The interior of the home, despite it's disastrous appearance, remained peaceful. Very few sounds could be heard outside of the familiar singing of crickets. They carried out their usual nightly chorale, seeming unaffected from the earlier disturbances. Throughout the house, there was little light, as well as little signs of life outside of the crickets. But that was just the downstairs portion of the home.

Upstairs, there was the not-so unusual sounds of snoring emanating from Sweetie Belle's room. As she slept, small whimpers could be heard as she turned over, adjusting herself to a more comfortable position. She wore a smile on her face as she dreamt about her beloved crush. Another light whimper sounded as he continued to dream.

That sound, however, did not come from her.

Further down the hall, there was a door left ajar with a small amount of candlelight flooding from within. And inside was a mare shifting beneath the sheets of her bed, attempting to remain quiet while doing so.

"Nnngh!"

She covered her face with one of her pillows, also biting into it as she yelped and squeaked into the soft cushion. Under the sheets her hoof was hard at work, pressing her towards her inevitable climax. Her magic aided her as she clenched her eyes shut, trying to imagine the face of the man she wanted to give herself to, the man she swore that she would have.

"Aaah!"

She squealed one final time as she sank her teeth into the pillow held against her face. Her lower-right foreleg started to become soiled with an immense amount of fluids, her sheets soon following suit. Her very haunches remained moistened by the running streams of her desire, slowly trickling onto the sheets she just washed earlier today. Her nethers burned hotly as she continued to ride out her orgasm to it's conclusion. The white mare's body seized as her muscles stretched to their limits. Her back arched high into the air, unavoidably revealing herself hiding underneath.

Her head became exposed from underneath the covers, showing her disheveled mane and flushed complexion. Her face remained buried into the pillow as her body spasms decreased in frequency and intensity. Each wave of pleasure rattled her mind until she could no longer hold on to the pillow. Her magic shorted out and her left forehoof, which was originally assigned the duty of holding the pillow down, dug into her sheets, twisting and turning as she revealed her face. A look of exhaustion and satisfaction formed upon her face as her eyes broke open. Her body at last slumped back onto the bed, her gasps for air powerful in both form and volume.

As she basked in the afterglow of her experience, she removed her right hoof from the turgid lips of her soaked sex. Inspecting the hoof with tired eyes, she became unsatisfied with the means of achieving her much-sought climax. A soft groan left her muzzle as she observed the wetness on her hoof.

"So he sleeps with her?" She questioned herself. "Does that mean that he tends to her nocturnal desires as often as I would of my own?"

Growing disgusted with seeing her own fluids staining her hoof, she looked back to the nightstand next to her bed. She looked at the picture of her, Nondis, and Spike arriving in Canterlot just before they had left to the hotel. The image of Spike was censored with a red ribbon that hung idly over his face, leaving no one but Rarity and Nondis in the picture, save a few purple scales.

Her face then transitioned from disappointed to deeply saddened. After brushing the coating of liquid off onto her sheets, a sinful habit she had kept to herself, she levitated the portrait from off of the nightstand and closer towards her face. The ribbon fell lifelessly to the floor as she looked at the human staring back at the lens.

"What are you thinking about right now?" She asked to the picture. "Do you have those desires that I too have? Do you suffer as I do? Do you endure as much as I do?"

Her magic slowly manipulated the photo, bringing it to her lips as she gave the image of the human male a kiss. Her lips parted with a steamy smack as her lips briefly hugged the glass before inevitably separating themselves. She looked at him, questioning how he would perform with her in her bed. More thoughts of him surged through her mind, renewing the sensation that originally brought her to her current state. Turning her eyes to a golden alarm clock, she saw that it was three fifty-seven in the morning.

"I suppose I could finish up this little ritual in the morning."

Turning back over to her other nightstand, she blew out the candle and laid herself to rest. With a exasperated sigh, she closed her eyes and proceeded to let her dreams take her.

But little did she know of the pair of green, reptilian eyes staring right at her through the crack of her door. The shadow shone it's fangs as it growled silently over the sexual display.

The young drake could only shake in fury.

My eyes opened to reveal a rather strange world of nothing but vivid shades of blue. The sky overhead contained it's usual light blue hue, but darker patches of blue streaked across it as if an artist had accidentally picked up the wrong can of paint for the clouds. But despite the oddity, the sky was quite beautiful. The ground I walked on seemed endless in either direction. It almost looked like I was walking on the sea itself. Even when I looked down, I saw my face looking right back at me. I leaned down to get a better look, letting my hand reach towards the ground. For a brief instant, my hand met with that of the reflection's just before the ripples formed, severing the image of my own self.

The ripples carried on, past my feet and onward towards the unknown. When I stood myself back up straight, I stood in front of a white door. Obviously, it was out of place in comparison to the vast world of blue. I guess it would make sense that this would be my way out. I reached for the door, placing my hand on the knob.

"You dodged a big one, kid."

Startled from the voice, I turned around to see an elderly man dressed in a black tuxedo with a blue flower pinned to his chest. On his head, he had on a black hat that closely resembled that of Indiana Jones. He seemed to speak with a gritty tone, complete with a Texan accent. "I know what you're thinking, who am I? But let's talk about the one thing that's been on your mind since you've been here."

"Where am I?" I answered as I patted my foot against the ground, creating even more ripples.

"Good question." He said as he tapped himself on the side of his head. "Where else? It's all you. We're in your mind."

Okay, now I know those changeling bites got me tripping balls, but this is ridiculous. "Look, I'm not here to embrace the stoner mentality that you seem to represent. So if you don't mind, I'll be leaving now."

I turned back to the door where he called back to me. "No chance."

I turned back around to look at the man who claimed I could not walk through that door. "Why not?"

"Cause I said." He answered with a grin.

"How are you gonna tell me I can't leave?"

"Your mind, kid. You wanna go apeshit, by all means. But I suggest you stay here."

So if this was my mind, then all I had to do was think that he would disappear and he'd do just that. "Okay. Then you leave."

His image started to waiver and flicker, but in the end he stood there, unmoved by my desire to dismiss him. "Tried. Failed. Now I'm stuck here."

"What made you get stuck?"

"The jackass I'm talking to now." He answered while sitting himself in a chair that seemingly appeared from nowhere.

And I could already tell that I wasn't gonna like this guy very much. "You know, I really don't like your tone."

He didn't say much as he waved his hand, causing an apple to appear. He also pulled out a pocket knife and started peeling away at the apple. I placed my hand on the door when suddenly he called back out to me. "You know, I think I figured out just what your gambit is."

Gambit? "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You." He said, pointing the knife at me before he resumed peeling the skin off of the apple. "You have a habit of inadvertently causing trouble. Getting people into all kinds of situations that could've been avoided with a simple choice of words."

What? "I don't follow."

"Here, you like those Japanese cartoons and shit, right?"

"Anime, yes." I corrected.

He pulls out a chair from literally thin air as he started to take his seat. "Then let's say you're the protagonist of one of these weird-ass cartoons with the girls and the tentacles and the mech-suits, yelling out all that incoherent gibberish. Wu-tah-fa-no-buy-honda."

Wow, this guy is all sorts of racist. "Just get on with it!"

The guy rolled his eyes and started to de-core the apple. "Okay. Let me make this short and sweet for you. You meet girl. You meet friends of girl. You have friend, who is girl. You get where I'm going at?"

If I was to be a protagonist of anime, and if he's listing off all of these characters as potential love interests, then there would only be one genre that would best describe where he was going with this. "If you're suggesting that I'm playing out a harem anime, then you're sorely mistaken. If I'm the main character, I'd never get laid."

The older man chuckled as he chopped the hollowed-out apple with the knife, cutting it into bite-sized slices. "Well... that's troupe one."

He has a point, I haven't gotten past third base for real. The last time I was so casually interrupted by Velvet and Twilight's teeth burying themselves around my dick. "Okay, bad example. I wouldn't be the guy everyone likes."

"And yet you had three girls confess to you in half a year. Troupe two." He stated as he started to eat one of the apple slices.

Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie all confessed to me, in that order no less. Okay, let's try something else. "I wouldn't be in these life-threatening situations for the sake of one individual."

"You've done that so many times, I forgot how to puke. Troupe three."

Okay, that was stupid. Let's try something that I know is true. "Well, the hero always wins. I stay losing."

"You go through the obligatory curb-stomp, woo a princess, beat a high military official at his own game and in a fair fight, take his rank and go Jeffry Dahmer on a group of parasitic creatures. You came out with a few bite marks and scratches. Seems pretty kinky to me. Troupe four... And five for the Rocky-Balboa training montage."

Rocky? How the hell did... Is he referring to when I was in basic training? That's not all that great of a reference. Either way, there's one thing that never works out in a harem setting. "Look, I wouldn't be getting married if I was in a harem anime."

"Yet most of them are based off of those freaky-ass games with the tentacles... Only you're trying to get the 'best' end possible."

Now he went from harem anime to dating-simulators. "Well what do you expect me to do? Go out with all of them at once!?"

"Nice boat, kid."

...I'm not even going to acknowledge that. "I'm leaving."

"You're heading out?" The man asked as he finished chewing on the last slice of apple.

"Yes, because being batshit crazy is a lot easier than sitting in here dealing with you."

I turned my attention to the door, slammed my hand on the handle and pulled. The door refused to budge while I pulled at it a few more times. After a second or two, I could hear the man behind me laughing at me. I grew upset, trying desperately to push and pull the door to get it open. Finally after a couple more seconds, I conceded to defeat.

"Looks like you're stuck with me, partner." He cracked back at me.

Okay. So now I'm gonna be here until something else happens. I know this is a dream but I could at least be able to wake up from it on my own. But that was a task that was far too difficult to do considering that I'm not getting out of this room for a while. I guess my only option is to entertain this guy until I wake up. "...What do you want?"

Wiping the knife blade on his shirt and folding it back to where he could place it back into his pocket, he summoned a chair for me to sit in. "I'll cut straight to it. I'm that little guy you keep in that storage you call 'the back burner'. I'm there whenever you throw aside questions that you don't think need answering. And granted, some of the shit you toss back there is something I don't wanna know myself."

So this guy is the representation of what goes on in the back of my mind. I guess it would be pretty interesting if he could tell me just what was on my mind. "Prove it."

"Does Discord top or bottom?"

Ooooohkay, he wins that one. Time to change the subject. "Okay, that's more than enough."

"If Spike has the mentality of a thirteen year old, then does he jack off to Rarity?"

That was something I thought about several months back. Haven't thought of it since. "Going a little too deep, aren't you Dom?"

"Does Crescent have a cuckolding fetish?"

That could be a... NO! I'm not talking about that right now. I don't need to hear about Twilight's dad getting a stiffy from seeing his wife getting her shit plowed. "I never asked that one."

"Ones you never asked, but though of. Okay. If Pinkie Pie can dance like this, then how does she fuck?"

That only came up when she was dancing on me several months back. "Okay, we're done here."

"What's the earliest age of masturbation for a filly?"

"Now I never thought of that one!" I swear I didn't. I place that on my very existence that I haven't thought of that not even halfway of a single time.

"If Luna saw a wet dream, does she get off to it?"

"...That one actually intrigues me." No seriously, does she? That's been something I've been wanting to know.

"Does anal count as a violation of the approval process?"

That's a very good question. "Okay, now you went to the questions I want answered."

"Am I really okay with being married to the first girl that offered me a fuck?"

Wait, what? I don't even come close to thinking like that. "I'm actually okay with it. I really do care for her."

"Do you love her?"

"I do! You're just going into questions that I've already answered now." I've said that so many times. How is that even a question?

"Yet you don't know if that's the real answer or not."

"I..."

Wait a minute. Is he implying that I have doubts about our relationship? I don't have any, or at least I think I don't. Even then, that doesn't mean that I don't love her, despite her being something that I'm not.

I heard his voice echo throughout my mind, both in this endless blue void and inside of my head. That resonant thought that continued to travel throughout my brain continued to bring up even more conflict in my mind. I tried to come up with an answer, but all attempts to rationalize my feelings had fell short, thanks mainly to both instinct and logic.

"...Got you, didn't I?"

"That's not fair." I said as his voice started to echo throughout the blue plain, causing ripples to form across the surface I stood on. Only difference from last time, his voice soon transitioned to that of my own.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" I screamed loudly, cancelling out all of the thoughts that started to ambush me. The ripples that formed all over the ground was neutralized by a much larger one that came from where I stood. My voice continued to echo endlessly, filling the room with my desire to quiet the questions. Instead, they rang louder and louder alongside my cry for silence. My ears started to throb in pain I ended up placing my hand over my forehead, a headache started to form.

It was almost just as painful as the ones I had when Twilight and I were separated.

"See? All that shit and I gotta make a bed out of it. Doesn't feel too great, now does it?" The older man said as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"What do you want!?" I shouted at him, throwing his hand off of my shoulder.

"I already told you, answers." He stated calmly.

As the voices started to die down, I was left with very little to say. "But I-"

"And if you think that giving yourself a half-assed answer is good enough to cut it, then I got some bad news for you."

But I haven't been giving myself half-assed answers. In fact, I've been sound on many of my decisions. There's no way that I could be thinking that I don't love her. Twilight has done so much for me and I did so much to be with her. I even gave up living in my world to share my years with her. It just doesn't make sense.

And while I was thinking, my headache had gotten progressively worse. "...I need to get going."

"One more question. Now if you can answer this one, then I might leave you alone altogether."

Answer one question to shut him the hell up and get rid of this terrible headache? Why the hell wouldn't I take that offer? "Fire away."

"If you're from great country of the U.S.A., landing here in a dimensional existence that you should not even exist within, then how the hell did you get here in the first place?"

"..." I couldn't answer him. I wanted to just to get him off my back, but I couldn't even make up an answer just to shut him up. He's a representation of my mind, pulling out all of the thoughts that I didn't even know existed in my brain.

"I see..." He murmured quietly. "See you next time, kid." Not even a second later he disappeared, leaving me with several more questions than what I was comfortable having and a pulsing ache in my skull.

At the very least, the voices that continued to plague my ears no longer existed. The world became silent and tranquil, leaving only me standing beside the locked white door that lead to someplace that could drive me insane.

But there was yet another question that whispered throughout the void, silently creeping into my ear.

I opened my eyes to greet nothing more than the crystal ceiling that hung high above the bed I slept in. As I sat up in the bed, I could already feel an absence of hooves trying to hold me against my will. I looked over to see if Twilight was in the bed, only to find an imprint in where she once laid. Crumpled covers and disorganized pillows was the only thing that accompanied my side this morning.

The morning doesn't seem so calm today. Instead of the sound of birds chirping and singing outside of the window, I can only hear the shouts of ponies hard at work. It didn't take me any time to conclude that the ponies of the town were busy making repairs from yesterday's attack. Thankfully, their assault wasn't as bad as the situation in Canterlot, where they had rammed into several buildings to hunt down military officials.

I know that their commander was the one who called the attack from what I gathered from the changeling in Canterlot yesterday. That would mean that they were considered to be a military faction rather than an actual force under the command of their ruler. That would mean that we pushed them off and discouraged them from attacking again. They had already incurred significant losses from both of the attacks so I wouldn't expect them to keep poking at us. At the very least I hope that this doesn't turn into a full-scale war.

Great, more unpleasant thoughts.

Hoping to distract myself from the growing concern over what could be my newly bestowed post on some field in an desolate land, I rose out of the bed and started to make my way to the bathroom. Just as I was on my way in, the door to the room opened wide to reveal a familiar purple princess looking at the empty bed. She started to scan the room to see where I was, only to find me standing next to the bathroom.

"Oh, there you are. What are you doing out of bed?"

I looked out to the large window that sat just above our bed. "Well, it's morning." I deadpanned. "I was gonna go take my shower and get ready to help out in the town."

"Not with that shoulder, you aren't!" She fussed.

"Twilight, it's just a bite. It's like getting bit by a dog; you scream, you cuss, you shake your fist. and you carry on with life." I was lying through my teeth, my shoulder was still in pain and I could feel it even now.

"Well you don't need to-"

"Twilight." I cut her short, growing annoyed that she might try to keep me inside.

She walked up to me, flying so that she could meet with me at eye-level. "I just don't want you to get hurt again. This makes twice now that you've been in a dangerous position. I can't allow you to keep throwing yourself into danger."

"I'm a guard. That's my job."

"Correction, you're captain of the royal guard. That means your position would require you to protect the royal line."

I rolled my eyes at her explanation. "Yeah, that means I'm a guard in a high position over the other guards, correct?"

"Well-"

"Which would still classify me as a guard, correct?"

She snorted angrily and rolled her eyes. "Yes, but I'm not letting you go out there and get yourself into a position where you could easily re-injure yourself."

I shrugged my shoulders, causing me to suddenly wince at the pain. After she noticed the painful cringe on my face, I finally accepted defeat before she decided to take the argument to a whole new level. "Okay. But I don't wanna be holed up inside of this castle either, especially when you and the girls will be running errands around the town."

She groaned at the thought of me leaving here. "I'm going to be in Canterlot, giving Princess Celestia a status report. Cadance and Shining Armor will be going with me. But that aside, the doctor said you need plenty of rest. That's the main reason why you're not coming with us to file your report and sign your papers."

"I can do that with my other arm." I stated, before Twilight pointed out the other set of teeth imprints on my left forearm.

She rolled her eyes and sighed at my persistence to leave the castle. "Why is it that you constantly try and make things so much harder for yourself?"

"Because I'm not selfish."

"You're being selfish by trying to get out of the bed. I told you last night that I would give you everything you need in bed today."

"No, I'm being self-centered on that one. There's a difference in being selfish and self-centered. I just don't wanna be locked up in here with no one to talk to."

Twilight paused for a moment, looking at me with a rather dumbfounded expression. After a few blinks, she started to giggle at me.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"What's funny is that you're trying to go out and socialize. When you first got here, I remember having to levitate you out of the bed just to show you around the town."

Now that I think about it, I remember dragging the sheets with me too... all the while kicking and screaming. Oh wow, that is a bit of a change. "Heh heh... I guess that does kinda bring up some memories."

Twilight smiled a bit as she hovered just a foot away from my face. "Tell you what, I'm gonna do something that doesn't sit well with the doctors."

I quirked an eyebrow at her, wondering what she could be thinking about. "And that is?"

"Dragging your butt to breakfast. Now come on! The girls are all downstairs and have already started eating."

"Well you don't have to drag me for breakfast. I'll walk down there on my own." I stated as I started to take a step forward, but suddenly remembered that I didn't wanna meet up with the girls smelling like a hobo. "But right after I take my shower."

"Okay. Then I can wait for you." She said as she flew over towards the bed and sat down like she was a puppy waiting for a treat.

"Okay... why are you sitting there?"

She smiled coyly as she started to play with her hooves. "Nothing, I'm just waiting on my special somepony to get out the shower so I can be the first to smell him."

"You're weird."

"Takes a weirdo to know one."

"I'm still not waiting to smell you."

Twilight gasped and pouted at my words. "Well now I feel offended! Maybe I don't want you to go to breakfast now! You can stay up here and starve for all I care!"

"Love you too." I answered dismissively, knowing that she was on another one of her playful rants.

Suddenly, I felt a set of hooves wrapping themselves around me and a muzzle burying itself deep into my back. I turned back around to see Twilight holding me as I was about to go into the bathroom. I cringed with uncertainty. "Twilight, get off. You know I smell horrible."

"Yeah, you smell like sweat and musk. You reek something fierce."

"Then why are you hugging me?"

"Well, I couldn't wait to hug you. Is that too much for you?"

"It is if I haven't gotten to take my shower first."

She released me and got back on her hooves. As I walked, I could feel her horn poking me in the back. "Then let me come in there with you."

"No."

"Come on! Please?"

"No!"

"I promise that I won't tease. Honest!"

"Not even."

"We can bathe each other! I'll love you forever if you let-"

Twilight called back to the door, looking somewhat upset. "Yes?"

"Oh, forgive me Twilight. But I was just wanting to check up on how Nondis was doing." Rarity said from behind the door. "Sweetie Belle and Spike are downstairs waiting to see him."

Her facial expressions softened as soon as she heard the fashionista's voice. "He's fine. He's gonna be down in a bit." She answered.

"Well okay then. Tell him that I will be needing him to help me later on with a few light items in the boutique today, if he's available."

"You know he's not supposed to be out the bed, Rarity."

"My dearest Twilight, do you honestly think that he would stay coddled up in that bed all day? Why, any more restraints and we might catch him climbing out of the window for some desperate attempt at freedom."

Twilight sighed heavily as she pushed me into the bathroom. "Okay. I'll be sure to tell him."

"Right then. Now hurry up, dear. The food is getting cold."

As the door closed behind me, I could hear a light knock against the wood. "Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

For a moment, I could hear nothing but silence, not even the sounds of hooves impacting the floor. I stayed quiet a moment longer, hoping to make sure she had left. I opened the door and saw her still standing there.

"Please, just a scrub?"

"What's your motive?"

She blushed a bit as she kinda veered off to the side. "...Maybe... well... you could... massage my wing pits again?"

As I looked at the purple pony princess, my mind started to visualize the many things associated with my compliance to give her the massage she so desired. The cute little sounds she would make when I run my fingers through her feathers, the juvenile giggles she would produce when my hands lightly brush up her sides and relieve her of those hard-to-reach itches, the coos she would give me as my palms warmed the coat of her belly, the big pleading puppy-dog eyes she's giving me right now...

Dammit, I give up. It's always the puppy-dog eyes that somehow manages to break me. "...Okay, maybe just a little."

After my time in the bath, as well as giving Twilight her fifteen minutes of attention, we both set out for the dining hall downstairs. As we both walked through the halls, I watched her greet every pony she came across with a smile and a compliment. It seems that she was in rather high spirits today. She also wished them good fortune in their various tasks in repairing the damage from yesterday's little scrimmage. At the very least she was optimistic rather than concerned for what the results would be from the recent turn of events.

Then again, she might be trying to hide it behind her bright, cheery smile.

When we arrived at the dining hall, two guards standing by the door gave her a bow and me a salute. I saluted them back, though unsure as to how I felt about ponies saluting me instead of it being the other way around. I decided not to let that thought wander about for too long as I had several other ponies in the room who all awaited us to join them.

"It's about time you two showed up!" Rainbow shouted as she impatiently tapped her hoof on the table. "What took you guys so long?"

"If they want to take their time doing what they feel is healthy to their relationship, then perhaps it's best that we leave that business between the two of them." Cadance suggested as she sipped a cup of tea.

"Well that 'healthy activity' better not be anything beyond hugs and the occasional kiss." Shining said sternly. "We wouldn't want the two of you to start experimenting-"

"Shining!" Cadance interjected with a shove to the stallion.

"Okay. You two can play, just don't get too frisky."

"Shining Armor!" His wife mumbled through her teeth.

"What?"

"There are foals present!" She whispered, pointing to the end of the table where Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Spike sat.

"Oh. Sorry." Shining blushed a bit as his ears folded back in embarrassment, causing the three fillies to giggle. Spike didn't seem to have too much of a response however.

"Shenanigans aside, ya feelin' any better?" Applejack asked, turning her attention to me.

"Well, my shoulder's still a little achy," I answered honestly. "But I can work through it."

"I'm actually more concerned about your other arm, dear." Rarity stated as she walked over to get a better look. "Is it functioning properly? I know that you've had a nasty bite on that arm and it did a significant amount of damage."

"Works like it usually does." I answered as I held my arm up, flexing it. "Magic sure beats the medical practices back on my world. I'd be decommissioned for a few days at least. Instead I was fully functional by the time I walked out of the hospital. The venom was still working at my legs and arms when I did, but all of that is gone now."

With a sigh of relief, Rarity closed her eyes as she spoke. "Well, I do believe I can't nearly say just how much I do appreciate what you did. And I am more than certain that a certain two individuals would like to share my sentiment." She opened one eye to peek back at the group of fillies and the dragon on the other side of the table.

Both Sweetie Belle and Spike rose from out of their seats and walked up to me. It seemed that Sweetie was somewhat in a hurry whereas Spike was taking his time. Sweetie looked towards the ground, fiddling with her forelegs as she tried her best to avoid eye contact. I could already see a light shade of red showing on her cheeks as she fumbled her words.

"T-t... t-thank..." She took a deep breath and finally looked at me, almost seeming like she was bound to explode at any given moment, which she did soon enough. "THANKYOUFORSAVINGME!IREALLYREALLYAPPRECIATEITANDIDIDN'TMEANTOGETYOUINTOANYTROUBLE!BUTYOUDIDANDIREALLYAPPRECIATEYOUFORIT!" She said all in one breath.

Everyone stared at each other before erupting into a cacophony of laughter. I smiled back at her, offering to pet her on the head as I would normally do. "Don't worry about it."

Instantly, she darted back to where the other girls sat, both of them giggling at Sweetie's sudden departure. I was left confused for a bit until Rarity finally spoke up for her. "She's a bit nervous from yesterday. I'm sure that she's bound to warm back up to you after a little while. Spike, your turn."

Spike finally stood in front of me after an extended walk. He didn't seem to want to look at me. "Th-...thanks."

I managed to hear him, but Rarity didn't seem to appreciate his reluctance. "Spike, we've talked about this. I know you don't exactly like Nondis, but he did you and Sweetie Belle an enormous favor at the cost of his own health. Be fair to him."

Spike grimaced as he glanced out one eye to look at me. "Thanks."

"Thanks? Is that really all you have to say?" Rarity asked the dragon in an attempt to spurn him to be a little more genuine.

"...Thanks. Thanks a lot." He said lifelessly before turning around to walk back to the end of the table. Everyone seemed to stare at him with surprise and shock. Rarity, however, didn't seem too satisfied with his response.

"Spike, now I know that you never act like this with any other pony. And if you can show that level of compassion with those that you don't know, then surely you can show some for someone who has saved your scales." She scolded sternly.

The young dragon turned around to face me. "Thanks, but I could've saved Sweetie on my own."

"SPIKE!" Twilight screamed at the young drake. Everyone else gasped in response.

"I'm going on to the boutique. Must be something I can clean up there." He said quietly, walking out of the room.

Rarity groaned as she started to march back towards the door, but Twilight teleported in front of her to stop her from going any further. "Leave him alone. He needs some time to cool down."

"But I won't let him offend Nondis, especially after what he did yesterday."

"I'm okay. Really." I stated, trying to diffuse the situation and moving the subject to something a little more lighthearted to remove some of the tension in the room.

But in truth, I was really trying not to knock the little shit's teeth in. That was just downright disrespectful and rude. I get hurt while trying to save his ass and he gives me a proverbial 'fuck you'. Now I know that he and I were never really on terms to begin with, but that was just-

My train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a purple hoof pulling at my left arm. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied. Meanwhile, everyone was looking at me with discomfort. They knew that I was offended and saw that I chose to place it aside. I guess this wasn't going to be an easy meal to talk through.

Rarity held onto my right arm and both mares tried their best to guide me to the table. Rarity expressed her apologies on behalf of the bitter dragon. "Well I for one do not condone what he said to you. And I must offer my sincerest apologies, on behalf of me and Spike."

"It's in the past. I can work around it. So what's for breakfast?" I asked, trying to rapidly change the subject. "Smells pretty nice in here."

Twilight gave me a hug as she levitated a plate in front of me. "Well you're really curious, we have an assortment of meals more suited for your liking and dietary capabilities."

As I pulled the lid off of my plate, I was greeted with a warm wave of steam as well as the familiar smell of pancakes, maple syrup, sausage links, and eggs.

Aside from Spike's little comment, we're already off to a good start for the day.

After breakfast, we talked amongst each other about the current state of Ponyville. Though it wouldn't seem like much, but the damage done form the attack took a great toll on the town. Much of the infrastructure was disturbed and some of the buildings, many of them residential, had taken damage. Not only that but many of the townsponies had to do most of the repairs on their own. Thankfully they were very efficient in building the town back together, as it was a town that ultimately faced similar issues in the past.

In the meanwhile, Rarity brought back up her request to borrow me in the boutique. Twilight didn't take long to concede her time with me to Rarity, who proved that her situation was a lot less taxing on my shoulder than Twilight's endeavors. So I accompanied her and Sweetie to the boutique to help her with some cleaning up. But as I walked, I couldn't help but to recall Spike saying that he'd come over and clean up the place on his own.

And despite him having a mouth he can clean pretty well, I'll give him that.

When we had arrived, we had walked in on the young dragon hard at work, trying to multitask on all of the chores. But as soon as he saw me, all of the humming and singing he did as he cleaned came to an abrupt halt. Sweetie started to nervously make her way upstairs, leaving me, Rarity and Spike in the foyer.

"What's he doing here?" The dragon asked bluntly.

Rarity's voice grew quiet, but harsh. "Nondis is here to help me clean up. I asked him to assist us as we tried to minimize our work for today. I am sure that you would appreciate the help."

"I don't need any help." He argued, not even wanting to look in my direction.

Just what in the hell did I do to make him this pissed off?

Suddenly, Rarity hit a paradigm shift and altered her approach from harsh and quiet to gentle and caring. She walked up to the dragon and brushed her hoof against his head. "Spikey-wikey dear, what is wrong with you?"

Spike cut his glance back to me for a brief second and turned back to the seamstress. "Can we talk in the kitchen?"

She looked at me with uncertainty, not wanting to leave me unattended. I gave her a nod to let her know that I was more than willing to wait until things had gotten sorted out between the two of them. They walked into the kitchen, Spike holding the door for Rarity before entering himself.

As I waited, I walked around the room and took observation of the damage. The windows were busted in, broken wood and glass littered the floor, dirt and scorch marks soiled the walls and the mirrors that she used for her modeling were left in shards. I walked over to see a picture lying on the floor. I made sure to be careful to avoid the broken glass and picked up the photo of me, the girls, the princesses and Spike standing in front of the portal to my world.

It was taken on the day I decided to stay here. Originally it was meant to be a farewell picture taken before I left, but thanks to my brashness we ended up taking it after my decision was made. I also noticed something else that was somewhat disturbing. It seemed that my face was burned off, as if a small cinder landed just where my face was. I also noticed that I stood dead center with Pinkie on my right shoulder, Twilight to my left, and Rarity holding onto my right arm. I even saw that his eyes had actually glanced over to me.

Adding up the clues, I came to a realization; this isn't good.

I looked around to see the wall from where it once hung. It seemed that the area was concealed by a large red curtain with a golden tassel dangling from the ceiling. I could also see some rose petals scattered about as well. I was intrigued by the sight and decided to get a peek of what was behind the curtain. As I placed my hand on the tassel, a voice rang out from the kitchen.

"I WON'T DO IT!"

"What do you mean you won't work with him!?"

Rarity's voice came screaming from the kitchen, causing me to jump at the sudden break in silence. I quietly placed the picture on a nearby stand and left the area alone. I crept back towards the foyer and listened in on the conversation between the two.

"I won't! I'm tired of doing everything for you and getting nothing in return, where he does nothing and you constantly make clothes for him!"

"That is because he needs clothes to live, Spike! He doesn't exactly have fur like we ponies do!"

"But why not outsource that to somepony else!? You know that you can't keep up with your clients and make clothes for him!"

"I'm not going to argue with you over this! I told you that I was given the specs for his stature and I was solely given the responsibility to clothe him."

"But he doesn't appreciate it! He just takes and takes and takes from you and what do you get!?"

"I get his smile! That is the only thing I want!"

"Why can't you be happy with me smiling for you then!? If a smile was all you wanted, you could just ask me, or Pinkie, or Twilight! Anypony except him!"

Rarity scoffed at the young dragon, she sounded as if she was taken aback by his statements. "What has he done to make you dislike him so much!?"

"What does he do!? He takes your time away, he makes you slave over his clothes, he messes up your clothes and all you do is smile as you continue to work your life away for him! It's gotten to the point where you can't even make a profit off of your other works because you're so busy wasting resources on him!"

"I give to him from the goodness of my heart! What good does making a profit do when you don't have anyone to appreciate your work!?"

"Rarity, you're barely afloat! If you spend anymore time on him, making him free clothes, then you're gonna start seeing red! Is making these clothes for him worth your boutique going under!?"

"I won't go under and here's why, NOT ONLY IS HE MY HEART'S FONDEST DESIRE BUT HE IS MY GATEWAY TO THE INTERSPECIES MARKET! I HAVE GOTTEN TWICE AS MUCH BUSINESS BECAUSE OF HIM, IF NOT THRICE! And besides if I get more business, then I get more money. The more money I make, the more clothes I can make for him."

"So is that the reason you like him!?"

"WHAT!?" She shouted back in disbelief.

"Is that why you like him? Because he makes your clothes more popular?"

"NO! I LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE DOES SO MUCH FOR ME! His smile... the way he stands up for everypony, the way he can defend someone, the extreme lengths he'll go to prove that he cares for someone, the way he compliments me and my works, the time we spend together. I am more than certain that he is the one for me!"

"Yet you know he can't be with you! You're chasing something that doesn't exist! Why not just give it up!?"

"Because like you, I too believe in chasing illusions!"

"I don't chase any illusions!"

"Well of course you do!"

"Since when!?"

"SINCE YOU MET ME!"

A long, awkward silence filled the boutique as I could hear nothing but the faint panting of the two parties in the kitchen. For moments at a time I could hear my own heart beating, up until I heard the sound of a voice breaking.

"Since I met you?"

Rarity took her time to answer his question. "I'm sorry, Spikey-poo. But I haven't really saw you as anything more than a dear little brother. And... I know that you feel a certain way towards me. I can't return that."

"Bu-but... why not?"

"Spike, you're a dragon. You'll live for several hundred years after I am long gone."

"Then... why him? WHY HIM THEN!? HE'S NOT A PONY!"

"I'm sorry, Spike. No matter what, it's just that my heart has not opened up to you quite like it has to him. That's why I make him these clothes, why I gave him a place to come and stay, why I continue to support him and his endeavors. Love does not have to be repaid, it is a charity. You shouldn't expect something back right away, it's... It's... it's a karma of sorts."

Suddenly I hear something break inside of the kitchen. It sounded like a series of dishes as I started to make my way into where Spike and Rarity were. As soon as I opened the door, I saw a teary-eyed Spike holding on to a broken plate. Rarity also had tears in her eyes as she looked away from him. Spike glanced at me and started to growl.

"You! You don't belong here!"

Suddenly, Rarity stood between me and him, giving him a deadly stare as she seemed as if she was willing to fight. "I do not bear any sort of resentment in my decisions. I have always told you that we would never become anything more than friends. I have made it clear that we could carry on our relationship in this manner. And I have always accepted that you were different. But if you think that I would let you state that he doesn't belong here, especially after what he has done for us, then I cannot allow you to be apart of my company any longer!"

"What are you saying?" The young dragon asked as he stumbled towards Rarity, who backed away in response.

"I am saying that if you cannot accept him for who and what he is, what he has done and my feelings for him, then I cannot allow you to stay here for much longer."

I think I felt my heart leap into my throat for him. Those words were icy to my ears, I could only imagine just how frigid they were to his. I don't think I could imagine myself being in his position. I offered to speak, but words failed to part from my lips. I reached down to Rarity in an attempt to reason with her, but her magic held me at bay. Not once did she take her eyes off of the dragon standing in front of her.

"Rarity..." He began. "I'm your number one assistant, your Spikey-poo, remember?"

Rarity sniffled as she choked back sobs. Trying to take a deep breath to compose herself, she finally stood firm on her argument. "I don't remember befriending the Spike in front of me."

"But Rarity, it's me-"

"You're not my Spike. You've changed into something... else."

I continued to remain silent as Spike looked at the broken plate he held in his claws. He looked at me and the back to the unicorn standing between me and him.

"Rarity-"

"Captain, please assist me in the cleaning of my home." She whimpered as she walked out of the kitchen, leaving me and Spike alone together. When I looked at his eyes, I could see a lifeless haze clouding over his vision. Everything about him, his breathing, his motions, they all became similar to that of a cyborg. He didn't even look at me once as he mechanically strolled through the door and out of the boutique.

I stepped into the foyer, looking at a distraught Rarity sitting on the ground as she cried tears. I slowly reached out a hand to comfort her, only to be yanked in violently and held as if I had stolen something from her. She held onto me as she buried her muzzle into my chest.

"Nondis... What have I done?"

To be continued...

Ah, back to normal chapter length again. Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Boxing Day/New Year/Festivus/Holidays to all of you. I may not have any money, but I do have this chapter to give. Here you go, and I hope that your read was very merry.

Also on Rarity: Dat irony tho.