cheek, smiling as she said, “This isn’t a dream, Spike. This is real. I don’t know what’s going to happen from now on, but whatever happens, from this point on we will face it together. We don’t have to hide our feelings from each other anymore; we don’t have to be scared anymore.”

Spike gulped before asking, “Rarity, does this mean you’ll be my mar...” Spike stopped himself from saying it with a worried look on his face.

Rarity looked at him with loving eyes and smiled as she said, “Say it, Spike. I want you to say it.”

Spike took a big breath to calm himself down before saying, “Rarity, will you be my marefriend?”

As Rarity got a big smile on her face, she said, “Only if you’ll be my drakefriend, Spike.”

Spike chuckled as he put his claw on Rarity’s cheek and said, “I could never say no to you, my imperfect, perfect mare.” Before he moved his face in close and gently kissed Rarity. As he moved his face back, he smiled at the now blushing Rarity and said, “I’ve wanted to do that since I first met you.”

Rarity stepped back and giggled like a little filly in embarrassment as she said, “I see.” As she smiled at Spike, she thought, “He kissed me! Spike kissed me!”

Spike couldn’t stop himself from letting out a little giggle at Rarity’s reaction, finding it to be cute. As he smiled at her, he asked, “So, now what? This is all kind of new to me.”

Rarity smiled and said, “Me too, Spike. Me too. I suppose we should head back into Ponyville and find Twilight. What comes after that, who knows. We’ll take it one step at a time together.”

As Spike smiled at Rarity, he nodded his head and said, “Hmmm, I must have really worried her. Sounds lik-“

Just then, Spike grabbed his head in pain as he dropped to his knees. Rarity got worried and shouted out, “Spikey-wikey! What’s wrong!? Are you ok!?”

As the pain started to fade, Spike looked at Rarity with a small smile, and said, “Yeah, I’m fine, Rarity. I just think it’s the side effects from unleashing my seals. My body is just sorting itself out. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” Still seeing her looking at him with worry, Spike chuckled as he stood back up and said, “Spikey-wikey. You haven’t called me that in a few days.”

Rarity gasped as she realized she called him by his little nickname and said in a bit of a panicked voice, “Forgive me, Spike. I didn’t mean to. It’s just when I saw you fall, I got so worried. It just slipped out.”

Spike smiled at Rarity and said, “Why are you apologizing? I’ve always liked it when you called me that. It kind of made me feel special knowing that you were the only one whoever called me by that nickname.”

Rarity looked at him shocked and said, “Well, the thing is when I found out how old you were, I realised how insulting it must of seemed of me to keep calling you that, so I’ve been making a conscious decision to not make it seem like I was trying to belittle you.”

Spike burst out laughing and said, “Guess that explains why you were acting so strange then.” As Spike stopped laughing he smiled at Rarity and said, “Thank you for trying to consider my feelings, but you don’t have to stop calling me that. In fact, I really do like it when you call me that. I’ve never found it insulting.”

Rarity thought for a moment and as she smiled, said, “Very well, Spikey. If you like it so much, then I won’t stop calling you that.”

Spike nodded before putting a claw to his chin and saying, “Though, this does beg the question, if you are going to keep calling me Spikey-wikey, I wonder what name I should call you? I mean, it’s common for couples to have little nicknames for each other, right?” As Spike thought on the matter, he muttered a few names out, “My little diamond? No. Hmmm, how about my little gem?” Just then Spike smacked his claws together as a smile came on his face and he looked at Rarity saying, “I got it. How about my little Marsh-?“

“Finish that word, my Spikey-wikey, and there will be consequences. Are we clear?” Rarity said in a stern voice, cutting Spike off as her eye began to twitch. As she saw Spike nodding in understanding repeatedly, she chuckled and said, “I’m sure we can come up with something. There’s no rush.”

Just then, a look of realization came onto Rarity’s face. She leant in and kissed Spike passionately on the lips, catching Spike by surprise. After they parted, he asked, “Not that I’m complaining or anything, but what was that for?”

Rarity gave him a weak, sorrowful smile as she said, “That was for being the noblest creature I know.” Getting a half smile, half confused look from Spike, Rarity went on, “It was for what you did yesterday, Spike.”

“Yesterday? All we did was have a fight, Rarity. I don’t think that was something I’d call noble and certainly not worthy of a kiss,” Spike said.

Rarity slowly shook her head and said, “No, Spike. It was for how you tried to protect me even though we had a fight. You still went out of your way to try and protect me from getting hurt. Thank you for everything you did.”

“Ho… how do you know what happened yesterday? I told no pony,” Spike asked.

Rarity sighed and held her hoof up to the remains of a mark on her cheek, as she said, “Let’s just say that oaf wasn’t the only one to hit me today. Lyra paid me a visit at Sugarcube Corner and showed me- showed everypony, what he did to you. Needless to say, after I saw that, I kind of snapped and gave him a good wallop in response, which in turn, led to this.”

“Wha… but, how? I never tol-“ Spike slapped his claw over his face and sighed as he said, “Lyra. How could I have forgotten? That mare can use magic to let her see memories. She told me it was a spell to help me sleep.”

“Please, don’t be mad at her. She was just worried about you, Spike. I guess after she saw that, she couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. I don’t blame her for what she did. Truth is, if I was in her position I would have done the same,” Rarity said with a sad look.

Spike sighed again before getting a grin on his face and saying, “I’m not mad at her or anypony. They were only trying to help in their own way. I mean, I could have done without Lyra looking into my memory without my permission, but at the same time it’s not like I didn’t know she could do that. I guess, subconsciously that’s why I went to her and not Twilight. Well, that and if Twilight had seen me like that... Let’s just say I made the right call,” Spike said as he chuckled.

Rarity smiled before saying, “You know, Spike, you could have come to me. I mean, yes we had a fight, but I would have believed you if you told me what happened. You didn’t have to keep it a secret.”

Spike looked at the ground and said, “I know, Rarity. It’s just, it was kind of a guy thing and,” as Spike looked back up to make eye contact with Rarity, he continued, “I thought you were starting to like him and I couldn’t bare the idea of being the one to tell you and hurt you like that. I’m sorry.”

As Rarity pulled Spike into a hug, she said, “You have nothing to apologize for, Spike,” as she lent in to kiss him.

After a few moments, they came apart and Spike smiled, as he asked, “So, what was that one for?”

A grin came onto Rarity’s face as she said, “Hmmm, that one's on credit,” as she giggled, before saying, “How about we head back into town?”

Spike nodded in agreement and they sent off to Sugarcube Corner, sure that Twilight and the others would still be there. Just as they got into the doorway, Twilight could be heard saying, “What!?!” in an angry voice.

Spike cleared his throat and asked, “What’s up, Twi?”

Just then, Twilight spun around with tears in her eyes and charged straight at Spike, pulling him into a hug and started to cry as she said, “Why didn’t you come to me?! I swear by Celestia, if I ever see that pony again, I’ll-“

Spike put his claw over Twilight’s mouth, stopping her from speaking as he broke their hug and said, “I guess you heard what happened then? That’s also the reason why I didn’t come to you, Twi. You’ve always been over protective of me. Heck, now you have alicorn magic, Celestia knows what you would have done?”

As Twilight pulled him back into a hug, she nuzzled him, making him laugh as he pushed her away and said, “Geez, Twi. Will ya cut it out? You’re embarrassing me.”

As Twilight smiled warmly at Spike, she said, “I know you’re not a baby anymore, Spike, but if anything like this happens again I want you to promise to come to me. Understand?”

Twilight watched Spike nod his head in understanding and gave her a loving smile. Bon Bon came trotting over with Lyra trailing slowly behind with Lyra about to speak with a sad look before Spike pulled her into a hug and said, “Thanks, Lyra. I know I must of put you in an awkward situation and I’m sorry for that, but I’m glad I have a friend like you watching out for me.”

Just then, Lyra started to cry as she hugged Spike back and said, “I’m sorry, Spike. I know I shouldn’t have looked into your memories without asking. I was just so worried and then I went and made things worse by showing everypony. Can you ever forgive me?”

As Spike broke his hug with Lyra, he smiled at her and said, “There’s nothing to forgive. I know you were just trying to look out for me. You’re a great friend, Lyra,” as Spike saw her smile at him as she wiped her tears away, he looked over at Bon Bon and said, “You too, Bon Bon. Thanks for everything.”

“Lyra, I…mmm, I…” Rarity started before struggling to finish her sentence.

Spike sighed as he shook his head and went to stand next to Rarity, with a smile and said, “I think what Rarity is trying to say is she is also sorry for what happened today and understands why you acted the way you did. As an apology, she is willing to make you the best wedding dresses she can, when the time comes for you to tie the knot.”

Just then, Lyra, Bon Bon, Twilight, and Rarity all shouted in unison, “Spike!”

Rarity cleared her throat and said, “Spike is right, though. I am sorry for everything that happened today. If I was in your horse shoes, I would have done the same thing. I do hope we can still be friends.”

Lyra looked at Spike’s smiling face and then at Rarity, as she said, “Sure we can, Rarity. I’m sorry too. I know you didn’t really have anything to do with what happened. I just kind of lost it and-”

“It’s understandable, darling,” Rarity said with a smile, cutting her off. Before asking, “Where is Cadance? I was hoping to have a word with her also.”

“Oh, she went back to the Crystal Empire and Luna and Celestia had to go back to Canterlot.” Twilight answered with a smile.

“I see. That is a pity,” Rarity responded, before asking, “For that matter, where’s Pinkie?”

Before anyone answered, Mr. Cake walked over and said, “Oh, Pinkie said something about having to make a delivery before running off somewhere, but she told me that when you two showed back up here I was to give you this.”

As Mr. Cake passed Spike a cake box with a smile, Spike looked at him and said, “Sorry about all the trouble, Mr. Cake. Was there enough gems there to cover all the damage, cuz if not-“

Mr. Cake laughed and said, “Tell ya the truth, Spike, I was gonna give that stallion a piece of my mind before you showed up and beat me to it, so don’t worry about it.”

As Spike smiled at him, he looked down at the pink box and saw a little card that read, to Spike and Rarity. As Spike looked to Rarity, she nodded her head and Spike untied the pink string around the box. He opened it and an explosion of confetti came out, surprising everypony. As they all looked down to see what was inside, they saw a white cake with green and purple trimming. In the middle was a heart shaped like a fire ruby with a picture of Spike and Rarity inside it and underneath in blue icing it red, “To Spike and Rarity, congratulations on finally becoming a couple!!! Your friend, Pinkie.”

As everypony gasped, Rarity let out a little giggle and said, “How did she know? We hadn’t told anypony yet.”

Spike chuckled and said, “That’s Pinkie for ya. No pony knows how she works.”

“Spike, Rarity, does this mean you two are-“ Twilight asked, still shocked even though she had hoped for this.

“Yes, Twilight. Although it’s still quite new, Spike and I have had a little heart to heart and have decided to court one another I hope that’s ok with you,” Rarity said with a slight blush as Twilight, Lyra, and Bon Bon all had the biggest of smiles on their faces.

“Well, even if it’s not, it’s none of yours or any other ponies business,” Spike said as he folded his arms and smiled.

Just then, Twilight pulled them both into a hug and cried as said, “I’m so happy for you both.”

“Us too,” Lyra said as she and Bon Bon joined in on the hug.

After all the hugging and congratulations died down, they all decided to sit around a table and enjoy a piece of Pinkie’s cake together. After some time had passed, Twilight, Rarity, and Spike decided to call it a day and after saying their goodbyes to Lyra and Bon Bon, they left the shop.

Twilight couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear at the new happy couple and Spike said, “Twi, can you stop grinning at us? It’s kind of starting to freak me out.”

“Sorry, Spike. I’m just so happy for you both. I can’t help it,” Twilight giggled.

Spike just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. Just then, he noticed something in the sky falling toward them. Spike, screamed, “Lookout! incoming!” as he pointed to the sky before jumping in front of Rarity.

It hit the ground hard and after the dust settled, they saw Ember lying on the ground. Spike ran over to see if she was ok and as he got close to her she grabbed him and said, “There coming!” before passing out.

“Oh, my goodness. We need to get her to a hospital right away,” Rarity said worringly.

“No, she doesn’t appear to have any injuries. It looks like she’s just exhausted. We should take her back to the castle, Twi,” Spike said.

“Agreed, Spike. Let’s get her to the castle and find out what’s going on.” Twilight said before she teleported them all to the castle.

Chapter 5

As Ember began to stir, she shot up in a panic. It took a second before she looked around, confused to find herself in a room, lying on a bed. Just then, the door opened. Spike walked in, “You’re awake. How are you feeling? You gave us all quiet a scare,” Spike said as he placed a glass of water on the bedside table.

Ember quickly took the glass and gulped down the water and wiped her mouth before she said, “Thanks. I needed that.” As Ember’s smile faded, she said, “Spike, I need to talk to your princesses right now. It’s an emergency. We don’t have time to waste.”

As she unsteadily stood up from the bed, Spike held her arm to support her and worryingly said, “Take it easy. You haven’t had time to fully recover. As for the princesses, Twilight got worried by your sudden arrival and the princesses and the elements, are all here and are waiting in the Cutie Map room.”

As Ember patted Spike on the head to reassure him, she smiled before saying, “I’m ok, Spike, but I really must talk to them. I'm glad they’re all here. It will make things easier that way.”

Curious, Spike asked, “What’s got you so worried, Ember?”

As Ember started to make her way to the door, she sighed and said, “It’s better if I tell you all at the same time. Come on,” as she walked out the room with Spike following right behind.

As they come to the Cutie Map room and open the door, they step through to see everypony in the room turn to look at them with smiles and grins from ear to ear. Taken aback by this, Ember gives them all a crooked smile as she leans towards Spike, without taking her eyes off them and asks “Err, are they ok? Is this some sort of pony thing I’m just not getting?”

Spike chuckled and said, “It’s not you, Ember. They’ve been like this for the last 30 minutes or so every time I come into the room. They’re just happy, is all.”

As Spike finished saying that, Princess Celestia stood from her chair and said, “Dragon Lord Ember, it is good to see you well. Please forgive me for asking this so straightforwardly, but before you passed out you said, 'They are coming.' What’s going on?”

As Spike and Ember made their way over to the Cutie Mark table and sat down, Ember took a slow breath out and said, “I am no longer the Dragon Lord.”

“What!?!” Everypony shouted before Spike asked, “But how can that be?”

Ember sighed as she said, “I let my guard down and now Zeri has declared war on the ponies and is leading his army to invade your territory. I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do.”

“But why? I thought dragons and ponies were getting along so well. Why would this new Dragon Lord want to go to war with us?” Twilight asked worryingly.

“No! You misunderstand,” Ember said sharply as she clenched her fist, "Zeri isn’t the new Dragon Lord. He is The Dragon Lord!”

As everyone looked at Ember confused, Spike said, “What do you mean he’s The Dragon Lord?”

Ember smiled weakly at Spike and said, “Forgive me, Spike. I sometimes forget that you were brought up by ponies and don’t know anything about our past.” As Ember sighed, she continued, “We dragons were once ruled over by our own king and queen. Our king was the strongest of all the dragons, while our queen was wise and cunning. Together they were an unstoppable force.”

As Ember took a calming breath, she said, “Due to the royal blood of the king, he could command the dragons at will. However, he had a little brother, who also held this power. His power was not as strong as the king's, though, so he was given the title of The Dragon Lord.” As Ember scratched her head, she said, “Anyway, long story short, about 1,500 years ago, the dragon race was under threat of attack. Our king and queen went head to head with our enemy by themselves and crushed them, saving the dragon race.”

As Ember started to get excited at telling the story, she stood up from her chair with the biggest of smiles and said, “They were the truest of dragons. No other dragon could come close to them!” As she looked around at everyone, looking at her, she got a little embarrassed and cleared her throat as she sat down and continued to say, “Anyway, after the battle, the king and queen both succumb to their injuries. But before they passed, the king created the sceptre, deeming his brother unworthy to rule. Of course, Zeri wasn’t happy about that and in the end, the king and queen used what little power they had left to imprison him for the good of the dragons. With our king's final words, he entrusted the sceptre to my father, who became the first Dragon Lord to rule, under the condition that every 1,000 years or so, the dragon in charge would set up a challenge to test those who were worthy of becoming the next Dragon Lord. At least that is how the story is told to us as hatchings”

As Ember closed her eyes she said, “Now The Dragon Lord has escaped and in the confusion, he destroyed the scepter. All dragons are now under his control and he’s coming for the ponies.”

“Wait. All dragons? What about Smolder?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Ember replied, “What part of all dragons did you not understand?”

“Wait. If you said Zeri now controls all the dragons, how is it that you are here telling us all this? Shouldn’t you be under his control also?” Twilight asked.

Ember opened her eyes and breathed out slowly as she looked over at Spike and said, “It would seem the only dragons he has no power over are those that become Dragon Lords. I’m guessing since the king was more powerful than him, it somehow makes you immune to his orders. At least that’s the best guess I’ve been able to come up with since the same seems to be true for my dad, the former Dragon Lord. This also includes you, Spike. Although, you only held the title for a few moments, you did inherit the title of Dragon Lord and thus are also immune to his orders.”

Just then, Ember shot out her chair, dropped on one knee, lowered her head to Spike and said, “Forgive me, Spike. When you passed the sceptre to me, it was so your pony friends would be safe. I have failed to do that. I’m sorry.”

“Whoa, Ember. Knock it off. Will ya?” Spike said as he ran to her and helped her up before saying, “None of this is your fault, and even though you lost the sceptre you still came to warn us. Thank you.” Spike said as he looked at her with a smile, before asking, “What about your dad? If he isn’t under the control of this Dragon Lord, where is he?”

Ember sighed and said, “My dad has most likely been imprisoned in all of the confusion when The Dragon Lord escaped and destroyed the sceptre. My dad, along with those that still had enough will to fight off his orders at the time, held him off for as long as they could, giving me enough time to escape and warn you all.”

Just then, Celestia stood up and said, “Your father is a wise dragon, Ember. I’m sure he is safe,” as Celestia bowed to Ember, she said, “I know it cannot have been easy for you to leave your father’s side at such a time,” as Celestia rose back up and gave Ember a warm smile, she continued, “But, on behalf of the ponies, I thank you for bring us this information.” After taking a calming breath, Celestia turned to Luna and said, “We have work to do, Luna. Go back to Canterlot and ready our troops. Cadance, return to the Crystal Empire and do the same. We must be ready for when they attack. If it is a fight he wants, then we will meet him head on.”

Luna and Cadance nodded before the former said, “I will also send word to our allies and inform them of what is happening, less they be caught off guard." Celestia nodded her head as both Luna and Cadance teleported away.

“What!?!” Twilight said in surprise as she looked to her former teacher before saying, “Celestia, you can’t be serious. There has to be another way!”

Celestia turned to look at Twilight with a serious look and said, “Twilight Sparkle, you are a princess now. Like me and the other princesses, you have a duty to protect Equestria and all ponies that live in it. This means making the hard choices, which others cannot. Even if this is something we do not want to do, we must for the good of our citizens. That is the burden and the weight that comes with the crown that sits on your head.”

As Celestia continues to look at Twilight and starts to see tears come into the corners of her eyes, Celestia sighs. She walks up to her and cups her cheek before giving her a warm motherly smile and saying, “Oh, my sweet little former student, I know this is not easy for you. The truth is, it has never been easy for me either. The thought of sending my little ponies off into danger has never been easy for me to accept, but sometimes we must do the best we can with the cards we have been dealt. We have to try our best to keep them safe. That is our duty and what is expected of us.”

As Celestia pulls Twilight into a hug and starts to get teary herself, she says, “Please, try to understand, little one. This is like nothing you have faced before. This isn’t a group of young dragons, but fully grown dragons. Each one is as strong and powerful as the next. Not only that, but it’s going to be all of them. We have to do what we can to protect the ponies, Twilight.”

As Twilight broke their hug, she weakly smiled at Celestia as she asked, “What can I do to help?”

As Celestia smiled back and said, “Our first objective will be to evacuate Appleloosa and Dodge City. The dragons will most likely come from the Badlands, so those ponies will be most at risk.”

Twilight nods before turning to the girls and saying, “Girls, we got work to do. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, I want you to go to Appleloosa and tell your cousin Braeburn what’s going on. Tell him and everypony they have to evacuate to Ponyville. They are only to bring the essentials. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, you are to go to Dodge City and tell the ponies there the same thing. If any pony tries to kick up a fuss, you tell them it is a royal order from all four princesses of Equestria. Understood?”

“We’re on it, Twi. Come on girls, it’s looking like it’s gonna be one of those days.” Applejack said as her and the other girls charge out of the room on their missions.

Twilight walked over to the Cutie Map and looked at it as she said, “Based on what we know about dragons, they’ll come straight and hard, most likely for Canterlot. If we meet them head on at the borders of Appleloosa and Macintosh Hills, we can reduce the chances of any innocent ponies getting hurt and stop their attack before it starts. Ember, any insight you can give us into dragon tactics would be greatly appreciated.”

“Hmmm, I concur, Twilight. This seems to be the best and safest option to us. Good thinking,” Celestia said as she smiled at Twilight.

Just then, Rarity cleared her throat and said, “Twilight, is there nothing I can do to help?”

As Twilight looked to her friend, she said, “Of course, there is Rarity. I’m sorry. I just wanted to get things moving. I need you to go and inform Mayor Mare of the situation. Tell her that she should prepare for a mass of refugees. That any pony with spare room will need to help out as best as they can. Also, have a word with Granny Smith. See if she will be willing to make up some sort of camp for those that need shelter. We’re gonna need food, water, and as many blankets and sheets as we can get our hooves on. Think you can manage all that?”

Rarity smiled as she said, “Of course, darling. Leave it to me.”

“What about me, Twi? What can I do?” Spike asked.

Twilight warmly smiled at Spike and said, “Spike, you’ve got the most important job. I need you to coordinate with Mayor Mare and keep things running. There’s gonna be a lot of scared ponies coming and we need to make sure to take care of them. I’d do it myself, but I’m needed here. There’s no one I trust more than you, Spike. It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but if anyone can do it, it’s you.”

Spike smiled back at Twilight as he saluted and said, “Leave it to me, Twi.” Before he and Rarity both left the room to complete their task.

************

For the next few hours, Spike was working with Mayor Mare at her office. He finishes writing his list and puts it on top with the pile before letting out a big yawn. Just then, a cup of coffee comes floating in front of him. As he turns to see Rarity standing there with her own cup, he gives her a warm smile, as he takes the cup and says, “Thanks. I think I need this,” before taking a sip of coffee. As he watches Rarity sit next to him, he asks, “What are you doing up? I thought everypony would be asleep by now?”

Rarity puts her cup down and says, “Well, now that all the ponies from Appleloosa and Dodge City have settled in, I suppose I should try to get some sleep, but I figured you’d still be up working and decided to see if there’s anything I can help you with.”

As Spike shakes his head, he smiles at Rarity and says, “Na, I’m good. I just finished in fact, but thanks for the offer.”

As Rarity takes a quick glance at the pile of paper, she asks, “What is all this any way?”

“It’s a list of where everypony from Appleloosa and Dodge City is staying. Although, it’s pretty easy to remember since the majority of them are either at the school of Friendship or at the farm and since one or two are staying with friends in Ponyville, I just thought it was a good idea to have a list just to be safe. I even put it in alphabetical order.” As Spike let out a little chuckle, he said, “Will you listen to me? I guess I really have spent too much time around Twilight. I’m even starting to act like her, making all these list and sorting them into alphabetical order”

As Rarity let out a little giggle of her own, she said, “Knowing Twilight, she was most likely going to ask for some kind of list any way. You just beat her to the punch.”

As Spike finished laughing and leaned back in his chair, taking another sip of coffee, Rarity asked, “Are you worried, Spike?”

Spike turned his head slightly to see Rarity have a worried look on her face and he smiled as he said, “Nope. Not one bit. I mean, we got all four princesses here with us and then there’s you and the girls. What’s there to be scared of? Right now, Ponyville is the safest place in Equestria.”

“That’s not what I said, Spike. I didn’t ask if you were scared. I asked if you were worried,” Rarity said. “I can’t imagine this is easy for you, Spike. I mean, we are literally preparing to go to war with the dragons. I know you were brought up around ponies, but dragons are still your race. Now you have to stand against them. I can’t imagine how hard that must be for you.”

Spike sighed as he lent forward in his chair and said, “Truth is, I haven’t given it much thought. All I know is this Dragon Lord has it out for the ponies for some reason and if he thinks for even a second that I’m gonna let him get anywhere near my family, my friends, even you, well, he better be ready for one heck of a beat down.”

As Rarity blushed slightly, she pulled him in close as she said, “Just don’t do anything stupid, Spike,” as she gently kissed him, before saying, “I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

Spike grinned at Rarity and said, “What? Me? Do something stupid?”

“I’m serious, Spike!” Rarity said sternly as she looked at him, almost in tears.

Spike cupped Rarity’s cheek as he moved his face in closer to hers and said, “So am I. If this Dragon Lord even looks at you in a way I don’t like, he’s gonna pay,” as he leans in and kisses Rarity. After they part, Spike strokes Rarity’s cheek as he continues to say, “I finally get to be with the mare I love. Nothing in this world is going to keep me from you. I promise.”

Rarity holds Spike in an embrace and says, “I’m going to hold you to that, my Spikey-Wikey,” as Spike just nods his head, they just stay there in their embrace, listening to each other’s heart beats and slow breathing as they gently drift off to sleep.

************

The next morning, Spike wakes up to the noise of the birds chirping. As he opens his eyes slowly, he realises he’s still being held by Rarity. A little embarrassed, he slowly moves the blanket away, being as careful as he can not to disturb Rarity as he tries to move. That’s when it hit him as he thought, “Where did the blanket come from? And where did all that paperwork go?” A Smile comes onto Spike’s face, as he whispered, “Twi.”

Just then, Rarity begins to wake up and as she stretches and opens her eyes, she grins at Spike and says, “Morning, Spike. Spike!” In a panic she tries to get up and they both end up falling to the floor.

After a moment of both of them sitting on the floor just looking at each other, Rarity blushes a little, as she says, “Sorry, Spike. I guess I was just surprised. It seems we were both more tired than we thought.”

As Spike stands up and helps Rarity up, he smiles at her before walking over to the coffee machine and asks, “Do you want some coffee?”

As Rarity sits down, still a bit flustered, she responds, “Yes please, Spike.”

After a few moments, Spike places a cup of hot coffee in front of her and asks, “So, how’d you sleep?”

As Rarity takes a sip of coffee and grins, she says, “Surprisingly well considering it was in one of these old chairs.”

Spike laughed as he said, “Yeah, me too,” before taking a sip of his coffee, and saying, “I’m going to drink this and head back to the castle and freshen up a bit. Probably a good idea to see what the situation is as well.”

“Hmm, sounds like a plan. I think I’ll do the same. I’ll finish this and head home. Once I’m done, I’ll meet you at the castle,” Rarity said, as she sat back in her chair and leaned on Spike, letting out a satisfied, “Mmm,” in the process.

Spike couldn’t help but grin, as he asked, “You cold or something? Cuz, if you are, I can put the blanket over you.”

As Rarity took a sip of her coffee, she smiled slightly, as she said, “No, I just wanted to get comfy while I enjoy my morning coffee. I hope that’s ok with you.”

Spike gulped and pulled Rarity closely as he said, “No complaints from me,” with a smile on his face as they both sat there enjoying their coffee.

After the coffee was gone and a quick peck on the cheek from Rarity, Spike headed back to the Castle of Friendship to freshen up and see what was happening. When he got back, he popped his head into the Cutie Map room to find Twilight and the other princesses talking and going over things as they looked at the map while Ember joined in where she could, snacking on some gems in the process. All the other Elements of Harmony were there, but due to the fact that they had been working most of the night, they were all taking a well deserved nap on their thrones.

Deciding not to bother anyone, Spike went for a shower and after spending admittedly, longer than he should have in the shower, he made some coffee for everyone and walked into the throne room. As he handed a cup to everypony, he made sure to give Rainbow Dash a bit of a nudge to wake her up, as everyone was now up and even Rarity had finished freshening up and had joined them all.

As Spike sat on his throne and sipped his coffee, Twilight sat down next to him and breathed a sigh of relief as she took a sip of her own coffee before looking at Spike with a little grin and asked, “So, sleep well, Spike?”

Spike continued to drink his coffee, playing it cool before he said, “Can’t complain. I take it you got my reports and list of ponies, then?”

Twilight just grinned as she said, “I did. Good work by the way. I’d expect nothing less from my number one assistant.” As she saw a grin come onto Spike’s face, Twilight looked at all her friends and said, “That goes for all of you. You did great helping all those ponies. Thank you.”

“Indeed. You all did wonderful. I’m grateful for all the aid you were able to give us,” Celestia said as she smiled at them all.

Just then, Shining Armor came in, surprising everyone. As Cadance ran over to him and hugged him, she asked, “Shining, what are you doing here? Where’s Flurry Heart?”

As Shining Armor broke their hug and kissed Cadance, he smiled at his wife and said, “Don’t worry. I left her at the Crystal Empire, with Sunburst, Starlight and Trixie.” As Shining Armor got a serious look on his face, he continued, “As for why I’m here, it’s simple. If you think I’m going to let my wife and little sister go off and fight a war while I sit at home and do nothing, then you married the wrong guy.” As he finishes saying that, his horn lights up and a light goes around his body. When it dies down, he is stood wearing his old Captain of the Royal Guard gear and walks up to Celestia and Luna before bowing and saying, “Former captain of the Royal Guard reporting for duty, your majesties.”

Luna and Celestia quickly glance at each other before looking over at Cadance. Cadance trots up to Shining Armor with a sorrowful expression and says, “Shining, my love, I know you want to help and you mean well, but-

“No!” Shining Armor shouts cutting Cadance off, as he continues to say, “I’m a soldier. It should be me going to the battlefield, not you or Twily, or anyone else here. As a soldier, it is my duty to protect all of Equestria and its citizens, along with the Royal Family. You can’t tell me to stay at home knowing the mother of my child and little sister are off fighting a war.”

Cadance start’s to get teary eyed as she says, “Oh my beloved, don’t you see. If anything should happen to us, then Flurry Heart, will be the last hope of Equestria. I need you to keep her safe,” as Cadance begins to cry, she says, “I wish none of this was so, but I need you to keep our baby safe. I need to know she will be safe. Please, Shining, can you do this for me?”

As Shining Armor pulls Cadance into a hug and holds her, tearing up as he says, “This isn’t right. It should be me.”

Spike got off his throne and walked up next to Cadance and Shining Armor with a serious look as he said, “Shining, I won’t let anything happen to them.” As Shining Armor turned to look at Spike, Spike smiles at him, as he goes on to say, “I promise.”

As Twilight sat on her throne she looked over at Spike as she said, “Spike, you’re not going to the battle.”

Spike turned to look at Twilight, surprised as he started rubbing his ear and said, “Excuse me? I must be going deaf. What did you say Twi? Because, for a moment there, it kind of sounded like you said I wasn’t going with you.”

Twilight got off her throne and said, “No, you heard right, Spike. You’re not going.”

Spike started chuckling as he said, “Oh, I think you find I am, Twi,” before turning back around to look at Shining Armor and saying, “Like I was saying, you got nothing to worry about. I’ll make sure to keep them safe, Shining.”

Just then, Twilight slammed her hoof to the floor in anger. As everyone went silent, Spike turned back around to see the angry look she was giving him as she said, “I’m not playing this time, Spike! I said you’re not going and that’s the end of it!”

“Hmmm, I see,” Spike said sarcastically, as he folded his arms and nodded his head to his sisters words before looking at her and saying, “That’s great and all, Twi, but I think you’re forgetting one thing.”

“Oh? And what is that, Spike?” Twilight asked as she continued to look at him.

Spike unfolded his arms and grinned at her before saying, “You may be the Princess of Friendship, Celestia, the Princess of the Day, Luna, the Princess of the Night, and Cadance is the Princess of Love, but you rule over the ponies of Equestria. Not the dragons. I can do as I please. I always could. I just chose to listen to the orders of the princesses, but not this time.” As Spike quickly glanced over at Rarity and then back to Twilight, he said, “Besides, I made a promise.”

As Spike got a serious look on his face, he continued, “Also, you need all the fire power you can get if you’re going up against all the dragons and from what Ember has said, thanks to us both being Dragon Lords, we’re safe from having to listen to him. Right now, there’s a whole lot of dragons coming to take my treasure, Twilight, and nothing is going to stop me from making sure that doesn’t happen. That’s why I’m going whether you like it or not!”

As everyone just continues to stand there watching in silence, Twilight gets a knowing grin on her face as she says, “Hmmm, I see. You make a fair and logical point, Spike. I’d expect nothing less, from my number one assistant. However, you also seem to have forgotten something.” As Spike looks at Twilight with curiosity, she says, “You may be right that as a princess my rule is only over the ponies that live in Equestria, but I don’t care. I am your big sister. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you are a pony, dragon, or any other creature you can think of. What I say goes.”

As the two siblings continued to stare at each other, seeing which would give in first, Ember said, “I don’t want to get in the middle of whatever this is, but Spike’s right, Twilight. I don’t want to sound mean when I say this, but dragons are just stronger than a normal average pony. It’s a fact. Even for his size, Spike could take on a number of ponies with ease. What do you think an army of full grown dragons could do? You’re going to need both me and Spike out there.”

Hearing Ember say that, Twilight quickly shifts her glare to Ember. Just as she’s about to say something, Celestia puts her hoof down and shouts, “Enough!” As everyone looks at her she gives Twilight a sad look before saying, “Twilight, I know you want to keep Spike safe, but Ember and Spike are right. We need their help in this. That is also why we need Shining Armor to return to the Crystal Empire and watch over Flurry Heart. We must do everything we can within our power to keep Equestria safe. Everyone must play their part.”

"But...but Spike..." Twilight struggles to say as she tears up.

Spike sighs as he walks up to her and says, “Twi, I know you don’t want this and I’m sorry, but I gotta do this.” As he pulls her into a hug, he says, “Besides, I said long ago we would do everything together. This is part of everything.” As Spike felt Twilight tighten her grip on him, he continued, “You better than anypony else know that we are stronger together.”

As they break their hug, Twilight looks at Spike, teary eyed and says, “Fine, but you better stay where I can see you, mister.”

As Spike warmly smiles back at Twilight, he says, “You don’t have to worry about that, I’ll be right by your side just like I always am.”

Shining Armor, walks up to them both and says, “It seems like I caused more trouble than good, huh?” As they both smile at him, Shining pulls them into his own hug and says, “Watch out for each other and keep each other safe.”

As they break the family hug, Spike says, “Will do, bro.”

Twilight smiles warmly at both her siblings and says, “We got this together. You just go back to the Crystal Empire and keep an eye on that cute little niece of ours and make sure to give her a big hug from her auntie Twilight.”

Shining Armor chuckles a little as he rubs Twilight’s mane and says, “I’ll be sure to hug her extra hard just for you, little sis,” before walking over to Cadance and giving her a hug and a loving kiss as he says his goodbyes to everyone and leaves.

After Shining Armor left and everyone went back to looking at the Cutie Map to discuss their plan, Rarity pulled Cadance to one side and said, “Cadance, I know now might not be the best time, but I never had the chance to thank you for what you did for me and I ju-“

Cadance put a hoof over Rarity’s mouth to stop her and after removing her hoof, gave Rarity a warm smile as she said, “You don’t have to thank me, Rarity. It’s my job to help in matters of the heart. But I won’t lie when I say I was more personally invested in this than I would like to admit. I mean, I'm part of Spike’s family, so it’s only natural that I want to see him happy. I guess what I really want to say is I’m happy for you both.”

Rarity smiled at Cadance and said, “Well, thank you all the same.” As Rarity started to trot back to the table, she said, “Oh, before I forget, you really did a good job at acting like me. I’d love to see your impressions of the others someday.”

As Cadance and Rarity both started to giggle, the door to the room swung open and a royal guard came rushing in with a letter, getting everyone’s attention. As he bowed, Celestia took the letter off him and started to scan it. She sighed and said, “The dragons are making their move. It’s time. The army is in position and awaiting our arrival.”

Twilight’s horn lit up and a box appeared in front of her. She opened it and took out the Elements of Harmony. As she passed each one of her friends their element and watched them put them on, she placed hers on her head and looked to Spike and asked, “Ready?”

Spike and Ember looked at each other, before Spike took a breath and said, “Ready as I’ll ever be, Twi,” as he gave her a weak smile.

Celestia, Luna and Cadance’s horns lit up as a bright light went around them. When it had faded, each one stood ready in armor as Celestia said, “Then, it’s time to go.” As she looks around the room at everyone, they nod their heads to confirm they are ready and her horn lights up once again as she teleports them to the battlefield where the rest of the royal guard was waiting.

The army salutes them as the captain walks up to the princesses and bows as he says, “Your majesties, the dragons have been spotted by our scouts. They are just over the Macintosh Hills and will be upon us soon.”

Celestia nods her head and says, “Good work, captain. Ready your troops.”

The captain turns and shouts out, “Stand ready! And remember, work together and stay in your units, but most importantly, do not underestimate your enemy!”

As everyone sees the serious looks on the soldiers faces, Spike turns and takes a few steps forward and sees dark clouds looming above the Macintosh Hills. Celestia stands by his side and says, “They’ll be here soon, Spike. I truly hope you are ready, because this will be like nothing you have seen before. Like nopony has seen before.”

Spike nods his head, not taking his eyes of the dark clouds and says, “I’m rea-“

All of a sudden, Spike drops to the floor grabbing his head, and screams in pain. Twilight and the other Elements rush to his side while Celestia shouts, “Luna, Cadance, do it now!”

As soon as Celestia said that, a magic bubble went around Twilight and the girls, trapping them inside. As they started banging on the bubble, Twilight shouts, “Celestia, what are you doing? Let us out!?”

Celestia keeps her eyes on Spike as he continues to scream in pain and says, “Sorry Twilight, but I can’t do that. This needs to happen for the good of every creature.” She takes a breath and says, “Spike, the dragons are coming! They are going to kill us all! All of Equestria will burn to nothingness! Your friends, your family!” Seeing Spike, rolling around in pain as he still clings to his head, she takes a quick look at the girls and seeing Rarity banging on the bubble with tears in her eyes. She turns back to look at Spike as she shouts, “Rarity! They are going to kill her Spike! She will die screaming! And the last thought on her mind will be why her Spikey-wikey couldn’t keep her safe!”

Spike continued to scream out in pain as the magic pentagrams appeared around him and shattered. “No... Not Rar... NOT MY RARITY!!!” Spike screamed. A green flame surrounded his body and shot up into the sky like a tornado as Celestia was blown back into Luna, freeing the girls in the process.

Twilight ran straight over to the flaming tornado and was about to touch it, but Luna shouted, “Don’t! It’s too late. All we can do now is wait.”

As the dragons drew ever closer, everyone looked on in horror at what was going on. Twilight turned to look at the three other princesses and asked, “Wait for what?!”

************

Spike suddenly woke up in a panic, and looked around. He wasn’t on the battlefield anymore, but instead inside a dark corridor. As as he looked around, he shouted out, “Twi? Rarity? Anypony? Where am I?”

No one answered as he stood there, not knowing what to do. All of a sudden, the lanterns on the wall lit up, showing him a path. With no other options, Spike followed the path of lanterns until he came to a giant door. As he pushed the door open and popped his head inside to have a look around, he saw two thrones and a giant fire pit in the middle of the room. Not seeing anyone, he decides to go into the giant room and look around. As he does, a massive flame appears in the fire pit. The flame was so big that it looked like it was hitting the ceiling as a voice said, “So, you’ve finally come. Took you long enough.”

Spike jumped back in surprise, as he stuttered, “Wh... who’s there? Show yourself,” as he looked around the room but couldn’t see anyone.

The voice laughed as it said in a mocking tone, “And why should I do as you say? Who are you to tell me what to do?”

Spike grew agitated and said, “I’m Spike the Dragon, number one assistant and little brother of Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship! Now show yourself!”

“Oh, impressive, but that means nothing to me. I ask again. Who are you!?” the voice in the shadows asked in a more demanding tone.

Getting angry, Spike shouted, “I told you who I am! I don’t have time for these games! My friends are in trouble and I need to help them. Now, show yourself!”

The voice burst out laughing and said, “Well, you certainly have courage. I’ll give you that. Or is it that you are just too stupid to understand the situation you are in. Hmm?”

That was it. Spike had had enough. His friends were in danger and this voice was doing his head in. As Spike turned around and started to head for the door, he said, “I don’t have time for this. I’ll figure out where I am and how to get back to my friends by myself.”

Just then, Spike heard another, yet gentler voice say, “Now, now, be nice. Forgive him, Spike. He can be a bit silly at times. We can help you return to your friends.”

Spike spun around at hearing that and asked, “Really!? How do you know my name?”

The gentle voice giggled a little and said, “Yes, really.” Choosing not to answer his other question, the voice said, “That flame in the middle of the room, is your way out, or rather, that is the key to your real power.”

Spike looked at the flame, confused as the voice said, “What I mean is that is who you are, Spike. Since you broke the seals on yourself, it has been calling to you, but you haven’t been able to hear it till now. Everything you’ve done with your life has been leading to this point. Now, step into the flame. It's time for you to fulfill your destiny.”

“I… I don’t understand! What do you mean my destiny?” Spike asked.

The other voice said, “Geez. I’ll make it simple for ya then kid. You want to save your friends? Then step into the flame and become who you were always meant to be. That is the only way you can save them all. Show me your strength. Show me your courage. Save them all!”

Spike gulped and without a moment of hesitation, jumped into the flame. As the flame engulfed him, he started to scream in pain. After a few minutes the pain had stopped and his eyes began to shimmer green. He looked down at his claws as he clenched them closed and reopened them a few times before looking around and saying, “This is awesome. I’ve never felt anything like this before. But how do I get home? How do I get back to my friends?”

That’s when the gentle voice says, “You never left them, Spike. Your still there. This is all in your head. You just have to wake up.”

************

As we return to Twilight and the others. Twilight repeats herself with more anger in her voice, “I said, wait for what!?!”

Celestia looked at her former student and said, “For Spike to wake up and fulfill his destiny.”

Just as Twilight was about to ask Celestia what she meant, a guard shouted, “Dragons!” As everyone looked up they saw two dragons coming down slowly from out the clouds. They looked almost see through as they got closer.

Celestia shouted out, “Stand down! They’re with us,” to the soldiers. As the two dragons got closer and landed not too far way from everyone.

As the two dragons stood there looking quite solid and at the same size as the princesses, the dragoness smiled at them all and before anyone had a chance to say anything, Ember screamed, “This is impossible! It can’t be real! What’s going on?!”

The dragoness looked at Ember before placing a claw under her chin and saying, “Hmmm, impossible, no. Real, sort of, little one,” as she giggled.

As everyone looked curiosity at these two new dragons, Twilight turned to Ember and asked, “Do you know who they are, Ember?”

Ember rubbed her eyes, in amazement before nodding her head and then dropping to a knee as she said, “They are the king and queen of all dragons!”

“What!?!” Everyone shouted in surprise as they all looked at the two dragons before Twilight said, “But, I thought you said they died!”

“They did! Why do you think I’m so surprised to see them standing in front of us!” Ember responded.

The dragoness giggled some more as she said, “Yep. It’s true that we died, but with a little bit of magic we’re able to be here for this. Oh, yeah, could you stop kneeling? There’s really no need.” As the dragoness watched Ember stand back up, she then turned to look at Celestia and Luna with the biggest of smiles, before she ran up to them both and pulled them into a hug and said, “Tia, Lulu, I’ve missed you!”

As the two princesses hugged back with tears in their eyes, Celestia said, “I’ve missed you to, Kyoto.”

As the king cleared his throat, he said, “Kyoto, we don’t have a lot of time.”

Luna grinned at him and said, “Hello again, Kuroshin. It is good to see you also.”

“Hmm, yeah sure. Whatever you say. Kyoto, can we just get on with this?” Kuroshin said in a annoyed tone.

Luna smirked at him and said in a playful tone, “Awww, what’s the matter with the grumpy little dragon? Do you need a hug?”

Kuroshin glared at Luna and said, “Watch your tone, little pony! Unless you want me to skin you alive!”

“Oh, I’d like to see you try, dragon!” Luna said as her horn lit up and they glared at each other as everyone watched on in shock and worry.

Kuroshin grinned as he glared at Luna before letting out a laugh, as he said, “It is good to see you again as well, little pony princess.”

As Luna’s horn died down she giggled a long, as she smiled at him and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Kyoto giggled as she looked at everyone and said, “You’ll have to forgive my husband. He’s always been a bit weird.”

Kuroshin huffed at that and said, “I don’t want to hear that from the dragoness that had ponies as friends growing up.”

Kyoto laughed a bit more as she said, “Not just any ponies, but princesses.” making Luna and Celestia laugh along.

“Wait, you’ve known Celestia and Luna that long?” Twilight asked with curiosity and the biggest of smiles on her face.

Kyoto nodded her head and said, “Yep. We were great friends growing up,” as she looked at Luna and Celestia, she sniggered and said, “Do you two remember the time you got me to show you how to increase your voice volume?” Kyoto laughed harder before she continued. “You even gave it a funny name. What did you call it again?”

Both Celestia and Luna went bright red as Celestia said, “Royal Canterlot voice,” as everyone just looked at them in shock.

“Yeah, that’s it. You guys always did make me laugh,” Kyoto said as she wiped a tear from her eye. As Kyoto stopped laughing she said, “But Kuroshin is right. We don’t have much time here. Besides, the dragons are coming,” as she pointed behind her at the dragons that were now clearly getting even closer.

Kyoto walked up to the tornado and said, “Come on now, little one. It’s time to wake up. Your friends are waiting for you.”

As the tornado started to fluctuate, Kuroshin sighed as he said, “Concentrate. Take the form you wish to be. There is no reason to be afraid. Don’t fight it. Accept it. Let it flow through you.”

As the tornado burst open and disappeared, Twilight and Rarity went to run towards Spike, but stopped as they saw a dragon the size of Celestia standing in Spike’s place. As they edged closer, Rarity called out, “Spi... Spike? Is that you?”

As Spike rubbed his head and opened his eyes to look at Rarity, he gave her a smile as he said, “Yeah, Rarity. It’s me,” before grabbing his throat in surprise and saying, “Wow. Is that what I sound like now?”

“Spike, you’ve grown!” Twilight said, shocked. As everyone looks at him.

Spike stretches and says, “Yeah, I guess so. So, what do you think?”

As Rarity looks at Spike in awe, she says, “You look amazing Spike,” a bit louder than she meant to, making her and Spike blush as everyone looks at them.

Twilight hugs Spike as she says, “I’m just glad you’re ok, Spike.”

As they broke their hug, Spike smiled at Twilight and said, “Yeah, me too.” As everyone walked up to him and congratulated him on his new size, Spike happily smiled at them all and thanked them.

Cadance gave Spike a little grin as she said, “A dragon can grow when there is an overwhelming need to protect their treasure or something that is important to them. Although, I must admit that was some show you put on, Spike,” making him blush slightly.

“So, what are you going to do about them?” Kyoto said as she pointed to the dragons that were now in sight of them all.

Spike looked at Kyoto with a confused look and said, “That voice. I know that voice. It’s the same voice I heard in my head.”

Kyoto giggled slightly as she walked over to Spike with a warm smile and said, “Well, yeah silly. Of course, you know my voice,” as Kyoto starts to get teary, she places her claw over Spike’s chest and says, “You may have never met us, but we’ve always been here.”

Tears start to pour out of Spike’s eyes as he struggles to ask, “Ar... are yo... are you my...”

Kyoto cups Spike’s cheek as she cries and says, “Look at you. You’ve grown into such a handsome drake, my beautiful little egg.”

Hearing Kyoto say that, Spike breaks down in tears as he says, “Mom!?”

Kyoto pulls him into a loving embrace as she says, “That’s right. Mommy’s here.”

Everyone watches the scene in silence and cries along. Spike, still crying, asks, “Where have you been? Why did you leave me?”

Kyoto broke their embrace and said, “I’m sorry, little one, but we’re out of time. I wish it didn’t have to be this way bu-“

Spike pulled her back into a hug and screamed “No, you can’t go! I just found you!”

As Kyoto cried she said, “I know, I know. I wish it wasn’t so, but we have to go,” as she broke their hug once again and stood over by Kuroshin. She cried and said, “I’m sorry, my love. I stole all your time with him. Forgive me.”

Kuroshin pulled her into a hug as tears came down his face and said, “It’s ok. You said more to him with your actions than I ever could.” As they both started to fade away, Kuroshin looked at Spike and said, “Spike, hear me, my son. We will always be with you and never forget you are our son. Our blood flows through you. I’m proud of the drake you have become. We love you, son. Now, fulfill your destiny and save them.”

As they both faded away with smiles on their faces, Spike jumped at them and hit the floor, as he cried out, “No! It’s not fair!” As he slammed his fist against the ground in anger.

Rarity ran over to Spike and pulled him into a hug as they both sat there, crying. Celestia walked over to them and wiped her tears away as she said, “I’m sorry, Spike. I know you’re hurting right now, but we need your help. You are the only one that can stop this.”

As Spike wiped the tears from his eyes, he looked at Celestia with anger now in his eyes and shouted, “You’ve known all this time! You’ve known who my mom and dad were and you never said anything!”

Twilight looked at Spike worryingly and said “Spike. Calm dow-“

Celestia cut Twilight off by saying, “No, Twilight. He has every right to be mad at me.” As Celestia looked at Spike with tears in her eyes, she took a breath and said, “Yes, Spike. I’ve known who your parents were and how you came to be with us ponies all along. I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, but I couldn’t. Your mom, Kyoto, was one of our closest friends. She made me swear to keep it a secret from you. She said that when the time was right, you would know who they were and also who you really are. I’m sorry for keeping this from you, Spike. Truly I am.”

Seeing Celestia looking so sad, Spike took a breath and calmed down before asking, “What do you mean who I really am?”

That’s when Ember walked over to Spike and kneeled before him, as she said, “She means that you are the prince of the dragons and the true heir to the throne, Your Majesty.”

“What!?!” Spike shouted.

As Celestia warmly smiled at Spike, she said, “That’s right, Spike. You are the son of Queen Kyoto and King Kuroshin. You are the rightful ruler of dragons. You are Spike, the crown prince of the dragons. Now, stand and take your rightful place as ruler. Fulfil your destiny.” As Celestia bowed, she said, “Your Majesty.”

As Spike stood up, everyone looked at him with smiles on their faces as they bowed to him. Spike wiped the tears from his eyes as he looked to Celestia and began to panic as he said, “What!? I can’t be a prince! I don’t know the first thing about ruling! And what am I meant to do? I don’t know how to stop this!”

Celestia chuckled as she rose back up and said, “Oh, but you are, Spike. It’s a fact. You also know more about ruling than you think. Spike. After all, you’ve been helping all us princesses for years. Why else do you think we always called upon your services? It wasn’t just to help us, but to teach you. You just didn’t know it at the time. As for stopping the dragons, well, it’s like Kuroshin said, Spike; their blood flows through you. You have the power inside of you. You always have. Now, call to them. Make them hear you. Make them listen!”

Spike turned around and looked at the oncoming army of dragons and gulped. He closed his eyes and as he tried to calm his nerves. He could hear his father’s voice in his head say, “Never forget, you are our son. Our blood flows through you.” Spike opened his eyes and took a step forward. As he did, his eyes shimmered green before he let out a massive roar so loud the girls all had to cover their ears. The dragons all stopped in their tracks as Spike shouted out, “Enough! I order you to stop this at once!”

As the dragons all stood there dazed and confused, looking around and wondering how and why they were there. Smolder came flying over to everyone and asked, “Headmare Twilight, what’s going on? Why are you all here? Better yet, why are the dragons here?” After rubbing her head she said, “Why does it feel like I’ve been bashing my head against a rock for weeks?”

As everyone laughed at what Smolder said, Twilight said, “I’ll explain everything to you later, Smolder, but for right now I’m just glad you’re you again.” Before looking at Spike with a smile and saying, “Good job Spike.”

Spike rubbed his head in embarrassment, as Rarity kissed him and said, “My hero.”

As Smolder could be heard saying, “Wait. That’s Spike?!”

Just then, a mighty roar could be heard from behind the dragons and as a massive dragon made its way to the front of the other dragons, it laughed as it said, “So, the prince has finally shown himself. Such a small drake. Do you really think you can stop me?” Come, face me and let us see who the rightful ruler is! Dragons, hear me! I, Zeri, the Dragon Lord. Here by challenge the prince for the right to rule!”

“What!?! Prince?! What did I miss?!” Smolder shouted.

As Twilight stood next to Spike, she said, “It seems your roar didn’t work on him. No matter. We got this together, little brother.”

Spike shook his head and said, “No, Twi. This I must do alone.”

“What!?” Everyone said in surprise, as they looked at him, before Rarity said, “You most certainly don’t need to do this by yourself, Spike.”

That’s when Ember stepped in and said, “No, he does. You can’t intervene. This is an official challenge to rule. As Zeri is the Dragon Lord and Spike is the prince, they both have a claim to the throne. If you get involved now, the dragons will have no choice but to see Zeri as the rightful ruler and he can do as he pleases. You must not get involved.”

“But that’s absurd!” Rarity shouted as she looked at Ember.

Ember sighed as she said, “You may not like it, but this is the way we dragons do things. If Spike is to rule, then he must follow our customs.”

Spike took a breath and said, “I understand. Please, everypony. Stay out of this. I won’t be able to fight him at full power if I have to worry about you getting caught up in this. I know you want to help, but I have to do this alone. I need to know if I have what it takes, please understand.”

As Rarity looked at Spike worryingly, she said, “Bu... but Spike it’s to dan-“

Just then Twilight, walks up to Rarity and places her hoof on her shoulder and takes a breath as she says, “We understand, Spike. Go and take care of this. You got this, little brother.” She smiles warmly at him as everyone else looks at her in surprise at what she just said.

Spike smiled at Twilight and said, “Right. Leave it to me, sis,” before looking at Rarity and saying, “Don’t worry, Rarity. I’ll be fine.” As Spike cups Rarity’s cheek, he chuckles slightly as he says, “Besides, I told you before, if he looked at you in a way I didn’t like, I’d beat him down.” As he leaned in and kissed her, he whispered, “Nothing’s going to keep me from you. I promise.”

As Spike gave her one last quick smile, he turned around and flew off. As Rarity stood there with tears in her eyes, she said, “Twilight, we’re not gonna let this happen, right?”

Twilight smiled as she said, “Of course not. If that Dragon Lord thinks I’m gonna let him hurt my baby brother, he’s got another thing coming. If things look like they’re taking a turn for the worse, we’re gonna get involved. Be ready just in case.”

As everyone smiled at hearing that, Ember stood there shocked and said, “What? Are you crazy? Look, I don’t like this anymore than you do, but if you get involved it will definitely mean war!”

Twilight turned to look at Ember with a serious look on her face as she said, “I don’t care. If it means keeping my brother safe, I’ll take the whole world on. If that’s what it takes and if anyone here has a problem with that, you better stay out of my way.”

As everyone nods their heads in agreement, Ember started to laugh as she says, “You know, it’s a shame you guys are ponies, cuz right now you sound like some great dragons.” As everyone looks at her, Ember smiles and says, “Count me in. Sounds like fun,” making everyone smile at her.

As Twilight turns back around to see Spike land in an open space, she says, “But, I believe in my little brother. If he says he can do this, then I trust him. He’s never let me down when I needed him. He’s stronger than he looks.”

As Spike stands ready, Zeri flies over and lands a distance from him and says, “I’ll give you this; at least you have the courage to face me,” as he starts to shrink to a size just a little bigger than Spike, he says, “I wouldn’t want anyone to say I didn’t play fair when I kill you!” before he glares at Spike.

Spike gulps and says, “What? Look I don’t want to fight you! If you are Kuroshin’s brother, then doesn’t that make us family? Why are you doing this? There has to be another way!”

Zeri starts to giggle before bursting out into a fit of laughter and saying, “You sound pathetic! You are meant to be my nephew? What was my brother thinking allowing that fool Kyoto to give you to those weakling ponies, it’s no wonder you sound so much like them!”

Zeri growls and says, “I can smell you from here. You stink of ponies.” As Spike just looks at him, Zeri continues to say, “You have your mother’s eyes, little prince. The eyes of a fool. Your mother was a joke of a dragon! Thinking we could ever get along with such weak creatures. That is why I’m doing this; to prove once and for all that dragons will always be superior. When I am through with you, I will burn Equestria to the ground and in so doing, crushing those little ponies she loved so much!”

Spike could feel his anger growing as he listened to Zeri and shouted out, “NO! I won’t let you!”

“Hahaha, it seems you do have a fighting spirit after all. That’s good,” Zeri said, as he grinds at Spike, “Very well. You have your mother’s foolish eyes. Now, let us see if you have your father’s strength to back up your claim, little prince!”

As Spike digs his claws into the ground, his eyes begin to shimmer green as he says, “I’m no prince. My name is Spike: number one assistant to the Princess of Friendship and if you think I’m going to let you hurt them, you’ve made a grave mistake!”

Zeri chuckles before shouting, “We shall see!” As he shoots a flame out his mouth.

Spike standing his ground, shoots a flame out his mouth and the two mighty flames clash, causing an explosion. As the smoke settles, Spike loses track of Zeri and as he starts looking around, he hears Rarity scream, “Spike, behind you!” Just then, Zeri appears behind him with a grin on his face and goes to swing his claw down at Spike.

Thanks to Rarity’s warning, Spike jumps out the way, avoiding his attack and swings his tail at Zeri in the process. But, Zeri grabs his tail and starts to swing Spike around as he says, “You have to do better than that,” as he lets him go and Spike goes flying across the floor. “You’re a dragon! Now, fight like one!”

Spike stands back up and shoots a few fireballs at Zeri. Which he avoids easily and as he crashes into Spike. They lock claws as Spike gets pushed back before he digs into the ground and they come to a stop. Now standing there locked claw to claw and face to face, Zeri grins as he says, “You need to get serious, Spike! Now, show me your real strength! This is a fight to the death after all!” As he starts to push Spike back, Zeri smirks as he says, “I think after I kill you, I’m going to kill those friends of yours, starting with that white one. She looks tasty. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into that plump rump of hers.”

Hearing that, Spike snaps in anger and as his eyes begin to shimmer green, he screams out, “NOOO!!!” As he head butts Zeri in the face knocking him back and off balance. Spike uses this to his advantage as he tosses Zeri over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground and then swings his claw down as he screams, “I’ll kill you!!!”

Zeri quickly rolls out the way as Spike’s claw smashes into the ground and quickly gets back on his feet and jumps back with a grin on his face. He chuckles before saying, “Oh, seems I hit a nerve.” As they both glare at each other, Zeri says, “There you are. There’s the dragon I want to see. It seems this will be a fun fight after all." As he shoots another flame from his mouth, Spike lets out a mighty roar as he shoots out his own flame and as they both stand their ground, the flames clash into each other.

As Rarity stands there watching, worryingly, she shouts out, “Twilight! Spike needs us, now!” As she begins to run off.

Twilight uses her magic to hold Rarity in place as she says, “No! Not yet! It’s too soon. We need to be sure before we take action. We have to let this play out, Rarity.”

As Rarity stands there with tears in her eyes, she says, “Bu... but, Spike.”

As Twilight releases her magic hold on Rarity, she says, “I know, Rarity. I know. But we have to let Spike do this. If we act too rashly, it could do more damage than good. We have to believe in him. You have to believe in your drake. He can do this!”

Rarity takes a breath before wiping her tears away and gets a serious look on her face as she looks back over at the fight and says, “Right! He made me a promise; he’ll win and come back to me.”

As Twilight wraps her arm around Rarity and watches the fight, she says, “That’s right. He’s a drake that keeps his word. He’ll do whatever he has to to keep that promise.”

As the flames wrapped around one another and started to go up into the air, the explosion made Spike close his eyes for a second. When he opened them, he saw Zeri jumping through the smoke. Thinking quickly, Spike grabbed his wrist and flipped him over the top of him and landed on top of Zeri. Spike, in a fit of rage, started to repeatedly punch Zeri in the face as he screamed, “You won’t have her!”

As Zeri lay there helpless to do anything, Spike kept punching as he screamed, “I’ll kill you!!!”

As Spike carried on his assault he saw Zeri smirk at him, as he said, “Now, you sound like a dragon.”

Spike snapped out of his rage at hearing that and looked down at Zeri with a sorrowful look on his face as he stopped his attack. Zeri saw his opening and wrapped his tail around Spike’s neck to pull him back and kick Spike off of him. As Spike stumbled back Zeri got up and shouted, “Why did you stop?! You had the upper claw! You could have ended this!”

Spike looked at him with a sad expression on his face and said, “I’m not like you! I may be a dragon and have all this power, but that doesn’t make me a monster!”

“HAHAHA! You really are a fool! Killing doesn’t make you a monster! It makes you strong and only the strong get to rule!”

“You’re wrong!” Spike shouts back, “The ponies have power, but they don’t go around killing!”

This made Zeri laugh even harder as he says, “You really are stupid, aren’t you! Do you really think your precious princesses are so innocent? Don’t fool yourself. Those princesses have blood on their hooves just like the rest of us. I can at least respect them as they understand what it means to rule. Or what, did you think that all those ponies over there had come all this way just to stand around and talk?! No, they came to kill! To fight for what’s theirs. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do to keep what’s yours. If you don’t even understand that, then you aren’t fit to rule! Better yet, if you haven’t got the stomach to kill, then just roll over and die like the weak creature you are!”

As Zeri finished saying that, he charged at Spike, catching him off guard and wrapped his body around Spike. As Spike tried to break free, they stood there as Zeri held Spike’s chin up and made him look at the ponies as he whispered from behind, “They die next. All because you were too weak to keep them safe.”

Spike gets a look of fear on his face as he hears Rarity scream out his name and sees all his friends starting to run towards them, Zeri sniggers as he says, “Long live, the king.”

“NO!” Spike shouts, as he breaks free of the hold on him and uses his tail to trip Zeri up and jumps on top of him. As Spike pinned Zeri to the floor, Zeri looked up, breathing heavily and said, “What are you waiting for?! do it!”

As Spike’s claw came flying down towards Zeri, he remembered what his father had said, “Save them all!” Zeri closed his eyes waiting for the final blow. After a moment, Zeri opened his eyes to see Spike’s claw dug into the ground next to him. As Zeri looked at Spike, he asked, “What are you doing?! Finish me!”

Spike lifted his claw up and stepped away from Zeri and said, “No. I won’t kill you. I understand now what my father meant when he said save them all. He wasn’t just talking about the ponies. He meant everyone. You included. So, I will not end your life. This is my answer. My decision. I’ve learnt a lot from the ponies and if I’ve learned nothing else, it’s that there is always another way. So, come at me as much as you want. I’ll just keep knocking you down. You can’t win, because I’m never going to stop trying to find a better way!”

As Zeri stood back up, he grinned at Spike, as he said, “Congratulations, you passed the test, Spike.”

Wha... TEST?!” Spike shouted.

Zeri laughed as he nodded his head and said, “Yes, test. Anyone can have power, Spike, but it’s what we choose to do with that power that makes us what we are, and you, my nephew, are without a doubt your parent’s child. You showed courage and bravery when you stepped forward and put your life on the line to face me for the sake of your friends and family and you showed wisdom in your conviction when you chose not to kill me. It takes more to rule than power, Spike. You have to have the courage to follow through on your convictions, even when others may think you are wrong I’m proud of you as I know your parent’s would be.”

“This... this has all been one big test!?! But I could have killed you!” Spike shouted.

Zeri laughed as he said, “Yep. I know, but I had faith that you wouldn’t. You are your mother's child after all and she never could stomach hurting others and I was willing to bet my life that you would be like her in that regard.” As Zeri smiled at Spike, he continued, “Like I said, it takes more to rule than power. You can thank your mom for this. She was one crafty dragoness.” Zeri took a breath and shouted out to the other dragons, “Dragons, hear me! The challenge is over. Prince no more, our king has returned! Kneel before our king!” As Zeri and every other dragon bowed to Spike, roars of cheers and, 'long live the king' could be heard, making Spike blush slightly in embarrassment.

As Twilight, Rarity and the others came running over towards Spike, Rarity jumped into Spike’s arms and kissed him all over his face. As Zeri stood back up and grinned at Spike, he gave him a warm smile and said, “Seems you have a way with the females, nephew. It runs in the family just so you know.” As he laughed, seeing Spike blush, he continued to say, “Before your mom and dad left for the battle to protect us dragons, I insisted on going with them, but they refused. They said this was their duty and no one else was to get involved. My brother wanted me to take over and rule in his place if the worse was to happen, but I’m not really the ruling type, so your mom came up with a plan. She would leave you with her friends, the pony princesses, and my brother would make a sceptre for someone to stay in charge until the time you returned. I would then awaken and challenge you for the throne to see if you had what it took to rule.”

“Wait, what?” Celestia said as she and the other princesses landed next to Spike.

Zeri nodded at Celestia and said, “My-sister-in law was a bit of a weird one, but she believed that the dragons could live side by side with other creatures. No doubt having you two as her friends made her believe that. But, it wouldn’t be easy since most dragons didn’t see this as something that could ever work. I mean, yes, my brother could have made them do it, but Kyoto didn’t want to force this on anyone and wanted it to be of their own free will. So, her plan was simple; give you to the pony princesses so you could learn how to be understanding and kind towards other creatures, while I would kick up a fuss about not being ruler, ensuring that when the time came you had a threat to face you and bring out your power.”

“Wait a minute. That doesn’t make sense,” Twilight said. “How could Kyoto have known I would of hatched Spike?”

Zeri titled his head as he looked at Twilight before busting out in laughter, “I see, I see. So, you hatched Spike. I thought for sure it would have been one of these two,” Zeri said as he pointed at Celestia and Luna. “I must admit, you seem quite young for an alicorn princess you must really hold some power in that horn of yours.”

Spike cleared his throat as he said, “Actually, Twi wasn’t an alicorn when she hatched me. She was just a filly unicorn at the time.”

Zeri let out a big belly laugh at hearing that and said, “Really? Wow, that’s even more impressive.” He stopped laughing and looked at Twilight as he smiled and said, “You see, dragon eggs hatch when they get hot enough, but Spike, here isn’t a normal dragon, therefore the way he is hatched is also different. He is royalty and as such, fire and heat aren’t enough to hatch him. It requires a great deal of power to hatch a royal egg.”

That’s when Celestia stepped in and said, “Yes, Kyoto told me that herself the day she handed me your egg, Spike.” Celestia let out a sigh as she said, “I remember it like it was yesterday. Although, some time had passed since we had last met. When Kyoto sent us a letter asking to meet in secret, Luna and I rushed as fast as we could to meet our friend. When we arrived in Everfree Forest, we found Kyoto and Kuroshin waiting for us. That is where we learnt Kyoto and Kuroshin were going to go fight to protect the dragons. Of course, we offered to lend our aid in the matter, but like Dragon Lord Zeri said, they also refused us. So, I asked why she wanted to meet with us if she didn’t want our help. That’s when she handed me an egg,” Celestia smiled warmly at Spike as she went on. “Kyoto told me that it was the most important egg in the world. That inside the egg laid her dreams and future hope for the dragons and ponies to bridge the gap and become true friends. She wished for us to raise the egg and teach it our ways so that when it got old enough it would be able to understand that just because we were different it doesn’t mean we couldn’t get along.”

As Celestia started to cry she said, “Kyoto told us that she was entrusting us with the future of all dragons and made us promise to keep you safe and to not speak a word of this to you. She said she wouldn’t trust anyone else with this task and after telling me how to hatch you, she passed you to me with a scroll and that was the last time we saw our friend,” Celestia broke down in tears as she said, “It broke her heart to have to give you up, Spike, but she did what she had to do for the dragons and for you. To keep you safe. They didn’t know what the outcome was going to be, but they planned for the worse and hoped for the best.”

As Luna pulled Celestia into a hug with her own tears now forming in her eyes, she said, “We never got around to hatching you, Spike. You see, after news of our friend’s fall, things changed. I became more isolated and withdrawn from Tia and everypony else. Eventually, I gave into the loneliness and became Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia broke their hug and cleared her throat as she said, “Forgive me, everyone. I haven’t spoken of that night in a long time and it just got to me a little,” as Celestia wiped the last few tears from her eyes, she continued, “After having to banish Luna to the moon, I thought of trying to hatch you myself, Spike. But, without Luna and the fact that my connection to the Elements was also starting to weaken, I didn’t want to risk it. So, instead I came up with another plan. I knew that the Tree of Harmony would one day choose my successor and when that time came, that pony would hold the power to hatch you. And now here you stand, a dragon raised by ponies that understands what true friendship means and that just because we are different it doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.” As Celestia took a breath she said, “After you hatched, I was so happy. It was like a little piece of my friend was with me. So many times I wanted to tell you what I knew of your parents but I had to remind myself to keep my promise.”

As Celestia looked at Spike with a sorrowful look on her face, she said, “In truth, I also feared losing you. That was also a factor in why I said nothing to you,” Celestia began to cry as she said, “I had already lost my friend and my sister. The thought of losing you also was too much for me to take. I’m sorry for not saying anything, Spike. Can you ever forgive me?”

As Spike walked up to Celestia, he pulled her into a hug and said, “There’s nothing to forgive. You kept your promise to my mom and took care of me. If anything, I should be thanking you for taking me in and raising me. You have nothing to fear. You won’t lose me.”

Celestia burst into tears in Spike’s arms and after a few moments she broke their hug and smiled at Spike and said, “Thank you, Spike.” After as she wiped her tears away, she used her magic and an old looking scroll appeared in front of her. As she passed it to Spike, she said, “This scroll was meant for you, Spike.”

As Spike broke the seal and unrolled it, he looked at it and started to get teary as he said, “I... I can’t read it. I don’t understand what it says.”

“Here, let me have a look, Spike,” Twilight said as she took the scroll off him. After looking at it she said, “I’ve never seen writing like this before. I don't know if I can even call it that.”

Ember sighed, as she walked up and looked over Twilight’s shoulder before saying, “Of course, you can’t read it. It’s written in dragon. Here, let me,” as Ember quickly scanned over it, she took a breath before reading it out.

My dearest little egg,

If you are reading this, then it means the worst has happened and we are no longer with you. I’m so sorry, little one. I wanted nothing more than to be there with you. To watch you grow into the great dragon you have no doubt become.

By now, you have most likely met your uncle. Don’t be mad at him. He only did what I asked of him. He’s a good drake, if not a bit lazy. Hehehe. I’m sure you wondered why I did all this. Why I didn’t stay with you. The truth is I wanted to stay with you. I wanted to be able to raise you myself, to watch you grow, but I couldn’t. Your father all but demanded I stay with you, but your mommy is a selfish dragon and couldn’t bear the idea of daddy fighting alone, so I put together a plan. I would ask your uncle to test you when you were ready to take the throne.

I also have some amazing friends, Tia and Lulu. They are some of the bestest friends a dragon could ask for. I'll always remember the fond times we spent together and I wanted others to be like that. To be able to experience the joy and laughter I had with my friends, but dragons and ponies don’t get along all too well. So, not knowing how things would turn out, I entrusted you to them. I wanted you to experience the joy of friendship and the love that I had. Then, maybe you could fulfil mommy’s selfish dream of us all getting along and living together.

I’m sure it has not been easy for you. A dragon growing up in a world you don’t understand, but at the same time, I’m also certain that you, like me, have made some great friends by now. The ponies are a wondrous race. They have the ability to see the good in all, even dragons like me. I’m sure Tia and Lulu have taken good care of you and if I know Tia, she’s probably crying her eyes out. Hahaha. Tell them I’m sorry. I didn’t tell them about my plan for your test. I needed it to be as real as possible, so you would take it seriously. If they had known, they would have held back out of kindness. That’s just their way.

Oh, my little one, how I wish I could hold you right now. But I want you to know I’m always with you, even if you can’t see me I’m there. I’m always there watching over you. I want you to know you were brought into this world loved and I’m sure you will make a great king. How could you not? You are our son after all. If I can give you any advice, it is this: live your life the way you choose. Listen to your heart for that will always lead you down the right path even if it may be hard at times. Make sure to eat healthily. You can’t just eat gems. Okay? And make sure to take regular baths. No one likes a stinky dragon. But this is the most important thing, my little one, if you find a nice girl that you like, you make sure to take care of her. You love her like nothing else and most importantly be happy, my sweet little baby. Mommy loves you now and always.

As Ember looked over at Spike to see him with his arm over his face trying to hide the tears as he cried, she said, “That’s it. There’s no more.”

Zeri looked at Spike crying with a sorrowful smile and said, “Your mom was always a bit of a strange one, being friends with ponies and all. But, I’ll tell you one thing. She was the strongest dragon I ever knew, even more so than your father, because she always listened and followed her heart. The proof of that is that you were born and are now standing here, Spike.”

As Rarity goes over and holds Spike, he nods his head as he listens to Zeri. After a few moments, Zeri says, “It’s time. Your citizens are waiting for you, Your Majesty,” as he gives a small bow.

Spike wipes the tears away and says with a confident smile, “I know what I need to do.” Before turning to Rarity and asking, “Rarity, I need your help. Do you think you could use your magic to locate any gems that may be around here?”

Rarity, confused by Spike’s request, says, “Yes, of course, but why, Spike?”

Spike smiled at her and said, “I’m doing what my mom said; I’m listening to my heart,” as he broke their hug, he looked around at everyone and said, “I’ll be back in a bit,” before taking off into the air.

While Spike was gone, Rarity used her magic to find some gems and laid them on the floor in front of everyone. Zeri looked at them with a smile and said, “My, what a great little power you have for finding gems, little pony.”

Rarity looked at him a bit annoyed and said, “My name is Rarity. Please do try to call me that instead of little pony,”

This made Zeri snigger as he said, “And you have a fire in you as well. I like that. It’s no wonder my nephew was drawn to you.”

That made Rarity blush slightly before Rainbow shouted, “Hey, Spike’s back.” As he landed a little bit away from everyone.

Rarity trotted over to him with the gems as she said, “I’ve found some gems, Spike. I do hope these will suffice.”

Spike happily nodded as he said “Yeah, this will do great. Thanks, Rarity,” as he took the biggest one from the pile. He then pulled out a staff made of crystalline rock from behind his back and placed the gem into it.

As everyone looked on, Ember said, “Wait! Are you making another sceptre?”

Spike nodded and said, “Yep. You said the last one was destroyed, so I thought I’d make a new one.”

Confused, Zeri said, “But why? I destroyed it because there was no longer a need for it.”

Choosing to ignore the Dragon Lord, Spike smiled at his handy work and said, “Now for the missing ingredient.” Spike bit on his finger and watched as a drop of his blood hit the gem, turning it into a bloodstone. As he smiled, Spike said, “I always wondered how the bloodstone sceptre was able to get dragons to listen to its wielder, and after finding out that dad was the one that made it, it all made sense. It was his blood. The blood of the dragon king.”

After saying that, Spike turned to Ember and threw the sceptre at her. As she caught it, a magic blast shot out from it and into the air. As Ember looked surprised at Spike, he laughed and said, “Try not to lose this one, ok, Dragon Lord Ember?” As he bowed to her.

“What!?! Both Ember and Zeri said, as Spike continued to laugh.

After Spike had finished laughing, he looked at them both and said, “I don’t want to be king, so I’m running away to Ponyville. To live my life as a happy drake with the mare I love. You got a problem with that?” Spike said as he raised an eye to look at them both, while Rarity and the others giggled with joy.

“Bu... but, Spike, you’re the king!” Ember said, still in shock.

“Yeah, but you’re doing a much better job of it than me. I tried to give out orders once and it didn’t go too well,” Spike said as he giggled. As Spike smiled at Ember, he said, “You understand, right?”

Ember laughed and said, “It’s just like the first time. You’re doing it again.” As Ember smiled at Spike, she said, “Your home is in Equestria with your friends, right?”

Spike laughed and said, “Yep. What can I say? Once an assistant, always an assistant. If you ever need a helping claw, though, you know where to find me. Don’t be a stranger and come visit. Besides, with the School of Friendship up and running, mom’s dream has already come true. Creatures from all over are coming together and learning what it means to be friends. With you as the leader, I know the dragons are in good claws.”

As Spike turned to look at Zeri and smiled, he said, “Sorry, Dragon Lord Zeri. I can’t rule. It’s not who I am. I guess it runs in the family or something. I hope you’re not disappointed.”

Zeri burst out laughing and said, “Not at all, Spike. In that regard, you are just like your mom. You don’t have to call me Dragon Lord Zeri either. You can just call me Zeri.” As Zeri smiled seeing Spike go a bit red, he continued, you follow that heart of yours. But make sure to come visit me, ok?”

Just then, Spike got an idea. He turned to Ember and said, “Hey, Ember, I don’t want to tell you how to do your job or anything, but I have an idea. I know ruling can take a lot out of you, so how does having a right hand drake at your side sound? Someone who will help you in all your day to day task and advise you in matters?” As Spike put his claw to his chin and giggled he said, “Kind of like a number one assistant of your own.”

Ember smiled and said, “Sure. Sounds like a great idea. But, it would have to be a drake that knew their stuff. One that wanted to help me build a place where dragons can coexist with others. Any ideas for a candidate, Spike?”

Spike turned around and looked at Zeri and said, “Well, what do you think, Uncle Zeri? You up to the challenge?”

Zeri smiled warmly at hearing Spike calling him uncle and said, “I think I can manage that.”

As Spike quickly glanced at both Celestia and Twilight, he chuckled and said, “Good. I’m sure you’ll do great, but there’s a catch.” As the Dragon Lord titled his head in curiosity, Spike grinned at him as he said, “You are to send me regular reports and updates on how things are going in the Dragonlands, and you are to do so personally. Is that understood?” Making both Celestia and Twilight giggle.

Zeri bows as he says, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Spike clears his throat and scratches his nose, a bit embarrassed as he continues, “And... and maybe, if you have time, you might want to spend some time with me? Maybe even tell me some stories or something, about mom and dad?”

As Zeri raised his head back up and looked at Spike with a warm smile, he said, “I would like that. I would like that very much, Spike,” before pulling him into a hug.

After a few moments had passed, Zeri breaks their hug and asks, “So, what now?”

Spike shrugged his shoulders as he said, “Don’t know. Guess I’ll just head home and carry on as normal just like always.”

Rarity cleared her throat and gave Spike a bat of her eyes before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, making him laugh as he said, “Well, normal from now on anyways,” as everyone started to laugh at him going red in embarrassment.

Zeri smirked at the sight of Spike and Rarity as an idea came to him. He cleared his throat and shouted, “Dragons, show your respect to the king and queen!”

“Oh my,” Rarity said a bit embarrassed as every dragon there bowed.

Spike, going completely red in the face at this point, shouted, “Uncle! We’ve only just started dating! Could you not make things any harder for me?!” Making everyone laugh at how embarrassed he was.

As everyone continued to laugh, Spike chuckled along before stopping all of a sudden and getting a small grin come onto his face, he looked at Rarity and said, “Although, Queen Rarity does have a nice sound to it.” As Spike held Rarity’s chin and moved closer, he whispered, “After all, you’ve always been my queen,” before kissing her.

As they broke their passionate kiss, Spike moved away and giggled as he said, “I think I just found my nickname for you: my little queen of the dragons.” As he watched Rarity blush and gulp in embarrassment, Spike gave her a peck on the cheek as everyone started to giggle and snigger at how red Rarity had become.

Ember cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention and said, “Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but standing around and watching you two make kissy faces at each other isn’t my idea of a good time. So, if we’re done I think I’m gonna go home and take this lot with me. Which reminds me, Dragon Lord Zeri. What did you do with my dad?”

“Oh, Torch, don’t worry. He was thrown into a cell. He’s fine. We can let him out when we get back,” the Dragon Lord said with a smile, as he looked at Ember.

As Ember grinned at him, she said, “I see, but I believe what you meant to say was you can let him out when we get back. Isn’t that right, my number one assistant? After all, I’m sure my dad would like a word or two with you when we get back.”

The smile now gone from his face, Zeri bowed and said, “Of course. As you wish, my Dragon Lord.”

Spike snickered and said, “Seems like you’re gonna have your claws full, Uncle. Don’t overwork yourself.”

As Zeri looks at Spike, Twilight walks over to stand next to Zeri with a grin on her face as she says, “I’m sure you’ll do just fine. Also, when you do come and visit Spike, I would appreciate it if you could take the time to teach Spike about some dragon history and culture. Maybe fit in some reading and writing too.”

“What they hay, Twi!” Spike said with a displeased tone as Twilight turned to look at him with the grin still on her face as she said, “Well, you are the rightful ruler now, Spike. How would it look if the king of dragons can’t even read or write a simple letter?”

Spike raised an eye at his sister and said, “Liar. You just want to have more things to study.”

Twilight started to go a bit red in the face as she nervously laughed and said, “Well, I mean, as your big sister and the Princess of Friendship it’s only right that I sit in on these lessons and make sure you understand them. Not to mention it could help ponies better understand dragons in the long run. I may even add an after school club where creatures can help each other learn how to write in their native language.”

As Spike slaps a claw over his face and sighs, he says, “That just means more work for me.”

Zeri chuckles and says, “It seems I’m not the only one that is going to have his claws full. Good luck, nephew.”

Spike smirks at his uncle as he puffs out his chest and says, “Please, I’ve been working as Twi’s assistant for years. This is just the norm for her. That mare never stops trying to learn all she can. If I couldn’t keep up with her I wouldn’t be much of an assistant now would I.”

“Hey!” Twilight says as she giggles before nodding her head and saying, “Though, it is true.” As everyone starts to laugh, Twilight says, “When we get back, we need to make sure all the ponies get home safe. So tomorrow, after a nice long rest, we can get to work on making a list of what sorts of things we are going to need to know an-“

“Let me stop you there, Twi, before you start to get carried away,” Spike said, cutting her off, before saying, “Tomorrow’s no good. I have big plans for tomorrow, so I guess the list will have to wait.”

Rarity looks at Spike curiously and asks, “My, what do you have planned for tomorrow, Spikey-Wikey? I was hoping to be able to spend some time with you myself.”

Spike grinned at Rarity and said, “Well, that’s easy. I plan to take the most beautiful mare I know out on our first official date. That is, if you’re not too busy tomorrow, my little dragon queen.”

Rarity’s cheeks get a little tint of red on them as the biggest smile comes onto her face and she shouts, “Yes! I’d love to go out with you tomorrow Spikey!” As she pulls him into a hug and gives Spike a quick peck on the cheek and giggles.

“Ok, that’s it. I’ve reached my limit,” Ember says as she flies into the air and says, “Come on, number one assistant. We got our own work to do. You too, Smolder.” Before she looks down at Spike and the others and says, “Thanks for everything guys. And Spike, come visit the Dragonlands some time too. After all, that’s your home as well.”

Spike looks up at Ember and says, “Yeah, will do. Take care Ember and remember if you need anything make sure to get in touch, ok?”

As Ember flies off with Smolder towards the other dragons, Spike turns and Looks at Zeri with a smile and says, “Watch out for that one. She has a bit of a hot temper, but she’s a good dragoness. Be sure to take care of her, Uncle. I’ll see you soon, I hope.”

Zeri pulls Spike into a hug and says, “Will do, Spike, and I’ll see you soon. I promise.”

As they break their hug, Spike smiles at him and says, “I look forward to it,” and as the Dragon Lord flies off after Ember. Spike watches them leave before looking at his friends and saying, “I think it’s time to go home.”

As everyone smiles at Spike, Rarity says, “Yes, I need to get home and start to get ready for my date with you, tomorrow, Spik.”

As everyone looks at her funny, Rainbow Dash says, “Err I don’t think you need that much time.”

“You’re wrong, Rainbow Dash. I need all the time I can get to make sure I look my best for our first date. Why, I don’t even know if this is going to be enough time. A lady must look her best for her drake after all.”

Spike chuckles as he says, “Well, if that’s the case, then you need no time at all, Rarity, because you will always look the best to me.”

“Awww, Spikey, that’s so sweet of you to say,” Rarity says. As she cuddles up next to him and gives him a little peck on the cheek.

“Oh, brother,” Twilight says as she rolls her eyes at the sight before she starts to walk away with the others following behind her as she says, “Let’s go home everyone and give Romeo and his lady some alone time.”

As everyone walks off chuckling, they leave Rarity and Spike behind, lost in their own little world for a few moments before Spike looks over at them all walking away and says, “Hey, wait for us!” As Spike and Rarity give chase with smiles on their faces and hoof in claw.

The End

Chapter 3

As the sun shone through the crack in Rarity’s curtain and hit her in the face, she began to stir as she slowly woke. After a few moments she sat up in her bed and sighted as she said, “I don’t want to get up today.” Before taking a few deep breaths and saying, “No. Lying in bed all day isn’t good for a mare.” After thinking on the matter for a few more moments, she finally made her mind up and got out of bed.

Rarity makes her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she turns the kettle on. After that, she walks into the front of the boutique to see the mess of gems from her and Spike’s fight still on the floor and sighs as she begins to pick them up and place them back into their basket. As she picked them up, she begins to talk to herself, “I don’t know what’s gotten into me? Please. He’s the one that was acting strange. I did nothing wrong. It was his entire fault. He was the one that brought up the fact that Emerald Cloud had asked me to join him for dinner.”

As she threw another gem into the basket with her magic, a bit harder this time, she continued, “He was the one acting differently!” As she threw another gem in the basket, she walked past the mirror and had a look at herself. Her mane was a mess and her eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying she did last night. As she sat in front of the mirror she said, “Look at you. You are a mess. But, I guess that’s what happens when you spend most of the night crying.” As she lets out another sigh, she looks into the mirror with a sad face and tries to put on her best smile, to no avail. “It’s all his fault,” as she takes a breath to calm down, she says, “We’ve never had a fight before. Not in all the years I’ve known him. He’s never even raised his voice at me, let alone shouted at me. So, why now? What changed yesterday? Why was he acting differently?”

As she continued to look at herself in the mirror, she started to recall the events of yesterday. As she did, a look of realisation came over her. Spike wasn’t the one who was acting differently. It was her. She was the one who pushed him away when he hugged her. She was the one that went out of her way to not call him dear or little, or even her nickname for him. It was all her. She was the one keeping him at arms length. She was the one acting differently. As a tear started to form in the corner of her eye, she said to her reflection, “It’s all my fault. But, Why? Why would I do those things?”

Just then, Rarity heard a giggle, which caught her by surprise. Then she heard the giggling again, only this time she knew where it was coming from. She jumped back in fear as her mirror image began to laugh and Rarity shouted, “What in Celestia?!”

The mirror image changed from looking like the messy image of her current self into the beautiful mare she always looked like. It smiled at Rarity and said, “Come now, dear. Surely you’re not afraid of yourself?”

As Rarity looked on in shock and slightly wary of her surroundings, she edged closer to the mirror as she said, “Who are you and how did you get into my home?”

Mirror image Rarity laughed out loud as she sat down and said, “Why, dear, isn’t it obvious? I’m you, of course.”

Rarity sat down in front of the mirror with a raised eye, before closing her eyes and taking a breath. As she opened her eyes again and still saw mirror Rarity sitting there with a smile on her face, Rarity nodded her head and folded her arms as she said, “Yep. It’s finally happened. I’ve finally lost it.”

Mirror image Rarity laughed and said, “Come now, dear. This isn’t the first time you’ve talked to yourself. Though, I will admit, this is the first time you’ve actually talked back to yourself,” having a little giggle as she said that. As she watches Rarity sigh, mirror image Rarity smiled and said, “You want to know why, right?” Getting a funny look from Rarity, mirror Rarity continued, “You want to know why you were acting differently towards Spike?” As she saw Rarity nod, mirror image Rarity said, “You already know why.”

Rarity stood up and shouted, “No, I don’t! If I knew, do you think I’d be standing here talking to my reflection?”

Mirror Rarity sniggered as she said, “But, I know, and if I’m you that means you know too.” Seeing the look of anger come on to Rarity’s face, mirror Rarity sighed and said, “Fine, I’ll give you a clue. Spike isn’t a child.”

“What!!! What kind of a clue is that?! I already know that!” Rarity shouted at herself. “Spike is only 3 years younger than me! Spike is only-" Just then, Rarity clapped her hooves together as a smile came onto her face. “That’s it. I was acting differently towards Spike because he’s not a child.” Seeing a smile come onto mirror Rarity’s face, Rarity let out a little giggle as she used her magic to pick up all the remaining gems and put them into the basket. As she finished, she happily said, “It’s so obvious when you think about it. I was trying to show him respect by not calling him a baby or little and treating him like a kid and that’s why I panicked when he hugged me too. Because I didn’t want him to think I was treating him like a child.”

Mirror Rarity had a shocked look on her face at Rarity’s answer and said, “Rar- Rarity, dear. I think you may have missed the poin-“

“Oh, yes. Of course. You’re absolutely right, mirror me.” Rarity said, cutting mirror Rarity off with a smile before going on to say, “I need to apologize to Spikey. Hmmm, but how?” Rarity giggled and said, “I know. I’ll go over to the castle and I’ll just explain that yesterday was all my fault. That I was just having a bad day and didn’t mean to snap at him. Then I’ll beg for his forgiveness. That way I won’t let slip I know his little secret.”

“But first I need to get ready, I can’t apologize looking like this,” Rarity said as she started to happily trot towards the stairs, happy with her plan. Rarity takes one last look over her shoulder at mirror Rarity and says, “Thanks for the talk, me. Who knew talking to yourself really can help?” before disappearing up the stairs to get ready. Mirror Rarity sighed and shrugged her shoulders as she said, “That girl is hopeless,” before disappearing from the mirror.

After freshening up and having a cup of coffee, Rarity steps outside into the day and as she closes the door to the Carousel Boutique behind her. She takes a deep breath and says, “It is on. I’m going to fix things with you Spikey. You just wait and see,” as she begins to make her way to the Castle of Friendship with a determined look on her face.

As she’s making her way to the castle, she passes by Sugarcube Corner and a smile comes onto her face as she thinks to herself, “I wonder if I can get the Cakes to whip up a sapphire cupcake for Spike. I know how much he likes them.” With that thought in mind, Rarity makes a detour into Sugarcube Corner.

As she enters the shop and takes a quick glance around, she sees a few ponies enjoying their treats before making her way over to the counter and being greeted by a very loud, “Hi, Rarity. What can I get ya today?” from Pinkie Pie, with her usual smiling face. Before Rarity has a chance to say anything other than a quick hello, Pinkie Pie places a box on the counter and says, “One sapphire cupcake.” Before Rarity even got a word in, Pinkie Pie continued to say, “I’m sure Spike will love this, and don’t worry, Rarity. I’m sure you can work it out. I mean, how can you not? You have cupcakes and cupcakes fix everything!” Pinkie giggled at the shocked look on Rarity’s face as she said that.

Raising an eyebrow to her pink, smiling friend and finally being given the chance to get a word in, Rarity asks, “How did you-" but stopped herself, knowing full well that she wouldn’t be able to work out how Pinkie Pie knew that she and Spike had had a falling out. Opting instead to just place some bits on the counter with a small smile and picking up the box in her magic, Rarity simply said, “Thank you dear. I hope you’re right.”

As Pinkie continued to smile at her friend, she said, “It’s gonna hurt a little, Rarity, but it will all work out in the end. Trust me.”

Rarity, looking confused at what Pinkie Pie meant by that, was about to ask her when from behind her she heard Emerald Cloud say, “Rarity. What a pleasant surprise running into you here of all places.”

Rarity turned around to see Emerald Cloud standing there with a smile on his face with two other unicorns on either side of him and said, “Why yes. It is a surprise. Hello, Emerald Cloud, how are you doing today?”

Emerald Cloud chuckled slightly and said, “I’m doing just fine. Thank you for asking. And how about yourself?”

Rarity let out a little sigh as she said, “I’ve had better days. Let’s just say that.” Before giving him and his friends a smile and asking, “Who are your friends?”

“Oh right. How rude of me.” Emerald Cloud said before looking to either side of him and saying, “Gentlecolts, this here is Rarity, a good friend of mine. Rarity, this one to my left is Crimson Rock and the other one is Steel Arrow.”

As they all happily greeted each other, Steel Arrow smiled and said, “When Emerald Cloud told us he made a new friend, he said she was beautiful but he wasn’t kidding.”

Rarity giggled and said, “Oh my, that’s kind of you to say. I’m flattered, Steel Arrow.”

Just then, Crimson Rock chimed in and said, “Emerald Cloud told us about this place,” as he looks around Sugarcube Corner, before saying, “I have a well known sweet tooth and from what Emerald Cloud has told me about what he’s heard from you, this is the place to be when coming to Ponyville.”

As Rarity chuckled, she said, “Oh yes. You won’t find anything better in Equestria. If it’s sweets you’re after, then right here at Sugarcube Corner is the place to be. I guarantee it.”

Crimson Rock laughed a long and said, “Well, if you say so, then it must be true. I look forward to it.”

Emerald Cloud smiled happily as he watched them all get along before asking, “Say, Rarity, if you have a bit of free time now, why don’t you join us? I’m sure it’ll be more fun for us if you could. That and it would spare me having to listen to these two lugnuts all day long.”

“Hey!” Crimson Rock and Steel Arrow protested before they all laughed.

Rarity looked at Emerald Cloud sorrowfully as she said, “I would love to join you, but unfortunately I have some pressing matters that I must take care of.”

“Oh really? That’s too bad,” Emerald Cloud said with a sad smile before saying, “But, I guess there’s always next time. Are you still able to make it tonight?”

Rarity nodded her head and smiled as she said, “Of course. I’m looking forward to it.”

Emerald Cloud smiled back and said, “That’s good. So am I.”

As Emerald Cloud finished saying that, Rarity spotted Lyra and Bon Bon coming towards them and noticing Lyra looking upset. As she turned to face her friend, Rarity asked, “Is everything ok, de-“

Rarity was cut off, as Lyra smacked her across the face and shouted, “You have no idea what he’s done for you! In all the years I’ve known him, he’s never-” As Bon Bon tried to hold Lyra back; she whispered something in her ear as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

As the cake Rarity held in her magic fell to the floor, Rarity was in complete shock at what just happened. Emerald Cloud, spoke up in a displeased tone as he said, “Now see here ladies, I have no idea what’s going o-“

Just then, Lyra turned to look at Emerald Cloud with hate in her eyes and as her horn began to spark, shouted, “AND YOU!!!” As she pushed Bon Bon off her and glared at him.

Bon Bon shouted, “Lyra, you promised!”

As Lyra looked at Bon Bon’s teary face, she began to calm down and after taking some deep breaths said, “I know Bon Bon, I know, but...” as she began to cry.

Bon Bon pulled her into a hug and just held her as everypony in Sugarcube Corner just watched in absolute silence at what just took place. Rarity snapped out of her shock and asked, “What is the meaning of all this, Lyra?! Why did you attack me?!"

Lyra broke her hug with Bon Bon, and wiped her tears away and turned to look at Rarity with anger still in her eyes as she said, “You want to know why? FINE!”

“No Lyra, you promised,” Bon Bon said once again, in a weak, sorrowful voice, as she looked at Lyra.

Lyra took one last look over her shoulder with a sad expression and said, “I know Bon Bon, but I have to do something, even if it means breaking my promise. How could I call myself a friend if I did nothing?” Seeing Bon Bon giving her a sorrowful, yet understanding nod of her head, Lyra turned back to look at Rarity and said, “I’m not going to tell you. I’m going to do one better. I’m going to show you.”

As Rarity looked on in confusion Lyra continued to say, “I may not be as great at magic as Twilight, but we both went to the same school and I picked up a few things over the years.” Lyra’s horn began to glow and a blast of magic came out of her horn and shot into the air. As a bubble was now floating in the air, Lyra said, “Over the years, I’ve learned how to share ponies’ memories with others.” After taking a calming breath she glared at Rarity and said, “You want to know why I hit you? Just watch.”

As Rarity and everypony else all looked to the bubble, a fuzzy picture began to appear inside it. As Rarity looked on, she asked, “What is this?”

Lyra, not bothering to look at her, simply said in a sad voice, “His memories,” as the picture became clearer, it showed three ponies from a distance making their way inside Everfree Forest. The image started moving faster after the three ponies, a voice could be heard saying, “I need to warn them how dangerous that place is.”

Rarity was now more confused and started to worry. As she watched on, she knew that voice. Everypony there knew that voice. It was Spike. As the image moved into the woods and made its way past some trees it was about to come out when a voice was heard saying, “So, Emerald Cloud, what in Celestia are you doing in a rundown place like this?”

Another voice could be heard laughing as it said, “Yeah, Emerald Cloud. This place is so old it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s been around longer than Celestia herself. That’s why we had to come and see what you were up to.”

As the image peeked through some trees to see the three ponies, it could now see all three of them standing there as Emerald Cloud said, “I know, right? But even a backwards village like this has its charm,” as he grind at the other two ponies.

The other two ponies looked at each other with knowing grins as one asked, “So, you found another bit of tail to chase?”

Emerald Cloud laughed and said, “Not just any tail, Steel Arrow. This mare is one of the most beautiful mares in Equestria. Most definitely a diamond in the rough and she’s ready for plucking.”

As Crimson Rock laughed, he said, “Oh, boy. Sounds interesting. So, how are you going to get this one? I mean in a small rundown place like this, surely all you’d have to do is shower her with bits and then she’s yours.”

Emerald Cloud laughed out loud as he shook his head and said, “No, Crimson Rock. This one is going to take some work. She has bits and success,” as Emerald Cloud smirked at his friends, he continued to say, “She wants to be seen as a proper high-class lady and wants to find love. So, I’m going to give it to her, but I can’t use any of my normal tactics on this one. She’ll see right through me, but I know her weakness. She’s weak to the shy, kind, nervous type. So, that’s how I’ll get her.”

Steel Arrow laughed and said, “That’s going to be a hard one for you then, Emerald Cloud. Playing the shy, kind, nervous type has never really been your strong suit. So, tell me does this mare have a name?”

Emerald Cloud, smiled as he said, “Maybe, but it will be worth it in the end. Her name’s Rarity. She owns Rarity For You, in Manehattan along with a few other shops.”

Crimson Rock stands there for a few moments, thinking, as he repeats himself sayings, “Rarity For You” a few times, trying to work out who Emerald Cloud is talking about before realising who he means and looks at Emerald Could, shocked as he says out loud, “Rarity For You?! As in that Rarity?! Are you mad?! She’s not only a famous fashion designer, but a personal friend of all four Princesses. Not to mention one of the Elements of Harmony!”

Emerald Cloud sniggers as he says, “Yep, that’s the one. She will be my greatest conquer. After all, how many stallions can brag about getting to bed an Element of Harmony?”

Just then, the image takes a step back in shock, snapping some branches as it does, alerting the three ponies to its presents. The three look over to the noise, as Emerald Cloud’s horn begins to glow and says, “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

As the image steps out from behind the trees, Crimson Rock says, “It’s a dragon!” In surprise.

Emerald Cloud’s horn dies down as he smiles at the image and says, “It’s ok guys. This here is Spike, one of Rarity’s friends. What brings you all the way out here, Spike?”

Not getting an answer, Emerald Cloud sighs and says, “I’m guessing from the look on your face you heard our little conversation,” as Emerald Cloud’s smile disappears, he continues to say, “You know, that wasn’t very friendly of you, listening to a private conversation.”

Then Spike’s voice could be heard as he said, “Please don’t,” as Emerald Cloud tilts his head in curiosity, to what Spike said. Spike continues to say, “Please don’t hurt her, she’s been hurt so many times before. Please don’t use her.”

Emerald Cloud started laughing at that and said, “Oh, Spike, I’m not going to hurt her. This is just something adults do. It’s a game we play. You’ll understand one day, when you’re older.”

Spike shouts back, “This isn’t a game for her! Sh- she’s starting to like you, Emerald Cloud. You can’t just use her feelings like that!”

As Emerald Cloud grins at the image, he says, “I see. You make a fair point, Spike.” Getting a shocked look from both Crimson Rock and Steel Arrow, Emerald Cloud continues, “I’ll tell you what. Since I’m such a nice pony. I’ll leave her alone and I won’t pursue her.”

Surprised by this, Spike could be heard saying, “Re- Really!?”

Emerald Cloud nods his head in answer before he grins and says, “But, if you want me to leave her alone. That isn’t the way to ask now, is it?”

After a moment of silence, Emerald Cloud says, “I want you to beg, Spike. I want to hear you say, 'Please leave her alone.' I want you to drop down to your knees and beg as if your life depended on it!”

After a moment, the image got lower, and in a weak and quiet voice Spike could be heard saying, “Please don’t hurt her,” as Emerald Cloud smirked, Crimson Rock could be heard sniggering as Steel Arrow said, “I can’t believe he’s actually doing it,” as he laughed along.

Emerald Cloud laughed and said, “I can’t hear you, Spike. Say it loud enough for me to hear,” as Spike repeated himself louder this time, Emerald Cloud walked up to him with an evil look in his eyes and said, “That’s not the way you are meant to look. Who said you can look at me like that, you filthy creature!” as he hits Spike in the face and pushes his head into the dirt.

As the image looks back up at Emerald Cloud and the others, Spike can be heard saying, “I don’t care what you do to me. Just don’t hurt her. Rarity can be a bit snobbish at times and a bit of a drama queen, but she’s a good pony. She’s kind, has a great sense of humour, is so very generous, and just an overall amazing mare, but it’s a double edge sword. She always wears her heart on the outside for all to see, but because of that, ponies can take advantage of her good will. She deserves to find happiness with someone that can appreciate her.”

As Emerald Cloud begins to laugh hysterically, he says, “Oh my Celestia. Now I get it. You like her. Don’t you!?”

Spike didn’t say anything to that, as Steel Arrow said, “Ew that’s gross. A dragon having the hots for a mare? What’s wrong with you?”

As the image rose up, Emerald Cloud glared at the image and said, “I told you to stop looking at me like that, you filthy beast!” before he started to hit Spike and continued to say, “Do you even know what you are?! You’re nothing but a filthy creature! A pet! She will never be yours!” As Emerald Cloud continued his attack, knocking the image back against the tree, the image slid down to the floor as Emerald Cloud started breathing heavily and said, “Know your place, beast,” as he spat on the image, before turning around to look at his friends with a grin.

Just then, the image rose back up unsteadily and leaned against the tree for support. Taking deep breaths, Emerald Cloud turned back around with a maddening look in his eyes as he screamed, “I told you to know your place!” As he went to hit Spike again, he stopped and got an evil grin on his face and said, “Do it! I dare you!”

Crimson Rock and Steel Arrow’s horns both lit up as Emerald Cloud watched the image with a grin before he began to laugh and said, “It seems you’re smarter than you look, Spike.” As Emerald Cloud looked over at his friends and nodded, the glow around their horns disappeared and he turned back around to look at the image. “If you had even hit me once. That’s all it would have taken for me to go run to Rarity and use the fact you attacked me to my advantage to get closer to her. Yes, I’m sure she would have found it hard to believe you attacked me, but if I used your feelings for her and told her it was out of jealousy, she might. Even if she didn’t believe me, it would have put the seed of doubt in her mind and that’s all I would have needed.”

As Emerald Cloud smirked, he carried on saying, "Don’t feel too bad, Spike. After I’ve had my fun with her, you can have what’s left.”

Just then, Steel Arrow said, “Hey, no fair. I wouldn’t mind having a go, you know.”

Crimson Rock chimed in, as he sniggered and said, “Yeah, me too.”

Emerald Cloud fake gasped and giggled as he said, “Oh, my. I had no idea. Well, guess that puts you at the back of the line, Spike. I mean it's only right to share with friends first. After all, it wouldn’t be very generous of me if I didn’t share. Now, would it?” As Emerald Cloud finished saying that, he turned away from the image and began to laugh louder before looking over his shoulder and glaring at the image one last time and saying, “I told you not to look at me like that, Spike!” And bucked the image as hard as he could, making it fly back into the tree and crashing to the floor.

As the three ponies walked away laughing, one of them said, “You sure you didn’t overdo it, Emerald Cloud? I mean, what are you going to tell ponies when he turns back up looking like that?”

Emerald Cloud just laughed and said, “I’m not worried. That creature may be stupid, but he’s still a guy. He won’t tell a soul what happened here. After all, he has his pride as a male too. Even if he did, what would his precious Rarity think of him then?”

After some time passed, the image got up and began to make its way back to Ponyville, unsteadily, using the alleys and back streets to make sure he wasn’t seen before coming to a house and knocking on the door as he leans on the frame in the process to keep upright. As hoof steps got closer to the door a voice from inside could be heard saying, “Coming,” as the door opened.

Just then the voice screamed, “Oh my Celestia! What happened, Spike?!” before turning and shouting, “Lyra, come quick!”

Lyra made her way to the door and said, “What’s the matter, Bon Bo- Spike?! What’s happened?!” She ran over to the image with a worried look on her face.

Spike could be heard saying, “Hey, girls. Sorry to drop in uninvited like this, but do you mind if I crash the night?” with a weak giggle, before the image started to fall forwards.

Just then Lyra caught him before he hit the floor and said to Bon Bon, “Quick, go get Twilight, hurry!”

Spike shouted, “NO! Not her!” Surprising both the mares before saying, “Lyra, you know what Twilight gets like. Look, I’ll be fine. I just need to rest. This is nothing. I’ll be back to normal in the morning. Please, Lyra. I came to you because I know you won’t say anything. Please, just let me crash on the couch for the night.”

As Lyra looked on worried, Bon Bon said, “Look Spike, I don’t know what’s happened, but we need to tell Twilight. She needs to know.”

As the image looked at Lyra, she took a breath and said, “Ok, Spike. You can stay the night.” Surprising Bon Bon, Lyra looked at her with a weak smile and said, “This is Spike we’re talking about. I’ve known him for years. If he’s asking for me to stay quiet and put him up for the night, then as a friend that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Lyra, you can’t be serious! He needs medical attention,” Bon Bon said, almost in tears.

Lyra took a breath and as she looked at Bon Bon said, “I’ve seen Spike get blasted around by Twilight for years and he was always fine by the next day. If he says he’ll be fine in the morning, I believe him. Remember, Bon Bon, he’s not a pony. He knows his body better than any medical pony ever could.”

As the image shifts to look at a worried Bon Bon, Spike could be heard saying, “Trust me, Bon Bon. I know it may look bad now, but come tomorrow I’ll be back to my handsome self. I Pinkie promise.”

Bon Bon sighed as she closed the door and said, “Okay, Spike. Since you Pinkie promised, I’ll believe you,” as she started making her way into the house, she continued, “I better go put some sheets down on the couch then.”

As the image watched her walk into another room, Spike said, “Thanks, Bon Bon. You’re a diamond. It’s no wonder why Lyra always goes on about ya.”

“Spike!” Lyra said as she blushed before helping him further into the house. As they make their way towards a couch, now with bedding on it, the image turns and looks in a mirror, as Spike looks at himself, he sighs and says, “Jeez, I look a mess.” He was battered, bruised and covered in blood all over and his right side of his face looked really swollen.

As they carried on over to the couch, Lyra laid Spike down and said, “I won’t lie, Spike. You've definitely seen better days,” before smiling at him.

Just then, Bon Bon came out of the kitchen and placed a bowl of warm water and some towels next to Lyra and said, “I’m going to make you a nice hot drink. I’ll leave you two to it,” as she turned back around and made her way back into the kitchen.

Lyra picked up a towel and wet it in the water before saying, “This may hurt a bit, but I’ll try to be as gentle as I can,” before she started to wipe away some of the blood. After a few minutes of silence, as Lyra carried on cleaning Spike up, she asked, “So, you going to tell me what happened?”

“I’m guessing you won’t believe me if I said I fell down some stairs,” Spike said with a little giggle before seeing the worry and concern on Lyra’s face and sighed before saying, “I can’t. I’m sorry. I know it may sound silly to you, but it’s a guy thing.”

Before Lyra had a chance to say anything, Bon Bon came in and placed a cup of tea on the table next to Spike and smiled at him.

The image looked at both the mares and Spike could be heard saying, “I’m going to ask you both something. It’s not going to be easy, but I want you both to Pinkie promise not to tell anypony what happened tonight. Not even Twilight.” As both mares looked on in shock, Spike said, “Please girls. Let’s just keep this between us.”

Both Lyra and Bon Bon looked at each other, before looking at the image and saying, “Ok, Spike. We Pinkie promise not to say anything to anypony,” before Lyra weakly smiled at the image and said, “It’s not like we could say anything anyway, We don’t even know what happened after all.”

Spike could be heard weakly laughing and said, “That’s true,” before saying, “I know I’ve already asked a lot of you, but do you think I could borrow a little bit of parchment, ink and a quill so I can tell Twilight I’m spending the night here?”

Lyra nodded and passed him some parchment, ink and a quill. As the image looked down onto the blank piece of parchment, Spike’s claw began to write with the quill.

Hey Twi,

I know it’s super short notice, but I’m at Lyra and Bon Bon’s. I popped over for a visit and as it’s starting to get on. I’ve asked if I could spend the night and they said yes, so this is just to let you know where I am, I know how you worry about me.

Don’t worry. I’ll be home first thing in the morning to do my work.

Lots of love, your number one assistant (Baby brother,)

Spike.

As the image watched the parchment turn to dust, it turned to look at the mares and Spike could be heard saying, “If it’s all the same with you, I’m gonna try to get some sleep.”

“Sure, Spike,” Lyra said as she smiled warmly, before saying, “I know a spell that can help you relax if you want,” Seeing the image bob up and down, Lyra smiled and said, “Close your eyes, Spike.” The image went black and all went quiet. If you listened really closely you could hear Bon Bon saying, "Lyra what are you doing?!”

“I know he doesn’t want to tell us, but I have to know. I’m sorry for doing this without your permission, Spike. I only hope you can forgive me.” Lyra could be heard in response.

As the bubble popped and the spell ended, Lyra closed her eyes and breathed as she said, “I didn’t technically tell anypony, so I didn’t break my promise,” before opening her eyes and looking at Rarity, now with tears in her eyes, and said, “Now do you understand why I hit you? I’ve known that dragon since I was a filly and not once... NOT ONCE have I ever seen him beg for anything! Even when ponies would make fun of him or look down on him, he always held his head high with pride! That is until you came along.”

Everypony in the shop was quiet and now glaring hatred at Emerald Cloud, Steel Arrow, and Crimson Rock. Emerald Cloud walked up to Rarity and said, “Surely, you don’t believe this made up mares tale, do you, Rarity? I mean, she just assaulted you for Celestia’s sake.”

As Rarity turned to look at Emerald Cloud, with tears still in her eyes, she mumbled something too quiet for anypony to make out. Emerald Cloud leaned in closer to try and make out what she was saying and she suddenly screamed, “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SPIKEY?!” Before slapping him around the face and breathing heavily, in anger.

Emerald Cloud stumbled back a little before looking at Rarity with hatred and shouting, “Who the hay do you think you’re hitting you stupid little mare?!” Before smacking her around the face as hard as he could, knocking her to the ground. “All I’ve heard out of your mouth since I’ve met you was Spike this and Spike that. He’s nothing compared to me! He’s not even a pony; he’s a freak! A pony wanna be!”

Before anyone had a chance to say or react to the situation, the little bell on the entrance to the shop went off and Twilight walked in to find everypony staring at her. As she looked around to see what was going on, she saw Rarity on the floor and immediately ran over to her, running past everypony else to get to her friend. Twilight helped Rarity up and saw the mark on her cheek as she asked, “What happened, Rarity?”

As Rarity stood back up she stared at Emerald Cloud, Twilight followed her eye line and turned to face Emerald Cloud and in a cold almost robotic voice, Twilight asked, “What did you do to my friend?”

As Steel Arrow and Crimson Rock took a step back out of fear, Emerald Cloud gulped before getting up the courage to say, “I defended myself! She hit me, so I hit her back!” As he watched Twilight just staring at him with a cold chilling look.

Twilight’s horn began to spark as she asked, “You did what to my friend?!” She took a step closer to Emerald Cloud as she continued to stare coldly at him.

Emerald Cloud decided to make a stand and shouted, “That’s right, Princess! lay your alicorn power over us feeble mortals! Show us all how you wield your power against those that go against something you disagree with! You princesses claim to be free and loving to all ponies, but that is only until it doesn’t suit what you like! And when that happens, you use your power to shut them down! So, go on, Princess of Friendship! Show everypony what you’re really like!”

Twilight’s resolve begins to falter as he says that. She takes a step back before closing her eyes and taking a breath, before looking sorrowfully at Rarity and saying, “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do now.”

An evil smirk came onto Emerald Cloud’s face and he began to giggle in amusement. Just then, the door to Sugarcube Corner opened once again to reveal Spike looking like his normal self. As everypony watched on in bated breath, Spike locked the door, which some thought strange.

He turned around and calmly began to walk towards Rarity and the others, not bothering to look at anypony Spike threw a bag of gems towards Mr. Cake and simply said, “Heads up, Mr. Cake.” As Mr. Cake caught the bag, Spike said, “That should take care of any mess, and if not I’ll sort it out later with you.” Spike carried on walking until he was standing in front of Rarity and looked at her. As she looked back with tears in her eyes, she was about to say something when from out of nowhere Spike gently grabbed her muzzle, surprising her a bit, before he turned her head to the side and gently stroked the now red mark on her cheek, causing her to flinch. He released her and looked at Twilight with a serious look on his face and just said in a calming voice, “Twilight I-”

Twilight closed her eyes as she heard him say her name and breathed slowly before opening her eyes again and giving Spike a sad smile as she says, “I know, Spike. I know.”

With that said, Spike turned and glared at Emerald Cloud and his friends. As he took a step towards them, Emerald Cloud stared back at Spike with disgust and said, in a mocking tone, “Oh my. Did little baby not learn his lesson about looking at me like that?!” to which both Crimson Rock and Steel Arrow, both sniggered.

Spike on the other hand, just took a breath as he shook his head and said, “You know, Emerald Cloud, I hate ponies like you the most. You are constantly looking down on others and fail to see the bigger picture. For instance, I heard what Twilight just said thanks to my dragon hearing. When she said there was nothing she could do, she wasn’t talking to Rarity. She was talking to you. She knows that nothing she does now is going to stop what’s about to happen.”

Emerald Cloud laughed and said, “Oh, is the baby dragon going to teach me a friendship lesson? Your master must be so proud of her little pet!”

Rarity took a step to say something, but Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder and shook her head as she said, “Don’t interfere, Rarity.”

Just then, Spike started to laugh, silencing Emerald Cloud in confusion. That’s when magic pentagrams appeared around Spike’s head, waist, wrist and ankles. As Spike finished laughing, he said, “Oh no, my little pony. This isn’t going to be a friendship lesson. This is going to be a life lesson!” As Spike mumbled something, the magic pentagrams glowed before shattering. Suddenly, a massive gust of powerful wind filled the shop, scaring some ponies while others closed their eyes. After it died down, everyone looked at Spike just standing there, glaring at Emerald Cloud.

Emerald Cloud sniggered at Spike, as he said, “Was that meant to scare me?! Your little tricks don’t work on me, little dragon!”

Just then, from out of nowhere, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance suddenly teleported into the shop and Celestia said in a panicked voice, “What’s going on? Is everyone ok?”

Spike sighed as he looked over his shoulder at the Princess of the Day and said, “Figured you’d show up.” He turns around to face her and says, “Everything’s fine. I’m just going to teach a lesson to this pony behind me.”

Celestia looks at him worryingly and says, “Spike, I don’t know what is going on bu-”

“That’s right, you don’t. So stay out of this, Celestia,” Spike says cutting her off.

Celestia taken aback by Spike’s attitude and grows serious before saying, “I can’t do that, Spike. It’s my job as a princess of Equestria to protect my little ponies.”

Spike closes his eyes and huffs before opening them once more and looking at Celestia with an equally serious look on his face. “Very well. I’m only going to say this once, Princess of the Day. If you know what’s good for you. Do not interfere!” He said.

“Spik-” Twilight starts to say in shock before Celestia slams her hoof to the ground cutting her off and sayings, “Are you threatening me, Dragon?!”

Spike grins at her as he says, “You should know me better by now, Celestia. I don’t threaten! That was a warning and the only one I’m going to give you.”

Celestia looks at him angrily and as she is about to say something, is suddenly stopped by Luna opening her wings in front of Celestia’s face, stopping her. “Tia, I’m sorry, but I have to side with Spike on this one. If you interfere, I will also do the same, but for Spike,” Luna said.

Celestia looks at Luna, shocked and says, “Luna, how can you say that? We are charged with protecting Equestria. Protecting our little ponies from all dangers, even if those dangers are our friends! It is our duty as princesses!”

As Luna nods and says, “Yes, dear sister, you are correct. However, I trust Spike. I believe in him just as I know you do. Let us put our faith in him and believe in him like we always have.”

Celestia takes a breath to calm down and looks at Luna with a loving smile before looking at Spike and saying, “Very well, Spike. Do what you must. I trust you.”

Spike smiles at Celestia and says, “I planned to. Even if you got involved,” before looking at Luna and giving her a knowing grin. “It seems some pony must have been poking her nose into my dreams last night.”

Luna smiled and said, “I am the Princess of the Night, Spike. It is my job to watch over the dreams of all of Equestria. You are no exception to this rule.”

Just then, Cadance could be heard at the counter saying, “Three chocolate milkshakes, please, Pinkie.” As Pinkie completes the order with a smile, the other two princesses look at her with a bit of shock. Cadance smiled at them both and she said, “What? I thought you’d want to join me in a drink while we enjoy the show.”

As Luna and Celestia both looked at each other, they shrugged and went to join Cadance at the counter. Spike turned around and looked at Emerald Cloud with a big smile as he said, “Sorry about that.” His smile turned to a grin as he continued, “Now where were we?” Just as he finished saying that, Crimson Rock ran past Spike, in a panic only to fall onto the floor after feeling something pull his tail. As Crimson Rock looked over his shoulder, he saw Spike smiling at him and say, “How rude. I haven’t started my lesson yet, little pony.” Spike pulled on his tail and pulled him back towards Emerald Cloud he spun him across the floor like a bowling ball into Steel Arrow, which knocked them both back into some tables and chairs and sent them both crashing to the floor with a mighty bang. “Stick around till the end,” Spike said.

As both Steel Arrow and Crimson Rock lay under some tables and chairs, unconscious Spike took another step towards Emerald Cloud and said, “Now in fairness, before I teach you my little lesson I think it’s only fair to give you a little history lesson just so you can fully understand the lesson I’m about to teach you, Emerald Cloud.” Spike stood still for a moment and as he put a claw to his chin, to think, he said, “Although, to be honest, I’m not very good at teaching history, so instead I’m going to tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a little filly. This little filly loved to read and learn all she could, but she took a particular interest in magic. She loved studying it so much she never really gave any thought to having friends, well apart from her BBBFF and her foal sitter. Even so, she always had her head in the books. Seeing the little filly's love for studying and learning, her mom and dad decided to try to enrol her into Celestia's school for Gifted Unicorns.”

As Spike stopped and closed his eyes, he took a slow calm breath as he said, “The only problem with that was she first had to take a test to get into the school. The test was simple enough; all she had to do was hatch an egg,” as Spike opened his eyes, he went on, “No matter how hard the filly tried, she couldn’t do it. That is, until a sonic rainboom scared her and her magic went out of control. She hatched the egg along with doing some other stuff, causing quite the scene. However, Princess Celestia saw the filly’s potential and made her her protégé. The filly couldn’t have been happier. Not only did she get into the school, but now she got to learn personally from her hero.”

As Spike stopped to scratch his head, he continued, “So, anyway, as time went on, the filly grew and learned and so did the baby that came from that egg. The more time passed, the more the baby began to understand. He watched the filly as much as he could. As he did, he started to realise the filly that had hatched him never really talked much to others. This made the baby very sad because he loved the filly very much and didn’t want her to be lonely. So, as time went on, the baby decided to always be there for her no matter what. He was going to be her bestest friend ever and they were going to do everything together.”

Just then, Emerald Cloud shouted in anger, “What the hay does this have to do with anything, you stupid little freak?!”

Spike lightly chucked at Emerald Cloud as he said, “Because like most stories, this one has a dark side. You see, as they grew closer, the baby also realized he wasn’t like everypony else. He wasn’t even a pony, but he didn’t care. He was just so happy to be able to be with his friend. Then one day, as he was going to meet the filly, he saw her being picked on. His first and bestest friend begin to cry, he got mad, really mad. He’d never felt anything like it before. All he knew was that she was crying and it was because of the other pony. So, he let the rage take over. He just wanted to keep his friend safe. Make her pain go away.”

Spike stopped for a moment, looked down at his claws and sighed, before saying, “Luckily, Princess Celestia was able to intervene before anything bad happened, but the baby couldn’t forget about the incident. No matter how much he’s friend told him it wasn’t his fault and he did nothing wrong, that he was just trying to help her, he couldn’t get the look of fear he saw on her face, when he let the rage take over in that moment from his head. It haunted his dreams for a very long time. So, the baby, not knowing what else to do, went to the kind princess and asked her to help to make sure he could never hurt his friend or any pony ever. The kind princess saw the baby’s pain and in an act of kindness sealed his strength and his power away. The baby was so grateful and so happy. It meant that he didn’t have to leave his friend. That they could continue to stay together. He was so happy and grateful for the princesses help, in fact, that on that day he swore an oath to the princess. He would never break the seal; he would be the most loyal friend he could be and remain at his friend’s side always in whatever way she needed. But most of all, he swore to never hurt any pony.”

As Spike raised his head and looked at Emerald Cloud with hatred, he continued, “The oath he swore that day became the foundation on which he lived his life. It became his creed. His pride.” As Spike took another step towards Emerald Cloud, he said, “Here ends the story. For you see, Emerald Cloud, today, that baby has broken his oath and is going to teach you just what it means to anger him. I hope you’re ready, because the truth is not even I know how strong I truly am.”

Emerald Cloud gulped and went to take a step back in fear as he saw Spike’s eyes shimmer green before laughing nervously and saying, “N-nice try, Spike, bu... but I told you your little tricks won’t fool me.”

Spike just stared at Emerald Cloud without saying a word as he took another step forward. Emerald Cloud took a step back and shouted, “Stay away from me, you freak!” His horn lit up and a magic beam shot out, hitting Spike directly in the chest. Some of the ponies in the shop looked on in worry, but Spike stood unfazed.

“Is that it? Is that all you got?” Spike asked in a low, calming voice.

Emerald Cloud started to shoot beam after beam at Spike, creating smoke around Spike. Emerald Cloud started breathing heavily as a smirk came on his face and said, “That’s what you get for acting tough, you filthy beats!”

The smoke cleared to reveal Spike still standing, shocking everypony. Spike looked at Emerald Cloud with a pitiful look and asked, “That’s it? Heck, Twilight’s been hitting me with stronger beams than that for years. You really need to work on your magic, Emerald Cloud.”

Seeing Spike looking at him like that, infuriated Emerald Cloud to no end. As he charged forward and went to punch Spike, he screamed, “DON’T YOU LOOK DOWN ON ME, YOU FILTHY LITTLE CREATURE!!!”

As Emerald Cloud’s hoof got closer to Spike, Spike caught it with ease and closed his claw around Emerald Cloud’s hoof. No matter how hard Emerald Cloud tried, he couldn’t get his hoof out of Spike’s claw. Even when he kept hitting Spike with his other hoof, Spike didn’t budge an inch. Spike applied a bit of pressure to the hoof in his claw, making Emerald Cloud drop to his knees in pain. Now at the same eye level as Spike, Spike said, “You like to look down on others, don’t you? It makes you feel strong and big. It’s really quite sad, if you ask me,” Spike said in a calming voice. Before slowly raising his other claw and making a fist with it, his knuckles cracking as he did, Spike grind and continued to say, “Don’t worry, my little pony. The lesson is almost over for you.” As a look of fear completely overcame Emerald Cloud, Spike’s eyes shimmered green, as he said, “I told you this wasn’t a friendship lesson, but a life lesson. So, here it is. Like any good dragon, I too have treasure I will defend. But, unlike other dragons, it’s not bits or gems. No, it’s nothing so simple. My treasure is my friends. Each one worth more than any mountain of gold could ever be and like I told you before, Emerald Cloud, DON’T HURT HER!” Spike drew his arm back, ready to hit the now terrified pony. As Spike’s arm began to move forward, he said, “The life lesson here is a simple one! No pony hurts my treasure and gets away with it!”

Just as Spike’s fist was getting closer to Emerald Cloud’s face, Emerald Cloud screamed like a little filly in absolute fear, before wetting himself and passing out. Spike quickly stopped his attack and let him go, jumping back as to make sure not to get any pee on him. Spike lowered his fist and sighed before saying, “Pathetic.”

As Spike stood there looking at the now unconscious Emerald Cloud, he mumbled something and in a glow of light. The pentagrams reappeared around Spike, once again before fading from view. As Spike turned around he looked at Celestia and Luna and said, “It’s over, lesson learned,” before he slowly began to make his way towards the shop's exit.

"Spike, where are you going?" Twilight called out.

As Spike continued to get closer and closer to the door, he said, “I have to go now Tiw. It’s been fun. Make sure to take care of yourself and don’t forget to eat at the proper times.”

“Wha-“ Twilight said in shock before her body instantly began to chase after him, only to be blocked by a very serious looking Luna. “Luna, what are you doing? Spike’s trying to leave, we have to stop him!” Twilight shouted.

Just then, Spike spun around and dropped to one knee as he lowered his head and said, “Princesses of Equestria, this lowly dragon has learnt much in his time here amongst the ponies. Lessons that he will remember and carry with him till his last breath. He thanks you and is grateful for everything you have taught him and for giving him such wonderful memories to treasure.”

As Spike raises his head up, he looks at Twilight with a loving yet sad smile as he continues to say, “Twilight, I’ve watched you grow from a little filly into this amazing mare. My greatest pride is taking knowledge in the fact that in some way or another I was able to play a part in that if only a little. You, my sister, are truly a remarkable pony and will continue to do great things for Equestria. But I have gone as far as I can with you. Now is the time for us to say our goodbyes, but know this: no matter where I go or what I do with my life, I will always love you, my egghead of a big sister.”

As Twilight begins to cry, she asks, “Spike, I don’t understand. Why are you saying all this? Why are you telling me you have to leave?”

As Spike stood back up, he took one last quick glance at Rarity and gently smiled at the teary eyed mare before turning around and reaching the door and unlocked it. As he placed his claw on the door to open it, Spike said, “Try to understand Twilight. I broke my oath. Not just that, I threatened a princess of Equestria. Celestia and Luna are being kind enough to allow me to leave with what little pride I have left. Please don’t make this anymore harder for me.”

Just as Twilight was about to say something, Celestia slammed her hoof to the floor, getting the attention of everypony there. As Spike kept his back to her, Celestia calmly said, “Spike the Dragon, number one assistant and little brother to Twilight Sparkle, for all the years of dedication of hard work, loyalty, love, and friendship you have given, not just to Twilight but to all of Equestria. We, the princesses of Equestria, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything you have done for us.” As Celestia finished saying that, she, Luna, and Cadance all bowed to him in respect as Twilight quietly sobbed.

Spike didn’t bother to turn around and just said with his voice cracking, “You don’t need to thank me. It has been my honour and privilege to have been able to help such wonderful ponies, but if I may be permitted to be just a little bit selfish, just this once, I have just one request. Keep them safe and watch over them for me, and know if you should ever need my aid I will always come running.” As Spike tried to laugh to hide his sadness, he finished by saying, “You know how to reach me.”

Spike went to push the door open, but it would budge. Confused, he tried the lock again, but no matter what he did the door wouldn’t open. He heard a slight giggling coming from behind him, Celestia now standing upright again said, “Sorry, Spike, but I’m afraid we can’t let you go. You are just too important to us and we are still in need of your services.”

Spike spun around, to see Celestia and Luna both standing there with huge smiles on their faces, as he said, “What?! Bu-but I threatened to attack you!”

Celestia tilted her head to the side and said, “Oh is that right?” in a playful tone.

Spike slapped his claw over his face before saying back in a loud voice, “YES! And I was serious too!”

Celestia giggled at Spike’s reaction and turned to Luna, asking, “Lulu, do you know what he’s talking about?”

Luna giggled as she played along and said, “No, dear sister. I haven’t a clue. Though, if I remember correctly, he did warn us to be careful so as not to get hurt. Truly, we are blessed to have such a kind, caring and wonderful friend to watch out for us, Tia.”

As Celestia nodded her head, she smiled as she said, “Yes, Luna. We are most fortunate indeed.” As Celestia said that, Twilight ran up to Spike and pulled him into a hug as she cried. Spike stood there in complete shell shock at what Celestia and Luna were saying. As Celestia smiled at Spike, she continued, “Spike, you are one of the noblest creatures I have ever known. Your honour is still intact.”

Spike gently pushed Twilight away from him and said, “But, I broke my oath.”

As Celestia smiled warmly at him, she nodded her head and said, “Yes, you did. But, you did it to protect the one you lo-“ stopping herself from revealing Spike’s secret crush on Rarity. “You did it to protect a friend. I can think of nothing more noble than that. Furthermore, Spike, if nothing else, this should have shown you that just like Twilight has grown over the years, so have you. You are not the same dragon you once were. The fact that you were able to control yourself after releasing the seals proves that you have truly grown into a wonderful dragon. One I am so very proud to call my friend. You are free to do as you wish of course, so if you truly wish to leave, we will not stop you. However, I would consider it a personal favour if you stayed here as Twilight’s number one assistant. After all, she still needs her bestest friend by her side.”

Spike stood there for a few moments in silence before sighing and smiling at Celestia before bowing and saying, “It would be my honour, Your Majesty.” As all the ponies cheered with joy at Spike’s answer, Spike let out a little giggle before grabbing his head in pain.

Twilight looked on in worry as she asked, “Spike, are you ok?”

As Spike let go of his head, he smiled at her and said, “Yeah, I’m fine, Twi. Just a bit of a headache. I’m going to go for a walk. Maybe the air will do me some good.” As he gave a quick bow to the princesses, he said, “I’ll be home later, Twi.” before walking out of Sugarcube Corner. As he did, Celestia and Luna both had a quick glance at each other, before hearing a groaning coming from behind them.

As they turned around, they saw Emerald Cloud coming to in a confused state. He looked up to find Luna and Celestia glaring at him and Celestia said, in a mocking tone, “Oh, my. Look, Luna. One of our precious little ponies seems to be hurting. Whatever shall we do?”

“Hmmm, good question, my dear sister. I guess we should make sure he gets the rest he and his friends need. I believe a week in the dungeons should do the trick.” As a look of fear came on to Emerald Cloud’s face, Luna lowered herself down and whispered into his ear, “Consider yourself lucky that Spike was able to restrain himself. I look forward to seeing you in your nightmares.” Before Emerald Cloud had chance to say anything, Celestia teleported him and his friends out of the shop.

As Cadance walked up to Rarity, she asked, “Are you ok? Does it still hurt? If so, I can heal it for you,” as she pointed at Rarity’s cheek.

Rarity just stood there, unresponsive and in complete shock at everything that had just transpired, until she heard Cadance calling her name again. “Wha-? This? No. It’s nothing. Thank you thought,” Rarity said as she touched her cheek. Rarity then started nervously giggling as she bent down and opened the box with the sapphire cupcake inside. As she looked at it now all mashed up, she tried to put it back together, making more of a mess of it and as she continued to laugh nervously, said, “I was just getting a sapphire cupcake for Spike. We had a bit of a disagreement yesterday and I was just on my way to apologies to him, you see.”

Cadance stood there for a few moments as she watched Rarity playing with the sapphire cupcake before she gently shook her head, saying, “Rarity, I don’t think a sapphire cupcake is going to fix things. For years I’ve watched Spike running around after you, doing anything you asked of him without question. For years, you bent him to your will with a kind word here, a smile there, a bat of the eyes, and a kiss on the cheek,” Cadance started to get angry as she said, “You used his feeling for you to get him to do anything you wanted and he did so willingly with a smile.”

As Rarity sat there, not saying a word and just looked down at the mushy mess of a sapphire cupcake. Everypony looked over to see what was going on. Luna walked over to Cadance and said, “Calm thyself, my niece.”

Cadance turned to look at Luna with anger and shot back, “I don’t tell you how to govern the night, Auntie. Do not tell me how to do my job!” Seeing a shocked look come onto Luna’s face, Cadance cleared her throat, as she gave her Aunt an apologetic look before saying, “Forgive me, Auntie. What I meant to say was this has gone on far longer than it should have. Rarity is no fool; she knows how Spike feels about her. Heck, everypony that knows him Knows how he feels about her. Until recently, she has had a reason not to answer his feeling, but now she has nothing.”

Just then, Twilight could be heard saying, “What do you mean by that, Cadance?”

Cadance sighs before looking over her shoulder at a concerned Twilight and saying, “I told her and the others how old Spike was, the other day.”

“You did What?!” Twilight responded with anger in her voice. “That wasn’t for you to decide. That was Spike’s choice. You had no right!”

As Cadance turned around to look at Twilight, she shouted back, “I know that, but I couldn’t sit back and do nothing anymore! I’m Princess of Love. It breaks my heart to see Spike running around after her and having his efforts, his feelings, treated as if it were nothing more than a filly crush and that he would grow out of it when we knew it was nothing of the sort.”

As Twilight went silent, Cadance turned back around and looked down at Rarity, who was still sitting there looking at the sapphire cupcake and said, “That sapphire cupcake and a sorry won’t fix anything, Rarity. Look, the way I see it is, Spike, is an amazing guy. He’s kind, funny, cares about his friends, works harder than any pony I know, and he’s the hero of the Crystal Empire. Heck, he was willing to throw the life he has built for himself here away and threaten Celestia all for you! Don’t you think he’s earned the right for you to be honest with him?”

As Cadance carried on, Rarity said nothing in response and just stared at the sapphire cupcake. Cadance could feel her anger growing again and shouted. “What’s the matter with you!? I know you care for Spike, but if you don’t have feelings for him you need to be honest with him and tell him. Yes, he may be upset and hurt for a while, but in time, he will overcome it. Or, is he just not worthy enough to get an honest answer out of you!”

Rarity reacted to that by mumbling something as tears started to form in her eyes. Cadance tiled her head and said, “Speak up, I can’t hear yo-“

“I’M THE ONE THAT’S NOT WORTHY!!!” Rarity screamed, cutting Cadance off. “How could any pony or creature be worthy of him? It’s like you said; he’s kind, funny, caring, hardworking, a real live hero and so much more! I’m not stupid! I know how you- how everypony sees the way I am with him, but your wrong! I was never using his feelings to take advantage of him. I just thought if I could keep him close to me; keep him around me, then maybe, just maybe, I could become like him. That I would be worthy of such a creature! But now I don’t know what to do! I’ve really messed it up,” Rarity said as she finished, before she put her arms over her face and began to ball her eyes out.

Everyone stood there silently watching as Rarity continued to cry her eyes out. Cadance chuckled as she lowered her head down to Rarity’s ear and whispered, “So, you finally started listening to what your heart's truly been saying. Took you long enough.” As Cadance said that, Rarity looked up in shock. As Cadance smiled warmly at her, she said, “Talking to yourself can help, but so does talking to your friends. I’ll be honest, Rarity; you have been the hardest case I’ve ever had.”

“Bu… But I… You?” Rarity said as she tried to put the pieces together in her head.

Cadance sniggered as she said, “So, how was my impression of you? I think I did rather well if I do say so myself.”

Rarity just sat there looking gobsmacked as Cadance smiled at her and said, “Like I said, I’m the princess of Love. I know when someone’s in love, Rarity, even if they themselves do not realize it. I can feel it. It’s hard to describe really. While it was easy for me to see how Spike feels, you buried your feelings so far down that not even you yourself could see it. Instead, you threw yourself into your work and romantic ideas of what love should be. But, it seems now you’re finally starting to listen to what your heart has known for a long time. You just needed that little extra push, say for instance, a princess telling you how old he was. Since that was the biggest wall you had built up, I had to knock it down for you to open your eyes.”

Rarity sat there, amazed at what Cadance was saying, before she wiped her tears away and asked, “But what do I do now? I’ve messed up so bad. How do I even begin to fix things when this is all. So new?”

Rarity lowered her head to the floor, lost in how to make things better and what this meant for herself and Spike. Cadance lifted her head up and looked her in the eyes as she said, “First, you need to talk to him. I don’t just mean like an everyday conversation. I mean a proper talk. You need to sit down and be honest with him, about everything. No secrets, no holding back, just honest truth. Then, you need to let him speak. Let him say what he needs to, then after that who knows? That will be up to the both of you.”

As Rarity stood back up, she asked, “But what if it doesn’t work out? What if it all goes wrong?”

Cadance smiled at that and said, “I can’t tell you what will be, Rarity. I can’t see the future. No pony can. All I can say is if it doesn’t work out, then at least you can look yourself in the mirror and know you gave it everything you had. In the end, that’s all any of us can really do: try. Happiness isn’t something that is given. It is something that you have to work for. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying: if it’s not worth fighting for, then it’s not worth having. You’ve seen Spike fighting, now. I think it’s time you show him how you fight for what you want, and there’s no time like the present, my little pony.”

As a determined look comes onto Rarity’s face, she wipes her face one last time before nodding her head in confidence and charging out of the shop past everypony as Twilight shouts, “Rarity, where are you going?”

Cadance trots up to Twilight, Lyra, and Bon Bon with a smile as she says, “She’s going to fight for what she wants.”

Twilight looks a bit confused for a moment at what Cadance meant before Bon Bon giggles and wraps her arm around Lyra, giving her a little kiss on the cheek as she says, “Good for her and it’s about time,” while Lyra just blushes in embarrassment.

A small but gentle, loving smile comes onto Twilight’s face after realizing what Cadance meant and as she looks out of the door, she says, “Go get him, Rarity.”

************

Meanwhile, while all this was taking place, somewhere in the Dragonlands, a gentle breeze makes its way into a dark cave. As it does, a sniffing could be heard coming from the darkness. After a few moments, a deep voice just started to laugh and as it did, it said, “I see. It’s finally time.” As a pair of eyes suddenly opened in the cold dark cave, the voice just continued to laugh before saying in a low menacing voice, “I’m coming for you.”