Prologue

Destiny is often confused with either fate or the path in life that we all must take at some point in our lives. Often, too often, our path is laid out before us, just waiting for you to travel along its thorny, rugged, dirt caked dust trail.

Love is a feeling that always intervenes or intertwines with our path through life. Guiding us all through that path should be our hearts, rather than our minds. For it is in the heart that the truly grand things of this world happen, such as a lonely son given the chance at being the most powerful being in the world.

Love, like Destiny, can be short, simple, uninteresting, or just disappointing. Yet, there is still something unique to both of these. Destiny, just like love, can always change, for it is never set in pure stone that can never be chipped away. Adventure, as destiny is often called, can be seen as a path straight through the heart of the forest, or it can be seen as a boulder of stone, and each day you slowly chip away at it, piece by piece...

---

A constant throbbing pounded against his head, making him wonder if it was instead a jock, thinking that his head was a basketball and was dribbling it down the court. High pitched whining from some ambulance, fire engine, or police car cut through the massive pounding, if only for a moment, as whatever it was drove by the school. All around him, through what little he could see past his bloodied vision, various ponies gathered, either laughing at him or kicking him in some vital spot on his torso as they walked by.

Agonizing pain assailed his mind, coming from the multiple fractures on his left leg, the deep cuts of varying sizes on his right forearm, and from the deep cut that spanned across the roof of his head, just under where his mane touched his scaled body. A mixture of dragon-pony blood seeped out from the various lacerations, coating his normally amethyst purple scales a deep shade of crimson. No pony seemed to care enough about him to stop and lend him a hand, no pony even dared to look at him, unless a vicious smile was across their lips.

Gritting his teeth tightly, he reached for the long sleeve of his untouched arm, quickly ripping it off at the base before tying it around the lacerations on his right forearm, wincing slightly at the pain that came from the pressure against the open wounds. Gathering up the blood that was in his mouth from the cuts on the inside of his cheeks as well as the lacerations on his lips, he spit a huge glob of both saliva and blood onto the concrete before him.

Taking in a deep breath, and using his free hand to steady himself, he pulled himself up into a sitting position, where he snapped his leg back into place with a loud cracking sound. When he chanced a glance down at his leg he could not help but hold his breath for a moment. Though there were minor, blood was spewing forth from the laceration that spanned the length of his leg. Groaning slightly, he raised himself up to both of his feet, gritting his teeth harder as pain registered within his mind from the injured leg when pressure was applied.

Knowing quite well that he was due for class in less than a few minutes, since his close friend/sister Twilight Sparkle always wanted to chat with him for a few minutes before the class started, he made ready to take off. Balancing on his good leg while putting only a little pressure on his broken leg, he grit his teeth harder as he made his way towards the school building, leaving a heavy trail of crimson red blood behind him with every step.

Without even thinking, he clung to the wall of the hall as more blood escaped his lips, falling off in long dripping strings, looking almost like a slow falling crimson paste. Glancing back, he had to stifle a laugh as a few of the ponies passing him looked both disgusted, yet happy to see him in such a broken state. Many of the mares simply looked away from him as though he were a hydra. Ignoring the lingering glares of pure hatred that were directed at him, he turned to make his way towards his first class of the day.

The class was relatively easy to find, as it was the only class that was at the end of the large hallway labeled 'PDH' for 'Pony/Dragon History'. PDH 13 was the room number, and was taught by a Mr. Disharmony, who ever that was.

Entering the room, he found that it was unearthly quiet, with the lights dimmed to the point that he thought they were nonexistent. Twenty-five old metallic desks were spread out before the large oak one in the front where the teacher sat. They were arrayed in rows of five by columns of five, each one looked to be set a perfect space apart. While on either side of the room were maps of Equestria, of various cities, and even a lone map of the Dragon Capitol of Ulênmore. Awestruck, he made a mental note to ask the teacher where he had gotten such a rare map this far into the Pony Kingdom.

Blood continued to drip from various locations on his body, creating a rather large puddle that he keenly became aware of in a matter of seconds. Looking towards the back of the class, he spotted a few desks that were more secluded from the view of the rest of the class.

Quickly, he made his way over to the desk that he had spotted and sat down in the chair, letting a sigh of relief wash over him as the weight was taken off of his injured leg. Reaching into the bag that he had brought in, he found a thin strip of cloth that he knew too well was used for biting down on when he was in great pain. Pulling over a chair from the desk beside him, he began placing sticks that he had found earlier that day on either side of his broken leg. Biting down hard on the cloth, he ripped off his remaining sleeve and used it to tie the sticks to his leg, creating a make-shift tourniquet while making a vast amount of pain surge into his mind as the bones shifted back into their proper places.

He snarled loudly, though it was muffled by the cloth, as the pain surged through his very body after assailing his mind. After a few short seconds, he was able to slide the cloth out of his mouth as his breathing came in sharp gasps. Leaning over his leg slightly, he allowed himself to spit more blood onto the floor beneath him, creating an even larger puddle. Leaning back into the chair, he could not help but relax almost too much. However, he remembered that he still needed to seal his wounds, but yet he had nothing with which to do it.

Quick to assail his nose after a few seconds of utter silence was the strong scent of lavender, with which was the tingling scent of freshly opened books fused with crushed pine needles. Letting a slight smile cross his face, he whispered silently to himself, "Morning Twilight."

Lavender fur flashed before what he could see through his eyes as her voice was almost to the point of shrieking at him as she asked, "Spike, what in the name of Celestia happened to you?!"

Freshly picked delicious red apples covered with early morning dew, interlaced with the heavenly aroma of freshly cut cedar fused with dried mud wormed its way into his nose soon after, making him look over towards the door once more. An orange blur was all that he saw move before there was another presence next to him, trying to use her fingers to tie both of his sleeves tighter together. "What in tarnation happen'd to ya Spike?"

His voice caught in the bottom of his throat before he could even hope to utter a single audible syllable. Freshly ground vanilla, laced with the slight tint of jasmine woven with the scent of crushed cherries assailed his nose with a biting force, letting him easily recognize who entered the room, if the sound of her high heels clicking against the concrete floor wasn't enough.

A silvery-white blur flashed through the crimson that covered his eyes as he tried to hide his face from the three mares that were standing around him, the lavender one using her left-over napkins from breakfast to wipe away the blood on his forearm while the orange mare made busy using a rag that the silvery-white mare had to try and clean the floor. The silvery-white mare however grabbed a few tissues from her bag and proceeded to clean some of the blood away from his eyes, allowing him to see clearly now.

Looking down towards the floor, the drake could not help but watch tears fall from his eyes to his pants, creating small dark pools in various places where the blood had not. His mind began to drift towards all of the pain in his life, how for all of these years the ponies had hated him and his kind because of the Dragon-Pony War that was started, fought, and ended before he was born. Ponies acted as if he was the one to declare it, as if he was the one who had killed many of their family members, as if he was the true enemy of all ponies. Always he seemed to ask himself the very same question, the very question that he always knew the answer to, but could never fulfill because of a promise that he had made years ago on a fateful day when he had saved his best friend from falling into the dark abyss of the Sleva river. Would the world be a better place should I simply die from it, if I were to just vanish and never come back?

Choking back his sobs, he refused to look at the silvery-white mare that was kneeling before him, words heavy on her own heart. Said mare knew all too well what Spike was upset about, she had known about his torment for all of the years that she had known the drake, and all too often she would blame the ponies that were bullies instead of him. Spike was the most caring, loving, helpful, and loyal drake that she had ever met. Given she knew only a few, due to her dealings in Canterlot, but he was the only drake that she truly knew well, and he was nothing like how the other ponies talked about. Not a day went by that she ever felt regret about befriending the drake, and if given the chance, she would do it again in a heartbeat.

Many did not know just how fragile the drake was. Given he did have very tough external scales that could protect him from anything, when he was full grown, but that did not mean that he could not be easily wounded on the inside. It is true that many dragons have been fueled by greed for many years, and it is these types of drakes that give all dragons a bad name, but Spike was different. He was not entirely dragon, thus he still had what made him a true dragon, he still had a heart. To him, every word that was ever spoken out against him was like a knife to the heart, and that was something that she hated to see day after endless day.

Feeling a lone tear slide down her cheek, the mare brushed away his tears with her thumb before she just stared at him, trying to not break down completely like he was. Seeing him in such a state; his left leg wrapped around in a tourniquet, his right forearm with the other sleeve of his shirt wrapped around it, blood staining it, yet nopony aside from the three mares seemed to care one bit. Leaning over slightly, she pleadingly whispered, "Spike, what happened to you?"

Tasting the warm, metallic liquid that was his blood from the lacerations on his lips, he tried to lick the wounds clean as he chanced a brief glance at the mare before him. Bile from some unknown source coated his teeth, yet tasting the blood made him want to vomit for the first time in his life. Not only was it his own, but he felt as though it was silvery-white mare's own blood. Unable to stop himself, he turned away from the three mares just as a mixture of what little breakfast he had along with the blood that was inside of his mouth spewed all over the floor, leaving a large smelling puddle that would make any sane pony flee from the room.

The three mares did nothing of the sort. In fact, the orange mare simply pulled out a bandanna from her back pocket and tied it around her mouth and nose so that she could breath even with the smell, the other two mares quickly followed her lead, and soon they were steadily coming closer to the drake.

Tears, though light, fell from her eyes as she looked at her best friend in such a ruined state, wishing to Celestia that those who tortured the drake would finally leave him alone, if not then she would try to help him. The silvery-white mare knew that her sister's girlfriend could possibly lend a hand, seeing as how she had been in the same boat, but she would rather not get the young fillies involved in this matter. She was unable to form any words with the ramble that her mind had taken. Each time that she began to think about something other than the drake, she was forced to look at him in a new light each time, and each time struck her heart more and more.

It was true that she had fallen in love with the drake many years ago, but just like now, she was unable to say anything to him about her feelings. Fear of losing his friendship always hung first in her mind, and she would rather die that be away from him. Her heart longed for him, but it also knew that no matter what, if his heart longed for her, that he would give her a sign that he felt that way about her. "I am so sorry Spike."

Spike could not help but let a few more tears fall from his eyes. The mare's voice was soothing, caring, loving, and above all else, looking out for him. Yet, he could sense that it was broken, that somewhere deep down, she was hurting. This was one of the many of the things that he loved about her.

For a long while now, he had felt his heart begin to ache for her, yurn for her, wish for her. To say that he had a crush on her was an understatement, he was beyond a crush, he was fully, deeply in love with her. He wanted to be with her, to call her his girlfriend with all of his heart, but he knew that it was a fallacy. There was no way a mare, as beautiful, as popular, or as stunningly gifted with a keen set of eyes as she had, would ever consider him as a possible boyfriend. He was only her best friend, and as much as he wanted more, he was content to at least have her friendship.

Despite the fact that she was caring and looking out for him, which he knew nopony else would do, he did not want to burden her with his problems. "Ya, I'm fine Rarity. Just a little cut, nothing major." He coughed lightly, feeling more blood coat the inside of his mouth as he licked clean his facial wounds. "Nothing a little time won't fix."

Gritting her teeth with anger, the mare turned towards the other mares, debating on whether or not to run through the school and pick fights with every mare and stallion that walked, even the teachers.

In the midst of her debate within herself, she managed to hear the loud pounding of something metallic striking the sides of the wall along with the heavy thud of bare, furred feet. Running into the classroom through the open door was a stallion with emerald green fur, black stripes scattered throughout, a dark blue with black striped mohawk mane, and the most sparkling golden yellow eyes. "Spike! Spike!"

Sprinting over to the drake, they saw that the stallion was carrying with him a long, metal pipe, with which they knew not what his intent was. All knew that he was Spike's younger brother, but none knew what it was that he was doing with the pipe. "Listen Spike, Athornän desĉhkna islen toiyaran svhèn. Do it."

Spike chanced another glance at the mare, this time letting it linger sense she was no longer looking at him for the moment. Silvery-white fur adorned her body, visible on her arms, neck, and face as she glared forward. She wore a snow white t-shirt with a diamond stitched into the bottom corner of it. Adorning her lower body was a pair of loose fitting black silk pants that seemed to actually cling to the curves of her hips rather than being actually loose.

Spike could not help but let a light sigh escape his lips as he nodded his head in agreement to what his brother had said. "Bêltor nächk." Silence encompassed the room as all eyes turned towards the two brothers. They watched as Spike spit more blood from his mouth into the floor, following it was the heat from the air around them. Fire swirled around in a circle before the drake, much to the amazement of the three mares, as they had never seen him do it before. The stallion however seemed to know exactly what to do.

Placing one end of the pipe into the ball of fire, he allowed it a few seconds until it was burning white, which turned to a bright cherry red when he pulled it away. Looking to his older brother, he said, "Bite down on your cloth." He did not need to be told twice, for as soon as he was biting down on it, he brother with one swift motion, untied the sleeve around his forearm and placed the cherry red side of the pipe against the wound. "May the fire of thy own spirit cleanse thy wound. Dad will heal you Spike, but you know I need to stop the bleeding." His response was a simple groan, with which he said all that needed to be said. "I love you too Spike."

Rarity, not looking towards Spike, leaned closer to Applejack and whispered, "Do you know who keeps doing that to Spike?"

Two sets of eyes turned to look at the mare, neither of them wanting to speak. "Well, shucks Rare. Ah don't reckon ah do. But ah do know that if it was anyone, it was Thunderlane and his group."

"Applejack, who is this Thunderlane? I would very much like to 'speak' with him." All eyes around her went wide as they heard what she had said, knowing quite well what she intended to do. Spike sat up in his seat and stared hard at the mare, both gaining her attention as well as spitting out the cloth, more blood along with it. Hearing her talking about fighting her battles made him want to tie her to a bed and tell her to stay there in safety. Even the thought of her in the same state as himself, or worse, made him snarl with anger.

"Rarity." Said mare gazed upon Spike with a certain fondness that only his brother seemed to pick up on, worry in the forefront of her mind as she beheld what the group had done to him. A few deep gashes, gushing blood, were upon his lips. A scar, from both years prior and recent, ran down from the top of his right eye straight down, ending where the nose bone met with his skull. Fresh blood was running down from the cut that spanned across his forehead, while in is right arm he opened and closed his fist, testing the wound, seeing as it had been cauterized.

"Rarity, Thunderlane is the biggest jerk in Equestria. Tries to rule the school with an iron fist, scares the teachers for sure. Hell, most ponies already think that you and he are a thing. So he has claimed anyway." He paused as he took a breath to swallow the blood that had gathered in his mouth. "Thunderlane never runs alone, he always has his four other goons with him, Lightening Dust, Snow Flight, Noteworthy, and Grape Crush. It was Thunderlane and Grape Crush that gave me this scar all those years ago!" A lone talon pointed towards the scar that was on his face.

Anger was evident in his voice, as he did not like to divulge such things in public, but he knew that he had to stop her before she did something really irrational. "Rarity, don't even think about 'talking' to him. If anything, just let me do the 'talking', the thought of seeing my best friend, my first real friend in all of Equestria hurt in any way is unfathomable. Please Rarity, please don't do anything, I don't want to see you get hurt."

Looking deep into the drake's eyes, the mare could see him practically pleading by this point. Feeling her anger slightly ebb away, she let care and love wash over what remained of her anger. Sighing, she said, "Alright, as you wish Spikey-Wikey. Please, don't hesitate to talk to me if you need to. You are my best friend, and I hate to see you so upset." She flashed him a comforting smile before she looked back towards the front of the class, seeing the teacher walk in. Altogether the mares took their seats around the drake as he too looked towards the front.

In walked an abnormal creature of sorts, the body of a snake, with both an eagles and lions arm, two different wings, and a single fang. Glancing around, he spotted the small group in the back, both brothers still trying to realign the bones in Spike's broken leg properly. Smirking, he glanced at the blood on the floor before he made a quick call out in the hall for a janitor, who happened to be down the hall a way. Looking back to those gathered, he said, "Welcome class, to Pony/Dragon History III. I am your teacher, Discord Disharmony, or Mr. Disharmony. Today we are all going to learn something about each other while we wait for the rest of the class to join us. Why don't we start with you in the back, the dragon boy..."

---

Leaves fell from the tall standing oak tree that rose high in the middle of the garden just outside of the cafeteria. Benches were scattered along a cobblestone pathway that led from the cafeteria to various other parts of the garden where tables were set up for the ponies to eat at. Spike, being a dragon, was never able to eat inside with what little friends that he did have sense he often ate meat, which his friends understood and were okay with, but the school was not.

Despite the slightly bitter cold that would normally make a pony shiver, the drake simply smiled as the cool, refreshing breeze made the leaves rustle against one another. Being the dragon that he was, his blood was so warm, as it had to be to sustain not only the fire inside of him, but the biter cold of the arctic weathers high up in the mountains, that he was perfectly content to sit outside. Basking in his mother's sun brought back many memories of when he was younger, when he and his brother still lived with their mother, and all was right in the world.

"Momma, why am I so different than you and Ryder?"

"What ever do you mean sweetheart?"

"Why do I have scales while you both have fur?"

"Ah that. Well, it is simple really. You are part dragon and part pony, a new breed that has never even been heard of before in Equestria. Just like your brother is. As you can see, I am an Alicorn, a Princess of all ponies. Your father was a dragon, Prince of all dragons. Which makes you and your brother the two new cutest Princes' that I have ever seen my little Spikey." The young drake giggled as his mother used her hands to tickle his bare stomach, both laughing as they turned to look out over the sandy beach where they were.

"Momma, do you think father misses us where he us, up in the stars I mean?"

A heavy sigh escaped her lips, "I am sure that he does, just as we miss him very much." Grinning to her son with love, the mare put a hand over her aching heart, feeling it beat with so much life as it never had before. "Your father was a great dragon, never let anypony or dragon ever tell you otherwise. Your father and I were very happy together when he was here, and he desperately wanted to see you both Spikey."

Spike looked towards his mother with worry as he caught a few tears falling from her eyes, landing on the towel below them. "Please don't cry momma, father wouldn't want you to." Spike sighed as he turned away from his mother, trying to hold back his own tears as he said, "Momma, I have something to tell you." He waited as he heard her shift closer to him, placing a hand upon his back. "I have seen father. He has visited me in my dreams."

A great weight seemed to be lifted off of both of their shoulders as they both released a sigh in unison. "That's alright Spikey, he has visited me too. Your father was always one to intervene with pony magic, especially when it was to see me." Both smiled warmly as they looked towards the setting sun over the ocean, painting a perfect array of orange, gold, and purple against the distant horizon. Celestia could not help but chance a glance back to the emerald colt that was lying behind her, letting her other free hand rest on his back, smiling when he scooted closer to her back. "So have I Spikey..."

Spike was broken from his memories when he felt somepony poking his shoulder rather roughly. Turning to his side, he saw that it was none other than Ryder Guâlhoran, his brother. A smile was graced upon his lips as he nudged the drake slightly, taking a seat beside of him underneath the grand oak tree. "How's the leg, or are you thinking about Rarity again?"

Blushing heavily, he cast his eyes to the grass between his legs before he said, "The leg's doing fine for now, still can't walk really well with it. I was actually considering going to talk to father in a little bit." Sighing, he continued, "Rarity is still up there, just not really prominent at the moment."

Another span of silence caught between them. "I couldn't help thinking about mother and when we were last actually happy together, just me, you, and her at Shimmering Shores. When we were actually happy together. That was the last time we actually spoke to her heart to heart about anything at all, over ten years ago. I miss her so much, but I understand that she has a job to do." His voice faded as he continued to stare at the grass, lost in some distant memory.

Turning to Ryder, he returned his brother's warming smile, "So little brother, how are things going with you and Rainbow Dash? Did you have any luck this time?"

Ryder let his smile fade as he pushed the drake away slightly, "Not really Spike. I mean, I should be happy that we have been together for the past three months, but I am still too scared to say anything to her about how much I care about her. I love her Spike, but I do not think that I will have the nerve to even utter those words under my breath when I am around her."

"I know what you mean little bro. Trying to tell Rarity how I feel is really hard. I mean, I love our friendship just the way that it is. Sure I want more, but I also do not want to lose her in my life."

Just as Ryder was about to speak, the sound of her voice was heard flowing along the back of the wind. "Spike, I was uh, hoping that maybe we could talk." Turning around, he could see the mare standing behind of the tree, looking at him with love, care, and devotion to her best friend. "Please Spike, just for a minute, talk to me about your issues, your pain. You know I hate seeing you like this, so does Applejack and Twilight."

Spike stretched out the leathery wings that he had kept folded on his back as he said, "I'm fine, really. Just fell down the steps at school here, nothing to worry about, honest. There is no troubles at all, I swear."

Rarity, not believing a word that he spoke, decided that there was only one way to get him to tell the truth. "Would you swear on your father's grave?"

The drake gulped loudly, clearly being heard all around as Ryder looked towards him instead of trying to find his girlfriend in the mass of ponies that ate in the garden, clearly intent on listening to his next words. "I-I-I uh, well you see, I uh." Letting out a sigh, he hung his head as he looked back around to face the sky, seeing his mother's glittering sun high above what little clouds there were. "I can't, I just can't Rarity. You would not understand it." Tears fell from his eyes before he rose to his feet, starting to hobble away as he shouted, "I need to be alone right now!"

With that, both Ryder and Rarity were left to watch as the drake took off away from them, his tears cascading down his face like a waterfall. Rarity felt her own eyes want to start to water up as she thought about the drake, I would understand if only you would talk to me. As your best friend that is our mutual agreement. We are there for each other...

---

Spike kept his knee close to his body as he hid behind the building, out of sight of the small group of two that had tried to get him to talk. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his mind as he let his legs fall, crossing them as best he could with the tourniquet on and spread his wings, slowing his breathing. Letting the heat from his mother's radiant sun be his guiding light, he closed his eyes as he began to search for his father in the deep connection that he had left in the drake's mind with magic.

"Father, can you hear me? I really need you help."

A shadowy figure loomed up behind him, quickly taking the shape of a dark amethyst dragon with a flowing white robe, a sun over the center. "I can always hear the call of my sons, and I am always willing to help you. Please, lay your troubles at my feet."

Spike could not stop a small smile from crossing his lips, revealing his fangs. "Thank you father. As you can already tell, the bullying has not ceased. It has only grown worse in the last year. Mostly it is because they know that I defend Rarity, and as long as I am alive, they will never get to her. But I don't want you to tell mom any of this please. I need to be the one to do this in my own time." Spike sighed as he looked into his father's eyes, seeing a burning amount of love overruling his hatred at the ponies for hurting his son. "I just, wish I had the strength to speak to Rarity about this. You know how I feel about my best friend, but I need your guidance father. Please, help me."

His father could see that the dragon was pleading, something that he rarely had seen him do. "Spike." His voice was sooth, caring, even remorseful of what he had to say. "The answer to all of your problems lies within your heart. I can't always tell you which path to take. That is part of the journey of life that we all must take. All I can say is that you must search your heart for what you want. Listen to it, for it will never lead you astray. I truly wish there was more that I could do, but this is the best I can given the current situation.

"It brings a smile to my face to see that you care about your best friend so much that you are willing to endure the suffering that you do. That means that what you feel for her is pure and true, and when she realizes this, happiness will be your reward. I know you son, and you would die for this mare, just as I did and would do all over again for your mother.

"Now, my son, how is your training coming along? Has your mother been working with you?"

"Not lately, but I have been practicing in my spare time with Ryder or Twilight's older brother Shining Armor. Mom promised me that she would be there for all of my games, no matter whether we win, loose, or forfeit."

"Good. That is one of the things that I love about your mother, she always puts others before herself. Well, our time grows to an end, you must get back to school and finish it if you want to take the thrown with your brother when you graduate."

"Yes father. I love you."

Nothing more was said as Spike put his arms around his father, pulling him into a tight hug before he released him, stepping back. The darker amethyst drake watched as his son faded from the blackness that was around him, watching where he had been before looking behind him to see a swirling vortex that soon cleared to show a smiling Celestia. "I love you too son..."

Memories

Her sapphire eyes never left his running form as she watched the drake run down the one hundred and ten yard field, dribbling the ball between his feet. Tail standing slightly erect behind him, so as to both keep balance as well as to display a sign of concentration. He brought his foot back and thrust forward, sending the ball straight into the loose net.

Panting lightly, the drake turned to look back towards the bleachers, not surprised to find his best friend their, watching him. Like regular clockwork. If she wasn't my best friend, I would think that she was either trying to replace my sister, or she had a thing for me. Knowing that if he continued to stare at her that he would lose his focus, the drake quickly averted her gaze as he went to grab another ball, taking it down the field once more.

Wincing every now and again, he shrugged off the pain that assailed his broken leg, running down the field almost as if it was non existent. Only five people in all of Equestria knew the torment that he went through on a daily bases, yet it came as a surprise to all who ever watched him as to the amount of suffering and pain he was willing to take. Yet, he always seemed to remain strong, and though he could have all those who wronged him banished, imprisoned, or simply beheaded, he chose to keep his mouth shut.

Rarity lovingly watched the young amethyst drake play the game that he, his brother, and his mother loved. A game that she knew his father loved. Watching him pour out his heart into his training, not even letting something as much as a broken leg stop him, brought a sense of devotion to her heart. She could not explain why, but seeing him running down the field with a smile upon his face brought butterflies to her stomach, made her heart feel as though it were soaring through great drifts of clouds, while in her mind she felt that she herself was flying within his gracefully caring arms as they glided high over the snow capped peaks of distant mountains.

Spike looked around the almost empty field, noticing that it was only Rarity, who seemed lost in her thoughts, and himself. He was always the first one to practice, as he liked to get an early "solo" practice session, even if their team hadn't played for the last seventeen years.

Their actual last game win was over twenty-three years prior. It was due to this loosing streak that almost no pony wanted to ever join the team, it was an embarrassment. Heck, they were told that of the team does not field this year that all funding would be cut and the school's team disbanded. Although, that was not entirely all their own fault. For the last twenty years they had, had the same soccer coach, who almost hated the team after his first year. His goal was to see the team wiped out completely from the school, thankfully however he had retired that summer.

Starting this year, they were due not only for a new coach, but new members as well. Ones that he hoped were there to play rather than just to try and say that they played a school sport. Only three players had been on the team since he had started his Freshman year. One was Spike, another was his younger brother, who was not on the team legally at that time, and his favorite teammate, as she was his only other teammate who was permanent, Rainbow Dash.

Who all else was going to join was a mystery to him, but he really didn't feel that they were going to get the league minimum this year, again. Always one or two ponies would show up, but many would leave either because the coach was too harsh or they saw Spike. Mostly it was the former, but sometimes it was because of him.

Sulking slightly, Spike dropped to his knees in the grass, letting the cooling breeze wash away his aches, his pains. Pulling his knees close to his body after sitting down fully, he felt a few tears slide down his scaled cheeks, only to be carried upon the back of the wind to a delicate blade of grass. Sucking up a bit of blood in his mouth from the freshly opened wounds on his lips, he allowed it to drip from his open lips and into the hungry soil. Slowly, his eyes rose upward towards the sky as a few more tears left silvery trails down his scaled cheeks. Whispering in a hoarse voice, he said, "I'm sorry mom. I have failed you as a son."

With the last of his words, more tears began to cascade down from his eyes. Clouds formed together before they were washed away by some unseen force, giving the drake a clear view of the vibrantly blue sky, in which was his mother's ever present sun. Shining brighter than ever before, he could feel the serene presence of his mother wrapping fully around him, giving her all of his love even if her physical body was not there.

Unknown to him, the silvery-white mare had come around behind him and had given him a giant hug, letting her arms drape around the drake, holding him close. "You have not failed her Spike. You are the most wonderful son that a Princess like Celestia could ask for. Given you try to handle your problems without help from your friends, you are still very much a gift in her eyes. Spike, I hate to see you like this. You beat yourself up over nothing. Stand up for yourself, show those bullies who you are underneath. Show them the real Spike, the one that is sitting here now. The very Warrior who refused to leave my side on that bridge."

Amethyst scales glittered in the sunlight, spraying their reflective sparkles in various directions as he turned to look at the mare beside him. Tears still hung heavy in his eyes, but they were starting to die down now. "Rarity, how could that be true? She promised me that she was going to come to every one of our games this year, but at the rate we are going, we are not going to have a team. Just more ammunition for Thunderlane and his wanna-be dipsticks. After this year, we are not even going to have a team anymore."

Burying his head into his knees, the drake sobbed quietly to himself as he listened to the soft, soothing, comfort of Rarity's voice. "Spike, it is only the beginning of the school year, we are barely a week in. Give it time, I am sure that you will find more ponies will come, you just have to believe. I know that I do, what about you?"

Spike lifted his head so that his chin was resting on his knees as he said, "I don't know what to tell you Rarity. I have always believed, if only because I remember what my mother said to me when I was only eight, the day that I first met you."

Rain pattered against the stained glass windows of the throne room, turning them a deeper shade of their original color. Cascading upon the red carpet floor were various hues of the rainbow, with little sparkles of what looked to be diamonds from the water droplets that had collected on the stain glass itself. "Mom, why can't you ask the Pegasi to stop the rain so that Ryder and I can go play?"

Light giggling was heard as his mother placed a hand on his head, making him look up at her face to see a sly grin across her lips. "Well, for one thing, your brother is sleeping. For another, I can't just order the Pegasi to make the rain stop. The earth ponies need it to make their crops grow, and this rain fall was scheduled to happen already. Can't just change it honey, sorry." Upon seeing his destroyed face, she smirked even wider. "Tell you what though, when your brother wakes up, how about the three of us, Aunt Luna, and your Cousin Cadence go over to the Sparkles' home for dinner tonight? Does that sound good to you?"

Spike nearly jumped out of his scales at the mention of his adopted sister's home. Not being able to see her for a while had made him rather sad, but he was practically tackling his mother with a giant hug as he continuously said, "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, mom. I love you soo much."

She smiled warmly at her son before she said, "I love you too Spike, never forget that. As long as you believe it in your heart, I will always be with you, and I will always love you, just as your father does. But let's not forget about your brother now."

Spike took on a more solemn look as he looked into his mother's adoring eyes, "I know mom. Sometimes I just wish that I could meet someone new ya now, make a first friend aside from my brother. Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like if father hadn't have died."

"Who told you that you could grow up so fast Spikey?"

Smiling, he grew a cheeky grin as he said, "You did mom."

"Little did I know, that I was going to meet the best friend that I ever had." Sharing a light laugh together, they could not help but look deep into each others eyes. Spike could see his own reflection in her sapphire blue eyes, with a raging inferno of trust, compassion, and undying loyalty surrounding him.

Rarity could not describe in any amount of words the breathtaking sight that she saw. Reflecting back from his emerald eyes was her own face, though it was surrounded by a ring of fire, golden yellow in color with a light tint of orange to represent loyalty while their was an overwhelming display of an azure blue flame, indicating nothing less than love. Words caught in her throat as she allowed her eyes to memorize each color of the ring of flames, beginning to wonder if he felt the same feelings of love that she felt for him.

Sure they said that they loved each other often enough, but that was always only as best friends, but deep down in her heart, that was never enough. She wanted to say those three words, and expect a kiss on her lips or the feeling of her special somepony in her arms when she did. Always when she would think about her life long mate, his face was all that she could see, his comforting face that always told her that everything was alright in the world.

"I still remember the day we meet. The greatest day of my life thus far, and I would never take it back for anything, not for all of the money in the world, nor even to save my own life."

Rain pounded down on the roof of Twilight's comforting home. Freshly cut cedar was prominent in the log cabin home, yet adding to it was the smell of crushed pine needles, tree sap, and freshly backed chocolate chip cookies. "What's wrong Rarity? Is the rain bothering you? You do know that my father built this home with his own bare hands right? It was designed to keep the storms out, not in."

Twilight's childish voice even then was sweet, caring, and always innocent. "It's not that Twilight. It's just that you said we were going to meet your brother, the dragon one. I just don't want to make a bad impression on him is all. I really want to make new friends, and having a friend like him could actually help with my ideas of designing world dazzling dresses. Why, with a friend like your brother, I could conquer all of Equestria with my wonderful designs."

The lavender filly could not help but laugh as she allowed her eyes to take in the look of triumph on the silvery-white filly's own face. "Don't forget about Ryder too. I am sure that Spike will love help you out whether you are friends or not." Letting her voice drop lower, she said "Besides, I have seen the way that you blush when you look at him." Her laughter grew louder as she beheld a shocked Rarity, mouth agape with a few strands of hair covering her rosy red cheeks. "You totally have a crush on Spike and you know it. Before you have even met him no less. Priceless."

With her head lowered, the silvery-white filly tried to hide her reddening cheeks, backing up to the single window that was above her bed. As fate would have it, she was embarrassed even further when the drape hanging over the windows flew around her, encasing her in a vibrantly golden tangle as a few stray leaves and rain drops blew in the now open window. Twilight's laughter never ceased as she rushed forward to close the vast open window, finding the sight too good to be true. "Rarity, I-I think that your, uh, mane is in a frizzle shizzle."

It was times like these that Rarity was glad she had created certain words to use to describe her look rather than just saying outright what it actually looked like. This was a much nicer way of saying that she needed a really good shower, to clean out her mane so that looked as elegant as ever. Taking the initiative, she made her way into the connected bathroom, simply saying, "I need a few minutes to fix my hair Twilight. If Spike gets here while I am in the shower then tell him that I will be down in a bit."

Before the lavender filly could utter another word the door was practically slammed shut, leaving Twilight all alone with her fit of laughter as the only company. It was short lived however as her door slowly opened, revealing a shocked Shining Armor, looking at his sister as if she were a hydra. "Well, I can see that somepony is having fun. Where is Rari-," his voice trailed off as he heard the sound of her shower turning on, "-ty. Figures. When a drake comes over, where is she, in the shower. Sometimes I wonder about that filly Twilight." He looked to the floor as he shook his head, a grin crossing his lips as he said, "Although, I suppose it is no worse than when Rainbow Dash comes over. I swear, the trouble that you two get into together. I still remember that time that you two decided that it would be funny to put hot sauce in mom's soup. Do you recall the taste?"

Twilight could not help but feel her cheeks grow warm as she screamed out, "Shining! Get out now! That is so uncalled for!"

He chuckled as he retreated out the door with, "Sorry, sorry. But you do know that I get to tease you since you are my little sister right? Anyway, I was coming up to tell you that Spike and Ryder are here, they are waiting for you downstairs."

Both laughed as Twilight followed her brother out of the room and down the stairs, heading to the living room, where Spike was waiting. Upon reaching the bottom step, the two friends glanced each other briefly before they flew together, their arms going around each other and embracing their friendship. "Twilight! It is so great to see you again." Without warning, Ryder came up to the side and joined the hug, loving the feeling of love that was in the house this evening.

Twilight simply pulled the drake closer as she whispered into his ear, "Rarity will be down in a bit. She wanted to show up before you got here." They broke their embrace at Twilight's beckon. Now free, the lavender filly went to stand before the various Princesses, taking a knee as she was taught by her father before she said, "Welcome Lady Celestia, Lady Luna, and Lady Cadence. May I say what an honor it is to have you visit our home miladies. If there is anything that we or I may do to ease your stay, please do not hesitate to ask."

She stayed on her knee, as was customary, until the Princesses had made their full response. "I thank you for gracing me with an open door young Twilight. As for my comfort, please just call me mom, at least when I am in your home."

Princess Luna now stood before the filly, a slight smile on her face. "You are family young Sparkle. You may call me Auntie Luna whenever I am in your home, or we are in private. And thank you for opening up your door to us youngling."

With both of her aunts out of the way, It was Cadence's turn to stand before the filly. "Young Twilight, you may simply call me Cadence, or sister. I expect to earn that title in the next few years anyway." With the conclusion of her words, she made her way over towards Shining Armor, placing a kiss gently on his lips before uttering words of love to his ears alone.

Twilight smiled as she rose to her feet, "As you wish miladies." Together they shared a little fit of laughter before the filly went back to the dragon and pony Princes and placed a kiss on their cheeks. "It is really great to see you two again."

Spike smiled as he and Twilight went into the kitchen to find Twilight's mother fixing dinner for the family and guests. Without even thinking, they began to run around the room in numerous fits of laughter with Ryder joining in, yet they still managed to stay out of her mother's way. None of the children were aware when her mother left the room. Neither one was aware as to what was going on in the other room, nor as to what was going on upstairs with the silvery-white filly. That is, until their was the sound of a loud thud.

Spike glared at Rarity with a burning curiosity as to what exactly happened in that bathroom that night. "You never told me what it was you were doing in the shower Rarity? Care to indulge me?"

"It's a little bit of a long story, but if you really want me to, I can tell you."

Taking the initiative, she made her way into the connected bathroom, simply saying, "I need a few minutes to fix my hair Twilight. If Spike gets here while I am in the shower then tell him that I will be down in a bit." Without another word, she slammed the door shut as she quickly flipped on the light, looking in the mirror. She bit her lip so as to hold back a scream at how uncouth she looked at the present.

Letting out a shaky breath, she checked to make sure that Twilight had shampoo, conditioner, a rag, and a towel. Finding what she had to be sufficiently adequate, the filly began to slip out of her cloths and into the steaming hot water. A thin layer of mist arose from the shower as her cool body came into contact with the piping hot water, making her groan lightly as he body began to relax. Feeling the stress of wanting to meet Spike wash away, she slid down the tub until she was lying perfectly down, the water raining over her entire form.

Sighing with sweet relief, she allowed her mind to wonder just as to what Twilight had said about her best friend, or brother as she often called him. 'Spike is a really great dragon, the only one I know outside of Canterlot anyway. He loves to play soccer, as he often does with his mother or one of the various members of the Royal Guard, mainly my brother Shining Armor. Aside from that, just be yourself Rarity, I guarantee you that he will like you. And, if you are lucky, maybe he will like you in the same fashion that you like him.'

Thinking of those final words brought a light tint of crimson to her cheeks as she felt her stomach start to swirl around like one of those various wormholes in space that Twilight always talks about. Blood seemed to go straight to her heart as fast as possible, for she felt it start to beat through her chest almost as if it wanted to jump right out of her. Feeling light headed, she simply sunk further down in the tub so that the water could more easily wash through her mane.

Warmth from the liquid drops coursed through her body like a raging wildfire, igniting every sense of her body until they all burned out into nothing but small black spots. Complete relaxation overtook her, making her eyes drop heavily as her head rested against the bottom of the tub. Finding that she could easily breath even with the water raining down upon her, she allowed herself a moment to dream.

'In her mind she could see Spike, standing atop a grassy hill. His back to the sun with the wind blowing through his long trailing mane that slid easily down his amethyst scaled back. Light reflected off in little sparkles all over those who were around him, while yet he was not alone. Standing next to him was her, with an arm around her back. "Rarity, time to wake up. You can sleep tonight." Spike vanished, only to be replaced by Twilight's mother, who looked upon her with a smile.'

Rarity shot up in the tub so fast that her head hit the mare who was kneeling beside the tub, making her fall back slightly and land roughly on her knees, producing a loud thud. Turning to her side, she found Twilight's mother standing outside of the tub with a sly grin, her face slightly scrunched as she rubbed her chin. "We have company over sweetheart. I need you to get dressed, fix your hair, and come downstairs. Our guests are waiting to meet you. Now hurry up, dinner is almost ready."

Rarity nodded her head as Twilight's mother left the room, closing the bathroom door behind her. Letting out a sigh of relief that it was Twilight's mother instead of Princess Celestia, she placed a hand over her raving heart. 'Whew, let's not do that again. For all I know, she will not be the one coming up, but possibly Princess Celestia.'

Not wanting to take that chance, however slight it may be, she turned the water off and stepped out of the tub, drying her soaked fur as she fixed her hair into its usual curls using nothing more than the handle of one of Twilight's various violet colored brushes.

Feeling that she looked presentable, the filly opened the door and made her way downstairs, hoping to not make a fool of herself at the dinner table.

"So, that thud was from Twilight's mom? Ha, she never told any of us that, as least I don't think she did. Oh how I can now tease her for scaring you." Spike laughed lightly before he looked back towards Rarity, seeing a smiling face dance across her lips. "What are you all smiley about, huh?"

Rarity giggled as she asked, "Do, do you remember the dinner and what happened afterwords?"

Spike held back his laughter as he said, "How could I not, it was too funny, yet it was sweet how it happened. Thankfully they never made anything of it until Freshman year, but it was still very precious."

Spike took a seat at the large dinning table in the center of the dinning room. Made of pure oak, the table was alive with many vibrant, delicate carvings of various animals, ranging from wolves to timber-wolves, to Ursa Majors and Minors. Seated next to him was his mother, while on his other side was Twilight. Beside of Twilight was Princess Cadence, while Princess Luna sat on the other side of her sister. Across from him were two open seats, one in front of him and the other across from Twilight, beside of where Ryder sat. At one head of the table sat Mr. Sparkle, who was across from his son Shining Armor. Seated across from Celestia was Mrs. Sparkle, who both sported sly grins.

Both Spike and Twilight were perplexed as to why there were two extra seats, as they only knew that Rarity was the only one they were waiting on. Before either one could speak their mind however, there was a knock on the door, earning the attention of only three sets of eyes. From the hallway they heard Rarity call, "I'll get it."

Upon hearing her voice, Spike was dumbfounded. It sounded almost as if an angel had been sent down from the heavens above and had spoken to his very heart, soul, and mind. Her voice was serene, pure, clear, slightly mid-Atlantic, and above all else, caring. Again he heard her voice, though it was distant to the rest, he could hear her almost as if she were standing no more than a foot away. "Rainbow Dash. What a pleasant surprise to see you. What brings you hear?"

Another voice came upon his ears, this one was deeper, more masculine, more scratchy that the angel's. "Well, Mrs. Sparkle asked if I wanted to come over for dinner tonight. She thought that maybe I could make some new friends, ones that won't run out on me."

"Yes darling, is that all that you have come for I wonder?"

"Well, not entirely. I was invited to stay the night too you know."

"Well why didn't you say so in the first place? Come in come in, please take your shoes of though, as well as your coat. Rain does have a nasty affect on wood floors you know."

"Thank you Mrs. Sparkle."

Spike merely listened as he heard the patter of two sets of bare, furred feet as they slapped against the wooden floors. Looking back towards the open archway that led into the kitchen, he could not help but hold his breath as though it was his last.

In walked a silvery-white filly, her luscious royal purple mane ran down her back, curls at the ends of it. Magnificent fur spanned down her body while her form was as skinny as could be, yet still healthy. Her luxurious royal purple tail was slightly erect behind her as she knelt before the Princess. She was in all sense, an angel cast down from the high heavens. Whether she was there for him or simply for another purpose was unknown to him, but he could care less. So long as she could be his friend, then dealing with the crush that he now had on her would be alright.

Standing beside the filly was a cyan blue filly with a rainbow colored mane that was short yet loosely made. Ryder could not help but have his throat constrict so tightly that he thought he was unable to breath. The filly that he gazed upon was perfect in every sense, and he felt that his heart was going to escape his chest and run to her, beg her to take it away.

She too took a knee beside the silvery-white filly. They spoke in complete unison as they spoke, making him wonder if they had prepared for this for a long while now. "We are gratefully miladies that you have graced us who are lower with your presence. If there is anything that you wish of us your highness', then please do not hesitate to speak forth and command us as you will. Your wish is our command miladies."

Celestia smiled warmly at both fillies before she said, "That is quite alright young ones. If anything, please call me Mrs. Guâlhoran, as that is the formal last name that I took upon my marriage. I would much prefer that you speak that name when outside of the public ear. Although some of my guards may not like it, I do prefer to be called that. And also if you would, please greet me from now on, even in the public eye, as though I am your friend. I do not wish to be seen as higher than you, if only because I am a mare just like you two will be someday. As for my sister, you may call her Ms. Ashthorn or Princess Luna, whichever she prefers. I know that for my niece you may call her Cadence, and she really hates the 'Princess' part."

Thanking the Princesses for their generosity in dismissing the formalities, the two friends took their respective seats. Rainbow Dash across from Twilight while Rarity sat across from Spike. Without another word, the meal was served upon the table by magic from Princess Celestia.

A fine display was before the ponies. Spread out were various dishes of dandelion salad, crunchy hay fries, grassy sandwiches, and a roasted seaweed platter, complete with zesty seasonings and a light glazing of honey. Their mouths watered at the display before them, and almost immediately they wanted to dive in, but the downcast look of an amethyst drake keep them at bay. Only Celestia knew why the drake had a look as though he was being dejected, yet she also knew that he could not eat before them.

Speaking softly, the Princess said, "Please, eat. Spikey can't eat with you. Being half dragon means that, as a young child like he is now, he has to have meat. I would gladly give him some of the stuff that we normally eat, and I know that he would eat it, but right now his body has to have meat to function properly. Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle, I know that you are alright with it, as is Shining Armor and Twilight, but I do not want to upset the other two guests."

Celestia could see the horrified look that was on Rarity's face, from what she assumed was the realization that Spike ate meat. She was wrong however as Rarity said, "That is awful. You not eating Spike. Princess, if I may, please serve him his dinner. When I was younger I was attacked by a wild timber-wolf, thankfully it never left a scar, but it tore up my side pretty bad. Thanks to magic however, it was a quick recovery. Seeing blood does not bother me, nor does the tearing of flesh, at least not anymore. If he must eat meat, then so be it. But I refuse to touch a morsel of food if he has to watch and not even able to take a single bite."

When Celestia looked towards Rainbow Dash, a nod was all that she got in response. "Very well then, but please don't make a fuss about the smell." No more words were spoken as the Princess brought forth a small silver, tin case, within which was unknown to all except for Spike. Given that he was a dragon, he was able to smell the contents, which was the most mouth watering, delectable dinner that he had even eaten before.

Only two ponies in the entire land of Equestria knew how to cook this dish, one, being his mother, the other, being Twilight's mother. Fiery roasted duck, glazed with sapphire honey, stuffed with melted emerald sauce, finished with a light drizzle of apple spice syrup. It was a dish that his mother had made one year for his birthday, when he was really young, just barely a day past a hatchling. It smelled like heaven on earth to his nose, making his lips pull back slightly to reveal his sharp fangs along with his forked tongue.

Managing to hold his inner hunger at bay, he simply thanked his mother as he opened the dish, letting the smell ring forth to all of their noses. Many let out sighs from the pleasant smell that arose from it, yet they all knew that none of them could even dare to try and eat it, unless they wanted to be sick. Nodding their heads to one another, they began to stuff their faces with a dinner that was sure to last in their minds for a long while yet.

After dinner, while Mrs. Sparkle and Princess Celestia, who would not take no for answer, were washing the dishes, the children ran into the living room to play while Mr. Sparkle went with to watch them. Rainbow Dash began to chase Twilight and Rarity around the room, with Ryder soon following after Rainbow Dash when he was 'it'. Spike just watched on in envy as he saw them playing without him, smiles across their lips as they laughed loudly.

Rarity, taking note of the missing Spike, quickly made her way to stand beside of the drake. "So, Spike, what aren't you running around with us? I think that it would be fun if you joined us."

Spike simply sighed, dejected as he responded with, "I didn't think that you wanted to play with me. Nopony back home in Canterlot ever does, I just thought that it was a normal thing."

"Oh no Spike. We could never do that to you. We may have just met, but you are a funny dragon. I like that about you. Maybe someday we could be best friends, kind of like Twilight and Rainbow Dash are." Both younglings turned to see Ryder, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash begin to run up the stairs, only to gasp when Twilight slipped down and took both Rainbow Dash and Ryder with her. Neither one was expecting what happened next, but when they saw it, neither one could help but lightly laugh at the scene.

Rainbow Dash lied upon her back, with her feet tangled together with Ryder's, their tails interwoven, while their arms were around each other. Both had their eyes closed as their lips were pressed together, neither one knowing what was happening. Ryder could feel an incredible warmth in his stomach, almost reminiscent to that of butterflies flapping around in an open field.

Rainbow Dash felt her heart begin to flutter away. Opening her eyes, Rainbow was shocked to see Ryder atop her, but she paid it now mind as she closed her eyes and allowed their lips to linger for a bit longer until Ryder gently pulled away. Now both rose together, only to look back at the four sets of eyes that were on them as they blushed heavily.

Smiling slightly, Mr. Sparkle went into the kitchen, presumably to speak with his wife. All five friends simply stared at one another before they all sported a blush, Ryder and Rainbow Dash from looking at one another and remembering their kiss, while Spike and Rarity just looked away, accidentally catching the eye of the other.

"I remember fondly of how much closer those two became, and although my brother will never admit to it, I think that he and Rainbow Dash had shared a few kisses before Freshman year. Not that it really matters, but I was just wondering. What, what really brought you to accept me as a best friend when I was in sixth grade?"

Rarity looked towards the grass between her feet as she plucked a few blades from the soft soil, slowly working them between her fingers as she spoke, "You may think that it is cliche, or just downright silly, but it was your heart that attracted my eyes to want you as my closest, most special friend."

"I don't fully understand what you mean Rarity. Care to explain?"

"Yes. It was the day you first met Thunderlane, remember?"

Snow fell from the sky, seeing as how it was in deep December, it was to be expected. With a bundle of jackets covering her silvery-white fur, the rather almost fully grown filly trudged along through the various snow banks that shrouded the sidewalks from her view. Although the snow was lightly falling, it was the bitter cold that really made her want to run back to the home she had left. Twilight was indeed a great friend, but she did not want to leave her little sister with her parents again. She had promised that the littler filly could come over for a bit into her new home, but she still had to fix up both rooms.

Behind her walked a lone dark silver Pegasus colt, a mint blue mane cut into a mohawk adorned the top of his head, while his arms were held closely by his side. Smiling evilly, he made his way up close to the filly, finding her a perfect target to try and get into bed with on this bitterness of cold nights. Taking a steady breath, he stepped forward and grasped the filly's shoulder, spinning her around with ease. "Hello there young filly. Just curious as to whether you needed some company on your walk home."

It was known all around school that the colt was always one to sucker a filly into liking him, then when he was done with her, he would just drop her like she was yesterdays trash. He however knew nothing about her, nor just who she was. Knowing about his little game though, she was the one with the upper hand. "No thank you. I will be quite fine on my own. Thanks for the offer though."

Swiftly turning around, he found the filly quickening her step. Never having been rejected from an advance before, he was shocked, but anger quickly took its place. Growling into the cold wind, he too quickened his pace so as to catch up to her. Little did the colt know, but this filly was not as alone as he had previously thought.

Rounding a corner and entering a deserted alleyway, he quickly caught up to the filly, shoving her against a wall and holding her there as he ran a hand down her back towards her flank. Thinking quickly, the mare used her tail to swat away his hand, making him growl with frustration before he pressed his chest against her back, holding her chest against the wall while a hand grasped the base of her tail. She began to panic as fear set in, fear as to what he was going to do to her, even though she already had a pretty good idea.

The colt ran his hand down her back again, letting his touch linger as he left his fingers just above her tail. "Now, we can have some fun, right baby." His fingers curled around her legs, going towards the front of her body, while his tongue drew near to her furred neck. Tears fell from her eyes as she realized that she was going to be violated, that she was no longer going to be pure. Before his hand could even think about moving any closer towards its intended target, or his tongue to its target, he was pulled back by a rather rough grasp, sending him into the adjacent wall.

Growling was heard as he turned to look at his assailant, seeing nothing but a dark shadow that seemed to loom over him. Fangs were revealed, their intent to tear him apart for sure. Sharp claws seemed to sparkle in what little light there was, and he began to back away slowly from the shadow. For once in his natural life, the colt felt fear strike his heart. Getting up, he raced out of the alley and down the street as fast as his legs could carry him, never stopping to look back once until he was a few blocks away.

The shadow loomed over the filly now, stroking her hair out of her face, causing her to flinch from the fear that was still in her heart. Upon looking towards the figure however, she immediately recognized the emerald green eyes as belonging to the drake whose heart she had unknowingly captured. "Everything is alright now Rarity, I am here now, and always will be. So long as I have breath in me, no harm will ever come to you, I promise."

"It was that promise you made that night Spike that made me want to be your best friend. I never could thank you for saving me from the fate that would have scared me for life. You turned it around though, you made it all better." She grew quiet as she held up the object she had made, a small miniature figurine of a pony grasping within her hands a small heart. Blowing on the figurine softly, both the drake and the mare watched as it blew away in the breeze, carried lightly along it gentle back. "I could never figure out though, how did you know I was in trouble?"

Spike simply let his grin fade slightly as he leaned closer towards her, "My Aunt Luna told me. She said that she had felt that something bad was going to happen, and she warned my mother before me. So she and I came to your rescue, as it was my mother's magic that produced the rather large shadow that scared Thunderlane away. If not for her, then we would have both been in some serious trouble." Spike grew silent as he simply stared at Rarity while she was otherwise occupied with the blades of grass between her feet. Taking the initiative, and experimenting, he pressed his lips against her cheek, letting them linger for a bit before he pulled away.

Rarity's hand shot up to feel the cheek that he had kissed, her eyes going forward as she refused to look at him, knowing that a crimson red blush was heavy on her cheeks, for she felt them start to heat up, of only slightly. "What-What was that for S-Spikey?"

Chuckling, he simply said, "For being a great best friend to me for all of these years."

Laughter came from the far end of the field, earning the couples attention as they looked to see a rather heavily blushing Ryder as well as a smirking Rainbow Dash, who practically tackled the emerald stallion to the ground as she brought him into a very passionate kiss. "Uh, Rainbow Dash and Ryder, again." Both began to laugh while the lovers rolled around in the grass down the low hill just behind the net, blocking the field off from view of the rest of the school. The couple was happy, if for nothing else, to be having fun together.

Standing high up in the bleachers was a shadowy figure that glared down over the field, staring intently at the drake as he helped Rarity to her feet, both running over to Ryder and Rainbow Dash, conforming into a giant hug. Smiling, he said, "I wish I could be here for you now Spike, I truly do. I wish that I could be there for you too Ryder. My sons, my how you have grown up."

"As I have often said Lethnal, they are growing up fast. Just wish that you were here in more of a physical state.."

"I know Celesy, I know. I wish I could give you all of the children that you desire, but you have already been claimed, for that I am sorry."

"Well I'm not. If given the chance, I would gladly be with you again."

"I know you would my love, I know. Just please keep your promise to be here for every single one of their games, for us dear."

"I will, I promised that I would..."

Spiritual Guidance

Spike sat alone in his little two-room apartment that his mother had given to him when he was only fourteen, who he shared with his younger brother. In accordance with her deceased husband's wishes, she had purchased the apartment when he was only three, and had saved it for them until now.

Until he was eighteen and had chosen a mate with which he was willing to be married to, he was not allowed to either live in Canterlot Castle or assume his rightful title of Prince. His brother was under the same rules, seeing as how he was part dragon himself.

Thus, Spike was stuck out in the little apartment, but that did not deter him in the slightest. Nor did it bother him, for although it was not the castle, it was a place all to himself, well, almost. But it was a place in which he hoped to leave when a certain special somepony that he loved would ask him to live with her in her own little boutique before the end of the year.

The little two-room apartment that he was living in now was perfectly fine for him and his brother, given that the only downside was that it was located in a really bad neighborhood. Never a night went by without the sound of gunshots blazing outside of his home, usually followed be the ill-screeching of tires or an ear shattering scream. Accompanying the usual ruckus of gunfire was usually the tell tale roar of sirens far off in the distance. By this point, they had grown accustomed to it, and knew all to well that nopony really bothered with you unless you were outside bothering them or in their way.

Unlike most typical Friday nights, were he would come home and crash on his couch for a few hours before going to bed, this Friday night was special. Tonight, he was going to go out with Rarity on a harmless little outing between himself, herself, Twilight, Rainbow, Ryder, Applejack, Rain, Cobalt, and Sweetie Belle. Though he felt awkward about him and Rarity being the only two going that were not in a relationship aside from Twilight, he had agreed to it, if only because Rarity had asked him so nicely.

After making sure that he was dressed properly, had showered, and was presentable, he made his way into the living room. Though the apartment only had two rooms, (three if you counted the bathroom) it was still a pretty roomy place, even for his brother and himself.

The living room was covered with bright tan, almost white carpet, with dark oak wood in the main foyer before the door.

Connected to the living room was a small island, behind which was a semi-simple kitchen. In it was a small black two-burner stove with a few cabinets in the backside of the island, along with a black refrigerator to match. Standing on the far side of the island was a black microwave, the interior of which needed to be cleaned yet.

Spike walked into the center of the living room, sitting cross legged between the black leather couch, which was backed up to the island, and the thirty-two inch flat screen television mounted on the opposing wall. Taking in slow, steady breaths, he began to drown out the world around him, feeling a cold chill run down his spine as he watched darkness begin to surround him. An eerie purple glow started to encircle him, with stars flickering to life all around him, almost like numerous heartbeats starting to ignite with the flame of life.

Stepping forth from a purple haze of mist was his father, a tall, lone standing drake with flickering amethyst scales. Adorning his body was a royal purple robe with a half-crescent moon in the center. Holding his hands together behind his back, he smiled warmly at his son, speaking from his heart, "Ah, my son. Seems like a while since we last talked about anything of any real importance, doesn't it?"

Spike nodded his head as he rose to his feet, embracing his father in a warm hug. To this his father responded by pulling him in tighter. "I love you father. I wish that you could have stayed longer to see me grow up."

Lethnal chuckled as he looked down upon his son with grace, and love. "I did get to watch you grow up though son. That is not the reason for your visit I sense however. So tell me Spike, what does the 'Great Prince' of dragons and ponies need from me? As if I didn't already know."

Spike stepped back from the amethyst drake, eying him curiously before speaking, "I came to seek your guidance father. Tonight I am going out with friends, but Rarity is going to be there as well. I want to tell her how I feel, I truly do, but I am afraid."

Lethnal placed a hand upon the younger amethyst drake's shoulder, "What is it exactly that you fear my son? Rejection, or doubt in yourself?"

The younger drake simply looked down towards the misty floor, hoping in is heart that the next words that he spoke were pure and true, honest even. "Father, what I fear most is losing the friendship of one whom I hold the dearest to my heart. My love for her roots within my very soul like a festering bramble wanting to drain the life from mine own body, and I would rather die than lose her trust, her love as a best friend, or lose her in my life. I am so lost without mom to guide me like she used to. Please father, help me." Unable to hold back any longer, he fell to his knees as he let tears fall from his eyes, drifting straight through the sea of mist like nothing more than drops of rain through thinning clouds.

Lethnal adopted a knowing grin as he too fell onto his knees, placing a hand on either side of his son's shoulders. "Your mother and I both love you very much Spike. Never, ever forget that so long as you live. What you see before you however is nothing more than a confused mind." Placing a finger against his son's forehead, he continued, "Quiet the storms in your mind. Do not think, but act. If you must, open your ears to not your heart, but to the hearts of those who you hold most dear. As I have often told you before, taught you even. Please, for once, just listen to your own heart, hear it calling out to you, guiding you. It may be hard to do, but it is well worth it in the end when eternal happiness is your reward."

Younger eyes chanced a glance up at the far older, yet wiser eyes of their father's. Knowledge of the centuries past seemed to be held within his mind, yet he was unwilling to share any with anypony else aside from his mother, as was his right. "Father, when you next speak to mom, can you tell her that I love her very much, and I miss her. I wish that she could be coming out with us later tonight, but I know that she has her own royal duties that she must attend to. I love you father, and I will talk to you tonight, as usual."

"I'm looking forward to hearing more about your night this time than my studies Spike." Tilting his son's head up, he used his thumbs to wipe away his tears before he looked deep within them, seeing that there was something more that he wanted to ask him. "What more do you seek my son?"

Spike took a deep breath of air, gulping loudly before, in a shaky voice, he said, "I-I w-was just w-wondering if maybe you could tell me h-how you and m-mom met, o-or how you two got together?"

Lethnal seemed amused at the sudden curiosity of his son, seeing as how neither he nor Celestia had ever told him of how they came together, nor how they ever met. Opting to sit fully on his knees as his son was, he said, "Tell you what, I will tell you how your mother and I met, then after your alleged, 'Date', I will tell you how we got together. But, you must promise me this, tonight when you are out with Rarity, you must at least, hint to her in some way that you see her as more than a friend. Show her in a way that makes it special, makes it unique, makes it you. Does that sound fair to you Spiky?"

Feeling in his heart that his father was only going to share with him this information because it was more of like a guiding light, he nodded his head. "I promise to show Rarity, if only in the slightest, how I feel about her. Dragon's code honor: Lÿtharin elnõch ven."

Pleased, the older drake repeated what his son had said, shifting into a more leaned back position as he did so. A sharp gasp escaped his lips as he began feeling the soothing presence of one so dear to his heart creeping up behind him. Glancing over his shoulder with his mouth growing slightly wider into a slight grin, he said, "Ah Celesy, I was wondering if you were going to entertain us with your presence this evening."

Another cloud of mist began to encircle them, a light yellow in color, seeming to contain the radiance of one that they both loved dearly. Stepping forth from the mist came his mother, garbed in a white flowing dress that fell to just past her shoulders, with a necklace of a shining star stationed over her heart. "And what might my boys be up to that you wanted me here for Lethnal?" As she spoke, she stepped forth to take a seat beside of the drake, placing her head against his chest while her arms went around him. Their embrace furthered with their wings going around one another, showing to Spike that although his physical body had faded into the soil, their love was undeterred in the slightest.

Lethnal looked down to the Princess who had captured his heart with a certain fondness that Spike had only ever seen his mother do when she was remembering the times together that they shared, before he was killed by his father, who was Spike's Grandfather and King of the Dragons. "I was just about to regal our son with the tale of how we first met, so that it might give him confidence on his unofficial 'Date' tonight to tell the young mare Rarity how he feels about her." Both lover's smiled warmly at their sun, before his mother began to hum deeply, burying her face further into his father's chest.

"Like father like son." Spike looked away as his mother brought the older drake into a long, passionate kiss, one in which nothing was held back as her arms seemed to pull him in tighter. In a whisper so low that Spike was barely able to pick up any sound, his mother said, "I have missed your touch so much Lethnal. Nopony nor dragon could ever replace you. Soon though we will be together, free to love as never before."

Chuckling, the older drake whispered back in the same tone, "I know what you mean, but there is something that I am learning now that I discovered in my studies this morning. Although I may not be able to fully understand at the present what exactly I found, it did speak of a way that I may be able to return to life once more."

Both the Princess and Spike held their breaths as they heard what the drake had said. To them this was utter disbelief, but to Lethnal, this was a dream come true, and for Celestia, this was something that she thought she would never hear again from his lips. "You must tell me, what is this way to return to me? If I have to do something, then tell me so that I may do it."

Letting his grin fade into nothingness, the drake adopted a hard pressed expression as he thought about the writing that he had read. "It was not really specific, and I must read more on the subject to fully understand what it does, but I do know that it is an answer to my prayers."

Taking a moment to clear his throat, Lethnal turned back towards his son, catching Celestia's attention as well. In a smooth flowing voice, he began his vivid tale of how he had met Princess Celestia.

"Rising high into the sky was the early morning sun, painting a multitude of various hues of red across the morning sky. All were beautiful in their own right, and they seemed to instill in me a sort of confidence that I knew I would need later that day. Worming its way through the Dragon Capital of Ulênmore was a soft breeze, perfect enough to help any dragon get an extra boost of speed no matter which direction you were traveling. To say that the day was perfect was an understatement, especially when all around you one could feel the serenity that the day brought. No where in all of Equestria, was an evil thought so much as taking place, nor a greedy one I might add.

"This day was a very special day for me. Your grandfather Spike, was very adamant about me starting to take up the family civil politics. What he wanted me to do that day was to go into the Pony Kingdom capital of Canterlot and discuss a small treaty with Princess Aryan.

"Needless to say, thus far in my life the only real politics that I could master were Military Politics. Basically, I was really good at getting other troops to follow me anywhere that I went, even so much as to create a sense of 'Loyalty' to only me. My father feared this, knowing that most of the military would rather follow my orders instead of my father's. This test of his was a way to try and break my back, but in reality, what he did only made me more rebellious of him.

"You see Spike, we dragons are born as either a normal dragon like myself, or then there are those like your great uncle Garthren, who only ever care about how much treasure that they can get their greedy little claws on. It's those greedy, savage dragons that give the rest of us the bad name that we have to live with on a daily basis. Well, my father was a pleasant mixture of both. What he really cared about was the secret dragon gold that was hidden beneath the Capital, and he did not want the ponies to get their hands on it.

"In other words, your grandfather really hated the fact that I was more open with the ponies and was not really enraged with them like he was. In his eyes, most of the time, the ponies had somehow corrupted me. He wanted to start a war with the ponies, and he knew just how he was going to do it. Or, at least he thought that I would listen to anything that he said, oh how wrong he was.

"Well, when the sun was about half-way through its daily ascent, I was taken by my father and my mother into the Pony Kingdom of Canterlot, where we were escorted through the streets by the Canterlot Royal Guard. During that time I was only about your age, and felt weary about anything that my father was planning. What I had failed to realize was that I was actually going to be the key part of his dastardly plan, but what neither of us had counted on, was that I was going to meet with the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria, one that was needing to be put through a trial just like I was.

"I was led to a room that was secluded from the rest in the West Wing of the Castle, in which I was to be accompanied by a Royal Guard no matter if I went to the bathroom or stepped outside for a fresh breath of morning air. Hell, it felt to me like I was a prisoner more than a friendly Ambassador from a friendly nation. The room I was in was rather small given the space, with only a single table in the center and about a dozen guards around both doors. Knowing that there was no way for me to go anywhere either without a guard or without starting a war, I did as I was told by my escort and sat down at the table.

"It felt like years as I sat there waiting, just waiting for your mother to show her pretty little face. During that time, I had no other option than to think over what my father had told me. 'Lethnal, I need you to kill the pony Princess. I fear that anytime soon now the ponies will try to overthrow me. If you kill her, then we can have our war, and I can finally obliterate those dastardly ponies.' It was no more than an hour later maybe when the door was opened and you mother stepped in, looking very stunning in her elegant flowing golden dress with silver lining. Being the first time that I had met the Princess, I tried my best to keep the straightest poker face in the world, but inside I was suddenly ignited with all of the feelings of love, devotion, passion, so much so that I almost told her in that moment how much I had suddenly fallen in love with her.

"Being the Prince that I was however, I opted for the safer route and simply said, 'My, nopony ever told me that Princess Aryan was this beautiful.'

"Your mother simply laughed at me while she said, 'As much as I am sure that my mother would enjoy to hear such things, I will take the compliment for mine own and say thank you, seeing as how I was the one you spoke to. Now, I am not Princess Aryan, I am her daughter Princess Celestia. I was told as a trial for my teachings to permit you to perform a negotiation treaty with me. We have all the time in the world to perform this, and seeing as how you are the guest, you are entitled to the first move.'

"No matter how hard I tried, I could not tear my eyes away from her. Seeing nothing but an overwhelming sense of love for all ponies, a sort of fire igniting ever so slowly telling me that she would kill me or my father if it meant safety for them, told me that I could not follow through with what my father said. There was no way I could lift a finger to her, for I would be doing unto myself the same damage that I did to her. I love you mother Spike, and even at that moment, I could not bring myself to do as my father had said.

"Instead, I did something that neither he nor your mother had expected. Reaching over, I took her hands within mine and asked her to lean forward, when she did, I whispered into her ear, 'Do not be alarmed. What I must say has to remain between us until my family leaves. My father fears that all ponies want his gold, and being the tyrant that he is, he told me to start a war for him so that he could kill you all. Princess, he wants me to kill you.'

"I could feel your mother start to pull away slightly from fear that I was going to kill her, but when she looked at me, I saw in her eyes a sense of fear but also a burning desire to know why I had told her anything and not acted upon it. 'I told you this Princess, so that you will know that I cannot do as he said. I cannot, in a good conscious, do as my father has asked of me. Please, help me out of this, help me to live amongst you ponies. Please, I have no life back home, except for trying not to be a savage like my father.'

"I cannot tell you what went through your mother's head, but I do know that I was expecting an attack from either her or her guards. If that were to happen, then I would not fight back, I would just let them do as they wished with me. Instead, I found your mother starting to smile as she leaned back over whispering in my ear, 'I can help you, but at the same time you must help me. See if you can convince a few of your dragon brothers to come with you in three months time to the East Wall of Canterlot. There I will meet with you beneath a full moon and allow you inside of the city, so long as your intentions are just, the city will allow you to enter.'

"In an almost shaky voice, I said, 'Thank you very much Princess. I will never forget this.' Before I departed, I placed a kiss on her cheek, watching as her cheeks grew a deep shade of crimson.

"Turning to my escort, I was led back to the entrance of the Castle, where my father and mother were waiting with Princess Luna and Princess Aryan, all of whom seemed absolutely ignorant as to what had happened in the room. Thankfully, were departed the castle just in time as Princess Celestia was just coming up to her mother and sister."

Celestia looked down towards her son, seeing that his face was now staring at the swirling mist of various rainbow colors that was between his feet, seemingly lost in his own mind. After a few minutes of silence, in which the couple managed to sneak a few kisses, Spike spoke out. "So, in other words father, you and mom fell in love the day that you both first met. In a sense, when you two met, you both had feelings for each other, but you did not get together then."

"Well, not exactly. You are right, we fell for each other that beautiful day, but we did not get together until about a year or two after that. What we had during that time before the war, and even during it, was magical to say the least. There is nothing in this world that I would ever give to take that all back." Celestia and Lethnal shared yet another deep kiss before they remembered that their son was there, with a look of utter disgust on his face. "Sorry son, keep forgetting that you are right in front of me."

"Father, that does not bother me, it's mom. She keeps scooting closer. If you two wanted to do that, all you had to do was say so, and get a room, please." All three started to laugh at what he had determined she wanted ever since she had arrived there that evening. "Well, I must be going father. I will leave you and mom to have some time to yourselves, besides, I think that Applejack is almost here. Goodbye for now, and I love you both."

"We love you too Spiky." No other words were spoken as the drake rose to his feet and began to walk away, the mist enveloping him before he was no longer able to be seen. When he was gone, Lethnal looked down to his wife before asking, "Do you think that he will be alright Celesy?"

Celestia looked up to her husband as she said, "Spike is a great dragon, just like you are dear. I have full confidence in what you have taught him as well as his own special abilities. I just hope that his nerve does not fail him as it often has with her. To tell you the truth Lethnal, I really like this mare, and I would like to one day call her my daughter."

"As would I Celesy, as would I. Rarity is a rather fine mare who just so happened to catch the eyes of a drake far superior to I, one who will never hurt her, never leave her, and always put her first in everything. I hope that she realizes what she is missing before it is too late."

Neither Lethnal nor Celestia spoke another word, opting to let nothing but their closeness speak for them in this hour of fate. No more than a few minutes had passed before Lethnal felt Celestia starting to nibble on the underside of his jaw, dragging her tongue across the scales ever so lovingly and making him shiver with excitement. "Please Lethnal, give me this. I need this. Though my own body will not feel this, my mind will. I want to be one with you again Lethnal."

The drake smiled warmly at his darling wife before he leaned down to place a kiss on the side of her neck, bringing his lips to her soft, furry flesh. "I found a spell that I wanted to try out. Open your eyes."

Celestia opened her eyes to see that she was all alone in her bedroom, high up in the North Tower of Canterlot Castle. Whispering softly in the room was the sound of the gentle breeze carrying along its back the scent of some wonderful cooking from the various cooks preparing food down in the city far below. Glancing around, she found that she was still sitting upon her knees on her bed, with her sheets still cleanly pressed and made. Sighing, she lied back down on the bed, staring up at her ceiling and thinking of her husband. Lost in thought, she was almost unaware of the layer of mist that had started to encircle her floor.

Dark grey clouds began to form above the mist, with lightening shooting down towards it. With a resounding crack, and a flash of bright, white light, a figure rose from the most before it slowly began to dissipate. Stepping forth into the light of the setting sun, Celestia held her breath as she beheld her dead husband, garbed in his royal purple robe with a smile upon his face. "Hello Celesy, I figured that now was as good a time as any to test a new spell that I found the other day. During a full moon, like tonight, I am able to conjure up enough spiritual energy to be able to take my old form once more, but only during the full moon, and I will be gone by dawn. I want to share this time with you, and if he ever plays a game during a full moon, I want to be there. For tonight though, I am all yours my beautiful Celesy."

Wasting no time, Celestia practically jumped out of her bed as she wrapped her legs and arms around her husband, using her magic to pull him back towards the bed as their lips came together in a dancing furry. Falling backwards on the bed, Celestia was happy to once again feel the loving touch of her dead husband over her once more, placing kisses on her body where only he could, his hands touching her in places no stallion would ever dare to go. "I love you Celesy..."

---

Lights from the various street lamps flashed by as Spike sat utterly alone in the back seat of the two-and-a-half door pick-up, with Applejack driving. Sitting beside her was a stallion with orange fur, slightly richer than her own, with purple stripes laid throughout. Adorning his head was a spiked mohawk, dark forest green in color with a few strips of dark indigo. "So Spike, are ya excited to see Rarity tonight?"

His voice was soothing, caring, and surprisingly soft for a stallion. Yet it still retained some of the masculine deepness, roughness to it. "I suppose so." Letting out a pent up sigh, he looked out the window at the passing lights, wondering if he was going to ever be able to tell the mare of his dreams how he truly felt about her. Feeling a few tears in his eyes, he glanced back at the couple out of the corner of his eye, "Rain, do, do you think t-t-that Rarity likes me?"

Scoffing, the stallion chanced a glance at the drake from out of the corner of his eye, "Of course she likes you Spike. Wouldn't really be your best friend otherwise."

"No, what I meant was..."

"Shh, I know exactly what you meant. Trust me, I truly believe that she has some feelings for you, but I also believe that she is waiting for you to tell her how you feel. Believe me when I say that it is not an easy thing." As he spoke, the orange stallion turned his attention to the mare that was behind the wheel of the truck, "But it is well worth it when you find that courage within yourself. Spike, you must find within yourself the strength, the heart to tell her how you feel on your own. None of us can do that for you."

"I know, but it is so hard to tell her. I worry, I worry that I might lose her, that I am not good enough for her, that she sees nothing more than a friend in me."

Turning to face the drake, Rain glared at him with a sense of understanding. "I know how you feel little man, but just trust in your heart to tell you when the right time to tell her is. Spike, I believe in you, I believe that you are destined for great things, but only you can chose whether or not to achieve those things. This is no different, if you truly love her, show it to her." Ending his words, as well as the conversation, he turned back to Applejack, taking her free hand within his own.

Looking back out the window, Spike found that they were almost to their destination. Although he was eager to be out of the truck, he could not hep but wonder about what it was that both Rain and his father had said. Is it truly in myself to make the first move with Rarity, is it truly in me to be with her? "My Guardian Angel". What she had said to him many years ago on that dreadful bridge where he had truly become her best friend after having saved her life for the second time. Am I truly her Guardian Angel, or was there something more to it than that?

Hearing Rain'ssoothing voice brought him out of his fast flowing river of thoughts, and back into the world which was thrust upon him sense birth. "Spike, wake up sleepy scales. We're here. Time to have some fun with that special mare of yours."

Groggily, Spike complied with what his body was telling him, letting his mind begin to wonder why it had begun to fall out of the open door of the truck. With his head colliding with the warm asphalt, he realized that the truck had come to a complete stop. Opening his eyes, he saw that before him was the large boardwalk that stretched out for a short span into the ocean that bordered Ponyville.

Despite the fogginess that was threatening to cloud his vision, Spike managed to see the lights of the modern technology that was on the boardwalk, watching them flicker in complete unison. Towering over everything, including the wall that surrounded the boardwalk, was the giant Ferris Wheel, where many couples often wanted to go. Lighted on each ring, each pillar, each outstretched arm, with various shades of the rainbow, it was a very romantic spot for many. Beside of the Ferris Wheel was the tall tower of mayhem itself, the Longshot, which made any pony go almost two hundred feet into the air, just short of the Ferris Wheel by a hundred feet.

Thundering past the tower was the roller coaster of death itself, the Atomic Wasteland. With a top speed of over a hundred miles per hour, the coaster could make even the most toughest of ponies loose their lunches with the various drops and loops that were interwoven into it, along with a fairly short span that left you hanging upside down in the coaster seats. Spike himself had ridden the coaster when the park had first opened, back then though, it only reached a top speed of eighty miles an hour.

Smiling at the memories that looking at the park brought him, he managed to find enough strength to pull himself up into a sitting position. Leaning back against the now closed door of the truck, he took a moment to wipe his eyes and catch a breath, unaware of the mare kneeling beside him.

Not wanting to waste a moment as peaceful as this, the mare decided that it was her turn to make the drake blush, to make him feel the warmth that she felt a few days ago. Holding herself against the closed door, she brought her lips close to his cheek, pressing against them without so much as a second thought. Letting her touch linger, she waited a few breathless seconds before pulling away, watching as the drake put a hand to his cheek, looking at the mare with wide eyes and a heavy blush, tainting his cheeks a dark crimson. "W-what was that for R-Rarity?"

The silvery-white mare giggled at his response before she said, "Because you are my best friend, and because I love you as such." He could hear a faint sense of pain at her final words, but he just shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks with him. "Besides, I figured that you deserved one since your mom was not here with us tonight."

Smiling, he took a moment to glance over her attire. Wearing a pair of freshly pressed blue jeans with a snow white t-shirt adorning her upper body, her trademark azure tri diamond stamp on the lower right. A fresh press of powder had been applied to her face, just under her eyes to give her sparkling blue eye liner a sharp pop, with a fresh shade of purple lipstick pressed onto her lips. "I hope you don't mind Spikey-Wikey, I just wanted to be simple tonight."

His smile growing wider, the amethyst drake rose to his feet, bringing her up with him. Looking past the mare, if only briefly, he could see that Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Ryder, Rain, Applejack, Cobalt, and Sweetie Belle were all standing around, having a great time with their conversations while they waited for the drake and silvery-white mare. Bringing his eyes back to the mare at hand, he let his hands slide down to her's before he said, "We should join the others." With a slight limp in his step, he managed to make it over to the rest of the group without having to lean on Rarity.

Altogether, the group passed the threshold of no return, bringing in with them their good spirits, high amounts of energy, love for each other, and their undying loyalty to have fun as a group.

Rainbow Dash took the lead as they made their way through the mass of ponies to the first event of their evening, the various game booths on the very edge of a massive boardwalk, which housed the various rides that he had seen before. Each couple broke off into their own little section of games that they wanted to play, each with the intent to win something for the one that they loved the most out of the group.

Spike eagerly wound his way through the crowd of ponies, not even caring when his bare, scaled feet pressed against the warmth of the loose sand. He managed to find one of the games that very few ponies wanted to play, a game which made him slightly angry, Dragon Shooting. As the name of the game implied, you had to shoot a dragon. Using only a water pistol, your goal was to shoot at a cardboard cut out of a dragon straight in the heart, pumping it with enough water to make the head start to flash colorful lights all around the booth.

Walking up, Spike noticed that standing in the booth was a roughly aged stallion, with a silver mane and a black coat of fur, wearing an old beat-up leather jacket and torn jeans, with various holes in places he wished they were not. Upon seeing the amethyst drake, the stallion caught his attention with a wave of his hand, "Can't you read sonny? No dragons allowed on the pier. Your kind might east us ponies." Laughter escaped his wretched throat as he turned away from the drake, looking back to the rear of the booth.

This made Spike glare at the stallion with pure hatred, but he did little more than cough before he placed two gold bits on the table. "How about you stop making up foolish rules and let me play a game. Tell you what, I will even make it worth your while. If I win, you give me the prize, but if you win, I will leave, deal?"

Smirking, the stallion took the bits before saying, "Ready?"

Sporting a smirk himself, Spike grabbed the pistol and aimed at the dragon, waiting for his mark to begin. Green lights flashed him, almost blinding him with their brightness. Finding the trick to be a bit old, he aimed at the heart and began to squirt as fast as the water would come out. His eyes remained locked on his target. His concentration was solid, never broken even when Rarity slid an arm around his outstretched one.

Spike felt a sense of pride swelling up within himself as he continued to pump water into the cardboard cutout, making him grow even more angrier with both the stallion and the game. Nevertheless, he managed to never miss his mark, even when the stallion began to speak foul, dirty, rotten things to him.

Shrugging it off, he let his smirk turn into a chuckle when the head began to spin around while the lights flashed in unison. "I'll take that prize sir."

Grumbling, the stallion grabbed a slightly large brown teddy bear with a heart held in its paws and a red bow around its neck. He practically threw it at the drake. "Get the hell out of here before I call security ya little punk. Ya heard me, scat."

Spike simply grinned as he walked away, glancing down at the teddy bear. Seeing the heart that it held gave him a sense of relief. He felt that this was his father's way of saying that their friendship was stronger than it had ever been before. Placing a kiss on the mare's cheek, Spike gave Rarity the teddy bear. Taking it, the silvery-white mare began to cuddle it close to her chest, My second gift from you Spikey-Wikey. Thank you.

Walking down the row of booths a way, Spike found the rest of the group, along with a mass of other ponies, gathered around a single game at the end of the row. Curious as to what had stirred up the mass of ponies, he took Rarity's free hand within his own and together they made their way down to see what all of the fuss was about.

Arriving at the end of hearing an argument of how the game was cheating, Spike pushed the ponies aside until he was at the forefront of the group. The game was simple, yet it was very rigged as he watched Rainbow Dash throw another ball. The name of the game was Strike Out Dodger. The object of the game was to throw a baseball into tall tower of bottles, knocking them all down. When all of the bottle were gone, there was a picture of a Baseball Legend by the name of Ruck Dodger, who was the fastest pony to ever play the game.

Rainbow Dash growled as she threw her second ball, hitting only the second bottle of the three she had left standing. "Aww, I'm sorry young lady, but I am afraid that you did not win. Next up!" Speaking to Rainbow Dash and the gathered crowd was a golden mare with a few stripes of black, sporting a dark black pony tail mane. She was garbed in a pair of azure blue shorts with a black tank top, chewing on what he hopped was her own wretched tongue.

Glancing over, the mare caught Spike as he was pulling a few bits out of his pocket, placing them on the booth. Eying the bits with a wicked lust in her eyes, yet hatred at the drake, she said, "Sorry dragon boy, I don't play your kind here."

Flashing the mare a wicked grin, he pulled out a few more gold bits for her gazing. "Not even for, twenty gold bits?"

Rarity, feeling that what Spike was doing was outrageous, brought her lips close to Spike's ear. Pulling him closer, she asked, "Are you crazy Spike? That is way to much to pay to a cheating liar like her."

Spike placed a hand over Rarity's, winking at her. Holding the golden mare's gaze, he said, "I guess that I should take my business elsewhere, seeing as how they say you cheat. Guess you'll have to tell your friends you were just too stuck up to take an easy twenty gold bits." Spike took satisfaction in the glare that he was getting from the golden mare, even though it was nothing more than pure hatred, and a lustful greed that he had only seen before in dragons.

"Now wait just a minute. No dragon boy is going to tell me what I can and can't do. You want to play eh? Fine, I'll let you play dragon boy, but first I have to set a few rules. Rule one; you only get one ball, seeing as how you are a dragon. Rule two; no running home crying to mommy when you lose. Rule three; don't you dare try and cheat me." Spike agreed to the deal, passing the bits to the mare in exchange for a happily evil smirk and a baseball.

Clear out your mind my son. Achieve that focus that you must use during your games. Think only of those you love, drown out everything else. Whispering to himself, Spike said, "I know that you will help me with this one, dad." Bringing back his arm, taking a deep breath, and closing his eyes, Spike felt peace, focus, and determination flowing through him. Feeling the ball pressed against his palm, making his teeth clash together from his concentration.

With a sound almost akin to a pony running a finger around the lip of a wine glass when it was wet, the ball sailed into the bottom left of the bottles, making the entire bottom row give way to the force which was delivered with the ball. Slowly, as if the world itself was taking a shuddering breath, the bottles fell off of the table, every, last, one.

All that remained on the table was the giant poster of Ruck Dodger. In the lower right corner, he could see that it was a fake one too, one that the mare had most likely made in her own basement judging by the water mark it had. In one single voice it seemed like, the gathered crowd erupted in a chorus of cheers and praise for the young drake, many going so far as to pat him in the back. Flashing the golden mare a wild look, Spike said, "I suppose that I won. Hey, I didn't even cheat either. You on the other hand really need to stop using that cheap glue from Ponymart. Just a waste of perfectly good bits if you ask me."

Without giving the mare a chance to respond, he turned around and made his way through the crowd with Rarity by his side. His friends fell in shortly after they watched the golden mare grow frightened of the amethyst drake. Some even laughed as her face became one of confusion, wondering how she had been outdone by a simple drake.

Spike pulled Rarity close to him with a hug, watching all around at the loving stares that his friends gave him. "Tonight is about us. Tonight, we are going to have fun, no matter what tricks these hooligans throw at us. This is our night."

No longer wanting to play any more of the rigged games, the group made their way towards the boardwalk. Laughter rain forth from their small group as they drew closer, getting a joy unlike any from the simple friendship that they were sharing, together. To Spike, who took the lead this time as they made their way to the second event of the night, dinner, this was a special night. This was a night that he wished was going to last forever. A night that he was going to remember for the rest of his life.

Arrayed along the far end of the boardwalk, past the numerous rides that aligned it, were various concession stands, countless places where one could grab food or a simple drink. Salad stands, ice cream stands, cotton candy, soda, adult beverages, and even a few little candy shacks. The boardwalk had everything, yet it held nothing for the drake. Unknown to him however, Rarity had brought him his own little special treat that she knew he would love. Quietly, she asked, "Spike, is there anything that you would like me to get for you?"

Sighing, he said, "I suppose a cream soda with a side salad would be nice." Rarity stopped him from handing her the bits with a wave of her hand. Sharply, she turned, walking off with the rest of their friends for food. This left him all alone to find a table that was big enough to fit their rather large group.

As if his Aunt Luna herself was working with his father to instill in him some sort of illumination, he found that the only table large enough to situate them all was at the end of the boardwalk, almost touching the open, majestic deep blue ocean. One side was placed against the railing, while the other practically ran up against another smaller table, with a lamp post the only thing between them.

From this table, he could hear the sloshing of the ocean being pulled out into the deeper waters, where they would roll into large waves before coming back to crash into the sandy shore. Though it was light, and no pony could ever hope to hear it, his ears picked up the strange rustic sound of the salt water slipping in between the various pillars that held up the boardwalk. They creaked slightly against the pressure of the high tide, but they fought hard and refused to buckle to the ocean's call.

High above in the clear night sky, he could still see the very hesitant tint of reddish-orange that was his mother's sun. Yet, rising to fulfill its absence was his Aunt Luna's full, gracious moon. It looked beautiful tonight, as it always did. But there was something different about the moon tonight. It seemed, almost as if, it reminded him of Rarity. His mind began to plaster her face against the barren shape of the moon, making her illuminate like never before. His voice caught in his throat, while his palms grew sweaty.

To say that the drake was nervous, excited, or just plain in love, was unclear at best. With the hungry look that he was giving his Aunt's glorious moon, one would have thought that he was in love with the moon itself. That, or he thought it was like a giant lettuce leaf or head of pig that he would devour within the blink of an eye, or in his case, the bat of an eyelash.

Leaning against the railing that ran the span of the boardwalk, he looked down into the sloshing waves below him. Though they did not sound as loud here as they did more towards the front of the boardwalk, he still took solace in knowing that he was still alive to hear them. Feeling alive was something that he always cherished, for it meant that his best friend, the mare whom he loved the most above all else in the world, was safe yet another day of her life. Just as he had vowed before on that bridge, he was going to keep her safe, he was never going to let anyone or anything harm her like he was everyday of his life.

The memory of that awful day was always present in his mind, yet he always seemed to find peace when he thought about it. When the bridge had fallen, and he stood there with her in his arms, knowing that she was no longer in danger, gave him the greatest sense of joy that anypony could ever hope for. She was still alive, and it was because he chose to never give up, when she told him that it was hopeless. Just like when ever he would still go to school, even when he would get into fights, where he would never lift a finger to stop it, even though he could with a snap of his fingers. Never before had any drake in the world aside from his father ever felt this way, but that was also due in part to his mother. Celestia had raised him right, she had raised him to be the kind of drake that his father always wanted to be, wanted for him.

Serenity. Pure and unadulterated serenity washed over his very bones. His scales seemed to ripple with the fresh ocean breeze that was brought in with the high tides. Lingering around his nose was the smell of the salt in the water, the wet sand that covered the beach, and the dry, or wet seaweed that washed up on shore. Taking in a deep breath, he felt his serenity only increase when he found her scent assail his nose, the most prominent being her natural body scent of vanilla cream.

Without even looking, just relying on his draconic sense of smell and sound, he could see without seeing. His sense were heightened more so than any other dragons or any other ponies, as as such, he could always see things in his minds eye as clear as if his eyes were looking at the scene. In a sense, he watched as she placed their food gently on the table, followed there after by the light tap of aluminum against wood as she placed their drinks on the table. Without saying a word, the mare tiptoed over to where the drake was against the railing, stepping up on it like he was to gaze out over the ocean.

Far off in the distance, more towards the distant, deeper waters of the ocean before him, he could hear the playful splashing of dolphins as they jumped out of the water, often chatting with each other in their own tongue. Behind him, he could hear the laughter from his friends, growing louder as their conversation drew nearer. Beside him, he felt Rarity lean against his side, placing her head against his shoulder as she looped an arm through his. "Thank you Spike, for everything that you have done for me all of these years. Just seeing you out here tonight with us, with me. It means a lot to me Spikey-Wikey. You are not only the greatest best friend that a pony could ask for, nor the greatest son that a mother like Princess Celestia could ask for, but the greatest drake that any pony could ever have the privilege of ever knowing. I want you to know too, I believe in you. I always will, just as I always have sense the day that I met you. Sense the day that you saved me from Thunderlane, and that bridge."

Tears threatened to seep out of his eyes as he listened to her wonderful speech. When her voice had faded, he could not stop himself from turning to her and bringing her into a deep, warming, and caring hug. Burying his face into the crook of her neck, he let out what little tears he could before stopping himself. "You have no idea how good that makes me feel to hear you say that. I always wanted my friends to believe in me, and knowing that you do, makes me all the more happy. It's because of you that I keep going everyday in this life that was thrust upon me. Rarity, it's because of your friendship that I live to see another day. Thank you, for everything."

Taking her hand in his, he led her back to the table, sitting beside each other while the rest of the group did the same, each one sitting beside their respective partner.

Looking down at the salad, as well as the cream soda beside it, he sighed, cursing himself under his breath for being a dragon. This did not go unheard by any pony however, and soon, they were all looking at him, then at the salad. Realization clicked in within a microsecond. Rarity was the first to remember that because he had not eaten a whole lot at school as far as meat was concerned, he needed to have it. Just eating what they eat was never enough, he needed meat to survive, for his body needed the nutrients in it.

Rarity giggled as she reached into the bag that was behind her. Pulling out a plastic disposable container that was tainted red on the inside. From what, nopony aside from her knew. Handing over to Spike, she said, "Saw this in my freezer this morning. Thought that you might like it tonight if wanted to go out with is, when you did that is." A smile was graced upon her lips as she watched Spike take the container.

He hesitated as he looked at the crimson red color of the container, knowing that he had seen that color often enough, as well as the slimy splatter marks that were all around. Thanking Rarity, he opened the container. Assailing his nose like the speed of a bullet was the mouthwatering scent of freshly cut meat, along with the metallic smell of blood. Knowing that he had to be careful around his friends, he simply used his sharp talons to slice up the meat into sizable chunks before he threw it into his salad. Without even thinking, he licked each of his talons clean. Gazing back over the group, he saw that only Sweetie Belle had a disgusted look on her face, while the rest, minus Rarity, had gone back to eating. "Sorry Sweetie Belle, forgot that you really haven't seen me eat before."

---

Rain took the lead to their third and final installment of tonight's ventures, the rides. With only the three big attractions to choose from, it was no surprise that most wanted to save the most romantic one for last. Being the way that he was, Rain chose the Atomic Wasteland as their first stop for on their journey through the rides. The Atomic Wasteland had been Rain's favorite ride since he was a kid, and as often as he was able to, he loved to ride it. Tonight was no different, and with his friends to share it with him, it was alright to yet go for another chance at the thrill it gave him.

Spike and Rarity kindly declined the invitation to join there friends, both stating that they wanted a nice relaxing ride on the Ferris Wheel first. If for nothing else, they wanted to just be with each other, enjoying the others company with no outside influence or distractions. Most believed that this was not the reason, but nopony said a single word. Waving to their friends, they walked away from the line, stating that they were going to meet up with them at the Longshot afterwords.

Stacked across from the Ferris Wheel were large wooden crates, the contents of which were unknown to them, yet there was something that Spike himself did not like about them. They seemed to harbor some dark force, an evil intent that he simply wanted to do away with and never again have the pleasure of seeing. Thus he never chanced a glance behind them as they awaited their turn for the ride, idly chatting about nothing as they did so.

Watching the amethyst drake from afar were a set of deep golden eyes, a burning fire of both pride and hatred burning in them. Little flickers of flames some would say when they saw them would touch the tips of his mint colored mohawk. Grinning evilly as he shifted his gaze to the silvery-white mare that was beside the amethyst drake, his eyes landing directly on her curving hips, then trailing further to the base of her tale. He said, "Well boys, looks as if we will be having some good pony for a treat tonight. How tight do you think that she is boys?"

"I don't know Thunderlane, but I sure would like to get a taste of her."

"As would I Grape Crush, but we can't be to hasty, otherwise we might lose her. What do you think Snow Flight?"

"I suppose zat ve could always just grab her now and be done vith it. Vat are your zoughts Notevorthy?"

"Well, I agree with y'all in a sense. But what about this. Instead of just going in there, let them come to us. Their friends are over riding the Atomic Wasteland. They are going to meet at the Longshot afterwords. Between here and there is a small break between the rides that forms a sort of alley way with a chain link fence blocking off one end. Why not wait until they walk by before we nab them. We would have the element of surprise at that point."

"That's some good thinking Noteworthy. I knew there was a reason that I liked ya. Alright boys, we go with Noteworthy's plan. So uh, where is this alley way exactly..."

Spike chuckled softly as Rarity pushed her head against his, letting her cheek rest against his beating heart. Rarity was mesmerized by the soft, soothing beat that she could hear through his scaled chest, creating what seemed like an eternal moment of bliss as they sat alone in their little pod. High above the world with no care, just each other, this was what he and she both had always wanted. Although, they both wished that they were more at this point, but both were too scared to admit their feelings for fear of losing the other.

Sighing softly, Rarity said, "It's beautiful up here Spike. Sometimes, I wish that I could fly high up in the clouds like you can. I must admit, I rather like the ground, but like now with these breeze blowing, I feel free, yet I feel even safer and more free with you here to share this wonderful moment with me. You are my best friend Spikey-Wikey, and I would never want to lose that. I cherish it too much. Just know that, I uh..."

Spike let his gaze lower so that he was looking her directly in the eyes. "That you really enjoy our friendship. I do to, and like you, I would never want to jeopardize that." Sighing himself, he looked away, gazing out of the slightly tinted window to the ocean beyond. "Listen, I've been thinking. I know that this is a little early for your birthday, but I know how much you love to fly, or wish that you could I mean. So I was thinking, maybe for your birthday, I could fly you around anywhere that you wanted to go."

Spike nearly fell over when she pushed harder against him, squeezing him tightly as she said, "That would be perfect Spikey-Wikey. I would love that. Thank you."

Silence fell between them as they grew closer to the ground. Though their ride had been shorter than they remembered the past few times when he had come with his mother, they would neither one ever trade that for anything else in the entire world. This night thus far had been perfect for the drake, between the good news that his father had given him as well as the night out with friends and Rarity, he felt that he was on top of the world. And the only thing that ran through his mind was how this night could possibly get any better.

After helping Rarity out of their pod upon stopping at the station platform, she took the lead as they made their way towards the Longshot, where he could see Twilight waving to him. Waving back, he almost let his smile grow wider until his senses started to kick into overdrive.

His nose caught the biting stench of some cheap store-bought cologne, one that he would know anywhere. Carrying with the scent was also the heavy stench of freshly cooked fish, sweat, dirt, and the lustful desire of pure masculine stupidity. Hearing the shuffling of furry feet in the sand, as well as seeing a few drifting shadows, made him shove Rarity out of the way when they passed the break between the Ferris Wheel and the Longshot.

Turning around to scold at the drake, Rarity found that instead of a laughing Spike, he was now struggling with a silver pony with a mint mohawk mane. "Well hello there Spike ol'buddy. Wondering when you were going to drop by with this little skank for us. Thanks buddy, we'll take her from here."

Dashing forward from the darkness of the alley, Grape Crush seized Rarity within his grasp before pulling her back into the dark abyss with him. Hearing the mare of his dreams scream his name in plea as well as help seemed to ignite within him a new passion. Gritting his teeth, he brought his knee up to Thunderlane's gut, making him cringe in pain, releasing the drake. Not even stopping to take a breath, the drake jumped up and swung his leg in a full three-sixty, hitting the stallion in the head and sending him spinning a few times before striking the sandy ground rather roughly. Not stopping to take a breath, he dashed into the darkness to face their assailants.

Seeing as how he was a dragon, Spike had an advantage over any of the other stallions. Thus he was easily able to see in the darkness of the alley. As he drew near to the end of it however, he wished that he did not have that gift of sight. His eyes caught Rarity, pressed up against the fence, with her pants around her ankle, and her shirt torn slightly. Watching the three stallions trying to pull at Rarity's undergarments made him grit his teeth even harder, almost to the point that he was about to break his fangs.

Snarling with pure rage in his eyes, he grabbed the nearest pony, Grape Crush, and threw him against the fence beside her with a sickening crunch. Blood began to spew forth from his nose, which was now broken from the force of the impact. Not yet finished with the pony, he grasped his left arm and snapped it back without a single shred of thought, and broke it without much effort, getting a sort of sickening pleasure out of hearing him scream in pain. Snarling even more, he threw the pony into the sand, making it spew into his face.

Latching onto the back of Noteworthy's torn leather jacket, he yanked the pony to the ground, sand spewing into his face. Next, he brought a leg up to the middle of his spin and kicked as hard as he could, hearing a satisfying crack before he jumped out of the way of a blow from the final assailant, Snow Flight.

"Ya fight pretty vell for a small one dragon boy. Now, how's about ve settle zis vith ze fists eh?" "Sure, why not. Tall dipstick like you should be easy." Running forward, he slid underneath of the muscular stallion and arose behind him. Jumping into the air, he kicked against the strong pony's chest, sending him into the wooden post that was behind him. Yet he was still not going down. Dashing forward, he thrust his fist in an uppercut into the pony's jaw, hearing his teeth clatter together. Then, with a slight roar, he punched the pony numerous times in the chest, not stopping until the pony fell down to the ground in pain.

With the three assailants out of the way for the moment, he turned to Rarity and saw her shaking with fear. Knowing that he did not have much time, he slid over to her and helped her up, waiting so that she was able to pull back up her pants. "Rarity, you have to climb over the fence and get help, quick."

Not wanting to leave, she said, "But Spike.." With tha glare of pure rage that he was giving her, she knew that he was no going to allow her to stay. Nodding, she brought him into a hug before he helped her to scale the fence until she was able to pull herself over, where he pushed her legs over and watched as she felt the other side.

Seeing that she was safe, her turned around, only to find Thunderlane standing beside of Grape Crush, who was holding his broken arm upright. Beside of him was Snow Flight, clutching his chest and lower stomach while glaring at the drake with pure hatred and rage. Noteworthy however was struggling trying to stand back up, Spike having broken his back almost completely in half.

"Now Spike, was that all really necessary. You know that she doesn't love you, that she really is disgusted with you deep down."

"Shut up Thunderlane. If she hated me so much, she wouldn't be around me. You just need to stop being a lust filled jackass who only cares about trying to get into her pants. Cause here's the truth of the matter, it ain't ever going to happen. So long as I have breath in me, you will never touch her again."

"Eh, now I know why she hangs around you. You are too much of a pussy to do any real physical damage to us, but you sure like to try and talk your way out of things. Let's cut the crap alright. Bottom line is, she was my bitch to begin with, and you have no right to interfere with us and what is destined to happen eventually." Thunderlane was shocked when he felt a fist collide with his jaw, dislocating it. Before he could even react to the swing, a bare, scaled foot was pressed against the middle of his face, breaking his nose and spraying blood down his chest, turning his white t-shirt crimson red.

"Don't you ever say that about her again. You don't call her that, you don't look at her like that, hell, you don't even dare think about her like that."

The drake was forced to hold his tongue as Snow Flight threw a punch right into his gut, making him cringe in pain as he fell to the ground. Thunderlane rode to his feet to stare hard at the drake, laughing slightly as he was now towering over the drake. "That one will cost you spiny. Snow Flight, you know what to do."

"Ja, I know vat to do Vunderlane. I am going to take ze pleasure in hurting the little dragon one. Get ready spiny one, I am going to enjoy zis greatly."

Cracking was heard as the stallion began to kick at his ribs, possible breaking a few. Grape Crush jumped behind him to kick his back while Thunderlane went to punch him in the face continuously.

His vision began to grow blurry, and darkness began to envelope him. Feeling cold, he began to shiver. With another kick to his torso, he coughed up blood onto the sandy ground. As the lights of the world began to dim on him, and the crashing of waves sounded so distant, he managed to still hear one final pony speak. "Spike! Hang on brother, I'm coming..."

A/N: Decided that I wanted to do this on parts, or acts. This is the end of Act I, with more to come in Act II.

Hospital

Endless darkness engulfed his entire body, chilling his very bones for the first time in years with its icy cold breath. It felt as though ice itself was closing in around the fire that was in his chest, threatening to extinguish the flame that was his very life force. Shards of frozen liquid were poised to strike him at any given moment, but yet they did not.

In the distant shroud of shadow, a faint flicker of light shifted back and forth, almost like a dancing flame. With each passing second, he could see that the flicker was beginning to grow dim, threatening to remove the only source of light that he could find in the black abyss.

Though he tried to move closer to the flame, he found that he was unable to. It was as if some form of invisible hand was holding onto him, maybe using a clear wire that he could not see to restrain him. Breathing out what he thought was going to be his final breath, he let one name utter from his lips, the very name of the mare who had given him so much to live for, so much to fight for, and so much to die for. "Rarity."

Her name alone brought about a stirring fire inside of his heart that he had never felt before, a burning desire to find life once more, yet he knew it naught to be true. "Spike! Spike! Don't follow the flame!" Feeling his heart beat start to decline, he embraced the cold death that was starting to encircle him, pushing out the call of the voice that he knew to be his father's.

With his eyes drifting more together, he allowed for a final memory with the mare of his very dreams. The only memory that he truly wanted to remember as death took him.

'Roaring from the fast rushing water below drowned out all sound. Metal scraping against rock as it flowed past created an ill shriek that threatened to destroy his ear drums. Rising above the ground on the far side of the river was a field of thorny roses, each one looking as magnificent as his mother's sun. Red, blue, and the occasional white rose mingled together into one large bouquet that he wanted to reach out and snatch for the mare he held close in his arms.

'Tears fell from his eyes as he buried his nose into the crook of her silvery-white furred neck, allowing himself to take in her heavenly vanilla scent. Her scent, which had become so familiar to him that he thought it to be his own, brought a shiver to his core. "Rarity, I am so sorry. Y-You could h-h-have died in there. P-Please forgive me."

'An almost inaudible whimper escaped her as she buried her head further into his scaled chest, holding him closer. "No Spike, I have no reason to forgive you. Y-You saved me, not only with your strong spirit, but with your warm, caring heart. Thank you Spike. Thank you for gracing such a lowly mare such as myself with your friendship."

'Taking a step back, he raised her head so that he could look her in the eyes, seeing nothing but fear burning deep within her sapphire eyes. "No, it is I who should thank you Rarity. You have been the best friend that I have ever had. Nothing will ever change that. Nothing." Before any sense of rational thought could cling him, he leaned forward to place a long kiss on her cheek.

'Her eyes grew wide, her heart starting to pump her blood faster. Heat could be felt in her cheeks, and if she were to look into a mirror, she was sure that her face would look as red as a cherry. Sweat began to gather in the palms of her hands while she fought against her own voice to neither speak her enjoyment or to bite back a slight moan.

'As he pulled away, she could not help but return the favor with a quick kiss to his cheek. Now it was his turn to be blushing proudly. "S-Spike, I know I have said it many times before, but this time it is more true than ever. Your are not only the single b-best friend that any pony or dragon could ever hope to have, but you are the kindest, sweetest dragon to ever have lived. Besides your father of course."'

Her words echoed in the still silence surrounding him, bringing forth all of the time that they had spent together, and how close they had grown since that time. Almost never a day went by anymore that he did not stop by her shop to see her, to lend a hand or to help study for a big test. In his eyes, they were the couple already that he wanted them to be.

No matter what, he now wanted to return to her, but he also wanted to leave behind the pain of the world that he knew. Was she, the mare who was the only sole reason that he was living, really worth all of the pain that he was forced to endure? Was she truly worth the hell that he was faced with every waking second?

That night, before he was doomed to all but death, that night that he wanted to tell her how much he felt, how much that she meant to him, but he was unable to. That night that he was put into intensive care due to Thundelane's gang. If not for her, then he would never have fought back as he did. If not for her, he would have died a long time ago and never been able to see her smiling face, her wonderful laughter, and gaze upon her dazzling sapphire eyes."Spike! You can't leave me, not like this! Spike! Come back to me, please! Spike!"

"Rarity?" Her sweet, soothing voice echoed within the confines of the darkness. Light from behind him began to shine brightly over his shoulders, clearing away just enough of the shadow to reveal her smiling face, only to be shortly replaced by the same mare, with tears streaming down her face like a torrential river.

"You are worth facing Hell Rarity. Just to see you happy whenever I come around, to be able to hold your hand within mine, that is all worth the Hell that I am put through. I will gladly do it over again, for you. You are worthy fighting for! Rarity!"

---

Tears streamed down her face as she ran alongside of the gurney. Worry setting in as Spike tossed and turned on the soft bedding. Blood snaked down from his open jaw, soaking the white sheets beneath him a dark crimson. A single clear tube like hose was connected to a 'T' shaped hose that split into either side of his nasal passage. From what she could see, air was being pumped into his lungs, enough to keep him alive at least.

"We need a doctor, now! Otherwise he ain't going to last much longer. Quickly nurse, fetch Doctor Monitor! Tell him that Nurse Ellen said it was a code seven! Go now!" Running on the adjacent side of the gurney was a mare with golden yellow fur and a bright blue nurse's uniform. Atop her head was a small hat that she was required to wear, although it was turned backwards.

Looking down towards the drake that she was carting into the ICU, the nurse whispered just loud enough so that only Spike and Rarity could hear, "It's going to be okay Prince Guâlhoran, we aren't going to let anything happen to you. Your mother has not been notified yet, but I assume that your brother will make that call." Gazing back up towards the end of the hall she bellowed out, "Get him down here now! The boy's going to need rib replacements!"

Hesitantly, Spike's lips parted softly as he uttered a single name, "Rarity?" Glancing down towards his broken figure once more, Rarity had to grit her teeth as yet another wave of nausea assaulted her stomach. Blood stained his bare, toned chest with multiple lacerations from whatever cutting tool that Thunderlane and his gang of thugs had used. His left leg was swollen from being re-broken while his right leg was stained with gore from some unseen laceration beneath the tear in his jeans. Blood continued to ooze from his mouth, the source being the broken ribs in his chest. The nurse believed that maybe one had pierced his lungs.

"I'm here Spike", she spoke softly. When he did not respond, she shouted out to him, "Spike! Spike! You can't leave me, not like this! Spike! Come back to me, please! Spike!" No longer able to hold her sorrow inside, she placed a hand on his chest, not caring that there was blood as she allowed her tears to ruin her perfect make-up. Hours spent getting ready for their little outing wasted, but not in vain. He did after all get to see her beauty.

As though acting of its own accord, Spike's arm reached out for her. Her very name was upon his lips once more as his hand turned upwards, revealing what remained of a blue rose, freshly picked from Applejack's garden. Its intoxicating scent stung her nose, bringing hope to what little that she had left in him. Underneath of the rose was a small piece of paper that was folded into a tight, compact note.

Unable to resist herself, she took his hand within her own free one, slowly sliding his gift across to her own palm. Feeling the stem of the rose gave her pause, just enough to know that she was no longer able to follow him through the double doors that she always feared would take the love of her life away from her. Another nurse had emerged from some unseen room to hold her back, to keep her from being with the only dragon or pony to ever capture her heart the way that he did.

"Ma'am. Please ma'am. You can't go through there, I'm sorry." Sighing, defeated, the silvery-white mare simply turned to slowly shuffle over to the seat that was placed directly across from the open door. Knowing that she had to make the dreaded call that would undoubtedly end badly, she took a moment to think over what she was going to say.

Bright sapphire blue petals from the rose flashed in her mind's eye. His very scent was attached to the rose; the petals, the stem, the very bright, slightly golden center. Turning to look at it, she could still see the life that was in it. The beauty that it held always seemed to mesmerize her, and too often she would imagine Spike giving her this lovely rose on some special occasion. What he was doing with it this night of all nights was a mystery to her.

Her gaze then down fell to the hand that had been resting on his bleeding chest. Seeing his crimson pony-dragon blood mix did not disgust her, rather it gave her renewed courage and hope that Spike was going to pull through. He was a strong dragon, and he was going to make it. Nothing in the world could ever kill him, and nothing was ever going to.

Glancing down towards the folded, bloody note that was in her other hand, she allowed her curiosity to get the better of her. Letting her fingers run over the small piece of parchment, she could not help but feel the words on the paper calling to her. Setting the rose aside, she gently unfolded the note, catching his almost perfect penmanship on the paper.

It read, 'Rarity, you are my best friend and I am grateful for all that you have done for me, but I must admit something. I love you. This kind of love that I am feeling is more than our normal friendship love that we have always shared. No, it is more, stronger, better. What I feel in my heart, what I want to tell you, I can never have the courage to do. Your friendship means too much to me to lose you over some stupid feelings that I have grown for you.

To show you the true extent of what I feel for you, I wrote this poem for you:

Rarity

Fur as white as glittering snow

A smile as radiant as the sun

Beautiful sapphire eyes of the highest Rarity

With a beauty worthy of a Queen of the Moon

Rarity of Generosity unlike any other

Making my heart soar higher than the heavens

Taking away every last breath

Holding the key to my love

A nimble mind beyond compare

With a heart full of pure love

And a fire that can never be quenched

For you are a Rarity, unlike any other

True, pure even is my love for you Rarity. Everyday I try to deny it, to push it away, but I can't ever do that. My love for you is no simple little crush, it far exceeds that. I do not know whether or not you feel the same, but please, please do not be mad with me.

For too long though I have harbored these feelings inside, and if I don't let them out, then they could destroy me. If our friendship has to end, please do not let it be anytime soon. Please, let's just try to remain friends. The thought of losing you i...'

She was unable to read any further. In no simple way was she expecting him to declare his love for her tonight, least of all in a letter. Written words from his very own hands, written for her, to her alone.

Fresh tears began to fall from her eyes as the realization that she was never going to tell him just how much she loved him began to set in. Bringing her knees in close, she rocked back and forth in her chair as she read the poem over once more. As she read she imagined that his familiar, deep, yet serene voice was reading it to her. Sobbing uncontrollably, it was all she could do to not burst through those double doors and into his operating room.

Pain stung at her heart as it never had before. Passion, love, both were the same to her. But there was something special about the love that she felt for the drake. She was sure of it. Indeed her love for him was stronger than any other known to pony kind, but there was something more to it. The more that she thought about it, the more that she thought about all of the romance novels, and fables that she had read over the years. Then it clicked for her. What she was feeling was no normal love. What she was feeling, was true, unadulterated, unmolested, pure love.

Deep within her heart she knew that it was true. But how was she ever going to tell him that she had 'accidentally' found out about his feelings for her? How was she ever going to be able to look at him in the same light as before without wanting to explore the possibility that they could be more? She knew that no other male in existence could ever compare to Spike, and thus she was determined to let that remain true.

Words from his own lips, once spoken to her rang forth in her mind. "You know Rarity, you could have any stallion that you wanted. Hell, I bet that you could get any dragon that you wanted too." A flame was ignited within her mind, rekindling the dying flame that was about to wash out and let hope abandon her. But I already have the dragon that I want.

Thoughts of them flying together over the highest peaks of Equestria once more consumed her mind. Feeling the wind rushing through her silvery-white fur, feeling his warm, scaled chest against her back, brought about a sense of joy that she had never felt before. She felt alive, loved, and most of all, with the mate that she had wanted to start a family with for the last few years. To see his smiling face brought forth a new level of reality.

Vibrating in her pocket brought her back into the reality that she was in, and the reality that she would soon have to face with full force. Looking at the caller ID on her phone, she gulped. Hesitantly, she hit the little green vibrating phone icon on her screen before bringing it up to her ear. "H-Hello?"

"Thank the stars that I was able to reach you Rarity." The silvery-white mare knew the voice all too well. Though, it was shaky and held within its confines a hint of worry crashed with an overwhelming sense of pain. Although she loved the Princess greatly, she could not help but feel that the Princess might blame her for her son being where he was. "Ryder called me and told me what happened. What is his state right now? Is he stable?"

A pregnant silence hung in the air between them, her breathing being the only sound as her warped mind took in what the Princess had said. Dissecting the words, she was looking for any sense that she was being blamed, and was surprised when she found none. "I'm sorry, a nurse was talking to me Princess. Spike was just wheeled into the ICU. Nurse said that he might need a few ribs replaced, or at least that's what she thinks. Somehow she knew that he was your son too."

Again, another heavy pregnant silence shoved its way between them. "Well, there are a select few ponies that are allowed to know who he truly is for emergencies like this. Nurse Ellen I presume was her name correct?"

"Yes Princess, that was her." Rarity took in a deep breath as she thought about her next choice of words. "Princess? I found a letter that Spike wrote to me. In it was a poem that was written in the most beautiful penmanship that I have ever seen. I want to know, what do you know about this? What has he told you about his feelings for me? Please give me that, I have already read the letter, so I know how he feels about me, but I want to know what he has told you, to know that it is true."

She could hear the Princess sighing on her end before taking in a deep breath. "So, you know. Well, Spike told me everything that you have read and probably more. You know, he would die for you. You are his whole world, and I hate to see you two ruin your friendship over this."

Fresh tears began to leave the mare's eyes. So it was true, all of it. "Thank you Princess. If anything, our friendship is over. I can no longer see him as a friend." She could heard the Princess sighing through the small speaker against her ear.

Before she could respond, the silvery-white mare beat her to it. "Our friendship is over, but that is not a bad thing. When he wakes up, we are going to be..." She paused, deciding how to best word what she was going to say nest. "I wanted to let you know something too. I love your son, I mean truly love him. I have loved him since the Sleva river incident. Even before then I harbored feelings for him, but not like I do now." Taking a deep breath to steady her shaking nerves, the mare continued, "If he should die tonight, then so shall I. This life is not worth living without him in it." With that, she ended the call and stuffed the phone back into her pocket, letting her tears fall more freely as she buried her face into her knees.

---

Silence crept into the rather small waiting room as Rarity's sobs grew to a halt. Resting her head on the top of her knees, she allowed her eyes to finally take in her surroundings. Across from where she sat was a small desk where a nurse was currently filing through various forms of paperwork. Stacks of parchment lined most of the desk, obscuring the stallion who was sitting behind them from her view. The soft smack of his fingers against a keyboard was the only sound that told her she was not alone.

To either side of her were four seats, each one made of an acrylic metal alloy with soft blue cushions to sit on. Beside either end of the chairs was a small tan end table, holding on its plastic surface what she assumed were various magazines that those waiting could read to help pass the time.

Chancing a glance back at the rose resting atop the note in the seat beside her, she felt more tears staring to form again, her heart starting to once more constrict within her chest. Oh Spikey-Wikey, why?! Why did we wait this long? Our love was there all along, but I was too blind to see it. Please forgive me Princess, Spike. I have failed your both as a friend, and I broke my promise. How can I ever look at him the same again? Knowing that I hurt him all of these years.

Rarity's train of thoughts were derailed when she heard the soft whimper of one whom she held dear in her heart. "R-Rarity. I-Is S-Spike alright?" The soft, sweet, innocent voice of her little sister could always make her heart melt and bring a smile to her face, if only slightly. In response, the silvery-white mare wiped away what tears had come to her eyes.

Not even looking at her own sister, she sighed in response before patting the empty seat beside her. Hearing two sets of tennis shoes made the silvery-white mare realize that her sister was not completely alone. In a shaky voice, the mare spoke to her sister and her sister's girlfriend, "Spike is, well, he is..." A pregnant silence, like before, managed to worm its way into the room. "Nurse Ellen thinks that Spike is going to be alright, and Doctor Monitor agreed with her when I saw him last. For right now only his mother or brother are allowed to see him unless she says otherwise. Doubt that she will let me in there."

The younger silvery-white filly looked at her sister with a quizzical expression. "What do you mean sis? You are Spike's best friend. His mother should know that."

Sighing, the older mare finally looked towards her younger sister. Heavy bags were under her eyes from the lack of sleep that she had along with red lines underneath from where she was wiping away her tears. What little eyeliner she did have was washing away down her cheeks from the moist droplets that were falling from her lower eye lids. "Because I failed him as a best friend, and I have failed his mother. I promised her long ago that I would never allow any emotional harm to befall him. In that regard I have failed."

The younger filly was perplexed as to what exactly her sister was talking about. For she knew nothing about what the older mare was going on about. "Uh, one more time sis. And this time, in English."

"Spike wrote me a letter sometime ago, how long, only he knows. In it he told me what his true feelings for me are. Along with telling me his feelings, he wrote the most beautiful poem that I have ever read or heard. Sweetie Belle, Cobalt, I love Spikey to no end. I have no doubt anymore that he loves me the same way. I feel so lost without him. Anymore, I just want to run into that room and sit by his side until he wakes. Even then I really don't want to leave his side ever again." Her final words were quiet, yet they were not hesitant. But they still made her want to thrash around in a fit of sorrow that she hoped would either kill them both or bring him back to her.

Sweetie could see tears starting to form in her older sister's eyes once more as she looked back towards the double doors that Spike had disappeared through some time ago. Her breathing was shaky, as if she were hyperventilating. "There, there Rarity." Leaning over, Sweetie pulled her sister into a hug so tight that nothing could ever hope to harm them nor separate them. "I love Spike too, I have always known how much you love him sis. I still cling to the hope that one day I can call him my brother."

Rarity could not fully contain the joy of hearing those very words from her sister. Already she has accepted our love for each other before we are even together. Having to bite her lip before a rather loud sigh of happiness and content escaped her, she allowed her body to visibly relax into her sister's arms. "I hope you know Sweetie, that I have already accepted your lover as my own sister-in-law, or sister. I love Cobalt just as much as I love you sis, and if she makes you this happy, then I want to see her with you, forever." Both sisters smiled at one another, seemingly knowing that what had been held inside for so long was now out in the open.

"Thank you sis. I love you soo so much. I know that you could, and will make Spike the happiest dragon in the entire world, not just Equestria." Closing her eyes tightly, the little filly could not help but let a sly grin cross her face. "Something about your love for him, it's like I can sense it all around me. I can feel it flowing through my very veins. I don't know whether it is because he feels the same way and has something to do with dragon magic or not, but I feel it radiating off of you like a toxic spill."

Both sisters shared a laugh as they pulled apart, the older one wiping her tears once more. Looking back towards the doors as if they would suddenly open and spit out the very drake that she had fallen in love with all those years ago. I am sorry for not telling you sooner Spikey-Wikey, that was my fault. As was your situation leading you in here.

Warmth, radiating from somepony's hand on her shoulder once more derailed her train of thoughts. Only, this time, it had a lasting effect. Glancing at the hand, she saw that it was covered in soothing, snow white fur. Knowing without looking who it belonged to, she simply lowered her head until she was staring at the floor, tears threatening to once again surface. In a voice that was so shaky it almost sounded like she was pleading with her very life, she said, "I am so sorry Princess. I have failed you greatly tonight. I promised to watch over him, but he was the one watching over me. Please, let me stay long enough to see whether he made it or not, please."

Taking a knee, Celestia placed a hand underneath of the silvery-white mare's chin, making her look into the Princess's sparkling amethyst eyes. Such great sorrow swam in an eternal river behind those amethyst orbs, and more pain was seen than she had ever thought possible. Rather than being mad, having an angry expression, or staring daggers into the mare, the Princess simply pulled Rarity into a tight hug. The silvery-white mare's breath escaped her as she realized that she was not being punished as she thought she was going to.

"No my dear Rarity, you are like a daughter to me. My son's love for you will always rule above my own, and with the amount of passion that I feel radiating off of you, I fear that no matter what I do, you will be in that room before too long. Therefore I want you to come with me. Only Ryder and myself are allowed unless stated otherwise, and seeing as how you are practically family, I think that you should be there. If your face is the first one that he sees when he wakes up, then it will be all the better."

With a warm smile upon her lips, the older snow white mare took the hand of the much younger silvery-white mare's. Love, care. Both were heavily flowing out from the Princess as Rarity was pulled to her feet, her eyes locking into the doorway ahead. With Celestia leading the way, the two snaked their way into the ICU unit of the hospital, leaving behind those who were just now starting to arrive.

A massive hallway extended beyond the double doors that, only a moment ago, barricaded her from the drake who had been carted in some hours ago. Raven blue-white checkered tiles ran the length of the floor, with a light sky blue painted into the ceiling tiles. A long red strip spanned the length of the wall, running all the way down to the end of the hall where it split off into a 'T' junction.

Lining both sides of the hallways were multiple portable metallic stations that carried various antibiotics and bandages. Before each one was an empty gurney with freshly cleaned clothes resting atop them. Doors protruded from each side, some being open while others were closed. From inside of each they could either hear the soft sobbing of a loved one, or the screams of pain from the patients themselves. None of the screams sounded like Spike.

"Spike is a little ways in. Ryder is already there, room IC-12. Should be to the left of the junction at the end of the hallway, about three doors down." Walking steadily along, Celestia could not help but speak softly to the mare beside her. "In this wing are those who are going to make it or are going to be in surgery soon. When Ryder last called me he said that Spike was already out of surgery, but that he was still asleep."

Static was heard all around them before a voice echoed about in the hall, "Doctor Foresithe to IC-3 for surgery prep."

Sighing in unison, both mares looked towards each other. "Thought for sure that it was going to be about me being in here. Thank you Princess for bringing me in to see Spike, it means a lot to me."

Rounding the corner at the end of the hallway, Celestia said, "Well, I think that my future daughter-in-law ought to be with my son when he wakes. Besides, I have already accepted you into the family as my daughter. Meaning that whenever you come around me anymore, even in Public, I want you to call me mom. I am no longer Princess Celestia to you, but your mother."

"Thank you Pri... Mom." She had to admit, it felt rather natural, yet good at the same time to call Princess Celestia mom. "So, I have to ask. When did Spike first tell you about, uh, his feelings?"

"Oh that, well that was many years ago." She paused as they came up to the door marked IC-12. Glancing inside, she saw that Ryder was talking to his brother about his own love life as well as their father, who was standing at the foot of the bed, watching over his son. His gaze was so intent that Celestia thought that he was rather trying to ward off any influence that Spike's grandfather might have over him. "Why don't we wait out here for a moment."

Nodding, Rarity followed the snow white mare to a set of chairs that were outside of the door. Same build and color as the ones in the waiting room outside of the ICU wing. "You once told me that I could ask you anything Princess." Slowly, yet slightly hesitantly, the older mare nodded her head. "Well, I was wondering, what is it that dragons do as far as um, being together, magic, that sort of thing."

Adopting a rather pleased, yet sincere look, Celestia smiled. "Well, there is a lot to tell, and I really can't tell you all of it, but I can tell you what I do know about them. For example.." Reaching up to her mane, she brushed it past her shoulder so that Rarity could see the bite mark of four sharp fangs scared into the side of her neck.

Knowing that what she was about to tell was supposed to be kept only to dragon kind, she took the chance anyway. Celestia knew that Rarity would be able to keep what she was going to be told a secret. "Well, for starters, dragons do not really marry like we ponies do. Often, some ponies divorcee and marry another pony. For dragons, they pick a mate, and they are mated to that dragon for life, even beyond death. The mark on my neck signifies that I have been chosen, claimed. All males, dragons anyway, will know that I belong to that male, and he will kill any who try to violate me. His scent will also bask my own, unless he is to die, then my own will come about again.

"Spike's father has been reading up about this, but he thinks that if Spike were to mate with you, that you could gain eternal life like he has. A dragon's bond through a mate is greater than any pony could hope to have. Your hearts will beat as one, your minds will think alike, and you will always feel the presence of your male. Trust me when I say that the feeling will last forever, and it let's you know that you are always cared for and loved. Being a female pony, you will not lay an egg like a dragon would, instead you will give live birth.

"Also know that, during mating, it is customary for the male to mark you as his own. I want you to make sure that you know what dating my son could bring about for you. You would be crowned Princess of Ponies, and Queen of Dragons. I want to know, right now, that you are not trying to get with my son just for these titles. Many have tried before you, but he has always held himself pure of any physical intimacy just for you."

"As have I mom. I have held myself pure, true even for your son alone. I have never wanted to be with any other pony or dragon since I met him all those years ago, when we were just kids. In my heart, I always feel his presence, as if he has already mated with me. Mom, I love him, and I want to be with him for who he is, not what he is. The title, I could care less. All I ever wanted was to be able to call him my own, to start a family with him. By pony standards to, I do want to eventually marry him. But I understand the need to wait for that. He needs to graduate school first, and with a wife, mate actually, and a child or children, that is the last thing that he needs."

Smiling wider, Celestia brought her future daughter-in-law into a soothing, understanding hug. "I believe you Rarity. I believe every word that you said, and I believe that I am being honest when I say that there is no other mare nor dragon that is better for him than you. All his life if any mare showed interest in him it was because he was a dragon, same with him being a Prince, although that was with dragons. Either way, you are better than they are. You are the first to love him for who he truly is. For that, I am thankful."

Softly, Rarity responded, "I know. And I thank you for bringing him into my life that day. If not for you, then I would never have met him when I did, and things might be different. Thank you mom, thank you."

Together, with their hands held close together, both mares rose and entered the room.

Alongside the wall across from the door was a large open window, that, when opened, looked out over the city of Ponyville. Beside of the window was a TV hung high in the corner of the room, with the volume turned almost all the way to mute. Two chairs, which looked almost identical to the ones in the waiting room outside of ICU, were placed facing the sleeping drake.

Looking at the bed placed almost directly next to the door, they each had to hold their breath. Spike lie in a soft, remote controlled bed. Draped over his sleeping form was a mint green blanket, shielding the damage of his lower body from their view. His exposed chest was wrapped around almost to the neck in a white bandage, with a few running down either arm. Injected into his right arm were multiple tubes that ran back to the bags and machines on the IV pole beside of his bed.

Rarity watched as his chest rose and fell very slowly, indicating that he was still alive, that he was still with her. "Oh Spike." Slipping out of Celestia's grasp, she made her way over to the bed, where she leaned down to place a kiss upon his forehead. "I am here now Spike. I am never leaving you."

Falling to her knees beside of the bed, Rarity took his free hand within her own, relishing in the feel of his rough scales against her soft fur. Though his now dried blood was still coating her hand, she took no notice. In her heart all that she cared about was the fact that Spike was still alive. Placing a kiss on the backside of his hand, she began to whisper to him softly, "I am so sorry that you are here Spike. No matter what anypony tells me, I will always blame myself for this. If only I had of let you stay home, then all would be well."

Fear gripped her, fear that he was feeling the same way that she was. In her heart she knew that it was not true, but her mind was of a different opinion. Tear started to flow from her eyes once more, which was a miracle in itself. With as much crying as she had been doing, she could have filled the grand Sleva river by now.

Soft spoken words came drifting into her ear, though they were slow to catch. "No pony is blaming you Rarity. This was not your fault at all. Spike would die to protect you, and he nearly did. But that was not because he went out tonight, but because Thunderlane spotted you and him, happy together. Thunderlane will never rest until you are with him, he has his lustful eyes set on you, always has. I am truly sorry that you have to be in the middle of this, but I agree with mom. You are the best mare that Spike could find. Rarity, you are the one I want to see him with."

Rarity could feel the caring, yet strong grip of Ryder as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "What if Spike hates me now? What if he blames me for this as well?"

"Rarity. You know my brother on a deeper level than I do. But I do know that he loves you too much to allow you to blame yourself for this. You are not the bad one here Rarity. You got help before it was too late, you helped fight back Thunderlane when he was assaulting you after we broke him away from Spike." The silvery-white mare could not help but reach up to her face where she felt the swollen cheek from the punch that the silver stallion had thrown at her. "You should tell him what you feel Rarity. If you want, we can leave the room?"

"No, I want you all here to hear what I have to say to him." Taking a deep breath to steady her calming nerves, the mare rose to her feet. Bringing a seat closer to the bed so that she was sitting not even two inches from his side, she spoke softly once more, only this time, it was louder. "Spike, I don't know if you can here me or not, but I wanted you to know something. I read your letter for me. I never thought that you loved me like that, and I have to say, it was like a dream come true.

"Ever since the day at Sleva field, I have always thought about you as more than a friend. At the time, I thought that it was just a simple crush on my best friend. But I realize now that it is more than that." Her voice began to grow shaky as she was choking back her sobs, her very heart pouring out with her words. "I know now that what I was feeling was not just a crush, nor was it just love. No, what I feel for you is real, pure, and true to form. I am deeply in love with you, and I feel as though you are my true love, that what I feel for you is so much stronger than has even been recorded before in pony history. Spike, our hearts beat as one."

As though to prove her point further, the mare rested their combined hands over his heart. Feeling a surge of courage wash over her, she leaned forward until her lips were barely a few inches apart from his. "You are my Spikey-Wikey, and you always will be, forever." Leaning in gently, she closed her eyes as her lips came into contact with his. Though she was short with her kiss, she felt something that she had never felt before, she felt both complete, and a spark that ignited her heart into a raging inferno.

Gazing over his sleeping form, she could not help but let a soft giggle escape from her lips as she buried her head into his slowly rising chest. "I love you Spikey-Wikey." Without caring that there was anypony else in the room, she climbed into the bed, careful to not disturb the sleeping drake as she made herself comfortable. Resting her head on his toned, wrapped chest, she allowed the sound of his slow beating heart to lull her into sleep. Content washed over her, content that she was with the drake who had captured her heart, and content that he was still alive.

---

An endless dark abyss surrounded him, flushing him into what he assumed was the shrouded curtain of death. Yet, he felt that this was not indeed the end. He felt that he was going to see the light of day once more, feel the grass against his rather hard scales. With renowned courage, and tossing aside his despair, he rose to his feet.

Swiftly turning around, he could see that he was not in just any dark abyss. Rather, he was in a cave, that extended out far beyond where his sight failed him. Breathing in the fresh life of air that assailed him, he began to steadily progress forward. A hand was placed against the wall as he walked, holding out for anything that he assumed meant him harm.

Off in the distance he could hear the steady drip, drop of water splashing against the rock. Light began to filter into the cave from up ahead. Using this light to look around, he could see that some rather sharp rocks protruded higher up on the wall, while on the ceiling were finely sharpened stalactites. Many of these sharpened rock formations could easily enough pierce through his scaled hide.

Gulping quietly, he braved on. Here and there he could hear a whisper, making him look back to find that a small set of golden yellow orbs were following him. The orbs watched every movement that he made, almost as if it was waiting for a time to strike, or it was studying him. Brushing the orbs out os his mind, he turned back towards the light.

Rounding a corner, he could see that up ahead the light grew brighter until it opened up into the world outside. Quickening his pace, he made for the opening. His feet skidded to a halt as he reached the entrance to the cave. His mouth fell to his chest while his heart dropped to his feet.

Before the drake was a vast, barren wasteland. The likes of which he had only ever read about in the history books during the great dragon-pony war before his time. No life could be seen for miles, not even the tiniest blade of grass. Dust billowed all around, with the loose soil clinging tightly to the ground. Ash rained from the sky like snow, covering various ruins of old building and turning them a dark grey. Fire boomed in the distant skies, coming from the mountain city of Canterlot, or so he hoped. "What happened here?"

He fell to his knees as the realization washed over him. This land was not just any land, this was Equestria. This was his home. Staring him in the face at the mouth of the cave was what remained of Ponyville.

A river of pure pony blood flowed from the base of every home until it came together in a small pool in the center, where some unseen underground river washed it away. Looking out to where he knew his heart was hoping it was still standing, he saw what remained of the Carousel Boutique. Rising up out of the rubble and ash was a single spear, impaled on the tip was somepony that made tears form in his eyes. There Rarity lied with the tip of the spear through her heart, blood flowing down into the river. What remained of her fur and flesh was being pulled apart by wild timberwolves and gore crows, both of which sometimes fought each other over the remnants of the body.

Grasping the earth in his hands, he bellowed out a deathly roar that challenged any nearby to fight him, to kill him now and end the suffering that he was seeing. Nothing came, not even the creature that had been following him was trying to attack him. He was in so much pain that it hurt to even breath, let alone shout out towards the sky, "No! You lied to me! You said that this was never going to happen!"

Ash began to flow towards him, threatening to bury him beneath the bulk of it all. Taking in what he assumed was going to be his final sight of the sky, he said, "I hate you father."

Wind whisked away what ash had crowded him, freeing him of the prison that he was in. Looking up, he growled as he saw his father standing before him. Covering his torso was a heavy metal golden chest plate with the insignia of a rising sun, while on his lower body was his golden metallic leg armor. Two silver gauntlets were one his hands while his leather bracers were tightened around his wrists. "You will never hate me son."

His tone grew deep with anger at what his father was telling him. "What would you know?! You lied to me, told me that this would never happen again!" By this point he was snarling, but his father stood there as calm as ever. This made the amethyst drake more furious. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Answer me!"

With a hand over his heart, Lethnal spoke calmly to his son. "You are so very angry my son, but why? None of this you see is real, yet."

"W-What do you mean?" Spike could not fathom in a million years that his mother would allow the land to return to this state of decay, this state of destruction.

"You grandfather is planning another attack against the pony kingdom Spike. My father will never rest with peace, he wants war. His hunger for it grows everyday, and I can't seem to help any longer. I have tried everything within my power to either kill him or make him see reason. No longer is he the same loving father that I knew before my teen years. His greed spreads like a plague throughout the dragon kingdom. They need a new king son, they need you."

Spike wiped away the tears that coated his eyes, wondering if his father was truly right in what was happening. "I don't understand, the treaty with the dragons is in no danger. W-When is this supposed to happen?"

"Soon, but I cannot tell you exactly when. Even that is unknown to me, but I do know this. Son, keep yours eyes open for any of my father's treachery. My father now knows that you exist, that you are a viable threat to him. He will first try to contact you and see if you can be turned, if that fails, then he will try to kill you."

"W-Why are you telling me this?"

"Because this war is now your war too. I wanted to keep you out of this until it was truly over, but it seems that I have failed. You must not linger on these thoughts though. You will forget them when you wake up, but they will come back to you when the time is right. Son, I need you to promise me that you will not fail. All of Equestria will depend on the choices that you make in this war. Promise me that you will not allow this to happen." Lethnal outstretched his hand so that his son could see the devastation that his grandfather had caused.

"I will not fail you father, nor will I fail Rarity, nor Equestria! My grandfather will not be allowed to commit such atrocities so long as I have life within mine own body. Thank you father. I am sorry for before, you know, about me hating you." The young drake played with the scales behind his head as he avoided eye contact with his father.

"There is nothing to be sorry for Spike. I felt that way when I was fighting the war. Though I hated my father, I have come to the peace that I still love him. Yes he has changed so much that I no longer recognize him as my father, but I still love him. He did after all help to bring me into this world."

Stepping forward, Spike embraced his father in a warm, caring hug that seemed to stretch on for eons. "I love you dad."

Lethnal could not hold back a few tears from streaming down his face. "You, you have never called me that before Spike."

"I know dad, but I thought it was about time that I started."

"I love you too son."

Darkness once more enveloped Spike before he was pulled away from his father, his eyes remaining shut as he felt the push and pull of the swirling abyss around him. Lights began to make their way into the swirling shadow, illuminating him and him alone. Feeling the essence of life, feeling the presence of such vast amounts of love, and care, he felt alive. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes...

---

Rarity brushed a few strands of the sleeping drake's mane out of his face, letting her see the bruises that lined him. Multiple fresh laceration both from the other day and a few hours ago were present, some still slightly oozing very small trickles of blood. She watched as his eyes shifted beneath their lids in rapid movement, almost as if he was in a hurry.

Tracing the scar that forever marked his face, she felt that there was something that she had to do to make his 'beauty' mark vanish. Closing her eyes, she searched her mind for the flow of magic that was always coursing through her viens. Silently, she whispered a few words in the native tongue of dragons. A warm blue aura began to glow underneath of her hand as she allowed the power of her magic to surge through her into the spell that she was performing. Feeling her body shudder from the drain of energy, she ceased the flow of her magic to examine her handiwork.

A warm smile crossed her lips as she beheld his perfectly clean face, no evidence of scaring present in the slightest. Leaning down, she rested her head once more atop his chest as she listened to the soft beating of his heart. Placing her hand within his own, she linked their fingers together as she stared at the blood that was on her hand before she snuggled closer to the drake.

Shifting slightly, Spike opened his eyes to see the pure light sky blue ceiling that was above him. It was almost reminiscent of the sky that he always saw after a nap in the tree at lunch, yet there was no breeze to accompany it, nor were there the sounds of laughter or the smell of freshly made salads. Not even the sunlight was to be seen, only a faint light that came from some lamp on a bedside table in the far corner of the room.

Feeling the heat of a body pressed against him, the drake looked down to see that there was a silvery-white mare lying beside him, her fingers locked together with his while her head was buried into his chest. Disbelief washed over his mind as he looked up to see that his brother was sitting in a chair beside of the bed, his eyes closed while his snoring filled the room. Beside of him was their mother, who was fast asleep as well.

Letting his gaze come back to the mare that was lying with him, he leaned down slightly so that he could see her face more clearly. She was lost deep within her mind, gazing sternly at their connected hands. In a scratchy, yet slightly low voice, he said, "Hey you."

His voice was almost faint, but it was enough that the mare perked her ears up before she slowly turned to look at him. A perplexed expression met her, to which she softly giggled. "Hey yourself. I was, just thinking about you actually." Her voice was low, so as not to disturb her moment alone with the drake. "You know, you could have any mare or dragoness that you want." With the end of her words she pulled herself up so that her lips were close to his, feeling his breath against her.

A genuine smile crossed his lips as he said, "I already have my eye set on a mare. Besides, I think I already have the mare that I want." Before she could even hope to respond he pushed his lips against her own. Passion, the likes of which he had never felt before, raced through his veins. It felt like a spark was ignited within his heart, sparking what he hoped was their eternal love for each other. In his chest he felt love, he felt wanted, but most of all, he felt that this was the start of a new life for both himself, and Rarity.

Breaking away, he fixed her with a soft gaze, one that held so much love in it that it was insurmountable by any other form ever seen before. "I love you Rarity."

"I love you too Spikey-Wikey."

Return of a Friend

Vibrant rays of beautiful sunlight sprayed across his exposed chest, each little touch of warmth feeling like the gentle fingers of his mother, silently caressing him. The snow white curtains that had been keeping out the light of dawn had been pulled back to allow what little wind chill there was to filter into the room through the now gaping window. Carrying along its breathless back were the heavenly aroma's of the outside world. He could almost taste the turning leaves with their almost blinding scent, layered in perfect harmony with the sweet, yet tangy smell of sweet treats being baked down at Sugar Cube Corner.

Gazing out, he could see the vast expansion of the city that he was living in, Ponyville, in all its glory. Far off in the distance he could see the mountains of Ghundlorîan, standing tall in all their gorgeous wonder. Based on the side of the Westernmost mountain by the name of Slitherian, was his home or birthplace, Canterlot. With all of its finest temperament buildings, stunning locational view, and its overly present symbol of love and peace, Canterlot was were he truly belonged in Equestria, as was Ponyville.

Feeling his heart wish to once more soar high among the snow capped mountain tops, shrouded away from view of the world by the various clouds that surrounded it, a sigh escaped him. Longing for the fresh, crisp morning air that was found high up in the mountains, the crystal clear waters located only in the streams that flowed down from the very peaks. Most of all however, he longed to share it with the mare that had shared so much with him, the very same mare that he had almost given his life to protect.

Resting against him was the silvery-white mare, who refused to leave his bedside, even after two weeks of being in the hospital. The mare had to be behind on her orders by now, if not, in a few days she soon would be. He knew that she was always busy around the fall, especially with the first Football game of the year coming up in only a matter of a few weeks. Despite this however, he was glad that she was still here with him.

In his heart, he felt as though what he was seeing right now was too good to be true. To know that Rarity loved him just as much as he loved her made him feel like it was all a dream. Whenever he would pinch himself however, he knew that it was indeed true, that Rarity loved him just as fiercely, if not more so, than he loved her, which always made him revert to what he loved to do the most. Running a hand down the back of her neck, letting his talons easily glide through her silky soft mane, always brought his heart to cloud nine. If the feeling of her head on his chest, being soothed to sleep numerous times simply by listening to his beating heart, was not enough.

Warmth radiated out from his chest, making his bones shiver ever so slightly from the power of it. Leaning down softly, he placed a kiss against her forehead, making the mare snuggle up closer to him. It was almost as if the mare was afraid to let him go, fear of him slipping away from her causing a sort of protective instinct to burst forth. A soft moan escaped his lips as her arms squeezed tighter against him, her breath slow and easy against the nape of his exposed throat.

A yawn escaped her soft, luscious lips, flashing him her pearly white diamond teeth. A tingle shimmered down his spine when he felt her bury her nose in his neck, sighing when nothing aside from his scent; a mixture of his masculine scent of sweat, laced with the nose biting aroma of charred, rotting meat, and attached to all, the heavy sting of smoke, assailed the senses in her mind. Without so much as a whisper, she placed a kiss against the underside of his jaw, nibbling on the scales for a few moments before she went back to taking in his scent.

Slowly, her elegantly designed sapphire eyes fluttered open to gaze upon his smoothly cut emerald orbs, which could only have been carved from the rare gemstone itself by beings higher than the land of Equestria. A light grin crossed both of their lips, both sensing what the other was going to say before it left their lips. Opting to let their actions say what their hearts wanted to, they leaned in close together, their lips barely brushing but a few inches apart.

As was common every morning since the revelation of their feelings for each other, both lovers allowed their lips to come together in the eternal embrace of love that they both craved for from the other with a burning passion. It was almost as if when they awoke beside the one that they loved, that all was right in the world, but the kiss meant that the day was going to be filled with naught but love.

Her fingers would slip into his sweaty hair, not caring about the cleanliness, only the fact that it was him. His scent was so overpowering that she would have thought she had been bathing in it for the last two weeks, which was not far from the truth. Knowing that it was his own unique smell that clung to her fur made her want to be with him even more, to just let him take her right then and there, but she knew better. They both did.

Spike could never stop his scaled hands from running through her mane, brushing past numerous locks as he managed to run his talons down the fur aligning her spine, making her body shudder with sheer pleasure that was so unique to only his touch. Ground vanilla always assailed his nose whenever their kiss would get very passionate as it was now, with their bodies pressed close together, their tails slowly interlacing tightly around one another, while their tongues wrestled for dominance in their mouths. He never had to look to know where the scent was coming from, for her knew by heart where it's source was, as his nose was almost always buried in the same crook of her neck whenever they would fall asleep together.

Silent as a cat trying to avoid a rabid dog with a taste for flesh, Doctor Monitor slipped into the room to notice that once again, Rarity and Spike were so engrossed with each other, so lost in their own world, that anything outside of it ceased to matter. To pass the time as he always did, he began to reread the report that he had just finished sorting through, making sure that it was all in correct order before he presented it to the drake.

Knowing fully well that he had other patients waiting to see him before the night once more rolled in, Doctor Monitor cleared his throat rather loudly, making the couple gently break apart, Rarity clinging close to Spike. "Well Spike, it looks as if your leg has set properly now. Your blood pressure seems to be back to normal, and your cuts are starting to clear up. None of them should leave any nasty scars like the one over your eye." He paused as he looked closely at Spike's face, noticing that his scar had mysteriously vanished, almost as if it was never there in the first place. "Well, I'll be a Timber-Wolf, your scar seems to have been erased away Spike. You look just as you did before that 'accident' years ago."

Spike looked towards Rarity, who simply shrugged her shoulders before placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Anyway Spike, you are free to leave whenever you wish. Just let me know if you need any crutches, a wheelchair, anything like that alright? We'd be happy to provide them for you, given that you not only take good care of the equipment, but that you also return them to us when you are done."

"I will be fine doc, thanks though." A pregnant silence fell upon the room as Spike and Doctor Monitor gazed at one another, both seemingly knowing what to say, yet unable to. "Uh, Doc, I know that I didn't say it before, but, uh, thanks for patching me up. If it weren't for you, then I wouldn't be here right now, with the best girlfriend that I could ever wish to have."

"Hey, think nothing of it, it's my job to keep the living from being not living." Both shared a light laugh, lighting the mood in the room. "If I were to fail, then what kind of doctor would I be. Besides, you are an old patient, and friend of mine from years ago, no reason not to do my best with you."

The doctor sighed as he once again looked down towards his clipboard, seeing all of Spike's medical records before him. "Knowing how you are you will try to do what you can today, but let me make a few things clear, for your sake more than mine. Spike, I don't want you going to school today, but you are free to go tomorrow though alright? I want you to rest in bed today and stay off of that leg as much as you can. In the afternoon, maybe walk around a bit, but no heavy lifting with that leg or chest, got it? That means you too miss Rarity, no getting him to lift heavy objects for the next few weeks, you understand?"

In unison they nodded their heads towards the doctor, both voicing their understanding with a, "Yes doctor."

"Good." As he began to walk away, the doctor could not help but start to chuckle to himself while he looked back towards the young couple. "Spike. The next time that I want to see you should be in a few years, when I am delivering your baby." Spike and Rarity simply looked at each other, a deep, crimson red blush on both faces. "You, you may leave when ready. J-just notify the nurse when you do."

Dr. Monitor said nothing more as he left the room, smiling as he walked down the hallway in utter silence, broken every now and again by the sound of a patient yelling for a nurse.

Spike and Rarity were still blushing heavily, neither one wanting to clear the misty silence that was hanging close around them. Both were so embarrassed, yet also nervous at what the doctor had said, that neither one was in any hurry to make their blushes deepen even more.

Coughing from the doorway stole their eyes from one another as they looked over to see Applejack, leaning against the door frame with her stetson tipped over her eyes. With her hands in her jean pockets and a blush heavy on her face, trying hard not to say anything for fear of something 'else' escaping her.

Looking closer, they could see that Rain was busy placing kisses against her neck while they were waiting for the couple to finish with their awkward moment. One hand was holding onto her arm while the other was around her back, stroking her blonde mane every so gently. Taking in a sharp breath, the mare glanced up to see that Spike and Rarity were staring at her, trying hard not to laugh at the awkward predicament.

"Rain, Rain. Ya better stop, there watchin' us."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Stepping around Applejack, Rain came to stand in the room, close to the bed, but still keeping closer to his girlfriend.

"Rare, Spike. Rain and Ah were wonderin' if y'all needed a ride home? We could drop ya off first Rare so that you can get back to yer dress makin'. Then we could drop Spike off at home with Ryder." Applejack managed to hide her wry smile beneath the features of her blush from what she knew about Ryder, about what he had done for both the drake and the mare.

Rarity sat up on the bed, letting a hand rest atop Spike's as she cleared her throat, "That would be appreciated, but leave Spikey with me for a bit. Doctor said he needs to rest, and to stay off of his leg. I want to make sure that he does just that." Her eyes turned fondly to him, making him gulp as he realized that she was not joking. "Besides, I want to spend more time with him."

AJ could not hold a smile from coming to her face as she watched the couple tighten their grip on one another, their tails having yet to drift apart. "Well that was kind if easy to see there sugar cube. Ain't nothin' wrong with that at all . Just wanted to make sure where we were taking y'all. Anyho, Rain called ahead to say that we were goin' to be late today, 'wakin' up late'. They already know that y'all ain't goin' to be there today. Called in sick fer ya both."

"Well thank you Applejack, that was very kind of you to do. Between having to help Spike and trying to catch up on all of the dresses that I have put off for these last two weeks, I am not ready to tackle school today. We will hopefully be there tomorrow." Rarity paused as she looked first at Applejack, then at Rain. "Thank you, thank you both. I know that this was not all Rain's idea. You are the bestest friends that we could ever hope or ask for."

Spike sat up slightly on the bed, resting on his good arm as he spoke in a coarse, almost raspy voice, "I agree with Rarity. You are my two most important friends other than Twilight. You are both always there for me and Rarity, just like you are now. You both helped me to find the courage to tell Rarity how I truly feel about her. It was your inspirational writing that helped me Rain, all of those poems that you wrote for Applejack, they inspired me to write one of my own for Rarity. And it was your reassuring words Applejack that gave me the strength in my heart to take that leap of faith, to just trust what my heart was telling me. Thank you both."

By now Applejack was rather hard pressed to not bury her head in Rain's chest so as to hide the bright red that had happened upon her cheeks. Between Spike's words and Rarity's, it was a wonder that her entire face was not tinted a deep crimson red yet. Although she was embarrassed as to the good nature of things that her friends were praising her about, she knew that all of what they were saying was true nonetheless.

Leaning back against the stallion who was holding one of her hands firmly within his own, she allowed a content sigh to escape her lips as she felt the warmth of his chest against her back. "So uh, Rain an' I are ready to take y'all out of here whenever ya like."

Rarity grinned sheepishly as she sent her eyes back towards Spike, who had done the same. A knowing, nonverbal exchange was passed between them. Just the slight glint in his eyes as the full realization that he was going to be helping Rarity around the boutique once more, a chance to truly spend some 'alone' time with here where they would discuss things like normal couples would, made him want to run out of the hospital himself, taking her with him.

Neither Spike nor Rarity spoke as they slowly inclined their heads towards the opposite couple, a knowing smile spreading across their lips. "I'll be waitin' fer ya in the truck. Come on Rain." With an unspoken agreement, Rain followed his beloved Applejack as they left the room, heading down towards the waiting room.

In the silence that ensued, Spike began to grow nervous. Both he and Rarity knew that he wore naught but a hospital gown covering his entire body, which was slightly embarrassing to him. What was more, was the fact that not only was Rarity his best friend, but now she was also his girlfriend, which made what he had to do all the more embarrassing.

Clearing his throat loud enough to earn the attention of the silvery-white mare, he motioned towards the door. Upon seeing a quizzical expression slip across her perfect features, he could not help but sigh. "Rarity," he began, "I know that we are together now, but I need to change."

"I noticed that darling, but I don't see what is wrong. I have seen you change many times before. Many times when you were soaking wet and I could clearly see what you were hiding if I wanted to." When she saw that he was starting to get a slight shade of rose on his cheeks, she knew that he was really going to be even more embarrassed doing that sort of thing around her now. "Oh, I see darling. No worries my cute Spikey-Wikey, I will leave if that makes you feel better."

Rising from her place beside him on the bed, she reached into a small bag underneath of the bed that had been left for him and placed a bundle of finely folded and wrapped clothing on the sheets. "I love you Spike. I will be waiting just outside of the room if you need anything." Placing a reassuring kiss on his cheek, she smiled warmly as she made her way out of the room, taking a seat in the waiting chair outside.

Silence fell heavy upon the room, almost like a thick blanket of mist that would cloud out one's sight, rendering them blind. Every now and again he could hear the beeping of the machine beside his bed, taking accurate measures of his beating heart. Whirling around in the wind outside were a few leaves of various hues of fall, each one sailing past his field of vision much like a ship upon water. He sighed.

With Rarity gone, Spike whisked away the sheets to see that where there had been wrapped bandages only a few days earlier, was now his bare, exposed flesh beneath the multiple layers of scales that normally covered it. Being wounded like he was, all the way to the soft tissue beneath his hard natural armor, meant that his wounds would take longer to heal than those that he was dealt before. Once the first layer of scales grew in, the rest would be back within a couple of weeks, but for now, he was going to have to wait a few months before the first layer was even halfway grown in.

With his body having such a large gash as it did, meant that the doctors had to remove several layers of scales all around to cauterize the outside of the wound, so as to stop it from tearing apart the flesh underneath. When that was done, they had to use an extremely hot fire to spread over the rest of the gash to make sure that the blood would cease flowing.

Running a single scaled finger over his soft, almost leathery tissue, which was slimy to the touch and left a trail of what looked like soaking wet mucus stuck to the scales on the tip of his finger, he gasped as he felt the organs that were underneath of it. Looking at the skin reminded him of looking at dirt colored water, while yet it felt almost like a soft, thin sheet that would easily separate from the tiniest of imperfections. Wherever his finger would push down, if only slightly, he would feel the the organs that pumped his blood through them, his 'Gallîánth', which his mother claimed was where his internal fire was made, and the various other organs that kept him alive, shift or part so that he was pushing against either bone or just free floating fluid.

Gasping lightly, he groaned when he tried to trace a finger around the edge of the skin, where the charred flesh and scales met his newest layer of skin. The scales were colored a deep shade of black, while where it met the dirt colored flesh it went from a deep black abyss to a light tint of silver, before it reverted to a deep, almost murky hue of brown, then became a rich dark orange and finally ended in the dirt colored leathery skin. Realizing that touching the rim of his wounds caused the most pain, he made a mental note to always wrap something soft around it to keep it from irritating him whenever he had to move or shift quickly.

Wincing as the pain of his scales rubbed against his new layer of flesh, he managed to slide out of the bed and change into the clothes that awaited him. A pair of fairly new blue jeans, a black tank top, and his favorite necklace that his mother had given him when he first moved out. Letting the only piece of jewelry that he owned slide around his neck made him feel at home, gave him renewed hope that no matter what, he was always going to love his mother and father, and they were always going to love him. Looking down, he saw his name staring right back at him, big black letters that spelled 'Spike', written in his mother's very own handwriting and crafted out of solid green emeralds, found in the East side of Equestria. These emeralds were the purest in the entire land, and could never be replicated. Their shine was more brilliant than even the most beautiful sapphire, which made it more valuable to some ponies or dragons than gold.

Smiling, Spike laid the dark mint green gown onto the bed as he grabbed the bag from beneath the bed, beaming even more as he emerged from the seclusion of the hospital room, only to find Rarity lost in a picture that was always precious to them both.

Around her neck hung a heart shaped locket wrought of pure silver, inside of said locket were two pictures; one was of Spike and Rarity when they had first met and had become the best of friends, the other was when he was in his Freshman year of high school. Behind the two were the most beautiful rays of sunshine that his mother had ever made, while before them was a small tower of mild weed grass. A smile was stretched across their faces as Spike sat on a small park bench, with Rarity leaning over him, her arms wrung around his neck as they both looked at the camera, their cheeks touching.

Spike was always fond of the picture himself, as it was the day that he had first joined the school's soccer team, and when he and Rainbow Dash had really started to become more like brother and sister, replicating his relationship with Twilight. Yet it was also the first and only day aside from the last two weeks that Spike had been allowed to escape the torment that he always got from Thunderlane and his entourage.

Gazing at the picture reminded him of when he was younger and he had thought that his mother was the most beautiful mare to ever exist. But that changed the day that he met Rarity. Even as they grew older, Spike watched as almost everyday the mare that he had started to fall in love with grew ever more beautiful. Now, starting two weeks ago, he no longer had to fantasize about what life with her would be like, no longer did he have to imagine what it would be like if he kissed her, nor did he have to wonder what it would be like if she knew his feelings for her. Now, if he wanted to feel her soft serene lips against his, he could. If he wanted to hear her sweet laughter at any given moment, all he had to do was say what always made her laugh.

Resting a hand on her shoulder, he almost jumped when she placed her own free hand over his, her fingers interlacing with his while a deep felt shudder rocked her body. Despite the fact that for two weeks they had been sharing the same bed almost nonstop, he was still not fully used to the new physical contact that was between them.

Rarity enjoyed every moment of her new relationship status with Spike, her best friend, her would-be brother, her lover, but more than that, the most loyal boyfriend that she could ever hope to have. Years ago, she would lie awake at night and wonder what it would be like if she were to ever get with Spike, what he would do for her, what she would do for him, what their relationship would be like, but now it was a reality. What she imagined before, was nothing even remotely close to what she was actually feeling. Images in her mind of them together was now a reality to them.

Rarity knew exactly what Spike would do for her. Just like when they were still best friends, he would die for her, he would shoot to the moon for her, he would do anything for her, and he would always wear a smile upon his face when he did. Only now, she knew that he did it not only because he wanted to, but because he loved her with all of his heart, and that was never going to change. No matter what life was going to throw at them, he was never going to rest unless she was truly happy with what he gave her. What she truly cherished about their new relationship however, was when they would be close together in a hug or a kiss, where nothing but them existed. It was in these moments that she felt truly free. Only when she was wrapped up in his arms did she ever truly feel pure, like nothing in the world could ever hope to harm her, ever hope to see her, or ever hope to stop her.

Looking away from the locket, Rarity managed to steal away Spike's undivided attention, his eyes falling slowly as he leaned in close to her. Letting her own eyes fall, Rarity waited in quiet anticipation for what was about to come. Feeling Spike's fingers tightening around her own made her smile wider as he placed his lips against her own, feeling the warmth, the love, the protectiveness that was always surrounding him.

Neither one paid attention to the sounds of the voices screaming down the hallway to a nurse or doctor. Not even the sound of a scratchy voice over the intercom could separate them away from what was their sole moment in their own world together. Silence seemed to befall around them. Slithering in like a shadow of night, the quiet world that they always reeled into was once more thrust upon them. As with all good things however, they were forced to break apart when they each realized that they had yet to meet up with Applejack and Rain, who were awaiting them in the parking lot outside.

At the end of the hall was a tall dark emerald cloaked figure, his golden yellow eyes looking like two flickering candles in a gentle breeze as he watched every move that the young couple made. His gaze never left them as they rose from their chairs and began to run down the hall, the silvery-white mare leading the amethyst drake. In a hushed whisper, the figure spoke to the air, "Target in sight master. Beginning recon: Phase One now." Silent as a thief in the night, the cloaked figure began to walk backwards towards the open window behind him, where he knew he could easily catch up to the young couple.

Giddy to return to the boutique so that they might continue their little moment of escape, Rarity lead Spike down the various halls of the hospital's IC wing. Many of the nurses and doctors that they passed yelled at them to slow down, which they neither one took heed of. With Spike trailing right behind her, he said nothing, not even allowing a single grimace of pain cross his face from the rubbing of his scales against the charred rim.

Exiting the IC wing, Rarity still led as they made their way down the various other halls of the hospital until they emerged on the bottom floor.

With a small ding, the elevator doors wheeled back to reveal the lobby floor. Glossy white tiles reflected back the white lights from above. Along either wall was a row of pictures plastered above a mint green paint. To the right of the elevator was a small desk, where a single clerk sat, looking over his paper work while answering numerous calls and punching new information into the computer at his station. Still feeling giddy, Rarity smiled as she nudged Spike's side, almost laughing from how giddy she was feeling. "What do you say about a little race Spikey-Wikey? Last one to the truck has to give the winner a massage?"

Without so much as a sideways glance to acknowledge that he had heard her, he took off like a streak of lightening. Rarity adopted a stern expression as she watched the drake race down the open lobby without a care in the world. Ahead she heard his laughter as he slowed down to a trot to look behind, only to see her glaring at him. Laughing even more, he shook his head before he resumed his pace, though now with a slight limp in his step. Rarity, knowing that if she did not start now was going to lose, shook her head as she raced after her drake.

Rain moaned lightly as he felt Applejack nibble at the side of his neck, taking the skin and fur into her mouth between her teeth, where she would give a sharp tug before doing it to another spot. Her hands were running up and down his slightly toned chest while his hands ran through her hair, the stetson she usually wore sitting on the dashboard to cover them from sight. At times, she would stop long enough to press her lips against his, making him wish for more, but knowing that they were better than that to do anything in the truck.

Feeling her hands begin to progress lower, he pressed their lips harder together as she began to scoot closer, almost to the point where she was sitting in his lap. Without letting her hands go too far, she teased him more by biting down hard on his neck, making him release a rather loud moan while their tails quickly found each other, tugging hard enough to make them think that if they were to be tied together in a knot, there was no chance of it coming loose for a good long while.

Rain chanced a glance over the stetson as he was pushed higher up into the seat, where Applejack could place warm kisses against his furry chest. Warmth engulfed him as he felt her lips against his heart, knowing that, if given the chance, her kisses would progress lower. Looking up, he lost his smile slightly. Upon seeing Rarity and Spike running out to them, with Spike's bag flapping against his back and in a slight limp, while Rarity's mane trailed behind her, he was forced to lovingly push Applejack away. "AJ, here they come."

No other words were said as Applejack quickly pushed back her hair, trying to erase all evidence as to what they had just been doing together. While Rain was doing the same with his hair, and smoothing out his shirt, she slipped on her stetson to make it look like they had been doing nothing more than talking. Applejack was treated to the same sight as Rain when she looked forward, laughing as both Rarity and Spike were running towards the truck like a pair of wild Timber-Wolves out for a kill.

Spike slammed into the hood of the truck with his outstretched hands to stop himself. Without much effort on his part, he walked to the bed of the truck, where he slung the bag of clothes into the bed before he too jumped in, ducking down as Rarity arrived herself. Before Applejack could even start up the truck, the silvery-white mare had launched herself into the bed, being caught by Spike. Rubbing their noses together, the newly formed couple began to roll around in the bed, being careful to not get too rough on account of Spike's injuries.

With a warm, caring smile, Applejack started up the truck, the whole while watching the young couple. "Ya know Rain, they remind me of us when we first got together. When we would roll around in the South field or the West orchard and wrestle ya know?"

Smirking slyly to himself, Rain leaned over towards Applejack to place a kiss on her cheek. "You know, I seem to recall someone wanting do more 'physical activities' that didn't involve clothes." He grinned in victory when she blushed. "Tell you what, the quicker we drop them off, the more time that we can have to 'play' some more before we are due to be in school. I don't think that thirty minutes is exactly enough time. Do you?" Shaking her head, the mare grew her own grin as she almost floored the gas backing out of the parking spot. Turning the truck into drive, Applejack paid little attention to anything else aside from the rode as she dashed out of the parking lot faster that Rain himself would have liked.

---

Sunlight shimmered in from the window above the Carousel Boutique's main entrance, wrapping its bright tendrils around the glass chandelier that was in the middle of the foyer. Spectrums of light reverberated off of the various mirrors that lined the room, casting multiple translucent hues of the rainbow around the entire boutique. Both Rarity and Spike were mesmerized by the sight of it all as they entered the store, having been dropped off by Applejack not even a few moments ago. Neither one knew what magical sight was going to greet then when they entered the store that day, but both were equally pleased.

Glancing towards the far corner of the room, right where the posing stage ended against the bright white wall, were a few boxes with Spike's name on them. Taking no notice of the boxes however, Spike continued to gaze around the room, following all of the hues as they emerged from the chandelier. Each hue was rich, and refined to the point that each one looked almost like a beam of energy that could be used to create masterful works of art like the one that he was looking at.

Rarity, growing curious of the stacks of boxes in the room, began to walk over towards them, earning the attention of an awestricken drake. Opening the first box, Rarity was a bit surprised when she saw a bunch of Spike's clothing piled almost to the very lip of the box. Rifling through the clothes, she found some of his personal notebooks and soccer gear lining the bottom, along with a note attached to the bottom of his cleats. It read,

'Dear Spike, Mom and I thought that after you got out of the hospital you would like to move in with Rarity. Mom must really trust you, because when I asked her about Rainbow moving in she said no, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her right? Anyway, brought some of your clothes over. I will get the rest of your stuff over when I have the free time. Love you big brother, Ryder.'

Rarity giggled to herself as she reread the note, almost feeling her heart skip a beat when she reread the part about Spike being trusted to move in with her. It took every ounce of her willpower to neither start jumping and screaming to Celestia, nor to yell at Spike about the great news. However, she did allow herself a brief moment to dance in place while Spike began to search through the box himself. "Uh, Rarity? Why are my clothes in this box?"

Forgetting that she had yet to read him the note, she grinned. After reading him the note, a dead silence fell upon them, more silent than any other that they had, had before. Spike scratched the back of his head as he said, "So I guess that this means we are officially a couple now." Rarity was slightly worried that he was not smiling like she was. She began to worry that he was not happy with being with her like she was. Fear gripped her heart as she began to realize that Spike may love her, but not enough to live with her yet.

Tears began to form in the ends of her eyes as she gasped. "Y-you don't sound so happy. I-Is this not w-what you wanted?"

Spike refrained from looking up at the mare as he paced back and forth before her, a hand on his chin while the other massaged his bad leg. "Well, I wanted to move in with you, that much is true. Let me see, I love you, I want to be with you, but not fully mated yet...I know. There was something that I was forgetting to get for you. Wait here." As he turned around, he could not help but chuckle silently to himself.

Rarity watched as Spike went back over to the stack of boxes, quickly searching through the first two before finally growing happy with the third. Near the bottom, she heard him grunt as he tried to pull something out. Remembering what the doctor had said, she was about to tell him to stop when he pulled his arm free, keeping something tightly within his grip and hidden away from her. With a beam wider than the sun itself, he made his way back over to her.

"It has been a long time since I grew these feelings for you Rarity. About a month ago, I got this gift for you, hoping that you would love it when I gave it to you. Well, here it is Rarity." Pulling his hands around, he presented her with a rectangular navy blue velvet case. With a shaky hand, he turned it so that the clasp holding it shut was facing her. Reaching out, she opened the case and took in a sharp gasp of air. "I know that you love sapphires, so I thought that these would bring out your eyes, you know, 'make them shine more brightly' as you always say."

His words were lost on her. Her voice, caught behind the now large lump in her throat, was unable to form any coherent syllables. Before her very eyes was the most beautifully hand-crafted sapphire necklace that she had ever seen. Wrapping around a thin black string were numerous sapphire diamonds, each one etched with a letter. Altogether they spelled out, 'Rarity and Spike Forever'. The mare felt more tears come to her eyes as she glanced over the necklace a second, third, and forth time. The beauty that it entailed, made her thankful that Spike was now her boyfriend, but more than that, he now belonged to her, just as she belonged to him.

Picking up the necklace from its case, Spike walked around behind Rarity as he slid it around her neck, making sure that the silver clasp was secured. Hesitantly, Rarity lifted up a hand to run her fingers against the sapphires. Soft giggling escaped her luscious lips as she twirled around in place, loving the giddiness that the necklace had brought up in her. Although Spike always felt the fear that should anything happen to go sour between them was always evident, he knew that it was likely to never happen.

Spike placed a kiss against her cheek as he walked around to once more stand before her. Putting out his arms, it was all she could do to not fall into them. She buried her head into his chest, her tears soaking through his tank top as he caressed her, the only sound being her low sobs of joy. "Shh, Shh. There is nothing to cry about Rarity. I am here."

Looking up, she smiled warmly at him. "It's just that, I thought you were going to say that you did not want to live with me, that you did not love me enough like that yet. I was afraid that you were going to leave me Spike."

Hearing her words almost made him want to start to tear up as well. Instead, he opted to silence her with his love before she thought anything else negative. Using his fingers to aide him, Spike lifted her head even more so that he was fully looking her in the eyes. "I am never going to leave you Rarity. Don't ever let anypony tell you otherwise. Never even think that way. Cause you know what?" He paused to let her ponder the truth of his words. "Not even this world, nor even my own grandfather could separate me from you. I love you Rarity, and I promise you right now that I will always be here when you need me."

Tears began to form in the corners of his emerald eyes as the intensity, and truth in what he was saying grew higher and higher. Quickly leaning forward, he once more captured her lips within his, silencing her beyond relief. Passion, unlike any other felt before, washed over them like a giant tittle wave. For only a brief moment of serenity that surrounded them, they knew each other thoughts, desires, dreams, fears. Their hearts beat as one, their intake of breath the same pace. Neither one ever felt more right, more at home, more natural than here and now. This moment was special to them, for this moment began their loves together fully anew.

Breaking apart, both Rarity and Spike had to lean their heads together while each had to take in a fresh breath of air. Quite literally, the kiss had stolen away their breath, leaving them unable to form any coherent words. Neither one spoke, just solely listened to the heavy panting of their respective mate. Stealing away the courage that was within his body, Spike pulled Rarity into yet another kiss, this time more fiercely. Putting all of his weight behind him, Spike pushed against Rarity to the point that they began to walk backwards. Not even caring what was about to happen, Spike spun Rarity around so that he fell over the arm of her bright red sofa. Without breaking their passionate make-out session, he pulled Rarity closer while burying his back into the cushions.

Running a single talon down her back, he could not hold back a hearty chuckle when she would shiver against him, her body pressing harder against him by its own accord. As if by some unspoken agreement their tails began to entwine together. Feeling a bit frisky, Spike ran his hands through Rarity's mane, managing to turn it from a beautiful sight of pure beauty into a frilly mess that almost resembled what she could possibly look like after their usual make-out sessions.

Rarity, try as she might, found herself quickly unable to keep up pace with Spike. No matter how much she wanted to be with him, she knew that it was never going to compare to how much he really wanted to be with her. Nothing she could ever do for him, nothing that she could ever give to him could ever compare to what he felt for her all of these years. I love Spikey, but he loves me more than I will ever be able to comprehend. His love is unmeasurable, unable to be described in words. The depth of it goes far beyond this world. It's almost like his love for me will transcend the flesh, just like Princess Celestia and Prince Lethnal.

Through her closed eyes, Rarity gasped within her mind. The true scope of what she meant to Spike, of what he meant to her finally flicked on like a light switch. Spike is willing to die to protect me. He almost did, and because of it we were brought together. Although I love Spike, I think I finally understand just how much I truly mean to him. If it wasn't for me, he would have been a lot worse off, probably would have died by now. I am the flame that keeps him alive, the spark that is his fuel for the fire that will always warm me when I need it to.

Rarity released a small moan when she felt his lips leave hers, only to press against the soft fur on her neck, his tongue tickling the skin beneath. Biting her lower lip, she allowed her eyes to remain closed while his fangs brushed against the side of her neck. Even though Rarity knew almost next to nothing about dragons or their culture, she did learn a few things from Princess Celestia during the two weeks that she was in the hospital. She learned about the Dülthùr Vĕxna, or the 'Blood Bond'.

The Dülthùr Vĕxna is a sacred dragon tradition known only to those who wish to be with a dragon themselves. During the Dülthùr Vĕxna, the male will make the first move by biting the female on the neck, hard enough to draw blood. The male would then drink a few drop from the female, marking her as his forever. In return, the female would do the same to the male, marking him as hers forever. After marking one another, they would hold a small bowl beneath them to allow a small flow of their combined blood to pool in the bottom. After a set amount was in, the couple would then drink the blood together, marking them as eternal mates and making each other permanently bonded. After this, no other male could claim the female, just as no other female could claim the male. If any were to try, the result would be immanent death.

There is always one flaw with the Dülthùr Vĕxna however; when the male and female drink the blood, it does not mean that they are mates, but instead it means that they are promised to each other. In a sense, it is more of an engagement rather than a marriage. When they mate however, it must be on the night of a full moon, instead of during any other time, as it was believed that the moon provided the power to make the couple officially a mated pair.

Rarity's train of thought was derailed when she felt Spike start to brush his fangs slightly harder against her flesh, his lips almost begging for her to tell him just one simple word, 'yes'. Grinning slyly, the mare ran her hands through Spike's neon green hair, loving how soft it felt beneath her touch. In a hoarse whisper, Rarity said, "I know that it is going to be hard for me to do, but I am willing to try the Dülthùr Vĕxna with you Spike."

Upon hearing what Rarity suggested, Spike broke away from his place on her neck to look into her sapphire orbs. Gulping, he leaned in closely as he asked, "Are, are you sure Rarity. I mean, we only got together two weeks ago, I hate to think about what could happen if..."

Rarity placed a finger against his lips to silence him. "I am well aware of what this means Spike, and though I have never really tasted blood, I am willing to do things in your tradition. No other male of any race could ever hope to capture my heart the way that you have. I want to be one with you. Although I am not ready to bare a child, I am ready to know that I am claimed by you. I am well aware that we have only been a couple for two weeks, but we have known each other for over twelve years. Hate to admit it darling, but we have been on a great many 'dates' already."

Spike, still looking like a deer caught in headlight, was unable to say anything. "Spike, you don't have to say anything." Growing silent, her grin turned into a broader smile as she exposed her neck to him, letting him see the very thing that would forever mark her as his own. "Come on Spikey-Wikey, please. Make me yours."

Spike just stared at Rarity, feeling his head reeling. She, she actually loves me. I thought that what she said before was more of like a 'I like you' rather than a genuine 'I love you'. But now, now I know that she really does mean what she says. Here she is offering herself to be my mate, well more to be claimed to be my mate. So she will be my mate soon enough, but when is up to her according to tradition, but I do know that is must be during a full moon, she must too if she knows about the Dülthùr Vĕxna. Rarity, my mate, my eternal lover. Can't really say that I don't want that, but the only thing that is keeping me back is the possibility of a child. Neither Rarity nor I are ready for that kind of responsibility yet.

"Rarity I can't." His words felt like stones in his heart, and he regretted having to say what he did. "I know that this is not want you want to hear Rarity, but we can't. Neither I nor you are ready to take care of a child, which I know will happen if we consummate. I love you Rarity, so very much, so deeply." He lightly tapped her lips. "But I also know where to draw the line. As much as I want to claim you as my own, I cannot rightly do that. Yes you are offering yourself to me, but I have to decline. I mean, are you really sure that you want to spend the rest of your life with me." As much as he didn't want it to, Spike's doubtful side was starting to peak up.

Rarity, picking up on the drake's saddened tone, swiftly placed a kiss against the underside of his jaw line. "Yes Spikey-Wikey. For years I have given though to what I want. I realized, you are what I have always wanted. Sure there had been a few colts along the way that might have caught my eye, but you know why I never gave them a chance?"

Spike sighed as he looked deep into her sapphire eyes. "Because they didn't quite fit what you were looking for in a respective mate?"

Rarity giggled. Leaning forward, she placed a kiss against his lips. "Because none of them were you. Spike, please, don't make me wait anymore. I have wanted this for the last ten years, and I don't want to lose this chance to be with you forever. Claim me, claim me now. Please." Holding her mane to the side, Rarity exposed her neck to him, moaning when she felt his breath against the nape. "Please Spike, please..."

Spike felt his sense of reasoning start to slip away. He would be lying if he said that he didn't truly want this. Ever since he met the mare over twelve years ago he has wanted to do this with her. But now that the chance was here, he could not help but feel that it would be a mistake to pass it up. Although, whenever he would think about doing it, he would remember what his mother had said when he was in the hospital, during one of the rare times that Rarity was out of the room. "Spike, I know you are at a young age, and might try what your father did, seeing as how you are so much like him.

"If you want to perform the Xenĩth Zenzthin, or just simply mate with Rarity in whatever fashion seems fit, it is perfectly alright if you do. You are after all close to being on your own Spike, and if that is what you want then I trust your judgment. You are my son little Spikey, no amount of time will ever change that. You will always be that little baby purple bundle that I held in my arms all those years ago." Tears were now falling from his mother's eyes as she recalled the night that she had given birth to him.

"Spike, you must promise me that you will never partake in anything physical with Rarity until you are both ready. Even so much as the Dülthùr Vĕxna unless you are absolutely sure that you two want to spend the rest of your lives together. Promise me."

"I promise mom..."

Spike sighed in defeat as he looked back up into Rarity's beautiful features. Her eyes were closed tightly, her breath coming in shallow gasps, while her heart rate was beating along with his own. Licking his lips, he softly whispered, "I am ready mother." Glancing towards the hallway leading up to Rarity's personal quarters of the boutique, he saw his father standing there, almost as if he was waiting to intervene should things go too far. In the same tone, though now slightly pleading, he whispered, "Please dad, let me have this one time alone with her. I promise not to take it too far. Go, be with mom, tell her the news." With a silent nod, Lethnal twirled around before he vanished in a small cloud of mist.

Bringing his eyes back to Rarity's exposed neck, Spike said, "Brace yourself Rarity." Jutting forward, his sharp fangs sank into the bare flesh beneath her silvery-white fur. Rarity gasped as she felt his teeth pierce her skin, but she put on slight smile as she groaned, digging her fingers into the back of his neck. Blood began to seep from around Spike's fangs, making him pull them out. Using his tongue, he began to lap at the liquid, loving the taste. Yes it tasted just like the copper, almost iron like taste that was always with it, yet what made him want more of it was not only the fact that he knew it was Rarity's blood by her scent assaulting his nose, but that the blood had the same taste that he was smelling, vanilla.

Pulling Rarity closer, he buried his tongue into the wounds, looking to get all that he could before his saliva would cause her wounds to heal over. The more that he took, the more that he felt his heart want to be closer to Rarity, and the more that his mind made his own blood begin to course through his body to his arms, his hands, his feet, anywhere but towards his heart. Time slowly passed, making seconds seem like minutes, minutes hours, and an hour a year.

Spike was fighting within his own mind to control the amount of blood that he was taking in. For he still needed her blood to flow to complete the Dülthùr Vĕxna. Finding that he had taken enough, and finally gaining some control back over his body, Spike fulled away, strings of saliva connecting his lips to her neck. Using a finger, Rarity broke the string before she pulled Spike into a passionate kiss, letting her tongue brush against his fangs, finding small amounts of her blood still coating them. Deciding to take a risk, she pulled the blood into her own throat, tasting it for the first time.

It tasted sharp, almost metallic like iron as it coursed down her throat, yet it was also slightly salty with a bit of vanilla to it. Finding that the taste was manageable, she resumed her kiss with him. Feeling his forked tongue wrap each single tendril around a separate part of her tongue always brought about a sort of adrenaline induced state where her head would feel light, heart soaring in the clouds, while her lungs could never get enough air.

Pulling away, she could not help but ask, "So uh, how am I supposed to um, bite you? I have no fangs. Are you going to cut yourself or...?"

Spike smiled warmly through his closed eyes as his mouth moved. No words came out, but she felt her teeth begin to brush against each other, some separating as a new set of teeth came in. In the forefront of her teeth grew in a set of sharp canines, fangs. "A spell that I learned from my mother. When we were in the hospital, she taught it to me when you were not there." He paused to take a breath. Between drinking her blood and the kiss, he was ready to pass out from the lack of oxygen that he was getting. "You, you can n-now finish."

Turning his head to the side, exposing his neck to her, Spike smiled and waited in quite anticipation for her to bite. Not even ten seconds passed before Rarity assaulted him, her fangs sinking past the scales into the flesh beneath as easily as a knife through butter. He moaned as he felt the sharp sting of her pearly white teeth drawing forth his blood, which he was all too happy to give her.

Blood began to seep past Rarity's sunken fangs. Taking this as her que, the mare pulled out her canines just as Spike had before her. Placing her lips around the wounded flesh, she used only her tongue to draw out the blood before taking it down her gullet. The taste was not at all like she had before. The taste was better that she thought it would be. It still had the metallic taste, but it was also laced with a combination of cinnamon sticks and for some odd reason, sugar. It was very sweet tasting, and it made her crave for more.

Upon smelling Spike's invigorating scent, she felt a sort of frenzy begin to overtake her. Thus she was unable to control herself as her body began to suckle the loose blood up, unable to stop. She began to grind her body against his in her induced state, and she was loving every minute of it. Between the blood that she was drinking, and the love that she had for Spike, she felt that this was perfect. A moment in time that would forever be locked away in their memories.

Some time passed before Rarity finally pulled away. Spike could not help but smile when her saw her. Her mane was tossed about her head in a frilly mess, sweat was dripping from her exposed flesh, while a string of saliva still connected her to his neck. To top off the scene, blood was dripping from her fangs, pooling on his stomach. Rational thought left him as he pulled Rarity into a deep kiss, not caring about the final part of the Dülthùr Vĕxna. All he wanted was to pull her into his arms and never let her go.

Rarity was not so far gone in the passion as her now soon-to-be-mate was. Unlike Spike, Rarity was still able to retain enough control to have remembered that there was a small bowl on the coffee table beside of them. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the small bowl. It was filled to the brim with elegant emeralds that she had no use for. Managing to break her arm free of Spike, she reached over to grab the bowl. Turning its contents over, she watched as the emerald clattered to the floor with a sharp tink, tink, tink.

Paying it no mind, Spike pushed Rarity up so that they were sitting practically in each others lap. Holding the bowl between them, Spike rested his head against Rarity's while their blood pooled in the bowl beneath the. Neither one spoke, instead allowing their actions to speak for them. Small kisses were placed on the others face. Drawing forth a sharp breath of air, Spike smiled as he licked her lips with his tongue, begging for another kiss. His wish was granted.

Passion flowed between the two, but both were careful. They both knew that of they allowed the passion to take full hold of them that it would end with something that they were not ready for just yet.

Glancing down, Spike saw that their flow of blood was starting to cease, but what amazed his however was the fact that their pooled blood was almost past the half-way mark of the bowl. Breaking apart their kiss, Spike raised the bowl to where it was resting again both of their lips. Closing his eyes, he poured some into his lips, then allowed her to do the same. Before she could swallow any of the mixture, Spike captured her lips with his, before opening his mouth and letting their blood mixture come together between them. Rarity giggled mentally at just how much Spike wanted to be with her, to kiss her like he was, even with their blood mixture between them. Leaning in more, she accepted what was about to come. As one, they swallowed all that was between them.

For a few more minutes they spent time swapping the blood between their mouths before drinking it down. By the end of the Dülthùr Vĕxna, the sofa had a few darker spots on it, while Rarity's shining silvery-white coat was covered in spot of crimson. Spike the same with his amethyst scales. Despite this however, Rarity could care less. She was happy with the way that the day had turned out, and with it only being morning, there was still plenty that they could do to pass the time until night. "Spikey. What do you say we get to uh, moving you in?"

Grinning, he placed another kiss on her lips as he said, "How about a shower first, eh?" Grinning back, Rarity pulled him with her towards the stairs. Neither one really cared about the mess on the sofa, all they cared about was each other. All that mattered to them in the world was their love, and nothing was ever going to change that, nothing...

---

Streams of light were plastered against the evening sky likes giant plumes of smoke billowing forth from a dragon-fueled fire. Orange was the most prominent color, drowning out the slight shimmer of gold that would sway to and fro. In the foreground were the deep purple clouds, while on the distant horizon was his mother's beautiful sun, kissing the world away until morning as it always did. Today though, it meant so much more to him.

A gentle breeze blew against his back, cooling him to the very bones. Freshly falling leaves fluttered past him, orange, red, yellow, all carried along the back of the wind. The grass swayed beneath his feet, at times leaning towards him as though it welcomed his presence. Heavily in the air was the sweet, tangy aroma of freshly painted grass. Taking in a deep breath of the evening air, he raised his head towards the sky before he released a jet of fire, displaying his happiness for all of the world to see, regardless of who was watching him. Tongues of fire rushed past his cheeks, bathing him in a firey inferno that displayed various hues of flames.

Before him was a slight mound that he always knew would hinder his sight of his favorite field in the world. Without further delay, he dashed forward, ignoring the pain in his leg. As he drew near, he could not help but cock his head slightly to the side. Just over the mound was the sound of laughter, a blowing whistle, and several grunts. Quickening his pace, Spike had to gasp when he reached the top of the mound.

Standing on the sidelines of the field was his older brother, Shining Armor, who was acting as their coach this year. Standing beside him was Twilight, his older sister. Shining Armor was glancing at a clipboard every so often, but most of the time he was watching the other ponies. Over twelve ponies were here today.

Among the mass he could make out a few that he knew, and was surprised to see. Applejack, Rain, Ryder, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Cobalt. The rest he had either never seen before, or had rarely known. One that stuck out in his mind however was a mare with silvery-white fur, yet had a light and dark blue striped mane. Long ago he had met her, and could remember nothing about her other than that she was a musician.

Noticing Spike, Shining Armor ran over to where he was standing on the mound of grass, looking awestruck over the field. Smiling warmly, Shining Armor said, "Hope you don't mind, I sort of had to be the coach. What do you think?"

It took Spike's mind a moment to realize what Shining had said. "Oh, this is uh, cool I guess. Where did all of these ponies come from? I have never seen so many on the team since I was three. Did you have something to do with this?"

Chuckling, Shining Armor pointed out to where Applejack was standing, "Between her and Rain, they managed to get a lot of ponies to come. Believe it or not, all they had to do was promote the team. You are not as alone as you think little bother.."

"So, does this give us enough to play this year?"

"You bet ya bro. You need to get better pretty quick, our first game is less than a month away."

From a distance, two golden orbs from the same hooded figure as before watched the drake as he tried his best to race towards the field with his injured leg. Speaking again to the air, he said, "Contact is back on the team master. Permission to initiate Phase Two?" Silence, then, "Yes master. He will not suspect a thing."