Spike groaned as he stretched his limbs. He wasn't the only one groaning. Beneath him, were three Griffin's that were moaning in pain.

The dirt road had some hints of blood from the previous fight that had no doubt taken place.

"Holy... shit..." One of the Griffin's muttered under his breath. He had clearly not expected Spike to overpower them so easily.

He snorted at them. "Did you fools really think that I'd be defeated so easily?"

The Griffin's grumbled but didn't give a direct reply to the young dragon.

Although, Spike couldn't fault them. It was no secret that he was the delinquent of Ponyville, but that didn't mean everyone knew it. The local newspaper usually mentions him be it directly or indirectly while towns or cities outside Ponyville probably had no idea who he was. So it was not surprising that the three Griffin's thought he was easy prey when he walked around in the very early morning when no one except Princess Luna, her guards and creatures of the night were out and about.

"How about you three leave Ponyville and never return, you punks?" Spike suggested gruffly while lighting a cigarette.

The Griffin's groaned, bit Spike couldn't tell if it was from pain or annoyance.

Not that it mattered.

In the end, Spike left them there in the middle of the street, not caring if anypony saw him. He had nothing to fear anyways. He had just proven his strength.

His steps sounded damp as he casually strolled through the small town. Albeit, it wasn't surprising since Mayor Mare didn't want to invest in proper roads because she believe it would take away what Ponyville once was; a humble town.

It had been over two weeks since he saved Bon Bon and from what he could tell, she seemed fine.

Of course, she had been out in public where somepony usually put on a friendly mask. Although, Spike knew that the poor mare was without a doubt, traumatised.

She had almost been raped.

That isn't something someone easily forgets. Sure, he had saved her, but he wouldn't blame her if she was afraid of him. He hadn't exactly been merciful to the guy who had almost done the deed. He had displayed unrestrained violence and his sadistic grin.

Spike wouldn't blame the mare if she believed he had been on drugs or that he was a psychopath.

... To be fair, he had wondered that himself for a long time.

Nonetheless, he had spotted Bon Bon and her... roommate? Marefriend? Friend? He wasn't sure what Lyra Heartstrings was to Bon Bon buy he did know that they were close.

Just a few days ago, the pair had spotted him and waved with friendly smiles, Bon Bon's being the most friendliest.

He had ignored them, but they've been persistent in their goal to make him... actually he wasn't sure what they were playing at, but it probably wasn't good.

...not good for him that is.

Spike had also noticed that many of the townsponies would wave at him.

He'd admit, it wasn't uncommon as he did know essentially everyone in the town because of how small it was so sending a friendly wave was just courteous to do.

However, he had also noticed two of the musicians of the town grinning at him like loons.

He had no idea why but decided not to question it.

Spike reached his apartment and decided to just brush his teeth and go to bed since there was nothing else to do.

Getting under the covers, he let out a satisfied groan and popped his neck, letting the tensions there go.

~~~Delinquent Problem~~~

The early morning in Ponyville was always a lovely sight to behold. The sun would caress the land like a mother waking up her child. The ponies all collectively had their breakfast, coffee or tea and set out to do their usual errands while others, like Spike, prepared for another day of delinquent criminality.

It was a bit ironic that the smallest town hadn't arrested him but at the same time, he supposed it was because he never could be tied to the crimes taking place at night.

Not surprising, considering most creatures he fought didn't want to snitch on themselves.

He chuckled and got out of bed, brushed his teeth and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

What would he do today? Well, the usual, essentially. He'd find people to fight, get paid and then do whatever until night rolled around. It was the night time he would get up to all sorts if "mischief".

Checking the fridge, he pulled out a beer and opened the can, taking a large chug. After downing the entire can, he crushed it with his hand and threw it in the trashcan behind him, not even looking over his shoulder.

This was a typical morning for him, even if others would be appalled by it.

Of course, he certainly knew what Twilight would say if she was here right now. She'd be all over him and probably call him a screw-up.

He didn't get many visitors to his apartment either. A few friends here and there would check on him, but otherwise, no pony or any other creature.

Fluttershy and Pinkie would come by on occasion, but he didn't like the idea of them entering territories with this kind of criminality.

Sure, most of the crime was drugs in his area, but that didn't mean he felt comfortable with the two mares going there. Although, Spike always did try to tell himself that they were older than him, meaning that they most likely had more experience than him.

...Or at least Pinkie did.

He finished his cigarette and stuffed it out in the ashtray before putting on some blue jeans, red and white Nike shoes, a red jacket and a red cap on his head and made his way outside to do the usual shenanigans he was up to.

On the streets of Ponyville, nothing interesting was happening. Although, it was in the early morning and the sun was up.

The real fun always happened in the dark.

The market had the usual ponies who were selling their goods. Spike walked passed several ponies who were doing their usual screaming to attract costumers.

He scoffed and made a beeline towards the end of the market.

However, before he could make his hasty escape, a pair of hooves pulled him into a tight hug.

He stiffened and immediately put his hands up, clenched, ready to fight whomever it was. However, he heard a cute yelp.

He turned around and saw it was none other than Lyra, accompanied by Octavia Melody. Both musicians looked sheepish but had wide grins.

"Sorry about that, darling, we just came to thank you for saving our Bon Bon some weeks ago," Octavia gently said, looking grateful.

Octavia was a coal-black haired pony with purple eyes and grey skin. She wore what Spike could only describe as a business suit with a purplish bow tie.

Lyra was wearing a white tank top with short jeans. The lyricist looked very grateful for Spike.

"It was no problem, I happened to be in the area and I wasn't in the best of moods." He lied.

He could tell that the two mares didn't believe him, and it wasn't surprising. It was no secret that he enjoyed getting into fights and causing a ruckus. However, it wouldn't sound good if he said he was just bored or wanted a fight.

"Still, thank you. If you wouldn't have come when you did..." Lyra's words hung in the air, causing silence between them.

The silence wasn't unbearable or welcome. It was tense. It felt like he was being suffocated but could still breathe.

Truth be told, Spike didn't want to think about what would have happened if he didn't help Bon Bon that night. He may be careless and lack empathy, but there are lines he would never cross or condone. That fight had been far more personal than he had intended.

"Yeah, I realise that as well." He said, lighting a cigarette, earning a look of disapproval from Octavia, but the mare didn't say anything. "I'm just glad she's okay,"

Lyra smiled. "Bon Bon has been asking about you lately. She's seen you around town doing your usual... ahem... affairs,"

Spike raised a brow. "Oh, so she's been stalking me?"

Octavia let out a melodious giggle.

"Not at all, darling, you know how small this town is, it's practically impossible to hide from anyone here." She said with a teasing grin.

He blew some smoke into the air. He had to admit, they did have a point.

"Right, was there anything in particular she wanted?" Spike asked while glaring at a poor stallion who had accidentally bumped into him, making him cower behind a mare who looked confused.

"She wants to meet you," Lyra admitted. "The two of you haven't been formally introduced, so she wants to meet you in a proper setting."

"What, hasn't she known me before?" He asked. He had visited the yellow-cream-skinned mares sweet shop on more than one occasion.

"No, she does." Lyra confirmed. "However, she only knows your name and that your a dragon. I used to know you and Twilight from years ago so I did say what little I remembered."

Spike had forgotten that Twilight had been classmates with Lyra many moons ago.

"Yeah... now I remember. Sorry for forgetting," However, Lyra waved it off.

"No worries, it was ages ago and I was never that close to Twilight except for the mutual friends we shared." Lyra lamented.

After chatting some more, Spike, for some strange reason, agreed to meet Bon Bon which had made the unicorn and earth pony squeal like fillies. They had thanked him before going their separate ways.

Now, he was all alone... or well, he didn't have company. He looked around the market before heading towards one of the darker parts of the town.

There really wasn't much going on in the typical areas except for movies, cafés and public parks. However, the darker parts had far more interesting things going on. There were illegal fighting arenas, strip clubs, weapons, money, casinos, you name it. At least, he could kill some time.

He looked around, making sure that no one saw him enter a shady-looking building, but was stopped when a voiced called out to him.

"Hey, Spike!"

He whirled around and was surprised to see Bon Bon. 'Wow, they work fast!' He thought with dismay as the cream-coloured mare shyly walked up to him, standing a healthy distance from him, her cheeks a rosy hue and her hands clasping the hem of her reddish-pink skirt.

"Hello, Bon Bon." He greeted, trying his best to sound at least a little bit friendly. "I don't think we've been formally introduced, I'm Spike the Dragon."

"And I'm Bon Bon," She smiled. "And yeah, I do believe we haven't been properly introduced before. I've seen you around, but..."

Both chuckled. It was a little odd, even for Spike. Considering how small the town is, most ponies speak to each other once or twice, everypony knows everypony is the type of town Ponyville was.

Although, Spike supposed they just never had a reason to stop and chat because they were usually busy with something.

"I guess we just had no other reason to." Spike said, making Bon Bon agree.

"Yeah, I suppose." There was an awkward silence between them. It was unpleasant. However, both seemed to be unsure to address the elephant in the room. "Thank you for saving me..."

The last sentence came out in a form of mumble, but Spike heard it clear as day.

"It's no problem, I'm glad your alright." He sincerely said. "I hope I didn't traumatise you too much with my violent display."

Bon Bon waved her hands frantically. "Oh! NoNo! You didn't scare me with that! I know you were just protecting me!"

Truth be told, she had, at first, been scared, but she had calmed down when she had mentally told herself that Spike had only protected her.

Spike raised a brow, not fully buying her story but he didn't pressure her.

"Right... is there anything else you wanted?" He asked a little curious.

Bon Bon blushed and fidgeted slightly at his gaze. Spike mentally saved the image for later.

"W-well... I wanted to reward you for helping me." She said, looking up at him with adoration. "I was wondering if you wanted to eat dinner with me at the new restaurant that opened? But I do understand if you'd rather not..."

"I'll go." Spike quickly replied, surprising himself. He flicked his cigarette to the ground. "I'd like to get to know you better."

Bon Bon looked giddy at that.

"Wow! Um, okay, so when are you free?" She asked with clear curiosity.

Spike mentally gulped. Despite the fact everyone knew he was a delinquent, he had told someponies that he did have proper work, and it was true, he did have proper work. He worked for his friend, Discord who essentially just paid him to be an errand boy or for beating up street punks.

However, the uniqueness of his... job was that there wasn't a specific time or day in which he had to work. So he just worked whenever.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Bon Bon who looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, I spaced out there. I'm free on Saturday if it's open then?" Spike said, praying to Celestia it wasn't.

Bon Bon frowned. "Sadly, it isn't open on Saturdays."

'Yes!'

"But if your free tomorrow, we can go then?" Bon Bon suggested, unaware of his inner turmoil.

'FUCK'

"Sure, I'm free tomorrow." He said with a smile while internally screaming in frustration. "What time?"

Bon Bon beamed. "Is seven o'clock a good time?" Spike nodded. "Great! I... just realised I'm not sure where you live nowadays..."

"No need for that, I remember where you live." Spike hurriedly said. He'd rather not her see the... well "ghetto" He lives in.

"Oh, in that case, see you tomorrow handsome!" She turned away but stopped and turned right back around. "I almost forgot!" She kissed him on the cheek before pulling away with a giggle and swayed her hips as she walked away.

Spike sighed. "I should have stayed in bed."

Author's Note

Hello everyone, Dragon-In-Black here. I hope you enjoy the story so far and I hope my writing satisfied.

I will write to you guys next time.