“This is ridiculous, Spike. Rainbow Dash doesn‘t know what she‘s talking about. You‘re the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful dragon I know.” Luna said after hearing Spike’s tale of what happened. He had sent her a letter requesting her presence immediately to talk about everything that occurred.

“Am I Luna? What if I’ve been manipulating ponies with my eyes without even realizing it? What if I hurt somepony and I didn’t even realize it because I just assumed they were happy? I need to check and make sure I’m not who Rainbow Dash says I am.” Spike said pacing around the room. Luna sighed and came to a decision.

“If this is what you’re planning to do, I’m going with you. My magic will make the search much easier. I’m going to show you that you’ve done nothing but good for the ponies you helped.” Luna said hoping to get Spike back to normal. She had planned to confess to him tomorrow and doing so while he was down on himself.

“You don’t have to do this, Luna. It’s my problem, not yours. I just called you here to get an update on the future.” Spike said.

“Since the future of Ponyville is still at stake, it is my problem. I’m also your friend. I’m going with you and that’s final.” Luna said stomping her hoof.

“I guess I can’t argue with one of the Royal Pony Sisters.” Spike said. He found her behavior reassuring and slightly amusing.

“Good. Now get some sleep you look exhausted.” Luna said as Spike yawned.

“You’re right. I’ll see you in the morning.” Spike said heading to his bedroom. Suddenly, a pain in his abdomen caused him to fall before he could make it.

“Spike! Are you okay?” Luna said rushing to his side.

“I’m fine.” Spike said kneeling on the floor holding his stomach.

“You’re obviously not. What’s really wrong?” Luna asked.

“I didn’t finish when I was with Rainbow Dash. I guess my body is just having difficulty calming down after all that excitement from earlier.” Spike joked despite the pain.

“Spike…” Luna said clearly concerned.

“Don’t worry about it. It’ll go away soon.” Spike said as he tried to get back up only to end up kneeling again. He took a few deep breaths before trying stand up again this time managing to stay upright and take a few steps. He could only make a few awkward steps forward before he felt himself being lifted up by magic and laid upon the couch. He was about to question her when she placed a hoof to his lips.

“You’re in pain, Spike. I’m not going to sit by while you suffer.” Luna said sitting on the floor in front of the dragon’s legs. She felt compelled to tend to Spike in his time of need. It was more than his physical pain that made her want to do this, but she also felt that Spike needed

“Luna, you don’t have to-” Spike’s protest was cut short as Luna closed her eyes and used her magic to bring out his penis. Her magic wrapping itself around his flaccid member. She carefully coaxed it out letting her magic envelop and massage Spike’s dragonhood. It was only a few seconds before Spike was fully erect.

Luna managed to open her eyes long enough to behold the object of her deepest desires. It was bigger than she expected and had a noticeable warmth radiating from it. She tried to control herself, but she could feel her own body growing wet at the wondrous sight in front of her. Still massaging him with her magic, she took his member in her hooves and began to gently stroke him.

Spike was in heaven as the sensation of Luna’s hooves was added to her magic touch. It was like being touched being inside of a mare while being stroked at the same time. Spike knew he wouldn’t last long like this.

“Luna, I’m close.” Spike said quickly. As soon as Spike said that, he felt Luna’s mouth take hold of his tip slowly sucking on it. His mind went blank for a moment as it tried to process everything happening to him. Luna was sucking tip, stroking the base of his cock, and let her magic take hold of everything in between. It was absolutely euphoric. Spike could feel his pleasure about to come to its inevitable end.

“Luna!” He cried out loud as he released his hot seed inside of her mouth. His body felt like it was being consumed by pleasure as he slipped into unconsciousness. Luna swallowed every bit savoring the saltiness of Spike’s seed as he shot his load into her mouth. By the time Luna looked up, Spike was already fast asleep.

Luna lifted him onto her back and carried him to his bed. After she tucked him into bed, she looked down at his sleeping form and wondered what he was thinking. He seemed so peaceful, but he would definitely be confused about what just happened when he woke up. Would he be mad or perhaps happy? Would things end up becoming weird between them? She leaned over and gave his forehead a kiss before departing. The answers would have to wait until tomorrow.

“Goodnight, my sweet dragon.” She said wishing she could stay. Wishing she could hold his body close to her as he slept and whisper her love to him as he rested in her embrace. Unfortunately, she couldn’t bear to do anymore and risk further confusing him. She had no idea what would happen tomorrow morning, but she could at least take solace in the fact that she had comforted him, at least for one night.

The Next Morning

Spike awoke to the bright morning sun outside his window. His mind littered with the events of the previous day. Between Rainbow Dash’s harsh words causing him to question everything and the princess’ special favor, he couldn‘t imagine being more confused.

“At least it can’t get any worse.” Spike said stretching and yawning.

“Hey, Spike!” Pinkie Pie said standing in front of his bed shocking him.

“Pinkie Pie! What are you doing in my house?” Spike shouted at his surprise guest.

“I needed to ask you to do something for me so I’ve been standing here just watching you while you sleep. Did you know you toss and turn a lot in your sleep? That’s a sign of stress. Are you under stress, Spike? I know great way to relieve-”

“Hold on a second! How long have you’ve been watching me sleep, and why didn’t you wake me up?” Spike asked.

“About an hour or so. I didn’t want to wake you so I just waited for you to get up.” Pinkie Pie said with a huge smile. Spike was about to make a comment about how creepy it is to just watch someone sleep, but decided to just skip to why she was here instead. His life was complicated enough without having to explain things to Pinkie.

“Ok, what do you want?” Spike said exasperated.

“I need you to bring Luna to Sugarcube Corner tomorrow evening.” Pinkie Pie whispered. Spike remembered that Luna’s birthday was tomorrow. It was completely natural for Pinkie Pie to want to do something for her.

“Ok, I guess. Are you giving her a present or something?” Spike asked.

“Something like that, but you can’t tell Luna about it. Pinkie promise you won‘t tell her anything.” Pinkie Pie said with a serious look on her face.

“I don’t know anything, Pinkie Pie. You just told me to bring her to the bakery.” Spike said pointing out his own lack of critical information.

“And it’s really important that you don’t tell her that, Spike. It’ll ruin everything.” Pinkie Pie said as if the fate of Equestria were at stake. Spike decided it was best just to appease her. Luna was going to be here any minute and she’d be curious as to why Pinkie was here.

“Fine, I got it. Cross my heart and hope to cry, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Spike said as he performed the necessary actions. Pinkie Pie jumped on to the dragon’s bed and gave him a huge hug.

“Thanks, Spike! You have no idea how much this means to me.” She said rubbing her face against his.

“That’s great, Pinkie Pie, but Luna’s going to be here any minute so could-” Spike and Pinkie Pie both went silent as the sound of magic crackling could be heard outside the room. They both only had enough time to look towards the door as her majesty walked in.

“Spike, are you….awake?” Luna said as she laid eyes on Pinkie Pie laying on top of Spike with her arms wrapped around Spike.

“Uh…Yeah. Pinkie Pie was just leaving. Isn‘t that right, Pinkie?” Spike said nervously. Pinkie Pie caught on and decided to leave before things got more awkward.

“That’s right! I just came to tell Spike something and now that we’ve finished talking I should go. It was nice talking to you, Spike, but after all that talking, I should really get going. Because I‘m so tired from all that talking.” Pinkie Pie said as she made her awkward exit. Spike knew Pinkie Pie meant well but he’d wish she just be quiet. Eventually, it was just Spike and Luna left there to ruminate over the strange series of events.

“Was I interrupting?” Luna asked not sure how to feel about what she just saw. She and Spike weren’t in any sort of relationship but she felt hurt by seeing Spike with another mare. After what happened last night, she had held out some remote hope that he’d see her as more than a friend.

“No, we were just talking.” Spike said. He didn’t want to seem as though he was unsatisfied with what the Princess did last night.

“You don’t have to explain yourself. You can sleep with whoever you want.” Luna said letting her anger taint her words. Spike didn’t know why he was explaining himself in the first place. It wasn’t like last night was anything more than Luna helping him out, but she seemed angry and part of him wanted to know why.

“It sounds like you‘re angry right now.” Spike said noticing the hint of anger in her voice.

“I‘m not angry! You can sleep with whoever you want. It’s not like what happened last night was anything important.” Luna said turning away from him. It was times like this she hated the fact that he could tell when she was lying.

“I just didn’t want you think that I didn’t appreciate what you did last night. I never actually got the chance to thank you. It was really nice what you did back there last night.” Spike said scratching his head nervously.

“You mean it?” Luna asked.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep without it, but there’s one thing that bothers me about last night,” Spike said looking at Luna carefully.

“What’s that?” Luna asked.

“Why would you do something like that when you’re already in love with someone else? I was wondering that last night too, but I was so caught up in what you were doing I couldn‘t bring myself to ask.” Spike said causing Luna to scramble for an answer.

“I…uuhh…” Luna knew this would happen but had no way to respond. She wondered if he knew about her feelings. He had to after what happened last night. Did he already come to that conclusion? Was he waiting for her to confirm her feelings before responding?

“I think I know why you did it though.” Spike said.

“He knows. What‘s he going to say? Is he going to tell me he doesn’t feel the same way? Maybe he thinks my feelings are weird. I told him so much that he probably thinks I‘m weird for hiding my feelings.” Luna thought to herself. She could feel her heart pounding like crazy. Luna wanted to teleport away and hide from Spike, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She could only brace herself for what he said next.

“You’re obviously frustrated sexually by your crush and last night was your way of working through it.” Spike said causing Luna’s jaw to drop. She couldn’t decide whether to be shocked or insulted by Spike’s complete inability to recognize that her feeling were for him. Suddenly, she realized why Spike had came to that conclusion. It was like he couldn’t see himself being with her in anyway possible. It actually hurt more than him turning her down because it meant the idea of being with her as anything more than friends was beyond him.

“Yeah, that’s it.” Luna said trying her hardest not to break down or run away. She still wanted to help him and she also had to think of Ponyville’s future.

“Are you okay, Luna? Your voice sounds kind of shaky.” Spike said noticing a slump in Luna’s perfect posture. As Spike approached the pony standing in his doorway, she turned around with the weakest smile Spike had ever seen. It looked like a smile that was holding a lot of pain behind it.

“Could you excuse me for a moment?” Luna said rushing away from Spike. She made her way to the bathroom and close the door. She could feel herself falling apart on the inside. She made her way to the mirror and looked at her reflection. She didn’t see the powerful goddess who ruled over the night sky anymore. Instead, she saw a pony who had lost everything in the pursuit of something that was never within her reach.

“I’m such a foal!” She said as she watched her reflection. As she began to cry, her reflection seemed to smile at her. She didn’t notice until it spoke to her.

“Yes, you are.” The Luna in the mirror said calmly. The princess wiped her eyes as she saw her reflection take on a life of its own.

“You! But it’s not possible. The Elements of Harmony had-”

“Destroyed me? They could no more destroy me than they could you. After all, we are one in the same. Two sides of the same coin that can‘t exist without the other.” Her reflection said starting to slowly change.

“Why have you returned?” Luna said with an angry tone.

“I only return because you need me, my dear. It‘s your negative emotions that have once again allowed me to reappear.” The reflection’s fur grew darker till it reached a deep black color.

“What are you talking about? I couldn’t be happier.” Luna said pretending to laugh. It was feeding off her own negativity. She couldn’t let it do that or else it would completely consume her. A knock at the door caused her to jump.

“Are you alright, Luna?” Spike asked.

“Of course, I just had to do some thinking. I‘m fine now.” Luna shouted trying to sound happy.

“It seems like you’re lying to everyone, including yourself.” The reflection said as it’s mane transformed into something closer to magic than actual hair. Luna took a few breaths before staring her reflection in the eyes which were starting to turn more catlike.

“I will never let you return, Nightmare Moon.” Luna said with grim determination. The reflection only laughed before returning to normal.

“If only it were up to you,” The reflection said looking towards the door.

“Luna, I’m coming in. Are you sure you‘re okay?” Spike said entering the room. Luna looked at the mirror to confirm that it was back to normal before answering.

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine. We should get going. We don’t have all day you know.” Luna said with a huge smile on her face. It seemed like a huge improvement over earlier but Spike had his doubts about that.

“Don’t you want to talk about what happened earlier?” Spike asked. Luna moved to quickly allay his concerns.

“I’m fine, Spike. You were right before and I just realized it. I actually feel much better about the whole thing now.” Luna said cheerfully. Spike wasn’t convinced but he didn’t want to argue with her.

“I guess if you say so.” Spike said scratching the back of his head. He wanted her to open up but she seemed to push him away at every turn.

“Where did you want to go first?” Luna asked.

“I was thinking about visiting Applejack first.” Spike said.

“Alright, let’s go.” Luna said sounding oddly enthusiastic to the young dragon. He could tell something wasn’t right, but the princess wasn’t talking. Spike decided to ask her after he dealt with his current problem. Whatever Luna was going through couldn’t be that bad, right?

~

Applejack was bucking apple trees when she spotted two figures in the distance approaching. The farm pony wiped her brow as she saw the familiar duo approach. She wasn’t expecting company today, especially from Spike.

“Howdy, Spike. I see you brought your friend from Canterlot by again. Miss Moonbeam, I believe?” Applejack said greeting them warmly. As far as Spike could tell, Applejack didn’t seem angry at him about anything.

“It’s a pleasure to make you acquaintance again, Ms. Applejack.” Moonbeam said curtsying in front of the earth pony.

“Aw shucks, Moonbeam. You don’t have to be so formal. Now what brings you two to these parts?” Applejack asked her guests.

“We were actually just stopping by to see how you were doing.” Spike said.

“Well, I couldn’t be happier. The sun is shining, the land is fertile, and this year’s harvest looks to be our best yet.” Applejack said positively glowing. As Applejack went on about her good fortune, Moonbeam started to grow increasingly ticked off by her happiness. She thought about Applejack being with Spike in an intimate manner. The thought filled her with a bitter resentment of the earth pony.

“That’s great, Applejack, but I was wondering about you personally.” Spike said.

“What are you getting at, Spike?” Applejack asked.

“I want to know how you feel about what happened between us.” Spike said as plainly as possible. Applejack looked shock for a moment. She hadn’t been expecting the nature of his visit to involve such a personal question.

“Why in the world would you want to know about that?” Applejack asked.

“Spike’s going around to see if any of the ponies he slept with harbor any resentment towards him.” Moonbeam said wrapping her arm around one of Spike’s protectively. Applejack could feel a chill make its way up her spine as Moonbeam glared at her. Spike seemed just as shocked by Moonbeam’s behavior. He made a mental note to talk to her about it later.

“Yeah…. I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and I was wondering if you felt bad about what happened between us.” Spike told Applejack. Meanwhile, Moonbeam continued to grip his arm while focusing her icy glare on Applejack.

“Spike, I don’t feel the least bit bad about what happened. Heck, I’m actually glad it happened. I’m actually thinking about dating again.” Applejack said as her cheeks turned a deep shade of red. Moonbeam couldn’t help but feel sick at the sight of Applejack’s happiness.

“Why does she get to be happy? Why does she get to be with anyone she want? I can‘t even get the love of my life to notice me. It‘s not fair.” Moonbeam thought to herself as she unconsciously tightened her arm around Spike’s. Spike could feel the filly’s hold growing stronger…. and oddly enough colder. Something was definitely wrong with her and it couldn’t wait either.

“That’s great, Applejack. I’m glad to hear that. We should probably get going though. I‘ll see you later.” Spike said barely able to pull his arm free and wrapped it around Moonbeam who seemed to be completely unresponsive. As soon as they were out of sight of Applejack, Spike took the opportunity to check on her.

“Are you okay, Luna?” Spike asked. Her gaze was directed squarely at the ground. No response from her.

“Come on, Luna. Say something.” Spike said growing more worried by the second. Silence. In a last ditch effort, Spike lifted up Luna’s head and looked into her blue eyes which seemed almost empty. He tried desperately to find something inside of her mind, but all he could see was darkness.

For a moment, he could see the Luna he knew. The wonderful pony who was there for him when he needed her most. The kind, considerate ruler who was also his friend and closest ally in his struggle to save Ponyville from a bleak future. He could see her surrounded by nothing but a cold, all consuming darkness. He tried to reach out to her with his own mind when he felt himself ejected out of Luna’s mind by the very darkness that surrounded her.

Spike found himself physically thrown back on his tail by the force of it. As he looked on, he saw Luna become encompassed by swirling dark energy that emanated from her body. The sky grew dark as the wind started to whip wildly back and forth. Suddenly the orb of swirling blackness split into two smaller orbs. Spike watched as the orbs began to dissipate revealing two very different ponies.

One who took the form of Nightmare Moon. The other took the form of Moonbeam who now looked like a younger Luna, thanks to the addition of wings of on her back. Spike watched as the two ponies stood a few feet apart from each other. Nightmare Moon seemed angered at the presence of Luna, but deity’s wrath didn’t bother Luna who was staring directly at Spike.

“What is the meaning of this?” Nightmare Moon shouted at Luna. The filly continued to ignore her, despite the booming tone of her voice. Her focus held on Spike as she started to fly ever so slowly towards him.

Spike couldn’t help but focus on how graceful Luna looked as she flew towards him. Her hair lightly swaying as her wings seemed to flap effortlessly. Something was different about her now. Then he saw it. It would have floored him if he wasn’t already sitting on the ground. He wanted to say something to her at that moment. Something to make all the times he hurt her without knowing the truth go away. He wanted to give her back all those moments she spent worrying.

Luna descended slowly wrapping her forelegs around him in a warm hug. Letting her body rest against as he sat on the ground. Her face was close enough to his own that he could he feel her breath.

“Spike, I have something really important to tell you.” Luna said. Her voice was so sweet and soothing that Spike couldn’t imagine a better sound.

“Luna, I-” Spike started to say but he found himself levitated out from under Luna by a tight magic grip holding his arms at his sides.

“You dare to ignore me for this insolent whelp!” Nightmare Moon said as she continued to squeeze Spike in her magic grip.

“Let him go or else.” Luna said with barely controlled anger. Spike could only cry out in pain as Nightmare Moon tightened her hold on the dragon.

“Surrender your power to me or I’ll squeeze the life out of this rodent you love so much.” Nightmare Moon said holding Spike up in front of her. Spike was in an extreme amount of pain as he felt Nightmare Moon crushing his chest. Breathing was almost impossible as his lungs struggled to fill themselves with air. He could probably hit Nightmare Moon with a fireball but to do so would require using what little air that wasn’t being forced out by the grip she had on his chest. If it failed, he’d only suffocate faster and pissing off his attacker, but if he didn’t, Luna might surrender her power to Nightmare Moon which sounded far worse.

Spike knew what he had to do. He turned his head towards Nightmare Moon and gathered what little strength he had left in his body. Nightmare Moon looked at Spike, but didn’t notice what he was doing till it was too late. Spike had let off a fireball in her direction. It was moving way too fast and she had no way of dodging the flaming projectile. Nightmare Moon released her hold on Spike and placed a force field around herself. Spike fell to the ground coughing and clutching his ribs. He didn’t have time to celebrate though as Nightmare Moon would no doubt recover once the smoke cleared. Spike tried to run, but found himself more hobbling than running. He looked up to standing in the same spot glaring at Nightmare Moon. He saw her horn glowing and expected her to teleport the two of them away.

“Alright, Luna. Let’s get of here before she uses her magic again.” Spike said pulling Luna’s arm, but she wouldn’t budge from her spot. She was still looking at Nightmare Moon with that same look of intense hatred she had ever since Spike was grabbed.

“No.” Luna said.

“No? Are you crazy, Luna? She’s going to kill us if we don’t leave. We can get Twilight and the other elements of Harmony.” Spike said continuing to pull on her arm. He had no idea what had come over her. She was acting like she wasn’t the least bit scared.

“I can’t let her get away with it.” Luna said through tightly clenched teeth. Her horn was glowing wit ever increasing intensity.

“Get away with what?” Spike asked looking at the cloud of smoke.

“She hurt you, Spike. I can’t let her get away with that.” Luna said walking forward and breaking Spike’s grip. Spike was about to grab her again when Luna shot a beam of magic directly at Nightmare Moon’s shield shattering it instantly. Even after such a powerful attack, Nightmare Moon was still unscathed and standing strong.

“You pathetic foals! I’ll see you both suffer together for this insolence!” Nightmare Moon said stepping forward to face to Luna. As Nightmare Moon prepared to retaliate, Spike found himself running towards Luna hoping somehow that they could escape unhurt. Just as he reached the filly’s side, something incredible that caused him to stop dead in his tracks. Nightmare Moon immediately crumpled to the ground seemingly out of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Luna holding her down.

“That was amazing, Luna!” Spike said reveling in the fact that Luna had been able to subdue Nightmare Moon. His celebration was cut short as he heard the ground crumbling accompanied by a scream of agony. He looked over to see a crater had formed around Nightmare Moon. The evil pony seemed to be in an extreme amount of pain. Spike looked at Luna and noticed a strange expression on her face as she looked down at her downed foe. It looked like Luna was being cruel on purpose but that couldn’t be right.

“I won’t let anyone take Spike away from me.” Luna growled under her breath as her horn continued to glow. Another cry of pain came from Nightmare Moon as the crater deepened. Spike heard those words and looked into Luna’s eyes from the side. He could see her intentions. She was manipulating the gravity around Nightmare Moon. Using it to slowly crush the life out of her for daring to hurt her beloved. Spike didn’t want that. He had to stop her.

“Luna, you can stop now.” Spike said placing a claw on her back.

“I can’t let anyone come between us, Spike. I have to make sure she never tries to hurt you again.” Luna said looking at Nightmare Moon without mercy. Nightmare Moon entire body looked like it was stuck to the ground, even her mane was being forced down. It was only a matter of time before something snapped from the weight Luna was exerting on her.

“It’s over, Luna. I’m fine. See?” Spike said trying to jump around. He only succeeded in aggravating his chest injury from earlier.

“If I let her go, she’ll try to hurt you again. I just know it. I can’t let anyone hurt you.” Luna said as the crater started to turn into a hole. Spike knew it was only a matter of time before Nightmare Moon. He had to reach Luna somehow before she accomplished her twisted goal.

Spike stepped in front of Luna and smacked her as hard as he could across the face. He had never raised his hand against anyone before. Luna’s horn stopped glowing as she brought a hoof to the sharp pain in her cheek. She looked at Spike with sad puppy dog eyes.

“What the hay are doing, Luna?” Spike said. His face was one of anger and disappointment. He felt bad about hitting her, but what else was he going to do? If she continued, Nightmare Moon would have died.

“I-I’m sorry, Spike. Please don’t hate me. I love you so much.” Luna said nuzzling his chest in apology. Spike flinched a bit as Luna head rubbed against the sore area.

“Listen to me, Luna. I don’t want you to kill anyone for my sake. You got that?” Spike said placing his claws on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes.

“On one condition,” Luna said looking away shyly. How someone could look so cute after almost killing somepony was beyond Spike’s understanding.

“What’s that?” Spike asked.

“Forget all this revolution stuff and just be with me.” Luna said as if it were a mere trifle.

“What about Ponyville’s future?” Spike asked looking into her eyes. He could see something missing in them. Something important that wasn’t there anymore.

“I don’t care as long we’re together, Spike. Don’t you understand? I love you.” Luna said as if it was the only explanation needed.

“What does your love for me have to do with abandoning Ponyville?” Spike said shaking Luna. It was like she had given up on everything except him. He suddenly realized what had been missing from her eyes. Her concern for everyone and anything else was gone. She only had eyes for him now. Eyes devoted to him alone.

“I only want you to love me, Spike. We could be so happy together as long as we have each other.” Luna said innocently. Spike couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Aren’t you a princess? Isn’t it your job to take care of all Equestria?” Spike asked desperately.

“I freed Nightmare Moon so she could take my place. It’ll be her job to help my sister rule all of Equestria.” Luna said.

“You let her out to do what? She tried to create an eternal night, Luna! What makes you think she’ll share the throne with anyone?” Spike asked. He knew Luna wasn’t right in the head, but this was absolute insanity.

“Don’t worry, Spike. She’s not powerful enough to do anything like that anymore. She only has enough to power to raise the moon. If she tried to takeover, Celestia could easily thwart her.” Luna said looking at the broken mare.

“Then why’d you try to kill her just now?” Spike asked taking his arms off Luna. He was visibly shaken by all of this.

“She tried to take you away from me in order to gain the rest of my power. I was fully prepared to kill her if she threatened to take your life. I only stopped because of you.” Luna said with a smile that made Spike sick. She was doing all these things for him. That very thought shook him to his core. He felt like he had brought about this change in her through his actions.

“Why couldn’t you have told me this before?” Spike asked barely able to stand. He was physically and emotionally exhausted.

“I was scared you wouldn’t feel the same way, but then I realized you could never love me as long as I was a princess. It’s okay now because I gave up that life for one with you. I decided to devote my entire life to you.” Luna said happily. Spike thought about all those times Luna teleported away. All those times he suspected she had feelings for him but dismissed them because of her title.

“But what about that guy you said you had feelings for?” Spike asked, but he already suspected the answer.

“I made him up or rather he was you. It seems so silly of me to do such a thing. I guess love makes you do crazy things.” Luna said. Spike wondered if Luna could appreciate the irony of her own statement as much as he could. Spike stepped forward and hugged Luna‘s neck.

“I’m so sorry, Luna.” Spike said crying uncontrollably as he grasped the filly.

“What’s wrong, Spike?” Luna asked concerned for him.

“I should have noticed your feelings sooner. I thought I could look past your title and understand you for the pony you were, but I ended up seeing you as a princess instead of someone who needed to be loved. Can you forgive me, Luna? Can you ever forgive me for being so blind?” Spike said with tears streaming from his eyes. Luna placed a hoof on his back.

“You don’t have to apologize. Everything worked out for the best. As long as I’m with you, nothing else matters to me.” Luna whispered into his ear.

“I promise to fix this, Luna. I’m going to make everything all better.” Spike said hugging Luna tightly.

“Here’s where I saw all that crazy magic, Twi. It was right over here….” Applejack stopped as she led her friends to what was an unbelievable sight. Nightmare Moon was laying in a deep crater in pain while Spike and that filly who bore a strong resemblance to Princess Luna hugged each other.

Spike looked up and saw Twilight Sparkle and her friends walking towards him. He thought this disturbance might draw some attention, but he didn’t expect Twilight to come. Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all gathered around Nightmare Moon.

“Spike, what’s going on here? Why is Princess Luna so young? What happened to Nightmare Moon? Why are you hugging each other?” Twilight asked.

“It’s a long story, Twilight. Can we talk somewhere else? I’m pretty exhausted.” Spike said.

“Of course, Spike. Hop on my back and I’ll carry you to Applejack’s house.” Twilight offered.

Before Spike could accept, he felt Luna try to push herself further into his arms. Spike was baffled by this for a moment when he realized that Luna’s rather extreme devotion to him meant that she was probably prone to being equally jealous or possessive of him. He decided it would best to indulge her since it would be bad if she decided to lash out at somepony.

“I’d rather walk, Twilight. Come on, Luna.” Spike said as Luna followed closely at his side. Twilight could tell from the way Spike was walking that he was in pain. She wondered why he was denying help when he obviously needed it. Did it have something to do with Luna?

Back at Applejack’s Farm

Spike decided to tell them about everything he knew about the situation. How Luna’s feelings for him caused her to split into two separate beings, and how Nightmare Moon ended up so badly beaten.

“So Princess Luna unleashed Nightmare Moon in order to be with Spike. Is that even possible?” Rainbow Dash asked confused by all this. She was still trying to work out what happened between them last night and now this happened.

“Technically speaking, it is possible that on a subconscious level Luna could have unknowingly tapped into her own magical abilities to try to resolve the problem.” Twilight Sparkle said pondering the situation.

“Could you say that in Equestrian, Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I think what she’s trying to say is that Luna’s magic may have acted on it’s own. It‘s a rather common occurrence among unicorns and other magical creatures. It‘s usually not as extreme as splitting oneself into two separate beings.” Rarity explained.

“So your magic can just activate on it’s own?” Applejack asked.

“Under extremely stressful conditions, it can happen. I remember the first time I teleported. I didn’t really mean to do it. I just wanted to get away and it happened.” Twilight said.

“I think we’re all missing the point here, girls. The big “you know what” for “you know who” is tomorrow. This ruins everything. I planned it for one pony, not two. All that hard work and planning is going to go down the drain if we don’t put Luna back together again.” Pinkie Pie said stressing over her super secret surprise party. It was supposed to be the biggest party in the history of Equestria. A party masterpiece of her own design that no one would forget. This new turn of events would ruin all of that.

“I don’t think Luna wants to go back to normal. She looks so happy next to Spike.” Fluttershy said watching the filly sleep peacefully next to Spike. Her head relying on Spike’s arm for a pillow as they sat on the chair in the Apple family living room.

“Don’t you think it’s strange that she won’t leave Spike’s side? If she’s so sleepy, why doesn’t she just lay on the couch? It’s much more comfortable.” Twilight said regarding Luna with suspicion.

“Come now, Twilight. You must understand that it’s only natural to want to be close to someone you love.” Rarity said.

“I’d say a little too close. Don’t you think it’s strange that she hasn’t left his side at all since we found them? It’s almost like she’s protecting him.” Twilight aid observing the two.

“Protecting him from what? She already pounded Nightmare Moon into the ground and Princess Celestia is taking care of her at the castle. Spike’s not in danger anymore.” Rainbow Dash said.

“She’s not worried about danger. It’s the competition.” Twilight said. Everypony in the room went quiet when they figured it out except Fluttershy. Spike looked down.

“That’s ridiculous. What reason would she have for thinking we would take Spike away from her like that?” Fluttershy said aloud. She expected somepony else to chime in and agree with her. Instead everyone was looking away, even Spike. The awkward silence went on for awhile before somepony finally spoke up.

“I got something to get off my chest that I been keeping secret for far too long.” Applejack said looking at everyone with newfound resilience.

“I have something to say as well then.” Twilight said taking a place next to Applejack. Applejack looked at her friend and realized that she wasn’t alone.

“If everyone else is going to confess, it‘d be rather rude of me to stay silent.” Rarity said taking at place by Twilight.

“Wait a second! I’m lost. What are we confessing again?” Pinkie Pie asked scratching her head. There was a collective sigh from everyone on Twilight’s side of the room. Rarity walked over and whispered into Pinkie Pie’s ear what everyone confessing.

“Oh! I get it now! In that case, I confess too.” Pinkie Pie said bouncing over to Twilight’s side with Rarity. The room was divided with Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Rarity on one side of the room and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy on the other. Spike was in the center of it all sitting on the couch watching everything unfold while Luna slept at his side. His gaze turned to Rainbow Dash who seemed to be looking at everything with astonishment. Spike wondered what was going through her mind at that moment.

“I don’t get it. What is everyone confessing to?” Fulttershy asked completely in the dark. The four friends looked at each other and nodded before talking once again.

“We’ve all had relations with Spike.” Twilight Sparkle said addressing Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The shy pegasus became flushed at this shocking revelation.

“You have, but how? I-I don’t understand.” Fluttershy asked them.

“It just kind of happened.” Applejack added.

“Oooh! You should try it. Spike‘s no slouch between the sheets if you catch my drift.” Pinkie Pie said winking at Spike. Fluttershy and Spike exchanged an awkward glance before turning completely red and looking away.

“Really, Pinkie Pie. Now you’ve gone and embarrassed them.” Rarity said chastising Pinkie Pie for her crude remark.

“Come on, Rarity. If you got it, flaunt it. Right, Spike?” Pinkie Pie said.

“A lady does not kiss and tell, and she certainly does not recommend those gentlemen to her friends.” Rarity said balking at Pinkie Pie’s shameless attitude towards sex. Rainbow Dash couldn’t understand any of this. Didn’t Spike trick them into having sex? Why are they so happy about it? She had to know.

“So you guys slept with Spike, huh?” Rainbow Dash said trying to act natural. She could feel Spike watching her but chose not acknowledge or even look at him. It was hard enough to have the source of her discomfort in the room with her while she asked these questions. If she even so much at looked at him, she’d probably be too nervous to talk.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that, Dash. Are you okay?” Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash was worried her nervous behavior was becoming apparent to all her friends. She was starting to sweat a bit.

“I’m totally fine. Anyway I had a question for you guys.” Rainbow Dash said wiping the sweat from her brow. She thought it was strange that this was effecting her so much.

“Go ahead, Rainbow Dash. This situation must seem rather strange to you.” Twilight Sparkle said welcoming Rainbow Dash to continue.

“I was just wondering if Spike approached you or something like that.” Rainbow Dash asked starting to feel a little lightheaded. She was wondering why she felt so weak all of a sudden. Even if she was nervous, it shouldn’t be affecting her this much. Was it something other than anxiety causing these feelings deep inside her?

“I guess I sort of put the idea in his head.” Applejack admitted. Of course, she was stripping in front of him and things just took off from there. When she tried to clear the awkwardness, one thing led to another and they were bucking each other.

“Well in my case, Spike came to me, but I may have been the one to initiate sexual contact with him.” Rarity confessed. She remembered Spike coming to her with his feelings and being unable to accept them. She couldn’t accept Spike’s love but she wanted to do something to show him that she appreciated him. Something that made him realize that she was happy to have him around. Since she couldn’t give her heart to him, she offered her body which Spike accepted with great relish.

“Me next! Oooo! I want to go next!” Pinkie Pie said jumping up and down with her hoof in the air like she was in class.

“Just go, Pinkie Pie. We’re not taking turns.” Twilight Sparkle told her.

“It all started a long time ago on a rock farm. A stallion tended to his wife as she had just given birth to the cutest pink bundle of joy this side of Canterlot.” Pinkie Pie said before she was interrupted by Rarity.

“While I’m sure your story is a beautiful one, could you possibly skip to the part where you slept with Spike?” Rarity asked.

“I get it. You want to skip to the good part. Spike and I were making out on top of each other. Things were getting pretty heated if you know what I mean.” Pinkie Pie said before Rarity interrupted her to the relief of everyone there.

“Pinkie Pie! Please spare us the gritty details and just tell us why you slept with Spike in the first place.” Rarity said quickly before Pinkie Pie’s story got anymore graphic. She also had a pretty good idea of what Pinkie meant by that last comment.

“Oh! I asked Spike to help me make cupcakes.” Pinkie Pie said to the confusion of everyone in the room except Spike and Rainbow Dash. The speedster remembered coming across Spike in the bakery that night and receiving a similar explanation. It wasn’t until later after she questioned Pinkie Pie about it that she found out what really happened. Although Pinkie didn’t explain what having sex with Spike had to do with making cupcakes.

Spike was thinking about all the trouble he went through on that day. Specifically all the running (and sleeping) around he did for Pinkie Pie. He remembered some of the ponies he encountered that day as well.

“I never found out what happened between Octavia and Vinyl Scratch. I wonder if they ever resolved their differences.” Spike thought to himself.

Somewhere in Ponyville

“What do you want to do now?” Vinyl Scratch asked.

“We should probably try to find that dragon and apologize.” Octavia said referring to the incident a while back. They hadn’t seen that dragon since he ran off.

“I don’t even know if I want to. I mean how do you apologize for almost forcing yourself on someone.” Vinyl Scratch said rolling over in her bed to face her.

“It’d be rude and irresponsible of us to not to try to make amends. Although I can’t imagine what came over us that day, we should accept responsibility for our actions and try to make things right.” The gray earth pony said looking at the white unicorn laying beside her while admiring the purple hue of her irises.

“We should probably thank him too. We’d still be at each other throat’s if it wasn’t for that little guy. Do you remember what happened after he ran off?” The unicorn said placing a hoof on the earth mare’s body. She began to drag her hoof lazily up and down her soft body. Octavia moaned as the hoof caressed her side. Vinyl and Octavia started to hug each other close.

“We started shouting at each other. Blaming the other pony for letting him get away. Shouting turned to wrestling. Wrestling turned into something else entirely.” Octavia and Vinyl Scratch giggled playfully together. They nuzzled each other a little before talking again.

“Do you think Spike might be interested in a little threesome action?” Vinyl asked.

“We tried to force ourselves on him and you want to ask him to participate in a menage a trois?”
Octavia asked.

“I think if we don’t try to force it. He might agree. Besides it‘s every guy’s dream or something to be with two mares, right?” Vinyl Scratch said.

“I suppose if he forgives us. I wouldn’t be adverse to such an arrangement. In the meantime, we‘ll have to play with each other.” Octavia said with a devious little smile on her face.

“However shall we pass the time?” Vinyl Scratch said imitating Octavia.

“Shut up and fuck me.” Octavia said resorting to the crass language typical of Vinyl Scratch..

Back at Applejack’s Home

“In my case, Spike approached me.” Twilight said. Her friends didn’t seem satisfied with her explanation though.

“Is that all?” Applejack asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked.

“I think what she’s trying to say is you and Spike have known each other for so long that it’s just a little strange that you would suddenly engage in intercourse just because he asked you.” Rarity said.

“It’s complicated…. And personal. We both had our reasons.” Twilight Sparkle said looking down. She remembered Spike bringing up their first sexual “encounter”, and Spike’s revelation of his sexual activities. At the time, she thought she had lost him forever to a world she couldn’t understand, but he proved her wrong and showed her a side of herself that she would have never acknowledged on her own.

“ Don’t you regret it?” Rainbow Dash blurted out the question she had been dying to ask all this time. Everyone seemed so carefree about their experience with Spike. It made her feel even more confused about her own situation. She wasn’t feeling so good physically either. Her body felt like it was getting weaker for some reason.

“Nope.” Applejack said.

“Not at all.” Rarity said.

“Of course not.” Twilight said.

“I want to do it again!” Pinkie Pie said.

“I…I don’t…. get it.” Rainbow Dash said before she fell over. Her friends cried out as the pegasus seemed to collapse in front of them for no apparent reason. As everyone ran to their fallen friend’s aid, Spike was held in place as Luna gripped his arm. It was at that moment he realized that Luna wasn’t asleep at all. Her horn was glowing ever so faintly now. Only someone looking for it would notice it and everyone had been focusing on Dash. It was clear to him what he had to do.

“Rainbow Dash!” Her friends called out. The speedster could hear her friends call out to her as she tried to recall what happened. She remembered talking about Spike before passing out. She tried to move her limbs but they felt so heavy. Her vision was starting to blur and her eyelids felt as heavy as the rest of her body. The voices of her friends was being drowned out by another sound. Something beating very slowly. Something inside of her. It was at that moment she realized what was happening.

“I’m dying.” The pegasus thought to herself. It was her heart that was beating so slow, but why? She was perfectly fine a few minutes ago. Now she was fighting to stay alive. She tried to move her body but nothing would respond. As the outside world started to fade, she realized that her body was completely numb.

“Thump……..Thump…….Thump.”

Rainbow Dash started to panic as she heard her own heart struggling to keep going. Her mind raced as the thought of dying became a real possibility. Even in her most reckless moments had she felt so scared. She thought of all things she’d miss out on. She’d never join The Wonderbolts. She’d miss flying around town at breakneck speeds. She’d miss the apple cider that the Apple family sold only once a year.

“Thump…….Thump.”

She thought about her friends. She loved how random and funny Pinkie Pie could be. She loved the way Rarity would give her all to help a friend. She loved Applejack’s honest attitude towards everything. She loved how Fluttershy was always willing to help even to the detriment of herself. She loved how Twilight could always figure a way out of any situation. She even loved…

“Thump………”

She thought about everything that happened with Spike and realized how little it mattered. He was her friend. Despite his trickery, he probably didn’t mean to hurt her and on some level she enjoyed having sex with Spike too. It was too bad she couldn’t express these feelings to him.

“……..”

Silence.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t hear her heart beating. She could feel her eyelids falling as she caught a glimpse of all her friends for one last time. They were all crying and shouting something she couldn’t quite hear. Everything sounded so distorted. She knew what they were saying though. With the last of her strength, she decided to try to speak.

“Sorry….”

To be continued