The Heartbreaker and the Cultivator

Chapters

A Work Pony's Cure
Grudge or Love?
Something Changed
My Little Drama
Of Unicorns and Dragons
While Rarity's Away, Spike Will Play
Where There's Smoke...
Between an Apple and a Hard Place
A Long Time Coming
The Juggling Act: A Night with Twilight
Dream Date
Perfect Timing
The Ice Queen
Through the Looking Glass
All Eyes on You
The Hungry Scout Scores

A Work Pony's Cure

A Work Pony’s Cure

Recent times had been emotionally hard on Ponyville’s only dragon, Rarity had buried herself in her work and Twilight had as well, neither made much time to spend it with him, but he did not mind too much. Spike knew that both were busy pursuing their dreams, Rarity as a high end, renowned designer and Twilight in her quest to impress and serve the Princess, and today was no different. After an early morning of helping Twilight organize and find some books for her studies, he had gone out on a gem hunt to replenish Rarity’s supply that had run low from all the designs she had been working on. The little, purple dragon had high hopes that this would win him some points with the elegant unicorn. He happily hummed a lighthearted tune as he pulled his little wagon along behind him.

Fortunately for Spike, his little gem hunt went very well. He had filled his wagon as much as he could as the gems created a very unstable mound on it. He had actually found too many for them to fit on the tiny wagon and so he had to make the “sacrifice” and eat the excess gems. However, they were not enough to satisfy him, and for a moment, he thought of consuming the rest of the hoard, but he snapped out of it when he remembered they were for his “Lady Rarity.”

Finally back in town, the young dragon began making his way to his crush’s boutique. After all his digging though, he realized his scales were coated with dried mud and dirt, a state he knew all too well Rarity would not appreciate him being in her shop. So, he changed directions and now headed through the park to his library-home.

“I hope Twilight doesn’t mind too much!” Spiked laughed as he dragged his load behind him. But as his home came into view, the young assistant also spotted the white unicorn that held his affection for so long. “RARITY!”

“Oh, do you know this… dragon…?” another voice asked. It was the famous pony Photo Finish and she had apparently been talking to Rarity.

“Oh… umm…” Rarity stammered. She had finally landed a second chance to impress Photo Finish and it was most likely her last as well. The unicorn saw the expression of repulsion on the photographer’s face as she looked at the dirty dragon. This photographer could potentially get her the type publicity that the young dress maker wanted, but if she was unimpressed by the company she kept then she might lose what chance she had with her. She could feel the pressure put on her as she bit down on her lip and she forced an answer out of herself. “Oh... don’t worry about him... he’s nobody.”

“But Rarity…” the young dragon said as tears swelled up in his eyes.

“Good! Vee have much to do! Vee go!” the pony photographer said as she pushed the white unicorn with her to some unknown location.

Spike was dumbfounded; he could not believe that Rarity just said that he was a nobody. After all he had done for her, she still said that. He spent much of his own free time at her boutique, helping her with anything she could possibly need. He was not stupid dragon; he had known why she did it. Of course it was her dream to become a famous fashion designer but to dismiss him as a friend to make it to the top, it made his temper boil, but, more so, it depressed him to think of how low on the chain he must be for her.

The library had been quiet while Spike was gone on his gem hunt, and, as usual, Twilight had taken this time to reread some of her favorite books. But a sudden slam of the front door had stopped her “exhilarating” hobby. It was her assistant, but he was not his normal cheery, and slightly cocky, self. His irritation was obvious from the way he stomped without caring about the work both had put in that morning cleaning the entire library. She able see it in his face as well, narrowed eyes, furrowed brows, and pouting lips. She could even hear as he mumbled angrily to himself and forcibly exhaled from his nose, creating small puffs of smoke as he did.

“Spike!” Twilight called out to him as she levitated the falling jewels back onto the pile on his wagon. “Spike? Is everything all right?”

The only response she received from her disgruntled assistant was a couple of unintelligible mumbles as he marched up the stairs with an armful of gems. Throwing the gems next to his basket-bed, he wrapped himself tightly against in his tiny bed, often grabbing a gem to eat from the pile he made.

“Spike?” Twilight asked but was given no response from the young dragon. “Spike, you know you can talk to me about anything.”

Just as he was about to say something, Spike caught a look at his friend’s horn, reminding him of the unicorn that had brushed him off. Again, his eyes filled with tears as he turned back and continued his mumbling and gem eating.

“Spike?” the purple unicorn called again. “Spike!”

But the young dragon no longer gave any response. He simply turned over and acted as if no one was there. Given his strong resistance to her attempts to have him talk what had happened, Twilight knew would not be easy for her to cheer him up. Worrying for her friend, Twilight left the library, hoping to find something or somepony that could help.

“I’ll be right back, Spike! I promise!” Twilight told the dragon, who merely shuffled in his bed.

By the time the unicorn had returned, Spike had already eaten half the mountain of precious stones he had dug up but it still gave him no joy. The empty feeling he had from his dismissal by his long-time love was nothing he had ever felt before, it was like a black hole opened up inside of him and sucked away every positive, pleasant emotion each time he thought of his run-in with Rarity, and not even all the gems in the world would be able to fill him.

“Spike?” Twilight called as she entered her tree-house. “I brought someponies that would like to talk to you!”

“OH SPI-I-IKE!” their pink friend called out. “I’ve got a surprise rise for you!”

Pinkie Pie gleefully skipped up the stairs with a large gift box with an equally oversized ribbon on it, but she was not alone as Twilight and Applejack, were following not too far behind.

“So ya have no clue why he’s down?” the farm pony asked.

“Nope, he came with his wagon and wrapped himself up in his bed,” the unicorn answered. “After that, he wouldn’t say one word to me.”

“Here you go, Spike!” Pinkie Pie said as she inched the present closer to the dragon’s bed. The young dragon turned around, no longer angry, just depressed. The scales on his face stained with tears and his eyes puffy and red. Looking at the gift, he was not sure what to do. “Don’t be silly! Open it!”

Spike slowly pulled the ribbon and, with a sudden explosion of confetti, the very same, pink party pony popped out of the box. “SURPRISE!”

“Thanks Pinkie,” Spike laughed as he wiped his eyes. The longer he thought about it, the more it hurt. She once told him about how she was on the fringe of doing the same thing to her five mare friends at the garden party in Canterlot but, instead, chose to stand by them. By this he could only guess that he was not important to her in the way her friends were.

“Now do ya want to tell us what’s the matter, sugarcube?” Applejack asked as Twilight was looking in all directions, trying to figure out how Pinkie managed to end up in the box.

“Yeah,” the purple dragon sighed. “It’s about Rarity…”

“Oh, really?” Applejack played dumb, though she already knew about his crush on the fashionista, as did most of Ponyville.

“You probably can’t tell but I like Rarity… a lot,” Spike admitted his feelings to the hard-working pony. “But today, Rarity acted like she didn’t even know me because she was with Photo Finish…”

“Oh, don’cha fret, sugarcube,” Applejack responded. “Rarity is just… Rarity. I’m sure she didn’t mean nothing by it.”

“She’s right, Spike!” the pink pony backed up her friend as she fit two gems in front of her eyes. “Rarity’s a little crazy if you ask me!”

“Ya know what helps me after a bad day? Gettin’ some work done around Sweet Apple Acres!” the work pony added. “Do ya wanna join me over at the farm? Ya can help me buck some apples.”

“Hmm…” the young dragon thought about the proposal, though the idea of working some more was not too appealing to him.

“If ya don’ wanna help me, then maybe even the fresh air will do ya some good,” Applejack said, remembering Spike’s lazy nature.

“Or you can stay here, Spike, and help me reorganize the library. I was hoping to…” Twilight said before being cut off by her assistant.

“Sweet Apple Acres it is!” the purple dragon said as he hopped out of his bed.

“Then let’s head out,” the blond pony said as she scooped up the young dragon and ran out the door.

“Then what am I supposed to do?” Pinkie Pie whined as the two jewels she had place on her face slipped off.

“Well, I could still use help with reorganizing the library. Like I was going to say, I wanted to…” the purple unicorn said before once again being interrupted.

“Oh… umm… I just remembered! Mr. and Mrs. Cake wanted me to take care of Pound and Pumpkin Cake,” the pink pony said as she made her way towards the exit. “Besides, Gummy could use a bath… Sorry, Twilight! Maybe later!”

The unicorn lowered her head as she was left alone to reorganize her books.

Grudge or Love?

“Twilight, oh Twilight!” a certain white unicorn knocked at the tree-house library.

The ever studious unicorn was, as usual, using her spare time to re-read her favorite books and create her list of responsibilities. After memorizing the page she had left off on, Twilight closed the book and greeted Rarity who had been looking very worried.

“Rarity, you don’t look so good,” Twilight commented as she saw Rarity racing up to her bedroom then off into the rest of the house. “Can I… help you with something?”

“Is Spike home?” the dress maker asked.

“No… He’s off with Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres,” Twilight answered.

“Oh, Twilight, I did terrible thing to him. All for that snooty little photographer, Photo Finish. She ran off with another pony to make her into a star,” Rarity explained.

“NO!!! My camera, how could this happen?” the famous photographer cried out for her broken camera.

“I just don’t know what went wrong!” the renown (or perhaps infamous) derped, gray Pegasus said as she sat on a destroyed stage while the final light standing fell.

“What exactly did you do?” Twilight asked as her friend paced.

“I ignored him, called him stranger,” the white unicorn said.

“Well… I could imagine why he took it so bad then…” the purple unicorn said quietly to herself.

“He came back? How… was he?” Rarity asked.

“He didn’t even want to answer me. He just took some gems up to his bed and stayed up there until I brought Pinkie and Applejack to cheer him up,” Twilight answered.

“Gems? Where did he get gems?” the designer asked.

“He got up early today to finish his chores and head out to dig them up for you…” Twilight said, knowing that it only made her friend feel worse.

“I must apologize to him, Twilight…” Rarity said as she began racing out the door.

“I think it’s better to let him cool down a bit. You can come back tomorrow,” Twilight said, leading her friend out. “I’m sure Spike will forgive you, he’s not one to hold a grudge.”

“I do hope so, Twilight,” the white unicorn said as she exited out the library.

Though he had not intended on helping out at the farm, Spike could not sit around while one of his friends was hard at work. He found himself running about, fetching baskets for apples and pushing carts full of them. He never took the time to actually take in the scenery at Sweet Apple Acres before then, and it was breathtaking, completely taking his mind off of his problems.

The only thing more impressive to the young dragon was the hard working, country pony. She had been bucking apples since they had gotten there and she was still going strong, even while Big Mac had taken a break. Spike had brought her some well-earned water after all the non-stop work she had done.

“Thank you kindly, Spike,” Applejack said as she drank. “How are ya likin’ the farm, Spike?”

“It’s…” Spike said as he looked around him, then unwittingly stopped to stare at Applejack as she glistened in sweat.

“Spike?” the work pony called to him, snapping him back to reality.

“Beautiful…” Spike said as his cheeks turned a deep shade of red.

“You know you’re always welcome here, Spike. Anytime you want, come and visit,” Applejack said as she rubbed his head.

“It’s getting late, I should probably be going. But before I go: thanks, Applejack,” the dragon assistant said.

“I should be thankin’ you. With your help, we’ve done almost all the work around here,” Applejack returned the sentiment.

“Almost?” Spike asked.

“Don’t go worrin’ about it, Spike. It’s nothin’ I can’t handle by myself,” the blond farmer said.

“I could stick around to help. I don’t think Twilight would mind,” Spike said.

“Well, if you’re feelin’ up it. We just got to get these last few wagons of apples to barn,” Applejack told the dragon.

“Alright,” the purple dragon said as he struggled to push two of the carts that were linked together.

“Uh… here, Spike, you can take this one. I’ll take these,” Applejack said as she motioned towards a lone wagon of apples.

By the time Spike returned to his tree-house home, it had become dark and Twilight had already began her midnight shift with her pet owl. Twilight, of course, had not minded the quiet. She was still able to get much done, even without Spike, although she did miss having her assistant to keep her company as well as his help.

“Hoo-hoo!” Owlowiscious hooted, pointing his wing towards the library’s entrance.

“Spike!” Twilight greeted the purple dragon. “You’re home late. You have fun over at Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack?”

“Um… Umm…” Spike said blushing at the work pony’s name. “Of course, it… was fun.”

“Spike, are you ok?” the unicorn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Pff… yeah,” Spike assured his friend. “By the way, I promised Applejack I’d help her tomorrow. If… you don’t mind?”

“Of course not, Spike!” Twilight replied.

“I’ll be back in time to help out here,” Spike said, hugging the unicorn's neck. “Also, thanks, Twilight.”

“Anything for my friend and number one assistant,” the unicorn said, gladly returning his hug. “Oh, I didn’t know what you wanted to do with your gems so I took the liberty to organize them by color and shape.”

“I think I still want to give them to Rarity,” Spike said. Though he thought he would still be angry or upset from repeating her name, he felt nothing of the like but the incident with her and Photo Finish was still burned into his head. It was not something he could forgive so easily.

“She missed you, actually,” the unicorn said, levitating a list where she kept all her visitors names and arrival and departure times. “She came at 3:47 P.M. to apologize to you but since you weren’t home, I told her to come back tomorrow.”

“She came to apologize?” the young dragon asked.

“Why wouldn’t she? She felt terrible about it, Spike,” Twilight told her assistant.

“She did, huh?” Spike said as he started up the stairs leading to his basket-bed.

“Oh, Spike…” Twilight whispered to herself, her ears falling upon hearing his words.

Something Changed

For next few days, the pattern continued. Spike would waken early to finish his chores with Twilight early then off he was to Sweet Apple Acres. No pony suspected anything of it, his new developing feelings for the Stetson hat-wearing pony but not even he could comprehend it. It was kind of giant leap, almost complete opposites that he found himself torn over. One a “proper” lady, gentle and exquisite, the other a hard worker, a pony that is no stranger to dirt or physical labor, yet both had found a spot in his heart. However Spike knew that he held Rarity in a higher place, his feelings for only increased over time since he first fell for the dress maker when he came to Ponyville. He also knew that the only reason her comment hurt so much was because of the fact that his feelings had grown so strong.

Said unicorn, unfortunately, was swamped with orders from Canterlot. This year’s Grand Galloping Gala was a mere two month away and after six mares had displayed the young designer’s work, many of the posh mares’ from the regal city wanted such custom dresses. Between measuring the clients and price negotiations, the white unicorn had no time to revisit the library-tree-house and apologize to Spike. Her work was slowed as her usual assistant no longer present and her mind was busy thinking of how hurt the young dragon was.

Spike was just then thinking of her in turn, he had heard of the multitude of orders she had received. Rarity had been swamped with work before but he was always there to lend a hand… err… claw. She always remembered to thank him kindly with a handful of gems to eat when he returned to his home. He was tempted to go help her but two thing had stopped him: for one, he had promised to help Applejack with this year’s apple harvest which was currently in full swing and secondly, the heartache but that was only an excuse, deep down in his heart, Spike knew he had already forgiven his beloved unicorn. Even with the knowledge that Rarity had wanted to apologize, the purple dragon could not help but feel hurt still. Though the work took his mind off of it, it would take some time before he was fully healed.

“You alright there, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, seeing the dragon lost in thought.

“Yeah… I’m ok,” Spike answered.

“Got somethin’ on your mind? You looked like yer miles away…” the country pony commented as she sat next to the purple dragon.

“Just thinking of Rarity again…” Spike replied, still staring off into the distance.

“I heard she’s up to her mane in dress orders,” Applejack said. “She might be needin’ some help, you know…”

“But what about you, I made promise to help you out here. The apple harvest is just started,” the thoughtful dragon said.

“Spike, ya’ve helped a lot more than Applebloom these past few days…” the blond earth pony paused.

“Hey!” her sister interrupted her.

“Umm… what are ya wearin’, Applebloom?” Applejack asked, looking at her sister’s colorful, tight outfit, complete with mask.

“We’re tryin’ to get our Cutie Marks as professional wrestlers! We even got Iron Will to help train us!” Applebloom exclaimed as she pointed at a crude wrestling ring.

“Iron Will’s Assertiveness Workshop… has not been doing so well…” the Minotaur said as they looked towards him.

“Ok…” Applejack turned her attention back to Spike. “Anyways, what I was tryin’ to say is that you’ve helped enough around here. Besides, I’ve got Big Macintosh to help me this year.”

“Eeyup!” the large, red stallion said as he bucked all the apples off a tree with a single kick.

“I’m sure she’d appreciate your help a hay of a lot, Spike,” the apple farmer said as she rubbed his head.

“I don’t know…” the dragon said quietly, still pondering the idea.

“I reckon it would do both of you some good to see each other again,” Applejack added. “It’s better to deal with your problems, Spike, than to run away from ‘em.”

“You’re right!” Spike said as he began running back towards town. “Thanks, Applejack! I promise, I’ll be back to help once Rarity’s work is done.”

“Don’t ya fret none, Spike,” Applejack replied. “There’s always something to do around the farm. You won’t be missin’ much.”

The young dress maker was hard at work, sewing, trimming, thinking of new designs. However, her mind was still preoccupied with the young dragon. She noticed how big and lonely her shop was recently. Usually, her part-time assistant was there to help her out with whatever she needed, which also included just being there, keeping her company. She did not ever think of what the little things that Spike did here and there could add up to.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!” Rarity moaned as she cleared her workstation of all the materials piled on it. “What have I done!? I have driven away the best assistant-no-best friend a pony could ever ask for!”

Her conscience was ebbing at her all the while as she thought of all the bad things she ever did to him. Whether it was something as simple as being short with him during times of stress or yelling at him for dragging in mud into her shop. Yet, throughout it all, he stayed with her and served her however he could. That was true dedication, true loyalty, maybe when Twilight had declared him the new Rainbow Dash it held some truth.

“Oh! What I wouldn’t give to have my little assistant back again,” the white unicorn said as she lied on her “drama queen” couch. After a while of lying there, eyes closed, the unicorn decided to get back to work only to notice that the very same dragon she had been asking for back. “Spike!?”

The little purple dragon had listened to the whole thing. He had been waiting for Rarity to realize he was there. He had brought his wagon filled with gems, though it was greatly reduced from his eating.

“SPIKEY-WIKEY!” Rarity hugged the young dragon. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know how you could ever forgive me but I promise I’ll make it up to you somehow!”

“It’s alright, Rarity! I forgive you,” Spike said and though he hugged her back, the hug somehow was not as enjoyable as he remembered.

“Are you quite sure about that, Spike?” the unicorn said, letting the young dragon fall back onto the floor.

“I’m sure, Rarity… I heard you needed some help, so here I am!” Spike said with smile.

The hurt from the incident seemed to disappear after hearing her dramatic conversation with herself. His smile confused the young dress maker as she thought that he had been using working at Sweet Apple Acres as way of avoiding her and yet, he came to her, offering his help during her time of need. What she found even more odd was how he asked for nothing for the hurt she caused, he usually tried to squeeze a kiss out of her every chance he could. She found it adorable and occasionally humored him with a peck on the cheek but this time, Spike seemed to have no intention of doing so.
“Ok… well, we should get started as soon as possible, Spike. We have many orders to get through and we’re going to need more gems than these…” Rarity said. “But thank you, Spike, they will definitely help.”

“Hey, Spike!” Twilight said as she greeted her assistant at the door. “Looks like someone had a busy day…”

The dragon rose his finger as if to say something, only to collapse face first onto floor. Twilight was worried but soon heard the little dragon’s snore and immediately knew that he had been exhausted by the work he put himself through. Carrying him off and tucking him in his small basket-bed, Twilight let Spike get his well-earned rest.

My Little Drama

Apologies given and friendships repaired, time was an amazing healer or so it seemed. No sooner than a week did the dragon and white unicorn’s relationship return to normal. On the surface, it looked like the dragon acted just as he did before but inside, it certainly did not feel the same, similar but not the same. Perhaps Spike was just a good spy or maybe Rarity’s mountain of orders blinded her but in any case, the fashionista could not see the dragon’s new critical eye that watched how she treated him. To his discerning eye, their relationship had shifted or altered, however small but significantly.

But, to the white unicorn, everything almost felt exactly the same as before. She had her old part-time assistant back and her old life, nothing weighing heavy on her conscience, anymore that is. If it was, it was certainly was not shown in her work ethic. She was going strong, almost like a sewing machine, stitching this, cutting that. Though something about Spike nagged at her at the back of her mind, she noticed how the dragon was now more reserved than before.

All the while, she had the young dragon running errands, from cooking her lunch to running across town to retrieve a fabric she “just absolutely needed.” Lucky for him, his affection for the unicorn gave him the strength to persevere through this tough time. The days he worked with the designer pony seemed to drag on indefinitely, which was the first thing that struck him as unusual. Before the incident, the day would fly by with only small parts he remembered as he stared at the most majestic unicorn he ever laid eyes on.

It seemed that new mare had snuck her way into his mind as Spike found himself often dozing off and daydreaming of the new apple of his eye (pun fully intended). He continuously had to shake forlorn feelings as he remembered and missed helping Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres. This confused the young dragon as the only time he ever daydreamed of anypony was when he thought of Rarity… and on one special occasion, Twilight, though he will never admit it.

“Hmm…” Rarity hummed as inspected her latest design brought to life.

“Rarity?” Spike called the unicorn, bags formed under his eyes from the never ending list of tasks given to him.

“Oh! Yes, Spike can you get some more fabric from over there, I believe I almost have it,” the dress maker ordered him.

“Ok,” the green-bellied dragon said with fatigue in his voice, obeying the unicorn’s whim.

“No, no, this just will not do,” Rarity said once she saw what the dragon had brought her.

“Rarity?” Spike asked with a yawn.

“Yes, Spike?” the unicorn replied, coming up from shuffling through all the material she had in a chest in her workplace.

A sight from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head to the window to find that the sun had set, not just now but much earlier. If she had to guess, she would put her money on it already being passed midnight as the moon was in full view and no pony could be seen wandering the dark streets of Ponyville.

“Oh my! Spike, it’s late! You should have gone back to home already,” Rarity exclaimed, causing Spike to roll his eyes as she finally realized what he was trying to say to her.

The dragon was all but ready to go home and fall like log right into his basket-bed but he had a bit hope that perhaps Rarity would walk him home or at least show him out. However, he saw how she was in what he called “the zone,” when the creative juices in her brain allowed for little else than to create the vision in her head. He was used to it, he really was. It was often that he stayed up past his usual bedtime for his “Lady Rarity” and he would never mind but he had been very careful to notice every little detail in the way she treated, ever since the incident.

“Bye, Rarity…” Spike said, waiting at the open shop door to hear a farewell from his crush but unfortunately, nothing of the sort came as he close the door behind him.

“Take care, Spike,” Rarity replied, only after the dismayed dragon had left.

This had been a rough week for the dragon, helping his unicorn crush with all the excessive amount of custom order dresses had taken a lot out of as Twilight clearly saw. Every night for the entire week, the studious unicorn saw the dragon leave early and return exhausted. In all honesty, she missed her assistant’s… well… assistance as well as his company. Usually, he always would create a ruckus which never allowed her to fully concentrate on her reading or organizing but, for some odd reason she could not quite put her hoof on, she missed it.

Suddenly he walked through the door and, again, the overworked dragon collapsed.

“Oh, Spike…” Twilight said to herself as she carried his unconscious body to his bed. The purple unicorn could not help but feel somewhat guilty about his fatigue. The dragon had been her only friend for years and continued to be her friend, not only that but he served as her assistant for just as long. After all those years together, she had grown love her assistant, maybe more than she had even thought. With that, she tucked her friend into bed and gave him a peck on his forehead, nuzzling him afterward. “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

Spike awoke the next day to find that he somehow had made it to his bed last night though he only remembered dragging himself to the door.

“Hey, Spike!” Twilight greeted the still sleepy-eyed dragon. “You’ve been coming home late… Rarity’s been keeping you busy, I bet.”

“Yeah…” Spike yawned.

“I was thinking about it, Spike,” the purple unicorn said. “And I want to give you the day off as long as you promise that you’ll use it rest up. It’s not healthy for you to use all your time helping everypony.”

“Yeah, I think I do need some to myself,” Spike said as he sat their small dining area.

“I also made breakfast, all by myself!” Twilight beamed with pride; usually it was Spike who acted as the chef of the house. “Dig in!”

“Looks delicious!” the dragon exclaimed as his mouth filled with drool just by smelling the feast. Suddenly, something hit him, a scent from the food, reminding him of something. “Apples…?”

“Yes, Spike? What about apples?” Twilight said as she took a bite out of her homemade apple pancakes.

“Apples… Apple-jack!!!” Spike said as he remembered that he promised to help Applejack his help. “Oh no! I completely forgot I promised to help her. Sorry, Twilight! Got to go!”

“WAIT!!! SPIIIIKE!!!” she called to the baby dragon but he was already out of hearing range.

The dragon went along the dirt road that led through Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as his little legs could take him. Though he was in a hurry, he did not forget to greet all the ponies as he nearly crashed into them. It had nearly been a week since he had promised Applejack that he would return and make up for leaving during the busiest time of the year for the Apple family.

Honestly, the young dragon did indeed miss working with the Apples over at their farm. The work was a good more physically taxing than anything that he did for Rarity or Twilight but he still enjoyed it. Maybe it was the fresh air or the scenic view but something kept drawing him back to that farm. He never felt more energetic than he did during those days he worked with Applejack, he would even dare say that he got a bit stronger, at least he would like to think, from the labor, something he did not mind one bit.

As he reminisced about past days, he finally arrived at the farm, wheezing and barely able to stand, but still with the full intention of helping Applejack. “Whew! Made it!” Spike said, all the while breathing heavily.

“Spike? Wasn’t expectin’ to see ya here today?” the blond farmer asked as she approached the small dragon.

“I made you a promise, remember?” Spike said. “I sure do.”

“You feelin’ ok, Spike?” Applejack asked, noticing the bags under his eyes and his abnormal breathing. “You look plumb tuckered out. Maybe you should go back to the library and get yourself a good long rest. I know you’ve been helpin’ Rarity out this past week, must be as tired as bull after a rodeo.”

“But…” Spike said with a yawn.

“Gotta learn to pace yourself, sugarcube,” the work pony said, picking the tired dragon up onto her back. “Trust me, Spike. Learned that the hard way.”

“But I promised to help you,” the purple dragon said, slumped over the pony’s back.
“Spike, I love ya helpin’ me but I’d love it more for ya take care of yerself better,” Applejack responded. “Now, Spike, I have big job for ya to do for me when we get back to the library, I want ya to take the rest of the day off, no chores, no helping, just rest those weary lil’ scales of yers.”

“Ok, Applejack,” Spike said, signaling his compliance.

“But before we go, just gotta make a quick stop over at the farmhouse, got somethin’ I want to give ya there, and then we’ll head on back to Ponyville,” the apple farmer said. “Sound good to ya?”

The dragon simply nodded as he fell asleep on top of the earth pony.

Twilight was somewhat torn in the library all by herself. She did not know what to do, whether to go after Spike and force the dragon to take a day off or not. She knew all this extra work was driving the little guy into the ground but she also knew that he was free to do as he pleased. He was not so much a baby dragon anymore, in fact, he started to become bothered when she would call him a “baby dragon.”

He did quite a bit of growing up during their relatively short time here in Ponyville. His small crush on Rarity had developed into full blown love from what the purple unicorn saw but he still called it a crush, not really knowing what love was yet. But the recent incident seemed to dealt a significant blow to that relationship, call it mare’s intuition, but Twilight could clearly tell that it had affected the dragon much more than he led on, even though she had not talked or seen Spike much since the beginning of this mess. After living with him so many years, the unicorn could tell when something was bugging him, she only hoped it did not work the other way around.

A knock at the door derailed the studious pony’s train of thought.

“Hey, Twilight,” Applejack greeted her friend as she opened the door.

“Oh, hey, Applejack,” the unicorn smiled at the farmer, noticing her assistant on the earth pony’s back. “I thought you’d be at Sweet Apple Acres with Spike. I did give him the day off but he’s grown to be quite the stubborn little dragon.”

“I can tell, he ran all the way to the farm after all the work Rarity’s had him doin’,” Applejack laughed as the unicorn levitated the sleeping Spike onto her own back. “Poor lil guy, must be sore all over.”

“I’ll make sure he stays and doesn’t lift a claw this time,” Twilight assured her friend.

“Here’s something for him, not much but it’s all you find lyin’ around a farm,” the work pony said as she handed a sack of gems over to the unicorn. “I know how he loves ‘em.”

“Wow, thanks Applejack! I’m sure if he was awake, Spike would have thanked you too,” Twilight said, levitating the bag.

“T’werent nothing, the little guy’s really earned it,” Applejack said as she tipped her hat. “Now, if ya’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go see Rarity.”

“About what?” the unicorn asked inquisitively.

“She’s gotta take it easier on Spike, I know she’s busy and all but that doesn’t mean ya should take advantage of a friend,” Applejack said as she headed off to the fashionista’s home and shop.

Of Unicorns and Dragons

“Rarity?” Applejack called as she walked through the front door of the Carousel Boutique.

The fashionista was nowhere to be found in the store front. It was unusually messy, in fact. Although she did keep her workplace scattered and chaotic, Rarity usually had her store nice and tidy not only for the customer’s sake but also because of her refined nature. Yet, throughout the store, there were dresses thrown about everywhere and rolls of fabrics completely spread out.

“Ah! Spike, I thought you’d never…” Rarity said, exiting her room and entering the shop. “Oh… Applejack, how kind of you to drop by.”

“Uh… Well, I really wanted to talk to ya…” the blond farmer responded as she followed the dress maker back to her room.

“I’m sorry, Applejack. Normally, I would love to sit and gossip with you but I’ve been commissioned to work on so many dresses, I can hardly find the time to breathe,” Rarity replied, magically levitating some fabric and needles to begin her work anew.

“This is kinda important,” Applejack said authoritatively.

“Ok, Applejack,” the fashion designer said, laying down the tools of her trade. “What is it?”

“Well, I don’t wanna take too much of yer time so I’ll get right to it,” Applejack said as she removed her hat. “Don’cha think you’re taking advantage of Spike just a wee bit?”

“Spike comes to me and asks me if there is anything he can do for me,” Rarity said defensively.

“But have ya seen him lately? The poor little guy’s just about ready to keel over,” Applejack said, trying her best to calm.

“As I said before, he comes to me,” the fashionista said and turned around as if the conversation was over.

“Rarity, ya know just as well as everypony that Spike has a crush on ya,” Applejack said, raising her voice slightly.

“And what does that have to with anything?” Rarity asked with her back still to the farmer pony.

“There is ain’t much he wouldn’t do for ya,” Applejack said, her temper nearing the boiling point.

“And…?” the white unicorn replied.

“AND you’re using him!!!” the blond farmer nearly yelled, only stopped by her clenched teeth.

“Why I never!” Rarity exclaimed as she spun around to face the earth pony. “How dare you make such accusations?”

“They’re not accu-whatzits if they’re true, Rarity!” the apple farmer shouted as her and her friend found themselves face to face quite literally, pushing each other’s foreheads together.

“I think you should leave now…” the normally refined unicorn said in a very uncharacteristic harsh tone, narrowing her eyes as she did.

“Hmph! Maybe I should…” Applejack said in almost an angry whisper as she made her towards the shop’s exit. “But ya know what you’re doing to Spike ain’t right, Rarity. You’re leading him on. I know you’re better than that… at least I thought so…”

“I would never do that to Spikey Wikey!!!” Rarity screamed at her departing friend. The argument left the unicorn winded as she huffed and puffed. But only a few moments had passed and already began to reflect on what Applejack had said.

“I… I wouldn’t…” the unicorn said in the empty shop, perhaps trying to convince herself.

“How did this happen?” Twilight paced the library. Her confession to the sleeping dragon had her confused. She had realized feelings that she did not know she had for her assistant. Yet, for the life of her, she could not recall when these feelings developed.

Thinking back, she always had Spike with her, ever since Celestia left him in her care. In fact, one thing she never thought about was why Celestia allowed him to stay with her, being so young herself when she received him. If what Celestia wanted her to learn was friendship all along, then maybe Spike was her first step towards that path: her first friend, other than her brother of course.

It still did seem strange that Celestia would leave the baby dragon with her, barely being older than a filly herself. Even if he was her first lesson in friendship, Celestia would have considered rearing Spike herself, as she did for the first few years of the dragon’s life, all the while allowing Spike to visit her. But instead, she left him to be her assistant. Maybe Spike himself would know the answer as to why the princess did so.

Going along with that line of thought, Twilight also remembered all the long nights in Canterlot. She constantly overdid it when it came to her studies and would fall asleep face first on her books and scrolls but she would wake up the next morning with a pillow replacing the book she was reading and blanket over her body. She never gave it much thought, too concerned in finishing her studies, but Spike was the only one with her during those times so he was the only pony… well, dragon… that could be responsible for that act of kindness.

Twilight also remembered how in his younger days, she would read to him scary stories, a weekend tradition that had been long since abandoned. Some of the stories were too frightening for the poor little reptile, his paranoia of zombie ponies could attest to that. When the stories did not allow the young dragon to sleep on his own, she used to invite him onto her bed for the night, and truthfully, it was as much for her as for him. She quite often spooked herself with some of the stories she read and having a male dragon next to her throughout the night provided an incredible form of comfort.

A snore from the said dragon brought her back to the present. Perhaps it took him being out of the library, separated from her for so long, for her to realize that she did in fact love him. She never thought about losing him because she never truly thought it would happen.

“Am I jealous… of Rarity?” Twilight asked herself. She always told Spike that his crush on Rarity was immature and that he never had the chance to win her over. But now she realized that maybe, just maybe, she subconsciously did not want him to succeed in earning the affection of her white counterpart. It would have been so much easier for her to just tell Spike about her feelings but with the maelstrom of thoughts running through Twilight’s head, she could not think straight. No, not until she found where it all began or how it began.

But perhaps there was some hope of finding the time where these feelings for Spike first developed. Luckily, Twilight kept meticulous records in journals of just about everything ever since she became a student of Princess Celestia. If there were any hints or clues as to source of her feelings, then they would be in those journals… Unfortunately for her, Spike is the only one that would know where she kept them and, along with already promising him the day off, he would also question why she needed those journals. If she looked for them herself, Twilight would probably have to turn the library inside out, so she would have to wait a while longer to let the dragon have his day of R & R and for her to come up with an excuse as to why she needed those journals.

A knock at the door spooked the purple unicorn as she plotted how to get her old journals back.

“Twilight?” it was Rarity’s voice speaking. “Twilight, darling, I need to talk to you.”

“Oh… hi, Rarity!” Twilight said with a nervous smile forming across her face. “Didn’t expect you to see you today.”

“Sorry to intrude but Applejack and I… had a ‘talk’ earlier,” Rarity hesitated, underselling the fight that she just had. “And seeing as you know Spike the best…”

“Yes…?” Twilight asked.

“Be honest, Twilight, I can’t stress that enough. Do I…” Rarity paused, trying to force the rest of the question out of her. “Do you think I take advantage of Spike’s feelings?”

“Uh… well,” Twilight stalled, thinking of a way to put it gently. She did, in fact, think that fashionista sometimes used the dragon’s feelings to benefit herself.

“I see…” Rarity said as she took the hint, hanging her head. “Do I lead him on, Twilight?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight requested to the white unicorn to clarify her question.

“Do you think that I give him the idea that I feel the same he does for me?” the dress maker asked. “Is that a bad thing that I do?”

“I think that really depends on whether you do, Rarity,” Twilight answered.

“Is he here?” Rarity asked in a whisper.

“Yes… but he’s upstairs, sound asleep,” the purple unicorn said, worrying about the reason she would ask that.

“I… I do care for him, very much so…” the fashionista admitted. “I can’t lie; I’ve grown quite fond of him. He’s always been the most courteous gentlecolt, dragon, that I’ve ever met. He always treats me like a lady. He’s also incredibly thoughtful and not to mention handy. What I’m trying to say…”

“You love Spike?” Twilight struggled to say with a knot in her throat.

“Please, Twilight, you must promise me that you won’t say a word about this to anypony… or dragon,” Rarity pleaded as she motioned her head towards the upstairs bedroom.

“Does this have anything to do with the talk that you and Applejack had?” Twilight asked, jealousy eating at her a bit.

“She said that I was taking advantage of Spike, that I was using his feelings for me…” the dress designer said with a bit of melancholy in her voice. “But I don’t mean to! I really don’t… He loves me because I act like a lady, I try to be elegant and refined. But if I open up to him, if I let him see the real me, not just my good moments but when I’m at my worst… then what if he sees I’m not the princess he dreams about, what if he leaves me…”

“Rarity…” Twilight tried to console her friend but it was too late, the white unicorn had already bolted out the door.

“I’m sorry, Twilight, I must go…” Rarity said, tears welling up in her eyes.

One full day of rest did wonders for the fatigued dragon as he felt like he could take on the world and anything it had in store for him. He remembered his promise to Applejack, that he would help her, but he had to check on Rarity, having left her to work by herself the day before. He could not betray his heart, he still had strong feelings for her and they caused him to feel guilty for leaving her on her own.

“Rarity?” Spike called the unicorn, entering her shop.

“Oh, Spike…” Rarity answered as she wiped her face with her hoof. The young dragon could swear he heard a sniffle.

“Are you ok, Rarity?” Spike asked the unicorn. She looked a mess, almost like she had stayed up all night. Her mane was disheveled, her tail neglected, and bags had formed under her eyes.

“I’m quite alright, Spike. Thank you for your concern,” the ragged-looking pony lied through her teeth. “Spike, I know I’ve been overstepping myself with you… and I want you to take the day away from me.”

“But Rarity…” Spike was interrupted as he tried to convince the unicorn to let him stay.

“No, Spike, no but’s,” Rarity said adamantly. Although he could clearly see that she was far from ok, Spike still complied with her request. She did not look like she could be persuaded otherwise.

“Alright, Rarity…” the saddened dragon said as he began towards the door leading outside.

“Wait!” Rarity said, galloping towards the young dragon. Spike stopped as he heard the dress maker’s call. Suddenly, he felt her forelegs wrap around him, pulling him into a deep hug. “I’m so sorry, Spike… for everything.”

“It’s alright, Rarity,” Spike said as he hugged the white unicorn back. He did not want to let the moment end, that hug felt better than any other they had ever shared but, much to his disappointment, Rarity broke it.

“Thank you, Spike, but…” the currently unruly pony paused as she gave him a gentle push out of the door.

The young dragon still felt the guilt haunting his mind and heart but he knew that it was best to give Rarity time to herself. But he could not think of what to do with his newfound time. “I still have my promise to Applejack, I should see if she needs help.”

While Rarity's Away, Spike Will Play

Though his mind was still focused on Rarity, Spike still knew that he had a promise to keep and he was going to make sure that he kept it. Racing over to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as his short legs could carry him, he found the farming mare just as busy as ever. Though this time it is was all about sorting the harvest, picking out the bad apples from the good ones. Spike already knew their schedule and the tomorrow was market day for the Apple family so it was no surprise that they were doing such a tedious task.

“Applejack!” Spike called out as he ran up the farm house.

“Well you’re lookin’ a hay of a lot better, Spike!” Applejack replied, leaving her post alongside Granny Smith and Appl ebloom.

“Yup!” the young dragon said with a smile. “Twilight said that you brought me back home when I was supposed to stay at the library…”

“Anytime, Spike,” the blond farmer said. “Couldn’t just leave ya there.”

“But… you left me gems too, Twilight told they were from you,” Spike continued. He knew that gems did not come cheap and there were a few decently sized gems that could have been worth a pretty bit had she sold them instead.

“‘Twas nothin’, just some shiny rocks that Big Mac digs up now and then. We were saving them for a rainy day but I thought you deserved them,” Applejack said as she rubbed his head with her hoof. “But there ain’t much to do around here, just getting ready to go into town tomorrow. This sortin’ will just bore ya to death.”

“I don’t mind, I promised to help you and I will. Anyways, all I do at the library is stuff like this for Twilight,” the dragon assistant said before he began to mimic Twilight. “‘Put these friendship letter copies away, Spike; No, that’s the daily journals, Spike, those go in the weekly journals drawer; Spike! What is my “History of Canterlot” doing in the Magic Section?’”

“If he wants to, he can take my spot!!! Me and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were all plannin’ on gettin’ our Cutie Marks by building an amusement park!” Applebloom nearly squealed with excitement as hopped on to her hooves.

“Didn’t you guys already try to be carpenters… and fail?” Spike asked.

“Well, whatever you fillies do, stay away from the Everfree Forest,” Applejack warned her sister. “You know we’ve been hearin’ Timberwolves from the edge of the forest.”

“Alright, Applejack, we’ll be careful…” the red-headed filly lazily promised her sister, then quickly rushing off to get her two fellow Crusaders.

“Looks like a spot just opened up,” the farmer mare said, tapping her hoof on an empty spot next to her. Spike eagerly took the spot and began picking the good apples, though not too adeptly at first, as Applejack had to sort through his picks to insure that they kept with the Apple family’s standard. However as the day continued, the dragon was able to get the hang of it and also provided his services as a dispose-all, with his iron stomach it was easy for him to eat all the low quality (and/or rotten) apples.

“Oh, Spike, you’re home!” Twilight said, caught off guard while turning the library inside out. Unable to find an excuse as to why she needed her Canterlot logs, the unicorn had taken her assistant’s time away to find them herself.

“Uh… You need help finding something, Twilight?” Spike asked, looking at Twilight’s disheveled self.

“Oh no… It’s nothing too important,” Twilight said with a nervous laugh as she began picking up her mess.

“Uh-huh…” her assistant replied, obviously not believing her, beginning to help her to adjust the library back to its normal state. “Are you sure you don’t need any help finding something?”

“No, no. I’m sure you’re tired after helping Rarity all day anyways,” the purple unicorn answered.

“Actually, Rarity wasn’t looking to good and so I left her alone,” Spike said, a little guilt lingering in his voice. “So I helped Applejack instead, she asked me to keep her company tomorrow at the market. Is that okay, Twilight? I know I should’ve asked you first…”

“It’s… ok,” Twilight responded, though pangs of jealousy still hit her heart hard. “Am I jealous of Applejack too?”

“Huh?” her assistant asked.

“Oh! Nothing…” Twilight said, not realizing she had her last question out loud.

“Ok, well… I’m going to bed. Are you sure you don’t need my help with something?” Spike said as he began up the stairs.

“Actually…” the studious unicorn forced herself to say. “Do you know where my Canterlot journals are?”

“Why do you need those old things?” Spike asked the very question that Twilight feared.

“Umm… I want to… organize them…?” Twilight told him a horrifyingly obvious lie. Fortunately for her, it seemed that the dragon believed her, shrugging as he walked to another room in the library. To him, it was not too much of a stretch that the OCD afflicted unicorn wanted to sort everything she could.

“Here you go,” the little dragon said, leading the unicorn to a drawer that held journals to the very brim. “I think that’s all of them…”

It might as well have been gold that Spike had led her to by the way Twilight eyed the logs.

“Thank you, Spike!!! What would I ever do without you?!” the purple mare asked as she squeezed her assistant.

“Have fun… I’m going to bed,” Spike yawned.

“What would I do without you?” Twilight asked herself. She knew she loved her longtime assistant and friend but she also knew that his feelings belonged to Rarity. If the dress designer were to ever reveal her feelings, she might just lose him forever. She could easily bar him from seeing her but she knew it was not right, despite how she felt. Her ears drooped at the thought of losing her best friend.

“Got to say, Applejack, this isn’t the most exciting thing in the world,” Spike commented about them waiting for customers. “I can see why you wanted company…”

“I appreciate it, Spike,” Applejack said. It was always slow during the early morning of market day and, with Applebloom’s impatience and Big Macintosh’s quiet nature, neither was cut out to be a salespony.

“Ah! There you are, Spike!” a familiar voice said, behind the sitting dragon.

“Rarity?” the dragon asked as he saw the unicorn approach them.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you too, Applejack,” Rarity addressed her earth pony friend, though she still felt a bit of hostility behind the farmer’s gaze.

“You’re looking better,” Spike remarked on Rarity returning to her normal appearance, compared to when he last saw her.

“First of all, I wanted to say… I’m sorry, Applejack,” the fashionista apologized. “I should have known that you wouldn’t say anything if you didn’t believe it was true. I should’ve have listen to you rather than lashed back. I realized that maybe you were right and I’m trying to make it right and prevent it happening in the future.”

“That’s mighty big of ya, Rarity,” Applejack replied as her look softened. “Glad to hear it.”

“And Spike, I’ll be going on a trip to give demonstration of a dress to a customer in Canterlot and then I’ll be going to the Crystal Empire to pick up some special material,” Rarity told the dragon. “I wanted to tell you, Spike, so you would not wonder where I went to.”

“Do you…” Spike began only to be silence by a white hoof to the mouth.

“It’s better that you stay here, Spike. I’ll be gone for a week or longer, it would be too much to ask,” the dress maker said. “I’ll be fine.”

“If you think so…” the young dragon said, though it obviously saddened him.

“Don’t worry, Spike, we can spend some time together when I get back. After I finish the Gala dresses, of course,” Rarity told him as she headed back to her boutique.

“Let’s see, let’s see,” Twilight said, quickly skimming through her entries from her days of study in Canterlot. “‘I read “Bestiary of Equestria”, today. It was very enlightening, I’ll write to Princess Celestia about what I learned…’ blah blah blah. This is kind of boring, who wrote this… oh, right. I did.”

Continuing to rapidly read every page, Twilight found no evidence of her feelings in any of the journals. All she wrote were facts and events that happened during the day rather than her feelings. She was never very good at expressing herself, whether through words or other mediums. She tried her hoof at painting once, only to give up once she realized everything she drew looked like something one would find at a magic kindergarten.

Thinking back on it, Spike was the only one in Canterlot that she ever really allowed to see her emotions. On some of her worst days, he would sit there and her rant about how she could not perform her spell no matter how hard she tried. Or he put up with her bad moods when she was overworked and under pressure. Even when she would criticize him for taking long to find her the right book or when he would accidentally bring her the wrong book, her little assistant stood by her side, through thick and thin.

Realizing that she allowed her mind to drift off, Twilight returned to reading her Canterlot journals, holding on to some shred of hope that she wrote something hinting that her feelings developed for the young dragon.

It had been a few days since Rarity left on her trip and Spike was clearly missing her. He was feeling a bit down and his work ethic reflected it as he was lazier than usual. Twilight had not given him much to do lately, having been busy with reading all her journals, and there were been many, many, many journals which only made sense seeing how her and Spikehad spent so many years together in Canterlot. The dragon assistant knew that he should not act so needy towards his crush; he had to get out of his current funk somehow.

He had an idea but, at the same time, he was hesitant to act on it. Spike had thought of maybe going over to Sweet Apple Acres, seeing as how Applejack said he was always welcome. But a fear stopped him, he and Applejack were growing closer and closer with all the time they were spending together ever since Rarity was gone. He found himself trying to impress the farming mare by trying to push as many apple-filled carts as she could or trying to buck all the apples off a tree with a single hit just as she did. Both were complete failures: when he tried pushing anymore more than two carts, he could move them at most a mere inch before he felt like he was about pull something, and when he tried to head-butt a tree to collect its apple bounty, he only managed to knock himself unconscious. Trying to pull of these types of feats was only something he would try to do for Rarity.

The fear was that perhaps his feelings for Rarity were shifting, that the more time he spent with Applejack, the more likely he would fall for her too, or worse, she might soon replace Rarity in his heart. He truly did love Rarity and he felt like he was betraying her by falling for another mare. To him, she was the most elegant, most beautiful mare in all of Equestria, a true lady. She was a mare which no other could, or should have been able to, compete with. Of course, she had her shortcomings. She was short with him on occasion, she sometimes criticized him when he was dirty but he knew that deep down, she was very caring and generous. Yet, Applejack was somehow winning him over, something about her just called out to him but he could not name it.

The apple farmer was obviously a hard worker but there were other qualities about her Spike had just barely gotten to notice. Being a hard worker was one reason Spike felt attracted to Applejack, he liked to think that he was a hard worker too as he was always giving up his free time to help others, it was something they had in common. But as he has seen for himself, Applejack was also very considerate, with how she carried him home and giving away the pouch of gems for him to enjoy as a treat. She was very grateful for everything he did, remembering to thank him, even if it was just keeping her company as she worked, and tried avoiding giving difficult chores. “And she’s not too bad to look at…” Spike said to himself but quickly covered his mouth, realizing what he just said.

He asked himself again whether he should go and visit Applejack at the farm. He wanted to go, despite his feeling of betrayal, and he wanted to spend more time with Applejack. Spike could not deny what he wanted, even if the guilt weighed heavy on his mind. It was not betraying Rarity if their relationship was not in the romantic sense. Rarity never hinted that she returned his feeling, so it could not possibly be infidelity. “Right?” Spike asked himself out loud.

“‘Right’ what, Spike?” Twilight asked back, taking a small break from her reading.

“Oh, ‘right’ that, umm…” Spike stalled to come up with something. “‘Right’ that you don’t need me right now?”

“Are you thinking of going over to Sweet Apple Acres today?” the purple mare asked the dragon, almost as if she could read his mind.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it,” the dragon assistant answered, though it was partly true as he still had not decided what he was going to do.

“You and Applejack have been spending a lot of time together. Maybe you should give her some time to herself,” Twilight replied. It was an attempt to keep him in the library. Ever since she admitted her feelings to herself about her little assistant, she felt jealous and a bit possessive of the little dragon. It felt wrong but Twilight could not help herself. She could feel a sharp pain in her heart whenever she knew that he was spending time with another mare.

“But Applejack said that I could visit her anytime I wanted, she said she could always use the help,” Spike said as a matter-of-fact. “So can I, Twilight?”

“Of course,” the studious unicorn replied with a bit of a struggle due to a knot forming in her throat.

“Good luck on your work, Twilight,” the young dragon bode her farewell.

“Bye, Spike…” Twilight said as her tears soaked the pages of her Canterlot journal.

“Nice to see ya again, Spike,” Applejack greeted the arriving dragon.

“Hey, Applejack!” Spike said, giving the earth pony a warm hug.

Spike’s growing feelings had not gone unnoticed by Applejack. It would have been hard for her to not to notice, what with how she constantly caught him ogling her and how he was acting so touchy-feely with her lately. She could say that the dragon was certainly helpful and that he was a kind, caring little reptile but she could not say that she returned his feelings. However, she admired his persistence and how hard he worked to gain her affections. It was certainly flattering, no stallion ever tried to court her at all and all this attention from Spike did make her feel rather special.

“There’s not much to do around here today,” the blond farmer stated. “Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are still off on making their ‘theme park.’ How’s about I thank ya for all the help lately with a little picnic? Just you and me.”

“Just us?” the purple dragon gulped.

“Yeah! What do ya say?” Applejack asked.

“Uh… umm…” Spike stammered, finding himself once again conflicted. It was one thing to visit and help out Applejack but this seemed very close to a date to the little dragon. The purple dragon needed a moment to collect his thoughts. Turning his back to the apple farmer, he began thinking about this invitation. “It’s not like Rarity will ever finds out… but what if she does!? I could lose my chances with her forever! But Applejack… she is just wants to thank me… it’s not a date… Just two friend having a picnic, right?”

“Uh, Spike, you know you just said that out loud,” the blond earth pony told him. “It’s ok if you don’t wanna go, I understand.”

“No! I do want to go, it’ll be fun,” the little dragon answered as his stomach growled. “Hehe, it’ll be good to get something eat too.”

The two prepared their little picnic sweets and food, including some hay sandwiches and some pies. They packed up and headed out to an open field on Sweet Apple Acres Applejack knew would give them some peace and quiet. With the three Cutie Mark seeking fillies building their “theme park,” silence and serenity were scarce around the Apple’s farm. Unfortunately, they would have to pass the noisy construction site where the Crusaders were breaking ground for their first ride.

As they did, they noticed something very strange indeed. Where they thought they would hear the most noise, it was dead silent. They decided to investigate the location of the future “theme park” only to find it abandoned. Except for a few flimsy wooden boards, the dragon and earth pony found no trace of the three fillies. Then Applejack noticed something, they had not heeded her warning of staying far from the edge of the bordering forest. They, in fact, were building almost right next to the Everfree tree line.

“Ugh! I told those fillies to stay away from the forest,” the blond farmer told the dragon on her back. “We better find them, Spike.”

“Right!” Spike said as he hopped off the pony. “But the Everfree forest is HUGE!!! Where are we going to start?”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!” the duo heard a cry coming from within the forest. Soon after, a little filly Pegasus popped out of the bushes lining the forest border, pursued by a single Timberwolf. A ravenous looking Timberwolf at that. “SOMEPONY HELP ME!!!!”

As the filly ran behind Applejack, the magical animal stopped in its tracks and examined the situation before him. A full grown mare and a dragon guarded his meal, the Timberwolf gave up his prey and disappeared back into the forest.

“Scootaloo! Where’s Applebloom and Sweetie Belle!? Are they ok? What happened?” Applejack barraged the filly with questions.

“They’re in there…” Scootaloo pointed a trembling hoof in the direction of the forest.

Where There's Smoke...

Where There’s Smoke...

“Scootaloo,” Applejack addressed the orange filly. “Go back to the farmhouse and get Big Macintosh.”

“O… O-ok,” Scootaloo said, still unable to stop shaking.

“Spike, we’re going into the Everfree Forest,” the blond farmer told the dragon.

“Wait, what?” Spike said, caught off-guard. “I thought you just told Scootaloo to get Big Mac… Aren’t we going to wait for him?”

“Big Mac maybe the strongest stallion in Ponyville but he sure as hay ain’t the fastest,” Applejack said as she lifted the dragon onto her back. “If we wait here, sittin’ on our hooves, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are gonna be Timberwolf chow.”

“Then maybe we should split up,” the purple dragon said, climbing down off the earth pony. “We can cover more ground like that and if they split up too then maybe we can get to both before those pile of sticks do.”

“I don’t know, Spike,” the hatted pony replied, unsure that the dragon could handle himself.

“Don’t worry about me, Applejack,” Spike told her, flexing his “biceps”. “With these thick scales and muscles, there’s no way the Timberwolves will get past me.”

“Alright, alright, we already too much time standin’ around chit-chattin’,” Applejack said. “Let’s get in there, we have fillies to find.”

Both quickly rushed into the brush of the forest and lost sight of each within a couple of minutes of running.

“Ok, ok, calm down,” Applejack told herself. “Applebloom’s ok. She’s safe, she’s a tough little filly. She can take care of herself.”

Unfortunately, a familiar scream unnerved the blond earth pony. She knew it was her sister and by the sound of the scream, she knew she was far from “ok”. Applejack could not help but feel a bit responsible for this situation. She said it herself, she had not had much to do but instead of checking in on the little club of fillies, she decided to have a picnic.

“Hold on, Applebloom, big sis is comin’!” Applejack yelled as she pushed her legs to carry her faster towards the scream.

“Sweetie Belle! Applebloom!” Spike’s voice traveled through the forest as he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. Arriving at a small cliff, he stopped to see if he could catch a glimpse of either filly or at least some sort of movement. Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a stampede beneath him, actually causing him to lose a bit of his balance.

“Whoa!” the dragon said, trying to remain on his feet. Looking over the edge, Spike saw a white little unicorn running for her life as a large pack of wooden wolves chased after her, closing in with every second. “Oh, well… umm…”

The dragon did not know what to do. One problem was solved but another made. He found the endangered filly but how was he going to get to her was now the issue. If he were climb down, it would take too long for him to reach the ground. If he tried to go around, it would take even longer. That left only one choice, a leap of faith. If he could manage to make a solid landing, he could help Sweetie Belle before the Timberwolves could catch her, it was his only hope.

“Here goes nothi---!” Spike yelled as he jumped off the cliff. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, the dragon landed on one of the wolves passing by.

“Oh, this can’t be good!” the purple reptile screamed as he struggled to stay on the snarling mythical creature.

Meanwhile, the unicorn out in front was running out of steam as she began to slow her pace. She always already breathing very heavily and was no longer even paying attention to the direction she was running in. Eventually, this caused her to run herself into a corner as the hungry wolves slowly enclosed the area.

“Whoa!” Spike said as the wolf he rode finally managed to jerk him off. Crashing on the wall behind the frightened unicorn, he immediately stood back up and grabbed a small, fallen branch nearby and held it to the ravenous pack in front him.

“Spike? What are you doing here?” Sweetie Belle asked, huffing and puffing throughout.

“I came to save you!” the dragon said, waving the stick around as the wolves dodged the blows.

“But who’s going to save you?” the terrified unicorn asked as she turned around to, too scared to face the drooling wolves that surrounded them.

“I-I still can do this, Applejack is counting me!” Spike replied, after one of the bolder wolves bit the stick, rendering the dragon unarmed. Sweetie Belle had lost control of her quivering tail as it rubbed against the dragon’s face. “I ca-ca-ca… AAAAH!”

“Spike? Are you ok?” Sweetie Belle asked as she turned to the dragon who had his head raised and a claw to his nose.

“CHOOOO!!!” the little dragon let loose a large stream of emerald fire from his mouth. The wolves were dumbfounded and frightened by the sudden unleashing of a wild, magical fire as they stared blankly at each other and the young dragon. The entire pack then scattered, each member whimpering, in every direction possible as the threat of a firebreather scared the appetite right out of them.

“You did it, Spike!” the unicorn hugged the dragon.

“Huh?” Spike asked, rubbing his nose. “Hey, I did, didn’t I?”

The two rejoiced in the fact they somehow managed to survive that life-threatening situation. But sudden howl broke up the happy celebrations as Spike realized that there was still another filly in danger.

“Applebloom!!!” the elder of the Apple sisters called out. Applejack knew she was closing in on her sister, finding a couple of Timberwolf stragglers trying to rejoin the main group. She continued to follow these laggards as they lead her to the rest of the pack who were already nipping at the heels of the country filly.

Charging through the pursuing predators, Applejack managed to make her way to the front and finally meet up with her younger sister. Little Applebloom looked and sounded like she was just about to collapse. Suddenly, she found herself off the ground and being lifted higher and higher. Applejack had picked her by her tail and thrown her onto her back.

“Applejack! You don’t know how good it is to see ya…” her sister said as she relaxed herself.

“We’re not out of the woods yet, Applebloom,” Applejack replied, knowing that the wolves were still following very close behind.

Unfortunately for them, the wolves that had stopped their preying on Spike and Sweetie Belle had followed the howls of the second half. They began to cut off the blond farmer and her sister at every turn as Applejack soon found it difficult to choose a safe path to run one. She every time she tried to change direction back towards the farm, more and more wolves would pounce on her, only to narrowly miss their target.

The situation only grew grimmer as Applejack realized that they were driving her deeper into the forest, where the trees grew closest to each other and made it hard for bigger creatures, such as herself, to move quickly. It was their territory and she was now on unfamiliar ground, running blindly, losing her bearings through the chaos of the chase. It was only a matter of time before they surrounded the filly and her sister.

Though the rescue of Sweetie Belle was a success, the calls of wolves continued echoing through the forest. It was obvious to the little dragon that it was no time to celebrate. Taking the lead, Spike began to retrace his steps to find a path out of the forest and back to Sweet Apple Acres.

“Spike, where are you going?” Sweetie Belle asked the dragon.

“We should go and get out of the forest,” Spike ordered the young unicorn. “Applejack must of found Applebloom, I bet they even found their way out of the forest.”

“What if they’re still in the forest!?” the unicorn said as she followed him, the howls of the Timberwolves become more and more frequent..

“Well… hmm… I can’t just leave you alone,” the purple dragon said.

“But they might need help, there were so many of them when we were together,” Sweetie Belle told him. “I don’t think even Applejack can take them all.”

“That many?” Spike gulped. “C-can you find your way back from here?”

“I think so,” the white filly answered. “Are you going alone? You can’t! They’ll swallow you up!”

“But they’re scared of my fire, maybe I can help,” the young dragon rebutted. “I have to help somehow! I can’t just let them eat two of my friends! You get back to Sweet Apple Acres and I’ll try to find Applejack and Applebloom.”

“Good luck, Spike!” the young unicorn said as she hurried out of the forest.

“Ok, so where to start…” Spike said as he wondered where the Apple sisters could be. He continued to here howls from deeper in the woods and along with them, more Timberwolves appeared but they seemed disinterested in him. They all headed in the direction of the howls.

If they were calls, then there needed to be a reason to call. Maybe the wolves had the sisters cornered or were trying to corner them. Either way, it was a good guess that Applejack and Applebloom were probably in the same direction. There was no possible way that Spike, being so small, could keep up with these swift predators. But perhaps there was another way.

“Alright, alright… it’s for Applejack and Applebloom. There’s no other pony around to help. It’s up to you, Spike!” the young dragon convinced himself as he looked down yet another cliff, even steeper than the last. “You can do it!!! YOU! CAN! DO IT!!!”

Yet another howl summoned more Timberwolves as they ran deeper into the forest, following their fellow wolves’ wail. He began to rush towards the edge only to break harshly at the very edge. Seeing the large vertical drop, Spike’s resolve dissipated and was replaced with nervousness and fear. “I-I… can’t do it…”

“Applejack, are ya ok?” the youngest Apple sibling asked, noticing that her sister was finding it hard to breath.

“Y-you kiddin’, I-I can keep this u-up all day,” Applejack replied, taking a ragged breath with each step she took forward. Most would agree that the farm pony was pretty athletic, not even Ponyville’s rodeo star could outrun the pack of hungry hunters behind her forever. She was long since lost; the poor earth pony could not recognize a single landmark that told her that she was in some familiar part of the Everfree. And that was definitely not a good sign, not with her legs starting to lose their strength.

“Applejack, I’m sorry…” Applebloom apologized to her sister, tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s all our fault that we’re here… We should’ve listen to ya, Applejack.”

“K-keep that chin up, Applebloom!” her sister replied, though still struggling to catch her breath. “We’re gonna make it out of here! And then you’ll be grounded for two weeks for not listenin’ to me!”

“But Applejack…” the red-headed filly said.

“Not but’s and that’s final Applebloom,” Applejack ordered. However, their situation was fast becoming dire straits as the gap between them and the ravenous pack was slowly closing. And unfortunately, it only worsened as yet another wooden wolf attempted to ambush the siblings but this one was lucky enough to succeed in finally laying a claw on the blond farmer. “AGH!”

“Applejack!” Applebloom exclaimed, seeing the small trickle of crimson running down her sister’s leg.

“Don’cha fret, it’s just a scratch,” the earth pony said. She was not lying to the young filly, it was merely a small scratch but it was also a harbinger about the ticking clock they had. Her reflexes had slowed from the strenuous amount of running she had been doing and she had already seen it affect her speed but her injury made it all the more apparent. It was obvious that the Timberwolves were not going to quit in their hunt, so Applejack was forced to think outside the box in order to ensure that at least her younger sister safely made it out of the forest. “Applebloom, I have an idea. When I tell ya to, ya hightail it out of here, find somewhere safe and hide! Got it?”

“Ok, Applejack,” the little filly nodded.

“Ready...” the elder sister warned the filly, starting to time her throw.

“NOW!” Applejack said, whirling around and tossing her younger with all her might behind the pursuing predators.

Landing with an “umph,” Applebloom quickly scrambled to her feet and began to gallop in the opposite direction as fast as her young legs could take her. But just like her sister, Applebloom was completely lost within the deep, dark inner forest. It was impossible to tell where she was going but she was satisfied with getting away from the Timberwolves. Of course she had second thoughts about leaving her sister but disobeying her was the original cause of this situation.

In hindsight, Applejack saw that it was not such a great decision. Applebloom might have been a smaller meal but a much easier one at that. It was an obvious choice for hunters, get the easy meal before she gets away, come back for the bigger. Applejack had now left her younger sister to the mercy of the Timberwolves as a few stayed behind to ensure that the main course did not escape before the rest of the pack were able to enjoy the appetizer.

Applebloom again found herself in a dire situation as the wolves that chose to follow her were again closing in on her. Though the filly had somewhat rested up while on her sister’s back, she was still very exhausted from her previous chase. Fortunately, her terrain favored her. The narrow paths allowed her to slip through small opening that forced the Timberwolves to find alternate paths. But even this only delayed the inevitable as her speed slowed drastically with every second the hunt continued.

She soon found her unable to run any longer. Eying a small nook inside a small hill, the redheaded filly quickly wriggled her way into the cramped hole. The Timberwolves would not be so easily fooled as they quickly sniffed her out and began shoving snouts and claws inside her hiding place. They swiped at her, just barely unable to reach their prey by mere inches. Their snouts blocked off the entrance to the small burrow as they barked and attempted to take a bite of the filly that tried pushing herself further into the back wall of the hole. The frightened filly was to be able to see the drool drip of the wolves’ wooden fangs each time they opened and clamped their jaws shut, letting out a terrified scream as she did.

The sudden scream startled the purple dragon right off the edge of the cliff as he found himself plummeting disgracefully towards the ground below. Soon he found himself once again mounted on the back of a Timberwolf as it struggled to throw him off and move towards the howl. It was no use, the dragon had his arms wrapped around the predator’s neck and he had no intention of letting go.

“AAAAAH-HA-HA-HA!!!” Spike cried out as he went along for the bumpy ride.

The wolves that had surrounded Applejack had trickled down in number to measly handful. Most had been scared away by the potential of this full grown and decided to take their chances with the easier meal of a filly. The few that remained did so out of stubbornness but, one by one, the wolves left after being dismantled by the athletic mare and having to regenerate. It was a losing battle on their part as with their dwindling numbers, they stood less and less of a chance at taking the full grown pony down, even when they had the advantage of her low stamina. Just as their numbers diminished to final two, a new, smaller pack of these magical creatures ran past the scene, one carrying the young dragon as he bounced around on its back.

“Spike?” Applejack asked herself as she tried to follow the passing group, only to be cut off by the two remaining wolves. They snarled and growled at the pony, warning her that proceeding will result in them pouncing on her. She slowly backed away from the duo but as she did, one decided to lunge and tried to take a premature bite out of its prey. The apple farmer quickly swung her hind legs and sent the brash wolf crashing into a nearby tree, dismantling it on impact. Pulling itself back together, it simply escaped from the confrontation, giving up on this takedown just as all the others before it.

And then there was one, and it seemed just as hardheaded as the last as it crept towards the mare. However, this one realized that it was now alone, completely separated from the rest of its pack. It tucked its tail between its legs, lowered its ears and began to whimper as it stared at the triumphant pony.

“Boo!” Applejack said, scaring off the crying wolf. She watched it run off into the canopy of the forest and then remembered that her sister and now possibly Spike were still very much in danger. Hearing a howl from the wolves, the earth pony restarted her search for her sister, and, now, the young dragon.

“WHOA!!!” Spike yelled as he struggled to keep himself on the Timberwolf. The wolf was start to enjoy torturing the dragon as he bucked and maneuvered wildly. Eventually it came to point where losing its tag-along no longer mattered, instead he reveled in the fear that it brought him. So much so that it lost concentration in the path it was running and crashed directly into a tree, dismantling itself and sending the poor dragon jockey flying.

“Umph,” he groaned as he slowly picked himself in the middle of the frenzy of wolves as they continued trying to dig their way to the filly hiding inside the tiny hole. But soon, they switched their attention to the newcomer as they began to circle him, like sharks. Spike could feel the fear well up in his body as he broke out into a cold sweat, completely forgetting his advantage of fire. The build-up would not last much longer as the first wolf pounced on the young dragon, who guarded himself using his arm.

Spike gritted his teeth, shut his eyes tightly and waited for the pain from the bite to hit him but he felt nothing. He cautiously opened on eye only to see that his scales had broken the Timberwolf’s wooden teeth. The mares used to say that he was just blowing smoke when he said that he was tough, wait until they hear that he was the ultimate weapon against Timberwolves. He smiled at the thought but a snarl and howl from the surrounding predators brought him back to Equestria. An inedible prey is something that the Timberwolves were not interested as threw the little dragon aside and continued to dig into the dirt wall, desperately trying to reach their meal.

“Alright, you guys wanna play rough? I’ll play rough!” Spike said as he began to take in a long breath. The ravenous pack paid him no mind even as his chest began to expand with air. Almost as if on cue, Applejack caught up just as the young dragon lungs reached their max volume.

“Spike!” Applejack called out to the dragon but quickly paused her advancement, seeing him begin to release a firestorm from his mouth. Sensing the sudden burst of heat from behind them, the Timberwolves stopped their excavation of the nook and turned around to see the giant wave of fire, which just managed to singe the ears of the entire pack. As Spike finished his firebreathing, the wolves again lost their appetites as they backed into each other.

Spike began taking yet another breath in and just that seemed to be enough send the entire group of hunters running in fear. And as the last of them left the scorched scene, Spike gently let out the breath he was holding in as he fell over. No longer seeing any teeth or claws trying to reach her, Applebloom poked her head out of her hiding place. As far as she could tell, the coast was clear except for a collapsed dragon and her sister, who seemed to be awestruck for some reason.

“Spike! Applejack!” Applebloom called them, snapping her sister back into reality.

“Applebloom! I’m so glad to see yer alright!” Applejack said as she hugged her sister. “Spike! Spike?”

“Are the Timberwolves gone?” the dragon asked, breathing heavily.

“Yeah… thanks to you… thank you, Spike…” the blond farmer affectionately nuzzled him. “Ya should be thankin’ him too, Applebloom! He’s the one that saved yer little flank from being wolf chow!”

“Thanks, Spike!” Applebloom said, helping the dragon sit back up.

“Whew! Didn’t think I had another one of those in me!” Spike told them. His little stunt had really taken it out of his young body, not only was he tired but his stomach was begging for something to eat.

“Come on, let’s get outta here,” Applejack said as she lifted both onto her back.

It was long, confusing and, fortunately, peaceful trek back to the farm lands of Sweet Apple Acres. Perhaps Spike’s mere presence warded off any new attacks from the Timberwolves or perhaps the pack moved on out of the area out of fear of the firebreather. Either way, the two ponies considered themselves lucky that they had a dragon for a friend. And it seemed that perhaps a reward was due to the hero of the day, at least it seemed this way to Applejack.

Just as they reached what they believed to be the edge of the forest, they began to hear calls of “Applejack!”, “Spike!” and “Applebloom!” They came from the usually silent giant stallion of the Apple family. Seemingly alone, until the three wanderers came within a stone’s throw of Big Macintosh. As they did, two fillies popped out of from behind the red stallion, much to his disliking.

“Applebloom!!!” the unicorn and Pegasus fillies yelled, running up the trio.

“Didn’t I tell ya both to go back to the farmhouse and stay there with Granny Smith,” the eldest of the Apple siblings scolded the two unknown tag-alongs.

“We couldn’t leave before we knew that Applebloom was ok!” Scootaloo argued back.

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle squeaked, standing by her friend. Big Mac merely shook his head in frustration.

“Hey now! If Big Macintosh told y’all to do something, ya listen! Don’t you remember how this all started!” Applejack also scolded the filly, raising her voice as she did so. “It’s still dangerous out here!”

“What happened there, sis?” Big Macintosh asked Applejack, pointing at the scratch on her front leg.

“Oh, it’s just a scratch, Big Mac…” Applejack said before her brother lifted her right off her hoofs and onto his back. “I’ll be fine… really!”

“Nnnope!” the big brother said simply as he prepared to carry the stubborn pony home.

“Wait! Hold yer horses, Big Mac!” Applejack ordered her brother who was already heading back to their farmhouse. She removed her hat and placed it on Spike’s head, an act that astonished almost all present, including the little dragon. His head was just bit too small to fill it as it sank covered his eyes. “I wanna thank ya, Spike. Ya don’t know how much it meant to me that ya came saved my lil sis… and me. It was mighty brave, what you did…”

“I don’t know what to say, Applejack…” the thunderstruck dragon said. He was completely caught off guard, it was something he would have never predicted would happen. In all the time that he had known Applejack, there were very, very few times that she was separated from her trademark Stetson hat. Many considered it a permanent part of her, something she would forever refuse to give up, but yet, she had given it to him. He could only imagine how much it meant to her and how hard of a decision it was to give it to him.

“But…” Spike said, removing the hat. Apologizing in advance to Big Macintosh, he began to climb up with hat in claw onto the large red pony, eventually reaching the mare on his back. With a swift movement, he plopped the hat back onto what he thought was its rightful place, back on Applejack’s head. “I know it means a lot to you and I know you want to thank me but, it’s enough to know that you and Applebloom are safe. Besides, it looks better on you!”

“Spike…” the apple farmer said quietly as her cheeks began to redden.

“Anyways, the look on Twilight’s face when I tell her that I scared away a whole pack of Timberwolves is all I need!!!” Spike said excitedly, hopping the giant red stallion. “Make sure she gets her rest, Big Mac! It might a little scratch but she still needs to take it easy!”

“Eeyup!” the stallion nodded.

“Well, ya think ya can make it home by yerself, Spike?” Applejack said, hiding her blush beneath her hat.

“I think I can manage that…” Spike assured her.

Noticing the setting sun, the little dragon waved good-bye as he rushed back to his library-home, not wanting to be near the mystical but dangerous forest alone after dark.

Between an Apple and a Hard Place

Returning home very late, Spike tried to sneak into the library, not wanting to wake the sleeping unicorn. But as he slowly cracked the door open, he noticed a large pile of notebooks near what was Twilight’s desk. It definitely was not like her to leave her work area in such disarray. Approaching the mound of what he now recognized to be the journals he had shown Twilight, he took the first off only to find a purple horn underneath it.

“Twilight…?” Spike asked quietly, which caused the pile to begin to stir. “Twilight!”

“Oooooh…” the unicorn moaned as she shook off the books covering her body. “Spike? You’re home early…”

“Umm… it’s nighttime already, Twilight,” her assistant informed the ignorant unicorn.

“Huh?” Twilight stuck her head out the nearest window and saw the shadowy night, whose only light was a crescent moon. The only thing visibly out was her pet owl that was resting on an outside branch, hooting to its heart content.

“Are you alright, Twilight? You seem kind of…” Spike cut himself off, not wanting to insult Twilight too badly. “Tired…”

“Oh… Sorry, I guess I overdid it with the studying again,” Twilight lied, patting down her wild mane. “You should probably head of to bed, Spike! It’s way past your bedtime!”

“You don’t want me to help you out here?” Spike said, taking up an arm full of books.

“Oh! No, no… I can take care of it myself…” the purple unicorn said, levitating many of the journals and organizing them into neat stacks. “You go get your rest.”

“But I wanted to tell you something!” the young dragon said with an added yawn.

“Now, now, Spike. Whatever you need to tell me can wait until morning,” Twilight said, levitating him up to his bed and tucking him in.

“Ok… But you’ll listen to me tomorrow, right?” Spike yawned, turning over onto his side.

“Of course I will, Spike,” the unicorn patted her young assistant’s head. “Good night…”

Heading back to her mess, Twilight gave a great sigh of disappointment. Even through her amazing effort to find when her feelings developed, she had come up empty hoofed. She had nowhere else to turn to find the answer she looked for, but her memories of their time at Canterlot. With all those flashbacks she had about all the things she had taken for granted that Spike did for her, it was no mystery to her about why she fell for him. Thinking about it more and more, she began to realize that when perhaps did not matter as much as she stressed that it did. What she needed to do now focus on earning his affections, already wasting so much time after she found out that the unicorn that he loved loved him back.

As she stored the journals back in their rightful place, she noticed a lone journal, somewhat different than the rest, hidden against the back of the drawer. When she opened it, she found that it could not be hers by any stretch of the imagination. The penmanship was nothing close to that of any of the other journals she had written, it was much cruder. Almost as if the writer was just learning to write.

“No…” Twilight said to herself as a thought popped into her head. “Was Spike keeping a journal when we were in Canterlot too?”

She read through the barely legible beginning pages and found that the writer often referred to her in third person, so it was not possible that it was somehow hers or perhaps a remnant of the old occupants of the library. Another clue was a slightly singed page, perhaps burnt when the young dragon was still learning to control his fire-breath. And finally, the biggest clue was when the writer mentioned his claws growing sharper and bigger. It could not be anyone else but Spike, as far as Twilight considered.

Unfortunately, since Spike was just learning to write properly while he kept this particular journal, his writing was large, spread out and barely legible. A single entry took up a large chunk of the journal as a whole, without it having too much substance to it. The information she was able to get from the journal dealt with how it felt for him to be growing up, learning to write and life with her, in a very general sense, due to his vocabulary being very limited back then. Even more disappointing, it was cut short by what seemed like years that they spent together. However, there was a bit of serendipity in this.

If Spike had kept one journal by himself, without having been asked by her to do so, he might have kept another journal or perhaps even more, which would grow more detailed and help her get into his mindset, giving her the upper hand in this battle for his affections. However, Twilight kept in mind that she did not know where these other journals might be, if they even existed. Second, she already lost a lot of headway with him with the whole fiasco of finding the origins of her feelings, so she could not afford to waste too much time looking for and reading up on the dragon’s possible entries. She was the underdog in this fight, seeing how Spike was already infatuated with two mares, neither of them herself, and she need to find a way to balance spending time with her long-time assistant and figuring him out using his personal journals if she wanted to tip the scales on Rarity.

For now, it was more important for her to spend some quality time with Spike, and tomorrow would be a good day to start. As she finished packing away all her old journals, she headed up stairs and noticed the young dragon was already fast asleep. By his spread out position, he must have been extra tired from whatever work he had helped with over at Sweet Apple Acres. But something bothered her; his bed seemed a little too small for him nowadays. She knew that he was so accustomed to sleeping in his little-basket bed but it was so obvious in his current position that he outgrew it already. One day soon, they would have to go bed hunting but for now…

“You can sleep with me, Spike…” Twilight said, levitating his unconscious body onto her bed. Lying down next to him, she wrapped her two front legs around him. She heard him give satisfying sigh as he cuddled with her as Twilight soon joined him in pleasant sleep.

The little dragon awoke the next morning, a bit confused over where he ended up during his sleep. It definitely was not his regular bed, no it was far too big and, admittedly, comfy for it to be his tiny basket-bed. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and slowly adjusted to the bright light coming from the morning sun outside the window. A minute or two later, he finally was able to see that he somehow woke up on Twilight’s bed. He had shared a bed with Twilight for long while, since Canterlot in fact.

It was a little strange for him but at the same time very comfortable. However, there was something bugging him. Twilight was nowhere to be found. She did usually get up earlier than him and, without any real reason to get up, the young dragon usually just slept in. Twilight might have been downstairs already, studying or just reading for the fun of it as usual. Then it hit him, he had not told Twilight about his heroics at Sweet Apple Acres.

“Twilight! TWILIGHT!” Spike called out, climbing off the bed.

“I’m downstairs, sleepy-head!” the unicorn answered.

“Oh boy, do I have a story for you!” the little dragon said as he ran down the steps. But he paused as he saw yet another breakfast laid out and ready for him. Even more puzzling, all his usual chores seemed to be done for him already. “Uh… Twilight?”

“Yes, Spike?” Twilight asked back.

“You feeling alright?” her assistant asked her. There had been very few times that she ever did his chores for him and those were the times when she wanted him to help her with a new spell. If it were up to him, he would rather do his chores instead of testing most of her spells. Except for the mustache spell, that one was one he did not regret. Maybe a beard spell would be pretty cool too…

“Of course, Spike! I just thought we could spend the day together, take a break from all the work both of us have been taking on. Maybe go out for a walk or we can try to find some jewels! I still remember Rarity’s detection spell! Doesn’t that sound good?” the purple unicorn asked him.

“Um… yeah! It actually does sound fun! We should do this more often!” Spike exclaimed, happily helping himself to a serving of all the dishes in front of him. “WAIT! I forgot to tell you about…”

“SPIKE!!!” three certain fillies screamed in unison as they barged into the library, disturbing the peaceful breakfast. “YOU HAVE TO COME WITH US!!!”

“Hold on!” the little dragon answered, trying to swallow as much as he could. The Crusaders had formed chain, each biting the other tail with the first biting down on Spike’s tail, to pull the dragon from his meal and get him to where they needed him. “Let… me… finish… my breakfast…!”

“Hold on a minute, girls,” Twilight said, pulling them off the dragon’s tail. “Why do you need Spike all of the sudden?”

“Well, he only saved our lives and drove away the Timberwolves from Sweet Apple Acres! I thought he told you by now!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“Spike, is that true?” Twilight asked, turning to her assistant for an answer.

“Yup! This dragon saved the day yesterday, all by himself!” Spike said as he stood, positively beaming with pride. “Those Timberwolves never knew what hit them! They’ll think twice before coming back to Ponyville while I’m around!”

“Wow, Spike! I’m so proud of you!” Twilight hugged the little hero warmly.

“Th-thanks, Twilight,” Spike said, caught a little off-guard by the surprisingly passionate embrace.

“So… Ya comin’, Spike?” Applebloom asked the dragon. “Big Mac, Granny Smith and me all have a surprise for ya at Sweet Apple Acres! Ya can come too, Twilight!”

“What kind of surprise?” the excited dragon asked.

“Sorry, can’t tell ya! Ya just gotta check it out for yerself!” the country filly answered.

“What about Applejack? Isn’t she going to come too?” Twilight asked her friend’s younger sister.

“She didn’t want to come for some reason…” Scootaloo answered for her reluctant friend. “Maybe you can talk to her and get her to come.”

“Is something wrong with her?” Spike asked the fillies. It did not seem like Applejack to refuse something like that, especially when she tried to give him her hat to thank him for saving her little sister.

“She doesn’t wanna talk about it… Big Mac said to let her be… but I’m a little worried too,” Applebloom answered nervously. “What if she got hurt worse than we thought!? All because of me…”

“Don’t worry, Applebloom,” Twilight reassured the red-headed filly. “I’ll go see what happened. As soon as we’re finished talking, we’ll head over to see Spike’s surprise. Where is Applejack?”

“She’s in her room,” Applebloom answered her. “We’ll be in the western side of the orchard. Applejack should know where, if you can get her to come…”

And with that, Twilight sent her assistant off with the three young mares and she went off to find her friend.

“Applejack! Aaaaaapplejack!” Twilight called her friend through her door after getting no answer by knocking.

“Twilight? That you?” Applejack asked, cracking open her bedroom door a bit.

“Hey, AJ! How come you didn’t want come to give Spike his surprise… whatever it is?” the purple unicorn asked her back.

Poking her head out to ensure that her friend was indeed alone, the blond earth pony allowed the unicorn to enter her room. Her room was not a mess, but it was untidy, with her bed sheets thrown across the floor, her trusty lasso joining it along with her hat. Her usually tied mane and tail were allowed their freedom to wildly rest wherever it fell on her body. She looked a little exhausted, not having slept for very long if at all made obvious by the dark marks forming under her eyes.

“It’s not that I’m ungrateful, Twilight. He saved Applebloom, my lil’ sis, I could never thank him enough,” the apple farmer began at an anxious speed. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t wanna give him somethin’, just not that, Twilight, not that…”

“Hold on, Applejack! Slow down!” Twilight tried calming the edgy pony. “What exactly are they giving Spike?”

“Yer right, just gotta calm down…” Applejack said, taking in deep breaths. “Ya see, it’s been an Apple family tradition to plant a new tree for every new Apple that joins the family. All these tree are specially marked with our initials, Twilight. But they want to give Spike his own tree and welcome him into the family…”

“What’s wrong with that, I thought you said you couldn’t thank him enough for saving Applebloom?” her unicorn friend asked, confused.

“I… I just can’t, Twilight…” Applejack answered.

“Applejack, it’s alright. You can tell me anything!” Twilight said, giving her reinsuring smile.

“Ya noticed that Spike and me have been spendin’ a lot of time together. And, well…” the earth pony paused to take in an deep breath. “I’m just gonna come out and say it… I think I have some feelin’s for Spike.”

Twilight had no response; she simply stared at her with shrunken irises and pupils. She was left astonished; as if she did not have enough competition for Spike’s love with Rarity, but now she found a new rival in Applejack. Even worse, Twilight was at a clear disadvantage against both, with Spike already having feelings for either mare. However, neither had admitted their feelings to Spike yet and perhaps, if she can beat them to that, she would gain an edge against them. Along with the fact that she had the best opportunity to spend the most amount of time with the little dragon, she lives with him, and those possible journals of his, Twilight believed that she still could win the dragon’s heart.

“Twilight? Ya there?” Applejack’s voice brought the unicorn back into reality.

“Oh, I’m sorry… it’s just…” Twilight said, shaking off the surprise of her friend’s confession as well.

“It’s doozy, I know,” the apple farmer told her. “I’m not gonna take advantage of him like Rarity did; my feelin’s for him are real, Twilight. But that’s why I can’t go to with ya’ll and introduce him into the family. He deserves it and I can’t think of anythin’ else we can give him that would be just as fit. But if I do do that, I won’t be able to have these feelin’s for him without it bein’ strange. He’d be one of the Apples…”

Twilight was a bit torn from the inside. On one hand, she could advise her friend to relinquish her feelings to allow herself to give Spike what even she thought to be only proper reward for his deeds, thus ridding her from the love struggle. On the other, Twilight could reassure Applejack that the ritual initiation into the Apple family would be purely symbolic and it was ok for her to continue to have feelings for the dragon; honest advice from a friend at the cost of having her continue as a rival in the quest for Spike’s affections. Just like Applejack herself, Twilight found herself in rather difficult situation. But in the back of her mind, she knew she should not deny Applejack the chance to find her love, nor did she want to win over Spike by dishonest means, something he would surely find disappointing.

“Applejack… You should go,” Twilight told her. “It’s not like he’s really family, right? It wouldn’t change anything between you and Spike.”

“But it would be like he was family, though…” Applejack said, clearly still distressed.

“Applejack, you’ve seen that he has some feelings for you already,” the unicorn said, though it hurt her from within to say so. “Do you think he’ll give up on you just because of this? You can’t just give up on him…”

“Twilight…” the blond pony replied.

“Come on, let’s go give Spike his surprise,” Twilight interrupted her friend. “It’ll mean that much more to him if it comes from you too.”

Picking her signature hat off the floor with a nod, the two ponies headed out of her room and to the apple orchard to join the others who probably already waiting for them.

“THEY’RE COMING!!!” the three fillies announced, bouncing up and down as they saw the two mares come down the road.

“I’m sorry for the hold up, Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, Spike, everypony…” Applejack told them as they finally reached the small crowd.

A long silence followed as the Apple siblings looked to Granny Smith, who was merely staring blankly.

“Ahem…” Applebloom nudged the elderly pony.

“Oh yes!” Granny Smith exclaimed. “What is everypony doin’ here?”

“Granny Smith, we’re giving Spike his own tree… remember?” Applejack told her, trying to jog her memory. “Family tradition… done by the oldest in the Apple family…”

“Ah, ok… Stop treating me like a forgetful old foal!” the ornery earth pony said. “Uh… what are we doing here again?”

“Spike… the tree… Apple family tradition!” Applebloom said, starting to lose her patience.

“Spike, as I understand it, ya have saved my granddaughters from the Timberwolves in the Everfree Forrest,” Granny Smith said, finally beginning the ceremony. “HOO-WEE! I remember my first run in with those pesky Timberwolves, they’ve been trouble since they day we’ve first settled here.”

“Umm… Granny Smith…” the farming mare said, trying to keep the old pony from going off on a tangent.

“Right, right… Where was I now…? Ah yes… Spike, for yer bravery, we welcome ya as kin into our fold. As tradition, we plant a brand new tree in the orchard in this certain area whenever a new Apple joins the family. This one right here is yers, Spike. Since ya ain’t exactly a newborn foal, we couldn’t plant a saplin’ for ya.”

It was a small tree, although a few around it were not fully grown either. Other than his, three in particular were smaller than the rest, each marked with some letters. The smallest of the three was marked with an “AB,” the largest with a “BM,” the last was marked with “AJ.”

“As you can see, each tree has the initials of the Apple it was planted for,” Granny Smith continued. “It is usually the parents that carve the initials into the tree, but I think you can manage that with those fancy claws of yers.”

“Ok…” Spike replied, a bit nervous of being put in the spotlight. He calmly walked up to the tree and rose his claw. Carefully, he carved a letter “S” into his tree and stepped back to look at his work.

“And with that, ya can now consider yerself an honorary Apple!” the elderly pony told the young dragon. All the ponies present stomped their hooves in celebration of the induction of the new Apple family member. Spike, not being used to all the attention, gave a nervous smile and scratched the back of his head.

“Thanks, everypony. I don’t know what to say,” Spike said, showing a bit of embarrassment.

“Ya don’t gotta thank us, Spike,” Applejack said, moving closer to him. “You more than earned it.”

“So, Spike how’s it feel to be an Apple!” Scootaloo asked the blushing dragon.

“I’ve never heard of any other pony becomin’ an ‘honorary Apple’ before!” Applebloom told him.

“But I bet no pony’s ever driven away a pack of Timberwolves by themselves before either!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

As the Crusaders crowded the embarrassed dragon the two mares watched from a distance away.

“See, look at that. He’s the same old dragon,” Twilight pointed out.

“Yer right, Twilight. I was worryin’ over nothin’. Thanks, Twilight…” Applejack answered the unicorn.

“I told you…” Twilight said quietly. “If you love him, don’t give up on him… because I certainly won’t…”

“Whatdaya mean, Twilight?” the blond farmer asked her. “Twilight?”

“I mean, you’re not the only one with feelings for him, Applejack,” the unicorn admitted, walking to the dragon, leaving the country mare to gather her thoughts.

“Hey, Spike. We still got time to find some gems before it gets dark. You feeling up to it?” Twilight asked her assistant. Spike excitedly nodded his head as the unicorn levitated him onto her back.

“Bye guys!” the pair said as they waved good-bye to the ponies.

A Long Time Coming

The lone Changeling scout hurried over the Equestrian plains, a large and wide expanse of nothing more than meadows and grass with isolated cottages spread across the prairies. It was a perfect place to hide the large hive of Changelings; no guards patrolling the mostly empty grasslands and remote enough from any settlement to remain undetected. Ever since the fiasco of a takeover in Canterlot, the Hive had been slowly been encroaching on the ponies’ territories and sending in scouts for signs of weakness or chances to feed the hungry Hive. But all the waiting had taken its toll on their Queen, who was growing more impatient by the day to have her revenge for being humiliated so.

A large mountain cave served as their makeshift home, having to get by with too little room for the copious number of subjects Chrysalis had under her control. As the Changeling scout landed and entered the cave, it was greeted by large number of lookalikes that served as the first line of defense for any intruder that was so unfortunate as to wander into the cave. A few exchanges of buzzes and hisses, and the scout was allowed to enter as it quickly flew through chamber after chamber lined with its brethren.

Eventually the Changeling reached deepest chamber of the cave and, unlike the other before it, this chamber was not filled with the shapeshifting bugs. This room was especially reserved for the Queen, covered completely with giant reflective crystals, not unlike those under Canterlot. Very few dared enter and, only if it were absolutely necessary. The Changeling hoped its information was worth an exception. It landed and cautiously approached the turn into the backmost room, sweating bullets with each step it took.

Much of the Hive stopped its buzzing and creeping around the cave walls to watch the lone Changeling enter the royal chamber. The deafening silence only served to unnerve the scout as he realized that all eyes were on it. With a final, hard gulp, the scout turned the corner and found its Queen sitting on her carved crystal throne, almost as if waiting for her subject.

Her narrowed, piercing stare sent shivers down the already nervous scout’s spine, chilling the blood coursing through its body. The defeat in Canterlot had made her very much bitter and quick tempered, and she would occasionally be quick to lash out at her subjects. For a minute, the scout considered retreating and running back to the safety of the rest of the Hive, to blend in to hopefully spare itself her wrath.

“Come…” the Queen Changeling addressed the scout in an eerily calm tone. The scout jumped at her sudden order, but not wanting to anger, it obeyed. “Now… Why is it that you have come to the royal chamber?”

The scout hissed and buzzed something only decipherable by another Changeling.

“Ah…” Chrysalis stood, scaring the scout. “It seems that we have finally got our chance to strike back! You have done well to bring this information, my subject. It was about time these ponies pay for their crimes against the Hive!”

The Changeling simply stared at its Queen. It was a strange, slightly disturbing, sight to see her so delighted. The devilish smile on her face frightened her subject and the evil look in her eye was just unnerving.

“I shall personally see to this task!” the Queen announced. “Spread word that I am not to be interrupted while on this mission! In addition, the rest of the Hive shall not undertake any action other than routine scouting… is that clear?”

The Changeling was a bit confused. It was merely a scout, not higher ranking in the Hive by any stretch of the imagination. The others would not obey commands from him, even if it were to announce them under the authority of the Queen.

“IS THAT CLEAR!?” Chrysalis repeated herself, getting the scout to cowardly nod its head. “Well… Go! I must be left alone to plan, if I am to set off as soon as possible!”

The scout immediately flew off to inform the rest of the Hive of their new orders, and to get as far away from the wrathful queen as possible.

“Ugh…” Spike groaned, tossing and turning in his sleep. He was breaking out into a cold sweat. A swipe from rag spooked the sleeping dragon awake with a gasp. “Twilight?! I had the craziest dream… that you, Applejack and even Rarity…”

Taking a quick look around the room, Spike found all three mares surrounding Twilight’s bed. How he got there he did not know; his last memory was the three mares and him at Rarity’s boutique. Everything beyond that point was hazy; or that might have been wishful thinking on his part.

“Sorry to tell ya, Spike, but that was no dream…” the work pony told him.

“Yes, darling, it was all very real,” Rarity said, stroking the dragon’s head to calm him.

“We had no idea you were going to react like that,” the purple unicorn said apologetically. “You were out the whole day!”

“So… you mean…” Spike said, beginning again to sweat profusely. He widened the gap between them and himself. Getting a quick glance out the window, he noticed the crescent moon high up in the night sky. Twilight was not lying to him; he had indeed slept through to sundown and then some. But, if that was true, he realized they were probably telling him the truth about his “dream.”

“Yes, Spike,” the white mare answered. “We all have feelings for you…”

A very deep blush had broke out across the dragon’s face from hearing his longtime crush admit this. It was not something he expected, he was so used to the situation being flipped, with him doing the crushing and chasing. In fact, to him, that was half the fun.

This new situation seemed so weird, so foreign to him; he truly thought it to be something out of a dream. Being irresistible and charming were characteristics only his daydreaming-self had; someone all the mares wants to be with. He had never thought of how he would deal with it if he ever did manage to win their hearts over. He always thought that he would cross that bridge when he got to it, but now here he was… and he was far from ready.

“Uh… umm…” Spike stuttered as he found himself at a loss for words.

“It must be a lot to take in, Spike…” Twilight told him, giving the dragon some breathing room, along with the two other mares.

“We should probably be leavin’ him alone for now, giv’em some time to think,” Applejack whispered to her friends, sans the dragon.

“I do believe you’re right, Applejack. The poor thing looks a bit shaken from our little confession,” Rarity added. “We were a bit blunt…”

“Ok… I’ll go tell him…” the purple unicorn said, heading up the stairs.

“Hold on there, Twilight…” the work pony stopped her as she reached the second step.

“Hmm?” Twilight hummed.

“I think we outta set some ground rules for… well, ya know,” Applejack told her, a bit nervously.

“What do you mean?” her unicorn friend asked.

“Well, I got to thinkin’. Spike does live wit’ ya and all, we can’t help that…” the apple farmer paused, trying not to sound to abrasive. “But I think it would only be fair if y’all don’t use magic to win ‘im over.”

There was a small silence that followed. At first this seemed very accusatory, but it did kind of make sense. Applejack was the only non-magic user in this contest and it put her very much at a disadvantage. Twilight and Rarity both could use magic to do many wondrous things that the lone Earth Pony could never manage with her limited abilities. And not to mention the spells that Twilight had under her belt to force Spike to fall in love with her, though it never came to her mind use them. Gaining his love in such an illegitimate way was not what she wanted nor what Spike would want. However, was it fair for them to be handicapped while Applejack has none placed on her? If things went into a free-for-all as it did before Rarity’s arrival, Applejack would clearly have the upper-hand when it came down to literally “stealing” Spike away.

“Ok… No magic,” Twilight agreed. “But no interrupting any dates with Spike. Whoever he chooses to spend time with, no stealing him away, ok?”

“A-alright…” Applejack said, blushing a bit as she remembered their immature pre-Rarity contest.

“How about you Rarity?” the unicorn turned to her white counterpart.

“Are these rules really necessary?” Rarity asked back. “I thought everypony could behave civilly without any rules.”

“Trust us, Rarity… It could get pretty rowdy out there wit’out ‘em…” the work pony answered.

“Alright, then… as long as everypony follows them, I’ll follow them too,” the fashionista conceded to the newly formed regulations.

“We outta be hittin’ the road now, Rarity,” Applejack said, heading towards the door. “It’s getting’ late, we should let ‘em get some rest.”

Taking their leave, Twilight continued up to her room where they left the dragon to his thoughts. Though it did not help him much. This sudden admittance of their own affections, a stop to the pursuit of the mares, was not something he could wrap his head around. The shock of each mare’s confession was huge, but none more than Rarity’s. He could not help but wonder how long she had harbored those feelings. Was it long before his crush on Applejack had developed or had she grown jealous of his spending time with her?

Twilight thought of interrupting him, but her worry might do more harm than good. By the expression on his face, it was clear that he was deeply troubled. The longer she stared at him, the stronger the urge became to comfort the confused dragon. It was not only due to her now confessed feelings for him, but also because their long-standing friendship almost demanded her help ease his worries.

“Spike…?” Twilight called him quietly. “Hey there…”

“Twilight, you guys weren’t lying… were you?” her reptilian friend asked.

“No, Spike. As far as I know, everyone was sincere about their feelings for you…” the purple unicorn said, inching closer to him.

“Even you?” Spike asked, still doubting this whole situation for a reason he could not quite understand.

“Yes, Spike… Even me…” she responded.

“And this isn’t some sort of dream… right?” the nervous-wreck of a dragon continued to question the unicorn.

“Why do you think it’s a dream?” Twilight queried him back.

“It seems a little too good to be true…” Spike answered. “I mean, it wasn’t too long ago that you told me I didn’t have a chance with Rarity. And now…”

“I’m sorry, Spike,” the unicorn interrupted. “For everything, I guess… I guess I was a little jealous of Rarity.”

“Why?” the dragon quickly asked; she was never one to be jealous of anypony.

“Well, she had you… Didn’t you ever wonder why I never wanted to go find a coltfriend?” Twilight questioned.

“I always thought it was because you were too busy studying all the time,” Spike naively responded.

“No, it’s because you were the only boy I really needed, Spike…” she corrected him. “You were always there for me, helping all the way from when we back in Canterlot to now in Ponyville. Everything from helping me with my studies to wrapping me in a blanket when I would fall asleep during late night research…”

“You remember that?” the dragon asked astonishedly.

“Of course, Spike,” Twilight answered. “I took a lot of what you did for granted, and I’m sorry. But from now on, I’ll never forget to thank you for all the little things you do for me, I promise, Spike.”

Pulling her assistant into a warm embrace, she rubbed her cheek against his. Though she could not see it, Twilight was able to tell he had a deep blush on his face from the heat radiating off his cheek. Although more intimate of a hug or conversation than they ever shared, it felt sweet. It was a large jump from friends to something more, but it did not feel too awkward. In fact, it almost felt like it was just another step in their ever-strengthening bond.
Maybe this little situation was not as dramatic and hurried as the young dragon thought. Perhaps it was called for, and maybe, just maybe, it came just on time.

“Hey, Twilight?” Spike called her.

“Yes?” Twilight asked.

“Thank you…” the dragon said, tightly wrapping his arms around the pony’s neck.

“I’m always here for you, Spike,” the purple unicorn replied “You know that…”

After holding the embrace for a few minutes, Twilight finally shook free.

“I think we should both get some rest now,” she told him. “You’ve had a pretty long day, even if you weren’t awake for half of it…”

“Yeah…” the dragon laughed a bit as he climbed into his basket-bed. “Good night, Twilight.”

“Good night,” Twilight echoed.

The dragon lingered awake for a while longer after he knew the pony next to him had fallen to sleep. The thoughts of his relationships with the three mares were still raced through his mind. Although they would definitely not be the same, possibly ever again, it did not necessarily mean it was all that bad. After his talk with Twilight, he was reassured about the whole situation and that he could look to her for support throughout. It helped put his worries to rest, even if only a little. It was enough. Giving one last, long yawn, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The Juggling Act: A Night with Twilight

A Night with Twilight

Dawn came quickly the next day. It was a mostly sleepless night for Spike, who continued to toss and turn throughout. However, it was not his worries about the mares; rather, it was his long nap after the mares’ confessions that caused his insomnia.

Lifting himself out of his bed, he decided to get to work on his daily chores. Not having done much for Twilight had him feeling a bit selfish, even more so considering her previous attempts to give him a large, scrumptious breakfast as well as excusing and doing his chores. As such, the little dragon decided to return the favor and give her a breakfast in bed, a small token of appreciation after giving his mind some rest from the worries that haunted him.

It did not take long for him to do the sweeping and regular maintenance around the library, seeing as how neither had been home very long the past few days. This gave him plenty of time to play chef. Though he was no maestro of the kitchen, he knew how to prepare a few dishes and snacks that the ponies seemed to enjoy. He thought maybe a hay-sandwich and a glass of cold milk would be good enough, but as he looked at the simple breakfast and he could not help but feel as if something were missing, something to add a bit more of a personal touch to it. It suddenly hit him as he scanned the kitchen: a small bowl of nuts would fit just fine. Though the ponies did not usually consume the salty snacks, when roasted with his fire breath, they found them to be quite the treat.

Quickly taking the tray up to the bedroom, Spike found the purple unicorn still very much enjoying her sleep, a bit of drool leaking out of the side of her mouth and her hair a complete mess. Though he did want to give her her thank-you-breakfast, she looked almost too peaceful to disturb. Luckily for him, Celestia decided to shine the sun’s rays through a nearby window in such a way as to land on the sleeping mare’s shut eyes, waking her from her slumber.

“Ugh…” she groaned as she sat up, still very groggy and unaware of the dragon and his homemade breakfast.

“Uh… Twilight?” Spike called to her softly, although even this still caught her off-guard as she jumped up a bit.

“Spike…?” Twilight rubbed her sleepy eyes, her sight still blurry.

“Hey, Twilight!” the dragon greeted her, still keeping his voice soft.

“Oh… Good morning, Spike,” the unicorn replied, followed by a yawn. “You’re up early!”

“Well, since you made me breakfast a couple times, I decided to give you a breakfast in bed,” Spike told her, handing her the thin steel tray.

“Thank you, Spike!” Twilight said with a smile at first. However, taking a quick look in the mirror next to her bed, she frowned at her own appearance. Though she had never minded Spike seeing with her bed-head, ever since she had realized her feelings for him Twilight had been careful to always look her best around her assistant. Competing with the ever-elegant Rarity required it. Even if Rarity could make herself look more appealing than her, it did not mean Twilight should not try to do the same. But, right now, she looked like she had just been in a fight with her brush, and the brush had won, and her dried drool made a white line on her fur.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” Spike asked her, noticing her face beginning to glow red from the embarrassment of being seen like such a slob. Spike had grown to never pay much attention to her disheveled state, being so used to her seeing at her worst throughout their years together. Even with the transitioning relationship, it had not changed his mind about judging her by her appearance. And it only served to confuse him once the mare covered herself with her blanket to stop him from staring at her wild appearance.

“Sp-Spike, c-can you get me my brush?” she asked through the covers.

Twilight did not allow Spike back up to her room until she was finished straightening herself up. He waited patiently at the foot of the steps leading up to the bedroom, all the while wondering why she had suddenly become so conscious about her looks. But the thought soon left his mind when she called him back up to the bedroom.

“Sorry about that, Spike,” Twilight said as she ate her breakfast. “Uh… Spike, I have a lot of work to catch up on but I really do want to spend some time with you… you know… if you want to.”

“Of course, Twilight,” Spike replied.

“With everything that’s been happening lately, I kind of fell behind in my studies,” the unicorn said, though her feelings now revealed, some of her goals remained the same. “But I can take the night off… and it can just be… me and you.”

“Sounds like a date!” the dragon excitingly said, though he soon hesitated. He had not realized the magnitude of his words, or of the situation he had set himself up to be in. But as it sunk in, both bashfully looked away and avoided eye contact as a deep blush came over their faces.

The day passed pretty quickly for the duo as they gathered books from every corner of the library for Twilight to read and write down whatever it is that she was supposed to. Personally, Spike did not believe that the Princess would assign her so much “homework,” especially considering that her studies revolved around friendship. However, he was happy to help her in her overachieving ways with the compiling of reports and sending them off in to Celestia in using their magical message delivery system.

Before they knew it, sundown’s orange sky was visible out of each of their home’s windows. As she saw this, Twilight finished her last report with a flourish of the quill, magically rolling up the scroll and storing it in a small nook. In a hurry, she ran up to her room and grabbed her smallest telescope. Spike just followed her in a confused state, still not knowing what she had planned for their night together.

“Uh… Twilight, you still haven’t told me where we’re going tonight,” Spike told her as he watched her pack away the telescope.

“You’ll just have to wait and see, Spike,” Twilight replied with a wide smile.

Seeing neither her little dragon suitor nor her unicorn friend exiting the library all day began raking at a certain dress makers nerves. Not knowing what was happening in there was enough to make her bite her lower lip to attempt to relieve some of the built up anxiety. The temptation to bust into the library grew with every second. However, the pact they made just yesterday forbade such action, even just visiting the library without prior invitation Rarity knew would feel a bit like interrupting their time together. They said they would allow Spike to seek out whomever he wanted, without them interfering, and Rarity was not going to allow herself to be the one that broke it.

But, as if sent by some divine force, an impartial friend happened by, carrying with her several bags of food for a variety of different animals. It might have been against the rules for Twilight, Applejack or herself to do anything that might interrupt each mare’s time with the dragon, but it did not mean that they could not get another pony to keep an eye on them for her.

“FLUTTERSHY!” Rarity called the yellow Pegasus overzealously.

“Oh… Hi, Rarity,” Fluttershy greeted her back, a bit put off by her enthusiasm. “I was just… going back home… from the market. What are you doing here?”

“Oh, haha,” the unicorn laughed awkwardly, as her current position made it pretty clear that she was spying on the library. “Nothing, darling! I was just..."

A sudden gasp escaped the fashionista as she quickly pulled the Pegasus into her hiding spot. As Fluttershy opened her mouth to say something, Rarity clapped a hoof over her mouth to silence her. Looking over to the library, Fluttershy saw Twilight and Spike come out of their home and walk out of sight.

“Rarity?” the Pegasus called once she was free to speak again.

“I’m sorry about that, Fluttershy,” Rarity replied, regaining her composure. “But I didn’t want to reveal ourselves.”

“Have you been spying on Twilight and Spike? I mean… not that I think you would do that…” Fluttershy asked hesitantly.

“To be honest, yes, I have…” the white unicorn admitted. “But I do have a favor to ask you… Promise me that you won’t say no…”

“Uh… umm…” the Pegasus tripped over her words, trying to resist the unicorn’s wide-eyed pout. “Ok…”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Rarity repeated over and over again. “Now I just need you to follow them for me and then tell me anything that happens… please!”

“But…” Fluttershy protested a bit, demonstrating her slight assertiveness. “I have to feed Angel and all the other animals in my cottage…”

“I…” the fashionista said with teeth clenched almost as if the words were literally causing her some physical pain. “I’ll… feed… them… for… you.”

“You will!?” the Pegasus asked.

“Of course…” Rarity reassured her. Normally, she avoided such a chore because of how filthy some of the animals Fluttershy kept in her cottage, but it was worth running the risk of dirtying her hooves to keep an eye in the sky on Twilight and Spike.

“Thank you, Rarity!” Fluttershy said, handing over the sacks of feed to the unicorn.

“One more thing, Fluttershy,” the fashion designer stopped the timid Pegasus before she flew off. “You can’t let them see you… ok?”

“But why?” the yellow mare questioned her friend. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I tagged along.”

“Just don’t let them see or hear, ok Fluttershy?” Rarity asked her again. “It is of the upmost importance that they do not know that you’re watching them.”

“Ok… but…” Fluttershy began her objection only to be interrupted.

“Please, Fluttershy…” the unicorn pleaded.

“Ok, Rarity… I won’t let them see…” the yellow Pegasus said, flying off to spy on her two friends.

“And… eww… I’ll go feed your animals,” Rarity groaned to herself as the mere thought of feeding some of the animals already made her feel unclean.

One good thing about being an “egghead,” as Rainbow Dash loved to describe Twilight and her ways of being incredibly studious, was that she knew many different patterns of animals and star formations. Though it was still last minute, she was still able to plan an impromptu all-natural show for their date tonight. Leading them to a hilly clearing in the outskirts of Ponyville, the purple unicorn set up the small blanket she had packed along with her telescope.

“Twilight, what are we doing way out here?” Spike asked, still ignorant to Twilight’s plan.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see soon enough,” Twilight replied, trying to calm the dragon’s anxiety.

She had quickly prepared a few sweets for them to eat while awaiting the main event. Handing her assistant some of the sugary breads, Twilight adjusted her telescope. She had merely brought it to point out a few constellations to Spike, who found most of science a little dull for his taste but found astronomy interesting. But even this was only to buy time for the real reason she had brought him so far from home.

Having passed yet another year’s Winter Wrap Up and Spring winding down, Summer was right around the corner and most of the wildlife was already settling to its return. As Spike stargazed, a bright light suddenly blocked his view of the heavenly bodies. It soon disappeared, but then he began to see many more little orbs of light join the stars in the sky, illuminating, dulling, and then all together disappearing only to reappear a few seconds later. The lights multiplied each time as Spike removed his eyes from the optics of the telescope.

As he looked around, he finally saw what Twilight had brought him out to see. In every direction were swarms of orbs of light, surrounding him and the unicorn. One landed on tip of the dragon’s nose, allowing him to give it a closer look. It was a little, winged insect with a luminescent thorax. Spike remembered seeing a few of these wander into Ponyville once in a while, but never like this. The sheer number of the bugs and lights that they created amazed him. It was something he never experience before in Canterlot or Ponyville.

“Come on!” Twilight invited the dragon to come with her as she ran through the field of shinning fireflies. Aimlessly wandering through hills, Spike followed the unicorn as it almost seemed like they were playing a game of tag. The blinking lights provided environment like no other that made their childish game a bit more enjoyable. Eventually both exhausted themselves and collapsed onto the grass.

For a short time, they simply lay next to each, out of breath from their little chase. Soon, Twilight sat up and looked out into the meadow and the glowing bugs that filled it. Spike joined her, scooting himself a little closer to the unicorn, all the while blushing. They had not done anything like before, allowing themselves to let go of all seriousness and just have some mindless fun. It felt nice to be able to do something like that with his long-time friend. If this is how their new relationship was going to be like, Spike could honestly say that he was going to like it.

The moment of silence had also brought back the realization that this was a date. The mare and dragon looked at each other, then bashfully away as the same shade of reddish-pink filled their cheeks. Both continued to take in the view of fireflies mingle freely through the hilly expanse, giving the couple a romantic feeling. Both could feel their hearts beating in their throats as their emotion began to intensify and the heat between them rose to a fever pitch. Twilight could feel a different type of insect flutter in her stomach while the dragon next to her began sweating bullets and tried to swallow the tension of the moment.

“Uh… Twilight,” Spike finally broke the silence, looking up at the nervous unicorn. “You know, this is the first date I’ve ever been on… And I’m glad that it was with you…”

Twilight could feel herself melt into a puddle; after hearing something so sweet, it had nearly made her break out in tears.

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight replied, wiping a tear from her eye. “It means a lot to hear that from you… It’s my first date too… But…”

“Hmm…?” Spike hummed as she turned to look him in the eyes.

“Well… umm… I-I’ve read that if a date went well…” Twilight said with a bit of a stutter. Though it was no time to mention what she had read about dating, Spike found it a bit cute that although they were still on a date, she was still herself. “That the ponies… erm… you know what I mean… that we should end it with a… kiss…”

That little word caused his pupils and iris to shrink as he just stared at her wide-eyed. Just a few days ago, he would have never thought of seriously kissing his earliest friend, but here he was now. He swore he could hear his heartbeat in his ears as he continued to contemplate weight of what it meant to actually kiss the unicorn.

“B-but… if you don’t think you’re ready…” Twilight hesitated, turning away in embarrassment for even suggesting it.

“It would be my first real kiss…” the dragon said, blushing an even deeper shade of red than ever before. “Would… it be yours too?”

Twilight simply nodded, still a little too mortified to look back at her date. Spike knew that a first kiss was not something that Twilight would simply give away to anypony… or dragon, in this case. She would have put in a lot of thought into it, as she did with most things (even to the point of overthinking it), and if she truly wanted to give her first kiss away to him, it only showed how serious she was about her confession. However, he could not help but think about how the other two mares would feel if they were to find out about them sharing their first kiss together. To him, it would almost be like already choosing her over them without giving them a fair chance.

And yet… he could not stop himself from seriously considering the unicorn’s suggestion. The dragon had never experienced such inner conflict before, wanting two contradictory things at the same time, keeping it fair but wanting to go further with Twilight at that moment, feeling so right but having doubt somehow lingering in the back of his mind. He truly did not want to hurt any of the mares but he did not want to let this chance slip past him. Their long standing relationship that allowed him to feel comfortable to act immature with her by chasing her through the fields also gave him the comfort to give up his first kiss to her. Though he held strong feelings for the other two, he did not believe he would feel calm enough around either of the other mares to give them his first kiss. He convinced himself that going through with it could relieve some of the stress of any future lip-locking with the mares.

“Twilight…” Spike called the still-embarrassed mare. Though she felt like her cheeks were burning with shame, Twilight looked down at the dragon, fiddling with his claws. He looked just as nervous as she felt, which could only mean one thing. “I… I think I am ready…”

Neither knew very much about engaging a kiss, only made more difficult by their difference in size. Twilight only had what she had read in romance novels to go on , but none were based off a relationship between dragon and pony. She was the first to lean in, eyes closed, heart beating against her chest in anticipation of what was coming. The dragon hesitated for a moment; meeting her lips with his would be a game changer in their relationship (though most of what they were doing before then would also fall under the “forever changing their relationship” category). It was something that, once done, could never be taken back.

Letting go of his doubts and inhibitions, he puckered his lips and lightly pressed them against the mare’s own. The kiss, probably more accurately described as a peck, lasted less than a few seconds before they each withdrew quickly, faces flushed in embarrassment and a bit of disbelief of what just occurred.

Even more surprised was the yellow Pegasus spying on them, along with some of her woodland friends. She almost allowed a gasp to escape from her mouth, only to have her loyal animals shush her in time to keep location a secret. Though not much effort was put into keeping this love war a secret, Fluttershy was not aware of the feelings being shared by her three friends and Spike. The shock wore off as she watched the mare and dragon finally look back at each other.

Awkwardness settled in as neither pony nor dragon really knew what to say after that. Spike felt a bit of guilt linger in his mind. He felt compelled to voice it for whatever reason.

“Umm… Twilight…?” he called to her. “I know… what we just did… it wasn’t nothing… but I just don’t know…”

“About what Spike?” Twilight asked in sincere concern, able to see the conflict in his eyes.

“I… I still can’t stop thinking of Rarity… and all the time I spent with Applejack…” Spike replied. “I don’t know… I want to give everypony a chance… but I don’t want to hurt anyone…”

“Spike, I know it must be hard right now…” the unicorn said, trying her best think of advice to give him, though the jealousy pained her to give it. “But I want you to be with me because you want to and because you chose to. If you think you still might have feelings for Applejack or Rarity… then I’ll wait for you to figure out who you really want.”

“You really would?” her assistant said, a bit in disbelief from her.

“Yes, Spike,” Twilight responded with a nod. “It’s getting pretty late now. How about we start heading home, Spike?”

“Hey… Twilight… Can I ask one last thing?” Spike asked.

“Anything,” the unicorn answered.

“Can I sleep with you, in your bed tonight… and can we read a book before we go to sleep?” the dragon asked nervously. “You know, like we used to back in Canterlot…”

“Of course, Spike,” Twilight said with a smile.

Seeing that their little date had come to a close, Fluttershy emerged from the nearby brush. With a few “Oh my”’s silently escaping her mouth, the timid little mare flew off to find the unicorn that had asked this favor of her.

It had been a long while since Spike had done this nightly tradition, but it was one he did sorely miss. Though they did spend most of their time together in Canterlot, Twilight and he never really did have many intimate moments. So he learned to enjoy even this time with her. He would even go so far as to say that it grew into something he looked forward to.

Remembering the rules agreed upon just last night, it became hard to determine what would be allowed and what would not. The easiest way it seemed was to lie down on their chests, rather than their backs as back in Canterlot, and flip through the pages with her nose instead of magically doing so. Grabbing a novel she had read beforehand that she knew would not bore him, the unicorn quickly made herself comfortable next to the waiting dragon.

It did not take long for the dragon to doze off, being so accustomed to turning in early. He had fallen asleep snuggling Twilight, very much like when they shared a bed in Canterlot. All these memories of Canterlot had the purple mare wondering again about when these feelings had first manifested. Though she may never know the answer, she did know that her very first friend, outside of the family, was now her first love. Their first kiss was still fresh in her mind, even as she felt herself begin dozing off into her own sweet dreams.

Dream Date

Rarity scrubbed herself as hard as she could to rid herself of the imaginary grime that she felt Fluttershy’s animals left on her after fulfilling her promise of feeding them. A quick rinse and the unicorn felt sufficiently clean to call it a night, but not before a knock at her door caught her attention. Her vigorous bath had taken her mind completely off the favor she had asked of Fluttershy, who she found on the other side of the door. However, seeing the little yellow Pegasus looking a bit winded and nervous reminded her of the task she had asked Fluttershy to do.

“Umm…” Fluttershy found herself at a loss for words; still a bit in shock from what she had witnessed that night.

“Do come in, Fluttershy,” Rarity invited her sweating friend into the boutique. “Now, tell me. What happened?”

“Uh… umm…” the Pegasus gulped, trying to calm her nerves. “Well… they were… out in the fields…”

“Yes, yes… go on,” her friend plopped down on the floor, anxiously waiting for more details.

“And… then…” Fluttershy paused as the memory of the scene flashed in her mind. “They…”

“They…?” Rarity repeated.

“They… kissed…” the timid mare said in high pitch voice.

In that moment, Rarity could swear she felt her heart sink to a low that she had never felt before. Her eyes shrunk as she imagined her dragon suitor lost to her purple counterpart so early in the game. Her small pupils and irises and distant stare began to concern the yellow Pegasus.

“Rarity…?” Fluttershy nudged the unicorn. “A-are you ok?”

“I… I don’t know…” the dress maker said, still not breaking her thousand-mile stare.

“I-I didn’t know that Twilight and Spike… were like that…” the naïve mare commented. “I mean… I knew that they were close, but… I never would’ve guessed… I always thought he liked you like that.”

“I think I need some time to myself…” Rarity told her yellow friend, fighting back the tears coming from her eyes. “If you don’t mind, Fluttershy.”

“Rarity?” Fluttershy called her name in concern. However, the white unicorn merely led her to the exit without a word slipping passed her lips.

The young designer awoke the next morning, not defeated state, but in a determined demeanor. She was not just about to roll over and let her “Spikey-Wikey” get away from her; no, not without a fight. He had been her little suitor for as long as he and Twilight had been in Ponyville, there was no way that she would lose him so easily.

It was her physical allure that had first brought her to Spike’s attention, and her feminine charms and refined manners that sealed the deal. If being a proper mare had been the thing to win over his heart, so too it could be the key to winning him in this little contest. So long had she known him, that she had learned just how to press the dragon’s buttons to make herself irresistible. A flowing gown that would turn any male’s head, a dash of eye-shadow and lipstick that would make him never want to look away and finally a fragrant perfume that would drive him wild. She smiled at herself in the mirror, filled with anticipation for Spike’s reaction once he caught sight of her.

After last night’s date with Twilight, it only seemed fair to Spike that he should spend the day with another of the mares. Leaving the library, the dragon locked his gaze on the ground as he began deciding who should be next. Guilt still lingered in his mind. He felt like he was toying with the mares’ feelings by spending such intimate time with each. But without doing so, he knew he could not make a fair choice, for them or himself. It was a persistent thought he could not shake, no matter how he tried to rationalize it.

However, in an instant, all the thoughts in his head seemed to just fall into the deepest chasm in his mind as he found himself unable to pry his unblinking eyes from a certain white unicorn. His jaw hung so low that he swore he could the grass brush against his chin. The young dragon’s forked tongue also lolled out as his drool dripped off of it. Inaudible mumbles were all that was heard from the dragon as he tried to come up with a coherent thought, only to fail miserably.

“Hey there, Spike,” Rarity greeted the dragon with a cocky smile, loving every second of the desired effect she had on him.

“Uh… uh-waa…” Spike slurred, still unable to come up with even a single real word.

“How would you like to come over to the boutique later today for dinner…” the unicorn said in a breathy voice. “Just you… and me…”

Rarity only continued to receive garbled words in response. “I’ll take that as a yes…”

He had informed Twilight off his upcoming dinner date with Rarity. It seemed to have hit her straight in her heart as she heard this from him. She looked strained and clearly fought back tears that had pooled in her eyes as she faked a smile to encourage the young dragon to attend the dinner with the unicorn he had adored for so long. She wished him well and left him to get ready for the date. However, it was not the last he heard from the purple unicorn. Spike caught the sound of quiet sobs coming from Twilight’s desk where she was pretended to study.

The young dragon could not believe himself. He had just decided to correct his behavior with mistreating the mares’ feelings, but now here he was hurting one of his closest friends by going on a date with a rival mare. On the other hoof, he was living his dream: he finally got his date with Rarity. It was what he always wanted, and yet, it did not seem as fulfilling as he imagined it. Though he found himself unable to resist her and reject her offer of a private dinner with her, something just nagged at the back of his mind.

Of course, the guilt of his selfishness remained from before, but this was something different and he could not quite put his claw on it. Spike could feel it in his gut that this dinner was not going to be the date he had fantasized about. It was as if he knew something was going to occur that night, something not too good. Readying himself for the date only seemed to allow this feeling to fester inside him. Taking a last look in the mirror, he took a deep breath and left the library.

“Spike…” Rarity nuzzled the dragon. “I’m very happy to see you could make it.”

The lingering feeling from the library made it impossible for him to totally forgo his thoughts and mindlessly adore the unicorn in front of him. However, it did not mean it was easy for him to ignore his long-time love’s attempt to captivate him. She was even more made up than earlier and had an enticing tone in her voice that made steam blow out of his ears and nose. Instead of stammering in some nonsensical language like before, he was able to find the words to communicate clearly.

“Hi, Rarity,” he greeted her, fumbling with a single rose in his claws.

“Is that for me?” Rarity asked him.

“Uh… yeah… sorry,” Spike answered with a bit of a delay, quickly handing her the flower.

“Why thank you, Spike!” she responded, taking the flower and placing it in a nearby thin vase. “What a proper gentlecolt… well, dragon.”

Rarity had expected him to be a bit off with her, but she had thought his focus would totally be on her. In fact, he had seemed distracted with something in his mind. His eyes moved from one object to another without lingering too long on anything in particular. It was not how she predicted he would act based on his earlier reaction. Though a little disappointed, she was not dismayed.

“Well, I bet a hard working dragon like yourself has built up quite the appetite,” Rarity told him, inviting him to sit down at a candle-lit table. “I have two surprises for you tonight that I’m sure you’re going to love!”

Rarity simply stared at her date as he thoughtlessly poked his food, never once looking up at her. He did not even take a single bite; he merely rearranged it on his plate. After a few more minutes of silence, Rarity finally decided to speak up.

“You know, Spike. I do care about you… more than anypony else,” the unicorn said. “And if something is bothering you, I want to help.”

Suddenly, it hit him. All the thoughts that had been making him feel distracted and distant finally became clear.

“Then did you know how I felt about you…?” he spoke, still not looking up from his plate.

“Of c…” Rarity started.

“Even BEFORE what happened with Photo Finish?” the dragon interrupted her.

“I-I…” the wide-eyed mare stammered, caught off-guard by his sudden bluntness. “I apologized for what I did, Spike. It was wrong…”

“Did you know?” Spike asked again.

“I… I did, but…” Rarity answered disheartened.

“And you still pretended not to know me…” the dragon said sadly.

“I’m sorry about that, Spike. I should have never done it…” Rarity responded.

“How long did you know about my feelings for you?” he asked.

“It has been… a while since I’ve known,” she admitted.

“Why didn’t you tell me then?” Spike asked. “I’ve been coming over here and spending all my extra time helping you because I thought maybe I could make you care about me like I do for you. Do you really care about me or… are you just jealous that Twilight or Applejack might take me away?”

“Spike, I…” the mare tried to defend herself, only to be interrupted once again.

“You told me about Twilight’s birthday party and how you had to choose between them or Fancy Pants and you chose them…” Spike recounted. “Why didn’t you choose me when it came to me or Photo Finish? Did you think I would just come back to you like always?”

“I…” Rarity paused, wiping her tear-soaked face. “It’s not like that, Spike. I swear! I meant what I said… when I told you I loved you…”

“For how long?” the dragon demanded.

“I-I don’t know… I… it just happened,” the unicorn said. “But I know it’s true… I DO love you, Spike.”

“Well… you haven’t been acting like it…” Spike replied, leaving the table and storming out of the boutique.

Rarity sat there in disbelief, tears still streaming down her face. In an instant, her plans to woo Spike were shut down. Perhaps even worse, she might have lost him completely. She could not help but wonder if what he said held some truth. She had his affections all to herself for so long and never acted on it, not until Spike started to show interest in Applejack. Perhaps her confession was a bit brought on by jealously, but her feelings were genuine.

As for the Photo Finish incident, she could never provide a real explanation as to her actions, to him or herself. All she was able to do is apologize for her actions, but even that might not have been enough. Maybe the explanation the angry dragon had given was as close to truth as she could come up with. Rarity did remember hurting the dragon before, both emotionally and physically, only to watch him return, his feelings for her being too strong to stay away. Subconsciously, she may have believed that the situation with Photo Finish would be yet another event that he would forget in time.

Slowly, she cleared the table and stared at the two gifts she had planned to give Spike that night. Calling in a few favors from her clients, Rarity managed to acquire two tickets to the Gala. Working hard to make some spare time in her busy schedule, she also managed to design a custom suit for the dragon. Though their first time at the Gala went pretty poorly, she was sure this Gala would be a night to remember. No longer was she looking for her “Prince Charming,” having already found him in her Spikey Wikey. But now, it was all for naught.

She sluggishly trotted up to her bed and allowed herself to fall into her bed, though she knew the emotional distress she had gone through was going to keep her up all night.

Spike’s thoughts created a maelstrom in his mind. He had no idea where his sudden outburst came from. Perhaps he had been keeping it in longer than he thought; perhaps Rarity’s manipulative behavior that night was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Either way, he felt horrible for ruining the dinner with his crush.

The dragon contemplated going back and apologizing, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was how he truly felt. He knew that Rarity did not always treat him the best way she could, but he always gave her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was blinded by love and now that he had others that he felt strongly about he was able to think a bit more clearly. But even so, he could not just allow himself to act so rudely to the unicorn.

However, he himself needed time to calm down and allow emotions to settle. He did not want to go back there only have yet another explosion and hurt the mare all over again or give her an insincere apology. Though angry at her, Spike could not fool himself into believing he had lost his love for Rarity. She would always have a special place in his heart.

Entering the library, quiet sniffles could still be heard from the bedroom. As he reached the top of the stairs, he found Twilight lying on her bed, muffling her cries into a pillow. Hearing the creaking of footsteps behind her, the unicorn wiped her face of tears and turned around to greet her assistant.

“So… h-how was it? W-was it everything you wanted, Spike?” Twilight stuttered, trying to make it not too obvious that she was choking back tears.

“I… I don’t really want to talk about it…” the dragon replied, not being able to look the pained unicorn in the eye. “Not right now…”

Climbing into his bed, he wrapped himself tightly in his covers. He just wanted to drift off into sleep and forget all of today. He single-handedly made two mares he cared for cry their eyes out over what he did. He could not help but ask himself the question: what was he turning into?

Perfect Timing

The dragon awoke the next morning, but he even more exhausted then when he had fallen asleep. However, he was a bit relieved to see Twilight had calmed down and was back to studying and scheduling. But his uneasiness was not fully settled, as his thoughts slowly drifted back to his dinner date with Rarity.

He felt a bit of nausea as he remembered his words from that night. It was something he said in an emotional flare; his feelings about her actions were perhaps exaggerated. Either way, he knew what he said had cut deep into the white unicorn’s heart. Rarity had apologized for her attitude towards him in the incident with Photo Finish. Now it was his turn to go and apologize for his unnecessarily rough outburst, though he could feel a nervousness building in his stomach. He did not know if he was ready to apologize, but whether or not he was, he knew he had to do it soon.

He worked diligently and finished his daily chores as quickly as he could. However, he lingered in the library a good while longer. Rarity was not the only one probably still hurting from last night. Spike made sure to spend at least some time as Twilight’s assistant before informing her of his plans. Of course, this meant telling her of the events from the dinner date, which concerned her. But she saw that he knew what needed to be done and sent him off with a proud smile.

Opening the library’s front door, he found Applejack on the other side, holding out a hoof ready to knock on the door. For a moment neither said anything as they awkwardly stared at each other. Word had traveled swiftly about Twilight’s date and her results, from Fluttershy to Rainbow Dash and finally to Applejack. She knew if she did not make some effort to win this little contest of theirs, she would surely lose out. Though not the usual date, she planned to invite him to a family dinner.

“Hey there, Spike,” Applejack finally said. “I was just wonderin’… if you ain’t got any plans today. I wanted to have ya over for dinner.”

A new dilemma was exactly what the dragon did not need right now. Spike could refuse the invitation, but it would mean breaking the promise he had made to himself that he would give each a fair chance. Accepting it meant putting off apologizing for his harsh words from the night before, though he had no idea how to apologize for his outburst. His anxious look had the apple farmer becoming a bit hesitant.

“I guess you’re a might busy… Maybe some other time,” the blond mare said.

“No, I’ll come,” the dragon finally responded. Though his conscience raked at him, he also wanted to avoid the overwhelming feeling of guilt he knew he would feel when finally did face Rarity again.

It was a bit of an awkward walk to the Apple Farm, as neither broke the silence the whole way there. As they entered the farmhouse, the dragon saw Big Mac with an unusually tidy mane, combed to either side of his head at the top. Next to him was Applebloom, uncomfortably fidgeting in a short dress, stopping only to smile at their guest. Finally, Granny Smith with her usual shawl stood behind them.

“Howdy, Spike!” Applebloom greeted him, happy to see her occasional playmate again.

“Well Spike, it seems that you’ve taken a likin’ to our lil’ Applejack,” Granny Smith said. “But I don’t understand why ya had to ask him to dinner, Applejack. Back in my day, it was the stallion that had to pitch woo!”

“Granny Smith!!!” Applejack whined, a deep blush overtaking her face. Her comment did manage to lighten up the dragon’s mood, making him laugh. Their little party moved to the dining room as each took a seat, the two potentials sitting next to each other. It was not long before Spike found himself bombarded with questions.

“Now, Spike, do ya think ya can handle Applejack?” the elder mare asked. “That stubborn attitude of hers has been a handful over the years.”

“I-“ the dragon answered, before being interrupted again.

“Are ya gonna marry her, Spike?” the red-headed filly gasped, imagining the would-be marriage.

“What are yer intentions with our Applejack?” Granny Smith asked.

“Um…” Spike stuttered, blushing hard.

“Ya know, Applejack always said she wanted a big family. I hope yer ready for that, Spike,” Applebloom giggled.

Looking to the blond mare, Spike could see that she was completely and utterly mortified. The blush on her face deepened in its intensity. But she was not the only one—he could practically feel the heat radiate off his face.

“Hey, Spike,” Applebloom began. “How come ya started likin’ Applejack? I always thought ya liked Rarity like that.”

With mention of the white unicorn’s name, the dragon seemed to lose his embarrassment and begin to grow solemn and silent. Excusing himself from the table, he exited the farmhouse, claiming he needed fresh air. As he left, Applejack looked over to the only pony at the table that had not said a word throughout the whole meal.

“Ya got anythin’ to add, Big Mac?” the exacerbated mare asked. “I’m sure it couldn’t make things worse.”

“Nnnope,” the red stallion simply replied, continuing to eat his hay.

“Well, I hope y’all are happy. Ya scared him off,” Applejack said angrily. “What do ya got to say for yerselves?”

“Can I take of this dress now?” Applebloom asked back, pulling at the collar.

Outside, the dragon sat alone on the fence. Night had fallen already as Spike tried to take his mind off of Rarity, but the silence of the countryside made it difficult to distract himself with little more than his own thoughts as he stared intently at the grassy fields surrounding the farmhouse. He was hoping to use this dinner as a bit of an escape before facing her once more. But he knew that if the mere mention of her name made him fall apart as the guilt seeped back into his head, it was best to avoid it no longer. However, his backbone faded as he ran scenarios of the possible outcomes of his apology through his head.

“Spike?” he heard a voice call back to him. Applejack had followed him, taking a seat next to him as well. “Sorry about that Spike. Someponies just don’t got no manners.”

“It’s fine… It wasn’t really their fault,” the dragon said. “It’s when Applebloom said Rarity’s name…”

“Oh… oh,” the apple farmer interrupted, believing she understood what he was implying. “I know I can’t compete with her on looks. I mean, I’m just an ordinary farmer and she can pull off any dress she wears. But it don’t mean I ain’t got other things going for me. I can cook mean apple pie and…”

“No, Applejack,” Spike stopped her. “It’s just… I said some really mean things to her and… I made her cry. I feel so bad… but I don’t know if I can apologize to her. I just keep remembering what I said to her and…”

“Well, a wise pony once told me that the first step to apologizin’ to someone is to forgive yerself,” Applejack told him. “Until then, ya won’t be able to face her.”

“Forgive myself? How do I do that?” the dragon asked.

“Luckily, the same pony also told me how…” the blond mare answered. “Ya just gotta realize that there ain’t nobody who’s perfect. We all make mistakes, Spike. The best thing to do is to learn from ‘em.”

“That… actually makes a lot of sense,” Spike said, disengaging his gaze from the floor. “But who was the ‘wise pony’ who told you all of this?”

“Granny Smith,” Applejack replied simply. “She has a lot of experience under her belt and is chalk full advice… when she ain’t being nosy, that is.”

“I want to go apologize to her, but I’m still a little nervous,” the dragon stated. “Would you mind coming with me, Applejack?”

“Why, I wouldn’t mind it one bit, Spike,” the apple farmer answered, giving him a reassuring smile.

Though it was the dead of night, there seemed to be a bit of movement in the small town. The Changeling Queen had finally decided to make her move, arriving where her scout had informed her the confessions had occurred. Though going to the trouble of waiting until night, she was still almost discovered by the dragon and mare traveling to the town’s boutique. Using her shapeshifting, she quickly took the form of a guard, hoping to be dismissed as just a night watchman. She smiled as they walked past her without a second glance. She waited patiently in under the guise, passively observing the situation.

The dragon walked up to the white unicorn’s door. He held out a trembling fist, only to withdraw seconds later. Looking back at the blond farmer, she urged him on.

“Ya can do it, Spike,” she said, waving her hoof fowards.

“Hmph,” the dragon puffed, gaining a new backbone. Knocking on the door, he received no answer. He knock a bit louder, but still received no response from inside. With slumped shoulders, he turned around with a defeated look on his face. He began to imagine that the unicorn’s sadness had turned to spite, and that it was that spite that made her deaf to his knocks.

However, inside the boutique, Rarity had indeed heard the knock at the door, but her current emotional state had made her sluggish to answer it. She slowly descended from her bedroom, stopping once she no longer heard the knock.

“Don’t give up, Spike,” Applejack told him. “Keep tryin’!”

Though his mind raced with unpleasant thoughts, his conscience ached at him to try once more. Knocking a third time, he still received no answer.

Inside, the unicorn had finally dragged her hooves to the opposite side of the door. Just as she reached for the handle, she paused as she heard a voice call to her from the other side.

“Rarity! Rarity… I’m sorry…” the dragon began. “I didn’t mean what I said. You worked hard for the date and I ruined it all… I want to make it up to you… if you’ll let me. I just wanted to say… For whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry… You’re the last pony I’d ever meant to make cry…”

Turning around, he left the boutique’s doorstep and walked towards the apple farmer, who gave him a proud smile.

“Don’t worry, Spike,” she patted him on the back. “It’s late. She’s probably asleep, and you know how seriously she takes her beauty sleep. Ya can try again tomorrow.”

He nodded as they walked off, leaving the Queen by herself once more.

“Tomorrow, eh?” Chrysalis spoke to herself. A new plan hatched in her mind as she waited for the two to be out of earshot. Allowing her disguise to fall, she walked up to and knocked on the boutique’s door herself.

“Spike!?” Rarity excitedly opened the door, gasping at the sight of the Changeling Queen.

“Would like another guess?” the black bug-like Queen asked.

“I’m sure she’ll forgive ya, Spike,” Applejack comforted the nervous dragon. “You and Rarity are as close bark on an apple tree.”

“I’ll go see her first thing tomorrow,” Spike told her as they arrived at the library. As they did, he realized his problem with Rarity had now cost Applejack her entire date with him. He found himself owing another apology. “Hey, Applejack. I’m sorry about all this. I guess you really didn’t get your date either.”

“It’s fine. If ya stayed, I’m sure it would’ve only gotten more embarrassing,” the apple farmer replied. Though she said it was fine, he could not help but feel like he owed her something.

“Hey, Applejack?” the dragon called her. Her lips met his as she turned to look at him. The blond mare opened her eyes wide and stared at the dragon with shrunken pupils, taken back by his forwardness, but still did not separate their lips.

After what seemed to the mare like an eternity, Spike finally broke the kiss. Applejack still gave him the same blank, wide-eyed stare, mouth agape, cheeks flushed. Her silence had him feeling a bit nervous. Maybe he had been a little too bold and she was not ready for this step. But, at last, the initial stun wore off and her mouth stretched into smile.

“Didn’t think ya had that in ya,” Applejack told him. “But I’m glad ya did. I do like a dragon that knows what he wants…”

Spike blushed at her comment as he waved her good-bye. He found himself feeling guilty once more, realizing how easy it would have been for Twilight to walk in on them. He knew it would have broken her heart to see them like that, after they had shared their first kisses with each other. It was moment that he knew was special to her, as was he to her. And she was special to him too.

But Applejack was also important to him, as was Rarity. The way Applejack accepted his kiss and the way Rarity felt after what he said to her both revealed how they felt about him. He did not want to hurt anyone he cared about, but he saw no other way this would end. But he also realized that a choice would be inevitable. His conscience weighed heavily after hurting just one; he could not imagine the guilt he would feel after choosing one above the other two. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that this choice was coming very soon.

The Ice Queen

Spike got about as good a night’s sleep as he had since his ordeal with the three mares first began. Morning came a little sooner than he had hoped. He felt his stomach rise to his throat at the thought of what he had vowed to do the previous night. He opted out of breakfast as he rushed out of the library, even before Twilight could give a word of protest.
Though his mind was preoccupied by his plan of apologizing to Rarity, he was most worried about the decision he would be making soon. He knew he could not keep his current relationship with them going. Switching between them every few days would be crueler than outright picking one of them.

However, seeing the effort each went to win, he found it very possible that choosing would create a rift between the friends. Ruining friendships, especially of these close-knit mares, was never his intention. If his decision did manage to create a gap between them, he wondered what would become of the Elements of Harmony.

The six mares were the de facto protectors of Equestria, using the Elements to dispose of any dangers or threats to its long standing peace. Yet another consequence of his decision could possibly be Equestrian vulnerability. If they were to separate, the Elements would not be of any use when one or two of their bearers were not present. This situation was not as farfetched as he would have liked to believe; bitterness and envy could grow between the one chosen and the ones not.

A bit more selfishly, his thoughts drifted to his relationship with them after his decision. Having spent some intimate time with each, Spike grew to love them and even if he was unable to stay with them in a romantic sense, he was hoping to still remain friends. He soon dismissed it as wishful thinking, knowing there would always be a bit of awkwardness and perhaps even resentment for not choosing them between the three.

He made himself quite the sight as he walked to the Carousel Boutique. His reactions to the thoughts going through his head definitely drew some eyes, as he occasionally chewed his claws, dropped his shoulders and grasped his head. Not even realizing it, he arrived at the white unicorn’s shop as he continued to run bizarre and fantastic scenarios of his decision through his mind. He lifted his head to find he had already walked up the boutique’s front door.

Spike could feel his stomach knot up as he remembered his original purpose for visiting Rarity. His nervousness returned in full force, as did the nausea. Taking in a deep breath, he knocked on the door. Unlike the night before, the white unicorn answered rather quickly, almost like she had been waiting for it. However, the young dragon’s nerves kept him from noticing her speediness.

It seemed that was not the only thing that was off about the unicorn. Instead of seeing a saddened mare, he found her well-kept and pulled together, but also seemed much colder and more distant. He was afraid that his anger would earn him some malice from her, but this was different from anger towards him. He could feel her stare chill his blood.

“Why… hello, Spike,” she greeted him, even her voice sending shivers down the dragon’s spine.

“Hi… Rarity,” Spike replied.

“Do come in…” the unicorn moved aside, allowing him to enter. He hesitated for a moment. Something about this whole situation felt wrong. For just a split second, Spike could swear he saw a devious smile come across her face. As he stood there, he suddenly felt her stare on him intensify, and he rushed into the shop, compelled by his fear.

Unlike the mare, her shop was in complete disarray. All of her fabrics were spread across the floor and tangled against the pony manikins that were also allowed to stay wherever they fell. Even her sewing machine had been tossed over. There also seemed to be a bit of a draft in the shop. He had been in the boutique an uncountable number of times, but never did it ever feel like this cold or scary before, much less in the middle of the day. If he had not known any better, he would have guessed there had been a none-too-friendly struggle. As he quietly looked over the ruined shop, he could swear her could hear a constant thud coming from somewhere on the second level of the boutique.

“Now was there something you wanted to talk to me about?” her voice broke his concentration on the unknown noise.

“I just wanted to apologize… about the other night,” Spike answered.

“Ha! Do you believe a simple apology can make up for what you did?” the unicorn asked in angry tone, circling him as she spoke.

“I… What else can I do to make it up to you? I’ll do anything to prove that I’m sorry,” he replied pleadingly.

“How about you abandon this silly little love game with those two other ponies and pledge yourself to me? That would suffice…” the white unicorn told him as she continued to circle him.

“I-I can’t just do that to them…” Spike responded.

“But I thought you said you would do anything to make it up to me, dragon!” she boomed. However, it seemed that she allowed her true eyes to reveal themselves, out of anger, for a second. Along with the harshness of her voice and the choice of her words, it was enough to allow the dragon to see through her disguise.

“YOU’RE NOT RARITY! She’s never called me ‘dragon’ before!” the dragon accused.

“Ugh! You couldn’t just make easy on yourself and fall into the spell over time like that Shining Armor, could you?” the Changeling Queen said, dropping the illusion she had on herself. “Or perhaps I was too brash… No matter, you’ll fall under my control all the same.”

Spike attempted to make a run for the door, to warn somepony of the Changeling Queen. He did not make so much as half way before he felt his feet leave the ground. He saw the door drift farther and farther from his reach.
“Help! HEL−” the terrified little dragon screamed, only to be silenced by Chrysalis’s well place hoof.

“Don’t make this any harder than it must,” the Changeling Queen told him, staring directly into his eyes. “I’ve wasted enough energy in subduing that little rag designer. I don’t want to waste any time or effort on you. It will only delay my plans.”

Spike felt a strange sensation come over him as he was made to stare back at the shapeshifter’s eyes. He soon felt all the energy he was using to try and escape her captivity fade away. He felt his body go limp as this uncontrollable need to be with Chrysalis grew stronger and stronger.

“Yes… that’s it,” Chrysalis said, satisfied. “That’s a good boy…”

“There… it is done!” the Changeling Queen proudly said to herself. The dragon was fast asleep as Chrysalis lifted his body up the stairs into the bedroom. As they entered, the Changeling Queen eyed cocooned Rarity in the very corner, away from the sight of any window. She was struggling with all the might she could muster and swinging herself, hitting the nearby wall. “SILENCE! You’ve been such an inconvenience. But all that energy was in vain.”

She showed the trapped pony the unconscious dragon. The sight only seemed to urge her to fight harder to free herself from her prison. Only to torture her more, Chrysalis freed the mare’s head to allow her to speak.

“What have you done to him?!” the white unicorn screamed at the bug Queen.

“Now, now… he is merely asleep,” she replied. “Changelings live by leeching off the love of other creatures like you ponies. This has given us the affinity to affect the hearts and minds of other creatures with our magic. All I’ve done is intensify his feelings for you which, I must say, were very strong already. Unfortunately, he also seems to have found out my true identity, so I also had to scramble his memory, and it seems that it was too much for him to take. However, this actually worked in my favor. His feelings for your friends are also very strong; they hold the possibility of breaking my spell before it is in full effect. So I must keep him from them until I’m certain this won’t end in a repeat of my last attack on Canterlot.”

“You monster!” Rarity insulted the Queen.

“You haven’t even heard the best part,” Chrysalis told her. “Though his love will grant me great power, maybe even more than that stallion had given me, I won’t run the risk of being humiliated yet again. He has quite the potential as a dragon. If I can trigger his growth, I’ll have the power of a full grown dragon on my side. Along with my own power, I’ll be unstoppable. Your precious land of Equestria will fall to me and my Hive.”

Sealing her head once again, the Changeling Queen lay herself on the unicorn’s bed, bring the dragon to her once she found herself in a comfortable position. The dragon happily snuggled against the Queen. It was a heart wrenching site for Rarity, but it was not enough for the Changeling. She nuzzled the dragon, never once breaking eye contact with the unicorn, as she gave her a sinister smile.

“I wonder where Spike went off to in such a hurry…” Twilight spoke to herself. Her assistant hardly ever missed meals, much less on purpose. So it must have been something important for him to have skipped breakfast to do.

She had been using the time to reshelf the entire library, finding it to be the best way for her to keep her mind off the dragon. However, the mindless task could only be done so long before her thoughts began to drift to him again. As her concern grew, her concentration on the task fell. As she reorganized the high shelves, she allowed a book to slip from her magical grip and knock her on the head. As she recovered from the daze it gave her, she noticed that what fell on her was less of a book and more of a journal.

She opened the book to find it was yet another one of Spike’s journals. Twilight had long given up the search for them, but it seemed that by some wild coincidence or serendipity, she had finally found it. This one seemed much more detailed and neatly written, although it seemed that it had not begun where the last left off. This one more reflected something deeper than the first: his feelings of growing up a dragon in a society of ponies.

It felt awkward, wrong even, to be reading this journal as opposed to the last, especially when she had decided that it was a violation of his privacy. His new vocabulary allowed him to express himself in much greater detail, making the content that much more intimate. The more she read, the harder it became for her to tear her eyes from the text. She could feel the guilt rising in her, and it was fast becoming evening. She knew Spike could come home any minute. As she flipped the page, a knock at her door nearly spooked the paranoid mare out of her fur. She answered it to find not Spike, but Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, Twilight!” the blue Pegasus greeted her. “I just came over because Rarity told me to tell you that Spike was staying over her place tonight.”

“Oh… Thanks, Rainbow Dash,” the purple unicorn told her.

“At least you thanked me,” Rainbow Dash commented. “You know, it was almost like Rarity ordered me to come and tell you. I mean, not even please or anything. I’m not her personal messenger pony… Anyways, night, Twilight!”

“Alright, bye!” Twilight waved her off. Closing the door, she gave a sigh of relief, wiping her forehead. Eventually, her eyes wandered back to the book that sat in the middle of the library floor. The temptation was growing yet again to crack open that book and read to her heart’s content. With Spike gone for the night, no one would have been any the wiser. However, she shook her head at the thought.

She needed to place it somewhere she could not see it in order to prevent any future temptation. Placing it on a random bookshelf would not work— her mind would just memorize the shelf she placed it on and her eyes would always find their way to that spot. Hiding it under the carpet provided a very visual lump. Her eyes scanned the library. The drawers would have been an ideal spot, if it were not for her schedules taking up all the room. Again she glanced over the library. Eventually, she found herself staring at her bed. It might not have been the best place to hide something she wanted to keep her mind off of, but a single book under her mattress would never leave any visual signs of its presence.

She figured, more so hoped— that she would just forget about the journal in time. However, that night she knew she was not going to sleep very soundly as she could hardly take her mind off the journal.

Through the Looking Glass

“Spike? Spike!” Twilight called out to her assistant, who was apparently in hurry to leave the library. “Are you going over to Rarity’s again?”

“Yeah! I’ll be back later!” the dragon said as he ran through the doorway at full speed.

The unicorn did not try to impede him in any way, though she had to make a conscious effort not to. This had been the scenario ever since the night he had spent with Rarity more than a week ago. He seemed to speed through his chores and responsibilities faster and faster to spend the most time he could with Rarity. With every day that passed, it seemed to break Twilight’s heart more and more, taking this as a sign of Rarity imminent victory.

Had she been her more analytical self and less emotional, she would have surely grown suspicious of his unusual behavior. Spike had been slowly turned into the wicked seductress queen’s thrall. He said little more than he was instructed to by the Changeling Queen, he did as little as possible to avoid any suspicion and, moreover, he all but ignored the other two mares in the love rectangle that he had found himself wrapped up in. His mind was his own prison that he could not from escape.

The charmed dragon reached the boutique—the headquarters that Chrysalis had commandeered after taking over Rarity’s persona. She found it convenient, with very few disturbances as many of the seamstress’s friends left her alone while she was busy with her work. Though there were a few of Rarity’s clients that had commissioned dresses before the devilish Queen had trapped her away, she simply turned them away at the door. However, these ponies demanding their dresses sparked a new idea in the wicked Changeling’s mind.

“So… the Grand Galloping Gala approaches, does it?” Chrysalis said to a mostly empty room save the cocooned unicorn. “A time at which all the elite and royalty of Equestria gather together, including the Princess from the Crystal Kingdom and her little guard captain loverboy. The very two that prevented my takeover of Canterlot and sent me and my subjects to outlands in a humiliating defeat. This is an opportunity I can’t afford to miss, a chance to wipe out the biggest obstacles to my new conquest. But how can I gain access to the event without drawing too much attention…?”

Rarity stared at the two gifts she never managed to give Spike. The Changeling Queen examined the unicorn’s gaze before she had a chance to break her stare. She carefully followed the path of Rarity’s vision to find two small boxes. The first contained only a highly decorated suit that she showed no interest in, throwing it among all the other projects the dress maker had been working on. As she opened the second, smaller box, the shapeshifting bug could not help but give an evil grin and a matching laugh.

“You’ve done so much of the hoofwork for me, I can’t help but feel utterly grateful for it all,” Chrysalis laughed. “First you provide me a loyal draconic slave, and now… now you hand me the tickets to my destiny. I must thank you somehow…”

“Chrysalis. I have returned…” the young dragon said, his voice very devoid of emotion.

As she continued to plot and plan, Chrysalis kept Rarity well-fed and hydrated, if only to prolong her torturous treatment. Over the days that the Queen had taken on her image and life, the unicorn had seen her little “Spikey-Wikey” fall further and further under the Changeling Queen’s control. The first few days had been terrifyingly familiar to her. She commanded him to go and do chores, as well as anything she found too troublesome for her to do herself. When he showed signs of resistance to her magic, she merely charmed the dragon with even stronger versions of it.

Rarity had realized long ago that Spike had been serving as somewhat of a butler as a way to please her. She had gone along with it because he was, in all honesty, a very useful little assistant to have around. Though she had not wanted to admit it to herself, her thoughts only lead there and she had little to do in her captivity besides think. It was a despicable thing to admit about herself, but she could only find truth in it. Just as Chrysalis used her mind-heart controlling magic, she used his love for her as a means of control. Yet another similarity to Chrysalis, when Spike had doubts or felt like refusing her, she would just turn up her charm. She justified her actions by convincing herself that he really wanted to do it for her of his own will, but in truth, she had been little better than Chrysalis. Even though she would not say she appreciated her imprisonment, it definitely helped open her eyes to her own actions, as she was now able to somewhat observe a reflection of them in the Changeling’s.

However, as the days progressed, Chrysalis grew rigorously demanding of the dragon as she began to iron out the last of his will. Though Rarity admitted to herself that she manipulated the dragon’s feelings, what Chrysalis was doing outright sickened the seamstress. She did not show any consideration of his feelings or wants. She was taking away all his freedoms so he could to serve her own will and only hers. Rarity watched as the dragon slowly lost all autonomy and waited on her word for any new action. She treated him no better than a tool that she would leave lying around until it was needed once more.

“AH! Yes, I have just the thing,” the Queen finally spoke after a long silence. “When I take Canterlot Castle as my own, you may have your own cold, lonely cell in the dungeon. Doesn’t that seem like a fair exchange for all you’ve done for me?”

“Chrysalis…” the dragon called once more, still waiting for a new order to fulfill.

“Have I not told you to address me as ‘Rarity’ at all times!?” Chrysalis scolded Spike as she reengaged her illusionary disguise. “Had another pony heard you call me ‘Chrysalis,’ all this planning would have been ruined!”

“I’m sorry, Rarity,” Spike responded.

“We must make our preparations for Canterlot and the Grand Galloping Gala. Come, dragon," the shapeshifter said, leading her draconic thrall out of the room.

Spike’s long absence was not only felt by Twilight, but Applejack just as well. The apple farmer had not seen the little dragon since their embarrassing dinner date with the family, and she had begun to grow a bit worried. The worry she felt stemmed not only from fear for his self-being, but also from the fear that he had finally made his choice and it was obviously not her. To put her mind at ease, she decided to take a short break from her work on the farm to visit the local library, hoping to find the dragon at home as usual.

Applejack knocked on the door, and was greeted by the studious unicorn, though her demeanor was noticeably down. Twilight invited her in, faking a smile as she did. Applejack saw that she walked a bit sluggishly, almost dragging her hooves. Her shoulders were drooped, and her gaze did not leave the floor. It all beckoned the blond farmer to ask her friend why she looked so unwell.

“Ya ok there, Twilight?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t really know… I mean, I’m trying, I really am…” the purple unicorn responded. “I don’t want to feel bad about it, I don’t want to be jealous… but I just can’t help it.”

“Whoa! Hold on there. Start from the beginning,” the apple farmer interrupted. “Now: what are ya talking about?”

“Well, ever since Spike went to apologize to Rarity, they’ve been spending some time together…” Twilight replied after taking in a deep breath. “A lot of time together…”

“Oh…” Applejack said, her fears very closely being realized.

“He’s been spending all his extra time over with her at her boutique,” the unicorn continued. “I hardly even see him anymore.”

“I guess… there ain’t nothing else to do than to admit it,” her friend told her. “She’s won, Twilight.”

“But are we… just supposed to let him go that easily?!” Twilight asked desperately.

“It was his choice, Twilight…” Applejack answered, pulling her hat down to cover her face. Twilight was only able to see the bottom of her jaw as her twin streams of tears met there and dripped onto the library floor. “I reckon I better go congratulate her…”

“Applejack…?” the unicorn called to her weakly. “Applejack!”

“Ya ain’t to worry about me none, Twilight,” the earth pony said as she gave her face quick wipe, keeping her back turned to her friend. “I’ll be just fine…”

Taking a deep breath, Applejack knocked on the boutique’s door. Though she said she wanted to congratulate the dress maker, she also felt that she needed to see what Twilight had told her with her own eyes. She felt as though she needed hear it from Spike himself—that he in fact had finally chosen who it was he wanted to be with.

Inside, the Changeling Queen tried to ignore the knocking, wanting to just work on her insidious plot. However, she grew irritated as the knocking only persisted.

“These ponies and their dresses, so shallow…” she said as she changed her appearance to that of her captive.

“Yes, yes… you shall receive your dress before the Grand Galloping Gala…” she said as she opened the door, only to find her surprise another of the ponies that had had a hoof in her defeat. “Oh… it’s you…”

“Hey there, Rarity…” Applejack greeted her. “I just wanted to come ask ya about… well… Spike.”

“What of the little drake?” the disguised Queen asked, her lids half closed and a grimace on her face.

“Little drake…?” the earth pony asked, though she quickly dismissed it. “Anyways, I just want to know if it was true… what Twilight told me… have ya and Spike been spending a lot of time together?”

“Ah! So you’ve heard, have you?” the changeling said, her grimace almost instantly changing into a malicious grin. “Yes, it is true. He and I have grown quite inseparable in the past few days. I’m afraid you are too late… he’s chosen me.”

“If ya wouldn’t mind, I wanna hear it from him,” Applejack said, a bit unnerved by the pseudo-pony’s stare and grin.

“Very well, but he won’t tell you anything you want to hear,” Chrysalis said, closing the door to fetch the dragon, who she had left in the bedroom.

Unbeknownst to her, however, it seems that the trapped unicorn had been attempting to get Spike’s attention.

“Spike… SPIKE!” she whispered harshly. “Spike!”

It seemed that her calls only fell on deaf ears, as the charmed dragon continued with the tasks the Changeling Queen had set out for him.

“Spike… I’m so sorry…” she pressed her hooves against the cocoon’s thin, semi-transparent film. “I didn’t mean to use you like I did. I didn’t know just how bad that was… But I promise that if I get out of here…”

Just then, something strange seem to happen. It was almost like he could hear her, as he stopped his chores and walked towards her. His eyes, which had seemed blank ever since he fell victim to Chrysalis’s magic, returned to their normal green shade. As he walked towards her, she could see his efforts to escape the magic that seeped into his mind.

“I promise, Spike, I’ll make it up to you… I don’t know how yet, but I will,” Rarity said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

“Ra-Rarity…?” the dragon called out.

The sweet moment was quickly cut short, as the Changeling Queen returned and intercepted the dragon before he was able to reach the real unicorn.

“Hmph… so it seems that there still a little bit of his will left…” Chrysalis said to herself as she began to subject the young dragon to her harsh magic. Rarity swallowed in fear as she stared at her own face holding a nefarious smile. “Did you really believe that you could free him from my control? I have already made that mistake once, I won’t make it again.”

“Stop! You’re hurting him!” the unicorn cried out.

“Stop… stop?” the Queen laughed. “Surely you jest. I care nothing for the dragon; he is merely a means to an end. Now come, dragon. There is something else that you must do for me.”

“Yes, Rarity…” the dragon said, obediently following her out of the room.

“Spike…” Rarity cried weakly.

“Now, you will go out there and reassure that pony that you have chosen me and that you no longer wish to see her,” Chrysalis told the dragon as she guided him to the door. “Understood?”

“Yes, Rarity…” he replied as he opened the door.

“Spike! How are ya? I haven’t seen ya around the farm lately…” Applejack greeted him, though he did not seem to respond very much. “I reckon I should stop beatin’ around the bush. Is it true that ya chose Rarity already?”

“Yes… I chose her,” he answered very emotionlessly.

“I see… I ain’t mad at ya or nothin’. But…” she told him. “Ya coulda at least told me, Spike, instead of leavin’ me in the dark.”

“I didn’t really want to see you again…” the dragon said as he told.

“Wh-what…?” Applejack asked in disbelief as her tears began spilling from the sides of her eyes. “What did you say?”

“I-” Spike paused as he saw the mare’s tears fall. Applejack watched as he grasped his head as if he was in some sort of inner struggle. Chrysalis also saw this, worry beginning to show on her face; a slip of the tongue from her thrall and her plans would be ruined as well as her safety compromised.

“Spike?” the earth pony called to him. Just as it seemed he was going to say something, he suddenly straightened up and his eyes began to glow. Applejack seemed to follow an invisible trail of magic to the unicorn behind the dragon, whose horn glowed the same color that had overtaken Spike’s eyes.

“I don’t want to see you anymore!” the dragon said, quite a bit more maliciously than the blond farmer had ever heard him.

“Spike…” she called to him as she reached her hoof out to him, only to be stopped by the disguised Queen.

“As you can see, he’s made his decision…” she told her. “Now I must ask you to leave. We must go back to our sewing and whatnot. Good day!”

Applejack took a second to recover from having the door slammed in her face. Her tears dried as her sadness was replaced with rage.

“I can’t believe she would stoop so low!” the apple farmer spoke to herself. Though she did not know much about magic, she knew it could be used in an almost infinite number of ways. She thought it to be entirely possible for the unicorn to find a spell to make the dragon behave as he did. If he did not make the choice for himself, then it held no legitimacy. And if it was in fact the misuse of magic, then there was only one pony she knew that could possibly reverse it.

That very pony was currently in her own struggle. After the apple farmer had left, Twilight was fighting with the idea that she had left her with: Rarity won. This turn of events felt so sudden and so wrong to her that she could not find it in her to accept it. She racked her brain for a way to perhaps win back her assistant from the seamstress. Her wandering eyes eventually came to rest on her bed.

Between her mattresses sat the diary she had found the other day. Her thoughts slowly shifted to the content inside. She could possibly find what he looked for a perfect mare, but she did not know if she would be able to do so in clear conscience. However, remaining idle, she knew, would do nothing to help her situation. Against her better judgment, she reached under the mattress and pulled out the small notebook.

As she read the journal, she noticed quickly that it was more intimate and detailed than the last, which made it that much more discomforting for her. She nervously followed the lines of text and began to picture the scenario he was describing. It began with his description of being a dragon in a land inhabited by all ponies. He found out very fast that he was not like the rest of the crowd, something very obvious to many ponies but not so much to hatchling dragon.

Though some ponies did not mind the fact that he was a dragon, an overwhelming number of the more “snooty” and “uptight” citizens of Canterlot looked down on him. He described their piercing eyes follow him as he walked through the streets.Sometimes he could not tell whether their eyes were filled with more fear than hate. However, those that took the time to get to know him treated him much better were still a little uncomfortable around him when Twilight herself was not around. Twilight never noticed it at the time, but she realized that perhaps that was the very reason he stayed in the library most of the time.

She began to mentally kick herself for not noticing the distress the little dragon was going through, but as she continued reading, she realized that she have done the right thing without even realizing it. Spike began to write more and more about his time with her. He did not describe her as the nicest pony but she made up for that in the way she treated him. It was the fact that she did not give him any different or better treatment than any other pony, she treated him just as she did anypony else. He went for nearly whole page about how appreciative he was for that.

She wiped a tear from her watery eyes and continued to read. He then wrote about a dream he had of her. This dream, however, was anything but an ordinary dream. In the dream, they had kissed. Somewhere along the line, he had developed a crush on her that he seemed to deny to himself about. There was clear evidence of this from the color he wrote her name as well as the way it was written. Every time he wrote her name, beginning a few entries leading to the dream entry, he switched off to a purple pen and took the time to carefully write it in perfect cursive, which contrasted to the rest of his regular, sloppy print.

After that were pages of flattery that would humble even “The Great and Powerful” Trixie, had they been written about her. He became quite infatuated with her, to say the least. He complimented everything from her brains to her looks to even the way she ate hay. All this eventually lead to a small, crude drawing what she could make out to be herself and Spike inside a pink heart. Twilight felt like her cheeks were on fire from the intense blush that had overtaken her face.

Her heart sank, though, as she read the final few entries of the journal. The little dragon began to lose hope that the purple unicorn would ever return her feelings. He did not know very well how to express them but did his best by doing waiting on her as her assistant, helping her with whatever she needed. He even wrote about given the choice to live in the castle with Celestia and having some other pony serve as her assistant. But he had chosen to stay with her, he decided to stay by her side even if she would never know or return his feelings.

Twilight took a moment to soak in all she had read. Had she paid more attention to her assistant’s feelings while they lived in Canterlot, there have been no need for her to compete for his love now. Even though she had missed her chance the first time around, there was perhaps still a chance to rekindle those same feelings. Lying on her bed, she stared at the ceiling as she continued to absorb all this new information until a knock at the door disturbed her meditation.

All Eyes on You

“Twilight! Twilight!” Applejack knocked forcefully, nearly tearing the door off its hinges. “Twilight!”

“Applejack?” Twilight asked, surprised to see her friend again so soon, and even more so by her intensity. “What’s wrong?”

“Well… I-I ain’t too sure…” Applejack stuttered. “It’s Spike… Spike and Rarity…”

“You shouldn’t feel so bad…” Twilight said, misunderstanding the earth pony’s anxiety. “Rarity… just had too much of a lead on us. She has been working her way into Spike’s heart since we came to Ponyville… guess we really never stood a chance...”

“Wait, Twilight, listen!” the apple farmer interrupted her. “It’s not that… I ain’t jealous… Ok, maybe a lil’ jealous. But there’s somethin’ off about the whole thing! Rarity’s…”

“Now, now, Applejack,” the purple unicorn hushed the ranting mare. “There’s no need to call each other names. We’re still friends after all, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, we are… but ya ain’t hearin’ me, Twilight!” Applejack answered, rather frustrated that her friend simply waved off her worries. “There’s… somethin’ wrong with Spike… And Rarity… she’s not acting like herself… I mean, Spike… he was always happy to help her whenever she needed it… But this time… it looked like he was fighting… somethin’… Somethin’ that Rarity was doin’ to him. And Rarity… she was usin’ some sort of weird magic… I don’t know too much about all the unicorns’ hocus pocus, but this magic… It didn’t feel right. I’ve seen you and Rarity use magic… This was nothing like before, not even close…”

“What do you mean, Applejack?” Twilight asked, her own concerns growing with each small pause her friend took.

“Rarity… wasn’t actin’ like herself,” Applejack continued. “She used Spike, sure, but I never thought she meant no harm by it… This time, the magic she was usin’… it looked like it was hurting him… on the inside… Even the way she called him… She called him ‘drake’… Even if she did use him before, even if she did hurt him… Rarity always cared about Spike… Ya could hear every time she called him ‘Spikey-Wikey’. That’s why I wouldn’t have minded losin’ Spike to her. ‘Cause he would still be with some pony that can make him happy and cares about him… But that unicorn I saw ain’t a pony I would ever leave Spike with…”

“Well, even if I do believe you… There’s nothing I can really do… I’ve never heard of a spell that does what you said,” Twilight replied. “I wouldn’t know where to begin to counter a spell like that.”

“Why don’t ya try talkin’ to him?” the blond earth pony asked. “I think I was gettin’ through to him until Rarity did… somethin’. Then Spike told me he never wanted to see me again…”

“That doesn’t sound like something Spike would say…” Twilight commented.

“Exactly! Maybe since Spike is alone with ya here… away from Rarity…” Applejack paused as she exited the library. “Maybe ya can help him…”

“This is becoming very risky…” the Changeling Queen thought out loud. “That lowly little farmer has grown suspicious of me… and of my pet… The Gala is still some time away.

“So it seems that having complete control over your mind is not the wisest choice at the moment. We both must keep up appearances,” she turned to Spike. “However, I can’t afford to have you on such a loose leash. Seeing as you already have it engraved in your mind that I’m your precious Rarity, I will simply lock away those memories of the other two pesky mares. Your mind will remain mine as long I am near. Not even Celestia’s little pet will be able restore them…”

“Ah, yes!” Chrysalis said as invaded the dragon’s mind once more. “The little incident that caused this whole situation… Perhaps erasing that is all that is really needed. It will ensure that your love for me, your Rarity, remains strong. You will return to me of your own will, you will listen to my demands of your own will. Forging a memory of your choosing of me would not hurt either. A little insurance. Truly, I should have thought of this long ago.”

“It is actually quite laughable…” she said, turning her attention to the still-cocooned unicorn. “I do believe that, was it not for that incident, his heart would unquestionably still have been yours. It must really be painful to think you brought this heartache upon yourself. Such a shallow creature you are. However, this makes it all the easier for me.”

The Changeling did not even care to see her captive’s enraged frenzy as she carried the unconscious dragon out of the room.

“Wouldn’t want his little head to become confused from seeing two Raritys…” Chrysalis laughed as she resumed her disguise. “Now would we?”

Twilight paced the library floor, anxiously awaiting the return of her assistant. Her mind raced with unnerving ideas of a magic that could result in complete control over Spike. Surely if Applejack’s suspicions proved true, she would have to report Rarity to Celestia for using such egregious magic on an innocent creature for her own ends. It was her biggest fear and the very reason she desperately hoped it was not true. She now understood why Applejack also had doubts that this was the same pony they had come to call friend. A new knock on her door derailed her train of thought.

“Spike…” Twilight said under her breath, cautiously opening the door. “Rarity?”

“Yes… I brought you back the dragon…” the white unicorn answered, coldly leaving Spike’s limp body in front of Twilight. “He seems to have fallen asleep, and I don’t have the room for him to lie around.”

“Rarity… wait…” Twilight called out to her, to no avail.

“I have no time for small talk…” the unicorn said, her back continuing to face her purple counterpart. “When he awakens, tell him to report to me as soon as possible. I require his assistance in some matters.”

Before Twilight could even protest, the white mare had already moved out of earshot. She turned her attention to her sleeping assistant, deciding that seeing to Spike’s well-being outweighed investigating Rarity’s behavior in importance. Twilight gently tucked the dragon into his bed, and promptly fell into her own. Exhausted by her own worries, she took one last look at the sleeping dragon before falling asleep herself.

The purple unicorn awoke to the sounds of dusting and bristles sweeping the floor. To her surprise, Spike was happily fulfilling his daily routine, and even whistling. Normally, this would have proved to be just that: normal. However, after all the strange happenings, and his own strange, absent minded behavior before this, Twilight could not simply dismiss what Applejack had warned her about. Reaching a hoof out towards her assistant’s back, she flinched when he suddenly turned around.

“H-hi, Spike…” Twilight stuttered. “Are you ok?”

“Oh, hi, Twilight!” Spike beamed. “Yeah, I’m doing pretty good! I mean, I have the most beautiful mare in all of Ponyville as my marefriend! So I think I’m doing a-ok!”

“You mean Rarity?” Twilight asked tentatively.

“Well, yeah…” Spike answered, looking down at his feet. “Sorry that things didn’t work out between us… I hope we can still be friends.”

Twilight backed away from the dragon, her head totally lost in thought. Applejack had told her that Spike had said that he never wanted to see her again, and yet, here he was apologizing for the failed romantic relationship they had together. Something was not adding up. Applejack would not lie about something so serious, and her worry seemed genuine. But she could not simply ignore that Spike was acting like his normal self once more. Applejack was certainly right about the fact that something strange was going. Whether it involved Rarity was yet to be seen.

“Twilight?” Spike asked, snapping her out of her self-induced trance. “Are you feeling ok?”

“I-I don’t know…” Twilight said, drawing further back from him. “You haven’t talked to Applejack lately, have you?”

“Oh yeah…” the dragon replied, hanging his head. “Rarity said that Applejack was getting really jealous of her. She told me to tell her that it would be best if we didn’t see each other anymore.”

“Rarity, huh?” Twilight whispered to herself. “I need to go see Applejack for a while.”

“I guess I’ll go over to Rarity’s after I finish here,” he told her as she reached the door.

For a moment, Twilight hesitated. She wanted to tell him to stay away from Rarity. Moreover, she wanted to tell him about her suspicions. However, she knew that might only yield the same result as Applejack achieved, distancing Spike from her and causing him to mistrust her as well. Instead, she simply nodded and faked a smile, then hurriedly galloped to the farm on the outskirts of Ponyville.

“Ya sure about this, Twilight?” Applejack asked as they both hid in the bushes near the town’s boutique.

“No, but it’s our only choice right now,” Twilight answered, keeping a quill and scroll handy for any suspicious behavior. “I don’t have any proof that Rarity’s done anything to Spike. And Spike looks like he’s back to his normal self… So we need some kind of proof that there is something strange going on with Rarity and Spike.”

“Here he comes!” Applejack said as both ducked back under the brush.

As the little dragon said he would, he arrived at the shop and waited patiently at the door for the unicorn to allow him in. The white unicorn hardly gave him a proper greeting. Instead, her eyes were instantly glued to the very bush that the two mares hid in. Both felt cold beads of sweat form at the foreheads and drip down their faces. They saw turn her narrowed gaze on their bush, almost as if she knew they were there, but neither really knew how. They had not seen her leave the shop once, or even stare out any of the windows.

“You’re late!” the unicorn scolded Spike, finally allowing him entrance after a long stare down with the shrub outside the shop.

“Sorry,” Spike apologized, disappearing into the shop.

Giving the bush one last cold look, the unicorn slammed the door shut.

“Did she know we were here?” Applejack whispered, feeling a shiver travel down her spine.

“No…” Twilight answered uncertainly, swallowing hard. “I mean… how could she?”

“Clean this place up!” the unicorn ordered harshly, startling the dragon.

“Umm… ok…” Spike said, grabbing a handful of fabric and rolling it back onto its tube.

“I’ll be in my room…” the mare said. “Do not disturb me!”

Leaving the dragon for the safety of her locked room, the unicorn promptly dropped her illusionary disguise. Letting out an angry snort, she turned her attention to the only window in the room. Pushing the curtains aside, she peeked through the window to see the heads of her two spies quickly retreat back into their hiding place.

“It seems that your friends have finally caught on to me…” Chrysalis told the trapped the unicorn, her eyes never leaving the bush. “I can easily have them join you up here, but that would raise even more suspicion, something I cannot have. It will still be a while longer before the Gala… I can’t afford for them to give their pompous princess a reason to be on alert. I guess I’ll just have to play drama queen until the day of the Gala…”

“What is it that drives them to go to such lengths?” the Changeling Queen asked herself. “Their friend is acting so coldly to them, their dragon has rejected them… Yet they still won’t leave me alone! It doesn’t matter. In a few more days, none of this will…”

Author's Note

I'm sorry for the LONG wait. I know you have waited patiently, but I got myself buried in other projects and school for awhile. I'm going to finish this story. Do not doubt that. It may take me a bit longer than originally planned, but it will get done. I know I said I would reduce the number of author's notes, but since it's been such a long time since I last updated, I thought I would apologize for the hiatus. Please bear with me on this story. I am working on it again and thank you for reading. Your support means a lot and it keeps me in good spirits to write.

The Hungry Scout Scores

The following days had been a strain on Spike, as Twilight and Applejack would each vie for his attention and company every day. Their behavior had become very suspicious to the young dragon as well as mentally exhausting; he hardly got time to himself. One minute, he would be dining out with Twilight, the next Applejack would be dragging him off to calm stroll around the scenic lands of Sweet Apple Acres. Then he would suddenly be whisked away by Twilight to get a treat from Sugarcube Corner only to be lassoed by Applejack as she gave him a private show of all her best rodeo tricks. But even before he could start enjoying the show, he found himself teleported back into the library.

“Oh, hey there, Spike!” Twilight said, pretending she had nothing to do with his sudden transportation into their home. “How about a good book?”

“Actually, Rarity’s supposed to come back from her trip today,” Spike answered, fearfully backing away from the unicorn. “I was kind of hoping to meet her when she got off her train.”

“Rarity’s… coming back…?” Twilight asked herself quietly as her magical hold on a book she held broke. With the stiff competition from Applejack, Twilight had forgotten all about Rarity, and her return would bring with it a whole plethora of new problems and challenges. The good news was that she doubted Rarity would be ready for unforeseen opposition from two new ponies after the dragon’s heart. She kept in mind that she was still at a disadvantage against the other two but she could hedge her bet with Spike’s possible journals. However, competing with Applejack had thrown Twilight’s search off. She could not afford to lose so much ground to her friend, but those journals could be the table turner that she needed.

Another factor came into play when she saw her assistant’s face; he seemed to be a bit scared of her. He refused to turn his back to her, he was breaking out into a cold sweat, and he stared at her with eyes wide open and shrunken pupils. Twilight knew saying he was “scared” was an understatement, he looked terrified. Looking back, she and Applejack were smothering him a bit, but she had not intended to. It was not like her to be so clingy, nor was it like Applejack, but neither could help themselves. They barely gave the poor dragon time to breathe between their outings with him, and perhaps she should let him do what he wants rather than dragging him off in an attempt to woo him.

“So can I go… you know… alone?” the little dragon asked timidly.

“Of course, I’m sorry about dragging you everywhere lately,” Twilight shook off herself back into reality. “You go ahead and give Rarity her welcome back.”

“It’s not that I don’t like hanging out with you or anything Twilight…” Spike explained himself, feeling a little guilty for asking to be left alone. “I mean, it was fun but…”

“I understand, Spike,” the unicorn gave the dragon a reassuring smile. “Now go, or you’ll miss her train!”

“Thanks, Twilight!” Spike told her, giving a sigh of relief as he left.

Not one to waste time, Twilight began looking for her assistant’s personal journals. However, it would not be an easy task, having grown accustomed to Spike being able to fetch anything she required. The task would be even more daunting knowing how her scaly friend did not like to organize his things as herself, and so the location of these mythical journals could be anywhere in the library, or even back in Canterlot, if they existed at all.

Spike had finally gotten some time away from the two mares that were apparently losing their minds. Just a while ago, it was challenge to get some attention from anypony but now he wished nothing more than to be invisible or ignored. At first, Spike had thought perhaps they were giving him the “hero’s treatment” for having saved Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, but now, he was not too sure. He would understand if they gave him such a treatment for a day, what with how much he actually enjoyed the attention and gifts, but all their attention soon turned into something very familiar.

As he traveled the Ponyville Train Station, he thought about why their treatment seemed so familiar. Attempts to impress him, gifts, lavish attention, the more and more he thought about it, the more he realized it was the same way he was towards Rarity and Applejack. But he could not believe it, he was always the one doing the chasing and crushing on the mares. For it to be the opposite was incomprehensible to the little dragon, he did always dream of being a mare-killer, but to him, that was all it was, a dream. He shook off the thought as wishful thinking as he took a seat on a nearby bench.

It was not long before he heard the bellowing whistle of the approaching. It was still very far, a mere speck in the distance, but Spike was still excited to see it. He had sorely missed his “Lady Rarity,” partly because of his crush on her and partly because he knew she would not drown him with attention like two other mares he knew. Spending some time away from Twilight and Applejack’s evidently romantic advances to help Rarity with whatever she needed sounded like a vacation to the dragon at this point. The brightly colorful train slowed to a halt at the station and opened its door, revealing an exhausted Rarity carrying a great deal of bags along with her cat.

“Need some help, Rarity?” the dragon greeted the tired unicorn.

“Thank you, Spike! It has been a long week for me,” Rarity said, levitating some of the bags she held into his arms. “First, the mare who wanted a dress demonstration hated the color of the dress, though I thought it looked perfect on her, but the client is always right. So I had to stay in Canterlot an extra day for her to choose the color of her dress. She was a very fussy mare, I can’t imagine how her husband deals with her. Then I missed my train to the Crystal Empire and it was a four hour wait for the next. On top of it all, I had wait for a restock on some of the material I needed from the Crystal Empire, which took two whole days, but I had no choice, their ewes’ wool is so exotic and comfortable, it would give my dresses a unique flare like no others in all of Canterlot!”

“Sounds like you had it rough,” Spike commented as he followed the unicorn back to her boutique.

“Ugh… Enough of that. How have you been, Spike?” the dress maker asked. “Anything interesting happen while I was gone?”

“Well… There was this one thing…” the little dragon said, holding out with a cocky smile, being more than happy to toot his own horn.

“Go on!” Rarity playfully prodded him to continue.

“I did manage to save Sweetie Belle and Applebloom from a hungry pack of Timberwolves,” Spike said casually as he polished his knuckles.

“Really?” the unicorn asked a bit in disbelief.

“Yup! The Apples even gave me my own tree over at Sweet Apple Acres!” the dragon answered excitedly.

“Wow, Spike… that’s amazing… I must thank you properly,” Rarity told the dragon, who lost all the color in his face after hearing that. “Spike, are you alright?”

“Uh… umm… yeah…” Spike lied, swallowing hard as he did.

“Spike, I can tell you are lying to me…” the white unicorn pouted.

“I-it’s nothing, really…” the nervous dragon told her. “It’s just… Twilight and Applejack have been acting… well… very nice to me… more than usual. And it’s kind of freaking me out…”

“What do you mean by ‘very nice’?” Rarity asked, her suspicions aroused.

“Well, they’ve been taking me out a lot lately and giving lots of presents and food… and… they’ve been basically fighting to have me with them…” Spike said, trying to convince more himself than Rarity that it was simply friendly gestures.

“Oh really…” the mare commented, quickly catching on to what was happening. “Have they… tried anything else with you?”

“L-like what?” Spike asked as a deep blush formed on his face, having some ideas of what she meant already in mind.

“Nevermind…” Rarity excused him from answering her, not really wanting to hear the wrong answer.

“I don’t know… it was fun at first, having all their attention, but…” the dragon said with a long face. “It’s too much for me…”

“Hmm…” the white unicorn hummed, pondering her next move. The rest of their walk was left in silence until they arrived at the door of the unicorn’s shop.

“Thank you for the help, Spike,” Rarity said. “If you want, you can stay here with me for a while and take a break from the rush. I’m sure you need the break from what it sounds like.”

That sounded like a dream come true to Spike. Nodding his head vigorously, the dragon headed inside the boutique, ready for his peaceful retreat from the unicorn and earth pony.

Even before she began her search for the journals that she hoped existed, something gnawed at her in the back of her mind. Twilight had found herself feeling a bit guilty for even thinking of opening up a journal that contained the most intimate thoughts of her long-time friend. Of course, the first time was a mistake of curiosity, when she did not know that the journal belonged to the little dragon. This... invading Spike’s personal space, it was an act so obtrusive, so out of character for her, she hated the fact that she even considered it.

Respect for each others’ privacy was something the two had developed over their many years together. But for some reason, all that flew out the window when it came to losing Spike to either one of her friends. Having this time to think clearly and reflect finally reminded her of wrong she was about to commit against him and their friendship, and brought her back to her senses. A sudden knock at the door thrusted the unicorn back reality.

To almost no surprise, it was Applejack, ready with her lasso to continue their ongoing game of “Steal the Dragon.”

“Oh hey, Applejack,” Twilight said.

“Oh, I thought that Spike would be with ya here…” Applejack said as she put away her rope.

“Oh no… he’s over with Rarity. She came back today and he wanted to see her, so I let him go,” the purple unicorn replied.

“Ya said Spike’s over wit’ Rarity, huh?” Applejack asked her friend.

“Uh-huh…” the princess’s protégée answered.

“Thanks. I’ll talk to ya later, Twilight,” her friend said, taking her leave.

“Wait!” Twilight called out to her friend. “I… I think we all need to talk. I’ll come with you.”

“So… Spike… how do you feel about Applejack and Twilight?” Rarity asked inquisitively.

“Well…” Spike paused nervously, not really knowing what to say, what answer to give the unicorn. She might take offense of he told her about his feelings for Applejack, and Twilight... she was an entirely different case altogether. It was difficult position he was put in, but fortunately, or maybe not so much, a knock at the boutique’s door gave the dragon a much need distraction.

The very mares that Rarity had been asking about were now at her door. A long, awkward silence followed as the three mares merely exchanged looks.

“So… it seems that I wasn’t the only one harboring feelings for our little helper…” Rarity said, neither in an angry or sad tone, rather, in a matter-of-factly one.

“Ya mean that…” Applejack began her question, only to be cut off by the answer.

“Yes, Applejack… I do have feelings for Spike as well,” the white unicorn said. “I suppose Twilight hadn’t told you.”

“Who was it, Ra… oh…” Spike said, entering the awkward aura around the group trio of mares. “Hi, Twilight, Applejack…”

Again, silence ensued. The dragon was sweating from the anxiousness in the air. He was there for mere minutes, but it seemed like an eternity as no words were spoken for the entire length, and without them, he was clueless as to the current situation.

“I think we owe Spike an explanation,” Twilight finally broke the silence.

“It’s only right…” Applejack added.

“Agreed,” Rarity nodded.

“About what… exactly?” Spike asked with a gulp.

“Spike…” the three mares said simultaneously.

However, it seemed that not one of them had noticed a new observer who was eavesdropping just outside the window, a very literal fly on the wall. The deliciously amorous event was too much for the shape-shifting bug to resist. The rapid and numerous public displays of affection of the mares to the dragon had attracted the hungry metamorph to their small town, like a fly drawn to the strong scent of garbage. The Changeling was no fighter, merely a scout in search of feed for the Hive. This overt display of affection was not enough to feed the Hive, but it did involve half of the six ponies that had helped foil their Queen’s plans in Canterlot. He listened in silence as the mares continued their confession.

“Spike… there’s no easier way to tell you…” Twilight said, stepping a bit closer to him.

“Spike… I know you’ve noticed the way they’ve been acting, but I also have same confession to make,” Rarity said as the dragon eyes widened.

“Spike… Ya know that I don’ like to beat around the bush…” Applejack told him as he began sweating bullets.

The moment was whetting the Changeling’s appetite, who nearly allowed his saliva to give away his location outside, but the dragon on the inside was nearly having a heart-attack as it pounded painfully in his chest. He knew what they were about to say, just as the Changeling did, but, unlike the shape-shifter, he was not sure if he wanted to hear it. Spike could not possibly imagine what would come with what was about to be said and the fear of the unknown seeped into him, like venom from a snake that paralyzed him where he stood.

“I love you, Spike,” each confessed simultaneously, causing the nervous-wreck of a dragon to faint.

They crowded around the unconscious dragon as the Changeling outside the boutique beat his wings, signaling his satisfaction from the lovely feast he just had. His mind clear from hunger, he realized what he needed to do. This turn of events needed to be reported to the Queen immediately. Surely she would have good use for the situation and information he had found. Quickly taking the appearance of an unsuspecting, unremarkable Pegasus, he took off to find his leader.