Love's Hydration

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter I | Swollen Apologies
Chapter II | Dead Wine
Chapter III | Ensnared Tongues
Chapter IV | Friendly Discoveries
Chapter V | Pointless Ponderings
Chapter VI | Hollow Ascendance
Chapter VII | Lazy Afternoons
Chapter IX | Left Letters
Chapter X | Tight Outfits
Chapter XI | Sisterly Worries
Chapter XII | Graveside Manners
Chapter XIII | Breaking News
Chapter XIV | Bared Fangs
Chapter XV | Final Climax
Chapter VIII | Sweet Embrace

Prologue

Love's Hydration
B_25

Her hooves wrapped around nothing. Rainbow shifted in her sleep, weakly groaning. Her wrestling form rustled the sheets. Her exhale caused her to become still. She blinked to the blurriness of an empty bed. Sitting up, she looked around.

Her nethers tingled, a dwindling sensation. Nobody else was here. Nothing of them, except for the letter on the bedside table. Crawling toward it, Rainbow felt the sheets crinkle beneath her knees. Her wing extended, grabbing the paper, and holding it before her eyes.

"Thanks for the amazing night! Sorry for... y'know."

Rainbow looked between her legs. The disappointing and dwindling tingles clicked. She sighed, falling into her pillows. The bed squeaked. The desire to crawl beneath the covers emerged.

An alarm blared.

"Rainbow! Rainbow Dash! Over here!"

Lights flashed, stinging her eyes hidden beneath shades. Chatter rose and metal clattered. Rainbow blinked. She returned to consciousness on a stage. Reporters were bunched together below. Fans gathered behind. Cheering fillies with aspirations, colts being drowned in her coolness. Mares respecting her status; stallions being stallions.

I'm not even doing anything.

Had it come to this? Celebrated for just existing? For just being her? Where was the worth in that? She had earned it, she supposed, but some things were supposed to be constantly achieved.

"Uh." Rainbow scratched the side of her head, drawing a roar from the crowd. Confusion doubled, but her hoof pointed at a puffy mare set in a red sweater. "You can go."

The selected mare rose as the rest fell to their seats. Mouths sealed, and ears flared to the lucky pick. In the silence, there were hushed whispers, before the chosen cleared her throat.

"Spitfire's retirement plans have become more discussed inside and outside the Wonderbolts." The reporter looked like a plump, oversized marshmallow, with a red knitted sweater failing to capture the center of her belly. Holding a notepad in a wing, she flipped through the pages with her free wingtips. "Insider scoop and public opinion say that you'll be the one to take charge of the Wonderbolts. Is there any merit to these claims?"

Well, I mean, yeah.

"That call is in the air." That wasn't a Rainbow Dash response. It didn't ooze with style or arrogance. It wasn't like her—or what she'd been. The crowd seemed amused. Acting as if she'd been strained by a leash for the weekly interview. "Being a leader is different from being the fastest flyer."

Flashes exploded into spreads of white and the scratching of pencils deafened the air. Rainbow cleared her throat, raising her voice. "The best pony for the role is the one chosen for it. Spitfire and Princess Celestia decide that."

"And who do you think that best pony is?"

Me.

"That's already a known answer."

It wasn't a boast. Irritation infected her tone. Cheers washed from the crowd, splashing onto the stage. Rainbow stepped back while looking aside. She scratched her foreleg, feeling bored, and embarrassed. None else exists as she did for the job. But that's what it was—a job.

Rainbow waved off the applause while still looking away. Her lack of attention drove them crazier. It annoyed her. It was deserved. The praise and the applause. She had earned it by being herself, acquiring her ambitions. Now her status spoke for her. Skill, sex appeal, everything. "Yeah, yeah. Next question—someone different."

Her foreleg stuck out, pointing at a caramel filly with a mouth that did not close, and a gap between her front teeth. Her gasp also whistled. She gushed, and her father calmed her down, rubbing her back and whispering.

The filly exhaled, accompanied with faint whistling, a question.

"How come ya didn't go to Rarity's funeral?"

Rainbow's mouth opened. It stayed like that as her mind racked for an answer. Feeling flushed through her nerves, clenching her stomach. Her head leaned back, and she looked to the cloud-inspired ceiling. She became alive for a moment. Plagued by something personal.

"Because..." Rainbow began without knowing what words would come out, set to learn the answer with her fans and entourage. "...I didn't want to take time off work."

Baggie, dirty, with a saggy hood. The hoodie covered her well. It swallowed her face. Only the hardest looking could make out her forlorn appearance. She sat at the bar with a strange hunger in her stomach. Food didn't appeal to her.

A plate held steaming fires on the counter. Vinegar wafted, inspiring vomit.

You're twenty-seven.

You're running out of time.

Are you wasting it?

The thoughts appeared. Slumped on the stool over the counter, she planted her face into the sole of her hoof, rubbing it, sighing into it, wanting to bash into it. Nothing would change that number. Nothing could cancel that pain.

"She's still a fuckin' knockout, dude." Rainbow blinked. Her hooded head turned to the opposing end of the counter. Few other ponies sat in the way, silently drinking. A few young studs spoke a little too loud, hanging close to a portrait-covered wall. "That issue of Playmare she appeared in? Fucking sold out. Bitch didn't even have to strip. She's got it all, dude. Whoever bags it, no matter her age—she's timeless."

The trio chuckled. The bartender left a tray of drinks on the counter, each swept and drunk. Half-finished glasses later, the stallions cheered, beating on their chests. "Ooo! Ooo!"

Rainbow sighed with a flick of her tail. Tucked inside her hoodie, it tickled her back. She took a solid chug from her own beer. Golden foam burned within her chest. She held in the flinch, remaining composed.

"Didn't Thunder bang her?"

She sidelong-glanced again. A shadow dimmed her face. Wisps of mane flicked out from inside her hood. Her eyes lit like soft, rose-burning torches.

Sadness permeated.

One stallion looked like a handsome donkey. Straw-like mane with a broad, elongated muzzle. He knocked on the rich red chest of his friend. "Wait, wait. Wasn't he foolin' with that?"

The red jock rested against the counter. "Nah. He ploughed her soil. Heard about it this morning."

The donkey shook his head. "No way."

The third, skinny but long, tapped danced in place. "H...How?"

"Found her in a bar." Red shrugged. "Tried his luck. She seemed game. Could never get on top in any sense. Couldn't get her to... y'know." The rest blinked with opening mouths. "Wouldn't have believed him otherwise. That... and the idiot stole a strand of her tail."

The donkey blasted with a laugh. "He took a trophy with him! No freakin' way!”

The trio continued their laughing, their drinking, minds awash in the previous. Rainbow hunched forward again. Her hoof reached for the drink... but faltered. She had every mind, right, and ability to deliver imprints to remember her by.

Rainbow's spirits couldn't muster any willpower.

They're boys. Boys talk. You're just hearing it. Like Twilight said. You're a symbol. You're something different. This is how some view symbols.

Her desire was to be something higher than normal, to be greater than the average. Now she was something special. That specialness outshone all else.

"Given the chance," Red opened, "how would you do her?"

Rainbow's head snapped to them. Her hood slid, catching on her ears. Other patrons shifted, turning to the crew. Near the end of the counter, an elderly drinker lowered his drink. He glared at them.

"Shut it down," a southern accent laced his words. "This is a bar. Not your clubhouse with all the lights off." His lips returned to the glass, mumbling from the rim. "Have some respect."

The trio shrugged.

"Blowjob," Red broke first, bringing out his drink, holding it out and over his boys. "Let that pretty face blow me dry. She's cute when she wants to be. Coat that mane and face in white. Drench the bitch in my nut—let her know who that perfection belongs to. "

The others retreated.

"Whoa," said the donkey.

"Damn," spat the twig. He looked at the donkey. "I wanted to fuck her ass or something. Cop a feel."

Donkey narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "She ain't anything special back there. You go for Rainbow because she's Rainbow.”

Twig shrugged. "Still a nice ass."

Donkey bunched his lips, thought, then nodded.

Enough.

The word appeared in Rainbow's mind.

Enough of this already. I... no. No. I can't.

She looked at her hooves. What would be the point of using them? Of laying a beating? Another article, another spin. Mare Doesn't Take Shit. Or. Has Rainbow Taken Her Fighting Attitude Too Far? Would more ponies find it hot that she fights her own battles? Would the creeps take their wounds as badges of honour?

Just... quiet.

Everything be quiet.

"Tell you what, though," Red followed after downing another swig, "once I had her good and drench, I would—"

Footsteps.

Heavy. Impactful. Dirt crunched.

Every patron, standing or sitting, before the counter or at a table, turned to the door. It creaked open. The storm invaded. Cold winds and water pelting. Darkness cloaked the figure. A slender mountain caught before a door frame.

The creature stepped inside. Rain rushed down dark scales touched with a tint of purple. It came inside lethargically. Big, hulking, though limber in its limbs and in its walking. It stalked inside the bar. Each step hundred a clap. Plates rattled. Behind it, a tail rose, thick and windy, floating of its own accord.

It swam through the air like a snake, the spade slapping the door closed, which clicked, and the tail returned to its post behind the entity. It hulked toward an empty stool at the middle of the counter. Those next to it rose, drinks curled by forehooves, clearing the way.

Rainbow watched wordlessly as the beast passed. His shadow swallowed her. Reduced to a filly, she watched the monster stalk the halls. Primed, but uncaring, it glanced over its shoulder, a moment of dim emerald flashing.

Her stomach swirled.

The beast clambered onto a stool, the wood groaning, with him taking another, using the two. It leaned to the side, untying a thread around its waist. It plopped a pouch onto the counter. The bartender, emerging from double doors behind the counter—froze.

He wiggled his ebony moustache, clearing his throat.

Still croaking. "A drink for the..."

"Dragon."

Rainbow blinked. She looked and didn't look. Drawn by desire but restrained by guilt. Words rose in her throat like vomit. She swallowed the filth. Rainbow kept still. Remained still. Not trusting movement. Nothing that could reveal.

"Dragon, huh?" The bartender exhaled heavily, too-easily expressed relief inflecting his words. "Been a while since we've had one in here. At least not one like you. That's… if you don't mind my saying."

Dissing your customers? That's one way to earn their coin.

Pointed claws tapped on the wood.

"It's better none like me are around." His tapping grew louder and faster. "So no offence. Now… a drink." He untied a pouch from his waist, tossing it onto the counter. A few golden coins spilled out. "Give me your strongest. Whatever you think can decently entertain a dragon."

The bartender collected and pocketed the coins with dignity. He held up one, its glint shining. He looked over it, eyeing the dragon. "Is price an issue?"

"Not currently."

"Very well." The bartender slipped the coin into the front pocket of his vest. "I've two bottles for you." He turned to the back shelves of drinks, leaning over the bottom shelves to reach the topmost bottles. Taking one, he leaned back to the counter, placed it there, then repeated the action.

He settled behind them. "Those should last you an hour. They would kill anyone else."

The dragon smiled. "You trying to give me ideas?"

"I think you have better tools than my drinks at your disposal."

The dragon tapped the bottle's bottom against the counter, stabbing its cork with a claw, plopping it out. He toasted to the bartender, who nodded and tended to other drinkers. The dragon fell into his drink, now quiet.

Rainbow watched him. The side of his face was dark, chiselled, and handsome. His scales were the darkest shade of purple. His eyes lingered in a concentrated, emerald glow. He lowered the bottle to the counter after his swig. Amusement played on his expression.

Her eyes passed him to the trio looking at her.

Fuck.

"Buuullshiiit." Red's mouth remained open as he stared her dead on. He turned to pat his boys on their shoulders. They left the counter as a crew in Rainbow's direction. Red tugged on his jacket "Rainbow! Rainbow fucking Dash!"

Rainbow's eyes squeezed tight. Inhaling through her snout, she steadied her rising panic. You used to throw punches before you got answers or apologises. What happened to the mare that cared? Who set the rules instead of letting others create them? Bring her back, Dash. Burn that fighting spirit.

Rainbow's wings flared. Anger narrowed her eyes, wrinkling her snout. Pulling back her hood, she pushed off the counter, turning from the stool with her hooves landing on the floor. Wild hair streaked over her face.

She walked toward them without lowering or hesitation.

"Oh-ho! As I live and freakin' breathe." Red looked side to side, checking out the turned faces, the attention drawn to him.

Fighting your type used to be fun. It was always the mares that cheered me on the most. Now… this is just annoying.

Red's face returned to hers with a smirk. "Say. I've got this bet I need to settle with the guys."

On Rainbow's left, the backs of those on stools passed, but soon a larger, scaly one appeared, and she stopped a few feet before it. She would stand her ground here. Red didn't seem to care.

"Everyone has it that you take charge," the dickhead continued. His voice always sounded like it was about to break into a snide laugh. "That you like to be on top and all that. My contention? You're the opposite. You're a needy, horny girl, waiting to be bent over and broken into."

"Dude!" Donkey whispered from at his side. "That's Rainbow Dash."

"So?" Red stared Rainbow down, not even breaking to glance. "She'll be fucktoy once I'm done. Once I show her the bliss of being wrapped around my waist."

Rainbow cracked her neck. There wasn't anger. Not when she could break his wings and drop him from above the clouds. It was that assurance that created her boredom. Her feelings, matters of importance, none of it meant much anymore.

Bring it out already. C'mon! They're expecting to see the Dash.

How long do you plan on being still and silent?

"How 'bout it?" Red puffed his chest. His boys backed his sides. The mare stood alone against them. In the middle, the dragon sat with his back facing them, enjoying his drink. "Bathroom's only a few steps away."

Red stepped forward. Something slithered in front of him. Large, curvy, and striking through all four of Red's knees. The tail swept Red's legs out from underneath him as it flew back into place. Red's face hit the wooden floor, his chest next, the rest of him thumping onto the ground.

The other two backed away from the mess of a stallion.

They looked to the dragon, who continued to drink from the bottle, finishing the one with an exhale and wiping his mouth. He set the bottle toward the bartender as he reached for the second. His talon loomed over the cork—when a red hoof set on his tail.

"The fuck is the matter with you?" Red's shout sounded nasally from his bloody nose. His hooves climbed over the dragon's tail to his side, where Red leaned against him, looking up. "What? Is your tail working on its own?"

"Mhm?" The dragon glanced, with a confused look, down at Red. "Must be. Didn't know something had happened. My apologies." He looked at the bottle and had an idea. He shook it over Red's muzzle. "You want some? Just have to promise not to drink too much."

The dragon made a serious face. "Because it could kill ya."

"Fuck you!" Red leaned up and smacked the bottle out from the claw. Its center struck the counter, the glass breaking, alcohol splattering. "It's going to take more than a drink to—"

It happened in a blur.

Rainbow had blinked. Something crashed, and the bar shook. At the counter's far end, the dragon's back towered, his imposing height casting a long shadow. His wrist dug into Red's throat, pinning him to the wall. The stallion struggled, wiggling, helplessly kicking his hooves high above the ground, too far away to reach the dragon's chest.

The dragon glared from over his forearm.

"More?" He pushed harder on Red's throat, the stallion audibly choking. "Just how much more do you want? How much more can you take? Where's the point when it's too much?" The dragon's increased pressure strained Red's throat muscles. "Is it here? When you start blacking out? Or is it when I forget my strength and collapse your throat?"

Fear brightened Red's eyes. He scrambled and kicked as choke after choke tried throwing out words. Rainbow's heart raced. Something buzzed in the dragon's voice. Behind its power, there was bliss. The sweetness that comes from exerting one's dominance.

The dragon shook like he remembered himself. Looking around to those watching, he stared back at the stallion, stepping and pulling back. Red plopped to the ground and remained there like a slinky. The dragon looked away from him—almost disappointed.

Disappointed in himself? Or disappointed that he didn't go further?

"Go."

Red couldn't stand. His friends raised him by the shoulders, treading around the dragon, leaving through the front door. The dragon stood in silence for a while. His smoky exhale turned his head to the bartender.

"Sorry for the mess." He nodded at the pouch on the counter. "Keep the rest for the hassle." He walked away as each footstep rumbled the establishment. The dragon slowed as he passed Rainbow, who remained frozen.

He stared at her from over his shoulder. His mouth opened to say something, but then it closed, and the beast carried himself out the door. His tail swayed behind him. Roars of thunder drowned all other sounds. The rain outside washed away his large footprints. He disappeared into the night.

Rainbow's bedroom light switched on. The bulb's buzzing reminded Rainbow that she was alone. She could only hear it when she was alone, which made its buzzing worse. Rainbow dragged herself across the floor and limply threw herself onto the bed. She slunk into the mattress, exhaling, feeling the breath raise the furs of her face. She wiggled her exhausted body forward.

Sleep called.

But the tingles in her hooves would not go away.

Something warm made waves inside her frame. It nibbled on the inside of her thighs, and swirled like a milky stream below her belly. Rolling onto her back, she touched her chest with forehooves, feeling across it, bounced by her pumping heart. She groaned—but moaned instead.

"Mhm." The back of her head settled onto pillows. Her eyes remained shut. "M-More."

Rainbow imagined the dragon. Giant and lurking like a dangerous predator looming at the edge of the forest. Dangerous, deadly. There was that look to him. Turned face, dark scales, him watching her from the corner of his eye. He'd become something different.

Something that flushed hot blood through her veins once more.

I'm not… n-no. I wouldn't… not to him, not after what I did. It's been so long, I can't just…

Rainbow remembered what had happened. Envisioned what he'd been like. Lording over that other stallion, towering. The weight in his step, that crunch that rose even when he turned. All that size. Muscle and might. He could hold her down and—

The Great Rainbow Dash... t-touching herself… to some dragon…

She stopped touching herself long ago. Not when any stallion or mare could be sprawled on her bed. It was the ease of having someone that ruined her appetite for sex. But that dragon. He'd break her bed.

He would break her.

Her hooves touched her burning sensitivity, drawing a long moan from her throat, that rising temperature scorching her nethers. Rolling onto her side, she tucked her thighs into her forelegs, trapping them against her crotch. She started to rub, then started to stroke faster.

Recalling how his eyes stared at her from over his shoulder.

They owned me.

Author's Note

End of Chapter!

This is a strange story that I'm trying something different with.

I hope you enjoy it!
~ Yr. Pal, B

Chapter I | Swollen Apologies

~ I ~

Swollen Apologies

Dark clouds loomed over the empty land, tightening. Inside the closing black swirl, a blue blur fired like a gunshot. Wings unfurled, and the blaze slowed, gaining details. Winds pushed into the flared wingspans. Basil grass beneath the edges of her dangling hooves.

The wings flapped twice before impact, gliding the momentum of the pegasus into a loop, its exit sliding their hooves across the dirt. Thunder's echo hid the sound of paved dirt. Rainbow Dash slowed and stopped after a foot, head looking to the sky.

No openings.

Perfect coverage.

Storm's on schedule.

Rainbow tapped a hoof to her chest, unclipping brass from her uniform. She turned the silver name tag to her face, eyeing it behind chromatic bangs.

Rainbow “Danger” Dash

Rainbow's eyes rolled. Slipping the tag into a pocket, she looked forward to the lone, wooden building. Only a few feet off. Not bad. Work to the bar in ten-seconds flat. She pulled the outfit's hood over her head, raising a hoof to the door—stopping at the postings next to it.

Her hooves backed into the wettening dirt. The glass bulletins next to the doors housed posters of her. Some stock, Wonderbolt photo of Rainbow Dash. Foreleg over her chest, a mug clumsily added to her hoof. Her cutie mark blazed in the poster's corners.

"The Legend Drinks Here! Try the Mare's Mare Favourite—"

Rainbow backed away from the building. Black clouds lowered over it. Her muzzle flicked all over the sky for a break to make an escape. Not an iota of space. Perfect work as always, Rainbow.

Thunder roared, and mist buzzed in the air.

The mare turned to the silhouette of the town.

The woods boxed the open space of the graveyard. Outside of town, but not far from home. Tombstone neatly aligned with adequate space. None stood out from the rest—besides the flowers left.

Rainbow walked between the trees, not leaving them, seeing the graves from far. Third row from the top, fifth from the left. Branches saved the space from the elements. Rainbow laid a hoof on a tree. The skin beneath her fur froze at the touch.

Wish I had brought a warmer jacket.

Her eyes lowered to the grass at the grave.

I wonder if the dead ever feel cold.

Flowers froze her eyes. Dug into the grass, marking the sides of the tombstone. Two heavy flowers with frozen blue petals. Their density reminded Rainbow of a morning, winter's sky.

They'd been Rarity's favourite. She'd discovered them in a book and fell in love. Rainbow assumed them to be a fantasy.

Regardless of their travels, they never saw one, due to their apparent rarity.

Icesparalies. Near extinct flowers that defy the odds and grow near tundras. Unpurchasable due to benign unsustainable— even in their natural environment. That never bothered Rarity.

The flower captivated her.

Rainbow backed away from the tree, the graveyard, not having the heart to stay, the need arising to find walking life inside the town.

It drizzled after dark.

Rainbow slowed at the center of the town. Despite her urge to feel life around her, she retreated into her hood as strolling ponies passed. Umbrellas went up. Rainbow's wings twitched inside her clothing's enclosure. Just fly through the storm. There's nothing here. Wandering won't do anything for you.

Vibrations rushed beneath the ground.

Those nearby turned. They followed the vibration's source to the faint thuds afar. The doors to City Hall opened. Beneath their frame, an oversized silhouette ducked out, raising a greater height. It walked forward without halt or care.

Its footsteps cracked the air as they passed down the steps. Touching the ground, the beast carried forward and toward the fountain. Despite looking ahead, it didn't see the ponies clearing its path. Much less the lone stallion blocking the way in defiance.

The silhouette's knee broke into the stallion's him, knocking him aside without regard. The stallion fell, slumping into the mud. He rose, growling, to the beast that continued to the fountains. The stallion's mouth opened in a shout—but friends appeared at his side.

They wiped the mud from his chest, pulling back on his shoulders, dragging him away. They disappeared. As did those in the area. Some looked back over their shoulders with worried expressions.

At the fountain, the dragon took a seat, a rumble to the ground, a casting of wind. Its massive size sat with legs opened. It leaned forward, elbows resting on thighs, claws clutching a letter and ring of two keys.

It brought the letter to its face. It stared at it for a while. Rainbow made out its heart-seal. With its other claw, the dragon flexed the sharp end of the talon to the heart, planting it there. Its right eye twitched as its arm shook. The talon remained still.

Then its claw dropped.

The dragon dropped its head, sighing, raising to gaze lovingly at the seal. He brought it to his lips, holding the kiss with closed eyes. Then the letter was clutched to her heart. The drizzling of the sky turned into rain. The dragon curled over the envelope further to protect it.

It remained like that.

While Rainbow watched from the side of a lamppost.

The monster's head rose like a predator knowing it was watched. It looked from one side and to another—eyes shimmering emerald through the darkness and distance between them. Their glow: the only colour.

His eyes narrowed.

A darkened smile grew.

Her hooves sloshed into the mud. She walked toward him, leaving the safety of distance. Nothing of him moved, and nothing of his left hers. The monster hypnotically watched her near like a predator using its charm to lure prey.

Rainbow stood before blackened might. Unable to make details of his frame beside the slender bulk to it all. The darkest shade of purple had glossed his scales. His eyes, their drinking of her soul, were distinguishable.

Lines of water trailed down his face. He didn’t move. His smirk never waned. Rainbow swallowed. Words didn't come. Not before his silent, oozing confidence.

"Hey."

The monster opened. Without emphasis. His tone edged with smoke. Water had seeped into his mouth. He hadn't minded. His mouth didn't close, revealing its white daggers. He followed his greeting with an open smile.

"Pretty mares shouldn't lurk after dark." Slowly his head shook and rose with the words, like a warning from a fairy tale. He leaned forward with his mouth still open in a playful snarl. "Not when monsters stalk the streets."

Don't let him win.

The voice surprised her. Reminded Rainbow of herself.

Losing here means losing something unrecoverable.

"Double-check who you're talking to." Bravado licked mucus across her tongue as it shot out her mouth. "Name an ass I haven't whooped yet."

His mouth closed.

But its smirk was worse.

"Careful, Rainbow." The words were purred with masculine warmth. “Some beasts like that.”

Shock pushed her back. Trying for a joke to cover it resulted in an awkward laugh. The dragon did the same, holding that smirk, knowing the depths of her soul. It looked off to the sides to find nothing.

Was he checking for others? Ensuring his prey's isolation.

Get out of your own head.

"What are you doing here, Rainbow Dash?" His smooth, smoky tone faded at her name. Warmth left his voice, and bare baritone returned. It made her shudder as her blushing face looked away. She sensed him leaning closer. Felt the breath of his words flush across her cheek. "You want nothing with me. Yet, here you stand."

Rainbow blinked. Was that the trouble? Crusts of ice broke away from inside her racing heart. Years had passed since the mistake, the misunderstanding. Did he still clutch it personally to his chest? Or did he assume that she had all this time?

"I… I'm not mad at you, S-Spi…" Saying his name was too heavy of a weight for her tongue. Hearing it, though, brought a flash from his glowing eyes. He shifted, retracting. Instead of there being an imposing figure, more of a friend, now, sat before her. "I never had the right to be. That… that whole situation was a mess. It wasn't all your fault."

Rainbow pawed at the ground and looked around. "Everyone had their share of mistakes to pass around. Somehow, though, it was dumped on you." She looked down, protected by the hood. Escaping his intensity, entering seconds of freshness. "I was the oldest. It was my responsibility to handle it better —and I failed you. I was lost in myself, lost in what others were saying. I didn't sit down, think, then do the right thing."

Surprisingly, her hooves brought her closer to him, muzzle raising on its down, staring down her snout and up into his eyes. "I'm sorry for what I did. Nothing I said was true. It hurts to know that you carried that bullshit for so long. And I'm sorry. I'm just… I'm sorry, Spike."

His name, when attached to something earnest, was easier to say.

She laid a hoof on his knee, cold and wet, firm and smooth, a gift to her skin. He watched the contact before returning to her. Rainbow did her best to speak with a shy smile. "And I'm glad that you're back."

Spike remained silent, unreadable. His eyes betrayed his confusion transitioning into understanding. His smile returned. Gentler this time. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash." His muzzle dipped. "I forgive you."

Rainbow smiled without restraint, an unknown weight lifted from her soul. Rain pelted harder, dampening her hood. The dragon bathed without issue in the coldness. Suddenly, memories flooded through, and Rainbow Dash became herself again in front of her friend.

"But you're not off the hook with all that other crap!" She spoke to the giant like he was a kid, earning a twitch. Did she have the right, that closeness to speak that way to him? His narrowed gaze held, but so did hers, and after a few moments, his face relaxed.

Rainbow continued. "The hell was up with you just taking off? No note? Nothing?" She tapped his knee with a hoof. "Do you have any clue how worried the girls were? Everyone in town asking why they don't see you anymore? Worried you'd migrated or somethin'?"

Her head shook as rage carried her. "Getting bigger, older, quieter. Knowing less about what was going on before you were gone. We all felt like we did something, ya know! Like we didn't want you around."

Rainbow's ears flattened as her head lowered. "We... didn't make you feel unwanted, did we? I know… a lot was going on. And a lot of things were unsure. We all said or shouted something we didn't mean, but—"

Something sharp slipped beneath her chin to raise her muzzle. Lightning flashed in the sky behind, warming the details of the dragon's face, a flash to the image of a friend. His warm expression ceased her panic. But now, it was time for his eyes to search inside himself. He found the truth, struggling with it. For the first time since their encounter, he was the one to look away.

His claw pulled out from her hood.

"You girls were amazing." His eyes cast light on the sides of his muzzle. His face twitched as though reliving the past. His words came hesitantly, half-truthful. "I was the one becoming a trouble maker. The center of popping stories and problems." His voice exhaled, and his head shook. "I never impacted the world around me much as a kid. Never played a role in how things were."

Water rushed down his shoulders to his chest, threatening the letter. He raised it higher beneath his throat, holding his head over it. Water poured from the edge of his snout. His feet twisted in brown goo. "I didn't like the responsibility. Things changing because of me. If I left… I wouldn't be a factor anymore. Things would go on without my interference—without me to corrupt it."

He looked over with a defeated smile. "The silly thoughts of a beginning adult." He nodded at her. "I wish I handled it better as well." He curled further over the envelope. "But the body's already buried. Not much sense in digging it out."

Puddles rose inside the craters across the mud. Murky water swirled, pelted. It wasn't the whole truth. There was more. Being on edge with the dragon had exhausted her heart. It beat and begged for relief from the tension.

"Guess that's the way it works, sometimes." Rainbow sat next to him on the fountain. The cloaked mare and the soaking dragon, outside after dark. Bangs of rainbow escaped her hood, the blue edge of her muzzle peeking out. "But we can still hold conversations over the grave. Or... whatever fancy saying Twilight would throw at it."

Spike's laugh pierced through the pelting of rainfall.

"Looking at you now," Rainbow looked over at his form. "You must have had your share of love affairs." Her rump scooted close, her elbow jabbing him. His head still hung forward, but his eyes checked her. "Did my help get you laid a few times? How high did my advice rank you in being a player?"

Assurance pulled at his lips. "Some answers are better not spoken."

Rainbow's eyebrows rose on her shaking head. "You're that good? Damn."

At least he's getting laid.

Something cold pricked her heart at the dragon in bed with a string of others—sometimes, all simultaneously. Red stretched over her face. She gasped for breath, thinking and looking at the protected letter.

"And how about that?" Rainbow opened and pointed at it. "Since when is City Hall playing postal office?"

Spike sat up and opened his side, moving to bring his arm around her. Rainbow twitched, halting the advance, but slid into his side to cover for panic. Her outfit protected her from wet scales. His raw heat, the broad furnace, warmed through the fabric. He must have held a burning fire within, not feeling the cold.

Greater darkness passed. His wings curled over them, creating a leathery dome. It boxed in heat and blocked the rain. Its coverage was extensive enough for Rainbow to use his legs like a bed. The dragon looked down his loft, smiling at her, but looking at the letter in his claw, which lowered to his lap.

He turned the envelope to reveal the heart-shaped seal. A faded lipstick kiss imprinted the paper. It contrasted the whiteness. Cursive lettering spelled "For Spikey-Wikey." He smiled sadly.

"Rarity's will left me two keys and a letter." His eyes squeezed close, smile faltering. "They struggled to hand them off. Believe it or not, Spikey-Wikey isn't my legal name. It would have gone to a judge if it weren't for Twilight. But even then, I would have…"

Rainbow looked behind her. His claw clutched the edge of the fountain. His tightening grip cracked the marble, dust spraying between his talons. He released his sudden hold, a chunk of white falling from his palm.

The dragon choked, exhaling.

"Now… I'm left to wonder if City Hall is right." His eyes opened again to a softer glow. "Her Spikey-Wikey doesn't exist anymore. Something else consumed him."

Rainbow shook her head. "Who are you trying to kid? It never mattered what you did—you were always Spikey-Wikey to her."

Spike chuckled. "You're right." He looked back at the letter. "The truth is that I don't have the heart to break the seal. But still… I feel different from the dragon I was meant to be."

"Sometimes, that's how it goes, Spike." Rainbow's forelegs nestled on his lap. She glanced up. "You have an idea of the kind of adult you'll grow into. Then you actually go through life, and you become something different. Thinking back, it only makes sense how you became what you are."

Those weren't the words of Rainbow Dash. That wasn't something she'd ever say—much less to a friend in a time such as this. Disgust flooded like a black infection. The pressure of vomit pressed on the inside of her chest. She fought back all visible signs of her recoil. Needing more, than to save him, to save herself.

"How about the keys?" Hopefully, breaking the silence stopped Spike from thinking about her words. "What are those for?"

His mouth opened, but he paused, then carefully spoke. "The boutique. Rarity left it to me. Earned by all my time and help there. Sweetie's still going strong with college in Manehatten. Not interested in the place in the slightest."

Spike exhaled heavily. "She could have left it to another designer. They would have found a better use for the place. But she left it to me… she left it to me."

Rainbow's hood slid back onto her neck, her mane flouncing. She didn't pull it back to cover her face. Not when nobody could see. Not when she was inside the dragon's protection. "Are you going to give it up?"

"Once someone more deserving appears." Spike noticed Rainbow's exposure. His wings curled tighter around her, further blocking possible outsider view. "Rarity wanted me to have a home of my own."

Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "Staying with Twilight isn't an option?"

"Growing into a proper dragon has its quirks," Spike replied as he looked over her, searching the area for wanderers. He was watchful, protective. "She knew about them. Didn't want me uncomfortable in shared dwellings."

Rainbow's face scrunched. "Why would you be uncomfortable?"

He glanced at her as though she'd asked a stupid question. Knowing that the coast was clear, he lowered his head to her muzzle. "You want a drink? Somewhere where you won't be asked for your autograph?"

"You mean the boutique?" Rainbow laughed, tapping his chest. "What? Scared to go alone? What does a hunk like you have to be afraid of?"

"What if the place is haunted?"

Rainbow's head arched back. "Why would Rarity haunt you?"

"Because I wasn't there for her last breath." Smoke rose around his whisper. "Now she's left me her home. Name a better trap."

"You think you're better off with me tagging along? I wasn't there for her either!"

Not being there for her dying friend had been an ache of terrible guilt. Now, their jokes joined them. Their terribleness transitioned into wonderful laughter.

"Then..." Spike breathed, filling her vision with his existence, the sharpness of his muzzle inches from hers. His claw tapped her cheek, talons like delicate knives, brushing to her neck, tickling her skin, scratches that renewed the decaying nerves beneath. "We owe the deceased two souls for the price of one, don't we? Come, now."

The talons swirled on her neck, brushing the fur, scratching the skin, pulling away, leaving the patch in lingering warmth. His claw gripped her hood, pulling it over her head, obscuring her face. Bunched, prismatic mane, shrouded her view of him. Some of his muzzle, a couple of his teeth, loomed between and beyond her hair.

“Consider yourself kidnapped.”

Author's Note

End of Chapter!

Editing and outlining take it out of you! I'm learning that, when you're writing, you need to let yourself go. Have no self-consciousness. Write what feels right. Not all of it will be good—which can be sharpened or changed later. But if you do not write hot: your words are at risk of sounding forced and clinical.

Lose yourself to the story first.

Worry about the rest in the second draft.

Hopefully, that's a lesson I learn and apply soon!

See you next chapter.
~ Yr. Pal, B

Chapter II | Dead Wine

~ II ~

Dead Mare's Wine

They reached the boutique in coldness and darkness, the building standing in a white haze, with blurs for windows and splotches of colours for its details. Winds slashed, whistling like a boiling kettle. Keys clicked together on the metal loop held by Spike's claw.

Rainbow shuffled behind the dragon to escape the wind and the elements, still scared of him, but something about his intimidation had whispered protection. Warmth permeated his scales and held back the cold air. She drew to the back of his legs, mindful to not let fur brush against his scales.

And to step away before Spike noticed her closeness.

The dragon stuck one of the two keys into the door's socket, which clicked as the handle was pushed in, the dragon stepping into the home. Rainbow remained still, letting the dragon create the distance she was supposed to make. "You have two keys."

Spike had ducked inside the doorway. Gripping the top of the frame, he checked Rainbow from over his shoulder. His worn face revealed no answers.

Looks like I have to pry.

"What's the second for?" Rainbow asked with a pointing of her foreleg.

His emerald, pensive eyes watched her for a moment longer, one subtly twitching. Spike turned and looked inside the darkness of the boutique, searching across the adjacent wall. Leaning in, he unclipped something, returning into view with a candle stick in his claw.

Lowering his claw from the frame, cradling it around the wick, he blew a small flame and lit its match in a burning green. He stepped inside and cleared the way. "Unknown."

Look at this guy. Rainbow shook the disappointment mixed with irritation from her face. A bulk of long, colourful mane swayed over her forehead. Could hardly get him to shut up as a twerp. Now the hunk hardly says a word!

"Have you thought that it's for… I dunno, some chest or somethin' like that?" Real classy, Dash. Her hooves transitioned from sinking into wetting dirt to clopping on granite flooring. She entered the shop and reared a back leg to close the door like old times.

Those times have passed, Dash.

Her back leg twitched onto the ground. She began forward, passing the giant, stumbling into the middle of the darkened room. It was no longer the boutique. No longer a second home. Just a dark place with leftover things. Stacked, cardboard boxes. Plastic sheets covering furniture. "At least, she might have left a few things locked."

"Doubtful."

Rainbow turned on the spot to see his back rising from the darkness. The darkly scaled behemoth had closed the door as the storm rattled on its wood. His head turned to the curved walls that composed the circular room. His eyes narrowed on candles kept in their holds.

He lumbered toward them, a stomp for his footsteps, a moving shadow that lurked in her vision. Despite his size, he was nimble, his feet precise, twisting to fit in tight places, the spaces of flooring not occupied by strewn belongings. Jewellery boxes. Escaped balls of yarn. Pins, differing in colours and shapes, spilled into separate miniature piles.

"She wasn't going to pull through." His words were as simple as his candle tilting into the one on the wall, which caught in olive light. He slunk to the next candle in his slow circling of Rainbow. "Rarity knew that. She might not have said it… but she knew it. She left nothing to chance."

He held up his arm. Rainbow squinted at the side of his wrist. Dots of melted wax spread over his scales. The stick is burning out already? Did Rarity cheap out on—no, not on candles, wines, and ice cream. The mint fire, passed to another, burned with less intensity. No. It's his fire. A dragon's fire. It burns through them quicker.

"Even this mess is her design." Spike continued his trek but gestured to the workroom. "Only I would see it. And she knew what the assistant in me is honour-bound to do."

"Heh." Rainbow smirked. "So there is some of the little you in there."

Surprisingly, Spike twisted from the third candle, silhouette awash in the glow of his own flame. He gave a tired smile that glinted from the hints of his fangs. "Barely." Lumbering to the next candle, he stepped onto the model's stage, littered with mannequins set apart from each other, facing different ways, dressed in undone outfits.

Spike shuffled between them, reaching higher to light the last candle. "Rarity ensured Applejack handled everything. Rarity's last request was to make sure City Hall gave me those keys and the deed to the boutique."

Those words pulled Rainbow's face to the floor. Her ears flattened, and one foreleg brushed against another. Her eyes squeezed, and her cheek squished. Her mouth opened, but bullshit would have flooded through. Silencing her mind, Rainbow opened her heart and tried again.

"Sorry," Rainbow confessed. "I should have been there. All of us should have been there. I tried to be. I really did. But I just thought… it would all go away, somehow. That if I didn't focus on it—somehow, the problem wouldn't exist."

Rainbow felt his glance but did not hear any of his words.

"At least you saw her once."

Rainbow lifted her gaze from the floor to the legs before her, the waist before her snout, the face well above her head. Spike loomed before her like a quick, silent giant. Green light washed from the walls and across the floors. They still stood in the shadow of the center of the boutique.

"But I wasn't there," Rainbow nearly pleaded, "when it mattered most." Her scratched voice continued the self-assault. "Applejack was there. Every day and every night. Twilight brought books. Pinkie, her treats. Fluttershy, an animal to get cozy with. But AJ? She rarely left. Didn't talk about missing work. She was just there. There when it happened."

Spike's eyes drifted to the side. "I heard she went back to work the next day."

There'd been a tear on her cheek, which scrunched from her gasped chuckle, then wiped by a hoof. Rainbow dried both her eyes to play it safe. "Yeah. Gotta give it to her. Not a wasted moment."

The dragon laughed. He turned and merged with the darkness, and she turned to watch him. Spike approached the elongated couch, protected in a plastic covering. He pulled the sheet. Dust exploded into the air, saturated with green, burning dots.

Rainbow lingered as he cleared the area. She looked around the workroom, the setting, the same, but the place was different from all the ones inside her memory. Rainbow remembered flying close to the shop, hearing Rarity's shouts of praise or curses, directed at herself. Where, after drinking a little too much, both mares would return to.

"D-Darling, I insist." They wobbled into the darkness of the workroom, thankful for its space as they stumbled around in its openness. Rainbow bumped into something. It tipped over, things clattering on the ground. Afar, a voice rang. "The bathroom's upstairs."

Rainbow's hooves clattered around the fallen objects swallowed in the darkness, trying not to trip on them. "Nnghm… wha… what about you… t-tho…i]

“Me?” Rarity’s foreleg crossed her chest, the shift of balance causing her to stumble. “Ladies... don't, vomit.”

Reason enough. Rainbow went upstairs, undrinking her drink into the toilet, rising from the bowl, forgetting to flush. She returned downstairs to find Rarity limp on the couch, hung over the edge of its cushion, her muzzle set inside a bucket for paint. Disgusting eruptions followed. Rainbow chuckled, coming close, slapping Rarity's shoulder.

Rarity spat into the metal.

"Wha…" Rainbow began, "...what was that... 'bout ladies and all?"

Rarity's face jerked upward, barely passing the bucket's rim, all for a glare at her friend. "Oh, shut it."

Rainbow's stomach gurgled, and her throat tightened.

Rarity, without being told, pulled a tin from underneath the couch with her magic. Rainbow clambered next to her friend, curling into herself, leaning over the sofa, the two vomiting into their buckets with perfect harmony. Coughs and spits followed. Both glanced at each other

"Same time next week?"

Rarity rolled her eyes, nodded, and the two ducked into their torment.

Rainbow blinked into the present. She'd been feeling the cushion of the couch with a forehoof. A laugh escaped her. Though it was unlikely, she searched underneath the couch with a hoof, feeling around, coming to tap on metal. She dragged back a bucket, tape set across its front.

DO NOT USE.

Rainbow smiled

You always kept two underneath the couch. You never told me why, then. It only took you becoming really sick that I finally understood.

That smile faltered.

"Say..." Rainbow looked around the once home, seeing items that had once been another's belongings. Rarity's essence ceased to bless the items. They were only things, now. "The air's kinda dense. You wanna have that drink now?"

Spike had lifted a trio of boxes behind the mannequins, bringing them to an empty corner. "I haven't had a chance to rob Twilight yet."

"What about Rarity's wine?"

He set the box as dust swept out from beneath the dropped heft. "Rarity's wine?"

"Why not?" One of Rainbow's forelegs scratched the other, the bluntness of the question bloating shame inside her chest. "Not like she's gonna be drinkin' it, right? It'd be a shame to let it go to waste."

Spike looked around at the mess. It looked like he wanted to work until the place was organized. It was his new home. But that didn't seem to be it. It was putting another's affairs in order.

Affairs that also involved himself.

But then a smile appeared. His weight travelled across the room, down the stage, wounding before the mare. Rainbow looked up as the dragon stared down. She tried to stand tall, to face him like she should—but her heart hammered at his smile.

His presence. He's choking me in it.

Spike dropped to a knee, his glowing eyes before her surprised ones, bleeding panic from her heart. Her chest expanded and collapsed, tuft fluffing.

"I asked for you a drink so I wouldn't have to be alone in this place." His darkened voice oozed with sweetness in her ears. His gaze pierced her wobbly existence, peeling it open. "But the unobtainable mare truly wishes for a drink with me." Rainbow held her annoyed poker face. "Why is that?"

Rainbow barely managed the words. "So you're not drinking alone."

"And you would drink a dead mare's wine?"

This is wrong.

Why does it feel wrong? Because I haven't thought it through? Since when has Rainbow Dash ever thought things through? What would Rarity say about this? Hate me for coming into her home when she isn't here? I wasn't there for her. Do I even have any right to be touching her stuff?

A voice sang.

"What is mine is yours, darling."

"Yes."

Spike nodded. "Very well."

Spike rose. The colossus left for the wine. Rainbow clambered onto the couch, curling into its left cushion. She looked at the dark room lit by emerald torches. A place where machines roared, designs composed diagrams, and the humming of a madmare filled the air.

The reality around her didn't feel real. Like it was some dream she was waiting to wake from. That, in a blink, everything would return to normal, and she wouldn't think twice about her now nightmare past.

That her eyes would blink open, and it would be a sunny afternoon, a picnic on a hill, the girls relaxing and talking, nothing mattering beyond their hangout. Rainbow would taste the fresh air, warmth tickling the skin beneath her coat. Her fur absorbing the heat of the sunlight.

Stop living in the past, Dash. The good times are over. We're not there, anymore.

That memory was stored in a golden box, cut from the rest, feeling like a story that never actually happened. That past dried quickly. Its tales seemed like fiction. Rainbow knew that her past had really happened. That parts of it exist in the present. But when she thought back to those golden summer days, part of her wondered if they'd actually happened.

"Your drink."

His voice startled Rainbow from her thoughts. She shook her head, looking up at his face with a dazed expression. He held a glass of wine above her. Rainbow nodded, taking the glass with cupped hooves. Spike sat next to her, the cushion squeaking and sinking from scaled boulders laid on it.

He sunk into the couch's embrace, his head laid back on its backrest like it were old times, like recovering from hours spent making dresses. His eyes peered at the ceiling like he was searching for engraved words, somewhere. The curled mare and the deflated dragon, after a moment, raised their glasses and clinked them together.

The sound lasted for a second.

"This doesn't feel right," Rainbow's words surprised herself. She hadn't meant to speak, but the thought came out, the feeling explored in the slow coming of syllables. "This place used to be like home to us. But now… it doesn't feel like we belong here. That no one belongs here.

Spike's head rolled to watch her speak, expression lazy, his eyes sad. "I understand you. This was her home; we're here when she isn't." He rolled back and looked to the ceiling again. "I would have waited longer… but I couldn't. I needed to see this place. I needed to see some resemblance to her existence."

He looked down at himself. "Or maybe it would have been better to leave it for good."

Rainbow swirled her glass and laughed. "What? And make the boutique into a haunted mansion?"

Spike pulled a claw over his face, messing with his features. "No. You're right. If this place ever caught a spider web, she'd roll in her grave." Chuckles followed the dropping of his claw. "Leave the boutique to a near-immortal dragon. That'll ensure all of it gets preserved."

Rainbow glanced at him at his comment. That's right. He'll be here long after the town crumbles for one reason or another. This is only his first death. He'll be here after all of us are gone. He'll be here after everyone is gone.

"Is that how it works with ponies after they're gone?" Rainbow asked in sudden curiosity. "We imagine what they would and wouldn't have wanted? Like we carry a little version of them inside our heads, and base what they would want? On how that version reacts?"

"Besides a will or a journal, it's the best judgement we have on the deceased." His head didn't move, but his eyes flicked to her. "Why the bout of seriousness? Guilt from drinking Rarity's wine?"

Rainbow swirled the glass of scarlet. "Can't feel guilty yet. Haven't had a sip." She raised the rim close to her lips. Then lowered it again. "It's just… we surprise each other. We surprise ourselves, sometimes. We think or feel something you wouldn't expect. Sometimes, we're so much different beneath the surface that you wouldn't think that I was the same mare."

His head slowly turned, and his green, glimmering eyes, carefully watched her.

"How will most ponies remember me? The image on posters? Whatever the current headline calls me?" Rainbow rattled, unknowing her words' direction. "What about everything beneath all that? Will it get remembered too?" She looked at Spike sullenly. "Or will I always be that confident, quick, hot-headed Wonderbolt that struts the world like it was nobody else's business?"

Without knowing it, she scooted closer to the dragon, who did not move.

"Will anypony remember me for me?" Rainbow turned to him. "Or will I become someone else's interpretation?" She stopped. Not making any sense, she turned away. "Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I barely even know who I am, anymore."

Something shifted on the cushion.

Spike rose from the backrest and turned, holding a claw to her, which she inched away from. His eyes narrowed at her retreat, which Rainbow regretted, but the two stared into each other's eyes.

"Ponies can only remember what you choose to reveal." His claw pushed closer to her face, and her talons' sharpness drew near. Fear startled Rainbow's heart, barely calmed by controlled breathing. "Some want to be remembered for being better than they actually were. Others want to be remembered for exactly as they were. Some want their existence to be a lesson for others. And most… just wish to be remembered, no matter how small."

He watched Rainbow, seeing her reaction. His talons, those weapons, tapped on her cheek carefully, brushing through the fur, caressing across her skin. The mare didn't care that he nearly held her cheek. Her eyes were on his mouth; her ears listened to his words.

"How do you wish to be remembered?" the dragon asked the pony. "As an inspiration? Or as a burnout? To be known for your better parts after you're gone? Or to be cherished for all that there was to you?"

"I... I just..." Rainbow turned, but not enough to leave his claw, warmed by the contact. She hadn't been touched by another in a way that mattered. Not for a long while. "I just want to be remembered for me. Remembered for how I was. I just… I just want to set the record straight."

"It nearly sounds like you're lying to ponies being the way you currently are."

They held for a moment.

"It's hard to know a story well," the dragon continued, "a story that hasn't yet been told. You are an inspiration. You are mistakes. Both a burner and a burnout. The truth of a pony is found in their story. And your story is not over yet, Rainbow."

His claw pulled from her muzzle, not trusting himself, backing away.

"It was only near the end that Rarity discovered herself."

Rainbow looked at him.

"Do you think," she hesitantly asked, "that Rarity died fulfilled?"

Had that been her worry? Fulfilment? That word never touched her mind. Never a focus. Not something applying to her. Or maybe it didn't apply because the time wasn't right. Fulfilment comes after the dream or act was done. It doesn't come before.

"Rarity had everything but her prince," Rainbow sunk into the back cushion of the couch, balancing her glass on a knee. It swirled the wine. "When it came to life? She nailed it. Became the dressmaker she envisioned for herself. Never fluked or sold out or anything."

Her blathering persisted. "Then there were her shops. Magazines running anything that had a touch of Rarity. Royalty bowed in her presence. She travelled the world, experiencing what many can't." Her head shook on its own. "She had to feel fulfilled after a life like that, right? Making the dream come true. Becoming what you wanted to be. That's all there is to life, isn't it?

“Are you fulfilled?”

Rainbow raised and fluffed, absorbing the question, expecting and not expecting it, coming to deflate. Her mouth searched for words, the usual bravado whispering 'Of course!' and 'Why wouldn't I be'?'

The usual defences that would work on anybody else.

"No," Rainbow drooled the word. "I should be. But I'm not." Her hoof claimed her face as she slunk forward. "I'm becoming head of the Wonderbolts soon. The fastest flyer to ever grace Equestria. It's been my dream ever since I was a filly. It's what's pushed me ever since. But now that dream is coming true… it terrifies me."

Her forelegs wrapped around her knees, adjusting her glass, rocking in place without knowing it. "I don't know what's going to happen next. Everything after my dream has always been a blur. Something that I would… figure out once I got there." She swallowed. "But now that I'm there… it feels more like a void than anything else."

Suddenly, Rainbow leaned back, plunging the glass to her lips, drinking the sweet, burning liquid. Crimson lines spilled down her muzzle. Done, she gave a heated cough, while something refilled her glass.

Spike leaned over, having picked up the bottle, pouring wine into her glass. Once it was complete, he tilted the bottle back, screwed the cork back inside, and set the bottle on the ground. He went to wipe the wine off her chin, but shook his head instead, returning to his seat.

Rainbow, looking at him, wiped her chin.

"Let's face it," she said as her eyes remained on him. "I'm only thinking this deeply about Rarity because I'm thinking even harder about myself." Rainbow laughed in self-hatred. "Was she living the dream? Or was her passion just work by a different name? Were all those designs ever exciting to craft? Or just examples of routine?"

Rainbow rubbed a hoof into her face, pushing harder this time, trying to hurt herself.

"I was so stupid over the years," Rainbow spoke through her hoof. "Mocking ponies inside my head for living normal lives. Having normal relationships and all that." Her eyes locked onto the glass, wanting to down it again, over and over, until her head and heart could no longer hurt. "I never held anything personal against them. Just thought they weren't living life to the fullest."

She actually looked at Spike. "Do you know the worst part about a signing tour?"

Spike's expression was answer enough.

"Being in your room, alone," Rainbow answered for him. "Going to a diner and eating alone. Doesn't matter the food. Not even the place. Excitement doesn't matter much when it isn't shared. Alone, it just fades so quick.”

She exhaled through her snout. "I gave up everything to become Rainbow Dash. What do I have to show for it? What do I feel about it? Nothing.” Rainbow's face scrunched. "Accomplishments are a small buzz, and that's it. They don't even feel legitimate anymore. My days don't matter at all. I don't have anyone to share them with. Nobody to make them feel... special."

Rainbow chuckled, each dripping with acidic loathing.

"Heh. Would you look at me? Rainbow Dash." Rainbow stuck out her tongue as if filth licked across it. "Talking about needing someone to make her feel special. That's not the kind of mare I am. Not how other ponies see me. Not—"

"Sounds like you're letting yourself become trapped." Spike's voice, dark and bold, phased inside her head, whispering from inside her mind. He was there. Flooding through her veins. "Trapped, by what you're supposed to be. You want to be remembered? Then help me to remember you as you truly are."

Rainbow jerked to him. Blue fur rose on her forelegs. Her eyes struggled to reach the dragon.

"What defines Rainbow Dash?" the simple question dripped with seduction. "Someone adhering to public perception?" His words buzzed with something else. "Or someone, regardless of it all, decides her own identity as it appears?"

Rainbow's mouth hung open.

"I-I... b-but..." She exhaled quickly. "But I wouldn't... the old me wouldn't..."

"Does that matter?" His voice. His fucking voice. Smooth and so fucking sure of itself, pulling her soul from her chest. "What you would've done? How you would've been? Would you commit the same mistakes?"

Rainbow glared at him, flexing a wing, shielding herself. "Course not!"

"You've improved. You've become wise. You've lived your life and learned from it." His words, despite their simplicity, weren't mocking. He wasn't preaching to her. The dragon saw into Rainbow's soul, speaking that which was reflected. "So why disregard all of that now? Because it doesn't match the mare before? Every era is a new period. Don't fear change because you won't be the same."

Spike's voice retreated into a softer tone.

"You'll be inspirational for a different reason," he spoke his personal feelings now, in a voice similar to the one Rainbow heard years ago. He was no longer speaking of her reflection, but things he thought and felt and, should she agree, would become her own. "You'll show the different ways others come into love. Normal relationships didn't make you happy before. You knew yourself well enough to understand that at the time. But now, you want one because it'll make you happy."

He nodded with his eyes burning into hers. "You'll show the world that someone can enter such sensitivity with dignity despite your past, despite the perceptions others hold of you. You'll better reveal what kind of mare Rainbow Dash is. And the world will better remember you for it."

At the end of his words, the dragon looked away, chuckling, some of the old him returning. Rainbow was breathing through her mouth to hear all that she needed, seeing the old friend lurking behind the monstrous beast.

Spike's face fell into his own claw. "Forgive my preaching. Someone who's been disconnected for so long… doesn't have the right to speak about such things." His talons slid down his face, cutting at his scales, not sharp enough to slice through. He gazed at the wine in his other claw. He downed it with a tilted back head. "Mhm. Rarity… would be happy to have her story affect yours. You asked if she died fulfilled? The answer is yes."

Rainbow's chest clenched. It held her next breath hostage.

"After my departure, it was… Rarity, who kept in touch the most." Spike stared forward into the darkness, the black splotches where the emerald light of the candles did not touch. "Not that none else cared." He smiled. "It's not like I left anyone a mailing address. Nowhere where you could meet me. I wanted to be gone."

He sighed. "And so I was."

Rainbow exhaled with him. She collected herself, scooting to the middle of the couch, leaning forward. Every sign, except verbal, for his continuation.

"I'd been stupid enough to lurk near one of Rarity's stores." His eyes started to dim, as though he were leaving the present, entering the memories that his words created. "Don't know why I did it. Maybe I'd been missing home. Missing… all of you. It helped to see her designs. Posters of all you girls in various outfits. I was happy that Rarity was making out alright without me. That everything was okay with me away."

His head shook. "Then a worker caught me staring from the window."

Spike breathed. "They didn't look scared to see a dragon. Not even one like me. They just looked… surprised. Before I could think to leave, the pony signalled for me to wait. Don't know why… but I did. Shortly after coming out of a room, they came out to meet me."

He nodded. "Knew my name and everything. Handed me a letter. Apparently, one was kept at every location."

Spike's head lowered, and a snarl became him. "I should have burned it then and there. Break that final link," Then, he softened. "But I couldn't. Couldn't even stop myself from reading it."

Rainbow watched him.

"It contained everything I ever hoped to read." A sound close to a whimper escaped him. "That someone out there cared for me. Didn't mind what had happened, or wanted an explanation for why I was away. She didn't even want a response—just for me to know that I was loved."

His eyes squeezed tight.

"I wrote her a letter telling her everything." His lips peeled over his fangs. “All that I’d done. What I'd come to do. Didn't spare a detail. I expected our connection to be over after that. I told her to mail me in Appleoosa. But I doubted any would ever greet me there."

"Appleloosa?" Rainbow said the name with curiosity enveloping it. "You came back home. You came back without ever actually coming back home." She leaned close enough to his side that her warmth brushed his side. "How come you never came back?"

Spike shuffled away. He peered down at her with a hurt, conflicted expression. His lips pushed together as if they didn't trust his mouth. He swallowed and looked away completely. "Rarity accepted me. Despite everything... she accepted me. There would always be another letter. Paper that gave me love. That told me the happenings of the town and you girls. Letters that told me everything but her fucking sickness."

Spike's head shook, a shakily exhale opening himself again. His eyes squeezed extra tight, and his throat closed. His talons wiped away the possible starting of wetness. He breathed his way through the shakiness.

"I always wanted to return the kindness," his words continued as though there'd never been a break between them. "To let Rarity know how much I cherished those letters. I clutched them to my chest as I slept, and sometimes, they were the only warmth I had for months."

His eyes glanced at Rainbow. "But like you, I was too scared to reveal who I truly was, and held back on doing what I should." He then looked up with his tongue pushing on the bottom of a tooth. "I always thought that I would tend to her as I should once I had everything sorted. That I would be the kind dragon I know I should have been."

Spike leaned down and picked the bottle from the ground, pouring himself another glass, swirling it before it was even filled. "And to this day... I don't know if she knew how much she meant to me. If she knew how much those letters meant. They were the only source of communication and comfort in months of darkness and loneliness."

Surprisingly, a smile widened his lips, as he sipped the wine.

"But none of that mattered to Rarity." He had spoken with assurance as his eyes lifted from the darkness and into the light. Candles left by her; flames lit by him. "All she cared about was ensuring that I was loved. That she gave me what I had been needing. Just like how her focus was on making good art, on making dresses that accentuated their wearer, that she inspired other artists, that she gave fillies and colts, stallions and mares, someone, in some way, to be like."

Spike took a drink and shook his head. "Rarity wasn't without doubts. She had her periods of questioning. She always felt assured, however, around us. How we helped her, and how she helped us. She told me in a letter that, during those dark times, it was always the friends she made, those she helped, that passed her through those moments. She did her best to spread love. Anyone like that can die smiling."

His eyes lowered to the ground. "And Rarity did. And Applejack doesn't lie."

Rainbow crawled back to her corner, digesting the words, thinking about Rarity's shows. Taking the time to meet with all the fillies and colts, talking to them about their dreams and ambitions, and offering helpful, encouraging words, flaring the youth back home to attempt their passions.

The cameras and the crowds hadn't been an annoyance. Nor were they something that the fashionista drank up. Rarity enjoyed it for what it was, as she did at those social gatherings, but Rarity's heart was in its art.

"Now."

Spike's voice silenced her thoughts. It made her look at the dragon turning toward her, who brought his knees onto the couch, rising in the air, shuffling closer toward her. His claw gripped the backrest as he neared. He looked down at her.

"Tell me how it's possible," Spike whispered the words with enchanted curiosity. His weight sunk the cushions of the couch toward him. “How did it come to be that Rainbow Dash could ever feel so low?” His knee rose, the cushion relaxing, until he crawled to the middle, both cushions compressing beneath it. "Attractive. Intelligent. Like a muti-coloured flame casting its own uniqueness. You're amazing without needing additions."

Spike's other knee swung forward, his other arm shooting over her shoulder, claiming the edge of the armrest. He peered into her while looming above. His presence bloated the space between them. “Tell me how you're not perfection.”

Rainbow looked at him in a daze, blocked into a corner by the beast, feeling like a feast sitting on a vast plate. Everything surrendered to him. Her legs spread, and her tail flicked away. Mouth opened. Eyes widely revealed. Her soul rushed out.

"B-Because..." Rainbow's confusion locked onto him with eyes ready to bleed tears. "...what makes me special, anymore? Who makes me feel special? Stupid jerks that I bring home from the bar?"

Spike's eyebrow rose.

Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut. "What if I turn out to be like Spitfire? When she retires and leaves the spotlight… what becomes of her? When you take away her speed and status, all of that charisma? What happens when it's all said and done?"

Rainbow's words floated out on their own. She couldn't face him. But she trusted him. Trusted in his sincerity. "Will she become a shadow of her accomplishments? How long do ponies care about those? Spending your whole life to become something—and then it's done! Who cares about you after you've left the stage?"

Her voice squeaked. "W-Who cares about you… in the… in the way you n-n-need?"

"I'll always care about you."

Spike's words came without hesitation.

"Our fight before didn't matter." Spike's voice, despite its boldness, came softly. "Cave. Tundra. Hunting down beasts." His tone urged her to look at him, but it didn't demand it. "No matter where I wandered. Regardless of what I was doing. I always thought about you. Worried for you. Cared for you."

Rainbow's head turned enough to see the edge of his smile.

"Like the rest," he continued, "you dazzled me when you were in the spotlight."

Rainbow looked thoroughly to him to feel him do the same to her, their snouts brushing together. Her vulnerability, her heavy face, exposed to his strength. There wasn't maliciousness in him. Nothing of concern, despite his intensity and size. He was intimidating, yet did nothing to scare her.

"But my best memories of you," Spike started again, smiling sweetly, with a claw retaking her cheek, cradling it. "Are when the spotlights are off."

There was a tenseness in Rainbow's chest threatening to strangle her insides. Bubbles and nerve-tickling tingles popped beneath and across her skin. Words needing to be heard graced her perked ears. Rainbow understood her fear of his eyes.

It wasn't because they were the eyes of a dragon.

But because of how they looked at her, their appreciation of her, and the bubbly goodness arising in being looked at that way. Rainbow knew they could crack her open. Her being a celebrity didn't matter. Spike's perception of her... was what he saw behind her eyes.

"Your passion is nearly burned out." Spike's knee slid to the left of Rainbow, further boxing her into the corner. She remained as she was, a cheek still cupped in his claw. "But that's no reason for Rainbow Dash to give up." His thumb swirled with a lock of scarlet mane. "Search inside yourself and see what I see. You're not alone in your feelings. Others suffer as you do. Be the spark that reignites their lights."

Spike's muzzle lowered below Rainbow's. His eyes settled over the bridge of her snout. "Find something new to care about. Raise the morale of those around you. Inspire the youth. Find the limits of those in your care." He nodded. "And help them go further."

His head shook, but his eyes remained affixed to her.

"Never fear what comes next," Spike said with her reflection in his eyes. "Don't stay dead to the world for too long. Not someone like you. You'll find a new perspective to appreciate. And you'll burn inside that as you burn inside everything else. Your dream never comes true. It only changes shape."

His claw's grip slid from her cheek, wading through the fur, brushing across her skin, climbing patches of Rainbow's personal territory. Spike's palm stole Rainbow's chest. Covered it with only the spaces between his talons exposed.

"And there's a heart for you out there. One good enough to warm yours." His talons slid over Rainbow's shoulders, holding her. "Someone to reassure you. To make you feel all that you deserve. You'll find them. They'll make you feel how I see you."

Rainbow had been breathing through her mouth. Feeling his an inch away. Her lips rubbed together as they wanted to push forward. Spike watched her with barely-restrained surprise. A choke passed his throat. Everything in him seemed to lean forward.

But his lips did not take hers.

And he leaned away—taking his claw with him.

Rainbow blinked in confusion. Weight and intensity lifted from her existence. Part of her fought to pounce on the mate. Another part wondered if she really would throw herself at someone like Spike so soon.

"W-Why..." her words ditched her thoughts. "W-Why did you stop?"

He smiled. "Weren't you listening? You deserve better."

"Don't feed me that," Rainbow spat back. "What's the reason?"

"Because I vow to never ruin perfect mares."

Rainbow huffed, shaking her head, flouncing her mane, crawling toward him. "Still not a good reason."

Spike silently looked down at her.

"Don't do that. Okay? Don't ever do that.” Rainbow weakly crawled to his side, looking up at him from beneath his shoulder. "You can't say all that stuff to a girl and then give up. You can't make her feel so much… then leave her dry." Am I really referring to myself like this? Oh, who am I foolin'. "Are you scared? Is that it? Give me the truth here, Spike."

Rainbow shyly looked away. "Or else I'll think everything else is a lie."

Spike's face struggled with the answer. His mouth worked open and close in trying to mouth the truth. He raised a claw and gestured it down his size. "Look at me, Dash. The difference between us." His shoulders dropped. "I'm a dragon. You're a mare. We're not capable. I'm rough. Very rough. All it takes is holding you too tightly..."

His claw closed into a fist, his talons slicing inward, set against his scales.

“And I could draw blood.” That claw squeezed tighter. "Could tear a chunk out from you if I ever lost control." His head kept shaking as if repressing or denying a truth he didn't want to admit. "It's not worth the risk. I'm not worth it.”

You're not allowed to say that about yourself.

She laid against his side, which he leaned away from, but Rainbow followed him, following until Spike turned, coming to lay on his back on the couch. Rainbow crawled between his legs, placing her hooves on his chest.

I wonder if I could take him just like this.

"Tables have turned, haven't they squirt?" Purple and red fires reignited in her soul, which had regained colour. She didn't speak like that because it was how Rainbow Dash was expected to speak. Rather, it was her natural dialogue. "Now then. Is that why you left us? Because you were worried you were going to hurt us, somehow?"

The scaled colossus laid frozen beneath Rainbow's lithe frame. "I'm just not worth the trouble."

"Dude! Do you know how much trouble Twilight Sparkle was?" Spike's eyebrow rose, but Rainbow raised both of hers as she leaned down to his face. "She's not even in town for a day before we're facing eternal night. But we had her back, didn't we? All the way to the end?"

Spike looked aside. He stared at the distant boxes. "I'm not Twilight, Dash. And I'm not worth it."

You're still such a kid.

Rainbow thought carefully. Her forehooves twisted on his chest, on the curved plate of muscles, flexed with a coating of sleek scales. The strong lungs below, the stronger heart. He could tear her to pieces if he wished. Cut through her in every possible way.

Oh, bring it on.

"Everything you said to me..." Rainbow looked down at his turned, annoyed face, uncaring for anything else. "Was it all true? Because I've been told terrific stuff before. Had stallions say some pretty sweet stuff..." Her slashed throat couldn't finish the words. "All that about me. You mean it?"

Spike looked back with confusion mixing into his irritation. "How could someone like you ever doubt it?"

Oh, you smooth bastard.

Rainbow did the only Rainbow Dash thing she could think of. She collapsed on his chest and spilled her face onto his. Their lips met, and Rainbow's eyes closed, unable to handle what his expression might be. His lips were plush. Full and strong. A detectable layering that asked to be nibbled on.

Seconds passed in the kiss. Then Rainbow felt lips working against hers. They claimed hers. Swallowed them in passion and lavished them in bliss. Their heads cocked, joining their mouths tighter. Their tongues met, his thinner and longer, playing with hers, wrapping around it.

Rainbow pushed into his maw, startling her eyes into opening, seeing that, on the other side, his emerald ones had done the same. Fear tainted his blank expression. The worry of what might happen. Confidence oozed through her. She explored his mouth, mindful of his fangs, loving the dangerous edge they induced.

Without blood being drawn, the couple carried on, with the dragon's limbs lifting from their flaccid state. They found Rainbow's sides, enveloping her wings, feeling across her barrel. One swept across her back, fluffing her. Rainbow moaned in approval.

More so when his palms slid to her flanks.

Sharpness dug into her softness, compressing it like a pinch, repressed from doing more. He squeezed. There wasn't enough to sate his full squeeze. But his claws worked with what they had, squishing what they could as softly as they could.

Warmth flushed from her head and rump, shooting over the other, rocketing back, buzzing her insides. Sweat swelled beneath her coat. Mane became slick. Their kiss, broken for seconds to take a breath, finally came to an end when Rainbow rose from his face.

She was breathing through her mouth, as was he, staring at each other.

The room had warmed with them. Taken to their scents. Their aroma permeated the place and made it somewhat theirs. Nothing was going to stop here. Not when it'd been taken this far.

"W-We... shouldn't," Spike breathed in controlled panting. "Remember... Pinkie? The bottle she spilled on the couch?" It took seconds for Rainbow to nod, and not because of forgetfulness. "Rarity tossed her... jus... just like that."

Rainbow nodded and kept nodding. Her eyes swept around the darkened interior of the boutique, seeing boxes before curtains, the stage with all the mannequins. Nowhere here would be suitable. And to leave here would be to break the mood.

Her head cocked as she looked to the ceiling.

A smile was born.

She looked back down at Spike.

"But how many times did Rarity stain her bed with wine?"

Author's Note

~ End of Chapter! ~

How do you do?

Still learning how to edit and work from an outline. It seems like an outline is something you make to have an idea of a thing—then neglect the bulk of it during composition. It helps to have the beats set in the right order. But, if you create too many details, the creative in you wishes to go another direction.

As for editing, I'm learning to become more relaxed, as my current speed would cause this story to takes months.

How does this chapter read? Please give your thoughts below.
~ Yr. Pal, B

Chapter III | Ensnared Tongues

~ III ~

Ensnared Tongues

Rainbow's back slammed against the door and remained pinned as it swung open. Feet shuffled below as arms held her. Spike squeezed her flanks while bent over her, devouring her mouth. Her forelegs tossed over his shoulder, feeling across his back.

Rainbow leaned higher, thrust by another tightening squeeze of her ass. She moaned into his mouth as their kiss persisted.

Her hooves felt the smoothness of his scales as they acted as an extra layering to the delightfulness beneath them. Her furs flattened against him. Everything about him was stern and firm. She wanted to be a fluffy layering to his hardness. Snuggled so tight with his existence that none could tell the two apart. Spike could wear her for a coat for all she cared.

Their kiss continued with desperate breaths of air taken when their lips broke.

Both looked away as they breathed heavily. Sweat stuck Rainbow's messy mane to her face. Unable to handle another second without him, the playful mare turned back, taking a teasing nip at his lip. The beast growled seductively. He wouldn't be having that. Spike stole her again. Raising and lowering her rump as his lips worked at her mouth. Were his claws not on her flanks, they would be feeling her face as they kissed or feeling all that there was to Rainbow's body.

Spike then started to rock against her, his hips slamming into her crotch. Her back and shoulders knocked on the door from being ridden like this. Rainbow was little more than a toy. A living, pleasing thing that, should the dragon desire, could be forced to tend to him in any given way.

Her mind flashed with ideas of being held down and pumped into. Another was being jerked like a sleeve to Spike's oversized pride. So many ways she could be used and abused. It wasn't natural for her mind to fantasize about such things. Worry arose in being able to withstand the dragon's size and sexual prowess.

You're Rainbow Dash.

Don't worry about what's possible.

You'll find a way when the time arrives.

Rainbow fell from the kiss and snuggled against his chest. Broad islands of solid muscles greet her cheek. His burning, sweat-covered scales were a pleasant touch to her skin. The hammering of his heart buzzed in her ears. The dragon kept gyrating into her. Strands of her tail flicked and tickled his crotch.

Rainbow's legs began to spread, and then spread further than that, struggling to slide around the waist of the dragon. She drew her crotch against his belly and began to ride him. Wetness trickled out. A scent wafted up. Sweet, strong, the stink of sex. Her thighs squeezed his waist in need.

Something emerged beneath her.

"Dangerous move," Spike whispered in caution to the mare, but his voice became weighted with repressed arousal. "Don't you know I could take you against this door? My claws wouldn't even need to hold you." His fanged-smile fell next to her ear, exhaling a warm breath inside the canal. Her fuzz puffed. His fangs nipped on her skin. He hummed before thrusting and banging her back harder against the door. "Think you can take this? Being able to bed a mare like you… I don't think I can control myself."

Shut up and fuck me already.

"Aren't you sweet?" Rainbow leaned in his palms and fell against the door. Crossing her forelegs over her coat-drenched chest, she peered up at him with a wink. "But let's be honest here. You're just worried about the door breaking."

Spike chuckled. It broke into outright laughter as he fell into her. His snout pressed into her scalp like a dog sniffing for a scent. He inhaled her. "How do you struggle in life, Rainbow Dash? How does perfection ever hold a doubt?"

How are you able to say crud like that with a straight face? You say so much corny stuff. She huffed as the dragon devoured her smell. Are you serious, or… do you really mean it?

"I-I... taught you better than that, twerp." That nickname no longer fit. Not when the dragon could curl around her, sealing her inside his hold. Not when his cock could comfortably lay across her belly like a meaty tube. "You sure you got some love out there? You can't be a player if you're dropping lines like that."

His claws slid from her flanks to her sides and pushed her higher against the door. She rose to eye level with the handsome predator. He was grinning with a sudden urge for her to look down. Rainbow did so. Her confidence drained at the view. His cock reared upward and thickened by the second. It was an impossible thing that made her legs quiver.

"The lines didn't get me into the bedroom."

Holy. Fuck.

He smelled Rainbow's fear.

"Are you worried it'll impale you?" Spike asked without strain in his voice. Her weight was nothing more than a water bottle to him. "That it'll tear you from the inside? That you might enjoy a thrust before it breaks you completely? Even if you place your hooves on the wall and present yourself—you might not be able to hold yourself up after I go in."

Rainbow burned.

Your faith in your game scares me.

Rainbow faced his confidence. "Shut up and take me to bed."

And now, her confidence had returned. Months of doubt and dread, the wonder of who or what she should be, suddenly disappeared having to face a friend turned to sexual rival. Spike whisked her to the mattress. Her back smacked into the sheets to a squeaking of springs. Moonlight washed the area from the windows on either side of the bed.

Rainbow laid for a moment to recover, removed of the dragon's touch, left in an instant. Never in her life had she burned hotter. Her legs had to stay apart. It hurt too much to keep them together. Little trails of steam wafted from her marehood. Flames bit at her folds. Steam wafted from her marehood as fire nipped at her folds. They swelled and spread, her clit painfully winking in need. Sweat developed beneath her coat as her spine wiggled on the bed. Her body was needy for the touch of another. To be claimed and filled. She needed something that she had never needed before in her life.

Rainbow needed to be touched and appreciated.

The monster's shadow fell over her. He crawled over her body more like an entity than a friend. The beast scared her in a thrilling way. Never would she inform him of her panic. The way, sometimes, she wanted to scream at the weight of his presence. How he loomed over her with his might, lowering onto her lithe form, smushing her softness with his muscles, managing to pin her by lying only slightly upon her.

And his face devoured her view. Claws claimed her head. Talons stroked through mane and brushed across skin. He scratched at her skin, balancing that pressure. Those searching claws could cut her. Slice as deeply as they liked. His contact flushed life into nerves into unknown nerves. For the first time in her life, Rainbow felt every part of herself flush to life.

Spike leaned close as lips kissed her forehead. To feel every inch with a kiss and lick at the taste of her existence. He was drawn to her flavour. Attracted to it. Addicted, nearly.. Rainbow watched him as Spike fell to her ear. He took its fluffiness into his mouth, biting on its edge. Warm spit trickled inside her ear. It flicked.

"You confuse me." He breathed the words down her neck as his muzzle fell down it. "You act like I'm a liar." His fangs appeared to scratch down the flexed, exposed flesh. Danger flashed in her mind. Arousal trickled in her most sensitive place. "Like genuine appreciation of you must be a joke. Don't you realize your amazingness? How cute you look when you hiccup from the wine?"

Rainbow didn't dare to speak.

"It shouldn't be me roaming your body.," Spike expressed and exhaled into her chest, pushing his snout into her tuft, feeling bathed in fluff. Rainbow loved feeling him down there and rubbing around, how he drowned in such a wonderful place that raised and dropped to the rhythm of her breathing. "It should be someone else making you feel loved. That's been blessed by being allowed at every inch of you."

Rainbow shivered. Her face scrunched as his tongue lapped at her chest, which rose and dropped faster. His body lowered between her legs as his muzzle trailed down to her belly. "You're worth the world and more, Rainbow. Every second with you is a dream that shouldn't be coming true. A girl like you shouldn't be available. You should already be away living inside a paradise."

His waist slid off the bed as his claws claimed the sides of her barrel. It rushed across her curves as his talons raced around her wings. His palm slipped beneath her body. He scratched her rump in a flick, feeling across her again, coming back to pinch a flank again. His claws lowered to her thighs, able to wrap around it. He squeezed the muscle and softness completely—something that, with anyone else, would have been impossible.

None could make Rainbow Dash be felt like this.

Spike continued to squeeze her thighs and watched from her belly how she writhed in pleasure. Rainbow moaned, rocking. Her eyes squeezed not knowing how much teasing and torture she could withstand. Would she cum, for the first time, without actually being tended to? Would words and being touched be enough to make the legend finish?

Yesterday.

"What about the colts from the bar?" Rainbow asked in peering down her chest, seeing the dragon, the kissing of her belly from every angle inching toward the pleasure between her legs. She wanted the dragon to eat her needy-little pussy. But couldn't bring herself to rush him. "They didn't see me that way. They—"

Spike rose with a smile. Her legs remained in a spread to allow the space for him to be there. "They were intimidated by you. You're impossible, and they knew it. Even sleeping with you isn't enough to feel like your equal. You're in heaven, and we're looking up to you from hell." His smile widened. "Look at the power you hold over me. Do you know what I would have done if you didn't look at me then? What I would do should you ask it?"

He lowered into her again. "No castle or princess is stronger than your request."

Rainbow burned hotter in every fashion possible. Everything inside desired to latch onto the dragon and to devour all that he had to offer. To drop on his cock and feel it stuff every inch that was inside of her. She needed him. And that made him more scary.

Cover for yourself.

"Easy, dude." Rainbow chuckled as she watched the dragon with a smile. "You've already got me in bed. You don't have to feed my ego anymore."

Spike shrugged. He lowered onto his knees as he fell between her thighs. His claws claimed them again, a tightness wrapping their softness, a pressure pulling her to the edge of the bed. Rainbow's back smothered her tail. The sheets rustled. The dragon had brought his meal closer to his mouth. Content to please his mate than deal with the erection that loomed beneath the bannister.

His claws returned to her barrel. Rainbow warmed. She melted. Feeling hot wetness dribbles from between her legs. Her pinned tail flicked, a few strands spreading over the sheets. Her insides were kneading, pleading to have something inside. Something to douse in wetness. To suck and suckle upon To devour whole and never let release so long as it always existed inside of her.

"Do you mean it?"

Stupid mare! Never ask a question like that!

It was a sign of weakness. It exposed vulnerability. Take his compliments as truth or flirtations. To ask him which would reveal her desperation for affection. Rainbow wished she could take it back. To not reveal all the strength she did not have on the inside.

Spike's mouth hovered before her pussy with an open mouth. His eyes flicked to hers. Rainbow glanced away, unable to handle whatever his face had to say. She then heard him laugh. A masculine chuckle that hurt her heart. Can this be over already? Can someone tell me that none of this is actually happening?

Something leaned close.

Rainbow looked to find lips on hers. His claw delicately held up her chin in the embrace. It wasn't a battle this time. Not something to further the arousal between them. Something was different about this kiss. Slow, sweet, and one-sided. Passion flooded through. An influx of emotions that translated all that the dragon felt to her.

Spike pulled back and trailed down her body again.

"A kiss," he said as he dipped between her legs, "before you won't want another." His tongue touched down on her belly. It quivered from the contact as his tongue carried down. The claws on her legs stroked forward and back, reinvigorating life there. His talons slid forward after that and slipped underneath her flanks.

His tongue followed the curve of her crotch and lifted before her vulva.

Looking intently at a place not many others had seen—and none stared at. Spike basked in it as though it were a painting. His face lingered in her heat. Thick lips were coated in feminine wetness. The personal heat permeated a rich smell.

"You don't deserve these worries." His claw slid across the curve of her flanks, feeling their squish fill across his talons. He gently squeezed them, and did so again, setting them into a pleasurable rhythm. "You should be assured of every little perfect thing about you. Loved in every possible way that it's impossible for you to ever have any doubt about yourself."

He smiled at her. "You should be loved in the way that you deserve."

His face lowered between her legs to lick away the older juices. He cupped her bottom and tilted her from side to side to better reach the escaped trails of love. His tongue returned to her vulva, tracing its shape. He pressed on its thick, velvet nature, a splash of nerves tickling inside her.

"Someone out there," the dragon lowered to her sex, "is waiting to love you."

Rainbow swallowed, holding something from reaching her eyes. She didn't trust herself to speak. To not blow in every possible way. His talons slipped inside the crevice between her flanks, prying them apart. He played with her ass, mushing it, squeezing it around. It drew piping love from her lower lips.

C-C'mon. T-Throw some words at him.

"You just... m-mhm... g-go full s-s-sap... do... don't you?" Rainbow couldn't deny the light behind her eyes. The feeling of being spread, her legs being lifted higher, a kind of stretching never felt before. Her rump was made into putty with his palms. "Why don't you... o-oh Celestia..."

Spike's face met her marehood as he suckled on her clit. His tongue escaped and slipped into her personal cavern. Hot, undulating walls, burned the air inside with their taste. Spike ate her like none could. Mushing her bottom with powerful claws, consuming her pussy within his maw, a tongue that flicked and searched every inch of her pulsating interior.

Something clawed her mind. Fear that came from a rising panic. The claws on her rump, those talons, they more than sunk into her squish, more than scratched at her softness. They started to cut. Little slashes that painfully burned. Rainbow's voice broke through her moans. The other pleasure overwhelmed her. But she needed to reach the dragon invested in devouring her littleness.

"Spa.. nghm... Spi..."

Goodness swirled inside her. It tickled and spread upward from her pussy, which suckled on with her clit, his tongue tickling everything inside. Rainbow tried turning, twisting, and wiggling in his face. His grip denied her movement. Forced her to endure the euphoria and torture.

Until the pain became too much, and trickles of blood trailed across her flanks.

Rainbow screamed and thrust away to escape the pain. The claws released on hearing the horrible sound. The beat stumbled backward in the sudden panic. Rainbow curled and checked out her rump, seeing the lines and scratches on her ass. The trickles of blood strewn all across it.

Spike retreated and raised his claws. Dots of red covered his sharpness. His eyes flared at seeing the weapons, which he dropped. Guilt weighed his existence as he barely had the strength to look at the mare he had hurt.

"Sorry." Spike stood there with his cock still erect. His head shook as though sickness overcame him. "I-I… wanted to make you feel… g-good. But I… I'm a dragon. I will always be just a dragon." Rainbow dropped her rear onto its side, flank stacked on flank, with a burning sensation emanating from the place. She looked at him as he spoke. "We're lucky. I could have hurt you worse if this went on." He slowly nodded. "Now you know why we can't be together like this. Why dragons and ponies can't connect like that."

Rainbow felt hurt.

Even more when he smiled.

"There's someone out there to make you feel as you should." The kid inside the dragon looked to the bathroom. "Rarity usually kept a first-aid kit in there. We should be able to get you patched up."

Don't lose him. Don't you dare lose him.

Rainbow looked at her rump and at the high that was denied. She thought about his words, those wonderful words, true or not, that sparked a feeling of specialness. There was that hunger beneath her belly. The desire to swallow more than she could handle. That, even if it meant choking, that she would wrap her mouth and throat around the impossible cock.

"W-Who said you could stop?" Her voice squeaked for him to stop, and the dragon did so after a few steps away. He turned in time to see her head and chest dropping to the sheet. Rainbow wagged her rump at him in a spread of her legs. Her tail swished around. "I get cut all the time. I take beatings from changelings and whatever the winds can hurl at me. Do you think I'm scared of a couple of fingers? That's my limit? Seriously dude?"

Spike looked confused. Pain dwelt in his eyes. He wanted to come closer , but a force pushed him back. He soon learned to work his mouth. "Rainbow… w-what just happened… I… I'm dangerous." His eyes narrowed at that point. "What happens if I didn't stop? What if I kept going and tore out a chunk?" He hopelessly chuckled. "I couldn't live with myself if I ruined the best ass in all the lands."

Rainbow laid her head to where she could see him from beside her back legs. "But you didn't go further, Spike. You stopped when you needed to. When you realized that you went too far." Her cheek sunk more into the sheets as her eyes saw into his soul. "And you're right. You are different from us. You have to do more to keep yourself in check—or… some terrible things can happen." She smiled earnestly at him as a strand mane covered an eye. "But I trust you. More than you trust yourself. This is something that I want. You're someone that I need."

Rainbow realized her words and went to cover herself. "To f-fuck me! Y'know, take me hard from behind. Rail me with that big cock, and don't stop." Words couldn't have sounded stupider, but, at the very least, Rainbow's arousal found satisfaction in them. She looked back at the hunk embarrassingly. "You're not the type of guy to leave a girl high and dry. You wouldn't say all that amazing stuff and not prove it."

Spike looked down at himself. His impressive cock remained erect. He then glanced at her with hesitance.

"You're sure you want this? Even with the danger?"

"That makes it better." Rainbow grinned. "Now give it to me harder and faster than any girl before. You can take my Wonderbolt promotion if it means I can cling to your dick for the rest of my life."

Happiness choked him.

But his eyes fell on fresh cuts on her flanks.

"You don't want to take care of that first?"

"Nope!" Rainbow pushed her head forward and remained presented. She never was a bottom. Never a toy or a tool for another. But being fucked and rutted by a beast able to turn her inside out ticked something different inside her skull. "I like the pain. Now come and show me what it means to be yours."

Footsteps clicked on the ground, and the springs died to the diving weights. The cushion sunk and brought some of Rainbow with it. Rainbow found it harder to keep like this as the predator approached her exposed form. Her heart hammered in hearing the tube of meat slap around. It came closer. It would spread her everything. One thrust could nearly lift her from the bed and hold her with the strength of his dick alone.

Knees touched the back of her hooves. His waist conformed to the softness and plushness of her rump. Spike's chest spread across her back and shoulders as his muzzle appeared at her side. One of his arms crossed over her front to hold her hoof. His other claw sunk into the sheets to support himself.

Rainbow looked at the face beside her own. One of sweetness, that understood the panic that she hid. Her trembling hoof calmed as talons stroked it gently. Spike's muzzle tilted, diving for another kiss, one that Rainbow met, their eyes closing. It was a slow exchange this time. Each connection of lips was a special thing in its own right. They indulged.

Something began between their hearts that their mind would never dare to admit.

Spike broke away and left the girl wanting. His sincere smile quelled the pain caused by the distance between him. "Ready?"

Rainbow, with a heart hammering for a new reason, did not trust what she would give in her next kiss. She needed to escape the dragon. To not fall in love with the green of his eyes, or watch their glow like one would watch a fire. She needed to be kept from him.

"Hold my head down," Rainbow said as her front sunk into the bed again. "And show me how it feels to be on the moon."

He smiled and rose. A claw claimed the back of her head, talons slipping over her scalp, stealing around her ears. It pressed her down hard enough to know that another controlled her. Rainbow released everything. In being the bottom, she didn't have to worry about giving anything away. In her last act of will, she backed her rump into the underside of his cock, grinding it.

The bed squeaked as the dragon towered behind her ass. His cock trailed down her slit, tickling it with the bumps on his shaft. Rainbow squirmed, all that his claw permitted. The head of his cock poked the base of her pussy. It circled its opening, teasing the tight little hole. It yearned for him. Wanted to become packed with his mast.

Rainbow Dash looked away from the bed to find a dresser backed against the wall. It housed a mirror that revealed the male on his knees, curled over a tiny mare, too small to ever appease such a hungry beast. He shifted back enough for the tip of his dick to touch her folds. It gave her barrel a run for its bits.

Spike was ready. His hips were ready to meet her flanks. His cock was ready to fill the mare from the inside. Rainbow devoured the view of the little mare about to be abused. Her pussy burned harder and her clit tingled with unimaginable arousal.

His dick broke through her slit, a hole spread to the extreme in an instant, tight walls forced into utter-openness.

"Mmhm!"

Rainbow moaned, trying to raise, but the claw doubled its force, shoving her, with a plop, into the sheets. Another exertion of power evoking tingles in her occupied pussy. Weight and power stopped any escape from the thrilling assault. With her word, he would stop. A word that would never leave her lips as her body rocked and her eyes rolled back.

Being used as a toy had made every bliss blossom into cream.

Rainbow was torn apart. Massive, fleshy steel, plunged into her center. Her rump wiggled to feel more of him. Spike fell onto her shoulders, another weight forcing her down, allowing better access to her backside. He fucked her quicker and harder as growls released steam with them. Wet claps and slap came from her flanks and his hips. The dragon fucked her carnally.

Rainbow laid in ecstasy, that emptiness removed by a full meal, a cock that twirled her world. Her body rocked and her mane flouced from the impact of his thrusting. In their reflection, the dragon became a blur, her rump flying. Not all of him squeezed inside her tightness. But what was there was enough to pleasure them both.

"Ngh…" Spike groaned as he leaned back, still pumping her backside. He kept up the speed and leaned down next to her pressed head. "Mhm. Rainbow?"

"Whuah… h-huh?" Rainbow was giggling from the goodness, which broke into laughter from the thrill. "Y-Yeah?"

"Y-You… care where I finish?"

"Do… mhm… p-ponies lay eggs?"

"No?"

"That's your answer."

Spike finished. He could have gone longer and harder. But he matched himself to Rainbow's release. She purred, pawing the bed. Portraits on the walls, frames on the dresser, knocked from the vibrations of their intercourse.

H-Hope you don't mind, Rarity.

The claw on her head lifted and both took to her shoulders, holding her in place as the dragon thrust fully into her, barely holding anything back as he fucked her raw. The power and force spread her innards to their fullest and created a mould of his form inside her love hole. In the last few powerful plunges, the dragon pushed most of his dick inside her, drawing a quiet scream from the mare, who felt her insides push outward to accommodate his girth.

And then came the pumping of his love.

His cock flared inside of her. Lifted upward and nearly did the same with the rest of her. His cock fired inside of her, blasting a thickness that drew another scream. Rainbow was unrestricted this time, able to throw back her head and let out her howls. Spike quickly took her mouth and drank away her screams.

His seed invaded deeply inside her. His essence fired inside of her. It lathered her squeezing walls, which struggled to compress the dragon's member. It slipped to a place she'd never felt before. Somewhere past her crotch but just below her belly. It was a cold, dark pit, with heat returning light to the place. More of him seeped inside the place and came to a light broth. It warmed her soul.

And it didn't take long, after Rainbow's orgasm, for her to fall forward, slumping completely, with the dragon falling over her. She was submerged beneath him, tucked beneath a blanket and scales, the latter flexing to the dragon's breathing. Playfully, he rolled off her, his dick pulling out.

He flipped onto his back, and Rainbow did the same, the two rolling away from each other.

"Wow."

Rainbow had wanted to say more during her session of heavy breathing. She looked to the ceiling with a hoof laid over her chest, feeling the beating of her heart. Something else drew it lower. Hotness dripped out from her pussy and streaked down the curve of her flanks. Their mixed cum had overflowed the place and continuously poured onto the bed.

Spike could only chuckle. "We're definitely going to Tartaturs after that one."

Rainbow glanced over at him. "Worth it."

He looked back with a smile.

Rainbow's hoof was drawn lower to that place below her belly. She drew circles there. It felt like she downed a cup of hot chocolate, and now it was warming her body from the inside. Everything else had faded. She looked to the dresser again to see a picture frame of Rarity facing the bed. The white mare was winking and waving.

Despite where they were, no matter what they had done, regardless of how life had been so far.

Rainbow Dash felt good.

She looked over to see the dragon was still looking at her. His quiet face and bright eyes seemed content to just watch her. Rainbow's face lit up at the attention—but she couldn't tell him to stop. Everything he did, even if it was a trick, gave her whatever it was she was needing. And she needed him to do it until she was properly on her hooves again.

"I take it you want to spend the night?"

"Hey," Rainbow said as her head rolled onto her foreleg, propping itself on it. "You break a girl's legs, and it's your responsibility to carry her home."

Spike smiled, his eyes narrowing as he nodded. "Sure thing, Dash."

The two laid opposite from each other, content to stare into each other's faces, knowing it was normal for them to talk, but not wanting any words to intrude on the moment. The other's presence was enough. They laid like that for a time. The dragon glanced up at the pillows.

"Maybe we should catch some sleep."

Rainbow, still smiling, nodded. She watched him crawl up to the pillows, collapsing into them. He looked down at her next. "You want your own side of the bed?"

Rainbow glanced up. "Hmm. Usually, I do." Her head bobbed around. "But you seem kind of desperate to be with this perfection, so I guess I can loan myself out for the night."

Spike chuckled and came over to claim her, his arm slipping underneath hers, pulling her to the pillows with him. The two were too tired to crawl underneath the sheets. His massive form curled around her, warming the area to perfection, making the mare feel safe and loved. Warmth from their passion remained—and would do so for some days.

She looked up at him from his chest, seeing his eyes had already closed. She knew the dragon to be dangerous, both in what he could do… and how he could make her feel. She never doubted his words. But she also didn't wish to get hooked on them. Rainbow wanted to be around him despite feeling the captive of a predator. She needed distance from him.

But didn't know if she could trust herself to keep away.

Author's Note

End of Chapter!

Been a while since I've done a sex scene. Don't think I have them in me, anymore. Future scenes will probably be referred to.

Please update me on any corrections or suggestions.

Until next time!
~ Yr. Pal, B

Chapter IV | Friendly Discoveries

~ IV ~

Friendly Discoveries

Rainbow was a broth of bubbling giggles. Her sleepy form wiggled inside the arms, which wouldn't slip from her smooth barrel. Escape wasn't her intent. Or to be rid of the dragon. Like everything in life: she wanted to test him to see how long the male would hold on. Would her movement unsettle him? Would he let go even though she didn't want him to?

Her waking consciousness feared the answer. Unable to accept that, maybe, she never wanted the embrace to end. It was stupid of her. Childish. Trying to get out of Spike's hold while hoping he held tighter.

You never sleep in another's bed twice. You're Rainbow Dash. You're like the sky—others can fly in it. But they have to touch down after a while… only ever able to look up. Despite that… he's still holding on.

Rainbow smiled, opening her eyes to the side of a pillow. She glanced over her shoulder to ensure Spike couldn't see her mirth. It was him holding her. Not the other way around. Rainbow didn't need this embrace. Didn't cherish this contact. It was all one-sided. She was just generous enough to indulge his needs.

His eyes were closed. His face was calm. And his cheek asked for a kiss.

Settle down.

Rainbow decided to stretch the best she could inside his embrace. Her back stroked his belly. Her rump slipped nicely between his legs, rubbing inside the tight place.

"Careful," Spike's voice sounded like a submarine rising from beneath the waters. "Or something else might wake up."

Rainbow laughed before a wince stole her face. Red lines pinched the curves of her flanks, crusts of dried blood broken from the stretching. Pain stung. Blocked and ignored from the pleasures of the previous night.

"How's your ass?"

"Better than yours."

"Not much of a challenge."

"Dunno. You still haven't let me at it."

His arms slid up her sides to allow his claws at her chest. His talons swirled her tuft, descending into the jungle, tracing the skin beneath. His head loomed over her own, delivering a kiss to her scalp. The influx of warmth and love buzzed the mare with life.

"We'll tend to yours first." Spike's lips trailed to her ear. He kissed across its curve, his voice whispering behind it. "Mhm. It's shameful for such a nice butt to be so horribly marked."

At least the other monsters will know that it belongs to you.

"You sure?" Rainbow fired while turning around, gracing his claws with her back, which they searched across for deliciousness. Mane fell over her face as she looked up at the beast from the pillow. "I figured a scratched-covered ass would be your fetish."

"It is." His snout lowered to her muzzle, and he warmly exhaled across its bridge. "Some pleasures, however, are best short-lived."

Rainbow's confident expression deepened. "Let's get you some photos before the band-aids go on. You can decide the poses for the before and the after."

There you go, Dash. That's the old you.

Spike descended on her from above. A kiss from the heavens that, when he lifted, she followed after him. She rose from her side to a clambering of forelegs, chasing his lips, their suppleness a drug. No matter how long or deep the kiss—she couldn't get enough. Regardless of how much she kissed, suckled, or nippled, she could never have her fill of his lips. They were perfection. How they flexed against her own, working her softness inward, meshing her pair into shapes unknown—the euphoria closed her eyes and twitched open her wings.

Knocking raptured the door downstairs.

Spike jerked. Rainbow followed him, not caring about the sound, needing to sink into him for a few seconds more. Swallowing the contact, she felt her heart begin to fill. When the dragon rose beyond her height, separation came between them. Seconds later, the knocking rapped louder to the deflation of all rising pleasures.

"Who the fuu—"Rainbow shook her head and crawled away from the dragon, coming over the pillow to see out the side of the bedroom window. It allowed a downward view of the front of the boutique. "Who the—oh, shit, it's Twilight."

Spike froze. His eyes flared an extra brightness. He looked around for means of escape. Rainbow checked back on the princess, who knocked on the door again, a tap tap tap. Then Twilight looked up. Rainbow ducked out of sight—but not before making eye contact.

Please tell me I was quick enough.

"Rainbow Dash?"

Fuuuuck meeee.

"Rainbow Dash? Why are you hiding? I just saw you." Twilight's hooves clopped back on the gravel as her gaze could be felt on the glass. Actually, from Twilight's new angle: "I can see you. Like, right now. What are you doing inside of there? City Hall said Spike grabbed the keys."

Rainbow rose proud and looked at the dragon. He was still out of view and glaring at her. His expression called her an idiot for getting seen—and to get them the fuck out of this. Don't worry. You've slept with ponies in far worse places. You've talked your way out of everything. You've got this.

A second.

I hope Twilight doesn't kill me for sleeping with her sorta-brother.

"Uh. H-Hey, Twilight! Uh, long time, no see, yadda-ya?"

Yadda-ya? What the—

Twilight's muzzle scrunched. "Yadda-ya? Rainbow, are you feeling alright?"

She called it.

"Yeah! Tottaly!" Rainbow stood on the bed, thinking it would help her cause—until remembering it wasn't normal to stand on a bed. That, and a tick to the head, a sting from the flanks, had caused her to cower downward. "Actually, not the best. Not, like, overall. Because I'm definitely the best when it comes to most things. But I'm just not doing the best right now." Her eyes slowly fell to the side. "Yeah. That's a hundred percent how I wanted to phrase all that."

She cleared her throat and looked down at the confused mare from the window. "Anyway. Wicked hangover and all that. Wanna try coming back later?"

Twilight had several questions. Her pain arose from being able to ask only one at a time. "Why are you hungover in the boutique? Where's Spike? I heard he's back in town."

Surprise lit on Rainbow's face as she checked the dragon at her side. She spoke in a hushed whisper. "Dude! You're back home, and your first stop wasn't Twilight?"

Spike bared his fangs and growled.

"Is that Spike?" Twilight said with a hitch of excitement and a closer step to the shop. She tried quickly to cover herself—but the racing of her heartbeat could be felt in the air. "Is he actually there? Is he actually in the bedroom with you?" The question sparked another from her mind. "Wait. Why are you and Spike in the bedroom? What happened last night? Is everything okay?"

Spike's glare deepened. Hostility radiated from his magnitude. Rainbow shuffled back. "Dude. We need a plan. Twilight will bury us next to Rarity if she finds out what we did."

His glare turned deadly.

"Alright!" Rainbow's head bounced around like an uncaring, yelled-at-filly. "Okay, yeah. That one was too soon. Grill me for itafter we convince Twilight not to do the same to us."

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight's voice vibrated the walls of the room. Were they really that thin? How much did the town hear of their love-making? "I know he's there! Look. I don't care what happened. Can you please just unlock this door?"

Rainbow glanced between Twilight and Spike as her gaze ultimately fell on the latter. "What's that thingy about vampires again? Needing to be invited in or something?"

Spike closed his eyes. Pain washed through him. Inhaling deeply and exhaling sharply. Once calmed, his eyes opened, blazing but their stare cold. He rolled off the bed, and his feet impacted the ground. There was a rumble and a shake. The dragon trudged to the window and into view.

Where he ducked to be seen by his first friend.

Twilight Sparkle looked up and lost her expression. She saw a forgotten face drastically change. It brought warmth, and it slashed pain. Her mouth opened with a hoof settling on her chest. She swallowed in the dragon's cold glare. Never before so unsure of herself. "S-Spike?"

Rainbow watched. Why did Spike look so calmly angry? Where was his excitement in reuniting with the pony he spent most of his life with? Didn't he miss her? She caught it in his eyes the second Spike saw Twilight. That flash and flush of warmth. The happiness of seeing a familiar face. But then he killed it. Stuffed it behind his eyes.

"I nearly knocked out a stallion at a bar the other night," Spike began to speak in a plain voice, looking for the window's latches. "Ended up ruining Rainbow's night off." He popped open the latches and pushed the window open. "I picked keys yesterday from City Hall. We walked into each other. I offered a drink to make up for the other night. She had one too many. I didn't trust her to fly home."

Rainbow crept to the other bedroom window to see her friend. Twilight didn't notice as she remained affixed to the dragon. Her expression bore painful confusion, not understanding why her assistant—if he even still was that—was explaining himself. Why, after years apart, the two weren't swept in an embrace.

Were those feelings one-sided? Did only Twilight desire their closeness?

"Rainbow couldn't sleep elsewhere," Spike droned to a conclusion, "so we shared a bed."

Twilight nodded to his logic, but logic seemed to be her last desire in life. She swallowed his explanation but felt less at peace with it. Her eyes looked around to break from the tension of Spike's gaze.

"I-I see." Twilight released a weak giggle as her forlorn expression focused on the ground. Her eyes narrowed as if holding back tears. "I-In that case… do you mind if I come in? It's been a while since I've seen…"

Rarity's place or Spike? Both were true.

But one answer was more likely than the other.

Spike nodded and backed from the window. "You've got it. We'll be right down."

Twilight smiled, nodded, and turned. A hoof lifted to wipe her face.

Spike left the window like nothing had happened. He tried walking past the bed. Rainbow's outstretched foreleg blocked his path. His eyes trailed down to Rainbow's face. She glared at him, coming down from the bed and taking the lead. The two passed through the door and entered the hallway. Spike closed the door as Rainbow came to the stairs, turning and blocking the way.

"You wanna explain that, chief?"

Spike towered. She endured his cold, downward glare. Rainbow wouldn't break even as his words began. "Getting us out of trouble. Your request, remember?"

Rainbow found herself glaring. "Don't go there. You heard Twilight's voice. She didn't care about that. Didn't give a damn about anything but seeing you again. How could you not have seen her first? Do you know how much that must have hurt her? She's your best friend, dude!"

She is your best friend, right?

Spike carried his glare away. Heat blasted from his form. Rainbow nearly lost her form to the discharge. Now wasn't the time to let him sulk. She needed to drill this in. "Could you imagine that from her side? Her first friend, the dragon she spent most of her life with, is suddenly gone one day, back another, and doesn't want to see her again? She wanted to wrap you in a hug—and you seem disgusted by that!"

Spike's eyes shut. His claws curled tight enough that, were it not for his scales, their sharpness would pierce his palms. Smoke blew from his snout and trailed out the sides of his mouth. Rainbow realized her mistake, the fear and assumption the dragon no longer cared.

He still cared.

He had a mutual love for his best friend.

And he was trying to kill it.

"Twilight… does mean something to you," Rainbow pieced together with weak breaths. "But why—"

"Don't." His voice yanked her gaze to his face. The look in his eyes slashed through her being. "Not on this."

Destruction crumbled Rainbow's face. The pain she felt on Twilight's behalf. A hundred questions and a thousand worries emerged. How could the dragon do something so terrible to someone he loved? "W-Why… w-why not? I'm your friend! You called me perfect! Why can't you tell me…"

Spike kneeled. Portraits shook on the wall. His first unfurled as talons slid beneath her muzzle—keeping it propped up. "It's not you. Not Twilight. The problem is me. And sometimes there are no solutions."

Rainbow trembled out from his hold. She cleared the way as the dragon rose. Her nose became stuffy, and her eyes stung. Help welled in her heart. The desperate need to share some of it with the dragon. But he rose, and his sullen form carried past her.

She was barely able to watch him pass.

Before going after him.

Rainbow reached the workroom, seeing the dragon open the door, clearing the way. Twilight slowly and hesitantly stumbled inside. It was her first time seeing it after the passing. Her eyes leapt from item to box, the couch and the wine on the ground. Dresses unfinished. All of it squeezed her eyes tight.

A few weeks ago, this was one of her favorite places.

Her hurt deepened. Coming to the center of the room, Twilight attempted to check over her shoulder to better look at the dragon. See how his appearance had changed after all this time. But she didn't have the heart. Not the excuse to expose how much she cared for him. He wanted distance, and she would respect that.

Oh, Twilight. I'm so sorry.

Twilight saw Rainbow. She quickly rubbed her eyes, but Rainbow copied the motion with a smile that said everything would be okay. Twilight smiled and bound toward her friend. The two met halfway in a clapping hug and a sinking embrace. Their furs meshed, and their skin touched. Both their heads met the other's neck.

"It's… good to see you again, Rainbow." They met weekly. The Wonderbolts worked with royalty. Their interactions, however, were business. "It must have been a nightmare seeing this place last night. Without any lights or friends to help. I couldn't have done it. I-I… I-I'm barely sure I can do it now."

Rainbow clutched the friend tighter. She wanted to transfer everything. Strength. Warmth. Love. Give it all, even if it meant the tiniest help. Twilight snuggled into the embrace as the friends reunited. They lingered in the hug, uncaring for its duration. It was something they needed. That they would indulge in until both had their faith.

Rainbow looked from the side of Twilight's neck to see the dragon. Despite his distance and the oppressiveness of his presence, there was a brightness to his face, a smile on his lips. It made him happy to see them like that. Though once caught, he turned to close the door.

The click of which broke the mare's exchange.

Twilight backed and twirled and faced the dragon. She smiled up at him from beneath her bangs. She withstood his glare. The darkness of his shadow. The density of his air. Her smile was the one she always wore for him. That shyness needed to be reassured by the one she trusted most of all.

With a sigh, the dragon smiled in return, the one only meant for her. He lowered to his knee, a loud knock ringing out. Mirth spread Twilight's wings as her face became excited. She charged forward at him. A happy clopping of hooves ceased when she had jumped. Twilight sailed through the air.

Spike caught the princess and tucked her deeply into his embrace. She nuzzled his left shoulder as his arms closed around her. His head fell over her head, rubbing the furs around her horn. The embrace was special. Rainbow felt it.

"I worried you were beyond wanting hugs," Twilight whispered into his chest, loving the feeling of being cradled. "Or that you no longer wanted me."

Spike kissed behind her ear. "Nothing like that, Twi. Just… it's something with me." He exhaled into her lavender coat. "You understand, right?

"No," Twilight gently said, backing from his chest, the dragon rising as well, the two face to face. She leaned up inside his hold, kissing his exposed cheek. "But I'm willing to. Explain it to me when you're ready."

Spike smiled. "And for how long will you wait?"

Twilight fell into his claws, the other holding her back, allowing her to recline. "As long as you need. As for my other questions? Like a drunk Rainbow Dash in your bed? Or your failure to knock at my door?" Her smile transitioned into a grin as her hoof tapped his snout. "A good friend is bound to be hurt by something like that." She nodded very seriously. "You better have a good explanation. Celestia banished her sister to the moon."

Twilight chuckled. "And you know I'm muchmore creative than that."

Spike swallowed. He was gentle with Twilight. Softer and more affectionate than with Rainbow. That warding aggression Rainbow withstood was absent. Rainbow was happy to see the old Spike back. Was it Rainbow that had brought him out? Would he, if she hadn't warmed him the night before, and talked to him now, have been cold to Twilight? He hadn't once teased Twilight either.

Stop feeling like you have any control of him, Dash.

Let the saps enjoy their happy moment.

"Course I didn't come home," Spike began very carefully with a raised eyebrow, more of the kid inside coming out to play. "I know your creativity. You think I'm going against that without being prepared?" Twilight's smile became a knowing one. She loved the feeling of her words being used against her. "I needed time to make a reservation. So… how does dinner at The Rousal sound?"

Twilight's smile became genuine as she fell against his chest again. "You sly dragon. You booked my favorite restaurant?”

Spike smiled and nuzzled the top of her head. "What? No! You crazy? It's just that I made friends with a certain princess again, and now I can make things happen on that front."

Twilight chuckled as her hooves explored the rest of his chest. "Sounds like you're lucky to know her."

"That I am."

The embrace ended moments later. Spike lowered Twilight to the ground as he rose to his feet. Surprising them all, he went for the door. Panic rose in mares upon seeing him leave. It hurt Twilight worse as her voice squeaked. "H-Hey! Wait! Where… w-where are you going?"

He opened and ducked through the door. Pausing, he turned and glanced back, still with that smile. "Weren't you listening? I need to make a reservation happen before something worse than being stranded on the moon happens." He waved to them both. "Have fun catching up. Don't plot my murder too soon."

Neither could call after him after the door shut. It became their most hated view. They looked at each other and chuckled, unable to hold it back. Their minds pondered the dragon. His strangeness was without end.

"Thanks," Twilight opened.

Rainbow's eyebrows went up. "For what?"

"Turning him around," Twilight continued. "I wasn't sure my friend was still there when he came to the window. Much less facing him here." She glanced around the leftover belongings. They seemed less painful to look at now, like things in transition. "I heard stories about him in the outside world. Enough to wonder if we needed to send the Wonderbolts after him. He never did anything unlawful but… I… I just wasn't sure anymore. I worried about him, Rainbow Dash. Nearly twisted myself inside out."

Rainbow swallowed. "How are you feeling about him now?"

Twilight smiled. "Still worried." She nodded. "But I know my assistant is still in there. He's not just some dragon—he's Spike. And I feel like things will turn out okay because of that."

Rainbow nodded with a smile. "Me too, Twi."

They hugged again. Indulged in the embrace without outside eyes to evoke guilt. Twilight chuckled, buzzing Rainbow's neck.

Rainbow spoke up. "All good, Twi?"

"Yeah. We'll just need to go to the washroom after this.”

One of Rainbow's eyes scrunched. "How come?"

"Your flanks are bleeding," Twilight teased in a voice nearly scary. "Must have had a rough time getting upstairs, huh?"

"Uh, w-well, y-you see… um."

Twilight laughed.

"Don't worry. I know how hard you Wonderbolts train." Twilight pulled back from the embrace. "What happened before you came over for wine? Flew through some branches? Survival training in the Everfree?"

It was a list of free excuses.

And Rainbow couldn't take any.

Author's Note

It's weird how things differ from an outline!

I imagine the beats being more punchy when you're working from a script. My goal was to write each beat/scene as small as possible. This was meant to be a plot-based story but, as I go along, I find myself falling into old habits.

What do you think? Do you like its current pace, or do you wish the scenes were shorter and faster?
~ Yr. Pal, B

Chapter V | Pointless Ponderings

~ V ~

Pointless Ponderings

The top room of the gym was empty. It remained isolated except for those who rented it on an hourly basis. Its glass was frosted and overlooked the other lifters. Rainbow faced the glass while dipping on the tips of her wings. Fire flared through her barrel. Her chest tapped the spongy mat as she fought to rise.

"Ngnnhm… h-ha!" Rainbow winced. The motion flexed the cuts on her rump. They stung, the marks covered by loose-fitting shorts. Band-aids covered her cheeks. Her center lingered in his warmth. That last ooze of love flooding throughout her senses. "W-Where's your mind at? Focus!"

She pushed up. Her hooves scrambled beneath to carry her weight. Rainbow stumbled in place, breathing the relief of victory. Once again, she'd proven her will to herself. Canceled doubt about her ability. She leaned against the glass and watched those exercising below. The ponies chatting as they lifted weights, or a mare coaching a stallion through a tough rep.

Everyone spotted each other.

Remember when you used to be more social? When it was your goal to help everyone burn through their workout? What happened to that mare? Did she get lost while you were too focused on working?

All that work.

And for what?

Rainbow pulled the hood of her hoodie and sunk into its shadow. She checked her rump. It hurt. Stinging from the exercise. Her mind dreamt of when it'd been squeezed completely. The dragon could consume her. There was never enough of her flesh to sate his lust. It'd always been the reverse for Rainbow. Where there was too much of her for others to handle.

Was it the challenge of tackling a scaly mountain that interested Rainbow? She lived for a challenge.

It was a game of finding the next one. That which would push Rainbow to the next level. Was becoming close to the dragon a good challenge to take? Rainbow remembered his grip. Talons sank into her glutes, meshing softness into firmness, able to squeeze to the bones of her hips.

Spike held back. He held her back-cushioning in a near pinch. His hold was more than she could handle. Even when he squeezed her tight, when the pressure was unbearable, Rainbow could feel the restraint in his claws. All it took was one misjudge for him to tear a pony apart.

Will I ever be enough for him?

Rainbow's worry was reflected in the glass. Mane covered her shadowed face. She'd become shy over the years. Others took the look for Rainbow trying to be sexy or attractive. Yet she feared that she, and all that she had, wouldn't be enough for the dragon.

You're into him more than a friend, aren't you?

Rainbow looked aside. A smile claimed her. Her smallness held the dragon back from absolute pleasure. When it came to presence, she was barely his equal. None could match Spike. Not even the princess should he ever let go of his restraints.

This is Spike. The one little twerp. How the heck did he wind up like this?

Rainbow had to keep up with him. He teased and dominated her. His words and body language controlled her. He stepped faster and rose higher. His tongue was dangerous. The sharpness of his face could slice one's eyes. His smirk had been gifted by the devil.

Rainbow's thighs rubbed. What if the beast was behind her now? Claiming her whole back with a claw, forcing her up, slamming her against the window. Her chest mushed against the glass. The edge of his muzzle would appear out of the side of her vision. That snarl with wisps of smoke escaping it.

He'd take her then. Shove himself inside, and thrust her into the window, cracks forming across the glass. All would look up, confused. Unknowing the source of power that rocked through the walls and floors.

What happens when the dragon in him wins?

The fantasy shattered. Rainbow wasn't sure if Spike was still inside whatever had become him. It was a different dragon she'd met at the bar. It was only in their talks that something of the twerp lingered. Spike had said it himself. He wondered if Spikey-Wikey still existed.

But in the tender moments, when the glow of his eyes was bright, she could see through to the old friend, the cheerful boy, the guy who only ever wanted to help. Sweet and kind. Sometimes unsure of himself. A dragon wrapped around all of that. Resulting in the beast that had come back to town.

You don't have to worry about him. Spike always makes the right call when it counts. But… he nearly didn't last night. What happened if he didn't stop? Would I be in the hospital right now? Would I be missing flesh?

Distance was needed. Spike wouldn't be the One, as Rarity put it. He was a friend. One helping her during a troublesome time. Someone to fool around with until Rainbow found a mate more her size. Spike had wished for her to find someone different. A stallion to make her feel loved.

This strange relationship wasn't meant to last. Something short-lived... but still enjoyable. How would a future look between them, anyway? Rainbow in a dress, Spike in a suit, walking down a white aisle? That image wasn't right.

This romance—if it could be called that—wouldbe short-lived. Enjoyed the second before someone was hurt. Rainbow envisioned their future. Married. Usual couples' things. No such images appeared. No fancy restaurants and talks about the weather.

Their romance was too odd to be possible.

You don't want normal, anyway.

Enjoy it for what it is.

Just don't burn up in getting too close.

Hunger and thirst sought the darkly kind dragon.

A scene appeared through the glass. A teenaged filly laid on a mat far below, lowering onto the tips of her wings. Drenched in sweat and awash in anguish. Her hoodie, a Wonderbolt design, was based on Rainbow's outfit. Her eyes narrowed on the filly's necklace. Thunderbolt with clouds. The word 'DARE' beneath.

Rainbow scoffed in her privacy. Outside this room, she wore a covering hoodie, appearing approachable. Selling that cheap junk to kids. It isn't right to set them up.

Why the disdain for her merchandise? Important ideals converted to crappy merchandise meant to sell instead inspire. It'd sat crooked inside her. Rainbow stopped watching… until a discovery.

The teenager fell. Sprawled on the grown, sweaty and panting, a chuckle to the passing ponies. Rainbow protectively glared at them—they felt the intensity, unable to find it. The filly hadn't cared. Her trembling hooves twitched toward the necklace.

She stared at the logo. Mouth the word like a mantra. Strength jolted through her, a coming of renewed will. The filly rose with hooves to hold some of her body weight. Wingtips slapping the ground, she returned to pushing upward.

Rainbow blinked.

Me. You're still inspired by… me?

Feelings surged. Spike's words flashed. "Your dream will never end. Just changes shape is all. You'll find something new. And you'll inspire others with it."

Was this Rainbow's desired life? Hating everything relating to her image? Rainbow's own feelings of cheapness didn't matter to the filly. Rainbow was an image, an idol, and a distant fire that charged the youth.

Hiding away in a room and judging everything. Her thoughts had been more than idle musings. It examined how Rainbow ended up so different from her ideal. You want the filly to look up to this? Someone not out there rising the heat of the room? Not warding off bullies or inspiring the strugglers? What happened to the girl that charged without thinking twice? That was more focused on being out there instead of being inside herself?

Rainbow checked her reflection. Her shadowed face was obscured by mane. Raising her wings to the edge of her hood, she pulled it back, mane clearing her muzzle, revealing a nearly unfamiliar face.

Rainbow looked bashfully at herself, seeing and accepting what she saw and, naturally, a smirk and daring charisma flooded. She posed before the glass in a lean, showing teeth, the air around her burning cyan.

Spike's right. You’re not the kind to burn out. Just needed something to chase after. Don't worry about that big dork. Everything will work itself out.

She turned.

Let's get back out there.

The filly groaned into a near scream. She wanted to reach that next number. Despite the burning limbs and fogging mind, that one goal phased through it all. Her wings felt weak. Nothing remained in her soul. Her chest started to dip.

"I know that moment," a voice spoke above, confident and infectious, a fire flared across the words. "Can you reach it? Or is it better to drop? Think too long, and you're done for." The filly's heart ticked the passing seconds. "What's it going to be?"

The filly looked to the side to see the shuffle of blue hooves. Her gaze ascended to the idol looming before her. Tall. Air infused with energy. A tingle buzzed beneath the skin. The sight of Rainbow shot the filly into a rise—which, a second ago, was impossible. "I-I…"

Rainbow's grinned. "That's nine! Give me one more."

The filly choked.

"You can do it," Rainbow nodded. "Trust me."

"U-Uh… yes!" The filly looked at the ground and charged it. "N-No problem!"

"Thatta girl." Rainbow circled the filly with a wing and hovered over the filly's lower back. "Straighten your chest. Bad form does nothing for you. Let your forelegs take more weight to compensate. Don't be so hard on yourself in training. Extra weight does nothing for your wings. They're still developing—so listen to 'em."

Rainbow went to the filly's front and, lowering onto her wingtips, came snout to snout. "C'mon. I'll guide you down. We got this."

"Y-Yes!" The filly tried to salute but stumbled. Rainbow caught her chest with a hoof and, after the filly chuckled, returned to form.

The two finished the rep.

Others rounded the scene. Rainbow checked the scene with a smirk. Attention returned. Something chased after for most of her life. Not the flashing camera or being interviewed for her greatness. Those desires decayed. No. It was the attention of being something special for others.

"What? Am I burning the place too hot?" Her eyes glossed over the onlookers. "Get your butts into a workout!"

Ponies smiled. Nodded at being called out by greatness. Charged to their machines and weights with new gusto. Pumping harder and faster as the mare rose to supervise the scene. Rainbow smiled, becoming someone again. Someone that ponies approached for advice. Or needing inspiration to continue.

It wasn't before long that a group amassed to hear her speak.

"Burn after something," Rainbow rambled after a question from a colt. He asked what it took to be like her. "It's that fire that counts. Not that you actually get the thing, but chasing it makes you feel alive. Like you're constantly buzzing to get it. Always find something new to go after. You'll know you've found it once you feel that spark again."

Another colt emerged from the crowded pack. Small, and waving a frail foreleg. Dash stepped next to him, lowering an ear to better hear. "D-Do you think I-I have what it takes to join the Wonderbolts?"

Rainbow smiled and pulled up. "That's for you to decide, squirt." Her head shook. "Don't set them as your dream. The Wonderbolts are just a group. There's better things to gun for. If you chase after the bolts and didn't make the cut—that doesn't make you a failure. What you've learned and earned will help you in whatever you go after next. So long as you find something worth running after—that's all that matters."

Rainbow addressed the crowd. "Believe yourself, especially when you don't feel like you deserve it. That's when you need it the most. You might not think it, but that belief carries you out from your funk." She stepped back from the group. "Your path is going to change in life. Be willing to follow it no matter where it goes. Regardless of whatever you go after, exercise will help. I frequent this gym—and I expect to see all of you doing the same."

Doors opened, and hooves clopped in sync. Recognizable, for Rainbow drilled it into the recruits. Rainbow turned to the entrance to see the approaching Wonderbolts. Screams and cries of joy erupted. Everyone scrambled to do their workouts. Not wanting to be seen as lazy before the best of the best.

Rainbow's heart raced, but her calm demeanor kept. "Yo."

A mare led ahead with two novices behind. They split and turned and saluted. Rainbow fired one lazily in return. The leader stepped before her. "Miss Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow's muzzle scrunched. "Not much of a miss."

The leader blinked. It'd been a while since Rainbow fired a line like that. She'd become nearly duty only. The mare recovered quickly. "M'am. You are absent from the office."

"Duh."

"You are supposed to be there."

"I used a day off."

"Absence from your duties isn't the issue."

"So spit the trouble already."

"Your presence is required by Princess Celestia and Captain Spitfire. They await you in Canterlot Castle." The mare cleared to the side with a foreleg to the forehead. "We're instructed to take you there."

Rainbow dropped her gaze.

Fuck.

Then Rainbow looked around. Ponies working out with their eyes set on her. How did Rainbow wish to appear to them? The burnout dreading the news of her final dream? Or the mare who would charge the sun given the chance?

Rainbow shrugged. "Eh. Who needs a personal day, anyway."

There was a little cheer in the gym.

Author's Note

Weak chapter!

But finding the way.
~ Yr. Pal, B

Chapter VI | Hollow Ascendance

~ VI ~

Hollow Ascendance

A red carpet stretched beneath her hooves. The castle's hallway immersed one in the feeling of being an ant. Stained windows accompanied Rainbow's right. Diffused light illuminated coloured panes. Images passed her by of the stories already told.

Nightmare's Return.

Rise of the Elements

Discord's Return and Reversal.

Twilight's wings.

And so on.

Will they do a window for me? Rainbow wondered with a tilt of her head. There were a few depictions of the Wonderbolt's history. Not much had been recorded in the castle of its recent members. Nah. This place is bound to be running out of glass soon. If it's between Twilight or me—Twilight's window stays up.

Rainbow chuckled. What happened when all the windows were gone? Did ponies in construction hats stroll in with sledgehammers? Setting up signs. Blocking hallway traffic. Guard out the guards?

Funny. It's only been a few days, but I don't care about being remembered. Guards and maids passed in her vision. Rainbow continued her stroll. Some checked her out. Amazed to see Rainbow Dash, the fastest tracking Wonderbolt, here. Others glanced to check the fabric flexing her flanks. Still a few of you, eh? Sorry boys and girls. The Dash is already taken.

Hooves tapped to a stop. A stallion behind walked faster, thinking himself caught. Rainbow rid herself of the thought—pretending it'd never happened. She carried on.

Guards awaited ahead. Standing before the colossal doors, they scanned the Wonderbolt and, with a nod, turned and pushed open the doors. Seconds passed before the way cleared. The two entered a salute.

Rainbow strode between them with a nod, and, passing them by, the two backed out of the throne room, closing the door with them. The mare carried across the red carpet, scanning across the open space. Marble pillars towered to the sides with intricate designs.

She looked ahead to the ascending steps, the throne at the top, the princess conversing with a servant. There was a little table next to her. It bore plates with little snacks and a cup of steaming tea.

Spitfire stood beside the steps of the throne. She watched Rainbow approach. Her eyes were passive. A smirk grew on the leader.

"Yo." Spitfire's head tilted up. Rainbow cocked her head at the informal greeting. "Don't forget the bow to her greatness."

Rainbow blinked and looked to the princess, who glanced this way, with the younger mare dropping to a knee. Her head fell next as mane fell over her face. Her features scrunched.

"Such cruelty," Princess Celestia said with her voice directed at Spitfire. Afterward, she whispered a few things to the servant, who left after a nod. The princess focused on Rainbow next. "Rise, my little pony. Such things aren't needed between friends.

"Dunno about that one, your highness." Spitfire's muzzle kept on Rainbow, but her eyes glanced at the princess. "Dashie here pushes things to the limit. Set it too high, and this castle will catch fire."

Princess Celestia pouted. "You said nothing but pleasant things behind her back. Now you're just being awful. Is this your style of mentoring? Or just your last chance being a bully?"

Spitfire stepped before the bowing Rainbow Dash. She offered a hoof, one that, once Rainbow went for it, shot for her scalp. Spitfire scruffled her mane with a smile, and Rainbow, unable to hold one back herself, charged the leader. The two fought to mess up the other's hair.

"That'll be enough." Princess Celestia's voice stopped the intertwined mares, who were raised on their back legs, a foreleg around the other's neck, playfully fighting. They turned to the nation's ruler. "I think Spitfire's easing has run its course. You two may release each other."

Both mares glanced back into each other's eyes and, with mutual grins, clapped their hooves and fell away. They turned and looked up to the princess. Spitfire stepped between them and addressed them both.

"I tease because I have faith." Spitfire glanced at them both. "Rainbow's mellowed enough to understand the responsibilities of the job." She nodded. "There'll be challenges. There always are. But Miss Dash has what it takes to handle the mantle."

This is it.

Princess Celestia gazed upon the little pony in question. "Do you understand what this is, Miss Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow choked and straightened. "Yes, ma'am."

Spitfire stood aside. "You saw this coming. I've tested you in every possible way for this." A sly look at the princess. "And surprisingly, Rainbow pulled through." Her eyes returned. "You're the best of the best. The only pony capable of this job. And you've matured enough not to have your ego swell.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Alright," Spitfire admitted defeat. "Maybe you've got a little spunk left. But you won't let it get in the way. You'll be training, leading, and inspiring the Wonderbolts. Our nature is national security. Thus, a change in rank must be overseen by every princess. This process cannot proceed without Princess Celestia's approval."

Princess Celestia, at those words, rose from the throne, unfurling great wings. Power touched the air, and suddenly, there was a breeze. All focus ascended to the one above.

"Major Rainbow Dash of Cloudsdale. You are summoned for review for the rank of Captain. Upon mutual approval, this duty shall be taken from Captain Spitfire, who will thus retire."

Princess Celestia carried down the steps. Rainbow lowered to a knee. Her heart thumped; strands of mane fell over her face. Looking aside revealed the stained glass of her friends. All of them watched Rainbow with smiles.

Rainbow smiled at the girls in this critical moment. Her eyes fell on Rarity. Her smile twitched. In the corner of the glass, a little purple dragon stood with a claw pointed upward, a genuine, infectious smile, with fangs on display.

The view was a tickle. Spike so small and squirmish. He was apart from the rest as if he did not belong on such a monumental piece. The baby dragon was nothing like the kind beast that had returned.

The world rumbled beneath his feet. His presence drained oxygen from the air. Darkened, violet scales. Eyes that, despite their intensity, were the brightest shade of neon green.

Some of the previous dragon was still inside of him. That openness and welcomeness despite all those other qualities.

Out of everyone… why is it that I want you here the most?

"You'll take Spitfire's role, rank, and command." Princess Celestia's hooves clopped onto the mutual flooring. Rainbow didn't fear her. Despite the princess's size and might, the weight of her step, nothing could compare to being close to the dragon. Spike had zero authority in the world.

Yet he could make a princess and court bow should he desire it. "You will have direction from Spitfire. But as the times change, it's the Captain's responsibility to adjust for the better. You will soon come to trust in yourself and those you surround yourself with."

Celestia nodded before the little pony. "If I may offer some advice. Be decisive. Admit later when certain choices prove misguided. Then sail again with better understanding." She halted in place. "Are you capable of this responsibility?"

Rainbow bowed lower. "I am."

The princess's warm smile was felt. "You are chosen for the council, then." Celestia's wing flushed down, tapping Rainbow's shoulder, floating over her head, and tapping the other. "May the lessons from your friends guide you. Allow those you train to inspire you. And may you always have faith in your ability to succeed eventually."

Celestia stepped away. "And contact us whenever you should need it."

Spitfire walked to Celestia's side. "Just don't call too much, okay rookie? No sense in retirement if my phone's going to ring the same."

Rainbow laughed while rising. She glanced at them both before speaking. "I won't disappoint. Every Wonderbolt will feel like they can knock back the moon if it ever gets too close. The world will look to us whenever they're looking for a fire to light the way. The innocent will never fear a lack of protection."

Celestia smiled. "Inspiring words." Her head tilted to the side. "Except for the moon bit. Don't inflict any more damage on that. Your promotion requires Luna, Cadance, and Twilight's approval. It is unwise to start making enemies before your pay raises."

Rainbow stepped back and chuckled. "You betcha!" She quickly caught herself. "I mean, uh, m-m'am!"

Spitfire left first. Celestia, however, invited Rainbow up to the throne for some tea. Instructed to be at ease, Rainbow sat on the other side of the little table. Plates of snacks and another cup awaited her.

Celestia floated a tea bag into that cup; the kettle soon followed.

"Isn't someone supposed to pour your drinks for you?" Rainbow asked.

Celestia hummed. "Some trivialities become delights if not exercised. Plus, our coming matter is a private one." Her knowing eyes flicked to the seated friend. "Relax. It bears not with your promotion. Congratulations, by the way. I've heard it's been a life-long dream."

Rainbow nodded shyly. "T-Thank you, ma'am."

"You may call me Celestia when our interactions are as friends." The larger mare finished pouring. She returned the kettle to the side of the table. "How does it feel for your dream to come true? Is it frightful? Or has it been nothing but a delight?"

"Bit of both," Rainbow admitted as a tip of her wing claimed the handle of her mug. "Used to be more scared than proud a few days ago. Luckily, everything turned right back around in time."

"And why is that?"

"Things had been rough." Rainbow brought the tea close so she'd have something else to focus on. "Rarity had died. I'm sure you already know that. I wasn't there for her like I should have been. And everything good in my life wasn't hitting the same." Her gaze flicked to the princess. "Not that I would allow anything to interfere with my duty."

Celestia nodded.

"But a friend came back into town. Knocked some sense back into my head." The dragon entered her mind. The scaly, shadowy giant, standing in a dark abyss. Nothing detailed except for that fang-revealing smirk. "He didn't spout anything special. It's stuff I should have realized on my own. Maybe I would have—after a while."

Celestia hummed. "That's how it is, sometimes. We require another to remind and reassure us of the truth already inside ourselves." She lifted her cup and took a little sip. "I glean that this returned friend of yours is Spike?"

Rainbow's eyes widened. Her gaze dashed to Celestia. The larger mare focused on her tea. "Don't worry. You aren't required to share that which you are not comfortable with. I've only heard Spike's returned to Ponyville. It makes me happy that he is less alone."

"Y-Yeah."

"Are the two of you romantically together?"

"What!?"

Celestia winked, smirking. "A jest." Her eyes twinkled. "Though perhaps not much of a jest after all. Forgive me. I seriously did not know something had become of the two of you."

"N-Nothin' to forgive, your highness!"

"Is he happy?"

"H-Happy? Spike?" Rainbow's eyes narrowed in thought. Spike's not a dragon that acted happily. He wasn't unhappy. Spike was just… Spike. "I… don't know for sure. He is better than how he was before. I feel like he's on a better path."

Rainbow slumped. "But, I can't say anything for sure." Her eyes closed. "Something's always biting at him. He does his best to keep everyone at a distance." Rainbow opened her eyes and stared into the waters of her cup. "It's not because he hates us. He tried doing the cold shoulder to Twilight… but couldn't keep it up. He acts like he's the devil, sometimes. Like he's a step away from turning evil or hurting all of us."

"Do you think he will?"

Rainbow shook her head. "Never intentionally."

"Do you think he could hurt you?"

Rainbow nodded. "Yes."

Princess Celestia pondered. She checked around. None had snooped into the room. "There are things you must know, Rainbow Dash. Things that I trust you'll keep a secret. Matters you must not judge him on."

Rainbow gave a heavy nod.

"I've been informed of Spike's actions during his departure." Celestia had spoken slowly. "I did not request these reports because I was a princess. You understand what that means, yes?" Another nod from the friend. "Spike has slain great dragons while remaining his normal size. He's burned forests full of monsters while fighting inside the flames. He's never hurt someone deserving of it. But he's also done more than you'd ever expect from the little ball of love he once was."

Celestia looked into her cup of tea. "There's an urge inside of him to slaughter and mate. The slaying of a beast never proved to be enough. He went from one to another without burning up all that rage inside him. He's traveled the world, and there's not enough land to tire out his footprint."

Then.

A smile.

"But Spike never lost himself," warmth returned to Celestia's voice. "There's reports of him helping villages and returning the lost from their home. Of preventing beasts from taking over a town or the handling of matters, of which friendship and magic aren't suitable."

Celestia lowered her muzzle with closed eyes. "There is good in him. And there is also an awful lot of bad. He could easily slaughter ponies and drench the grass in the colour of red. That is his fear. It is what he is always fighting against."

She looked to Rainbow. "And the reason why he refused to return home."

Rainbow never felt the bow of a princess.

Until now.

"Please be there for him," Celestia's voice nearly pleaded. She bowed to Rainbow Dash. "No matter what he does. He desires to scare everyone away. Prove that there is no good in him. Let them see Spike has gone, and something else has taken over."

Rainbow hastily reached a hoof over the table.

"But if everyone stands by him, he will be forced to prove himself, and I know which side of his nature will win." Celestia raised her head while remaining in the bow. Rainbow silently pulled her hoof. "Please. More than this job… be there for him. Be the ear he needs. The understanding heart he requires. He may hurt you… but he'll do everything he can to make it better."

Her eyes narrowed. "I know this is a selfish request. Forgive me."

"Nothing to forgive," Rainbow finally answered. "It's what I was going to do anyway."

Author's Note

Missed a day! But that's how it goes.

I'll use yesterday's chapter as a stockpile.

Chapter VII | Lazy Afternoons

~ VII ~

Lazy Afternoons

Rainbow Dash decided to fly in the warm weather and winds instead of taking the offered train to Ponyville. Moving helped Rainbow think. Things could never be worked out in her mind if she was standing still. But when she started to walk or fly, that's when she would start thinking. When everything would begin to slowly sort itself out.

That promotion. The whole academy was hers to instruct. The highest office labelled with her name. Ponies waiting outside her door to be punished, rewarded, or informed. Passing ponies would stop to salute Rainbow. She'd chew the rumps of troublemakers and stunt devils.

I wonder if all that chewing will taste like irony.

Your dream coming true wasn't as depicted in the books. There's no explosion of light or an escalation of excitement. Your stomach swirled, maybe. Something was proven; you had done well. Now the world trusted you to do more work.

But the buzzing of fantasy was still there. Rainbow still wanted to be something. The drive to push others to their best. To be thrown into a whirlwind of problems and come through better than ever. To become a new icon that served as the fuel for the next generation. Thinking like that caused the edges of her hooves to fuzz in a melting sensation.

Oh, shut up! Just let yourself have this one.

Rainbow couldn't repress the shaking or the laughter. She exploded. Laughing and twirling in the air. Cheering random sounds with shouts of her name. She'd done it. Captain of the Wonderbolts. The best flier in all of the world.

"Who's the best? I'm the best!" Rainbow twirled a loop, leaving a halo of a rainbow trail. Who'd be the first she would share the news with? "Ya-ha! The girls! We'll get together and crash a place like the good ol' days!"

Rainbow had been grinding work so long that the idea of partying seemed foreign. Having her friends together for drinks seemed like heaven on land. Rainbow needed it. Too long, she'd been alone, breathing for the sake of oxygen. Now was time to burn cyan in the night. To dance with the girls, throw herself at some boys, and…

Spike.

Rainbow flew straight. Dipping beneath the clouds, she saw the rooftops of Ponyville below. Silhouettes of ponies strolled the streets. It was late afternoon. Most were done with work. Able to spend time together or alone. At peace. Enjoying the calm summer.

He can come too! Everyone together again! The girls can check back in with the dork. He's cleaned up his act since Twilight. Yeah! Everything should work out for the best.

Worry crept.

Just have to make sure AJ doesn't make a pass at him.

Everyone partying. Even if they were missing a friend… it seemed like all of them together again, drinking and having fun, seemed like another dream come true. One that mattered a bit more than some promotion. Funny to think that, despite pushing her whole life to be the best, it was the friends made on the side that count the most.

Who are you going to break the news to first?

Rainbow settled into a glide. Her hooves angled for landing. Sailing over the roofs, she let the momentum carry her onto the street. There was a right of Cityhall.

You've shared good news with the girls before. But it never hit the same. Why the hell do I want to tell Spike so much? Is it because you banged him? No. He saw underneath me. But then all of the girls have seen underneath me. Why does he matter more? Because he helped me back onto my hooves?

Rainbow neared the ground. Grass brushed her hooves. Her wings tucked in as she touched the ground and smoothly transitioned into walking. Dying sunlight awash the town.

Why the hell are you thinking so much? Aren't you supposed to be Rainbow Dash? Just tell whoever you run into first.

Rainbow wandered around as ponies passed ponies by. She nodded and smiled and even signed a photograph. Fans gawked, but previous acquaintances offered a friendly smile. It felt better not wearing the hood. Seeing the faces of others, feeling the fullness of the wind.

"Hiya, Dashie!" Something cold licked across Rainbow's spine and bounced her forward. Whipping into a turn revealed Pinkie Pie with a feather set between her teeth. She turned and spat it out. "Are you in a super-duper good mood today? Because my ears flicked away from each other, TWICE! Then my tail spun and—YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, RIGHT?!"

She's the first. Break the word.

"That…" Rainbow's eyes flicked away. "…Spike is back in town. And we, uh, s-should throw him a party?"

Pinkie seemed confused. Her head tilted, and her eyes narrowed. Something blossomed behind her face. A discovery that then sparked a smile on the party mare. "Ah-ha! Hmhm! That has to be it! That big ol' bag of grumpy scales is back! And we will need to make sure we throw a party so uber-fanTASTIC that he will never want to leave."

Pinkie whirled away. "I better get planning. Later Dashie!" She was a good distance away before shouting her last request. "Let me know it's time for the second party!"
Pinkie whirled on the spot. "I better get planning! Later Dashie! Let me know when it's time for a second party!"

"You got it!" Rainbow waved after the disappearing mare. She chuckled while dropping the foreleg. Those final words clicked. "Wait! Second party? Why would I…"

Realization dawned.

Smarter then you let on, aren't ya, pinks?

If Pinkie could see Rainbow was lying… her friend could see it.

Oh, screw it.

Just tell the dragon your dream came true…

…and that you wanna be swallowed in his arms.

Rainbow flew around town with the direct purpose of finding the dragon. She cursed herself for being weak and needy but, simultaneously, could do nothing to help it. It was a stab at her ego to be so wanting of another. That she needed to be consoled and warmed by his words and arms.

She'd asked around town. Finally, a trio of mares laughed at the request. Rainbow had questioned if there was a scary dragon around. Each of the girls laughed before one said a stud was by the pond. There'd been a betting pool on the first brave enough to speak to him.

"You stand the best chance, sugar," one said. "Fifty bits for the first able to take a ride on that. Sweet Dreep tried speaking to him. But she shied away at the last second." She looked at the others. "Do you think they're all still by the pond?"

Stupid mares. Rainbow had given thanks and blasted into the sky. You're not supposed to be into dragons.

The flight to the lake was short. Short because Rainbow's wings flew faster than the legal limit. Already setting a good image, aren't you, Captain Dash?

Rainbow's wings flared against the winds as they stopped her speed. Hovering before the emerald hills around the pond, she saw an oak tree on the biggest one. Beneath the tree, inside its shadow, the dragon laid back across the grass, arms crossed behind his head.

Rainbow's heart soared. Lazy prick. Laying outside and doing nothing. How did you get so lucky with life? Spike didn't have a job or tasks. No dream to achieve. Not a greatness to chase after. He'd finished his chores, and now laid outside, content to enjoy the day.

Or be fucking someone if they let him.

Rainbow winced. What if that's how she caught him? Laying back with a mare mounted on his hips, held at her waist, pumped on his cock to the desired speed, those lovely sensations aided by the softness of the grass, the warmth in the air, and the gentleness of sunlight. Causally fucking not to climax quickly—but to enjoy the slow process.

And the mare Rainbow imagined was herself. She wasn't the kind of mare that was used. That someone else rocked her world. It was supposed to be the reverse! She chewed her lips, blushing, and looked away.

But Rainbow, trying to fight it all, couldn't help but love the idea.

Her eyes went to the other side of the hill, down at its base, where a winding dirt path laid. Mares gathered to watch him. Some dared to step forward—others backed away. Whispering among themselves.

Face it, Dash.

You're not the only mare on the market.

Would he treat them as he did her? Would his over-the-top compliments be used to woo them as they were to woo Rainbow Dash? Rainbow worried and recoiled, suddenly unsure if what they had was special. If he could replicate that with others, then was their connection unique in the slightest?

What if that's the way he wants it? Rainbow heard her voice, but something else spoke using it. Make you feel better before sending you to someone better. How long can you last against a dragon forced to hold back? Maybe this is the only way he can be happy. Being able to fuck a new mare every night might be the only thing that works for him.

Rainbow shook her head. Fuck that. And dove forward.

The dragon was an unknown. Despite their closeness and his sweetness, Rainbow wasn't outright sure of him. He was still a threat. That, in more ways than one, he could hurt her. She would keep up her guard.

Rainbow dropped. Her hooves struck the ground, knees bending to absorb the landing. She towered beside the sleeping dragon. Glaring at the collection of mares, she found that, instead of being threatened, they were elated, glowing faces and moving lips, the starting of rumors.

Rainbow Dash. Warning off potential partners from the dragon. How would that gossip turn out?

Geeze. Rainbow slumped after the crowd was gone. This is your time to shine, Rarity. Where are you?

"Afternoon."

Rainbow twitched. Her hooves twirled on the warm grass. She checked the dragon with an eye cracked open. It was the first time she stood over him. Though his back swallowed a patch of land.

He's talking to you.

"…yo," Rainbow slowly opened.

"Were you looking for me?"

"Uh." Don't lie. It doesn't help. Trust him enough for the truth. "Y-yeah."

Spike smiled. "And why's that?"

Oh, shit.

"Y-Your dinner with Twilight!" Rainbow began to sweat as her memory saved her with a fast one. "Was wondering, y'know, how that went."

One of his eyes narrowed on her existence.

Her heart beat faster.

"I survived." He adjusted on the grass. "We caught up.. I walked her home. Then talked some more in the library." His eyes wandered to the sky. "She still cares for me." His head shook. "Can't tell you why." Then his gaze returned to Rainbow. "Is that all you wanted?"

What's it going to be? Tell him that you wanted to find him? Or talk about the promotion?

"Did Twilight tell you what happened?"

"That I owe her dinner every week?" Spike asked. "Rarity left me some bits. But at this rate? I'll have to reopen the boutique."

Rainbow fluffed with a smile. "That actually sounds kinda rad!"

"Could be." Spike shrugged against the grass. "Twilight was supposed to tell me something?"

"N-No! It's just… I uh… y-y'know.. I got it." Rainbow blinked. Her face was surprised after all that stuttering. Even she was confused about what she was talking about. Hope came with telling him the truth. That he would embrace and love her. Fear arose in anything else happening. Or more teasing. "The promotion. It looks like I'm going to be Captain of the Wonderbolts."

Spike laughed happily. He rose to his shadow passing over the mare. Rainbow didn't even wait for open arms. She charged inside his embrace. Her coat melted into his scales. Large arms took hold of her existence. Wrapped and hugged and held.

"I'm proud of you, Rainbow Dash." Simple words. Anyone could have said them. But in hearing them from Spike? It made Rainbow the happiest girl in the world. His hold was its own reward. His sweet whispers fluffed her ears. "You did it. Your dream came true. How do you feel?"

Rainbow snuggled across his chest and rested her muzzle on his shoulder, a nuzzle across the smooth scales, mane covering her face. It didn't matter how the world saw it. Spike's darkened expression seemed surprised by the affection.

But Rainbow couldn't, and wouldn't, take it back.

"I'm feeling good," Rainbow confessed with a smile. "And it's because of you. If you hadn't shaken me up again… I don't know what I would be feeling right now." She laid all of her weight into him, feeling slinky. "And you were right. I already have a new dream I'm chasing after. Everything worked itself out."

She felt his smirk.

"Thatta girl."

A gooey smile infected Rainbow with a radical blush. She covered this by speaking quickly. "I want to flare the fire of others' spirits," Rainbow confided, able to be mocked for her vague feelings and dreams. Or have it twisted in some way to reveal some horribleness about her.

But Rainbow needed to share her feelings. To have them heard and accepted. It mattered a lot to her. More so that it was the dragon she spoke to. "I want to help them find their dreams. That thing that causes them to flare up and chase after. To be able to help them on that path. Make them the best they could ever hope to be."

His claw found her neck, brushing through her mane, the tips of his talons stroking through the hair, scratching the coat and skin beneath. Rainbow sighed blissfully in being touched and pampered. Little actions that infused love and care; that denied doubt from creeping into her skull.

"I want to inspire others." Rainbow felt safe enough to continue. "I used to hate ponies looking up to me. Not when I wasn't standing for something. But now… I want them to look at me whenever they need help. To help them burn a little hotter or for a little longer. That if they keep on… that things usually work themselves out."

Rainbow chuckled. "Funny how that works. I wanted ponies to look up to me to see how awesome I was. Now? I want to be a symbol that propels them further."

Spike couldn't help but laugh. "Well… it's like what they say: the older you become, the wiser you get."

"I'll end you."

Rainbow, instead of murder, snuggled into a dragon, a fluffy covering to his torso, not an inch separating them, an embrace held without an end in mind.

Chapter IX | Left Letters

~ IX ~

Left Letters

Rainbow Dash awoke alone in her bed.

Its emptiness troubled her. Her hooves searched for another. Rustling blankets and sheets and the pushing of a pillow returned her touch. No strong arms wrapped around her. There wasn't a subtle wave of heat that came from preheated scales. No soft breathing from a beast to quell Rainbow's anxiety.

N-Not… a-again…

Memories flooded. Their embrace on the hilltop. Their talks in the shop. The words that coached Rainbow into becoming a cyan flame again. Warmth flooded her nerves as the bed ceased to be oppressive. She was a stronger mare now. One with more to live for.

And her eyes opened to a letter on the bedside table.

No.

Crawling across the mattress to stretch a wing after the envelope, she rolled back on her bed, the back of Rainbow's head planting into the pillows. She broke the seal of a green heart—stickers left-over in the boutique, perhaps. The tip of her wing pulled out the letter.

Dear Rainbow,

Sorry I didn't wake you. Not even when the moon came out to say 'hey'. You're beautiful when you sleep, and to force those eyes to open before they're ready felt like a sin. You're adorable without having to try. You never cease to be perfect.

Do you know what that does to a guy's heart? Watching you was torture.

I tried letting you sleep for as long as possible but with how busy things have been with you, I guess you haven't had much time to relax. Indulge in it for my sake. I flew you home and tucked you in. Hope you don't mind that.

I'm going to spend the night whipping Rarity's shop back into order. See if my talons remember any of her talents. Let me know if there are any outfits you need made or fixed. Gives me a chance to practise before ponies start yelling at me.

And thank you for letting me protect you.

Despite the Dash needing no protection.

~ Yours, Spike.

Rainbow smiled. Something wet nipped at the corner of her eyes. She turned to the side of the bed to throw the letter in the bin she kept next to it—halting at the last second. Instead, she rolled back and reread the words. Devoured the curves to the letters and allowed each syllable to echo inside her skull.

Her hooves clutched the note to her chest as she cradled it. The closest thing she owned related to Spike. That she could do anything with and not have to fear his reaction. Rainbow embraced the letter as though it were him. She missed when he was smaller—she could have cradled him instead.

Lovestruck.

It'd been the first time in her life. None else consumed her. Never made her feel like her life depended on being with another. It was a dangerous feeling. Should she admit it, the dragon would know that he owned her. That his word was her world.

He intended to leave again. He said his goal was to wander and offer the shop to another. Would Rainbow be able to stop him? Prove to be enough to sate his nature? The future blurred again. Everything was too unknown. It hurt her. Cut at her veins and caused her belly to feel weak.

Who did I expect to wind up with?

Romance had never been a concern. Not when training, saving the world, making friends, becoming a Wonderbolt, inspiring others, and ambitions were Rainbow's everything. Maybe, in her string of pleasures, one lover would stick around longer than the others. But settling down with someone? That never seemed in the future of Rainbow Dash.

Now it's here.

Was Spike the one she was going to settle down with? Go on dinner dates and watch plays every now and again in Canterlot? Get married. Have a honeymoon on a beach. Double dates. Have a home together and share the little things. Would Spike mellow into that kind of life? Would she?

He'd probably fuck me against the piping instead of fixing it.

Rainbow used to mock the little things lovers did together.

Now she craved those little things more than anything.

But she only wanted to do them with the dragon.

Could you see it as a filly? Walking down the aisle with a dragon that would tease you all the way to the stand? That threatens to bang you before the princess, friends, and family? To think that little wimp could control me so much. Was he the one I was meant to end up with? On paper, it should have been another Wonderbolt.

But they meshed well. Spike and Rainbow's weirdness matched. It didn't make sense for them to be together—but everything screamed for them to be as one. They joked, were athletic, loyal to each other, deeply caring, and somewhat loving. They worked. It shouldn't have been so. But the unexpected gifted the greatest delights.

The future scared Rainbow.

How long could they keep things up like this? How would their marriage look after she became older? Would he still look at her the same even if he couldn't pleasure her anymore? Would he still be there for her in all those other ways—or would he chase after some other young thing. What happens when her mind or body can't take his teasing?

You forget his sweetness.

He also wasn't all mean.

Their time before the pond proved that. Rainbow's accomplishment, which wouldn't have meant much, now shared, bared more weight. Cuddling him in the warm afternoon spread colour in her vision. It was the little thing she'd been searching for. What caused her to feel like she, and her life, mattered.

Her days, which usually blurred, now carried more meaning, shared with the dragon.

I need you, Spike.

She curled on the bed and tightened into the letter.

You scare me. I don't know if you'll leave me. If you'll suddenly be gone. You're the one frightening me—and yet, it's you I need to hold me. Wrap me in your arms. Whisper in my ear that everything will be okay. That's the only way I'll believe everything will be fine. It's the only way I know I can make it through this.

Rainbow rarely needed support to do the impossible.

Now she needed his love to merely live.

Author's Note

Chapter X | Tight Outfits

~ X ~

Tight Outfits

Rainbow touched down at the boutique. It felt strange coming here again—and so often. She never had free time. Not even when her friend was dying. Now she had nothing but time. An earned break for the change in name tags.

Her hoof rose to knock on the door… but paused before the wood.

Am I coming on too strong? Will he think I'm desperate?

She'd found him at the fountain. Urged him upstairs to the bedroom. Then the snuggle-fest at the pond and the need for Spike to carry her home. Now she was knocking at his door without a day passed?

Rainbow needed him.

Not for answers—just his presence.

He'll think I'm needy.

A smaller voice spoke.

Do you think he'll care?

Spike was real. He'd never hold something like that against her. Sure. He'd tease Rainbow about her desperation for his existence.

No.

Rainbow shook her head, lowered her hoof, and turned. She needed to wait a few torturous days. Something natural would bring them back together. Everything had been too quick and strong. Time was necessary for them to adjust to the recent changes.

"Not that I mind the back view," a bold voice passed through the door, turning the mare around. "But I prefer the front a touch more." The door opened with a click, squeaking from its hinges. It revealed the scaly titan behind. "You in a rush somewhere?"

"What? No." Rainbow blinked before inspecting the door. A peephole had been installed. "When did you…" A blush washed down her scrunched muzzle; she shyly glared at the dragon. "How long were you staring!?"

"Since the moment you tapped down." Spike ducked through the door and came outside, towering in the sunlight. He crossed his arms and bore the usual smirk. "You were the perfect portrait. Shame you started moving."

Rainbow glared elsewhere. "Creep."

"Who wouldn't be when the subject is you?" Rainbow's blush burned hotter at his words."But if you have to go—don't let me keep you."

The blush vanished as nothingness stole over. Rainbow didn't want to leave, to exit their pleasant atmosphere. Pretend like you were just checking up on him. Then you gotta dash for something else. He'll believe it. Just say that and be on your way.

"Unless you're not busy," his words sparked hope in her chest. "Then I could use your help with something."

Rainbow looked to him to see the way cleared, the door open, and his claw gesturing inside. He was smiling with a darkly-welcoming face. She hesitated from entering his den. A place that had taken to a new, merged identity.

"Would you like to come in?" Spike had asked. "Or is there something more important you must tend to?"

Rainbow tread inside the cleaned changed shop. Her hooves clopped against reflective white. Boxes ceased to clutter the area; shelves lined the walls, organized with varying yarns, wools, and other materials. The model's state housed three mannequins, each fixed with a drawing of their finished outfits.

Rainbow inspected and climbed the stage to examine each. Hanging strings had been woven into the whole of the outfit. Different colours had been used to varying brightness so that, depending on her position, the ensemble glowed in varying hues.

Rainbow slowed before the display. She checked the paper over it. Rarity's drawing of what she envisioned, altered throughout the process, with notes, some crossed out. What worked, what didn't, and what felt missing. Her hornwriting continued in the handwriting of another.

Rainbow squinted to read the dragon's new writings and drawings. His attempts to answer Rarity's left questions, revising her ideas. He'd cracked the code of one dress. An endless sprawl of notes covered the puzzle of the other two.

"You're…" Rainbow turned with a held breath, "…finishing her work?"

Spike's feet clacked against the ground as he sat at the drafting table before the stage. Scooting the stool closer, he looked at her. "As closely as possible. It won't be how she would have done them. But I also know she wouldn't want her final designs to be unfinished."

"Heh." Rainbow looked at her hooves. "Good point."

"It's hard being chained to a place." Spike lifted the quill and focused on the parchment. His eyes narrowed as he scratched away. "I've never stayed in the same cave for more than a week. Being here is, well… I needed to find something to do."

He glanced up from the paper. "Besides you, of course."

Rainbow's heart tickled. Her sullen expression watched him work. Despite his talent, regardless of their closeness—it didn't feel like he was here. He always felt like he was about to leave. That he was just stopping by.

"You're always moving, aren't you?" Rainbow lifted her head. "Why is that?"

His eyes checked her from behind the page.

Then returned to it.

"Figured while I'm here," Spike didn't answer her question, "I'd take up my old profession of being Rarity's helper. She left a lot of material. Her ghost will kill me if it goes to waste."

"Guess that makes sense," the words scratched Rainbow's voice. "I think she would be happy for you. Finding something to do. Putting all this… to good use."

"I'm glad you think so," the dragon returned, "because I'll need your help with it."

Rainbow's hooves clopped on the stage as she faced him fully. "Come again?"

Spike finished a final note, rising from the desk, coming to the stage and before the elevated mare. Her surprised, rose eyes were relaxed by his calm, green glow. Their snouts touched.

"I needed a model." Spike grinned. "And one just so happened to stand outside my door."

Rainbow's blush intensified. She backed and looked away. "Shut up. I'm not a model." A soft smile nipped her lips. "You just want me for the name recognition."

"You can be nameless," he whispered, "if it means I can have you."

"You suck."

"Then you won't do it?"

Rainbow smirked. "Never said that."

Spike smiled, rising. He fetched tools, his absence returning oxygen to Rainbow's air. She breathed deeply, closing her eyes, exposing her recovery. Rainbow's heartbeat quickened. Happy tingles buzzed her hooves.

Spike returned with the measuring tape.

"You okay with me touching you?"

We're beyond that, champ.

"Uh, yeah." Rainbow nodded while twirling around. "Go nuts."

His grin returned as he leaned onto the stage. He gripped Rainbow's foreleg and raised it, flushing the measuring tape around its length. Spike's talons squeezed her wrist, stroking it, the tape following across it.

Rainbow's muzzle turned, hiding a dopey smile.

It was nice being measured. Felt and admired. Boxed in place and touched all over. Rainbow usually hated that attention.

It was different with Spike.

His towering height stalked around Rainbow, flexing the cool tape against the skin beneath her coat.

Rainbow became his examination.

"Hm." Spike paused. "Didn't you fight Rarity every step of the way?" He loomed behind Rainbow, the tape wrapped around her neck. His talons tickled down Rainbow's spine, a tap, tap, tap. "Months to convince you to be measured. You would last only for five minutes. Rarity used to rant about how difficult it was. Even I used to worry you'd buck me if I touched you back then."

Rainbow shivered.

"But now? You're being examined and measured and have minded all my little squeezes." Talons dived from their neck and across her back, expanding to accommodate the width of her hips. "Thought I'd have to fight you for this. Get on my knees and beg."

The claw slowed before Rainbow's flanks.

"You've been a good girl, too," the dragon whispered into Rainbow's ear, ducking out of her view when she turned, but his touch was still on her. "Didn't even have to hold you down. Or would that make you misbehave?"

Rainbow twitched.

You didn't notice that. I'm not locked up on the inside. You think that I'm just playing it cool. Yeah. Hundred percent. I'm not just waiting for that claw to squeeze my existence.

"Why are you kind to me, Rainbow Dash? Doing so much… when I've offered nothing." Spike's question swirled. "What makes me so special?"

Don't let him win.

"Special? Who you foolin'?" Rainbow asked, looking over her shoulder fully. Staring up at the dragon with the claw close to her rump, she remembered her grin. "I already have a few stallions fawnin' at me on the side. I just wanted to make sure your lonely self was alright."

Spike lit in surprise. His claw lifted from her rump—and Rainbow cursed herself. She desired him, feeling her ass squeezed, mouth taken by forceful lips. To be pushed town, taken, as she was handled all over.

The dragon left with his casual smirk, returning with a clipboard and jotting the measurements. He measured her again—this time for real. No teasing. No delicate touches. The dragon worked without any disdain for her revelation.

You idiot. Rainbow shuffled as the dragon measured her tail without peeking at what lay beneath. You lied to him.

Her tail lowered in his hold. He'd finished with the measuring tape and set it on the ground. For the next few moments, he stood there, writing and scratching away, forming something on the page. Rainbow stood facing forward, unable to look back.

Don't make things awkward.

"Funny how things work out, huh?" Rainbow tried her luck in taking a few steps forward. "You standing in Rarity's place. Doing what she normally would. You've got her thing, now. That thing that used to define her."

Rainbow thought about it some more.

"You were telling me that you lived to help others." Rainbow tried to turn—but couldn't. "Becoming good enough to assist another… but never having the passion or the skill to make something your own. But did you ever find out what your talent was? The one thing that pulls you in? Consumes you? Something you're good at?"

The ending words stopped his writing.

Spike contemplated them.

"Yeah," he answered. "I found my calling in life." His clipboard lowered to his hips. "It wasn't being a hero." His lips pulled into a smile. "But when you look back—you realize your life couldn't have gone any other way."

Rainbow felt the dread in his voice. She turned to face him—but the dragon searched the ground with his eyes. He lost himself in thought. Rainbow dared to approach the beast. "H-How did you think life was going to turn out? You becoming a knight? Marrying Rarity?"

Spike laughed without a lift to his gaze. "When I was a kid, maybe. But life never goes as expected. Look at Twilight. In Canterlot? She thought she would be alone with a nose in a book. Then she was sent to discover friendship—and now she doesn't shut up about the damn thing."

"Heh! Tell me about it." Rainbow fluffed as he neared the dragon, entering his downward view, staring hopefully upward. "But how about you? Twilight's change was a positive one. So why are you acting like yours is so negative?"

"Her change came from outside." His eyes burned into Rainbow's. Pain happily twitched his face. "And my change came from inside. Ponyville made Twilight better… but I'm a threat to Ponyville."

Spike shrugged. "I'm a dragon. I should have expected… urges. There's no being a hero for me—not after what I've done. Killing monsters. Eating prey. That thirst to…" His eyes closed, and his head shook away his present thoughts. "Well, I never thought I'd be back here, making dresses."

Rainbow did her best to smile.

Her future felt dark. Like everyone would go away, and nothing would matter. It scared Rainbow. Reminded her of the boutique's previous owner. Darkness beckoned Rainbow. Depression desired a few quiet words.

Rainbow nearly listened.

Until shaking her head of the spell.

"Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you do me a favour?"

"Anything for perfection."

"I will probably need a new flight suit after my promotion." Rainbow turned around and presented more of herself to him. "The Wonderbolts are good at making them. But I want something specialized. Something that you, me, and Rarity can be proud of."

She flicked her tail and checked him from over her shoulder.

"Think you can make an outfit for me? It needs to be skin-tight." Rainbow shook her hips. "So you might need to feel with your claws to get an idea."

Surprise warmed Spike's face.

Even after his admission, she wanted to be with him, regardless of the danger. The clipboard fell from his claw, clattering on the ground. He ambled over and kneeled. His form passed like a shadow. Claws tapped her barrel, and talons traced the bone of a wing. It flicked and twitched, a slight flaring to its shape, a sudden influx of stimuli.

"S-Spike?"

Spike didn't answer. His face lowered to her back. Kisses touched her spine. Teeth nipped the thickness of her coat, tugging it. Claws worked her wings, forcing them to flare out, caressing the sensitive bone. His tongue licked the back of her neck, a series of tickles that turned her head.

Rainbow was sweating when his weight came down on her. His chest squished across her back, forcing it down. Her legs barely stood the weight as they lowered to his request. More of the dragon laid over her. The bottom of his muzzle rested on the top of her head, a complete blanket of dragon over the mare.

Rainbow lowered to the ground from his weight alone. Wings spread out from beneath him and worked and jerked to developing sweat in her coat. She was aware of his hips backed into her flanks. He ground against her backside.

"Mmh." The rumbles of his voice tapped across Rainbow's scalp. Her eyes looked up and into the underside of his jaw. She was trapped by the dumb beast. "You haven't fought me off yet. Where's that famous buck I've heard stories about? I should be flying out a window by now."

Rainbow wiggled. Escape wasn't her intent. Only to feel more of him.

"Can your other stallions do this?"

She chuckled. "You jealous?"

Spike lifted from her head, curving to watch her from the side, where they were an inch from each other. "Do I have a reason to be?"

Rainbow plunged forward. "Not yet."

The two kissed. Open mouths worked together as tongue lazily caressed the other. Both drowned in the makeout session as the dragon lowered her fully to the ground. Rainbow's legs were tucked beneath her as his hips rocked up and down against her flanks.

Rainbow halted the kiss for a moment. "Y'know… if you're making me a pair of shorts… f-feel free to add a few inches."

His eyebrow rose. "Why would I do that? I was thinking of taking a few away."

Rainbow grinned. "Naughty."

Rainbow couldn't move beneath the dragon's weight. It didn't take long for his cock to emerge and slip inside her tightness, a wet squeezing hug that swallowed him inside, holding him so tight as to deny him from ever leaving. It couldn't be more than a frozen toy fucked with the force of a dumb beast.

Spike thrust harder and harder with a forward and back shove carrying through the girl. They continued to make out as he fucked her from behind. The jerks that carried through her body rolled back into him as well. Warm juices splashed across his shaft. Rainbow felt full again. She wished to be twisted and turned, rolled around on his dick, able to feel it from every angle.

Knocks came at the door.

Both looked, and both did not care. Spike's claws left Rainbow's wings, one holding her chest and the other pushing against the ground, fucking her in a speed that blurred. One moaned, and the other groaned. The tingly delight was burning higher and brighter before it exploded into a milky discharge. Rainbow's walls clamped on the cock with every muscle claiming him.

Spike's cock, fully embraced, smacked around the walls, shooting rope after rope of white, drenching the place in thickness, seeping deep inside her core, filling it with his essence. Spike slumped over her next, spreading Rainbow's thickness. She laid beneath him. His hips doubled her backside. His cock was suckled inside her pussy.

Behind them, the door opened.

"Rainbow? Spike? Is everything okay?" Twilight's voice raced as quickly as her hooves as they clopped closer. "I was just at the door when I heard screaming. Did something happen? Are you—"

Twilight turned to see the two. Rainbow looked over her shoulder with Spike's head on top of hers. He was still backed into her hips, and his dick was still locked inside her tightness. Whiteness trailed down their thighs, collecting at their legs.

"I uh, huh." Twilight blinked as if to burn the images recently recorded in her eyes. Holding a hoof to block the view, she wrinkled a nose as she attempted to speak. "Okay! Neglecting everything wrong with this picture for the time being… I have some news!"

The vertically joined heads blinked.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight looked at her with a hoof blocking the unsavory parts. "The princesses are ready to conduct your interview. I'm here to bring you to Canterlot." She looked to the steps leading upstairs. "You were supposed to be at the station an hour ago. And I don't think you have enough time for a shower."

Twilight then glanced at her assistant. "And Spike? Can you please take your dick out of Rainbow Dash?"

Chapter XI | Sisterly Worries

~ XI ~

Sisterly Worries

Rainbow stood before the council.

Four chairs. Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Cadance. A floating dossier covered each of their faces. Flicking pages broke the silence. Someone hummed. Chatter behind the papers. Everyone flipped to the end.

Rainbow thanked the flight suit covering her sweaty body.

And Twilight, who cast a smell-concealing spell.

Twilight's going to kick my ass after this.

"Captain Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow jerked, nodding. Above, the floating dossiers fell into the princesses' laps. Looking at each other, their eyes narrowed with smiles forming below, then glancing at the summoned pony.

"You were promoted before your entry," Luna spoke. "This council was a formality."

Shock rocked the newest Captain. Rainbow blinked with an opened mouth. Her hoof laid on her latex-covered chest. "I-I made it? But why…"

Twilight grinned. "Cadance likes it when you squirm."

A smirking Cadance shrugged. "Guilty!"

Princess Celestia rose, as did the rest, standing with outstretched wings. They focused on their latest charge. "Miss Rainbow Dash is hereby the rank of Captain. This promotion will oversee command of the Wonderbolts."

Celestia looked at Rainbow directly. "Do you accept this responsibility?"

Rainbow kneeled. "Yes."

"Then the process is complete." Celestia tucked her wings and looked at the other princesses. "It's been a while since we've been summoned like this. Much longer without a looming threat."

Twilight's eyebrows quirked. "Let's not call Rainbow safe just yet."

Rainbow stuck out a tongue.

"She's safe for now, at least." Celestia began down the throne's steps while glancing back at the others. "How about some hamburgers and fries? There's still the rest of the afternoon to 'decide' Rainbow's matter."

Cadance bounced forward. "Oo-ooh! I heard Queass has a new ketchup!"

Luna followed. "Do not slide the bill to me, and we have a deal."

Twilight went down the steps but came next to Rainbow instead. Throwing a foreleg over Rainbow's neck, she pulled her aside. "Could we catch up later? I wanted to personally congratulate Rainbow on a few things."

Rainbow shrunk as the grip around her throat became tight.

Dead. So, so dead. So 'you fucked my little brother in the middle of our dead friend's shop' kinda dead. Spike might have scratched my ass—but you're going to tear it off for sure.

The princesses stopped at the door. Celestia glanced over. "Of course, Twilight. I know your usual order." She turned away. "Please don't take too long." They opened and passed through the double doors. "I know how much you detest cold food."

Twilight glared. The door closed with a cast of wind before silence resumed. Twilight's horn frizzled with magic. A truculent dome sealed around the two before disappearing in a glint.

Rainbow swallowed. Murder in the throne room. None are going to hear me die but her.

Twilight searched Rainbow's face. "Rainbow Dash… will your personal life negatively affect this position?" The question was straight, blunt, and Twilight's eyes bore into Rainbow, who stepped back—but realized there was nowhere to go. Twilight lowered her muzzle, but her eyes remained fixated. "We need to know. And we need to know now."

Rainbow swallowed, spreading her legs, standing as tall as she could against a princess double her size. Nodding, the Captain looked up at Twilight. "No conflicts. There's been… some rocky roads. But nothing will interfere with my duties as Captain."

Twilight watched. Checking for breaks in Rainbow's resolve. Rainbow remained firm. The last few days clouded her mind. She'd been caught fucking the dragon that Twilight had hatched. However, none of that cast doubt on Rainbow's loyalty to the cause.

Twilight relaxed, standing like a friend again. Her face seemed emotionally pained. "That's disappointing to hear."

Rainbow slumped. "Really? You're kiddin' me right now."

"I've been worried, Rainbow Dash! You never come out! All you do is work." Twilight stepped away and looked to the ground. "And the bar is the only place you frequent besides work or home!"

She looked up from the ground. "Friendship matters. Life isn't the same without it. I'm glad I'm seeing your dream come true... but I'd rather you be happy—more than anything else."

Rainbow looked at Twilight without judging. "I know. Trust me… I know. I'd be worried too. I haven't exactly been all there in the head, lately." Rainbow sighed heavily. "I didn't even go to Rarity's funeral. Couldn't get over myself and just go. I got locked up and lost inside myself. And I barely had what it took to keep on going."

Rainbow stepped forward and laid a hoof on Twilight's foreleg. The taller mare looked at the touch. Then they looked into each other's eyes. "But I'm doing better now. Getting out more. Talking to and helping others when I can. I've found my way again."

Rainbow's gaze dipped. "I don't know long it'll be before I stumble… but I know I can always find my way again."

Twilight smiled. Quickly, she captured the more miniature mare in a hug. Their furs compressed as their coats meshed together. They lingered in the embrace.

Twilight whispered into Rainbow's ear. "Congratulations, Rainbow Dash. Everyone is so proud of you. You've done well. I know Rarity would be full-on dramatics for you right now."

Rainbow snuggled into the fluffy embrace. "Thank you, Twilight. Thank you for always being there."

"Of course," Twilight said as the hug continued. Seconds ticked, then she smirked. "And how about Spike? Is he there for you as well?"

"Uh. A-About that…" Rainbow stiffened.

Twilight chuckled after releasing Rainbow, who backed away, ready to dodge any attack. Twilight held her ground, closing her eyes, smiling widely. Her face whispered, 'I haven't decided if I want to kill you yet.'

Twilight's eyes opened as her expression softened.

"Spike took me to dinner the other day," Twilight said as she looked away. "And it was everything… I hoped for. Spike was back. We talked about everything again. He said things that I… that I really needed to hear. We were joking again. Remembering old stories and times. It was like I had my baby dragon back."

Twilight rubbed one foreleg against the other. "He's special to me. Knows and helps me like none else can. He's my first friend. Someone who was just… always there. He's irreplaceable."

Twilight sighed. "But when I became princess… it felt like I was rising… while he was falling. And I couldn't even be there for him when he finally left home."

Twilight's eyes squeezed closed. "He became different… and I couldn't do anything. He took a bag and left a note." Something stung Twilight's face. "I didn't discover it for a week. Not until I finally came back home. Spike… my best friend. He had been gone for a week, and I didn't even know."

The words hurt Twilight. "And I didn't even know." She swallowed her pain. "And now? He's back. He comes around the castle and helps out. He's great forbouncing ideas off, or having someone hold you because nobody else in the world can."

Her hoof tapped the ground roughly. "But Spike doesn't let me help him. Doesn't tell me what's wrong." Something harsh cut at Twilight's voice. "Spike won't let me in. Sometimes, he's there. That baby dragon I once knew. Talking and joking like a year hadn't passed."

She exhaled quickly. "And then something h-happens… and Spike is gone again! Just… gone…" Twilight wiped an eye. "Then I come to the boutique because he's talking of running it again. I wanted to do right by Rarity after failing her. Then he's got you pinned, and I…"

Rainbow winced. But she also nodded. Looking at Twilight and lifting a hoof to Twi's cheek, turning her back. Rainbow spoke kindly and sternly. "I know, Twilight. I know. That was a rough scene. I don't know how you handled it so well."

Twilight chuckled. "If I weren't a princess? That would have been a different story."

"I don't doubt it," Rainbow said while wiping a tear from Twilight's other eye. The bigger mare smiled more for it. "And if I didn't look to be enjoying it, I'm sure you would have thought far worse of the scene. Because you're right, Twilight. Your little assistant is there. But something else is inside of Spike. Something that also has me scared and confused."

Twilight nodded. "It's funny. Out of all of us… he's probably the most twisted and confused." She looked into Rainbow's eyes for support. "I sometimes wonder if it's our fault. Raising a dragon like a pony. What were we expecting to happen? Those bubbling instincts of wanting to fight, of wanting to find multiple mates… there's so much of himself that he has to repress, that he must think of as wrong because of us."

Rainbow couldn't help but agree. It must be non-stop tension and confusion for the dragon. Fundamentally, Spike could never be like a normal dragon—and that was because of his connection to them. Even when he went out into the world and cut loose, he was forced to be moderate, whereas other dragons could go as far as they liked.

"Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to give him to the dragons," Twilight finally admitted in absolute pain. "But I also can't imagine a life without him."

Rainbow barely managed a smile. "I know how you feel, Twilight. Trust me. I know how you feel." She took a long breath, carefully considering her following words. "But I think Spike feels the same way about us. He never talks about regretting the life he's had. He only ever seems to hate himself. I don't think he would have wanted to be another dragon. His love for us also causes him to keep his distance."

Spike's teasing made more sense. How he presented himself as dangerous. It only needed to reassure Rainbow that he forgot himself and went the extra distance. Lust probably took control at times. But he was always willing to put aside to ensure Rainbow was never hurt or forced during their intercourse.

He wants to help while reminding us to keep our distance.

"And you raised him well, Twilight," Rainbow was able to say for sure while hugging the mare again. It took Twilight by surprise. "He's been good to me. Despite that other side, he never lets it take control. He wouldn't be in this state because of us. But he's also smart and strong enough because of that to handle the problem."

Twilight returned the hug and rested on the back of Rainbow's neck. "It just… it feels like he's holding back some anger. That at any time… he could really lose it. I don't care if he burns my castle down. Not even if he hurts me. But I just hate seeing him like that. So on the cusp of something primal taking over, he has to do everything to hold it back."

"His nature is why he left, Twi," Rainbow pieced together the sudden departure those years ago. "He didn't want to worry us. Neither did he want to hurt us. He figured that going away was the best bet. But even then… all it did was make everything worse. That beast he's got inside of him? It's never going to go away. All we can do is find ways of dealing with it."

Rainbow inhaled deeply. "We must be there for him even if he doesn't want it. Even when he shouts, or cuts us by accident. We have to be there for him through his anger and anything else from that other side. He's good when things are going like normal. We just need to bring back the friendship that existed between all of us."

Twilight snuggled into her mane. "That… that sounds lovely, Rainbow."

"We just have to make sure he doesn't feel like a burden," Rainbow finished while sinking into the side of Twilight's neck. "It's the reason why he helps so much. He feels guilty otherwise. We have to make sure he feels welcome. That we'd rather him destroy the town than to see him leave it again. And he won't destroy anything. Not if we're actually there for him this time."

"And how about you?" Twilight asked without judgment. "In what way are you there for him?"

Rainbow looked aside. "It's more like how he's there for me. We flirt. I do my best to talk him through some things. To assure him that he's a good dragon, a good guy, that we want him around—that he isn't a burden. But it's been him that's been making me feel full. Feel loved. Feel like everything that a girl needs to survive. I can't say I pleasure him all that well—uh, too much information."

Twilight chuckled.

"Do you think he's the one?"

"I don't know," Rainbow answered. "My head tells me no. But everything else wants to be with him anyway."

"Isn't that what love is?"

Rainbow chuckled. "Something like that."

"Don't worry," Twilight reaffirmed. "I feel the same. I don't know what the future with him is going to be like. I'm scared to fight with him in case he leaves or accidentally blows flames. But I also know that my Spike is still there. That, as long as we're there for him, as long as we make sure he feels loved… that everything will work out in the end."

Twilight sighed. "I just hope I can keep that promise. That the princess in me doesn't come out because dragons can't live with ponies. No." Her head shook. "I don't care either. I'll be there for him. No matter what… I'll be there."

"Me too, Twilight."

"And Rainbow?"

"Yeah?"

"You have my blessing to be whatever you like with Spike," Twilight said, the heaviness leaving her voice. Something lighter entered, a welcomed air—at Rainbow's expense. "The only thing I can't approve of is where the two of you decide to engage in intercourse."

Rainbow stiffened.

"You…" Rainbow's voice broke. The mind is a burning blur in the middle of sex. It's only afterward that she realized the level of disrespect their location had meant to their absent friend. "D-Do you think Rarity would be upset?"

"Are you kidding me?" Twilight backed off from the hug so the two could be face to face. "Sex in a dead mare's home? Right where anyone could walk in and see? Rarity's probably tapping her chest and proudly spreading that gossip across the impossible span of the afterlife."

For the first time in a while.

Rainbow felt slightly less bad about herself.

Chapter XII | Graveside Manners

~ XII ~

Graveside Manners

Rainbow went to Rarity's grave.

She hadn't expected to see Spike there.

The mare paused between tall oak trees, peeking out from behind one, looking at the gravestones. Spike towered in the middle of the lot. His foot could easily crush the slab of stone before him. Instead of that, the dragon knelt: offering frozen blue flowers.

Rarity's favourite. Rainbow blinked, shuffling behind the tree. So you're the one who brought the impossible flower.

Spike rose after digging the flowers into the grass. His face seemed unsure. He rubbed his neck and looked around. Rainbow ducked behind the tree. Finally, with a sigh, the dragon undid the pouch tied around his waist.

And pulled out a letter.

You still haven't read it? Rainbow nearly stepped forward—but stopped herself. You've been so strong. I didn't think you were still struggling with that. I should of…

"Sorry."

The dragon spoke.

The breeze nearly carried his words.

"Sorry… for not being there. For not holding your hoof when it mattered most. I became what I needed when it was too late. I should have just been there. But I wasn't. And I'm never there in the way others need me."

Rainbow swallowed as she turned, her back leaning onto the tree.

"I never told you how those letters saved my life." Spike held the envelope with both claws over the grave. His eyes seemed pained. "Never expressed all the little things on my mind. I was pretending to be more than what I was. You saw through that. But you understood what I was going through."

Spike's eyes squeezed tight. "Why did it take me so long to mature? That I could finally be your friend when you could no longer be mine?" His head slowly shook. "I cut myself from everyone. You knew why. I told you my terribleness. And yet… you were still there. You shouldn't have been. You should have let me be a wandering shadow of myself."

Spike exhaled. "But you made me feel loved. Reminded me of who I was underneath it all. That there was still good in me. That I could still be…" His voice choked on sensitivity. "You made me feel like I could come back home. That I still had a chance at being me again."

His body twisted in place. "I tried killing that part of me. Every memory and friendship. To forget the past and spend the present burning in a wandering blaze. Another side of me took over for a while. I indulged in it. Never felt full. Sipping... when I needed gulps to quench my thirst. No matter which way I went—it was never enough."

Spike looked around. Rainbow froze, holding her breath. The dragon looked down at the tombstone again, swallowing. "Every letter from you inched me out from the darkness. I tried to fight it—but I always buzzed when I neared the post office. But then your letter hadn't come. Twilight had sent me one instead."

His frame buckled from a new weight.

"I didn't make it." He lingered in silence. "I didn't hold your hoof when it mattered most, or let you know your impact on me. I took more than what I gave. I still truly am a dragon at heart." He dropped to his knees as the weight carried through the ground. He sat on the back of his legs as he held the letter forward. "And I'm too much of a coward to read your final words. A-As long as I n-never open it… t-there's still a letter from you waiting for me…"

Spike edged the sharpness of a talon to the envelope's seal. Doing his best to cut the heart imprinted with the mare's last kiss, he cried, tears tapping into the white. His claws shook. Neither could be still. Despite his size and strength, he did not have the might to break open an envelope.

To see it open and the page inside slide out. The dragon cried as he forced his sharpness onto the paper, fighting with all his might to break that little heart. It took the straining of every muscle, controlling every nerve, to sever that last kiss. But, try as he might, the dragon could not bring himself to commit to the act.

Turning around, he fell, his back pushing against the tiny tombstone, which somehow sustained his whole weight. He laid back while looking at the sky. Silent tears trekked down his face. Breathing through his mouth, he hiccuped every now and again, a weak boy unable to do what was asked of him.

Rainbow watched the dragon, the one who teased and dominated her, lose himself to tears. Horror splashed her face in not knowing the pain of his existence. All that he hid beneath the surface for the sake of her or the overall game all seemed to be playing. He'd been alone all this time. Even when he was surrounded by others—he was still by himself.

None understood him like those letters did.

Nothing else made him feel more loved, like the dragon he once was.

He was Spike again when Rarity wrote to him.

And then he was just a kindly dragon when she stopped.

Help him.

Rainbow blinked. She looked to the graveyard and then through the trees to the town in the beyond. An internal struggle began about the proper course—and which path she had enough strength for. Tears had dampened the furs around her eyes. Her voice choked even without speaking.

You didn't feel ready to help Rarity.

Are you going to make that same mistake?

Rainbow emerged from the trees, and the clop of her hooves on grass drew the dragon's attention. His quiet expression set on the mare treading the land between the tombstones. Wiping the sides of his eyes, he didn't try to play off the tears. He merely watched. Caught for the vulnerable mess that he was.

Because, when the mare came to stand before him, a breeze carrying leaves around her, she did not hide her tears or the way her wings somewhat slumped. She didn't overcome the buckling in her legs or the overall weakness within her presence. Rainbow smiled despite it all.

And the dragon, slowly, was able to smile as well.

Looking at the letter, Rainbow held out a hoof, content to wait.

Spike looked at the hoof. Then at the letter. His pleading eyes tore into the face of the mare who, at that time, remained firmed in expression. More of him crumbled within. His eyes squeezed without closing, and his breath was strained. He slowly pushed his claw forward as though he was being slashed from the inside. Hestaintily, his talons released the sacred piece.

Rainbow took the letter. Her wings claimed it from her hoof in holding it between them. It didn't feel right for her to be holding this holy weight. Not with her absence during Rarity's time of need. It should have been Applejack holding this letter, guiding the dragon through this toughness.

She had no right to read Rarity's final words.

But the face of the dragon loomed behind the letter. It wasn't the dragon that had returned a few days ago. It was Spike. That fat, goofy face, a sensitive but happy one, was torn like a child in breaking bad news. Rainbow's heart raced when seeing Spikey-Wikey.

None of your shit matters.

Spike needs you.

Be there for him.

Rainbow nodded. Sliding a wingtip beneath the upper lip, Rainbow slowly applied pressure, prying the piece. The seal snapped. It's been like the two had been shot. Rainbow exhaled through her mouth. With a trembling wing, she slid the paper inside. The envelope fell into the dragon's waiting palms.

Rainbow held the letter before her and, even though she had no voice, was forced to speak for one anyway, not caring about the impossible so long as it was for a friend. With a clearing of her throat, she read the letter aloud.

Dear Spikey Wikey,

I must be gone if you are reading this. Please do not overly fret that detail. One's beauty is restored in the afterlife—so long as my best photo is hung at the funeral.

If it is not: my sickly ghost knows of your new home.

You most likely weren't there when it happened. You might not have even made it to the funeral. It would have been nice to feel your claw one last time. It's such a special thing. We ponies never tell you how it feels to be touched like that. Hooves and magic are splendid. But there's something about the size and the precision of your talons that evokes something different.

You worry about your claws' sharpness. You even asked for gloves that acted nearly as a sheath. I didn't have the heart, then, to tell you this.

You viewed your hands as weapons. Make no doubt: they could be.

But I never felt frightened when you held me tight. I was never scared of your so-called 'knives' trailing my back. Nothing fluffed my coat or tickled my skin more. The way you could scratch at an itch. You questioned why I stopped doing my mane. It was because I loved how you brushed it. I would wear it forever if it meant I could have your touch.

I'm happy that, even if we could never romantically be together, we could fill the holes of emptiness in each other's soul.

You were never a threat to me. Not once did you startle my heart. The only time you hurt me is the day you didn't show up for our weekly tea. I waited after the shop had closed, knowing what had occurred. I didn't take a sip. I never did until you came. I filled the cup without meaning to.

I won't convince you you're perfect or that you have nothing to fear. I'm thankful you allowed me to be privy to your terrible side. You seemed so abhorred that it existed. How you massacred some creatures terrified you. You wondered, if unhinged, the destruction you could cast on those you cherished.

You paint ponies as pure and dragons as vile.

Do you think ponies, despite our looks, are all good? That we don't do horrible, undesirable things? Ponies hurt each other. They say nasty things and do matters that are then much worse. The only difference is that your capability is much worse should you lose footing. There is evilness in us all.

But you don't lose your footing. You may stumble—but then you correct yourself. You've done bad, but also, you've done good. Whenever you've hurt someone, you've always done your best to make things right. We can't stop ourselves from making mistakes. Sometimes we lose ourselves in the moment. Everyone does it. You punish yourself worse because your potential—but not your desire—for harm is greater.

You must trust yourself.

Trust in the Spike that I know. You won't be happy in the life you live. Your letters are proof of that. Wandering and slaying and barely living. Your deepest nature rejects it—I know it. You always seem happiest when you're talking to me like Spike again. That is your name. That is the dragon we all love. And that is the dragon I'll be watching over once I'm gone.

You're only terrible if you never feel guilt over your actions.

You're only horrible if you never try to do better.

I have been your light. I'm happy you've let this useless, bed-ridden mare feel useful. I've seen through your darkness to the heart of your soul. To the little Spikey-Wikey at the center of it all, buried beneath such terrifying weight, alone and confused, wanting to help others, but also needing to fear himself.

How terrible that must be.

To be pulled so many ways without guidance or comfort. To navigate such confusion on your own, be held totally accountable for it all. There is something you've been needing. Something you've shared but rarely have received. That which will help you through this difficult time.

Love.

You're always there when you can be. You always give what someone needs. Twilight wouldn't be a princess if it were not for you. Those panic attacks and neurotic whims you've endured for her sake. Understanding her and being there in the way she needs you to be. You can be snarky. But you've never hurt Twilight in her times of need.

Why do you feel like you don't deserve the same? Don't you understand how much that breaks my heart? You're happiest when you're helping someone become the different things needed to assist another. You've done what you can out in the world. But you won't be happy until you have a home, surrounded by friends who love and understand you.

Where you can help grow this town and its ponies.

Accept yourself. Try to have compassion for your struggles to see your situation from my point of view despite your flaws. I'm sorry I can no longer be your light except in thought. I can only hope that, when you think of me, you are warmed and blessed in the way you require.

Oh, look at this mare talk about herself.

With a heart such as yours, I have no doubt that others are more than willing to become your new candles.

Thank you for being there, Spike, in the times when I didn't deserve it when I abused your love or hurt your feelings. I was selfish at times, but dared to think that, because you were a dragon, and I ,a pony, that I couldn't have been all that selfish. Enduring such thinking and feelings from others has reaffirmed that horrible identity you hold of yourself. There is much you have to let go of.

The boutique is yours.

Please make it into a home. Do not worry about my thoughts. To have it be a collection of items caught in cobwebs terrifies me more than this disease. Let others inside your home. Let them inside of you. You may feel yourself to be a burden. That nothing can help.

But even in facing death, an unsolvable thing, talking to Applejack has let me feel at peace.

My last request is for you to find love. You live to ensure others feel their own worth. Let the same happen to you. Even if I cannot be the princess you have saved from a castle, another out there wants to love you. That will help you bear the reality we have all found ourselves in.

I love you, Spike.

Please be a good boy after I'm gone.
~ Forever "Beautifully" Yours, Rarity.

Rainbow stopped reading. Tears hadn't stopped. Her voice never ceased to break. The dragon watched her mouth for every word as more of him was destroyed from the inside. Only that he fell forward after the letter finished. Wrapping Rainbow in a tight hug, a friend needing a friend's embrace, weeping into her mane, snot blowing from his snout.

Rainbow did not care as she hugged him back; the two embraced over the friend's grave.

"Was…" Spike exhaled harshly. "Was there any more?"

Rainbow laughed while crying. "J-Just one thing."

Spike sniffled.

"Wanna hear it?"

He nodded, his muzzle sliding up and down her neck.

PS. Also! Should you decide to make love in your new boutique, please allow for two weeks to pass, ensure the door is locked, the windows are covered, and please have the decency to change and use the bed.

Chapter XIII | Breaking News

~ XIII ~

Breaking News

Rainbow Dash stood at the back of the stage as Princess Celestia and Spitfire addressed the audience. Outside, voices were silent, and nothing of the place existed within her vision. She was thinking back to the graveyard. Holding the dragon like that. Seeing him weak. Her hoof had brushed his spines as she did her best to console him.

Even the strongest are suffering.

It wasn't a hug between lovers or friends. It was between two lonely creatures connecting on a similar pain. Spike cried into her mane while holding her tight. Broken by the letter and unsure how to piece himself back together.

Days had passed.

And the announcement had come.

Rainbow peeked out from the side of the stage, looking to the side of the speakers to the array of seats, all of them filled except one. Spike's chair remained empty at the front. Maybe the crowd's a bit much. Looking to the back of the room, she saw the shadowy figure leaning against the door.

Their eyes met.

And both came to wear casual smiles.

Rainbow shuffled back to avoid being seen. On the other side of the stage, Twilight stood behind the curtain, having watched the exchange. Rainbow shuffled awkwardly and did away with the smile. A smirking Twilight, however, manifested a pair of running shorts with her horn. They floated, a size too small for the pegasus's hips.

Twilight stretched the material in the air, revealing Dash's cutie mark.

She stuck her tongue out.

Spike and Twilight are talking again. That's great… and bad…

"And now we present the mare of the hour!" Princess Celestia's voice chirped as hooves clopped away on the stage, gesturing hooves to the emerging mare. "Captain Rainbow Dash!"

The crowd roared, rising from their chairs. Clapping hooves and talons and wings sounded the Captain's approach. Rainbow approached the podium with a bashful smile. Coming face to face with Spitfire, she stood in place, throwing a salute. Spitfire returned it. Then, in removing the brass from the chest of her uniform, she brought it forward, pinning it to Rainbow's uniform.

"This is yours now, kiddo." Spitfire stepped back and gave another salute. "Take good care of it."

Rainbow nodded, smiling. "Aye."

Spitfire smiled and, taking her leave, stood in the shadow that was the back of the stage. Rainbow looked to Celestia, who also smiled and nodded. The princess cleared the scene. Eyes were on Rainbow. She took a moment to scan and address them all.

"I just wanted to say… thanks, to everyone, for being here." The last interview session had been a nightmare for the unformed Dash. Who saw them as troublesome and nearly ridiculing. Now, however, she saw them as others to share her accomplishments. "I know I was out of it the last session. I'm thankful for all who have watched me since my beginning and stuck with me even when I didn't seem worth it."

Her eyes passed over the audience in an attempt to see every face there.

"It's my goal to ensure everyone in Equestria, no matter what may come, will feel safe because the Wonderbolts are here." She nodded to the faces. "We'll be there before you even think to call for help. That fire will be out before it even has a chance to touch the second floor. Our goal is to be the fastest, smartest, and strongest fliers. There is pride in striving for those qualities. But there is greater pride in putting them to their greatest use—when they're used for the sake of others."

Rainbow swallowed. "More than just being your protectors, we want to inspire you to tackle what doesn't seem possible. To give that extra rep or to burn that extra flame. When you think of the Wonderbolts, what we practice and encourage, we want you to buzz with that same passion for life. To chase after something that radically transforms you in the process. It can be little. Or it can be big. So long as you're after something—even if it's learning to recover—you have found a path to walk in this life."

She bowed. "I am proud to be your newest Captain."

Applause ensued.

Ended when Celestia stepped forward. "We are proud to welcome Rainbow Dash as our newest Wonderbolt Captain. With the promotion complete, Rainbow Dash has agreed to answer a few questions." Rainbow rose. "Would anyone like to go first?"

Wings and hooves flushed up.

The questions went as expected.

Any planned changes to the organization?

Have you fixated on anyone to eventually succeed you?

Any doubts or worries on your part to succeed in your responsibilities?

And, of course, personal questions.

"With a job that requires a greater demand of your time," one reporter started as the rest of the room fell quiet, "will the great Rainbow Dash have any time for romance? Or will you, as the saying goes, be married to the job?"

"Nothing of the sort," Rainbow answered simply in drilling out the answers. "I'm already taken."

It was seconds after that her eyes blazed pinkly in horror. Twilight, who had come to the side of the stage, was blown by the revelation with widened eyes. Despite knowing of the fun and seriousness the pony and dragon shared, she was unsure if it had actually cemented into something official.

Rainbow blinked. Flashes of cameras firing more than they did during the promotion itself. Questions went voiced. Who was this lover that had swept her from the side? What kind of creature could have claimed the great Dash? Quotes and headlines and a drama were beginning. The mystery of who bagged the latest Captain, the unobtainable mare, the one above them all.

"Who is this mysterious stallion?"

Rainbow mouthed the word. "Stallion?" She blinked. Fuck. Oh, fuck. They're going to. He's going to know. Cover. Spike's the next hot topic in this town. There's already rumours. You've gotta cover this NOW. "That stallion is… for you to find out."

Her trademark smirk returned as the crowd blew into applause.

But behind it all, at the very back where, despite his size, the dragon had come to step forward. He'd been so still as to not be noticed. Something infected his face. Oh, shit Spike. I didn't mean to confess to you like this. I should have done it straight up, and… finally told you how I felt.

Spike shook his head. He turned away after that. No words.

Rainbow reached out a hoof to him as a slash of pain crossed her face. More questions buzzed in the air as hooves stomped the ground. Suddenly nothing mattered again. Sounds or the like. Not being in a castle. Or golden being pinned to her chest. Not even a princess's kind words and annotating could make her feel that swirling, filling sensation.

Her hoof lowered as her sense of duty returned.

It'd taken an hour or so to calm down the audience, and return the focus to the matter of the promotion and the coming changes and ideas. There was a request for feedback on current performances and possible improvements. Something of a photo session afterward. Then everyone went home trying to find out who was the newest stallion that had won Rainbow without appearing in the headlines once.

And the headlines did come.

Newspapers were left at every door with the game afoot. Quotes asking for any hints on the matter. They seemed so focused on looking for a stallion that not one of the papers thought that the male, perhaps, could have been a dragon. Spike's return, and his time with Rainbow, had avoided suspicion.

Rainbow sat at the club with a foreleg wrapped around a drink, the chilliness set against her coat, a sip not taken. She hunched forward, sighing. In finally making Captain, she could never have expected that her love life would make a more prominent headline. The things of dreams never go the same in real life.

One such paper laid next to her hooves on the counter.

"Captain's Hidden Love? One of the Wonderbolts, or Someone Outside? The Scoop on Page Nine!"

"Ugh." Rainbow swatted the page further across the counter and wrapped the drink tighter. She went to raise the glass for a drink but, in a sudden flush of self-hatred, pushed her muzzle into the mug. "Idiot. I'm such an idiot. How could I have let my feelings slip like that? The dragon's going to know for sure I've got a hard-on for him."

Rainbow didn't mind how that last part didn't make sense.

Isn't this a good thing, though? Another voice asked from her subconscious. You're beyond thinking you're not into him. And even if it doesn't make sense, all you want is to have that dragon in your life. He's everything you need. The one that can keep up. That can protect you. That can help you after a long, lonely, and boring day of work.

Rainbow smirked at that. Her muzzle rose from the mug and, on the thought of him alone, was able to take a proper drink. Her closed eyes envisioned leaving the office and coming home, the dragon waiting behind the door with open arms. That minute-long embrace. The hug, kiss, and talk of the day while coffee was made. Having another to lounge on the couch with. A partner to bring to the gym.

And, even though she was meant to protect the nation, there was something sweet in knowing, no matter the threat, the dragon could take care of it, cradling the girl in her arms, a lovely walk back home afterward. Such gushy feelings and thoughts could never be shared by the mare who, even currently, found it hard to admit to herself such fantasies.

What's he going to think?

Rainbow winced. She had knocked at his door, the only one without today's paper, to no answer. It wasn't odd for him to go out wandering into the woods to enjoy the day. Or even the farm. But Rainbow didn't have the heart to track him down. Not when she confessed her love for him before the world. When she told him without telling him.

Out of everyone in the world, you're the one, you scaley bastard.

Rainbow smiled some more and traced circled on the counter with a hoof. She tittered, blushing, without minding, swaying to the bangs of mane over her face. She even drew his name without giving it a second thought. Spike had mellowed somewhat after their talk at Rarity's grave. She finally saw the goodness that he tried to lock away.

Not that I mind your teasing… or that it'll ever end.

The dragon, without rank or a profession, a near bum, had the smallest right to a heart such as Rainbow's. Yet, because of who he was, he had won it whole. Rainbow should have gone with a royal or someone who ranked as high as her. Or even someone who blazed as hard as she did.

But the dragon, in being a dragon, owned her completely.

I'll be yours, big guy.

From here and to the end.

And even after that.

Strangely enough, despite not being dressed or hidden in a hoodie, none at the club had noticed Rainbow Dash. Maybe Vinyl Scratch had put out a notice to leave the mare alone. That, or everyone was so in the talks of Wonderbolt's Captain that they couldn't see the mare sitting right next to them. In either case, the girl didn't mind her one night of being left alone.

What comes next between us? I don't think he'll reject me. He's said too much for that to be the case. Rainbow went for another drink of her beer, the glass becoming half-full. Its bottom smacked on the counter. Rarity's letter has let him be more open. Maybe… he might believe that he's good enough for me. Maybe he'll finally give up those talks of me finding someone else. What we have is good. We can let it be what it is. Let it slowly grow on its own.

Rainbow smiled at those thoughts, finding her resolve, content to find the dragon the following day and confess. To lay it all on the table and hope for the best. Then it would all be up to the dragon. The mare had surrendered herself to the beast. She could only hope that she wouldn't be devoured.

Wait. That voice. Is that…

Rainbow's ears had flicked in hearing a voice deeper, darker, and louder than the rest. Her back rose as her head spun around, searching for its source in the crystal palace of fun. The club was open concept with crystal beams for pillars. A counter stretched from every four corners with bartenders behind each. Ponies passed in crowds.

At the middle was the dance floor with crystal tiles colourfully synced to the music. Above loomed a disco ball. Booths and the like filled the rest of the floor. Over the music and the chatter of raising voices, one spoke calmly, not needing to doubt its power or control.

The smoky assurance of a dragon.

You're here.

What the hell are you doing in a place like this?

Rainbow turned from her stool while leaving enough bits on the counter. The bartender bowed and collected the glass and the change. Bumping music vibrated the floor and buzzed the air. Sweat collected on everyone. Ahead, through the crystal of one beam, the mare could see a towering purple blur—one with a smaller, creamy one, trapped and tucked beneath it.

No. No, no.

You're not.

You're seriously not right now.

Rainbow's breathing hitched as she rounded the corner, slipping beneath the ponies, coming to round the corner, following his reflection in the varying crystals. These mirages led her to him. Rainbow turned the corner and paused in place.

Spike towered against the beam with a claw resting on the crystal. His form slunk over another mare, who rose on her back legs as if on command, both of their muzzles pressed together, a devouring kiss that transported two into a new world of pleasure. They weren't there—but somewhere better. Somewhere special.

His other claw felt up and down the thickness of her creamy coat, claiming it in a clump, a squeeze that caused her to shiver, before falling to her flanks, the best kind of fast, offering heaps of dough to be kneaded. The dragon's talons played with the squishiness. Feeling it and jiggling it. Meshing it into different shapes and playing with it in every possible way.

And none dared to stop the two, to tell the dragon he was going too far, in fear of his size and might.

Except for Rainbow Dash

Chapter XIV | Bared Fangs

~ XIV ~

Bared Fangs

Spike kissed the mare before inching away, watching the mare chase after his lips, indulging her desperation in a second kiss. His claw squeezed the creamy coating of her flank before stroking a talon across the side of her barrel. Her wings flared ever so slightly. She shuddered.

"Do you want more?"

The fluffed mare had been asked that question. She stood around staring into his face. Silent and still, unable to make a move, it took seconds until her breath returned. Her head shook as she felt intertwined with a sexy monster. Her eyes never left his. He swallowed her every breath.

"B-Bathroom!"

The mare slunk to the side on wobbly hooves, nearly needing to hop away, coming to a stop, a glance over the shoulder—seeing the monster's gaze on her. With a flush of a blush, she bounded toward the doors at the back of the club.

She curved in her trek and never went straight.

Spike grinned as he rose to his full height, a claw flexing in absence, his eyes searching for new prey. His head turned around to see the watching face of Rainbow Dash. His expression was dampened. The two glared at each other. He went to turn.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rainbow asked while everything inside buzzed. She stomped a hoof forward, ignoring it all, face aflame in looking up to the drake. "And what the hell was that?"

Spike rose from the crystal beam with a crack in his neck. Passing ponies glanced. Dubstep fluctuated the colours and lights of the scene. The dragon took his time before speaking. "Following Rarity's letter and living a little. See if I can find a nice mare to bring back to the boutique."

"How dare you!" Rainbow's heart blazed hotter. "Is this what you think she wanted? Are you going to the club to sample different kinds of mares? Decide which one is the best kind of treat to take home?" Her head violently shook. "Rarity wanted you to find love! Someone that filled you as much as you did them. What you're trying to do is get laid!"

"All this talk of love," Spike returned with a tilt of a head and stomp of a foot. "How about you, Rainbow Dash? Seeing different stallions and a dragon. Do any of us even know about each other? What about the newest addition you had the gull to express to everyone? Did he know you were shagging it up with a beast a few days before?"

Rainbow's next words died in her throat.

Confusion crept into realization.

"What did you expect me to do after your little confession, huh?" Spike fired word after word. Stomping closer and closer. Rainbow shrieked as his size. Needing to crane her neck more as the enraged dragon neared. "Telling me that I'll never stand a chance. That you have a bunch of other stallions on the side. I nearly didn't believe you at first. But nope! Then you went on that stage, and you…"

Rainbow backed away, but the dragon stole the steps quickly. Steam exhausted from the sides of his mouth and snout. She was scared and shrinking into herself. His claw had started to raise. Its sharpness glinted in the club's lights.

"You don't tell me what I can and can't do," the beast barked downward. "You don't dare criticize what I decide to indulge in."

Rainbow had backed into a corner when he came over her, slunk and scared, the ponies watching. Spike was about to descend on her—but stopped. He took a second to think and breathe and look around. Ponies watched him. Frozen and silent, watching. Something not belonging to them now in their midst.

Spike stepped back with his claw flexed before his chest. He wiggled his talons, watching them, eyes narrowing at the view. His shoulders lowered as he turned away. Rainbow was still set against the wall, panting with a hoof on her chest.

It took moments before thought returned.

H-He… he doesn't know… Rainbow blinked and swallowed, looking at the monster's back. He doesn't know I was talking about him. He really thinks there are other stallions. That I've been sleeping around. That I don't care for him the same. That I don't…

Rainbow realized it. The thrown words to protect herself from becoming invested in him. The love she had for and needed from him was used against her. She kept him at a distance, needing to feel safe. Never once assuring him of the deeper feelings beneath their sex. After that letter and the confession on stage, she'd cracked his head, confused his mind, and set him on a different path altogether.

I wasn't strong enough to admit I was weak… and I hurt him instead. I wasn't able to accept myself in every possible way. I wasn't able to accept him either. Oh, Celestia. What have I done? Spike… what have I done?

Her hoof reached out for him, a mouth opened to speak his name, but the two did nothing, falling away, forced to remain in shame. The dragon began away. The usual rumble and thunder in his sulking steps. He walked as ponies watched him. An outsider, failing to prove himself, cast out from the kind he wasn't meant to mingle with.

Thunder broke from the door. Footsteps rumbled inward. Double doors blasted aside and smacked into the club's wall. Crystal sprinkled into dust as a blue dragon emerged through the cloud. Tall. Proud. Stalking forward, a hunting predator.

Another dragon appeared. Rainbow's eyes widened as her back peeled from the wall. She came in front of everyone at once, bringing them back with a wing and a hoof, coming in front of the lot—but remaining behind Spike's back. He'd stopped walking after the last pony. The front of the club was clear except for the beasts.

"Hmhm." The dragon stalked forward, his step clashing the bottles on the counter, shifting the glasses on the crystal. His head tilted back. It inhaled. Out through its mouth came a slowly tasted exhale. "Yeees. You arrre it. My mate. Taken. You tooook her."

Spike only stared. "I have quite the list." His head lowered, but his eyes remained up. "You'll have to be exact."

"Pink, and violet."

"Tulsa?" Spike blinked with a recoil of his face. "She isn't yours."

The blue dragon's lips peeled over his fangs as it hunched forward. "Mine. I claimed her. You had no right. No beesting."

"I showed the lady a better time." Spike nodded. "That's all the besting she needed."

Rainbow remained frozen behind the purple dragon. His tail hovered into the air and winded behind his back. Something washed from his body. A heat and smell that was nearly nauseating. The two became primal dragons. Their scents competing. A snarl and growl over invaded land.

"My laaand," the blue dragon beat a claw on his chest. "Al'sual's land. Al'sual mate. You invade. You take. She leaves! You infect pony on dragons!"

"Your mate didn't seem to think so. She left for a reason. Ponder it." Spike looked over his shoulder as if to ensure the ponies were behind him. He saw Rainbow directly behind. He quickly stepped in front of her, holding a palm behind his waist, one shooing her away. "And leave here before you tackle some you won't walk away from."

"You're a pooony."

"How I wish that was true." Spike checked over his shoulder again. Rainbow was still looking up at him from over his shoulder. Frozen. Scared. Her face depicted the complexion. His face lit into something different as he thundered forward. "Now is your time to lea—"

The dragon charged with a horrifying growl. Spike raised his forearms before his face, taking the hit, sliding back and avoiding Rainbow Dash. Once his feet had stopped, he looked around, the ponies further backing away, a scream from the crowd. His fists curled and uncurled, the urge to fight and not to fight. He looked forward as another attack hadn't come.

Though the dragon claimed another.

"This one is special…" Al'sual clacked with his tail wrapped like a rope around Rainbow's barrel, its end tied around her muzzle. It floated her in the air like she was weightless. The tail squeezed her when she wiggled. "Your scent. All over it. Your mate. Now mine. Will sate urges until can no longer."

Spike charged. No words. Zero indication. Immense feet clacked onto the glass as a low growl vibrated through his body. Al'sual cackled in turning around, thrusting the mare forward, using her to block the dragon's path, a frightened Rainbow Dash between them. She was scared to see the colossal mass charge her.

Rainbow saw into his eyes. That calm green still in control. She saw the Spike that was still there beneath the surface of the beast. Her eyes watched his mouth as they whispered the words "wings." Quickly, she flared her pair as much as she could, waiting.

Spike charged her. He pushed her aside with full force, yanking the dragon's tail, forcing him to stumble. While Al'sual struggled to rebalance, Spike had gripped the back of his tail and, in raising a foot, stomped it into its base. He pulled higher and harder as the dragon screeched and growled. Even when the dragon turned his shoulders and elbows into the threat behind, Spike took it all, pulling on muscle and bone, waiting for that satisfying crunch.

And it came with a pop.

Rainbow felt the tail slink from her form as her wings pushed out for good, allowing her to fly away from the scene. Tapping down on the side, she recovered her breath and heart rate, seeing out to the two to ensure she was safe.

Spike had released the tail and backed away, seeing over to Rainbow and, in so doing, leaving the right of his neck exposed. Al'sual charged into Spike, sealing into his body, diving his maw into Spike's tender throat. He bit into the scales, the skin and the flesh beneath, squirts of blood firing, trails trekking down his shoulder.

Spike growled as the monster munched away at the side of his neck. Something twisted inside of him. Darkness claimed his existence as he gripped the back of the dragon's head, slowly pulling it to the tearing of his own flesh. Muscles stretched and snapped as the dragon was pulled back. With the back of its head in claw, Spike stepped out of the way and, with immense strength, threw the dragon's face into the floor.

It smacked into the crystal, a resounding thud sweeping from underneath him. Spike raised his foot over the dragon's head—but didn't stomp. His foot lingered as anger hadn't yet claimed him. Spike pulled his foot back and loomed over the fallen foe.

Who, in lurching forward, clamped to his heel, turning his head to bite into the flesh. Fire flared in Spike's eyes as he raised his other foot and crashed it into the dragon's neck. A terrible sound echoed off the crystal walls. The dragon squawked and cried, releasing the leg and rolling in pain.

Spike lowered silently, lifting the dragon by its injured neck, something saved only by the thickness of scales. He turned, throwing the dragon forward like a bowling ball, the wounded predator flying into a glass beam. It exploded into shooting glass as the dragon slid across the ground on the other side.

Spike stepped through the rain and gripped the neck again, turning direction and throwing the defeated into another beam, more destruction following as ponies fled, needing to escape the mindless slaughter of a beast. The destruction that was capable if a monster released its inhibitions for a second.

Something entered the air as the ponies surrounding the dance floor watched. Musk. The releasing scent of a victor. Spike trudged to the fallen dragon lying there, who had given up the right. The victor towered for a moment. Bathing in the rush of the fight. In not having to hold back his strength, his viciousness. In being able to hurt his prey in every delightful way. To see how far he could exert his power, the prey broke.

Hunger boiled in him like molten. His need to find a mate and fuck her senseless until she was nothing but a pumped mess of milk. His eyes shone around to the mares of the room. They caught the smell, drowned in its strength. Fear walked their hooves back. Terror in what this beast could do.

Spike dropped to snap the dragon's neck in his jaw, raising like a cat does with a dead rat, the defeated slunk in the jaw's grip. He turned, showing the room his victory—or those who would dare to challenge him. But this was not the place of the strongest. This was not where the spilling of blood was a common element.

His eyes fell on Rainbow.

He saw the mare as his jaws worked deeper into the dragon's neck, testing the flesh, seeing how much force made the breaking point. He could chew nearly to the bone. Blood squirted onto his face. Another thrill of the conquest. Now. The gaze of the girl drained all other sensations.

Her face was a mixture of things.

And they all made the winner feel shame.

Spike's mouth is open. The dragon plopped out. He laid on the ground motionless again—the odd breath to prove there was life. Narrowing his eyes, the winner lowered to the loser, claiming the top of his head inside a claw. He turned the head to face Rainbow Dash.

"Mine," Spike growled. "This land: mine." He rose and turned away, dragging the dragon across the glass, blood, and other remains. "Never come here. Tell every dragon to stay in their place. It doesn't matter the size. Not even how many there are."

Spike dragged himself and the other dragon out the door.

"I'll kill them," he said without emotion. "I'll kill them all."

He stopped at the door and turned around. The ponies shrieked back at the view. Spike didn't dwindle. "You're safe. All of you. Damages will be covered. Aid will be given. There will never be another dragon in this town again."

Rainbow watched the dragons leave through the doors, the dragging and footsteps disappearing in sound. Nothing of the dragons remained except the mess they made. Blood splattered on the crystal. Destruction caused in seconds. The frightful aftermath of barely a play fight to the beasts.

Captain Rainbow Dash snapped into existence.

"Everyone, please keep close to the counter and away from the shattered glass!" Rainbow drilled as she flew forward over the damage zone, drawing the attention of everyone there. "If you are injured, please safely make your way to the right. Everyone else, please exit through the back doors. Bartenders and servers bring medical aid to the right of the room, and someone with cones and tape to ward off the flooring."

She looked to a trustworthy stallion behind her. "You. Can I trust you to contact Twilight Sparkle? Just explain Rainbow Dash needs her here now."

The stallion nodded and left.

And Rainbow went to work on cleaning the dragon's mess.

Chapter XV | Final Climax

~ XV ~

Final Climax

Rainbow pushed through the storm, step after step, the coldness of grass and the wetness of mud tickling the underside of her hooves. Mane blown back and face held down, she saw the trickles of blood on the ground. How it thickened the closer she drew to the boutique.

She came before the door. There was a bloody claw print on the center of its frame. More on the door's handle. Rainbow swallowed as the wind tried to force her back, warding her from entering the place. Everything said not to go in. To leave this matter. Go somewhere safe and warm. Leave this nightmare for another.

But Rainbow couldn't do it. She wouldn't. With a shake of a head and a buzzing in her heart, she laid a hoof on the bloody print, a wing to the handle, pushing on them both, entering the monster's den. The one that had come out in the club. That'd yelled at her. Shrunk her into a corner. That had nearly ripped the scales and flesh of another dragon.

But Spike was still in there.

He wouldn't have stopped, otherwise.

There'd been a towel set after the door, stained with red and littered with glass, a trail leading across the workroom floor. Scarlet swirls and streaks with glinted crystal dots block the staircase path. Rainbow closed the door behind her, sealing the winds, holding out the cold.

The place burned in intensity. Like a fire had been lit without one being present. Rainbow's wings flared out as she hovered above the trail, following it forward and upstairs. Most would have had to step through the mess and hurt themselves. Rainbow, luckily, had the tools to mostly avoid that.

Reaching the next floor revealed the sounds of a shower. Rainbow hovered before it with a sigh of relief. The dragon was still here. But that also evoked the fear of the dragon still being here. Rainbow winced. Was he still in that other mood? Would his fangs be barred if she knocked on the door? Did he want to see her? Or would it be like before? Would the two never speak again?

All this thinking and worrying… what good has it done you? It's caused you to be worried about yourself and scared of him. He needs reassurance more than anyone else. And you can't give that to him if you're thinking about every reason why it could go wrong.

Rainbow lifted the edge of a hoof against the door.

Overthink, and you'll get stuck. Focus on all that stuff that could happen but doesn't matter. You're Rainbow Dash. No matter the problem, no matter how high the trouble—you find a way. You always find a way. Don't think about what can go wrong. Just do the right thing for once.

One knock.

Two.

And then three.

No answer.

I'm going in.

Rainbow didn't think twice as she pushed open the door and let it close behind her. Her hooves clopped tile flooring. The shower curtain pulled back at once to the sound. Spike was bent forward, glaring out from the tub, body naked, erection exposed.

"R-Rainbow Dash?" Spike blinked before the universe made sense again. "The fuck are you doing in here!? Get out!"

"Hey! Don't get pissy with me! I knocked three times—that's fair game." Rainbow nodded with mane slunk over her face. She strode closer to the tub, wondering why the air wasn't warmer. "Don't get mad because you were too busy tending to yourself to hear me come in."

Spike's glare softened. "I wasn't enjoying myself. I was stuck in my head while waiting for this to disappear." He gestured at the expected. "Anyway. Get out of here. It's not safe."

"I refuse."

"You refuse?" Spike squinted. "Didn't you see what happened? Did you already forget the face you made when you looked at me?"

"Is it anything like the face I got on now?" Rainbow fired back with her best attempt at a smile, stepping next to the toilet. Her head leaned back to see up at the drenched dragon. "Because yeah. I get it. You're the kind of dragon that can get into a bloody brawl that winds up in destruction and someone torn up."

Her head leaned to the side. "But you're also the same dragon getting caught with an erection in the shower." Her right eye squeezed shut. "Not much has changed on that side of things, has it, sport."

Spike's head shook. "You're taking this too casually." He saw that none of his previous spells would be enough to convince the girl. Not even the current view of watching the blood wash down his scales and member was enough to frighten her. It probably helped that she'd already seen him naked.

Spike sighed. "Look. I'm not servicing myself. I'm running the water cold to get rid of this thing." He slumped. "No matter what I do… the good feeling won't go away. The rush from that fight… it felt… good." He breathed heavily. "You feel alive in a fight. Like everything is burning. When I get in one—I can hardly hold back. It hurts to hold back. With that dragon… I barely did anything to him. I wanted to do more. I wanted to see how long he would last."

He swallowed. "Then I wanted to fuck every mare there. Every style and every way. Something inside me was burning with greed. I just wanted to swallow the world. To fuck it to its core. Don't you see? Someone like that is dangerous. Dragons shouldn't be among ponies. Not when we can do so much harm with so little. Not when our desires are worse than yours."

Rainbow held her ground and stared. "I refuse to let you go."

"You have to, Rainbow." Spike's expression was gentle and his words filled with compassion. "After what happened, you shouldn't even want to be in the same room as me. What if I hurt you then? Let that anger get the best of me, and I struck you? The urge was there."

Rainbow glared at him. "You're better than that urge, and you know it." She smirked. "Plus. You think I'm going to let you touch me that easily?"

Spike's eyes closed. "I can't, Dash. I can't. Don't you get it? There's always something furious inside of me. It's always craving an outlet. I can't take any chances with it. I can't chance hurting someone I love."

Rainbow only shook her head. Maybe she would have agreed with them if she had taken a moment to think about his words or points. That she would have gotten lost in the sense of logic. But Rainbow didn't care. Things would be how they should—not what they were meant to be.

"Your nature isn't something you can run away from or repress," Rainbow finally spoke while lifting her forehooves onto the tub's edge. "And no amount of cold water is going to get rid of that erection. You can't sidestep this. You can't deny yourself any longer."

Rainbow nodded. "You like to talk about how you like to fight and fuck and all that other dragon stuff. But how about the times when you comforted me through my pain? Showed me a good night while making sure I was okay? Or how about when you dropped the cold shoulder when you saw the woe that Twilight was in? Or how, even in that fight, you knew to hold back and decided to do better when you saw my face?"

She smiled sweetly at the stunned dragon.

"You like to pretend that there's nothing good about you. You're this sexy monster that's good for a night but nothing more. But your first thought when that dragon came in was to protect everyone. I understand you're worried about the 'bad' stuff about you. Because that's the stuff that can hurt others. But you have to stop pretending that there's nothing good about you."

Spike watched Rainbow with confusion. So unsure but wanting more from her. Finally, he could not help himself. He had to ask her that question. "Why are you going this far for me? I don't have anything else I can give you. Not that one of your friends or your lover can give."

That.

"That lover is you, Spike."

Surprise faded into his face.

"I only said it was a stallion because I didn't want others finding out about it so quickly," Rainbow started as she looked away from the shower. "And because I wasn't sure if I was willing to admit that I was in love with you. That you would be in love with me. Everything between us was so uncertain. I was worried. I didn't want to get hurt by forcing anything. But I was scared. And in being scared… I hurt you instead."

She felt his gaze.

"I drowned in all the nice things you said about me," Rainbow went on with a weak little smile. "Wanted to believe in every little good thing you had to say. You knew me, Spike. Knew the 'me' underneath it all. You didn't find me weak or ugly for it. So when you complimented… it meant more."

Rainbow looked bashfully up at the dragon while trembling in her own vulnerability. "I wanted to be reassured of everything. That I was beautiful and sexy and everything a girl could hope to hear. I wanted to feel like what most couples do. And you gave it to me. Despite everything else, you were the one. But I was too scared to finally accept and try for that."

She nodded. "But I was always telling you of the guys that I had on the side. Always selling it that we probably couldn't be a thing. I was content to play it loose for a while between us. But then I got asked that question, and I slipped. I thought you would have known that lover was you."

Rainbow chuckled. "But I guess I'm pretty bad at dropping hints."

Spike weakly chuckled himself. "Or maybe I just couldn't believe a mare like you could love a dragon like me."

Rainbow was able to smile more because of that. "Anyone would have gotten mad like you. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't have blown up in that situation. You were right to be angry and upset. It's just… when you are, there's more of a chance for something to go wrong. That doesn't make you worse than anyone else. It just means there's a chance for more damage if you lose yourself."

Rainbow Dash shook her mind of that. Without thinking, she hopped into the tub, hooves clopping at the front as the dragon backed away. He looked down, surprised at the mare being frozen by the water. Wet mane pooled over her face as a wing brushed it away.

"B-But I-I won't let you l-lose yourself." Rainbow's teeth chattered. "I'll be there for you. N-No m-matter what you d-do. D-Don't care w-w-what happens." She swallowed and tried to expand herself. "I'll be your light. Your fire. Something that lets you burn alive. I'll show you the worth you don't think you have. I'll make you feel all the love you desire to feel."

Rainbow rose on two legs and, falling forward, wrapped her arms around his waist, a hug to his scales and member, which was flushed downward against her chest, pushing up. Blood washed from his scales and onto her coat.

"I don't care about the trouble or the blood that'll come," Rainbow said as she fell into his embrace, the warmth that buzzed in the air around him. The coldness of the shower faded in being caught with him again. "So long as I can face it all with you by my side—nothing's impossible."

Rainbow looked up at the dragon from his waist, doing her best to smile, feeling frightful but fully submitted to him. "I want to burn up with you, Spike. I'm excited by what's inside you. The way you lord over me, tease me… but how you're always there for me. I understand you're not like most ponies. That you'll have to leave at times. Maybe hunt some things down. Whatever you need… we can talk about it. Work it out."

Her tail flicked the valve to the shower. It warmed the water. Blood washed from their hooves and feet. Rainbow snuggled her face against the dragon's belly. Mane drenched her face. The dragon looked down, so hurt and so confused. So unwilling to believe such a mare could ever become like this with him.

"All you have to do is let me in," Rainbow began her promise, "and I'll always accept whatever we find."

Spike looked at her. No words. Nothing in his stare to give himself away. Pure disbelief that this could be real. That tall, lording dragon had become vacant again. Little Spike had returned for the moment. A chance for him to be himself once again.

"Alright."

Rainbow scrunched an eye. "Alright?"

"I love you."

It'd always been known. Something that lingered in the air. An unstated truth about their relationship that allowed them to become so close in the first place. It wasn't something you admitted lightly. Not something you can think endlessly about and be sure of. One never fully knew when the right time to say it was.

There would always be doubt if now was the right time. Few things brought about its assurance. But sometimes, one has to go along with their feelings regardless of whatever thought and logic have to say about it. Sometimes, one must be willing to make a mistake to discover a deeper truth.

Rainbow couldn't stop grinning. Unable to stop showing teeth as absolute mirth quaked through her frame. Everything buzzed and tingled from the dragon's confession. To know that this towering hunk now belonged to her. Would be devoted to her. Felt the same about her and wanted to be with her.

That she didn't have to be alone or without his help.

"I love you too, Spike."

"Not as much as I love you."

Rainbow's face recoiled. "What? Is this some sort of game to you?"

Spike shrugged. "Just stating the truth." His arms wrapped around Rainbow's barrel and hips, and her forelegs crossed around his neck, the two embraced. "Unless you disagree."

"Uh, duh." Rainbow smiled as she felt cast above his member, feeling it teased at her nethers. "I would give up the Wonderbolts to be with you, dude."

Spike grinned into her face. "There isn't a dragon I wouldn't slay to protect you."

Rainbow grinned back. "There's nothing you can do to scare me away."

Spike chuckled. "Are you ready for this?"

Rainbow flicked the mane out from her eyes as she leaned back in his hold. "Do it."

The dragon lowered her onto his cock, her hooves slipping from around his neck due to the height difference, feeling the long, hard, throbbing meat slip into her tightness. Her folds pushed apart as all of him barreled in. Shoving in deep and spreading her apart, he thrust into her, slowly and steadily, a constant wash of pleasure flushing through them both.

Rainbow leaned back in his hold, trusting the dragon to hold her completely. There was no fear of falling, just as there was no fright of him hurting her. Despite his strength and size, she trusted him to do good with it. She just took a moment to indulge in the delight of being thrust into. Of feeling barreling cock filling her existence.

"R-Rainbow?"

"Yeah?"

"I-I'm thinkin'… of going back on the farm…" Spike hugged Rainbow tighter into his frame, thrusting into her faster, but keeping a steady pace. "Help deal with the extra aggression. Maybe help around the castle to patch things up with Twilight."

Rainbow blew out a breath. "Certainly got the energy for it."

"Heh."

"Mmh… d-don't… don't forget that the—ah—W-Wonderbolts m-might need you." Rainbow giggled to the feeling of bubbling mirth beneath. "To whoop flank and all that."

"C-Consider me there."

Spike continued to break into her, their bodies rising and lowering, the pleasant motion enough to sate them. It didn't take long for the dragon to speak the nearing of their climax. "I-I… think I can prove… I-I love you m-more… than you love me."

"Not possible, bud."

Spike grinned. "Marry me."

Rainbow wiggled in his hold. "W-Wha…"

"Marry me."

Rainbow struggled. She wiggled on top of his member. The dragon's face was flush before hers. His smirk burned into her gaze while there was a glint in his emerald eyes. Rainbow didn't think twice about it. Not when she could feel their arousal building to a climax.

"Alright, fine." Rainbow started to smile. "I'll marry you."

Spike's face took to surprise.

"But you're going to pop the question again after this."

The two, no longer capable of words, erupted into each other.

The two had finished off in the shower and made their way to bed, able to enter underneath the covers together. Rainbow snuggled into the dragon without shame or at a request. Warmth and comfort arose in feeling his arm wrap around her. The two spend their last waking moments staring into each other's eyes.

Until sleep claimed them both.

Rainbow had awoken the next morning with a stretch across the expanse. Her hooves searched for the dragon only to find emptiness. Her heart rattled in the sudden absence. Fear rose too easily in her love somehow being gone for good. Rainbow groaned and shuffled, a delicate yawn opening her maw.

Rubbing an eye with a hoof, the mare looked across the side of the bed, seeing the dragon sitting on his knees, watching her sleep. Rainbow yelped and covered herself with a blanket. The dragon chuckled. Morning sunlight laid on the side of his face.

"T-The hell are you doing!"

"Watching you sleep."

"T-That's creepy, dude!"

"Not if you could see yourself sleeping." Spike's smirk softened into a smile. "You look like a blue angel when you do. Not caring how you look. Not worried about being beautiful."

Rainbow lowered the protective sheets. "You're a creep."

"Is that what you should be calling your fiance?"

Rainbow blinked. "Wait. You were serious about that?"

Spike looked out from the corner of his eyes. "Yeah. Pretty serious." His smile remained. "Unless you'd like to wait until some more time has passed."

"But… h-how…" Rainbow blinked and shook her head. "How can you be sure about that? Out of everyone in the world—how can you be sure that I'm the one you're meant to marry?"

Something different infused Spike's smile. "Few things are meant in this life, Rainbow. We just tend to stumble into stuff. It's what we don't stumble out of that counts the most." He crawled forward on the bed and slunk before her. "Unless you want to take it back. Is having this big dragon for life too much for you to handle? Am I not worth your time?"

Rainbow flared back to life again. She fired forward, turning the dragon onto his back, clambering onto his midsection. Stradling him, she bent over his face, their lips an inch apart. "Bring it on, dragon boy."

The two of them kissed as his claw worked through her mane, and she rubbed forward and back on his scales, edging lower to his crotch, an enjoyment rising between them. The bed started to shake as the dragon joined in.

The coming vibrations knocked the drawer on the bedside table, and a small box and a key entered the view. A letter laid folded with the words already read the night before.

Should you ever need a ring,
~ Rarity.

Chapter VIII | Sweet Embrace

~ VIII ~

Sweet Embrace

Rainbow didn't know how it happened. How she came to sit between his legs with her back set against him. His tail rested on her lap as his claws crossed, holding her hooves. Spike loosely hugged her close. It was the closeness of lovers.

Spike didn't impose anything. Made no threat or a tease. The two indulged in the embrace. They faced the pond. The water reflected the lowering sun. Dying sunlight spread across the land.

"Hey… uh… sorry if I went overboard." The back of Rainbow's head rubbed into Spike's chest. She looked at his face from the underside of his jaw. "It can get annoying listening to someone rattle about how well their life is going. Hey… I'm not flaunting too much, am I? I don't want to be implying anything."

"Implying…" Spike toyed and tasted the world. "Because I've done nothing with my life?"

"What! No! I mean…"

His smile softened Rainbow's worries. "Relax. I don't mind being a loser." His talons stroked her wrists while he rested his eyes on the waters. Rainbow looked as well—but not liking his words. "Twilight said I could have been anything. Any school or any practice. I could have had it all. There's a lot told in my potential."

Ducks swam across the pond and left little waves in the water. It relaxed the dragon watching them. Nature put him at ease. His overwhelming presence faded. "But nothing interested me. Not that anything would have been possible, anyway."

His eyes fell from the ducks. "I was meant to wander. I didn't realize that at first." He exhaled with a drop of his shoulders. "But I don't mind it. Don't mind it one bit." A smile grew. "So long as I can help a few along the way… then I… I think I'll be okay."

Rainbow softly chuckled, snuggling into him. Her coat meshed into his scales, a tickling embrace equally cherished. They weren't dating. Things had yet to be romantic. Yet their interactions were beyond those of friends.

Don't… overthink it. Not everything needs a label. When's the last time either of us had someone to hold? Him out in the world, sleeping alone, spending the day fighting monsters. And what about me? How much do you hate that empty bed?

Just enjoy this. Don't waste too much time thinking about it. You'll do plenty of that once it's over.

"I guess it makes sense," Rainbow eventually said, becoming comfortable against him. "Kinda hard to see you in a classroom. Big ol' glasses. Snout in a book. Scribbling notes." She hummed. "Though maybe you'd look good in a lab coat."

Spike chuckled. "Thanks."

"You've stumbled well, Spike." Rainbow looked up at him. "And despite being a loser on paper: you've got none of the qualities of one." Her head tilted. "Do you regret it, though? Not chasing after something?"

"I don't hold any regrets." Spike took a moment to think more about it. "Though I would have liked to make others proud. Something that would have made Rarity and Twilight happy. Let them know I was on the right path. Living close to a good life."

He shrugged. "But it wasn't meant to be. I fell into this life. And nothing greater calls for me."

“But assisting others?”

"Closest thing I have to a passion." Spike squeezed her hooves. "Dress-making. Various chores on the farm. Keeping Twilight organized. I become versed enough to help others out." His head shook. "But I don't fall into anything for the sake of myself. If it were up to me, I would just wander, wander and wonder, until the end of time."

A hum.

"Though kicking trees is fun."

"Yeah," Rainbow snickered. "As long as you don't break them in half."

Or pin that cowgirl in the barn.

"Too late."

Rainbow blushed. Looking at the water helped fight down the rising red. She remembered what she said instead of what she thought. "Uh… h-how about Fluttershy? How did the animals take to you?"

"The cottage was empty."

"When did you go?"

"Enough to be empty every time."

"Oh." It made sense. Spike's size would frighten the shy girl. It wasn't personal. If Fluttershy spent enough time with him, she would come to understand that it was still Spike. Despite his looks, he wouldn't hurt her.

Maybe I should set something up?

"Spike?" Rainbow asked. His name wasn't a question. "No matter what happens between us… I'll be there for you. Do something horrible. Run away again. I don't care." She compressed fully into him, wiggling her hips between his legs, leaving no distance between them. "Knock on my door. It'll never be empty. You can go inside it whenever. It's your home too."

Spike laid back and pulled Rainbow atop him, who turned as she laid over his chest, feeling his arms cross over her back. They didn't go for the injured flanks as they stroked her all over.

Suddenly, his wings expanded, creating a dome around them, hiding their embrace from public view. Rainbow chuckled in seeing the sealing of dragon-hide around them. She shuffled closer to the dragon, their eyes glinting in the darkness. Her heart yearned for Rainbow to kiss him.

Kisses were meant to deepen lust. Craft better sex. But a kiss outside the bedroom? It meant something different.

His claw raised from her side. Rainbow watched it approach, twitching.

The claw stopped before her face.

Spike winced. He pulled away his arm—until Rainbow lunged, wrapping it with a foreleg. He watched her, confused.

"Don't." Rainbow looked at the claw. His palm could swallow the side of her face. Its talons were sharp. Yet it was a wonder to look at. Something easier to stare at than his eyes, sometimes. "I'm not scared of you. Even if I might jerk like that—I know it's you. You might hurt me by accident. But I don't mind. You've never hurt me the same way twice."

Weight pushed on Rainbow's shoulder. Her head hung. Something heavy rushed out of her heart. "Am I a burden, Spike? You're so careful around me." Her voice quickened. "And I'm always getting close to you. Do you hate that? You probably want your space. And here I am…"

Rainbow gave up speaking.

So Spike spoke for her. "Nothing like that. Never forever. Honestly and truly." Rainbow's eyes lifted to him. "Holding you is an addiction. It's just… I'm a dragon." His head shook. "Dragons don't play protective roles. We don't cradle others. We go out, and we fight. We mate because it feels nice. Getting to hold you, say nice things to you… it's a privilege for me."

Rainbow's surprised eyes glittered. She smiled gooey while bringing the claw close to her neck. "You idiot. Don't say such sweet things. And don't put yourself down either. It hurts me." She lowered his claw to her chest, letting it spread over its shape. "Being a dragon doesn't mean you have to be a certain way. Maybe it influences it. But I don't care about any of that."

She inched closer. "Because I'd rather be in your claws than in the hooves of anypony I know. You make me feel safe. Protected. Even when you're teasing me or tearing into me—I feel like nothing can go wrong. Like even if the moon dropped from the sky that you would throw it back into place. That, so long as I'm in your arms, nothing can hurt me."

Rainbow raised his claw on the side of his face, falling into his palm, sinking into his hold. "Not even you."

Spike's claw remained there as her hoof left. He rubbed her cheek, the side of her face, sweeping hair behind her ear—which he scratched at. Knowing it was okay to be like this with him, Rainbow settled fully on his chest. Her lips desired his kiss. To melt against his chest and into his mouth. But that could wait.

Wait until she was ready to admit she wanted the dragon in every way possible.

Rainbow settled into his torso, riding the soft waves of his breathing, hidden inside the dome of his wings. None could see her. No mocking or the sort possible. She was Rainbow Dash, an attractive mare outside as night approached. She wouldn't trust herself to sleep on a hill alone. Not one to take that chance.

But in lying on top of the dragon, her eyes started to close, soothed by the claw stroking her back, the one brushing her mane. He fluffed her up and combed her through. Held her sides gently before releasing. Her body tingled with life. Felt and touched and caressed. It all guided her to sleep.

And she didn't have to worry about what she would wake up to.

Spike.

Her consciousness faded.

I love you.