“This Sweet Clover was quite a curious little thing.” Applejack chuckled as she related the tale of her day to Twilight. “I went through the whole story of how the earth ponies came ta be the caretakers of the sheep and cattle an’ such.”

“Did you tell her about the importance of the economic advantage that cattle and sheep gave the earth ponies in production of dairy and clothing?” Twilight asked. “That was a very significant turning point in pony history. Since the earth ponies now could produce those products with greater efficiency and in larger numbers, they significantly lowered their prices, making such items available to everypony at affordable rates. The effect on the market lead to an increase in dairy stocks, which in turn….”

“Twilight, I jes told her a story.” Applejack deadpanned. “I didn’t  tell her ‘bout all that complicated stuff. Fact is, I don’t really know it that much myself.”

“Well, the details are very important.” Twilight insisted. “After all, the increase in dairy products lead to a greater production of Gouda cheese, which lead to a chef discovering how Gouda cheese went well with apples, which lead to an increase in the purchase of apples by cheese connoisseurs.”

Applejack gave Twilight a confused look. “…Uh, say again? All I heard was apples and cheese goin’ good together.”

“I have a question.” Spike piped up. He had been listening with interest the whole time, and looking a lot more thoughtful than usual. “If that’s why the earth ponies are in charge of the cows and sheep and stuff, then why is Princess Celestia over all the other races? You know, minotaurs, zebras….”

“Dragons?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Hold on a sec.” Applejack interrupted. “I thought the dragons ain’t under Princess Celestia’s rule?”

“They’re under her sun.” Twilight stated firmly. “Just because they don’t acknowledge her as their sovereign does not change the fact.”

“But that doesn’t sound very fair.” Spike piped up. “I mean, the cows and sheep who didn’t want to follow the earth ponies could just go back to the way things were. But it’s not like the dragons or griffons could live without the sun. And I don’t think Princess Celestia would abuse her power like that. Plus, she doesn’t seem to do anything about the dragons. Or the griffons for that matter. I mean, I know she raises the sun and all, but does that give her the right to rule over everyone?”

“Princess Celestia is in charge because she is a good ruler.” Twilight insisted.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t give her the right to rule.” Spike replied. “I mean, you’re an awesome leader, but you don’t have the right to replace Mayor Mare.”

“That’s because Princess Celestia has a system by which our leaders are elected.” Twilight stated, frowning at the young dragon. She didn’t like all this talk about Princess Celestia not having the right to rule.

“Yeah, but what gave her the right to rule a bunch or races which never elected her?” Spike pressed. He was getting a little steamed that Twilight was insinuating that Princess Celestia had the right to boss around whomever she pleased.

“She protects our entire world, and she is in charge of raising the sun!” Twilight retorted. “I think that’s reason enough to be in charge!”

“Oh, and what’s gonna happen to anybody who doesn’t want to be ruled by her?” Spike snapped. “Where else are they gonna go, huh? The moon?”

Twilight snarled in anger. “How dare you speak about the Princess like that?!” she shouted. “You sound like one of those malcontents who blame Princess Celestia for the whole Nightmare Moon incident!”

“And you sound like… like… a dictator!” Spike hissed.

“Woah, now.” Applejack said, futilely trying to intervene. “Now, why don’t we jes take a minute ta….”

“You’re just calling me a dictator because you’re angry I made you reshelf the library after you mixed those books up!” Twilight snapped.

“You’re darn right, I’m angry!” Spike shouted. Tears were now brimming in his eyes, both of rage and hurt. “So you’re just saying that we serve you or else? Heck, Princess Celestia isn’t even the rightful ruler! By all rights, Discord was in charge first! So she can just invade a country, throw down its ruler, and take control, and that’s okay with you?!”

“Discord was a terrible and cruel ruler!” Twilight cried, on the verge of screaming. Having her beloved mentor associated with that… lunatic was too much for her. “The ponies wanted her to rule them!”

“Yeah, the ponies!” Spike shot back. “Not the griffons! Not the Diamond Dogs! Not the dragons!”

“Don‘t you hear who you’re listing?” Twilight cried. “A bunch of monsters, bullies, and dimwitted crooks! Why should we listen to them?!”

Twilight suddenly noticed what she had said as Spike’s face was filled with shock and hurt.

“Spike… I… I didn’t mean….”

“Oh, didn’t you?” Spike asked, his voice now low and trembling as he tried to hold back the tears. “What would you do if I wasn’t your ‘number one assistant’?” He made quotation marks in the air with his claws as he sarcastically pronounced the title he was normally so fond of. “What if I didn’t want you bossing me around? Would you just kick me out on the street? It’s not like I have much of a choice. I don’t have anywhere else to go. You can just tell me to do whatever you want, and I have to, because I don’t have a choice.”

Spike plodded to the door, opening it. He turned and cast a tearful, injured look at Twilight.

“No wonder Gilda hated you ponies.”

Spike slammed the door shut as he left, leaving Twilight staring after him.

“Ya know, not ta kick ya while yer down, but you deserved that.”

Twilight turned towards Applejack in surprise. “What? He was the one talking in a way that was borderline treason.”

“Then I’m sure the Princess would be happy with how y’all handled it.” Applejack replied with a stern glance. “Wouldn’t she?”

Twilight sighed. “No.”

“Listen, Twi. I respect ya. Y’all are ‘bout the smartest mare I know, and yer usually one ‘a the nicest. But I want you ta listen, and listen good.”

Applejack stuck her face up in Twilight’s. “Nopony… and I mean nopony, not even Princess Celestia herself, has the right ta boss others around unless the others give ‘em that right. We earth ponies may be in charge of the cattle and sheep, but one thing we’re all taught from when we’re foals is that we never, ever, ever act like we deserve that power.”

Applejack backed up. “I reckon y’all should chew on that for a while.” she said as she exited the door.

As the door shut behind Applejack, Twilight sank to the ground. She put her head in her hooves and began to cry.

“Oh, Celestia.” she wept. “Am I really that wrong?”

And in the back of her head, there was a nagging, little thought that just ate at her, making her feel all the worse.

“Could Celestia be wrong?”

*************************************************

Rarity was in her boutique, carefully working on a new ensemble for Roseluck. She was quite pleased with the miniature roses she had designed all over the outfit, and was just adding a few leaves when the door opened, the bell above it ringing to announce a visitor.

Rarity quickly turned about and trotted over to the door to greet her potential customer.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique.” she announced grandly, her eyes closed as she gestured dramatically with her hoof. “Where everything is chic, unique, and….”

“Rarity, it’s me.”

Rarity opened her eyes to see Spike standing before her.

“Oh, Spikey, it’s you. I thought….” Rarity trailed off as she notices Spike’s expression. His eyes were red, and he was looking more unhappy than she had ever seen him look.

“Spike, what’s wrong?” she asked.

Spike took a deep breath. “Rarity, I have to ask you this. I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a long time. I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, so I waited, but… well, now I have to know. Right now.”

“What is it, Spike? Rarity asked. Inwardly, she felt a rising feeling of dread. She knew very well what it was, and she didn’t know how she would respond. And in the state he was in, Rarity knew that Spike would be extremely sensitive.

Spike looked up at Rarity, his eyes shimmering with tears. “Do you love me?”

Rarity’s eyes darted about nervously. “Well… of course I do darling. I love all my friends.”

“You know what I mean.” Spike stated.

Rarity sighed. What had Applejack always said? The truth was always the best way, even if it hurt at the time. And besides, no matter how hard she tried, Rarity couldn’t come up with a lie which wouldn’t make things worse.

“Darling… Spike… I… I honestly don’t know.” she sighed. “I admit, your devotion and chivalrous behavior is quite charming, and I would be lying if I said it did not endear you to me.”

She shuffled uncomfortably before she went on. “But… well, you’re a dragon, and I’m….”

“A pony, I know.” Rarity was shocked at the cold tone that Spike’s voice had taken. “And I’m just your little dragon servant to cater to your every whim.”

Rarity looked hurt. “Spike, I never thought of you like that.” she stated firmly. “I always thought you were such a gentlecolt… er, dragon, when you would help me out. I never saw you as a servant.”

“I gave you my heart!” Spike cried, breaking out in tears again. “And you don’t even care! It’s all because I’m a dragon! You said so yourself! I’m a dragon, and you’re a pony!”

“Darling, I didn’t mean….”

“Well, I’ve had it with ponies!” Spike shouted, stomping over to the door and throwing it open. He stood in the doorway for a moment, and gave a shuddering sigh.

“I’d hoped you were different.” he uttered.

As the door slammed behind him, Rarity stared out the window after him with concern, her eyes wet.

“Oh, Spike.” she sighed, slumping down onto her chaise lounge. She shook her head. “This isn’t like him. And he came in in tears. Something must have upset him. I can only guess that he and Twilight had a falling-out. But what was all that about having had it with ponies?”

Rarity got to her hooves. “I must find out. I must find a way to help him.”

*************************************************

Rarity was trotting along when she saw Rainbow Dash sitting on a cloud a few meters above the road.

“Rainbow dear, did you happen to see Spike come this way?” she crooned up at the cyan pegasus.

“Yeah, Mr. Sunshine just left.” Rainbow snapped angrily.

Rarity looked concerned. “You didn’t say anything to upset him, did you?”

“Upset him!?” Rainbow Dash cried, zipping up to Rarity. “I saw him looking glum, so I flew up to him and asked him how he was, and he just grumbled that he didn’t need to talk or something. Then I said I wouldn’t be much of an Element of Loyalty if I didn’t help out my friends when they needed me, and you know what he said?”

Rainbow Dash stomped angrily. “He said I wasn’t much on an Element of Loyalty at all! He said that I was a jerk because I ditched Gilda for ‘my pony buddies’.” Rainbow mimicked the sarcastic tone in which Spike had pronounced ‘pony buddies’.  “And then he said that Gilda had every right to hate us!”

Rainbow Dash turned towards the sky, yelling angrily. “Like he even knows what it’s like!” she shouted. “Like that doesn’t plague me enough already! Like I don’t already lie awake at night, wondering what happened to the old friend I ditched, if she’s okay, if she’s in trouble, and if it’s all my fault!”

Rarity gently put a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “Darling, I… I never knew you felt so strongly about Gilda.”

“I’m the Element of Loyalty.” Rainbow Dash uttered, her voice now numb as she tried to mask her pain. “Do you think it wouldn’t torment me to ditch a buddy?”

“Gilda was being quite unnecessarily unfriendly.” Rarity assured her. “She even yelled at Fluttershy, if you recall, who was an older friend of yours than Gilda, and the poor dear hadn’t done a thing to merit it.”

“I know.” Rainbow Dash mumbled. “Gilda was being a jerk. I don’t put up with anypony bullying my friends, and I’m not about to stick with someone who does. I would have done the same to you girls if the tables had been turned. Not that it wouldn’t hurt me worse than anything, but because I’m loyal, I could never abandon any friend to a bully.”

“I guess the choice was harder for you than you let on.” Rarity stated.

“You have no idea.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Gilda was never a fan of ponies. I cut her a lot of slack, because I knew she had been bullied a lot by ponies as a… chick, cub, whatever young griffons are.”

“Oh.” Rarity said softly. “That might explain why she seemed to dislike us.”

“Yeah, I let a lot of that stuff slide, because we were friends, and because I knew she’d had it rough.” Rainbow Dash admitted. “Heck, I even heard about the Fluttershy thing, and shook it off, because I knew Gilda had always been a bit jealous of Fluttershy’s friendship with me. So then I had to go apologize to Fluttershy about Gilda’s behavior later. Fluttershy is probably the only mare who understood why I didn’t call Gilda on that. She even felt sorry for Gilda, and said that I did the right thing by giving her mercy.”

Rainbow then sighed deeply. “But… well, Gilda just kind of crossed a line where her excuse of being bullied didn’t cover it anymore. She’d grown too bitter. And though it hurt more than anything, I had to ditch her.”

Rainbow Dash put her head in her hooves. “Now I’m always worried about what’s happened to her. And I’ll always feel like her hatred of ponies is justified because of me.”

“That’s not true.” Rarity assured Rainbow Dash. “You can’t let somepony do cruel things just because they’re your friend. And if they won’t stop, then they aren’t being a very good friend.”

Rainbow Dash nodded glumly, and Rarity patted her on the back.

“Come on. Let’s go find Spike.” she said gently. “I know he might have hit a nerve, but… well, he’s not himself right now. And he is our friend.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, giving a sniff, which she quickly pretended was because of the weather.

“Yeah… I don’t need to lose another friend.” Next Chapter: What to Do? Estimated time remaining: 27 Minutes