Twilight's Treatment Volume 2

by Zehntacles

First published 13th of May, 2012

Spike is confronted with a person that exposes emotions in him he thought he understood.

Volume 2 of Twilight's Treatment. Spike encounters a person that exposes emotions in his heart that he thought he'd mastered some time ago. With this new revelation he tries to come to terms as to how he really feels about the people most important to him in his life. Humanized version of characters.

Spike's Flames

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 1 - Spike's Flames

Through the deep of the Everfree Forest the dragon-blooded boy trudged, following the familiar path from his friend Zecora's hut back towards his own home in town. Spike had made a delivery of several new books to the talented potions master per the request of Twilight Sparkle; his room mate and closest thing to family the boy had. While it was a long walk Spike didn't really mind it. He liked Zecora just fine and doing favors for the lovely women came naturally to him. Having spent most of his life as an assistant to the scholar, Spike found himself in many situations that required his special set of talents he'd mastered over the years. Not least of which was his gifted strength from his heritage.

Past the blue flowers of poison joke, over the large log that let him cross the thorn patch and now through the thick wood. In the past there wasn't a single resident of town that would have dared travel this path but in the last year Spike and his friends had worn it into something recognizable to any that went through Everfree.

It was here though that Spike ran across something unexpected. Past the trees off the beaten path was the sound of what seemed to be labored breathing. It was very faint and he would have nearly missed it amongst the sounds of the forest but it somehow stuck out to him. Spike knew traveling into Everfree was dangerous, Zecora rarely did it herself and only when she had to. But if there was an injured animal or person nearby Spike couldn't ignore them. His friend Fluttershy would never forgive him if she was aware he'd pass up on helping a defenseless creature.

Carefully pushing past the tress and branches Spike heard the breathing tense and stop. The racket he was making to get to the creature must have startled it. Spike tried to move more carefully, not wanting to scare the creature away if it was hurt. Though it was hard not to seem like a predator when you were stalking something quietly in the woods. As he approached the trees became more sparse and allowed him to move easier. It was there he came across the creature laying in a patch of grass.

"No way." He whispered quietly to himself seeing the body on the grass before him. It wasn't an animal after all but a person. A girl from what he could see, wearing a green dress that did little to cover herself. That would be startling enough if not for the sight of her skin; it was pure black. "A Changeling."

Spike hid behind a tree trying to decide what to do next. Of all the things to find in the woods he never expected to see one of those creatures again. He remembered their kind from when they had invaded the castle during Shining Armor's wedding. Dark creatures that fed off the emotions of humans to sustain themselves, taking the shape of those closest to you to do so. Previous to that day Spike had never heard of such things before, but they certainly proved their might in nearly taking over the entire kingdom.

Now here was one at his mercy. Had she noticed him? What should he do about her? Should he turn her into the royal guards? What if she was hurt; should he help her even if she was a monster? Shouldn't he be glad if something happened to make on less of her kind around? "So, are you going to kill me?" Spike nearly shrieked like a little girl when the Changeling spoke up to him, jumping from his hiding place. "If so get it over with, I'm tired of starving to death."

"You... um, you better stay where you are! We have you surrounded!" Wow, that sounded stupid. Who was "we" supposed to mean? But when Spike was a bit freaked out he didn't exactly think straight.

"Do you now? Well you better come and get me." She said from her resting place, not even lifting her head and sounding board with Spike's threats. Spike looked around wondering what he was supposed to do now? Come out with the entire army of Spike, himself and him? "Don't want me escaping do you?"

"Just give me a minute! Okay, I'm coming out. No sudden moves now." Spike tried to sound tough and threatening but the Changeling wasn't all that afraid.

"Somehow I think I'll be able to comply with you." Spike looked at her annoyed but she didn't lift her head to see it. Looking around to be sure this wasn't some sort of ambush waiting to be sprung Spike stepped out from behind the relative safety of his tree and slowly approached her.

As he walked up the Changeling kept her position on the grass, her insect like wings fluttering every so often but not helping her gain any ground to move. Beyond them her eyes were the only thing that shifted, green in a color that was not too different from Spike's own emerald like eyes. From the ground she would have seemed completely harmless if not for Spike knowing her kind's true nature. "So this is the fierce army that has me surrounded?"

"Yeah well... I guess it's enough of one huh?" Spike said looking over the pitiful woman. No, not a woman. He had to remember that she was a monster that fed off of people like him and his loved ones. "How did you get out here?"

"Asking questions? I thought I was a prisoner of you and your army, dragon boy." Spike blinked in surprise at the nick name, at first wondering how she knew but remembered that yes he did indeed look different from other humans with his pointed ears and slightly sharper teeth and nails. Not like the fangs that the Changeling had herself but they were still different. "It doesn't matter anyway, if you could get to killing me like I asked for I'd appreciate it."

"K-kill you?" The idea scared the dragon-blooded boy. "Why would I kill you? Why would you want me to kill you?" The girl sighed and closed her eyes, looking away from Spike now. She seemed bothered by Spike's unwillingness to comply with her request.

"Well I know you're not going to help me and I don't like the idea of starving to death out in the middle of nowhere. So if you could just finish me off now instead of planning on doing whatever you're going to do it'll save us both a lot of time. Got it dragon boy?"

"My name's Spike." Spike grumbled at her, annoyed at being labeled by his difference from the rest of his friends.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Damselfly." The words were polite but her tone of voice suggest otherwise. "Be a dear Spike and eat me or crush me or whatever it is you dragon boys do with your prey."

"No! No I'm not going to... to eat you, are you insane?!" Spike shouted out disturbed by all the talk of taking another life. "Listen um... Damselfly was it? I don't really know what to do here but I'm not going to kill you."

"Great, a slow death next to an indecisive brat. Looks like I got everything that those royals wanted for my kind." That was an interesting thing to say and it peaked Spike's curiousity.

"What do you mean, what royals?" The woman sighed again at being denied her request but slowly gathered her thoughts to convey her meaning to him.

"You seem to know what I am, so I'm guessing you know our queen tried to take over the castle right?" Spike nodded his head where she could see him and she continued. "Well as you can see when our plan failed the princesses obviously went to some pretty great lengths to eject us from the city. We expelled pretty much all of our energy on that attack. I can't imagine how quickly the others must have went compared to myself." Her voice carried a sad tone to it now and it was touching to Spike. So she cared about the other Changelings as well.

"Well I mean, what did you expect? You invaded our home and tried to feed off of us. You didn't think we were going to welcome you with open arms did you?" Damselfly grit her teeth at Spike, showing off her fangs as she did.

"I expected to have a chance to live for once. I expected to actually have a shot at not fading away under the earth while I sustained myself on the residual emotions your kind give off on a daily basis. I expect to have a right to earn something more for myself than existing in the shadows." She looked furious and her body twitched as she tried to move but was soon reminded of her condition. Her eyes softened as if she were about to tear up before closing them. "Look if you're not going to give me mercy then let me be. I don't need to be harassed in the last few moments of my life."

"I didn't mean to..." Spike tried to apologize not expecting to hurt her feelings but it was too late for that.

"You didn't mean to what? What didn't you mean? After all I'm just some filthy monster right? Get out of here already!" Her wings fluttered with her anger but that was all she managed before clenching her eyes shut again. "Just go." Spike watched the black skinned woman feeling conflicted. Meeting a Changeling wasn't anything like he would have expected it to be. He'd thought she'd be gnashing at him with her teeth, trying to get at his precious energy. Or mocking him with cruel and angry words. But she was eerily similar to the women in his own life; she had emotions and feelings and knew hope and despair. How could he ignore that?

Moving next to her Spike positioned the woman so that he could pick her up in his arms. Looking her over she had a figure that wasn't much unlike Pinkie Pie's if she had lost her little excess weight from those sweets she liked so much. Spike positioned Damselfly into his grip and started towards the trail. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you home. Maybe Twilight can think of something to help you." Spike didn't know what that might be. She was a monster and she fed on humans to live but if there was an alternative to that then Twilight would know it.

"You shouldn't do that, I'm a Changeling. They'll just lock me up until I die." Spike didn't want to think of the world in such absolutes like Damselfly apparently did. She acted as if she knew the world was black and white, that things couldn't possibly go different than how she expected. But if his friends could accept a boy that breathed fire and ate gems then maybe they could learn to help her.

"I wont know until I try and I'm not just going to leave you here to die." Spike felt the confidence come back to his words, now that he was sure he was doing the right thing nothing could stop him.

"It's a mistake. Spike... that was your name right? It's... not..." Her lips were moving but the words were fading from her breath. Spike was scared that by moving her she might have started to fade away quicker.

"Hey, save your strength okay? I'll get you there in no time." Damselfly said something more but Spike couldn't make it out. "Hey, stop that. Just rest." Still her lips moved but barely any sound came. Thinking it might be important Spike lifted her closer to his ear. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"Thank you." Her words sounded genuine and honest without her arrogant tone. It made Spike feel good to hear them. Which made the next action all the more surprising as Damselfly suddenly darted her head forward and sunk her fangs into Spike's neck. The action was so fast the boy didn't know how to react and he was even surprised she could pierce his thick skin with how weak she was.

"St-stop! Stop that!" Spike tried to shake her off his neck but her grip was certain, her jaws closing harder. With little option left Spike just dropped her back on the grass, Damselfly's weakness finally taking over as she let herself fall. "You bit me! You bit my neck, how could you do that? Arrgh!" Spike pressed his palm to his neck where he was bit, pulling it away to see blood smears on his skin. "It hurts! Why would you do that?!" Spike was furious that his kindness had been betrayed so openly, had she been lying from the beginning? Slowly Damselfly picked her head up from her laying position to look at his eyes.

"I'm sorry Spike, but I had to. It's my nature." Once again the words were honest in her voice, just as she'd been when she'd thanked him. Spike was growling though as his anger was starting to drive his thoughts, wanting to bring her in for certain now but less to help her and more to turn her over to the royal guards. Surprisingly though his first step towards her was heavy. "There we go, it's already taking effect." Spike stumbled on his feet before falling to his knees, Damselfly watching him closely.

"What did you do to me?" He could still speak but his head was getting cloudy and his muscles were growing lax. The woman got up on her hands and knees as she watched her prey.

"I had to poison you, I knew you wouldn't let me feed on you any other way. Don't worry, you wont bleed out. It doesn't do us any good if a bite would cause our food to die." Spike didn't like being called food and grit his teeth, small flicks of flame coming from his mouth. It must have looked threatening as Damselfly had a fearful gaze about her before Spike fell face first onto the grass. The poison had rendered him powerless. "Had me worried there for a second."

Damselfly crawled over to Spike and with great effort flipped him over onto his back. Once the world was bright again instead of dark and smelling of grass Spike narrowed his eyes at his attacker. "I'm not giving you anything."

"You don't have a choice in the matter anymore Spike." Damselfly crawled onto Spike, laying herself on him and rubbing his cheek tenderly with her hand. "You don't need to be afraid, a strong boy like you can endure a lot. So why not tell me who your ideal girl is and we can get started?" Spike just glared at Damselfly further, not responding. "Hm, going to be immature about this are you? Do you know how many men would willing let themselves spend a night with any woman they desired just to be a little sore the next morning? Well... assuming they survive to morning but you understand right?" Spike still didn't respond to her, now looking away and at the much more interesting trees which were not the black skinned, traitorous woman trying to eat him. "Well fine, I can work with this too you know." She gave him a kiss on his lips and a wink with her green eye, then slid her body down to lay her head onto his chest. At first Spike had no idea why she was doing this. Did she suddenly decide to just cuddle? It was then he felt odd, like someone was sifting through his head or swishing all of his thoughts around like soup in a bowl.

"What's happening to me? I feel strange." He wanted to rub his head to try and make it go away but was quickly reminded that his body wasn't responding very well.

"I'm listening to your heart." The Changeling explained as she kept her head to his chest.

"You can do that?"

"Everyone can, if they listen close enough and someone lets them. It's sad no one seems to uses this knowledge besides our kind." She nuzzled her head into his chest and that felt oddly good to Spike. But that didn't matter, he had to remember this girl wasn't a girl. She was a monster that was trying to eat up his very essence. She was a liar, not honest like... "Like me partner?" Spike would have jumped off the grass at the sound of the new voice if his body could move.

"Applejack!" As unbelievable as it seemed the blond haired woman was suddenly before him. Wearing her usual short shorts and tight t-shirt like when she'd work out in the apple orchard. "What... what's going on?"

"Well shucks, what's it look like tah you? Now don't go fibbin tah me Spike, ah know how you an' them other boys come on 'round my farm to watch me work. Seem's yer lookin tah get a glimpse at more than the scenery." Applejack reached back and slapped her own ass, making Spike's eyes widened. This all seemed pretty unbelievable... oh wait that's because it was.

"You're not Applejack." Spike said flatly to the blond woman who just shrugged it off.

"Now ah told you tah quit with the fibbin."

"You're not Applejack, you're Damselfly. You're that Changeling that bit me and now you're looking like Applejack for... some reason." Really of all the girls to choose she chose Applejack to try and get him off his guard? If she were going to chose someone it should... wait a minute. "My heart."

"Pardon?" She was really sticking to this Applejack routine. Had to admire her commitment to the role.

"You looked into my heart, my head... you're getting inside of it. That's how you knew who she was that's... that's why you bit me and I feel all... I can't think." His head was getting even more clouded and he felt Not Applejack rest on his chest. "Why is my head so muddy?" Spike clenched his eyes closed try to clear his thoughts.

"Maybe it's cause yer always eatin' them gems and what not. Be a lot better fer ya if ya took in some apples more often."

"C'mon Applejack, I can't eat all them apples."

"Like heck you can't! Course only a wuss would give up that easy." Wait, that wasn't Applejack's voice anymore. It sounded a lot more aggressive and cocky. The rainbow colored hair that rose off his chest confirmed his suspicions. "Your not a wuss, are you squirt?"

"Rainbow Dash? But... that doesn't make sense, Applejack was just... no wait you're not Rainbow Dash." Why did he keep forgetting that? It was like she was somehow able to fool him despite never leaving his lap.

"Really? Well if I'm not Rainbow Dash then how do you explain just how cool I am?" Spike just glared up at the woman. "Or my totally awesome hair? Or my sexy, athletic body in this tight runner's outfit?" Now that he couldn't deny. Clad in her spandex shorts and what was just a thin sports bra this Rainbow Dash certainly had his attention. "I heard you like girls in shorts, this enough for you squirt?" She slapped her butt similar to how Not Applejack had done earlier and it got another little jump out of Spike. Why was that so sexy when she did it?

"Listen; you might look like Rainbow Dash, sound like Rainbow Dash, even act like her but I know you're not her."

"Doesn't matter, I'm at least twenty percent cooler than every other girl you've ever met!" She said looking as confident as Dash would look.

"Why's that exactly?" Spike was trying to get up and he could feel his fingers twitching. Apparently some of his strength was coming back to him.

"Cause I'm on your lap in spandex with no underwear."

"...good point, but you still need to get off me." At that suggestion Rainbow Faker got angry and grabbed Spike by his shirt.

"Oh so what I'm not good enough for you? Do you have any idea how lucky you are that I'm even offering myself to you? There's all sorts of guys who would be jealous to be in your position." Through her anger she actually started to tear up a bit and Spike went into defensive mode right away.

"Wait wait, I didn't say you weren't any good..."

"So what am I not pretty enough or... or girly enough for you? Is that it?" Spike had no idea where this was coming from and seeing Rainbow get so upset was throwing him off guard. But wait... wasn't there something about her that was wrong? "Sorry I don't have big boobs or wear those frilly dresses or anything like that, it's just who I am!" She suddenly dropped her head on his chest and started shivering like she was crying. Spike was losing focus on what was real and what wasn't and felt a need to comfort this girl.

"Hey just calm down okay?" He brought his hand up to hug the crying Rainbow Dash and found it was really hard to move it. Oh yeah something had bit him earlier, made him weak. What had it been? Was it poisonous, he couldn't really remember for some reason. "You don't have to be girly or big boobed or anything. That's not important, you are who you are. It's not like you have to be-"

"So those things are bad?" The previously rainbow colored hair was gone now, instead there was a flowing mane of pink across Spike's chest and two lovely cyan eyes staring at him. "I didn't think they were bad... oh my now I've gone and done something else wrong."

"Fluttershy? But I was just... Rainbow Dash was just here." Wasn't she? His head was so foggy now and it felt like it was just getting worse. Was he sick or did he get poisoned from that bite?"

"Oh no Spike it's just you and me. I hope you don't mind." She sat up a little and revealed the very loose yellow tank top she was wearing and the valley of cleavage she was showing off because of it. Her hips were resting down right on his now and it made Spike's cheeks flare up in a blush. "I mean I guess if I'm heavy or something I could get off. Am I too heavy, I've been trying to eat right."

"No no you're not too heavy." Look at her eyes, Spike. Lift your head and look at her eyes, stop staring at her boobs. Blinking a few times Spike finally managed to lift his gaze up to try and avoid not being caught taking the world's most obvious peek. He hoped she didn't notice the other telling sign below his waist of what he'd been staring at and why. "Fluttershy why are we out here I don't... I don't remember too well."

"Isn't it nice out in the forest? The birds are singing and the sun is shining. It's kind of romantic, don't you think?" She batted her eyelashes in a cute and innocent manner and it wasn't helping Spike's current embarrassing physical feature from going away. "Do you like being out here with me?"

"Yeah I like it. I mean I like being out here and... you're nice and all." Something was really wrong about all of this and he felt like he'd forgotten something very important. It was just outside of his grasp. It was then that Fluttershy pushed it farther away as she leaned into Spike and pressed her breasts against his body.

"We could spend a lot of time together alone if you want. If that would make you happy." Her body was pushing against his own now and it was driving him crazy. His head was this mixed bag of feelings and confusion and want. "I can do a lot of things to make you happy, if it's not too much trouble." Her voice was soft and meek and nice. She leaned in and kissed on of his pointed ears making him gasp for air. Seeming to like this reaction she kept it up, kissing his ear and cheek and his neck, causing a twinge of pain from the bite on his neck... the bite on his neck.

"Damselfly... stop it." He was able to grasp it again, she wasn't Fluttershy, or Rainbow Dash, or Applejack. "Stop this and let me up." She was a Changeling and she was trying to confuse him to steal his energy. "I don't want to do this anymore."

"Oh no, my name's Fluttershy. I understand if you forgot, I mean I'm not very memorable." She was acting the part well and even looking away shyly but Spike held tight to his memory.

"Stop it right now, I don't want you making me all confused with my friends." His voice was taking a more serious tone and those cyan eyes began to get sad as she lowered her head on his chest.

"But Spike, I don't want to leave you. I just want to stay here." Her voice was heart-breakingly sad but he fought the urge to comfort her, though he still couldn't lift his body he was at least able to get his arms to move. Putting them on her shoulders he tried and push her off.

"This isn't right, I don't want to do this with my friends. I don't want mix up what I think of them."

"Why not, what's so wrong about loving your friends?" Her head lifted and while the color of her hair hadn't changed the style was noticeably different. Curled and a brighter pink than before. Her cyan eyes now a vivid blue that was startling and beautiful at the same time. "I love all my friends, in fact my friends are the thing I love most. I mean I also love chocolate and streamers and balloons and candy..."

"Pinkie Pie?" What was she doing here? Granted her appearing randomly was something she did often without warning but she was on top of him. This was hardly a normal position, why was he so turned on right now too? Spike shook his head as it hurt something fierce, like he'd been reading too long and straining his eyes.

"But still even though I love all of those things it doesn't matter cause my friends are still the mostest important thing to me in the whole wide world. Just like how you're my friend Spike." She smiled down at him happily, Spike noticing she was wearing one of her normal pink shirts and with it snug against her figure she was once again not wearing a bra. "So what are you doing out here anyway?"

"What am I... what am I doing out here?" Spike looked around wondering that himself. Something had happened and he'd gotten weak and passed out here or something. "What am I doing out here? Why are you on me?"

"Well I had to make sure you were okay, cause you're one of my most specialist of special friends Spike. In fact you're a specially special friend cause you also have benefits." Pinkie leaned closer to Spike and smiled with those blue eyes. "Did you want any of your benefits Spike?" Wait this was totally wrong.

"No way, you're not Pinkie. You're... I don't remember but you're not Pinkie." He was sure of this much.

"Of course I am you Goofy McSillyPants, who else could I be?" She sat up on his lap with a little bounce under her shirt, making his heart leap in excitement from the sight and the pressure. Still though he fought the distracting instincts that wanted him to focus elsewhere.

"I don't know, but you're definitely not Pinkie Pie." Of that he was sure.

"Am so." The Pinkie Pie Imposter insisted.

"Are not." Spike countered.

"Am so."

"Are not."

"Am so."

"Are not."

"Am not."

"Are so."

"Am not."

"Are so!"

"Am not!"

"You are so and that's final!" Spike yelled sick of arguing.

"Okay, if you say so. Hugs!" She suddenly hugged his face into her chest and held him there while giggling happily to herself. Spike just hung limp realizing what had happened.

"Okay, that was pretty good." Imposter or not she played the role well. Very pleased with herself the Pinkie Imposter laid Spike on the grass again and laid over him, kissing his cheek.

"Are you ready for those benefits yet Spike? You can taste my cupcakes and frosting if you want?" Spike's whole body shivered and he was pretty sure he was going to die from this bite on his neck, the stress of his situation or just his lower half exploding after all the build up she'd caused in him. "I promise they're sweet." She kissed him more and tried to kiss his lips but Spike moved his mouth away.

"We shouldn't... we shouldn't do this." Regardless if she was real or fake this was getting too intense for him.

"Why not? Don't you like me Spike?" She wiggled her hips against him and that was way too much to deal with right now.

"I like you but... you're my friend and I just... I don't think we should do this." It was taking a lot of will power to resist and mercifully Pinkie laid her head against his chest, nuzzling him. She felt so nice and warm and comforting.

"Is there another girl you like Spike?" After all that she'd done she was asking him this now? Didn't she know that there was something already going on in his life that he was trying to make sense of? Spike had just come to some sort of peace with his feelings and was trying to figure things out. Now Pinkie Pie of all people was here stirring up his emotions again. But she wasn't Pinkie... was she? "Someone that gave you cookies that we baked together?" That's right Pinkie was there when she'd given him that present. "Did you like them Spike?" Spikes eyes shot open and there she was.

"Sweetie Belle, how did you find me out here?" He couldn't remember what attacked him or how he'd gotten lost in the woods but thankfully one of his friends had come to save him. She was cuddling on top of him and it felt really warm and good having her this close. "What's going on?"

"I came to rescue you after you didn't come back home right away. We were all worried about you. Did you miss me Spike?"

"Sweetie, where are your clothes?" It was a sight he never thought he'd see again; she was over top of him in her white bra and panties like the day she'd spilled hot chocolate onto her dress.

"Well you were cold so I decided I should warm you up. You feel warmer now right?" Her voice was like music, was it always that sweet sounding?

"Yeah I feel... I feel a lot better now. Sweetie where are the others?"

"What others? It's just me out here." That... that didn't seem right.

"But I was sure that... Applejack and Fluttershy and... everyone was out here looking for me. Weren't they?" It sounded real to him but everything kind of felt like a dream at the moment.

"It's just me, I told them I could bring you home no problem by myself. So I guess that means we have some time together if you want. Do you want that Spike?" She looked at him in that flirtatious way and while normally his defenses were strong Spike just couldn't resist.

"Yes." It was all Sweetie needed to hear and she leaned in close to the dragon blooded boy, kissing each other deeply. His arms moved around her and hugged her tightly, their bodies pressed hard to each other. She felt so good against him and there was a swell of emotions in Spike that he hadn't realized he'd been holding back. His hands traveled along her back, sliding down hesitantly and touching her ass, making her let out a little moan against his mouth. She suddenly leaned up off him and smiled down.

"Spike, I love you."

"I... I..." There was another emotion that hit his heart. Something unexpected in the heat of the moment that gave pause to his desires and longing; guilt. She was a dear friend, maybe even more as his body was longing for her kiss and touch again. But he cared for her and he knew he'd done wrong by her. "I'm... I'm sorry Sweetie." The look of disappointment on her face stabbed right into his heart as she slowly crumpled down onto his chest.

"Oh. I see." She said weakly as she pulled her arms in close to herself. "You don't love me."

"Sweetie please it's not that." He tried to protest but she didn't let him continue.

"I get it, I shouldn't have been so stupid. How could I ever compare? You don't love me as much do you?" It was coming, his secret he'd kept from her was coming to light and he couldn't hide it anymore. "There's no way I'll ever be as good as her."

"Don't say things like that. I didn't want to hurt you." Spike clenched his eyes closed feeling tears come on. The things he'd done without telling his friends was fine; they didn't need to know. It wasn't any of their business. But the actions he'd taken behind Sweetie Belle's back with her sister... Spike knew that was different. Even if he did love her. "Even if you love me?"

"Rarity?" Spike's eyes opened wide seeing the purple haired woman before him. Dressed in the lingerie from the day they were first together. The flame of his heart.

"Do you love me that much Spike? To face trials and dangers? To endure the pressure and pain that everyone else around us will give should they know the truth? Do you love me that much?"

"I do Rarity, I wanted to say it. I wanted to say it that day at the library when we were together. To tell you I would do anything for you." His love smiled at him and nodded, kissing him deeply. Spike's mind and heart felt like they were completely exposed by the woman, his body oddly weak but he didn't care. He was in his love's embrace and that made everything worth while.

Spike's hands moved to her back to hug her tightly against him, his fingers working to unclasp her bra from her body. After a few tries the boy had a little victory as the bra finally came undone, Rarity sitting up to let it fall away. She leaned her body forward and pushed her bust to his face. "Don't keep me waiting... Spiky-Wikey." The words were enough to clear every thought out of his head as his lips moved forward, taking her nipple into his mouth. His hands massaging and rubbing her breasts, earning him satisfied moans from the beautiful woman.

Rarity's fingers rubbed at Spike's hair, massaging his scalp as his long tongue slid from one breast to the other, sucking at her nipple with great energy. Rarity cooed very pleased with her lovers attentions. "Do you enjoy them Spike?" Spike could only give a low grumble in reply as he didn't desire to remove his mouth from her body for a second. "Ooh! Mmm... you are enjoying yourself." She teased happily and leaned back, finally separating his lips from her bosom. "Now it's my turn." Rarity slid down Spike's body, lifting his shirt and shortly after removing his pants.

"Did you miss me?" Rarity said as she clutched Spike's erection in her fingers, giving it a little kiss. The boy blushed red from her teasing of him and that just made her smile further. Her soft hands stroking his cock as she licked at sucked at the end of it. Spiked groaned as he held back what felt like pressure he'd been holding in check for a lot longer than he and Rarity had been together. His hands clenching into fists as her mouth and hands performed expertly on his member.

"Did you want something special, Spiky-Wikey?" She gave him a long lick before pulling up her body to hug his cock with her breasts. Slowly working her body against his own to stroke him with her impressive mounds. The sight of his love, the feeling of her warmth and kisses, her sexual favors; it was all too much. Spike let out a loud moan as he came hard onto Rarity's chest, the woman dipping her head down to suck and swallow down all of his cum that didn't escape her lips. His whole body jerked upward to her beck and call as she pulled at him with her mouth until there was no more left to give.

When she was finally satisfied with her conquest of the dragon-blooded boy Rarity cleaned herself off and climbed back on top of him, nuzzling his face and kissing his cheek. "You did very well Spiky-Wikey"

"For you Rarity, I'd do anything." Spike said breathing the words out. He felt so tired all of a sudden. His body had been weak previously when she found him but now it was like he'd run a mile and could barely move his body. "I love you."

"I love you too Spike." Rarity smiled and leaned down, kissing him. He returned it happily until she suddenly broke away from his lips looking surprised.

"Rarity?" The woman put a hand on his chest, over his heart as she watched him still looking confused. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Her fingers clutched at his shirt over her chest and she suddenly had a very sad expression.

"Oh Spike... you poor boy. She's still there isn't she? You never let her go even though you said you did." Spike blinked confused, not in a state to think about riddles as he was mentally and physically exhausted.

"Who's there? Rarity I don't understand..." She laid her head on his chest now, hugging her arms around him.

"She's there just like me, only there's more. So much love and pain and confusion... even anger. We've played with you so much and your heart has tried hard to protect itself. We never should have... I never should have pulled all of this out of you." Spike didn't get it, and he didn't think he was going to as his body was threatening to pull him into sleep. "Your kind are so sensitive to emotions and you're still too young. But... I can't ignore it." The purple haired woman lifted her head to look at Spike but it wasn't the same anymore. Her hair was straight, with a stripe of pink through one side. Her eyes a sparkling purple that belied the intelligence behind them. Her expression one of concern and care that was both enticing and lovely.

"Twilight?" He didn't know how she got here, or why she was naked down to her panties but apparently she'd found him in the woods. That was the only thing that made sense as he couldn't remember anything else right now. "What's going on?"

"Spike I'm sorry for the things I've done. I should have known we couldn't have fixed everything in a single night." What was she talking about, it was so hard to focus but he thought he didn't want to hear this. "I'm sorry how much I've confused you or hurt you or used you for myself. I should have known better."

"Twilight don't say that." He felt his eyes begin to tear up and wanted to hold it back.

"It's all my fault Spike, I should have said it from the beginning. I know I've made things different for us forever and you never wanted that." She leaned in and hugged him tightly and Spike pulled his arms up to hug her back, closing his eyes tight as tears started to come. "I love you Spike."

"I love you Twilight!" It was all he could say as they both started to cry together, Spike feeling the emotions pouring out of him that he'd been keeping buried. "I love you no matter what! I don't... I don't care what we do I'll always love you. You're the most important person in my life."

"You too Spike." She held him tight and nuzzled his face and it felt so good and comforting. Like the care of a mother or a big sister that he could always rely on. "That's why you can do what you need to do. I wont stop you." Twilight lifted her body and began to slip her panties off, Spike's eyes growing large with worry. "It's okay Spike, I know you still want my body. You don't have to worry about my feelings, I'll love you no matter what." She reached back and put her hand around his still lingering erection, lifting it and sliding it into her body. She let out a high pitched squeak as it slipped inside of her and engulfed him. "Just let everything out okay?"

He didn't understand it at all, he couldn't follow along. But being inside her again his body knew what to do and began to pump itself into her. The feeling of her warm pussy greeting him and the lack of hesitation in Twilight's voice encouraged him to go faster as soon he was pushing up into her as quickly as his body would allow him. Twilight moaned in appreciation at Spike letting his desires run free. Kissing his lips and having it returned eagerly.

Twilight put her arms around Spike and rolled them both suddenly on the grass, putting him over top of her. Spike stopped his love making to look down at the woman he admired so much as she appeared weak and vulnerable. Her long hair laid out on the grass before him. "Spike, you can punish me." It was surprising to hear and sadly he understood.

"I don't want to. I don't want to hurt you." She raised a hand to stroke his cheek, smiling in the comforting way.

"It's okay Spike, I know what I've done to you. I know it's made you frustrated and angry and you don't have anywhere to direct it. So let it out now while it's okay to do so, let it all out onto me." Spike's arms shook but for once it wasn't the weakness of his body. It was the temptation she was presenting and the fear of letting that out on someone he considered precious. "Spike... hurt me."

Spike grit his teeth as he leaned into her body, his body filled with a renewed energy from the anger he'd been repressing. Dragon-blooded people were often considered more aggressive than regular humans but Spike never wanted to believe that; he was always in control of himself. But now with the chance to let his emotions go he was finding something enjoyable about giving way to his anger. His hips started to thrust against Twilight hard, pushing her body against the ground and making her groan out as she endured each hard shove. His hands went from holding him up on either side of her to grabbing her wrists and holding her down on the grass. He hesitated for a moment before Twilight nodded to him, and then he bit his teeth against her shoulder.

Twilight cried out in a way that sounded like she'd been hurt but was also enjoying the pleasure of it. Spike was frightened at how much he liked that sound. His hips moved faster as he pounded into her, his mouth finding new places to bite at her neck and shoulder, all the while she squirmed beneath him. Twilight's hands balled into fists as she took all of Spike's feelings into herself, regardless if it hurt or not.

Surprising even to himself Spike came again, climaxing inside of Twilight as she arched her back and felt him release into her. Her body wiggled for escape as he kept her pinned against the grass, pushing himself deeper and harder into her until his body had released everything it had. His teeth opened from her skin, his hands relaxed their grip. His emotions began to subside as pleasure, anger and sorrow all faded away into black. Then there was nothing.

When Spike awoke he was on the grass again, his body aching terribly and his head pounding. He didn't know where he was or how long he'd been asleep but the sun was setting over the tops of the trees. He must have been unconscious for some time. He tried to roll his body around to get to his feet but found the action much harder to do than he expected.

"Oh good, you're awake. I was afraid I'd gone too far." The woman with black skin and green hair commented as she was pulling her dress over her naked body, the sight of the Changeling bringing memories back to Spike. "I took the time to dress you first, seeing as how I figured it would be a lot harder for you to do it yourself if someone suddenly showed up." She walked over to where Spike was and knelt down next to him. "How are you feeling?"

"What... happened to me?" It was a chore to speak but somehow he managed, the Changeling stroke his head with her fingers. Damselfly, that was what her name was. The memories were starting to come back. "You bit me."

"Yes, I'd been saving my energy for that kind of an opportunity. Sorry for deceiving you but I had to weaken you with my venom so that you'd be easier to feed from. I told you it would be easier if you just went along with it." Spike still couldn't move his limbs and looked around the area but couldn't see anyone besides him and the Changeling.

"Am I going to die?" He asked fearfully but the Changeling didn't even react.

"No, our bites don't kill. It would be pretty useless if we killed the very prey we needed alive to steal your emotions from." Yes, now he was recalling it. She had become each of his female friends one by one. Digging through his memories of them and his feelings for them, using that to try and break down his barriers. It had worked. "Most people would be down for some time but you seem pretty strong. You should be on your feet again before nightfall."

"Why did you do this to me?" The bite, the deception, the digging through his mind. "Why did you hurt me so much after I tried to help you?" Damselfly looked at Spike pitifully as she stayed next to him, keeping her hand on his head.

"I told you Spike, that's my nature. I can't help what I am. Fighting that which is myself will eventually lead to my own suffering and death. I only took what I had to." She looked away from him and Spike closed his eyes. She was lying about that.

"You took too much." Spike thought he understood his life now but she'd exposed that he was being a fool. His feelings for Sweetie Belle, for Rarity, for Twilight. Especially what she'd done to him with pretending to be Twilight. "You did too much." The things even he had ignored and been ignorant of in his heart about her. The most important person in his life. "Why would you hurt me like that?"

"I didn't mean to. Spike I... I don't know how to help people with their problems but I've looked into many hearts. I've seen what having a conflicted heart can do to a person. How ignoring that which you feel can cause it to build up and become twisted." She turned his head to look up at her and there was sympathy in those green eyes. He didn't think a monster could have eyes like that. But then again... wasn't he a monster too? "You're not a monster for feeling this way, and I'm not one either. We're what we are and I for one will never let the world tell me I don't belong here." She leaned down and kissed his forehead before standing up again.

"Maybe I dug too deep into you. I only know what little I gathered from you about these people in your lives but know this; you can't be happy if you ignore things and leave them as they are now." There was a haunting truth to her words and Spike felt more helpless now than he did when he found he couldn't move his body any longer. "Should you ever need a comforting word and embrace again, just wander off the familiar path and look for me. I'll remember you." Her wings spread and Damselfly took to the air, flying through the woods and far out of Spike's line of sight. The Changeling woman was gone and lost to the wind thanks to what Spike had given her. But she'd taken so much more.

Time passed and Spike was trapped in the woods as the light grew dimmer, his body refusing to move. His mind heavy with the thoughts of the things that had happened and that Damselfly had exposed to him about himself. She'd dug deep inside in his heart and pulled out his desires, his lust, his love and his fears. Worst of all the guilt and anger he'd been hiding over the things he'd done and that had been done to him. He wasn't as naive as he sometimes wished to be and she'd made him face that. You couldn't childishly ignore your problems forever, even if they hurt you so much it left you on the grass crying openly.

Worst of all was the lie in that which he'd accomplished and believed. His confession to Sweetie Belle for his guilt, the words of love between him and Rarity. Even the admittance of wrong doing from Twilight. All of that had been a fabrication created by Damselfly to dig at the deepest and most emotional parts of Spike's soul. All of it had been false and he'd accepted it like medicine to a wound. The thought that he had to see those faces again with the knowledge that those things were fake and no progress had been made was heart wrenching.

However after some time Spike pushed these problems and feelings aside, back into the depths of his heart. Yes he was conflicted and unsure of how to deal with the events in his life up until now. Furthermore he was at odds with how he really felt about many of those he called his friend and then some. But wondering about these things now wouldn't help anyone. So he pulled himself to his feet and wiped his tears from his eyes. Forcing his body to walk he proceeded back onto the familiar path into town. Spike would arrive there and have to tell his room mate and closest friend (lover?) that he'd simply gotten lost on the way. He'd smile to all his friends and fellow townsfolk like nothing had gone wrong (and that he hadn't been raped of body and heart). He would press on and be strong and cheerful and happy for those around him. For he dearly love his friends and their happiness far outweighed any suffering that may linger in his own heart. Anything for them, anything for her.

Night of the Were-Dragon

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 2 - Night of the Were-Dragon

In the night past the apple orchid of Sweet Apple Acres the tree house was lit with the soft light of lanterns and echoed with the voices of young ladies. Apple Bloom happily got herself together as she and her friends prepared to have their own camp out/slumber party in a long while at her place. Her friend's hadn't stayed the night like this for some time. Even more exciting was the fact they'd be to themselves and unsupervised (not that they planed to do anything that would get them in trouble anyway.)

"Ya gals all set fer yer sleep over?" Applejack questioned her little sister and her friends, watching them lay out their sleeping bags one by one and picking spots along the wooden floor. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle all took positions close to each other as was typical for them. Still there were two others that were in the club house who were out of the ordinary visitors.

"I'm as good as I'm able to get in such an environment." The haughty young voice of Diamond Tiara spoke up as she sat on her plush sleeping bag, her bespectacled friend Silver Spoon close by.

"Well it ain't Horseshoe Heights Hotel, but ah think it suits us just fine." Apple Bloom stated, keeping her temperament even when dealing with the stuck up girl she would be forced to spend the night with. All as some sort of favor to her father Dirty Rich from Applejack to try and get Tiara to become more sociable with the other girls. Apple Bloom didn't think it would have any luck but for her big sister she was willing to give it a shot. She just hoped Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle wouldn't blow a gasket over her Diamond Tiara's attitude.

"Now Apple Bloom and her friends put a lot of work into this ole' club house, so it'll keep ya warm and safe from the wind and rain. Ya doin' alright there Silver Spoon?" Applejack checked up on the other young girl, who was doing her part to keep herself behaved a bit better than Diamond Tiara was managing.

"Yes Ma'am, Ms. Applejack." She adjusted her glasses and sat dutifully near Tiara, the girl practically her follower. Apple Bloom supposed everyone needed friends though, regardless of the nature of their friendship.

"Alrighty then. Apple Bloom, ah'll be just over at Twilight's place for most the night, so if anything comes up ya'll come runnin' tah me ya hear?" Applejack checked in with her little sister again, always looking out for her family every step of the way. Apple Bloom walked over to Applejack and gave her a hug for assurance.

"It's alright Sis, we'll be just fine here. Ya'll can go out with Twilight if ya want."

"Someone mention my name?" Twilight popped her head in the door suddenly. "Looks like you guys have a big group for your sleep over."

"Not all of us had a choice." Silver Spoon admitted although she did it fairly quietly around the adults. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle heard it though and the two pairs of girls got into a glaring contest. None if it seemed to be noticed by Twilight though.

"If you guys need some light I have a better and safer way for you to enjoy your sleep over." Twilight reached into her pocket and pulled out a small black stone. The girls looked it over curiously until Scootaloo broke the ice.

"It just looks like a rock." She stated unimpressed but that didn't deter Twilight, now more than eager to show it off.

"Ah, but what looks like just a rock hides so much more. For you see this is an Everlight Coal." Twilight got curious stares and she smiled confidently as she walked over to one of the lamps. Pulling off the glass protective cover she ran the stone quickly over the flame, catching it on fire and making it burn brightly. Applejack had a freak out.

"Twi', toss it away before ya hurt yer hand!" Despite the blond's shouts Twilight just held up the stone on her finger tips, totally unharmed as it burned brightly. "What the hay...?"

"That's the trick." Twilight said smugly. "The Everlight Coal only burns itself in a magic flame and doesn't run out. Furthermore it wont burn anything but itself while it's lit." Twilight tossed it to Sweetie Belle who caught the stone and admired it as it burned along with Scootaloo. "You guys can have that one, I have more back at the house. It's good for things like telling ghost stories."

"Oh yeah, like we're going to do that. No one gets scared by those kinds of stories anymore." Diamond Tiara suddenly exclaimed in her annoyance with her company. Getting a scolding look from Sweetie Belle.

"Just cause you have to come to our slumber party doesn't mean you have to be a downer you know." Sweetie Belle's comment got further dirty looks from the two "proper" young ladies.

"We're not being a downers, we're just saying we don't get scared by that kid's stuff anymore." Silver Spoon retorted in defense of her friend and it didn't do anything to settle tensions. Applejack and Apple Bloom shared a worried gaze and Twilight caught the sight of it as well. Deciding to do something to try and defuse the situation she stepped in again.

"Well it's not like fake ghost stories are all that scary. I mean the REAL ones are way scarier when you know about them anyway." The tree house suddenly grew quiet as Twilight calmly explained that there were actual supernatural forces at work in the world.

"R-real ghost st-stories?" Applejack of all people asked. "Ya don't really mean that now, do ya Twi'? Being a girl of fancy mathematics and science and all that hooey?" Applejack had never done well with spooky things or the supernatural, and the clutching hug that Apple Bloom was getting was proof it set her off easily enough.

"Well I guess not..." Twilight said opening her hand and floating over the Everlight Coal with her magic, setting it in the middle of the tree house and sitting by it. "Except for the legend of the Were-Dragon."

"That what now?" Diamond Tiara asked in disbelief but the other girls were already crowding around to hear. Scootaloo looking especially excited and Silver Spoon seeming fascinated.

"The Were-Dragon. Historical legends and evidence point to a sickness that effects people bitten by wild dragons. It's said that those afflicted become savage monsters during the full moon." Twilight put her hands up and held them like claws, casting shadows behind her in the club house. "The afflicted would roam the country side, selfishly stealing everything in sight and devouring any food or creature unfortunate enough to cross their path." She wiggled her fingers menacingly as the shadows made her look more foreboding. The girls were now all crowded close together as they listened. "The last documented case was in... lets see... I believe in Trottingdale."

"That's close to here." Silver Spoon said ominously.

"Oh, I guess it is. The scary thing is that they never caught him either. He just prowled the night, taking anything and anyone he wanted and never being seen again." The girls were all wide eyed now, including Applejack who had her little sister in a death grip. "But I'm sure we're fine, right? I mean it was only seven years ago." Twilight stood up and smiled at them mischievously. "Well girls you enjoy your slumber party. I'd keep the door closed while you're in here though." They all nodded in unison as she turned to her friend. "Shall we go Applejack?"

"Uh... y-yeah! Yeah lets git goin'... mighty fast too." Applejack finally let go of her sister and gave her a good bye kiss before the two women walked out of the clubhouse and through the orchard. Once they were alone the girls all looked around each other quietly as they digested Twilight's story.

"It was a ghost story... just made up to scare us." Sweetie Belle finally spoke up. "I mean... it had to be right?"

"Yeah, sure. There's no such thing as Were-Dragons." Diamond Tiara concluded as well, Silver Spoon nodding beside her.

"Ole Twilight was just havin' some fun with us is all." Apple Bloom agreed as she sat down with the other girls as well. "I mean there ain't even no wild dragons 'round these parts anyway."

"There are in the Everfree Forest though." Scootaloo suddenly answered and all the girls got quiet again. As they sat there looking at the magic fire, checking the windows every so often, Diamond Tiara finally broke the silence.

"So... that's a pretty ascot you have on Sweetie Belle." Sweetie looked down at her little accessory. It went with her blue pajama pants and thick white pajama shirt well she thought.

"Thank you Diamond, Rarity gave it to me for the sleep over. She said it would help keep me warm and be stylish. I have another one if you'd like. It's green." Reaching into her bag Sweetie pulled out a green piece of cloth and handed it to Diamond Tiara, who took it hesitantly and tied it onto her neck. "I think it looks good on you." It matched oddly well with her purple nightgown.

"Thank you Sweetie." She replied with notably less snark than her previous comments, accepting the gift. "It's a new nightgown. Your outfit is too, right Silver Spoon? I've never seen you wear that before. Let alone the color orange at all." The light haired girl with the glasses looked down at her orange turtleneck sweater and red pajama pants that covered her snugly to keep her warm during the crisp night.

"Yeah my mom got it for me. I thought it was nice." Silver said with a hint of shyness to her voice suddenly being the center of attention.

"I like it!" Scootaloo spoke up, orange being a color she wore often. Except tonight, dressed in tan shorts and a brown t-shirt. "Not enough people wear orange if you ask me. It's a festive color. Kinda like green is, like that kerchief thingy you got on and Apple Bloom's shirt." Apple Bloom was also wearing deep brown shorts and a long green T-shirt. "So uh... what should we do now. Not really looking forward to more ghost stories."

"Truth or dare?" Sweetie said with a smirk.

The truth or dare session had actually been kind of fun. There were a few moments where the girls didn't want to share answers, but everyone was willing to do the dares. Even Diamond Tiara who was willing to stand in the dark orchard for ten minutes straight without running away. She earned a few points with Scootaloo for her bravery. By the end of the night the girls had talked themselves tired and were ready to sleep. Once everyone had tucked themselves into their sleeping bags and put out all the lamps and Twilight's magic fire stone they were off to dream land. Well... almost all of them.

Apple Bloom was still awake, all the talking and activity got her stomach grumbling and she wasn't able to sleep it away. The longer she laid there the hungrier she got and waiting till morning didn't feel like an option. Rising from her sleeping bag she checked around to make sure she didn't wake anyone else up with her stirring before unzipping it.

"Are you getting up?" She nearly jumped up out of her pajamas when the voice whispered to her in the dark. Turning around she saw Scootaloo had her eyes wide open and not the least bit sleepy.

"Yeah, ah was hungry so ah'm gonna go tah the house real quick tah get somethin' tah eat." She unzipped the sleeping bag all the way and looked around but saw no one else was up besides them.

"Can I come, I'd like to get a bite too." Scootaloo slipped out of her sleeping bag with much less finesse than her friend but was quiet enough that she didn't wake Sweetie Belle next to her.

"Sure thing Scoots, lets go." Scootaloo looked at her funny at the sudden nick name but didn't think anything more of it as they snuck out of the tree house together. The two girls slipping out the door and through the orchard to Apple Bloom's familiar home. When they arrived the door was thankfully unlocked and they walked right in, turning the corner to the kitchen. "Alright, what do ya feel like havin'?"

"I dunno, I'm really hungry though. Can we make like a big sandwich?" That sounded really good actually. Yes... yes they could have a big sandwich.

"Just step back Scoots, old buddy old pal and ah'll show ya how it's done." Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at Apple Bloom as she started to gather various ingredients out of the fridge and stack them on the table.

"Why do you keep calling me Scoots?" Apple Bloom stopped to consider it for a moment then just shrugged.

"Ah dunno, just felt natural. Ya don't like it?" Apple Bloom got out two plates and placed the bread down getting ready to begin. Her hands began moving in quick motions as she applied meat, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, mustard, mayo and then rinse and repeated. Scootaloo just watched on as she created stack upon stack and then folded them together like she was shuffling cards.

"Whoa, where did you learn to do that!?" Scootaloo watched in awe forgetting about her question.

"From mah big brother, he likes to make big sandwiches all the time." By the time she was done she had two tall sandwiches before her, ready to be eaten. "Like, not bad if ah do say so mahself." Sliding one plate to her friend the two girls picked up their epic meals and began chowing down, Scootaloo managing much larger bites that Apple Bloom. Despite that she was tearing through her sandwich even faster. Seemed she was hungrier out of the two of them.

"Riss ish 'retty gud." Scootaloo said through a huge mouthful and Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.

"Like thanks for the compliment. Ah guess we should finish on up and get back tah..." Her sentence was cut off short as there was the sudden low echo of a howl from a wild animal through the night. Both girls became wide eyed as they looked at each other in the following silence.

"Rut wsh Rhat?" Scootaloo still had a mouth full of sandwich and Apple Bloom moved to the window to look out and see what could have caused that noise.

"Like ah dunno! It sounded like a wolf or a coyote or maybe a..." She stopped cold as a figure came up over one of the hills, it's body shadowed by the full moonlight in the sky. It was clearly humanoid and yet it wasn't. The shape was wrong, exaggerated somehow. It walked with a hunch and there seemed to be spikes coming off its body in odd places. "What the hay is that?" The thing in the distance suddenly opened its mouth, a small spark of red fire coming out of the fearsome maw as it leaned back and howled at the moon again.

That was all the girls needed to see.

"Ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-Rere-Ragon!" Scootaloo managed out through a mouthful of sandwich and finally swallowed it down.

"Like it is a Were-Dragon!" Apple Bloom shouted in agreement and fear at the sight in the distance. "Run for it Scoots, like get tah the club house!"

"Wait for me!" Faster than either girl probably thought they could move they tore out of the kitchen and into the orchard. They were sure they heard another howl and it just added flight to their feet as they raced through the trees and up the ramp to the club house door. Running inside the two opened it and slammed it shut, waking up the other sleeping girls.

"What the actual heck!?" Sweetie screamed as she sat up suddenly, both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looking terrified. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon rose with the commotion as well, Tiara ready to find out who was disturbing her sleep and why.

"What are you two dommmf!?" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were on top of her in seconds and covering her mouth. They shook their heads and held a finger to her lips to advised to be quiet. Tiara nodded her head and they removed their hands from her mouth. "Blech... that's better." She whispered now. "What happened to you two?"

"Like we saw a Were-Dragon." Apple Bloom said in hushed tones.

"No way." Sweetie Belle argued crawling closer to them. "There's no such thing."

"We saw it!" Scootaloo insisted pointing to the window. "It was on the hill outside of the farm, and it howled at the moon."

"That doesn't really make sense even if it was a Were-Dragon." Silver Spoon noted observantly. "Since when do dragons howl? What did it look like?" The two girls stopped to think about it.

"Like it was pretty tall." Apple Bloom explained while Scootaloo stood up with her arms above her head to demonstrate. "And it hand big clawed hands and it hunched over." Scootaloo participated with the miming to demonstrate further. "And when it opened its mouth there was fire coming out of it." Scootaloo hissed for some reason, not really sure how to replicate fire breathing.

"Did it look like that?" Sweetie Belle suddenly asked pointing to a shadowed face looking in at them through the window by the front door. All the girls looked over and stopped in mid-motion till Apple Bloom finally answered.

"Zoinks, like that's the Were-Dragon!" The monster suddenly opened its mouth, showing off the glowing fire in its jaws. It moved away from the window to open the door but the girls piled themselves against it to keep him out. "He musta followed us back tah the club house!"

"Why did you lead him here to us!?" Diamond Tiara complained as she helped hold the door, the monster pushing it open ever so slightly.

"What were we supposed to do, just let him find you guys asleep!?" Scootaloo shouted back as they were all fighting as hard as they could to keep the monster from getting in. One clawed hand managed to slip inside, reaching out for the girls. They all ducked but it managed to snag its claw and grab onto Diamond Tiara's diamond tiara.

"My tiara!" The girl suddenly shouted, leaving her place at the door to grab a hold of it. "You give that back to me right now!"

"Tiara no!" Silver Spoon protested. "Don't leave your spot by the ooof!" The monster kicked the door, sending the girls sprawling onto the floor and opening it for itself. As it walked in it stood against the moonlight, its jaws opening to revealing the glowing flame behind its teeth and fangs. Still clutching the jewelry the monster let a roar out in the club house. The girls responded with an even larger scream in unison at the creature and threw all of their pillows at once. The barrage hit the monster like repeated cannonballs as it stumbled backwards and over the railing onto the ground.

"Everyone run!" Sweetie Belle ordered as the girls all ran out of the club house together and into the orchard. Leaving the monster in the dust.

"Is everyone... phew... okay?" Sweetie asked leaning against a tree to catch her breath. She didn't know how far or how long they had run, or even in what direction. But they were still in the orchard, and they'd managed to put some distance between themselves and the monster.

"I think so... ugh, I'm not made for running." Silver Spoon complained as she nursed a stitch in her side from the fear induced sprint they'd all participated in.

"Told you it was real." Scootaloo said to everyone with a bit of indignation that they didn't believe her and Apple Bloom right away. "Least it didn't hurt anybody."

"Speak for yourself." Diamond said sounding upset. "That monster took my Tiara." Apple Bloom rolled her eyes that she was even complaining about such a thing.

"Ya'll are lucky that it took just that and not yer bloomin' head." Diamond Tiara didn't appreciate the lecture from Apple Bloom and stood up straight after catching her breath.

"I'm going back for it." She said to the shock of everyone, even Silver Spoon.

"Tiara don't! That thing is out there and if it catches you who knows what it'll do." Silver tried to protest but Tiara's mind was made up.

"You guys don't have to come if you don't want to, but I'm not leaving it behind no matter what." She said and clenched a fist, looking out into the dark that lead back towards the club house. Taking in a deep breath for courage she started marching back towards the direction they had ran from.

"Is she insane?" Scootaloo asked out loud. "She's going back for a hunk of jewelry? That thing's going to eat her if it catches her." Silver Spoon looked between the other girls undecided as she watched Diamond march farther into the dark and the others just stand by. Gulping down a lump in her throat she started to walk towards Tiara hesitantly before Sweetie put a hand on her shoulder.

"I... I can't let her go alone." Silver said pleadingly and Sweetie Belle nodded.

"I know. Okay gang, lets split up." Sweetie said sounding a lot more authoritative than usual. "Silver Spoon and I will go back with Diamond Tiara and try to bring her back safely. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, you two head back to town to warn Twilight and Applejack what's happening so we can get help." Silver Spoon looked thrilled that she wouldn't have to go alone.

"Split up? Did ya lose a few apples outta yer bushel on that run Sweetie? We should all just go back for her together instead of splitting up." It made a lot more sense to Apple Bloom to stay as a team but Sweetie had made up her mind.

"We don't have enough time. Besides you and Scootaloo together should be fine, you're faster runners than both of us."

"I don't know..." Scootaloo said looking out into the dark towards the farm and the road into town. "It's awfully spooky." Seeing their hesitation Silver Spoon reached into her pockets and pulled out a delicate and delicious looking cookie. It got Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's attention right away.

"Would you do it for a Spoony snack?" Silver asked waving the cookie around. "Two Spoony snacks?" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked between each other before deciding that yes, they were still hungry and Silver Spoon's private snacks were worth the risk. Each taking a cookie the girls ate up, Scootaloo shoving it into her mouth.

"Rank rou Rilver" She said through a mouthful of cookie.

"Okay, lets hurry before that thing has any more time to run around." Sweetie said as the two pairs of girls split up and started towards their individual destinations.

"I can't believe this!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed loud enough that Silver and Sweetie could hear her before they could see the club house. While her noisy nature made them nervous the fact she was able to complain was a relief. The girls looked around carefully before climbing the steps to the club house door.

"Tiara?" Sweetie asked in a low voice as she walked up. "Are you there?"

"I'm inside. Just look at what that big fire breathing jerk did!" Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle shrugged to each other before coming inside the club house. Diamond Tiara was standing in the middle of what might as well have been an abandoned building.

"What the... where's all our stuff?" Sweetie asked looking around surprised. "Everything's gone, even the chairs."

"That filthy beast wasn't satisfied with my Tiara, he went and took all of our things. What would he need with girl's clothes and sleeping bags anyway?"

"Making a bed?" Sweetie shrugged as she asked, Diamond Tiara not looking amused at the suggestion.

"Jinkies." Silver Spoon suddenly said, catching the attention of both other girls. "Look at these footprints." Silver Spoon was leaning down and looking at the dirty print on the wooden floor.

"What about it, there should be a lot of them with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom running around through the night before that thing got here." Diamond Tiara was still clearly upset and Sweetie Belle wasn't sure why she was so angry or determined to find this thing. Personally Sweetie Belle wanted to get away from it as fast as possible.

"Look at them though. They're way too large to belong to either of them, so it must be the Were-Dragon. And can you smell that?" Sweetie leaned down as well sniffing the air around the foot prints.

"Apple Juice?" She asked somewhat surprised and Silver Spoon nodded.

"Exactly, these foot prints are damp. The ground outside isn't wet at all though, so this monster is leaving foot prints from some place that is wet, has dirt and reeks of apple juice." Sweetie thought it over but no ideas were coming to her head. "This is a clue, I just know it."

"Well... even if it is we can't make sense of it now. We should try to catch up with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and after we find Twilight Sparkle she can help us locate it." Silver nodded and the two rose to their feet. "C'mon Diamond Tiara, we'll come back for your jewelry."

"I guess we have no choice..." She said sounding sad and walking slowly to the door. Sweetie waited till they were outside before turning to the girl. Her face was an odd expression of sad she normally never saw on her.

"Hey Tiara, how come that crown was so important? I mean you came back to get it despite there being a monster out here." Diamond Tiara looked down at the ground as she walked, sighing and hugging herself tightly.

"That Tiara belonged to my mother, it was a gift my dad gave her when they were younger. My mom said that her and my dad named me after that first gift." She said the words carefully without a hint of arrogance that she normally carried. "It's very precious; not just to me but to my parents as well. I'd gladly fight a Were-Dragon or a Were-Badger or any other Were-Animal for it." Sweetie Belle was shocked; even Diamond Tiara had a heart and feelings like any other person. Seeing what it meant to her now she patted her on the back.

"Don't worry then, we'll get it back for sure." She said trying to cheer the girl up, Silver Spoon joining in too.

"That's right, when we get to Twilight Sparkle's house I'm sure she'll have some kind of spell to catch the Were-Dragon and get our lost things back." Tiara softened her features a little from the comfort she was receiving, her finger rubbing the green ascot Sweetie had given her.

"Yeah... alright then, lets go so we can get back and get my Tiara from that freak!" The girls walked with renewed vigor now, heading towards the farm house and ultimately the town afterwards.

"Like this sure is creepy Scoots." Apple Bloom said as they moved from tree to tree, looking to maintain their cover.

"Yeah, you said it." The girls zig-zagged their way towards the front of Apple Bloom's home. "But it looks like we're almost out of danger."

"Almost is the right word, we gotta git ourselves across this here open field before we're on the road." The duo looked around the open area trying to spot any sign of movement. "Looks like the coast is clear." They walked out of the orchard and past the tractor in front of the house, letting out a sigh.

"If we hop on my scooter we can get there that much faster." Scootaloo suggested and the girls agreed that was a great idea. Making their way to it by the front door Scootaloo got it ready before Apple Bloom came to a realization.

"Wait we can't leave yet! Granny's still inside the house." She said pointing up to the window leading into her grandmother's room on the second floor.

"Can't your big brother take care of her? We should get going as fast as possible." Scootaloo already had her helmet on and was eager to tear out of there.

"Big Macintosh ain't home right now, he left town two days ago and wont be back fer three more." Scootaloo sighed and gave up, taking her helmet off again and setting it down.

"Okay then; lets go wake Granny and take her with us. Then we can all leave together." The girls nodded and walked to the front door, but when Apple Bloom touched it she saw it swung open on its own ever so slowly. The two girls looked between each other with dread. "Did we... leave the door open when we ran earlier?"

"Ah think so." She didn't know for sure though. "That's probably all it is. But uh..." Apple Bloom looked around in the dark noticing something strange. "That's funny, all our shoes are missin'." Normally the family left their shoes by the door, the work kind and the going out to town kind for when ever they had to leave. It was odd they would be missing from their normal spot. "Maybe Granny cleaned up before she went tah bed?"

"Who cares, lets just get up there and get out." Scootaloo wasn't in the mood to dawdle and Apple Bloom could agree with the sentiment. The two girls began slowly climbing the stairs and stayed close together, looking down the hallway. "Which room is Granny's?"

"All the way at the end." Figured. Letting out a sigh the duo began to step onto the floor of the hall, letting out a moaning creak. "Your floor is too loud."

"It's an old house. Just walk lightly." Scootaloo didn't even want to walk down it at all but she complied. Taking a step and letting out a creaking noise. Another step and another creak. Apple Bloom was practically pressed against her back as they walked in unison steps. "So you think that Were-Dragon snuck in here?" Step, Creak.

"I dunno. I'm hoping he ran away into town or something." Step, creak.

"But that ain't good either, if he got lose in town he might hurt somebody." Step, creak. "Not tah mention that's where my Big Sis is at." Step, creak.

"But that's where all the adults are." Step, creak. "Maybe they can stop him if he gets lose there." Step, creak. "Why does this hallway have to be so long?" Step, creak. Creak. "...wait a minute." Very slowly the two girls turned their heads to look behind them, the looming shadow of someone that clearly was not one of their friends standing in the hall. It opened its mouth, revealing some of the fire from its gullet inside as it growled.

"W-W-W-W-Were-Dragon!" Apple Bloom shouted as it started to roar, lifting its arms to grab her. Thinking frantically Scootaloo reached out and grabbed a flower vase. Stepping between her friend and the monster she suddenly tossed it to the creature.

"Here you go!" The monster actually stopped and caught the vase when it was tossed. "Sorry but we'll have to cut this date short, keep the flowers." Scootaloo grabbed Apple Bloom's shoulder and pulled the girl with her, the duo running into Granny's room and shutting the door behind them. They heard a roar in the hallway and barricaded themselves against the door after locking it.

"That was some quick thinkin' there Scoots." Apple Bloom complimented as they propped themselves up with their heels.

"It was all I could think of. Hey... I don't hear anything do you?" The girls stopped and listened as the hallway seemed surprisingly quiet.

"Maybe it got bored and left?" Their question was soon answered as a head smashed its way through the door, opening its glowing jaws and roaring as it did before. The girls screeched again and backed away from the door, running to the other side of the room. "Ah think we really made it mad!" Scootaloo was looking around the room for anything that could help in this situation, noticing Granny sleeping in her bed like not a thing in the world was happening. Amazing of the old timer that she could sleep through all of this. But between her and them was Granny's vanity desk.

"Grab anything." Scootaloo announced as she began to pick up perfume bottles, combs, and jewelry. The creature had already reached its arm inside and was unlocking the door. When it entered though it got assaulted with a barrage of items in the dark.

"Get outta mah house you varmint!" Apple bloom cried as her and Scootaloo began smacking it repeatedly with different objects. They kept it up until Scootaloo noticed their supply depleting.

"We're running out of ammo." She began reaching around, the only thing in reach being a jewelry box. As she picked it up to toss it she noticed something odd. "Hey, what's he doing?"

"He's... pickin' up the stuff?" After their assault the Were-Dragon was on his hands and knees, picking up nearly everything that the girls had tossed. "Why's he botherin' with that?"

"Now's our chance, lets get outta here with Granny." Scootaloo wasted no time as she tried to shake Granny Smith awake from her slumber. However the old woman wasn't moving, her snoring indicating that she did not intend to wake until the appointed time. "C'mon Granny, we need you to help us. You have to get up!" Scootaloo tried in vain but Granny refused to budge.

"Ferget it, lets just grab her and go." Apple bloom said moving to Granny's feet to hoist her up. Scootaloo did the same with Granny's shoulders but their plan was short lived as Apple bloom was suddenly hoisted into the air thrown over the Were-Dragon's shoulder. "HEY! HEY LET ME GO!"

"Apple bloom!" Scootaloo watched as the Were-Dragon marched through the shadows, one arm full of stuff and the other carrying her friend. The girl dropped Granny Smith back on the pillow as she jumped off the bed, unsure of how to stop the monster. She looked around for anything that might help her beat it. Then she saw the jewelry case.

Running out into the hall after them she saw Apple Bloom kicking and fighting with all she had. Scootaloo tried to put a plan together as quick as she could. What would Rainbow Dash do in a situation like this? The girl opened the box and saw all the shiny jewelry inside, behind her at the end of the hall was a window. Before her was a monster. She opened the window as her very scary plan formed in her head.

"Hey you big ugly freak!" The monster turned with a growl to face Scootaloo, who was standing in the only real light source from outside. "Sure you're going to leave without these?" Scootaloo opened the jewelry box to reveal the shiny gems and metals inside. The monster dropped Apple Bloom and the other stuff on the floor at the sight of it. Soon it was coming for Scootaloo down the hall and she had seconds to react. "Go fetch!" Stepping to the side she tossed the jewelry box out the window, the monster predictably leaping for it past her as it went. In the brief seconds of light she saw it in, it almost looked kind of human.

After the beast had leaped out of sight Scootaloo ran over to her friend. "Apple Bloom, are you okay!? Did he hurt you?"

"My achin' behind." The girl said rubbing her butt after she'd been dropped. "Nah he didn't hurt me none. That was real good thinkin' back there Scootaloo."

"Don't mention it. But we should probably get going right now. He might only be satisfied with that stuff for a little while." Apple Bloom agreed as the two ran down the stairs to exit the farm house. As they did they suddenly collided with someone running into the farm house. Tumbling over each other the girls landed in a heap together.

"My aching butt." Sweetie Belle said as her friends laid on top of her.

"Sweetie, Silver Spoon, you found Diamond Tiara!" Apple Bloom exclaimed seeing all of her friends under her. "Thank goodness, we were worried about ya."

"We weren't the ones screaming for help. Can you two get off of us?" Tiara asked sounding annoyed and everyone helped each other up. "That's better, now what happened in there?"

"It was the Were-Dragon, he attacked us inside the farm house." Apple bloom explained. "He tried stealin' a bunch of our stuff and me too, that is until Scootaloo tricked 'em into jumpin' outta window."

"Nice thinking Scootaloo." Sweetie congratulated her.

"So it was him that stole our belongings back at the club house." Silver Spoon commented thoughtfully. "Why would a Were-Dragon keep trying to take seemingly random possessions from every place he comes across?"

"Maybe he's buildin' a hoard?" Apple Bloom suggested. "Dragon's do that in the wild right? Why not a Were-Dragon too?"

"That would explain why it went right for Diamond Tiara's crown." Silver said thoughtfully again.

"But why would he try to kidnap Apple Bloom then. What sense does it make to take her if he just wants our stuff?" Scootaloo asked really confused about this whole thing. "I mean stealing Tiara's jewelry makes sense, but stealing her doesn't really fit. Right Diamond? Diamond Tiara?" They all looked around, noticing she was very absent all of a sudden. "Where'd she go?"

"There!" Sweetie shouted, pointing to the shadowed figure that was running off with the shape of a girl restrained in his arms. "He kidnapped Diamond Tiara!"

"After him!" Silver Spoon cried out and all four girls charged after the Were-Dragon. Funny enough this got the creature to take to its feet that much more quickly now that it was being pursued. The girls stayed on its trail all the way to the barn before it rounded the corner. When they came around after it the figure had already disappeared, not a trace to be found.

"Darn it, we were so close!" Scootaloo said sounding angry with herself. "That freaky monster is trying to steal us away one at a time. What the heck does it want?" The girls stopped to catch their breath, each one looking upset and disappointed they let their friend get stolen away so easily. They stood against the barn wall for a bit, listening to the quiet in the night. "Now what do we do?" No one had an answer for a while, but Silver Spoon finally responded.

"Say Apple Bloom, does your family store Apple Juice anywhere on your property?" The girl was confused by the nature of the question but she thought it over before nodding her head.

"Yeah, now that ah think about it. Whatever we don't keep in the house we got down in the cellar in the storage barrels. How come yer askin' 'bout that?" Silver Spoon stood upright and looked at the three girls before her.

"Because I think I know where he's keeping Diamond Tiara, and everything else he took from us."

The girls made sure to sneak around the house as quietly as they could, aware that the monster was probably still out there somewhere ready to pounce on them again. They'd agreed that the splitting up idea wasn't helping and vowed to stay together now in situations like this. As they approached the cellar doors the padlock was notably broken off and things were very quiet on the other side of the entrance. "Okay, we all go in together." Sweetie Belle announced and everyone nodded. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom opened the cellar doors together and Sweetie Belle lead the walk down the stairs.

The girls closed the door behind them, knowing that if the Were-Dragon was out there they didn't want to tip him off as to where they were. Stepping downstairs though there was enough light from the small lanterns already lit to see around them. "It's just a bunch of barrels." Sweetie said unimpressed.

"Wait, this ain't right." Apple Bloom said walking forward. "The barrels are scattered all over the place. Normally we got 'em stacked in the back. But they're all moved around in every part of the floor." Scootaloo walked forward to investigate, her foot making a squishing sound as it collided with the dirt.

"Yuck, what's this all over the floor? Everything is wet."

"I knew it." Silver Spoon suddenly exclaimed as she moved forward despite the squishy dirt. Tapping the lids of each barrel she moved between them, until there was a tap back on one of the lids. "She's here!" The girls moved forward to help, prying the barrel's lid off in a team effort and revealing an upset Diamond Tiara in the process.

"Blech!" The girl said standing up now out of the barrel. "Everything smells like apples."

"Normally that's a good thing." Apple Bloom interjected as the girls helped Tiara out of the barrel. "Are you okay Diamond? What happened in here?"

"That maniac threw me in a barrel, what do you think!?" The girl exclaimed, trying not to shout despite how upset she was. "After he ran away from you guys he brought me down here and stuffed all the other junk he had in a barrel over there." Diamond pointed to one of the other ones that was closed up on the other side of the room. "Then he came over here and tossed me in this one after he dumped all the juice out of it."

"Wait a minute." Scootaloo shook a barrel, hearing contents shift around inside. "He's storing all our stuff down here in barrels? What for?"

"Jinkies, he really is building a dragon hoard with all of the possessions he finds around the farm. Maybe all of the town." Silver Spoon observed looking around the cellar. "This must be the closest thing to a cave that he was able to find."

"Okay so now we're in the dragon cave, what should we do to stop the Were-Dragon?" Scootaloo asked and the girls all looked between each other at a loss. How do you stop a monster like that? Sweetie Belle looked around the room observantly until she spotted something.

"Hey Apple Bloom, are these jars of honey?" She wondered out loud as she pulled one off the shelf that was lined with them.

"Yeah, Granny keeps a whole stash a stuff down here through the seasons." The girl walked over to see what Sweetie was up to. "Now ain't really the time tah be gettin' a snack though."

"You're right, now's the time to set ourselves a trap." Sweetie Belle smiled mischievously. "Gang, we're going to capture ourselves a Were-Dragon." Everyone looked completely confused as to how they were going to do it. "But we're going to need a ramp, an empty barrel, a lot of honey and something really slippery."

"The ramp I do tricks with is still over by the club house." Scootaloo said quickly.

"There's plenty of empty barrels around here, believe me." Diamond Tiara commented still sounding annoyed that she had ended up in one.

"Well we got lots of honey." Silver Spoon chimed in grabbing a jar of it as well. "But where will we find something slippery?"

"Granny's got some cookin' grease down here too, we can use that if ya need to." Sweetie Belle nodded as her plan was coming together.

"Oh yeah, we'll also need a pretty girl wearing jewelry as bait for the Were-Dragon." Sweetie said and the room grew quiet. "Any takers?" The girls all looked around at each other wondering who would be the one to take up duty as Were-Dragon bait. When no one said anything Apple Bloom finally stepped forward.

"Well, ah guess ah might as well strut my stuff tah help stop 'em." Diamond Tiara suddenly scoffed and stepped forward.

"Please, she said a pretty girl in jewelry. As we all just saw there's one girl that fits that description better than anyone else here." Apple Bloom scowled a bit at Tiara.

"Ya'll tryin' tah say that ah ain't pretty enough fer this job?" Apple Bloom started glaring at Tiara and the girls got in each other's faces.

"I'm saying in comparison to a real proper woman that we don't need a farm girl trying to measure up." Tiara got her tone of arrogance back and Apple Bloom was getting ready to show her just how proper she could be as she cracked her knuckles.

"Guys; can either one of you outrun that monster?" Scootaloo asked suddenly and both girls got quiet. "Can anyone here but me outrun that monster?" Scootaloo looked around at the silent stares, suddenly getting a diamond tiara placed onto her head by Sweetie and a necklace put around her neck by Silver.

"Looks like we got our lovely bait." Sweetie said in success. "Just try not to get eaten out there okay?" Scootaloo gulped.

Some time later Scootaloo found herself walking through the orchard by herself. Decorated with a diamond tiara, an emerald necklace shaped like an apple and a few bracelets for good measure. Aside from her shiny display she carried a lantern that was lit with a low flame and proceeded at a slow pace, trying not to get freaked out by the fact she was attracting a monster to herself.

"So here I am. Totally lost from my friends and wearing all this expensive jewelry." She narrated looking around for the first sign of trouble. "Oh what is a poor, sweet, innocent girl like me to do all alone out here in the field." She turned the flame up a little higher and held it high to see if anyone was approaching. "I mean I'm completely helpless out here, alone and with not a soul in sight." Still no monster. She was talking in her normal voice now as each step took her through the field and seemingly farther away from her target. "Boy I sure hope some monster doesn't come to steal me away for his private collection." She was dropping the hints kind of excessively as there was still no result. Was that thing even out there still? "Hey, cute girl in expensive, shiny junk is alone. Doesn't anyone want me?"

Just when she was about to get real upset if that thing was actually avoiding her because she wasn't pretty enough, she heard it. Slowly the steps started to approach from the trees, Scootaloo turning down the flame as she became instantly nervous at being seen by the creature. It didn't take long though for its shadowed, humanoid form to appear from the dark. Approaching her with heavy steps and its mouth giving off an unearthly glow. As it got closer Scootaloo froze in place, forgetting her part of the plan at seeing the thing stalk her. It stopped suddenly before her, seeming to look her over slowly. After a while she realized that the thing was judging her, sniffing her scent and checking her out as opposed to just taking Apple Bloom or Diamond Tiara. "Oh you better not be comparing me to Diamond Tiara, I am at least as cute as her!" Scootaloo suddenly shouted, feeling insulted. The monster responded in turn.

"RAAAAAH!"

"Whoa!" Dropping her lantern Scootaloo turn and ran as fast as she could into the orchard, the beast following her in hot pursuit. She'd been walking for a while but she still remembered where it was she was supposed to go. Pushing it with all the strength her legs would allow her she felt the Were-Dragon closing in. Just a little farther and... "Slide!"

Scootaloo shouted as she leaped forward and slid along a thick patch of slippery grease. As expected the monster did the same but unwillingly so, sliding behind her out of control. Keeping her balance Scootaloo put her arms up and they were grabbed by two pairs of hands, lifting her into a tree branch to safety while the Were-Dragon slid forward underneath her.

"Nice going Scoots." Apple Bloom said as their friend was now safely out of harm's way, Diamond Tiara on the other side of her in the tree as well. They watched as the Were-Dragon picked up speed going down a hill and eventually onto a ramp. This launched it into the air and it flew in an arc, right into a large barrel that was waiting for it. The Were-Dragon splatted into the barrel full of sticky honey, and before it could pull itself out a lid came crashing down on top of it. Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle hoisted a cement brick on top of the barrel lid and backed up as the monster tried struggling to get out but couldn't move well in its sticky prison.

"We did it gang, we caught the Were-Dragon!" Sweetie Belle announced in victory as the others joined her, cheering as well over their accomplishment. Diamond Tiara took her crown off of Scootaloo and put it on herself.

"So what do we do with him now that we caught him?" Tiara asked looking at the barrel that was still shaking slightly as the monster tried to escape. "We can't keep him barreled forever."

"One of us should go and get Twilight while we have him captured." Silver Spoon suggested. "We can keep guard so he can't escape while we're waiting for her."

"That wont be necessary." A woman's voice suddenly chimed in as the girls all turned to see Twilight walking forward, along with Applejack and Rarity in tow. The three women were carrying lanterns and Applejack had her lasso for some reason.

"Miss Twilight Sparkle, thank Celestia you arrived when you did." Silver Spoon said sounding completely thrilled the adults were finally back after this nightmare had been concluded. "Look, we caught the Were-Dragon!" The girls presented the shaking barrel proudly and all three women looked on confused.

"Were-Dragon? But that was just a story I made up." Twilight said sounding confused. Then she looked like realization hit her. "Oh my goodness you didn't..." Twilight walked up to the barrel inspecting it closely, while Applejack was holding the lantern up and looking around herself.

"How come ah smell apple juice and honey? Is that... cookin' grease too?" She asked looking around but Apple Bloom decided to remain quiet on this one until the first issue of the monster was solved. Twilight used her magic to take off the cinder block from the barrel and then pop the lid, the Were-Dragon's head surfacing from the honey as quickly as it could gasping for air.

"So this is the Were-Dragon huh?" Twilight said looking at it closely with the lamp light. "Just as I expected."

"Now let's find out who he really is." Sweetie Belle suddenly declared as she grabbed a hold of the Were-Dragon's spiky yet sticky hair and started to pull to remove his mask. And pulling. And pulling. And pulling some more despite its groaning for her to stop.

"Sweetie Belle stop that, he's not wearing a mask." Rarity suddenly stepped up just as Sweetie was starting to use her foot against the barrel for leverage.

"He's not, then he's a real Were-Dragon!?" Sweetie suddenly took her hands off like she might lose them. "I thought Twilight just said they were made up?"

"He's not a wearing a mask." Twilight said using her magic to break the barrel and release the sticky monster. "But he's no Were-Dragon. Applejack, can you do the honors?"

"Don't mind if ah do, Twi'." The Were-Dragon was sticky but still energetic as it was getting ready to pounce on the women. It didn't get far though as Applejack gave one of her trade mark apple bucking kicks to its stomach. The creature actually lifted off the air from the blow before it coughed hard and spat up a rock out of its throat. The rock looked slightly familiar as it burned on the ground encompassed in a green fire. Twilight used her magic to lift up the rock off the grass to everyone's anticipation.

"Now for the final touch, Rarity would you please?"

"Of course darling." Rarity approached the dazed Were-Dragon and pinched its nose, pulling its head back and lifting up a gourd in her hand. She poured a liquid down the Were-Dragon's throat and in the lamp light Sweetie Belle noticed the monster looked slightly familiar. "There we are. Are you feeling better Spiky-Wikey?"

"Spiky-Wikey!?" The girls all shouted in unison and surprise, the Were-Dragon blinking confused as it looked around and coughed hard from all the sudden abuse it received from the women.

"What... what happened?" Spike said looking around. "My mouth tastes like apple juice and tomatoes... and I'm sticky..." He looked over his body covered completely in honey, the girls looking on completely confused.

"Wait wait wait. Wait a minute." Diamond Tiara threw her arms up in outrage. "Spike was the Were-Dragon? What the heck, he was like all claws and spikes and glowing mouth fire." Looking at him now Spike was hardly the image of a fearsome monster. Heck in his current state he looked more like a wet puppy, Rarity fawning over him not helping that image any.

"That's kind of my fault." Twilight said holding up the burning rock with her magic. "Remember that Everlight Coal I gave you girls when we left earlier tonight? Well one of my samples sort of ended up near by where Spike keeps his gemstones for snacking on." Spike was still wobbly like he had no idea where he was, and Rarity was trying to keep him steady without actually getting covered in honey. Thankfully Applejack was nice enough to hold him up. "Spike ate the coal by accident, and near as I can tell it had a nasty reaction with his internal flame and drove him into a fit. His dragon-blood instincts took over and he started building a hoard in the closest safe cavern he could find."

"Our cellar." Apple Bloom suddenly exclaimed and Twilight nodded in response.

"Exactly. It wasn't until after Spike ate the coal that I knew what had happened. He took off pretty quickly into the night and the other girls and I were trying to find him before he could cause any damage to himself or anyone else. Thank goodness you girls were able to stop him."

"Ah'm mighty impressed with how you managed to snag this wild critter too. Didn't think you girls had it in ya." They all looked at each other. The reveal of Spike being their monster was a bit confusing but they did feel accomplished in not only keeping themselves safe but stopping their attacker. Rarity was even there to praise them.

"Thankfully with your meddling you kids were able to stop poor Spiky-Wikey before anything bad could happen. I guess we should get him home and hosed off. Not to mention let the others know we found him so they can call off the search." Rarity and Twilight started to lead Spike away in his dazed state, but not before Sweetie Belle ran up to see him.

"Spike, wait up!" She stopped before the honey covered boy, who was looking at her through tired eyes. "Um... I don't know if you remember anything that happened tonight. But if you do then don't worry, we're not mad at you for anything you did. I just want you to know you should get better."

"Yeah, we're all okay over here. We'll see you later, okay Spike." Apple Bloom called over and the other girls waved to him too, shouting their well wishes for him to recover. He waved lazily back to them and marched off with the purple haired women back to his home. Applejack stayed by her sister as she watched everyone begin to get ready to go their separate ways.

"So, ya'll had a pretty eventful night huh?" Applejack said to her sister and Apple Bloom giggled a little in response.

"Ah guess we did. It was pretty scary fer a while there, but we managed to keep our cool and stick together." Applejack watched all the girls talking to each other, noting a closer bond between them now than there was previously when she had left them for the night.

"Ah'll say. Looks like there was somethin' good that came outta tonight after all." The beautiful blond woman smiled and Apple Bloom just looked at her curiously not really understanding the meaning of her words. "Alrighty then, ah guess ah'll check with Twi' just tah be sure there ain't nuttin' more ah can do tah help. You girls gonna be okay before ah get back?" Apple Bloom looked back at her friends who were simply watching on now waiting for her response. Apple Bloom smiled and nodded to her big sister.

"We'll be just fine Sis. Ya'll can go off. We'll see ya in the mornin'." Applejack smiled and hugged her little sister tight before wishing all the girls a good night. They waved to Applejack as she walked off and Silver Spoon turned to Apple Bloom.

"So are you going to tell her about the wrecked house or us using the supplies to build that trap?"

"Heck no." Apple Bloom said keeping her smile up till her sister was gone. "Ah'll let her find that out fer herself tomorrow. Right now ah'm plumb tuckered out."

"So what should we do about tonight?" Tiara asked. "All of our sleeping bags and blankets are stuffed in a barrel somewhere down in your cellar." Apple Bloom thought this over carefully before coming to a decision.

"We'll use Big Macintosh's bedroom. It's pretty big and he's got a big bed too. We can figure out places fer everyone to sleep in there." The girls agreed that sounded like a much better option than trying to dig out all of their belongings for the night. As they got ready to leave though Sweetie Belle noticed something was missing.

"Hey... where did Scootaloo go?" The girls looked around suddenly frantic that another one of their friends has gone missing again. "Scootaloo?" Hey, Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom cupped her hands around her mouth and called out as well.

"Scootalooooo! Where are you!?"

"Ooooover here!" The response came from the direction of the farm house, Scootaloo holding a bunch of ice cream sandwiches in her arms. The girls looked at her confused before she grinned back to all of them. "I found these in the cellar when we were making our plan. I figured they'd be good to celebrate with if we actually caught the Were-Dragon."

"Nice going." Sweetie said as she took one and started for the farm house. "So can we all fit in Big Mac's bed or are we going to have to play rock paper scissors for it?"

"I can sleep on the floor as long as you have some good pillows and blankets." Silver Spoon took one too and followed after.

"I'd rather sleep in a bed if I can, I don't do well with hard surfaces." Diamond Tiara considered the risks of eating ice cream so late, then decided she'd been through enough she deserved a treat too and took it following the others. That left Apple Bloom and Scootaloo following in the very back.

"Nice thinkin' Scoots. So ah guess we're having a Scooty Snack then?" Apple Bloom asked giggling a little.

"How about an Icecreamaloo?" Scootaloo suggested, joining in on the fun.

"A Scooty Sandwhich?" They were laughing together now. Scootaloo finally coming up with the silliest but best suggestion yet.

"A Scoota Loota Loo!"

Proposal

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 3 - Proposal

"Alright, turn 'er around one more time Spike." The boy took exaggerated steps to turn himself around in the sopping wet and yet sticky clothing on his body. Applejack spraying him down with Twilight's hose as he washed away as much honey as he could before entering the house. Twilight stood to the side with towels at the ready, watching the boy go through the awful and awkward process of being hosed down like a dirty house pet. "Kay, I think that's the most we're gonna get off like this. Twi', wanna wrap him up?"

"Sure." Twilight said a little concerned as she used her magic to float two towels over to Spike. The boy taking them and wrapping his lower and upper body in them while he trudged slowly into the house. There were a few people still out this late taking in the site of Spike getting washed off but thankfully not many. Applejack was nice enough to put the hose away while Twilight followed Spike indoors. "Spike, you just head up to the shower and get clean. I'll be up in a minute, okay?"

"Okay." He sounded dejected and upset and why shouldn't he be? Considering everything that had happened tonight none of it was really his fault. All the blame lay with one person and one person alone.

"Ah got the hose put away fer ya Twilight." Applejack said as she walked into the library, Spike disappearing upstairs as the two women stayed on the first floor to talk. "Been a rough night fer all of us ain't it?"

"Some more than others." Twilight sighed looking down at the wooden floor. Applejack put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Shucks Twi', don't be all down like that. Ah know things have been a bit hectic tonight but everyone was okay in the end." Twilight wanted to believe that but there were some things that were deeper. Things that can be damaged that you can't see on the surface. "'Sides Spike is a tough lil' fella'. He'll bounce back before ya know it."

"I don't know Applejack. I mean... what happened was my fault." There wasn't a way for Applejack to argue that statement directly without lying to both of them. "I was completely negligent. Making that Everlight Coal without even telling Spike about it, leaving it in the kitchen where Spike keeps his gemstones to eat. There wasn't a way for him to even be aware of what he came in contact with!"

"Twilight, listen tah me: It was an accident." Applejack turned Twilight to face her and look her in the eye. "Ya didn't know what would happen, Spike didn't know what would happen. None of this is anyone's fault. Now lets just leave it at that an' let the lil' fella' take some time to recover from alla' this ruckus. Ya hear?" Twilight broke eye contact and looked away from Applejack. "That ain't 'Ah hear ya loud an' clear Applejack'."

"I... I hear you, Applejack. It's not my fault." But it was. Completely.

"Good. Now ah gotta get on back tah the farm to check on them other youngin's. Ah'll check on ya'll later tomorrow. Sleep well Twi'."

"Night Applejack." Twilight waved to the blond girl who exited the library and closed the door behind her. When she was gone Twilight pulled out a chair by the table and set her head in her hands. "What have I done?"

Yes everyone came out of it okay. The girls were safe and sound, no one had gotten hurt and other than a suffering a big mess Sweet Apple Acres was in tact. Spike's little adventure as the Were-Dragon had been relatively harmless when you looked at it from an outsider's point of view. But Twilight knew better. She knew how things were on the inside and how all of this affected the person it was actually centered around.

"I've ruined everything. All that progress... all that work..." The medicine from Zecora, the relationship hurdles they faced, Spike coming to terms with women and his own urges and instincts. They had come so far in trying to make something that was in some way stable for him. But now he'd eaten a rock Twilight herself created that had literally changed him into something else, causing him to become a wild beast. It was like the worst case scenario Zecora spoke of only three times more intense than any of them expected.

Applejack saw it as all's well that ends well but she didn't stop to think it through. Spike was building a horde, storing food and belongings, attacking the girls to steal them away too. Did anyone stop to think why he'd want to keep the girls to himself in his private storage? The only two reasons for a monster... no don't think about that word... for a creature of instinct to take a live prisoner was for a mate or for a meal. They all viewed it as an adventure but the reality was they were amazingly fortunate.

How many of those instincts lingered? Spike was upstairs now probably getting ready for bed but something like this doesn't just go away. Did he remember what had happened or was it all a blur? Were those instincts still active in him even after the magic coal had been removed? If so what might he do to try and sate his appetite? Twilight rubbed her neck with concern, there was a way to calm him down if he was upset. "No, you said you wouldn't do that anymore." It was a desperate situation and a solution was needed. "That's not... that's not the first solution." It was the easiest, and it gave her a reason to do it again. "I'm not supposed to anymore." But who then? If not Twilight who would risk being the subject of Spike's possible appetite for satisfaction?

"I'm back Twilight." Rarity spoke up as she opened the door to the library. "I managed to find Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and let them know we caught Spike. Rainbow seemed a little upset that we got to him first. I guess she figured she'd be the fastest to locate him before the rest of us." Rarity walked up to the table and pulled a chair out for herself, sitting down across from her lavender haired friend. "So how is Spiky-Wikey?"

"He's upstairs right now taking a shower." Twilight answered, still unable to shake the disappointed tone from her voice. Rarity noticed as easily as Applejack and reached out to put a hand on Twilight's arm.

"Darling, I know what happened was upsetting but you can't keep blaming yourself."

"I really wish people would stop telling me that." Twilight commented with an annoyed tone and Rarity took her hand back, looking sad at the response. "I'm sorry Rarity it's just... it's all my fault. After what happened tonight who knows how Spike is going to feel after this? It's not like anyone of us can relate to going crazy and turning into a roaming predator."

"I know Twilight, but for his sake we have to stay positive. The girls are all okay, no one's injured and Spike got home safely. Albeit a bit sticky." Twilight was wringing her hands together as she looked down at the table, only half paying attention to Rarity's words. There were other matters on her mind. "Twilight... I feel like you're not telling me everything." Twilight's eyes rose up to look at Rarity's and then back down at the table, trying to figure out how to phrase her question. And if she even wanted to ask it. "Twilight?"

"Rarity... do you remember when Spike first told you about his medicine?" Rarity looked completely confused as she tried to think back on the conversation of that day. His medicine being one of the least memorable things about it.

"I think so. That was the medicine Zecora gave him correct?" Twilight nodded in confirmation to her friend. "I never really understood why he was taking it though. I thought it had something to do with his body but I um... I was giving my own medicine for that." Rarity blushed visibly thinking back on that day. Maybe not the most appropriate response but it was hard to ignore what had happened between them. "Why do you bring it up?"

"That medicine wasn't just for his health. Spike being a dragon-blooded human goes through a sort of change different than most people as he grows. His flame's intensity increases and he gets more aggressive and territorial. Including with the possessions and people closest to him."

"Darling, I know you haven't spent a lot of time around men growing up but all boys get that way. It's not exactly unique to his special pedigree." Rarity tried to lighten the mood a bit with her comment but Twilight was still looking on ever so serious.

"It's different though, and it's directly related to his internal flame. His fire is like the connection between all his internal processes and his magic. Literally the binding holding his body together, it's why dragons in nature die after their flames go out. By letting him eat that coal I supercharged it after we'd spent all that time trying to regulate it."

"So... that's why he turned into what he did?" Twilight sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know! Not completely anyway, there's no precedent for this. But I do know I threw his body all out of whack. And his old issues may not have just returned but possibly become worse."

"Well then why are you here talking with me darling? Go to him, I'm sure he needs you with him more than ever." Twilight looked away again. This was the hard part.

"I don't think... I don't think it should be me that's with him right now." Rarity just looked on confused, not really understanding. "With how Spike is feeling and with what he might need right now I think that... someone else should be with him. Besides me." Twilight managed to lift her head and look at Rarity, trying not to let the difficulty of this show in her expression. "Rarity, please go to him."

"Twilight..." Rarity looked on surprised. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sorry to even ask but I just... it can't be me. We both know that." She looked away again. The guilt was eating her up inside along with the pain of what she was asking. How long had it been since she slapped Rarity for doing the exact same thing Twilight was asking of her now? Now she has the audacity to ask Rarity to subject herself to Spike's desires? All the while adding the guilt upon the woman that it was for his own good.

"I understand Twilight. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything." Rarity stated the words so calm and confidently that it actually surprised Twilight. She rose up from her chair and Twilight did the same quickly.

"Listen I don't want you to think that... that I'm trying to force you into this or that there's no other way or-"

"Darling, it's okay. I understand, Spike needs me right now. It's something you'd do for him yourself if you could." Rarity's smile was so genuine. She wanted to be there for him and be there for Twilight. Her friend was there to help them when they needed it and she didn't worry about what the cost may be to herself. Because she loved them.

Twilight just wished it didn't hurt her heart so much.

"Thank you Rarity." Twilight hugged her tight and she was hugged in return. Then the purple haired woman walked up the stairs and into the bed room, shutting the door behind her. Leaving Twilight downstairs by herself.

She stood at the foot of the stairs for a little while before she realized what she was doing and decided that she needed to stop being pathetic. Turning away she went to her book case and searched through the various covers before deciding on anything at random so she could get her mind off of what was going on upstairs. "A Psychological Study on Male to Female Relations. No thanks." She put the book back and grabbed another and read the title. "How to Train Your Dragon. That seems almost racist." Third time's the charm, she hoped, grabbing a third book. "The Long, Hard Ride: A Journey South. Okay someone's messing with me at this point!" She tossed the book aside and just used her magic to pull one of her botany books off the shelf that she already knew and took it to the table, sitting down to read.

She made it about three pages in before she thought she heard a thump upstairs. If there was thumping there was probably furniture moving, if furniture was moving they were probably... "Reading about plants, lets focus on that." She took a deep breath and read farther. Though it did little to help as she started to picture the two of them together. Upstairs in Spike's bed (or her own since it was larger) probably doing... things together. Romantic, passionate things that sated the burning desires she felt in her... "New book!"

Twilight slammed the book she was reading shut as it clearly wasn't helping her deal with this. Putting her hand up she summoned another book with her magic. It floated across the library to her waiting hand until she heard another thump upstairs. Her body shaking and the magical grip on the book weakening as it fell to the ground. She pulled her hair over her shoulder and began to run her fingers through it nervously. They were doing something upstairs together. Maybe she should check on them?

"I really shouldn't have let Rarity go alone." Twilight rationalized as she got up from her chair and walked towards the stairs. "Spike's in such a delicate state that there's no telling how he'll react. I should just pop in to check on them." She got half way up the steps before losing her nerve and turning back. "If they needed me they would have asked... unless Rarity's hands were full and she couldn't ask." Twilight began to walk up the stairs again, inching closer before stopping. "She... she probably has more than just her hands full..." She turned and walked slowly back down the stairs.

"Well then... why shouldn't I join in? Rarity did it to me and Spike." Yeah, that made sense. That day they were together Rarity walked right in and joined the both of them like it was totally natural. Twilight could do that. She was just as pretty and capable as Rarity, she could be adventurous too. "I'll just walk in and I'll... I'll..." Twilight turned slowly and walked back down the stairs. She wouldn't do anything, she promised she wouldn't. But further more she knew; she wasn't as pretty or adventurous as Rarity. She didn't even have anywhere close to her sex appeal. She was just shy little book worm Twilight. "I don't deserve it anyway." This was all her fault after all.

Twilight sat back in the chair and pulled some of her books to the table, but instead of reading them she just used them as a pillow to rest her head. She placed her arms over the books and rested her head against them. No one was there to watch her, but it made her feel better to hide her face when she knew she'd start crying.

She lost track of time in that position, and before long the stress of the night and the events in her own house got the better of her as she fell asleep on the table. Twilight had no idea how long she'd been out before a gentle hand shook her by the shoulder till her eyes opened. "Twilight, are you awake?"

"Hm?" The girl rose her head from the table and wiped her eyes, looking around herself. Rarity was standing near by, her hair a bit more of a mess than when Twilight had last seen her. She could only imagine why. "Oh, Rarity. What time is it?"

"It's past midnight, you should really get up and go to bed." Rarity offered to help Twilight to her feet and the librarian rose up with her help.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Twilight stretched herself out and made sure to wipe her eyes further to hide any sort of sign she may have shed a few tears. "Rarity, is Spike okay?" Rarity clasped her hands together and looked at the floor, a very similar action to Twilight earlier tonight when Rarity had first arrived. "Rarity? Spike is okay isn't he?"

"I um... I think he's okay physically. I didn't notice any problems with him in that regard." I bet you didn't... whoa, okay that was uncalled for Twilight. "But um... I think I might have made things worse." Rarity didn't want to meet Twilight's eyes but the librarian was closer to her in a second.

"Worse? How could things have possibly gotten worse? Rarity he... Spike loves you! Just having you around makes him happier. How could anything with you make him feel worse?" It was unthinkable that somehow Rarity not only spending some of her night with him but spending that kind of time with him would cause Spike to feel worse.

"Well you see he sort of proposed marriage to me." Twilight's face became a blank stare. "And I sort of... turned him down."

"Spike, you just head up to the shower and get clean. I'll be up in a minute, okay?"

"Okay." Spike said as he trudge his way up the stairs and into the bedroom, closing the door behind himself. Ever since having his stomach kicked hard enough to literally shoot a rock out of his mouth Spike was coming to grips with himself. It was like a cloud that was lifting from his mind and allowing him to think clearly. Too bad the only thing he could think about was how upset he was over all of this.

Walking into the bathroom he tossed the towels into the corner and peeled off his wet and sticky clothing to throw on top of them. Out all night with five girls and he came back from it wet and sticky from head to toe. There was probably a joke in that somewhere but sadly he couldn't raise the clarity to appreciate it now. His mind was still dealing with the fact that he very nearly did some terrible things to his friends.

Sure no one got hurt but that didn't mean he didn't intend to. His thoughts were clouded but not entirely gone. He was aware of how he'd spent tonight; hunting down jewels and junk alike, stealing and eating the food he could and securing treasures in the form of young girls to take back to his personal lair. It didn't take much to figure out where he would have gone with that had he succeeded.

Spike leaned on the sink as he looked at himself in the mirror. Raising his hands up to look upon his sharp, clawed hands. The hands of a monster, of a hungry beast. It reminded him of Damselfly and their conversation about what makes a monster. Tonight further cemented the fact that he wasn't like his friends and maybe he didn't deserve to live in this town. After all who wants to keep a monster in their home?

He flexed his fingers and felt the honey that kept them from moving loosely. "At least the girls here are fighters." Scootaloo and her friends proved to be a lot more formidable in a crisis than Spike ever would have thought. Not just avoiding him but capturing him as well. Lucky for everyone involved they were so clever. "Better clean it off then. Wonder if the girls think I'm sweeter than ever?" Regardless of a night of terror and depression it still couldn't stop Spike from jumping on the chance to tell a bad joke when he could come up with it, even if it was to no one but himself.

After a nice hot shower Spike finally got most of the honey off his body and stepped out into the steamed up bathroom. He still noticed though that his skin smelled like he'd... well like he'd been dipped in a vat of honey. Not a terrible side effect of everything that happened. "Side effects..." Spike looked his hands and skin over for any sort of sign that his "Were-Dragon" appearance was still part of him. He didn't feel different. Well... he was kind of depressed but after everything that happened it wasn't all that out of the ordinary. He didn't feel like a monster at least. His hands were still clawed but it was normal. His teeth were still sharp but not sharper than usual. His hair still spiked but it didn't look out of the ordinary. "So I'm not a monster... or not more of a monster than usual."

Spike grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist and another to dry off his head and shoulders. Walking out of the bathroom Spike headed right for his dresser to find something to wear for the night. He hoped there wasn't anything still on him that would stain up his clothing. When the door to the bedroom opened Spiked expected Twilight to come in but didn't bother to hide himself. There was little of him she hadn't seen before. "Hey Twilight, did we wash the clothes already? I can't find my shorts."

"I don't see why you need them, you look pretty good like that to me." The first thought that ran through Spike's mind was that was definitely not Twilight. The second was the realization that it was Rarity. The third that he needed to keep his towel wrapped tightly around his waist before it became obvious how happy he was to see her.

"R-Rarity! Um... hey! Just taking a shower. Took a shower I mean." He blushed seeing her walk in on him while he was pretty much half naked. Honestly there was nothing about him that Rarity hadn't seen already either but that didn't make him less nervous when she was around. "So what are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?" Not that he was disappointed but it was certainly out of place.

"I'm just checking up on my poor Spiky-Wikey. It's been an ordeal for you tonight hasn't it?" Spike just shrugged in response but she was right. Tonight had been one of the more stressful parts of his life when he thought about it. "May I sit?"

"Sure!" He calmed himself down to try and not sound so enthusiastic about her being here. "I mean um... of course, if you want to." Rarity nodded and sat daintily down on Spike's bed, tapping it for him to sit beside her. Spike abandoned the dresser deciding that clothes were less important right now than the woman in the room with him. Sitting next to her he made sure to keep eye contact and not look down at the valley of cleavage her shirt was showing.

"Spike I understand if some things have been stressful for you tonight. In light of that I wanted you to know that if you needed anything that I'm here for you." Rarity put an arm around Spike's lower back. It was becoming more and more obvious now under his towel just how happy he was to see Rarity.

"Um... Rarity? Not that I don't like you being here... I mean I love that you're here with me right now." No truer statement could be said from his mouth at that moment. "But why did you decide to come up here tonight?" Rarity stopped and nodded to herself, it seemed to always catch her off guard when he asked questions like that. Maybe she just expected him to throw himself at her (and he wanted to), but he couldn't help but ask these things. He had to know what was in her heart when they were together.

"You see Spike, Twilight and myself were worried about you after what happened. Twilight in particular actually as I wasn't really aware of the extent of what happened until she explained it." Rarity wasn't aware? Turning into a roving monster that kidnapped girls and stole jewelry seemed like a pretty big tip off. "She explained some things to me about possible effects you might be suffering after your change. Have you felt different since then?"

"Well... not really." He was kind of depressed and a little angry but as he'd inspected himself before and nothing seemed all that out of place. "I guess I'm fine, I mean I feel fine." Rarity smiled and suddenly kissed Spike's forehead. "Rarity?"

"Knew it." She said with a little giggle. "I had faith you'd still be your old self afterwards. You'll always be my perfect, reliable gentleman Spike." She cuddled up to him and it prompted Spike to hug her back, the warmth of her body against his making him feel more comfortable by the second.

"I guess so. What did Twilight think was going to happen to me?" Rarity's face went from cute smiles to surprise as she wasn't prepared for that question. She smiled awkwardly and looked away from Spike's gaze.

"Well considering some of your... previous problems Twilight was under the impression you'd need some... physical treatment?" Oh. So that was why she'd sent Rarity up instead of herself. Considering Spike's recently unearthed emotions about his relationship with Twilight he supposed he was grateful. Had Twilight attempted to come on to him he wasn't sure how he would have reacted or felt. "I can see you're ready for such a treatment already." Rarity touched the tent pole Spike was producing under the towel with another little giggle that was too cute not to make Spike's arousal more intense. "I guess you're not suffering any kind of primal desires from that rock you ate though, correct?"

"No..." Spike didn't make eye contact when he answered. Was he suffering at this moment; no. Had he been so feral earlier that he was literally planning to take advantage of all the girls against their will; yes. Would he tell her that? "I don't even remember what happened." Certainly not.

"Okay, that's good to hear. We were all very worried about you, you know. I wouldn't want a hair to be harmed on your cute little... Spike... what's this?" Rarity tilted Spike's head to the side, the boy blinking in confusion. "What's on your neck? They look like bite marks." Oh crud.

"Um... that?" Oh crud, Damselfly left marks. Spike hadn't shared what happened with anyone about that day in the forest with the changeling. He didn't want to cause a panic amongst his friends. Or... admit what had been done to him. "That's um... I don't know what that is. It must have come from when I was out tonight." He lied again to the woman he loved, feeling worse now than before.

"Odd, the marks look mostly healed already." Spike kept quiet about the whole thing, not wanting to lie further. Rarity leaned in and kissed him on the neck, making Spike jump with a little gasp. After she did she leaned forward and kissed his lips. Spike hadn't expected that but he returned the kiss happily. The exchange between their lips becoming more passionate as they held onto each other tighter. When they finally broke apart Spike cheeks were flushed, as were Rarity's.

"Well... I guess since I'm okay you're probably going to go, right?" It was sad to say but he understood that Rarity was a busy woman. Staying here for him when she wasn't needed would just cut into her time. Surprisingly for Spike she stroked his hair and smiled.

"Well... since I was already supposed to spend some time with you, can we cuddle for a bit?" Spike's eyes went wide and he nodded enthusiastically. Rarity grinned and rose from the bed. She stepped back as she removed her white shirt and tossed it onto Twilight's bed, unzipping her pants and wiggling her hips until the slid off as well. Standing before Spike in her lacy white bra and panties she let him admire her form for a moment before removing her bra and releasing her breasts for him to see.

Spike entertainingly enough threw both his towels off in one quick grab and tug, then slid into his bed to make room for Rarity. The woman giggled a little and slid her panties off as well, then daintily slid into the bed next to Spike and held him close to her. Spike was in paradise. "Do you have enough room?" Rarity asked.

"I'm happy..." It wasn't an exact answer to her question but it was enough to let her know he enjoyed their position. Squeezing himself up against her massive bosom and feeling her soft, lovely hair against his fingers. This was pure heaven. "You always feel so good when I'm close to you."

"You feel good too." Rarity said dreamily and Spike leaned up to kiss her lips. Their lips parted and their passion for each other was made apparent as Rarity gripped him tighter in her arms. Spike responding in kind but trying to be careful of the sharp ends on his claws when touching her beautiful skin. He'd feel awful if he ever left an unwanted mark upon her body. Spike's now very obvious erection pressed against Rarity's hip, Spike trying to ignore the cry for attention it gave as his tongue met hers in their deep kiss. Rarity's lips separated from Spike's and her hand found itself around his member, Spike's shiver informing her that he didn't mind the grip. "I see Wittle Spiky-Wikey missed me too." The pet name for his penis made Spike even more embarrassed than usual. He'd never argue with her assigning some kind of claim upon him though. "I can't let him go without attention either. Can I Wittle Spiky-Wikey."

"I'd be humiliated if I didn't love you so much." Spike admitted and Rarity giggled with a wink, apparently aware she was teasing him and enjoying it. Her soft fingers stroked him as her body began to slide down the bed, Spike moving himself up for her to be able to access him easier.

"Now for a little kiss for him too." Rarity gave the tip of "Wittle Spiky-Wikey" a kiss from her lips, Spike already breathing heavily from her attentions. Her kisses soon turned into sucking as she slowly licked herself around the tip of his cock and let it slide into her mouth. Spike's fingers gripped the sheets as he held back every instinct to let himself loose with her lips enticing him.

"R-Rarity... you're amazing..." Another very true statement from his mouth, causing those beautiful eyes to look up at his own. Rarity pulled her mouth away from his cock with a wet sound and leaned forward to hold it between her breasts.

"Do you want to feel them?" Spike nodded and Rarity used her hands to squeeze her mounds together around Spike. Her body moving in small motions to rub him with her cleavage. Spike would never say it but the fact this was something only Rarity could do (as opposed to say Twilight) made it that much more special to receive for him. As her breasts slid up and down Rarity leaned her head down to lick at the tip of his cock when it would appear from her lovely valley. It was all too much and Spike gasped as he came onto her breasts.

Rarity closed her eyes to keep any of Spike's sign of appreciation from finding and unfortunate spot on her face. Thankfully the whole process was rather clean, or as much as it could be. Rarity used one of Spike's towels from his shower to clean off her chest and neck and then Spike's own manhood. The boy winced a little feeling his sensitive member rubbed with the towel but it was alleviated soon after he was clean of all of his seed. Then Rarity was over top of him. "Spike... do you have any more in you to satisfy me?"

"Always for you." Those words... previously only spoken for Twilight. He didn't understand their significance to him at the time when they were spoken. Instead he let his body direct him as Rarity positioned herself onto Spike's lap and slid him inside.

"Oh Spike, please don't be gentle." It had been a while since Spike had last been with Rarity. Ever since that day the three of them that were in the house now had been together in this bed. But now it was just the two of them and Spike could let his emotions and his instincts be free.

"Yes, for you Rarity." His hands gripped around Rarity's hips, his nails poking lightly but not painfully. The risk of it seemed to entice Rarity as she was moaning and moving herself on his member that much faster. Spike's hips rising up to meet her as quickly as she was moving against him. She was so warm and hot, did she want him as much as he wanted her? He hoped so dearly. Her generous curves pressing down against him filled Spike with desire and he opened his mouth to lick at her breasts.

"Oh you're such a good boy Spike!" Rarity moaned out as she rubbed his head, holding him to her breast while he sucked at her nipple. Spike's hands rose from her hips to her breasts and squeezed them lightly, making Rarity squeak with delight and start to rub her hips against Spike's body in longer thrusts. "You're making me feel so very good! I love you Spike."

"Rarity." Spike was breathing hard and deep. He wanted her so bad, worse than ever before. He wanted her now without any restraint, he had to have her. Spike began to raise his body upward with Rarity on his lap, the woman not minding the position change as he was now sitting up and driving deeper inside of her pussy.

"Darling!" Rarity cried out in pleasure feeling the new spot Spike was able to hit inside her. Her arms wrapped around Spike's neck and he took advantage of that. His hands moving below to grip onto her ass Spike then stood up off the bed holding her. "Spike! Wh-what are you doing!?"

The only reply Rarity got in return was a growl, deep in his chest as Spike's hips never stopped working against her own. Rarity wasn't a fat woman by any standard, but she was a bit weighted from the generous figure she had. It made her nervous to be held by anyone that might think she weighed too much. More so to be held in such a position that they could fall any moment. "Sp-Spike! Spike maybe... oooh... I don't think... ummm...!" Rarity's arms gripped him harder as the boy never stopped thrusting into her.

Rarity had to admit, the standing position was a bit thrilling with a man that could support her. Which was probably why she dripped onto the floor when the intensity of her orgasm hit. "Ooh SPIKE!" She hugged him tightly as her thighs squeezed around him, her toes curling and her body shaking. The young dragon-blooded boy deep inside of her, just how she liked it in a new way she didn't know she'd enjoy. "Darling... oh darling that was amaaaaazing!" Rarity was suddenly spun around and laid out onto the bed. Spike grunted in response to her again as he never left her body, still plunged deep into her sex. Then he began to thrust into her again.

It was Rarity's turn to grip onto the bed sheets while her lover pushed the limits of her pleasure. Her large mounds lifted with those dangerously sharp hands and her breasts sucked at. "Oooh... Spike... harder!" Pushed this far she wanted to be brought over the edge, her stiff nipples giving her waves of pleasure as they were teased by his slippery tongue and threatened by his sharp teeth. All the while her body rocking into the bed from the force of his hips.

Rarity's legs spread wide to allow Spike as deep of access as he could get, the skin beneath her breasts teased with the sharp rubbing of the tips of the claws on his thumbs. It was almost too much for her to bear, she didn't want it to stop but she didn't know how much more she could take. "Rarity..." Spike's voice growled out at her, she understood.

"On my chest!" Spike's cock slid out of her quickly, making her body shiver from the sudden exit. His cock came forward to her as he straddled her waist and Rarity's fingers stroked him, causing the boy to grunt and climax onto her chest and a bit onto her face. Normally she'd be embarrassed but after their love making the intense feelings were too good to deny. Once Spike's body had expelled all it could Rarity pulled her wet hand from his member and licked her lips, tasting a bit of him on her chin.

Spike was breathing hard but ever the gentleman presented her with a towel. His eyes were tired and his face looked drained, understandable after their exchange. Rarity cleaned her body of his seed and sat up in bed, the two holding each other tightly. "I love you Spike."

"I love you Rarity." Spike said with intensity, his body feeling slightly different. Maybe it was the thrill of sex so soon after but he felt energized and tired at the same time. Like his body was filled with power that his muscles just needed a moment of relaxation to adjust to. "I love you so much Rarity... I can't even explain it with words." Rarity hugged him that much tighter against her warm bosom. It felt perfect to him.

"I'd stay if I could..." She said, Spike understanding what was coming next. "But it's probably best I go so Twilight can come to bed too." Twilight! Spike had forgotten all about her, she'd been downstairs the whole time?

"Twilight! Oh gosh she... she had to wait all that time. I forgot all about her." Rarity broke the hug but put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"It's okay Spike, she understood why we'd need time together. Remember?" Oh, right. They had planned this.

"Is she okay with it?" Rarity's expression softened. Spike could tell already; she wasn't really sure either.

"Twilight made a promise to you and herself, and she's trying to keep it. It'll be hard for her for a while." Of course it would, but why should that bother him? She brought that upon herself when she crossed that line in their relationship. "One day she'll find someone to love Spike. Don't worry." Rarity kissed Spike on the lips and rose to her feet, redressing herself quickly. Spike sat in bed pondering all of this for a while before coming to a conclusion.

"There's ways you know." Spike said as Rarity was getting ready to put her shirt back on. "For us to be together if we want to. We don't have to live in separate homes with separate lives. We can join them." Rarity had lowered her shirt and was squeezing the fabric between her hands now, her expression worried. "We don't have to be apart."

"Spike... don't do this." She looked concerned and that wasn't the reaction Spike had hoped for.

"Rarity, why not? I love you so much it... it hurts my heart sometimes! If you love me too why can't we?" Rarity lowered herself to her knees by the bed, dropping her shirt to hold onto Spike's hand.

"Listen Spike, that's something that we can't do right now. It just wouldn't be proper." Spike actually pulled his hand from her grip in a sudden motion, an action that shocked Rarity to the point she looked hurt that he had pulled away from her.

"Proper!? Rarity I'm the ward of Princess Celestia herself. I'm a student of the Princess' own personal pupil. I'm stronger than most human adults and I can do magic no one else can. What about me isn't good enough that you wont consider us?" Spike felt anger rising in his chest as he confronted Rarity with this rejection and the woman looked down at the floor, unable to meet his gaze.

"I never said you weren't 'good enough' for me Spike, I said it wouldn't be proper. There's a difference." She rose her head to look at him, the edges of her eyes showing the threat of tears. "You may be all of these things and to me you're more than that. But Spike what do you see about the two of us that's very different?" She asked sternly and Spike stopped to consider this, coming to one conclusion.

"I'm... not human. Right?"

"No, that's nothing to do with it. Spike there is a clear difference in age between us, hasn't that occurred to you?" Actually it hadn't. He was aware of it of course but he never saw it as a problem or an obstacle. "I love you Spike but even with the Princess as your legal guardian it doesn't change the fact that the public will see us as a taboo couple."

"I... I can be mature for you..." Spike's eyes started to move away from Rarity but she put a hand to his cheek to keep him looking at her.

"It doesn't matter Spike. I'm constantly trying to get publicity for my business, and news of me becoming involved with you could ruin that. Furthermore news of me being involved with you could have a backlash all the way up to Twilight and the Princess with how they've been taking care of you. It's too dangerous." She was speaking out of concern for him and her friends. She was speaking out of worry for his well being as well as her own reputation and her family's. That didn't make it sting less to hear those words. "If you love me as much as you say you'll wait for me."

"Wait for you?" She was presenting hope, presenting possibility for their future. A future that in years time could be theirs together. But still... "Wait for you. Unless you meet a man that can fulfill your dreams better than I ever could. Wait for you... so I don't stand in the way of your freedom." His gaze drifted away again but Rarity wouldn't allow it as she pulled him back to look at her.

"Spike please don't say such things." She picked his hand up and gripped it in hers, the look of pain on her face breaking through Spike's own doubts as he squeezed back. But not extinguishing those doubts. "Yes Spike I'm asking you to wait... to wait for an older woman. When I'm sure you'll find a younger, prettier one before that time comes. I understand what waiting can mean." The idea of Sweetie Belle flashed through Spike's mind but he refused to let such a traitorous thought stay while Rarity was before him.

"There's no one in this world I'd rather be with than you, Rarity." They clasped their hands together and kissed each other over them, but it was a kiss mixed with love and some sorrow.

"I have to get going. I'll see you again Spike."

"I'll wait for you Rarity. Always." Rarity smiled and put her shirt back on, the two exchanging a kiss before Rarity excused herself and quietly left the room. Leaving Spike alone to his thoughts.

Spike laid his head back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling as he tried to process the thoughts of what had happened tonight. Before he'd dealt with the stress of turning into a literal monster but now his mind was confronted with the dilemma of what his future with Rarity would be. She'd rejected the proposal to be together, but only for a time. And only in public as she clearly had no problem still showing her affection for him privately. He both loved it and hated it, not fond of being someone's secret. Were it not for her concern with her public appearance he'd gladly shout his love between the two of them from the highest mountain. But she had a life to live and a business to run and an image to maintain. What right did he have to ruin that for her?

What right did she have to use him for her personal enjoyment?

As these mixed emotions swam through his mind Spike heard the door open again, this time the person that entered was someone he expected. "Hey Twilight."

"Hey Spike." Twilight said as she approached his bed, leaning down next to it similar to how Rarity had earlier. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." It was a lie in more ways than one but he didn't want to trouble Twilight with his issues.

"Okay, I just wanted to be sure in case you needed anything." She looked at him with both a concerned and studious face, something that only she could pull off. Even when she was worried about you Twilight always had a way of looking at things from a logical and analytical view. A life time as a scholar can do that to a person and it made it hard to hide things from her.

"I'll be fine, you can go to bed if you want." Twilight nodded to him.

"Okay, if anything happens or you need me you can wake me up." Twilight said kindly as she stood and used her magic to turn out the lights in the bedroom. Stepping over by her bed Twilight began to undress, Spike able to see the outline of her body but not much else as she removed her clothing and then slid into her bed sheets.

For the first time after everything had happened Spike started to consider if this was okay? All he ever wanted was the affection of his friends and he got that on a regular basis. Before from Twilight when he was assigned to be her assistant and then from everyone here in town after they had moved. Then he met Rarity and Spike wanted something more than just friends, more than just the companionship of an older sibling. Now that he had it he was more mixed up than ever before. Things used to be simple.

"Twilight?" Spike asked in the dark and the purple haired woman sat up in bed. "Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" He waited for the rejection, after all that would just cause her further stress after everything the two of them had done before. He was surprised though when he felt his blanket lifted off of him with her magic, her own blanket folding away for him to join her.

"Always for you, Spike." The words hit his heart. Spike slowly crawled out of his bed and slipped into the larger bed of Twilight's, the covers being pulled over him after he did. They laid there facing each other for a while in the dark and Spike was able to look into her eyes. "Is that better?" Spike nodded to her and Twilight rubbed a hand over his cheek. "You can come to me any time you please Spike, I'll always be there for you if you need me."

"Thank you Twilight." Perhaps it was taboo but he didn't care. He slid over and hugged himself against Twilight. She was bare from the waist up in her panties but thankfully she didn't pull away. Instead wrapping her arms around him to hug him in return. "Thank you so much."

"It's okay Spike, you don't always have to be strong." She kissed his forehead. "When you're not I'll be there to help you. I promise." They held each other for a while in the dark, despite their exposed flesh Spike felt none of the sexual drive he had in the past this close to her. It was warm and comforting instead that caused a feeling of security to wash over Spike.

"I'll be there too Twilight, when ever you need me. For what ever you need. No matter what." He nuzzled his cheek against hers. "Always." Twilight took in a quick breath at the words but she didn't pull away, still holding him in her soft hug. When enough time had passed she let him go.

"Okay, it's been a long day for us both. Get some sleep Spike. Good night."

"You too Twilight. Good night." The two smiled at each other before rolling away to face separate directions, claiming their sides of the bed to sleep away through the night together.

As he faded away from consciousness Spike's mind slipped through the dark into the state of dreams. Images in his mind of flaming mountains and wide open landscapes. As he rose from the earth of his dream scape Spike realized that his wasn't a dragon-blooded human any longer. He was a real dragon, and he could fly.

Spike's dragon body flew through the sky in his dream, his body feeling like it was swimming through water. To his right the Sun was in position to rise for the new day. To his left the moon was preparing to fall for the coming morning. All the while Spike flew forward to the purple and pink haze in the sky between. Drawn to the twilight horizon between the dawn and the dusk.

The land sprawled beneath him in too many shapes for him to make out. There were streams and forests, rocky mountains and deep caverns. The mountain tops glittered from the light of the sun and moon like diamonds, drawing Spike ever closer to them. His massive form landed in the diamond covered peaks and he walked around, licking his tongue over the stone and tasting it's delicious flavor.

Before him there was a pool of lava, bubbling up from the depths of the earth. It was warm and inviting, Spike felt like he literally heard the pool calling his name. Lumbering forward the dragon sank its body deep in the lava and felt a great satisfaction in doing so. This land must have been a paradise for him and him alone. As he swam in the lava he thought he heard his name called again, looking up at the purple sky. Spike swam towards the edge of the lava, looking into the sky and calling back to whatever it was that spoke his name.

"Spike." It was a woman's voice, it was soft and soothing. "Spike." He leaned up onto the edge of the lava pit, noticing the rocks felt oddly soft for stone. "Spike... please..." He recognized that voice. "Spike!"

Spike opened his eyes, finding himself in the darkened bedroom where he'd been sleeping previously in Twilight's bed. However he hadn't stayed on his own side like he was supposed to. Instead Spike found himself pressed up against Twilight's back. "Sp-Spike..." Twilight was gripping onto his wrist, which was noticeably gripping onto her breast. That was the least of his concerns though, Spike finding that his naked body had snuggled up against Twilight's back side. His cock slipping between her thighs and his hot lava bath being in reality the wet, sticky heat of Twilight's pussy against him. "Sp-Spike wake up..."

"Twilight?" Spike became more aware of his position, starting to understand what he'd done. Twilight was breathing hard, Spike had no idea how long he'd been doing this or how he managed to get himself into such a perfect position behind her. "Twilight... I'm... I'm sorry." Spike went to move away but Twilight held his wrist tight.

"It... it's okay... it was an accident..." She was still breathing heavily as she held his wrist against her. "Do you... do you need to finish?" Spike could hardly believe what she was asking but he noted that yes his body wanted to very much as it pressed eagerly against her.

"Yeah... yeah it... I guess so." Twilight gulped and nodded, wiggling her behind so it was closer to him and Spike felt his cock rub against her pussy.

"D-don't go inside, okay? You can finish but don't go inside." Spike was still slightly hazy from his dream but he understood enough, his hips now moving with clear thought as opposed to dreamy instinct. His hand stayed on Twilight's breast, gripping it in his palm. The length of his cock was rubbing against the surface of Twilight's wet sex and she was gasping loudly with each sliding motion he made. "L-let me know when you're going to."

"Okay okay." Spike felt his own heart rate speeding up as his desires were doing the thinking for him now. His hips moving faster as he rubbed against Twilight. She was moaning now and it was terrible how good it sounded. Spike rested his head against her hair, she smelled sweet and fragrant like flowers. As he kept moving faster the pressure built to be too much to bear, that is for Twilight.

"Uhh! Oh... Oh!" Her finger nails dug into Spike's forearm as she came against him from all the teasing rubs. Her thighs closing together harder and making it more difficult for Spike but also providing more friction. He hugged her tightly to him as he started to thrust against her at a faster pace. His breath hot on Twilight's back but she didn't mind as her assistant used her body to reach his climax. Spike growling as he came between her thighs and onto the bed sheets before her.

The two laid together in the bed, both sweating and now wet from their "accidental" love making. Spike's hand removed itself from her breast in the hard grip it had and his arms hugged her tightly. "Twilight, I'm sorry..."

"It's okay Spike, it was an accident." Twilight was still breathing hard but managed to part her legs, letting Spike slide away from her. Twilight used her magic to float Spike's towels over to her side of the bed and clean off the mess they'd made.

"But... I kept going." Spike admitted. Maybe it started as an accident but even after he was awake he didn't stop. He didn't want to stop.

"I told you to Spike, it's okay. You don't have to feel bad about it alright?" This all felt oddly familiar, like when she first proposed using her nightly treatments to help Spike calm down. Twilight cleaned her thighs and everything in between off with her towel. Then turning to Spike to do the same for his sex. It was oddly comforting having her care for him in bed like this again.

"But we're not supposed to..." Spike couldn't shake the feeling like he'd committed a crime. As if he'd done something that wasn't just bad to him but worse to Twilight. He'd forced her into the position she said she wouldn't take again.

"We didn't, it just sort of happened but it's okay. It wont happen again." Twilight tossed the towel aside and kissed Spike's cheek. "Now roll over cause you made my side all sticky and I'm going to need to get closer."

"Okay." Spike rolled onto his side facing away from Twilight and she moved in quickly to take up most of the room, Spike noted with some annoyance and amusement. "Comfy over there."

"Much, you're like a heater made for the bed. We haven't slept like this since we were young so I forgot about how cozy it could be." Twilight snuggled up against Spike's back and he couldn't help but notice the feeling of her naked body on his back. "Good night again Spike. Try to get some sleep."

"Okay, night Twilight. Love you."

"Love you too." Her soft arms came around him and hugged him tightly, Spike's mind beginning to fade from the thrill of sex and the concern of broken rules and taboos. Instead that loving grip of his closest friend and family carried him back into sweet dreams. He wished he could stay there in those dreams and that embrace forever.

Monster

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 4 - Monster

He walked the familiar path through the Everfree Forest but the trip was different than all the other times his feet had hit this forest floor. His steps were filled with a hurried purpose, his eyes focused on something that wasn't clear. His destination didn't wait for him at the end of the small road. Instead before the log that bridged across the thorn patch he took a right into the depths of the woods. Into the area those were not supposed to go.

Yet this was familiar to him as well. The trees that forced him to wind around in an unusual path, the covering of the canopy of leaves that blocked out the sun to mask this area in shade. Soon he was upon the grass covered clearing before him where his body once laid out on the ground, weakened and unable to rise as the sun set. He wasn't the only one that had laid there without the ability to move. She was the one that he had come all this way for.

"Damselfly?" Spike looked amongst the trees as he stood in the open patch of grass ing the forest. "Damselfly, it's Spike. You told me that... you told me that I should call you if I wanted to see you again." Spike looked around for the appearance of the black skinned woman but she was no where to be found. "Damselfly?" Spike turned once, twice, and then sat on the grass.

What was he thinking? She had just been taunting him, there was no way she had stuck around the forest for him to inform everyone that there was a changeling near the town. It would have been suicide to stay so near danger after what she'd done. The idea that he'd come back to see her after everything that had happened was foolish as well. He was foolish. "I'm sure if she did see me she'd be laughing right now."

"I wouldn't say that." A woman's voice arose from the forest and Spike looked back to see the black skinned woman in the thin, green dress walk out to meet him. "Although I am kind of shocked you'd actually come back. Didn't you pay attention to what happened last time?" She stood with a hand on her hip, Spike rising to his feet quickly when she was in the clearing with him. "Well, you called me. What is it you want?"

"I um... I..." Part of Spike didn't think it would actually come to this. That she would have been long gone by now and he'd never see her again. "I just wanted to see how you were doing." It sounded stupid and fake, the fact of it accented by Damselfly's face as she looked like she didn't believe a word of it.

"Really? That's all, you just wanted to check up on little old me and see how I was handling living in the woods?" Spike just nodded slowly, deciding it was best to just stick to his story. Damselfly just shrugged and walked up to Spike, sitting on the grass near by him. Spike after a while sat down too, staring at her the whole time like he wasn't sure what she was going to do next. "Well as you can see I'm still alive." She said with a smile that showed off her fangs.

"Yeah... I guess you are. I thought you had to feed on people's love to survive?" He was wondering if maybe he'd made a mistake in not telling Twilight about her. After all if she was going into town to drain people then things may be a lot worse than he thought.

"I do, but thankfully this town is full of a lot of lovey-dovey types that I don't have to work that hard at it. Just walking through the streets lets me feed off the residual love that everyone gives off. A few men even gave me flowers and kinds word, which is sort of like a snack but not a full meal." It was odd to hear her talk about people like that. As if they weren't really humans but some other thing to dispense out nourishment to her. "So what exactly would make you want to come out here to find me again? Is this a trap?"

"No!" Spike answered quickly and that didn't make him look that much more innocent. "I mean... no not at all. I just um... I guess I... Well..." How to say it to her? He didn't really come here with a plan to approach her. It was more of a whim to see if she'd actually be true to her word.

"Oh come on kid just spit it out already." Damselfly looked at him annoyed and Spike felt flustered. She had a way of making him feel somehow smaller than he was. Like she was able to control him with minimal effort. Perhaps due to their last encounter.

"I needed someone to talk to." He finally admitted to her, looking down at the grass. "I needed to speak to someone... someone that might understand things better than my friends." Damselfly looked on rather interested at the confession, sitting there quietly for a while. When Spike wasn't sure if she was going to laugh at him or just go she finally spoke up.

"Well then; talk." Spike blinked in surprise and looked up, Damsel moving her dress aside to cross her legs slowly while she watched him. "Lets hear what you have to say."

"It might take a while." Spike admitted, trying not to stare at her legs and failing quite miserably at the attempt. It didn't go unnoticed by the changeling as she smiled over her manipulation of the boy.

"I have time in my very busy scheduled. Feel free to let it all out." The changeling woman said with a seductive tone to her voice, Spike gulping a little as he focused on the reason why he came out here. Well... one of the reasons.

"Here it is then." So Spike recounted the events since his last encounter with Damselfly and then some. His issues with Twilight and Rarity, his need for the medicine to control himself, the nightly treatments he'd been receiving from Twilight. Not to mention his transformation into the supposed "Were-Dragon" that attacked all the young girls at Sweet Apple Acres. Damselfly found that part of the story especially fascinating, interested in the details of his change and the mind set he remembered of being in that form.

"So you didn't tell them a thing about how you felt when you changed?" Damselfly asked looking him over interested, Spike trying not to look her over too closely.

"I didn't want them to know what I was feeling... besides they already had an idea of what it could be. Considering what Rarity and I did that night."

"Wait, you guys had sex that very same night that magic rock did whatever it did to you?" Damselfly asked looking shocked.

"Yeah. I think they thought I was going to do something if I didn't get some sort of... stress relief I guess. So Rarity came up and provided it for me."

"Wow." Damselfly chuckled a bit. "I mean wow, just giving it up like that. After you became some kinda creature that could have broken her in half. That woman is willing to take some risks." Spike took a little offense to this.

"She did it because she loved me, that's why." Damselfly made a little laugh and Spike got angrier. "She did! In fact I asked her to marry me that very night."

"Oh really?" Damselfly said, leaning forward to look at Spike with her magical green eyes. "So she said yes?" Spike looked down at the grass again at her question. "I guess not."

"She said we had to wait." Spike finally answered, trying to not let his frustrations get to him. He'd come here to talk with someone that might have an understanding for his feelings. For his difficulties at being different from the rest of the world. Instead it seemed like the woman was just finding his suffering amusing. "She said if we waited then later when I was older we could be together. That if we got married now it wouldn't... it wouldn't be proper." Those had been her words but they stung at Spike still. What wasn't proper about him?

"I see. Your other sex partner Twilight must be upset over this huh?" He really wished she wouldn't refer to Twilight that way.

"She didn't mind. She knew about it. Besides Twilight and I, we're not going to do stuff like that anymore. We talked about it and we decided that it was for the best." Damselfly was looking him over carefully after he said that, creeping Spike out a little. "What?"

"You had sex with her didn't you?" How did she figure that out?

"I... no! We didn't have sex it was... it was an accident." Damselfly looked him over with another disbelieving expression. "It was we just... I got behind her while we were in bed."

"You were both sleeping in the same bed together?" She asked amused.

"It wasn't like that. We were just doing it because it helped us sleep. We've done that since we were kids. So it wasn't weird. Well... we normally didn't do it naked."

"You were both naked?" Damselfly observed now kneeling before Spike and watching him.

"No, we weren't. Twilight had her panties on but I... well I was naked but it was from being with Rarity. And it's nothing Twilight hasn't seen before so it wasn't a big deal." Damselfly nodded to him with mock understanding. "So I got behind her in my sleep and we just started rubbing against each other and that was all. I never went inside."

"Oh so you never went inside. Well that makes it totally innocent. I mean I let men rub against my ass at least three times a week. It's like a handshake." She teased him openly and Spike was getting angry.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong okay!? What happened was all just an accident and I just... who are you to judge me!?"

"Excuse me?" Damselfly stood up from the grass now, glaring at Spike. "Who am I to judge you? Spike you come to me with all of these stories about all of these things you're doing and you expect what from me exactly? Sympathy? Understanding? Someone to tell you not to feel bad and that it's all okay?" She crossed her arms over her chest glaring at him. "I am not your mother, I'm not here to give you a cookie and make you feel better about yourself."

"Well then who do I talk to!?" Spike rose to his feet now, yelling in anger. "I'm the only one like me in that whole town and my entire body doesn't act like anyone else's. I'm changing inside and out and no one wants to tell me where that's going. I ate a stupid magic rock and I tried to kidnap and do things to my friends. Now the only other person that's like me is telling me that I'm the one who's wrong?" Spike was shaking a bit with how upset he was, this wasn't going anything like how he had expected. She was making him so upset that he was feeling worse than ever before. Damselfly just stared him down without moving from her spot.

"Like you? I'm the only other person like you? Really?" She approached Spike and looked him in the eyes. "How am I like you Spike? How exactly are we the same? Don't you have a reason?" Spike looked away from her, not wanting to meet her steady gaze. "Say it. Say what it is I am to you, be honest about it. Be honest about something!" Spike closed his eyes tightly and balled his hands into fists, still looking away. "Fine, I'll say it for you little boy; monster. I'm a monster to you. I'm not normal and that makes me a monster and because I'm such a monster that I can't even live amongst the humans you think you can unload all your problems on me and I'll be ever so grateful you came here to spend time with me. Right Spike?"

Damselfly spun on her heels to march away from him, stopping to turn around and looking angry herself now. "Why don't I give you something no one else will Spike? I"ll give you some cold hard truth. Is that what you'd like to have?" Spike still didn't answer, he felt very small and insignificant. "The truth is Spike that your relationships are completely sick. From what you've told me you've grown up with a woman who was like your sister. Then when you started hitting puberty she saw what was happening and moved in to reward your sexual desires herself before you even understood them. Does that sound accurate?" Spike didn't respond to her, he didn't know what to say. "Now that she's had you to herself she's used you for every sort of sexual gratification she can get. All the while with no risk because she knows she can tell you to do whatever she wants and you'll never once challenge her or say no. Am I right?"

"That's not true." Spike said looking at the changeling. "She loves me, she loves me like her family. She never once wanted to hurt me or... or use me!"

"Is that so? Then tell me something Spike; when you two went to bed you said she was wearing her underwear. When you had your 'not sex accident' was she still wearing her panties?" Spike had to stop for a moment as realization hit.

"She... She was... No wait..." The realization hit Spike hard.

"She wasn't was she? Maybe she took them off cause she got hot, or was uncomfortable, or wanted to sleep naked. Or maybe she wanted to feel a hard cock against her while she dreamed." Spike was breathing faster now.

"Stop it."

"Oh but your confused, older sister figure you have sex with is just one thing. Lets take a moment to consider your other girlfriend. The extremely sexy, pretty looking and financially successful woman with the huge tits. Now there's a profile that fits with having sex with someone younger than her." Damselfly's wings were buzzing behind her, she seemed as irritated having to spoon feed this truth to Spike as he was receiving it.

"She loves me." Spike said almost desperately.

"Maybe she does!" Damselfly admitted. "Maybe she does, maybe she completely loves you with all her heart. Maybe there's something about this kid who comes out into the woods to talk with 'monsters' that's special to her. I don't know, but I do know that she doesn't mind having sex with you. Multiple times as a matter of fact. Sometimes in threesomes with the woman that's like your big sister. Now that's a healthy way to go about a relationship, isn't it?" Damselfly put her hands on her hips. "Maybe she does love you, or maybe she's just attracted to younger men. And when you are old enough to marry her she wont be interested anymore."

"Shut up." Spike was clenching his fists hard enough that the tips of his clawed fingers were nearly digging into his palms now.

"You want to know what might help you Spike? What your real solution to all of this would be? Stop having sex so much!" She shouted the words at him, her wings lifting her off the ground a few feet. "You've been having more sex than most adults I've encountered, and learning intimate secrets is everything I do. Has it helped you? Has it helped your sister or whatever she is? How about the woman with the huge breasts, she seems like she's doing fine just getting laid and leaving when it's no longer convenient to stick around." Spike was fighting back the tears as she slowly ripped down everything about his life that was wrong and secret. All of the things he'd done in private with the most beautiful women in his life. What had originally seemed like heaven to most boys was in fact tearing him apart from the inside and she was the only one that seemed to notice.

"It doesn't matter though does it?" Damselfly asked as she lowered herself back to the ground. "Because if that was the answer you would have done it already. You never would have come out here looking for me if less sex was what you wanted." So finally she'd hit the nail on the head, something that Spike had in the back of his mind but didn't want to acknowledge. She probably suspected from the beginning. "I wonder if you know what a real monster is Spike? Because I know what one is, I've seen it." Spike watched on as the black skinned woman awaited his next move. So he gave it to her.

"Damselfly, you can have-"

"Don't!" She shouted at him putting her hand up, Spike noticing it was shaking. "Don't say it. Don't offer me anything. You know I can't resist, you know I wont turn you down. I can't because that's my nature and I can't control it." The words seemed to upset her as she spoke. "For your own sake Spike just turn around and walk away from me." It was hard to understand but she was rejecting him. It was something Spike was unfamiliar with. While Rarity had resisted his advances growing up she never outright turned him down so sternly. Here Damselfly was pushing him away for his own sake when she could benefit from taking him for all he was worth. She was offering him a chance to escape be it out of respect, concern or simple disgust with him. He didn't know.

He didn't care either.

"Damselfly, you can have me." Spike took his shirt off as he walked towards her. "I wont resist you, please take whatever you want from me." The changeling put her hand down, looking at Spike very upset at his decision.

"You damn fool." She spoke through gritted teeth, walking towards Spike and putting her arms around his waist while he wrapped his arms around her. She felt good to be against and Spike wondered why that was. The last time they'd met she'd done the unthinkable to him. Now here he was offering it to her willingly. As Damselfly leaned her head up Spike tilted his to the side, feeling the Changeling's fangs sink into the flesh between his neck and shoulder. Her hands shook as she held him and bit into his body, injecting the mind numbing venom from her fangs. "Oh damn, you taste so good." Her fingers gripped at his back, the flavor of his skin on her tongue. Spike had winced at the pain but he allowed it to infect him without putting up a fight. Spike's legs grew weak as he sunk to the ground, Damselfly going with him.

Spike fell to his back and she was over top of him, their lips meeting in a kiss that was both passionate and desperate. She'd been holding back how much she wanted him. It was rare that a changeling fed on the same meal twice. "Who do you want?" She asked with the seductive tone in her voice, Spike feeling his own arousal growing from the feeling of her body on his.

"You... I want you." He spoke looking at the black skinned woman. "You're... you're perfect."

"No, you can't have me Spike. You can have anyone you want but never me." She spoke the words sternly to him. "I can't take that." He didn't understand why she felt the way she did but Spike couldn't think of anyone else he wanted to be with now in this moment. "I can be her for you, I can give you the woman you love. I can give you the one that's like your sister."

"Not them!" Spike said with more energy than Damselfly thought he could use in his fevered state. "Not them... I don't want to see them. Please." She looked down at the dragon-blooded boy and stroked his cheek with a soft expression.

"That's not what your heart says Spike. You're crying out for them, you need them. I can see you love them. Let me take care of you."

"Not... them..." Spike shook his head and clenched his eyes shut. "Please let me forget... I don't want to see them. I want to see you."

"Okie Dokie Lokie." The happy voice spoke up from atop of Spike and it was clearly not the voice of Damselfly, Rarity or Twilight. Instead after he opened his eyes there was a very pink and curly haired woman sat on top of Spike's lap with a bright smile on her face. "You want to see me well here I am. I'm totally visible for you to see. All you gotta do is open your eyes."

"Pinkie... Pie?" Spike said completely shocked. Of all the women to appear atop him in the woods she was the last one he expected. "What are you doing here?" That was odd, how did she find him in the woods?

"You said you wanted to see me silly. So I came here for you to see me. Did you need Pinkie to help put a smile on your face? I'm really good at helping my friends feel better about themselves." This felt wrong... there was something odd, why would Pinkie be out in the woods? He came out here to see... oh.

"Oh... you chose Pinkie Pie." The venom was taking effect, it was confusing Spike into losing track of who he was talking to. Damselfly did as he said and while she didn't give him herself like he wanted she did give him someone else.

"Well yeah, Pinkie Pie is the best choice there is. After all I am Pinkie Pie so of course I'm going to chose Pinkie Pie. Not only does it make sense but it's the easiest for me too." Yeah, sure. Why not? Pinkie Pie can take care of him. She was pretty and sweet, plus every bit of the sweets she ate always seemed to go to her curves instead of her waist (most of it anyway). Yeah, he felt comfortable with Pinkie here with him.

"Sure, Pinkie, I'm feeling kinda strange." Spike shook his head and winced. "I can't really think... I don't... why are we out here again?" Why did he come out here after all? He remembered there was a reason and she had something to do with it.

"You came out here to see me silly Spiky, because we're friends. But we're not just friends, we're friends with benefits." The pink haired woman leaned down to get close to Spike's face, batting her lashes and looking at him seductively with those blue eyes. He didn't even know she could make an expression like that. "Do you want your benefits?" Spike blushed as part of his body signaled that yes, yes he did very much want them.

"I don't... I'm not sure. Pinkie is this okay? I feel like there's something I forgot." Suddenly the pink haired girl kissed him and Spike's eyes opened wide. Then slowly closed. It felt good and comforting, warm and the taste of her lips was sweet as if she'd been eating pastries recently. Her body began to rest down against his own and Spike's arms came up to touch the sides of Pinkie's arms, feeling her soft skin. How did she have this effect on him?

"Does that feel better, silly Spiky?" Spike was breathing harder now and he nodded to her, Pinkie still smiling with that seductive look. "Good, now we're going to play a game okay? It's call pin the tail on the Pinkie!" She giggled cutely and the woman slid down Spike's body, leaving his immediate field of sight. Spike tried to lift his body to follow her but it didn't want to rise.

"Pinkie... I don't think I can get up to play. Where did you go?" When the woman appeared again she was naked from the chest up and smiling mischievously. "Pinkie?"

"Now you gotta put on your blindfold if you're going to play pin the tail on the Pinkie." She held up a pair of cute, pink panties and stuck them over Spike's head. Effectively covering his eyes so he couldn't see. Spike felt his own bottom half messed with as his pants were pulled away.

"But why would I need to be OH!" Spike shuddered feeling a soft grip on his cock and sweet, soft lips come down around him. Her fingers stroked Spike quickly, her head bobbing up and down on his cock in fast motions while her lips sucked at him. She worked so quick and efficiently it surprised Spike a bit, his body wiggling from the quick arousal she was bringing him to. She moved her mouth all the way down onto him before pulling it back and bringing her lips off with a wet "pop".

"It looks like you're ready to play." She giggled cutely and it just served to make Spike further aroused. Her body moved over top of him and he felt her hips straddled his lap. "Okay silly Spiky, just find where to pin the tail on Pinkie and you win."

"I... I'm not sure what I should be doing." Spike said legitimately confused, his head already swimming and foggy from something he couldn't recall. He thought something had bitten him but he couldn't remember what.

"Just feel around silly Spiky, until you win." Spike gulped at Pinkie's very sexual and playful nature, something that was both appealing and a little intimidating. Spike began to move his hips around, poking his cock against her thigh. "Nope, not there." She said cheerfully and Spike readjusted, pushing his hips up and pressing against her mid section. "Not exactly Spike, getting warmer." Her fingers were gripping onto his biceps now in anticipation and he felt her hips lower a bit more. When he felt the warmth of her pussy his hips moved upward, pushing himself inside her. "Oooh! You got it. You got it." Her voice cracked a little as she lowered her hips down onto Spike with an arousing moan for how innocent her voice sounded. "You got it good. Pin it again Spike."

"Y-yeah... sure" Her phrasing was as embarrassing as it was erotic. Spike's arms rose up to hold onto Pinkie's biceps as well, his hips pushing up into the beautiful baker eagerly. Pinkie's attractive voice began to reach higher tones she normally used for singing, now moaning out her approval of Spike's way of playing her game. "You feel warm."

"Like a cream pie?" She giggled and suddenly kissed his lips hard, dropping her hips further onto his lap and increasing the rate of their love making. Their tongues played against each other and Spike marveled at Pinkie's ease of seducing him to her wants and needs. "Spike." She whispered to him and he took in a sharp breath. "Fill up this cream pie." Her hips increased in speed and the sound of her voice was enough to push him over the edge. His hands squeezing her arms tightly as he pushed up and came hard inside of the pink haired girl.

Pinkie cooed in delight after receiving her reward from him, her hips rubbing down against his body in circular motions to tease his cock inside of her sweet pussy. When Spike had finally expelled everything he had she kissed his lips again. "Do you feel good Spike?" She asked sweetly.

"Y-yeah... Yeah I feel great. Pinkie, you're amazing." Spike admitted finally more tired than he thought he should have been.

"I know I am." That wasn't Pinkie's voice. "At least now you finally got what you wanted." He felt the sudden cold as her body separated from his and the woman took the now green panties off of Spike's eyes, the black skinned woman looking down with her magical green eyes. "Satisfied?"

"Damselfly?" Spike asked legitimately surprised. Her venom had done well in confusing him again, helping him fall for her spell of seduction.

"Of course, now that you've gotten what you came here for I'm leaving. If you're smart you wont come back to see me again." The woman said sounding upset with Spike. It was starting to come back to him now; he'd come out here to talk with her, she'd said several things about him that Spike didn't completely agree with. Then he'd offered himself to her so that he could make love to her. She deceived him again and took him for his meal.

Spike wasn't satisfied with just that.

When Damselfly started to rise to her feet Spike grabbed her arm and suddenly pulled her down onto the grass. The changeling fell to the ground with a surprised "oof" and Spike rolled over top of her, looking down at the black skinned woman. "I'm... I'm not done. There's still more, you can have it." Damselfly looked up at him in complete surprise. Spike figured she must not have counted on him still having energy after just their last feeding but he wasn't down for the count yet.

"Spike, let me up." She said sternly. "You're not in any shape to keep going, you don't need to impress or satisfy me. I'm hear for the food and nothing more."

"Don't you want more? I can give you more, lots more. Just let me give it to you." Damselfly tried to push Spike to get up and out of the way but he suddenly grabbed her by the wrists and held her back down. Showing off impressive strength after just being drained and drugged by her venom. "Why are you refusing me? I thought this is what your kind wanted?"

"Spike... let me go." Damselfly asked but her normal mocking tone was gone, she didn't have the same look to her that she did when she lectured him or gave him orders. It was something different but Spike wasn't sure what. "You can't do this right now, it could kill you."

"You're kind kill people all the time, what do you care? Just take it from me." He was breathing hard and Spike felt something rising in his chest. It was her constant refusal, pushing him back when he was only trying to give her what she needed. Her rejection made him mad. Why wasn't she accepting his gift when he wanted to help her? She needed this to live.

"Spike, please let me go." She asked and Spike suddenly understood what he was seeing in those eyes; fear. She was scared. Be it for him dying like he suggested or from Spike over powering her but in this moment he'd actually managed to instill fear into a changeling. Something he didn't think would have been possible. That wasn't the worst part of it though, because somewhere deep in that rooted anger that grew in Spike he felt something when he saw that look. He felt power, he felt strength, he felt good.

"Stop refusing me. Can't you see that you're special to me? Why do you keep turning it down?" Spike suddenly leaned down and forced a kiss onto the changeling woman, pushing his tongue against her lips until her mouth opened to accept him. He felt her body shift around beneath his grip, wiggling to get free but there wasn't an escape from his clawed hands holding her down. He was in power for once despite the poison she'd injected into him.

"I'm... I'm sorry Spike. Please forgive me." That voice wasn't Damselfly's. Spike pulled back from the kiss to see two large and timid cyan eyes staring up at him. Draped around her face was long, thick pink hair. "You don't have to be so angry." The timid woman spoke up still pinned in Spike's grip.

"Fluttershy?" Spike blinked trying to make sense of it. "You... wait no, I'm not falling for it so easily. I know you're name." He'd just been bitten, the venom was still making him susceptible to suggestion. But he remember she wasn't Fluttershy. "Your name... your name is..."

"Are you angry Spike?" She suddenly asked, shifting beneath him uncomfortably from his grip. The woman was naked and her generous curves were very obvious, making it that much harder to concentrate. "If you are you don't have to be. I'm... I'm here for you."

"Stop talking, I don't understand what you mean." Her name was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't make it out. Fluttershy still giving him that vulnerable and alluring stare.

"You can hurt me Spike, I don't mind." The woman leaned her head back, bearing her neck to him and arching her back. "I know that you're upset. I'm just... I'm just a nobody, so you can hurt me if it makes you feel better."

"Fluttershy I don't... I don't want to hurt you. You're so nice." Even as he said it the words were betraying him. His instincts were telling him to take the woman beneath him. His body wanted to let out all the pressure he'd held deep inside from the people in his life. Now someone beautiful was offering themselves to him and every part of him was crying out for it.

"It's okay Spike, I like helping you. So if I get a little hurt..." She sounded scared when she said it, it was heart breaking as her voice became more timid. "If I get hurt for you to be better then it's worth it." Spike was panting hard looking at her body beneath him, her deep cyan eyes staring at him. "Take it."

Spike's head leaned down and licked at the woman's neck, still keeping her held down beneath him by her wrists. Her body wiggled uncomfortably beneath him but he didn't let her go, kissing and sucking at her soft skin. Fluttershy took in short breaths as her skin was tickled, then gasped when she felt teeth lightly bite at her neck. "They're sharp." She said in her normal timid voice and the soft and effeminate tones made Spike that much more aroused.

It wasn't necessary any longer but he kept her wrists pinned down with one hand now, his other holding her close to him as his mouth licked around her neck and collarbone, every so often biting at her lightly and earning a fearful but arousing yelp in response. Spike pressed his lips to hers again for another kiss, she didn't fight against it in the slightest.

"You're beautiful." She was, she was almost as beautiful as Rarity. Her delicate features, lovely hair and generous curves had earned her attention in the past. Even a job as a model at one point. Now she belonged to Spike alone here in the woods. Her beauty his to appreciate or sully at his desire. He was enjoying this power over another person more and more.

"You're embarrassing me." She turned her head and averted her eyes, blushing lightly. Spike didn't waste a moment as he moved his head down, now releasing her arms to take her large mounds into his hands and massage her breasts. "Sp-Spike! Your nails are sharp." He was careful not to cut her but enjoyed the sound of her voice as she whined every time she felt his nails touch her skin. His lips licking over the skin of her breasts and sucking at her nipples. "Y-your teeth. Oooh... c-careful..." Her hands rubbed through his hair as he sucked and teased her nipples, licking from one to the other and teasing them till they were stiff from the attention. When they were Spike rubbed them between his thumb and finger, pinching and pulling lightly. "Spike... Spike it's so rough!" Her body shook from teasing, her body a contorted face from the pleasure and small amounts of pain he was inflicting onto her.

"We're not being rough at all yet." Spike released her breasts from his grip and let them fall to her chest again, then slid his hands down and forced her legs apart, pulling her closer to him with a gasp. Fluttershy watched as Spike pushed his cock against her pussy. Slowly slipping it inside of her and penetrating her deep. The woman moaned and leaned her head back, Spike enjoy the warmth of her embrace around him. Then he leaned over her and began to push inside.

Her breaths were small and light, little moans escaping from her that she shyly tried to hide as she made them. Her body shaking every little bit from each hard thrust Spike gave her. His body had cried out for this attention, he didn't slowly build up for her to adjust. Instead just pushing forward right away and fucking her as hard as he could. She offered little resistance other than laying her arms back and letting him have his way with her. Still... he wanted more.

Slipping his arms behind her back, brushing against her long soft hair, his hands joined together and braced her. Sitting up Spike pulled her up from her laying position and leaned back to press her against his lap. "Spike? Spike what... oooh... Spike please... this looks dirty." Spike leaned her back on his arms and she had to hold his shoulders just to keep from leaning back too far when he had her up. Now in an easier position his hips began to thrust deeper than before.

Fluttershy's moans went from small, quiet and embarrassed noises to louder and even more humiliated sounds. The look of discomfort and embarrassment on her face pushing Spike onward as he plowed up into her body and savored every hot, wet inch of her. When she was close enough Spike leaned his head down to lick over her breasts. "Haven't you had enough?" She asked shyly but sound cried out as she felt a hard slap hit her ass. "Ahh!"

Spike had only ever spanked Rarity the one time and while it had been erotic it had also been a little weird. Now that Fluttershy had given herself for his aggression he found a new enjoyment in it. His hand smacking her behind with a satisfying noise each time. The sound of the hit against her skin from the slap and the high pitched shout she made each time she was spanked. Soon her nails began to dig into Spike's shoulders from the repeated, stinging hits to her behind. "Spike! You're going to leave a mark!" She protested again. Her body felt great against his own and he knew if he kept going he could reach the climax he desires. Still... he wanted more.

Spike suddenly stopped pushing into Fluttershy, instead pulling out of her quickly and causing the girl to gasp feeling him slide out of her so fast. She was laid down onto the grass again but before she could get comfortable Spike spun her around onto her stomach. "Wha! Spike what... ooh!" Spike grabbed hold of Fluttershy's hips and raised them into the air, the girl rising onto her elbows so she was on all fours. Her ass had red marks on it from the repeated spankings. "Do you need to? Do you need to hurt me still?"

"I don't want to... but..." She was so beautiful and sweet looking, her face as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"You can Spike. Let it all out on me." She spread her legs wider for him, Spike unable to ignore the invitation. Up behind her Spike pushed inside of her pussy again and Fluttershy gasped from the sudden intrusion. His hands grabbing hold of her hips as he drove into her at a rapid pace from his position. "It's so rough..." Fluttershy balled her hands into fists and leaned her head against the ground, her muscles gripping tight around Spike's cock. It still wasn't enough.

"H-hey!" Fluttershy shouted in alarm as Spike grabbed hold of her wrists again, pulling at her arms to lean her back against him while driving his cock into her with hard thrusts. The girl whined and groaned as her breasts shook with each hard thrust into her, her body bouncing as she was pulled hard into every push Spike made. While she felt good against him like this, very good as a matter of fact, Spike wanted more. Reaching his hands forward he cupped his hands over her breasts and pulled her up into a kneeling position as best he could while still inside her.

It was obviously uncomfortable for Fluttershy but she didn't argue, just wincing hard and letting out louder groans of pleasure and pain at the violation. His clawed hands gripped and kneaded her breasts together as his cock pushed into her harder. "Use me... use me up..." Fluttershy offered and he intended to. She felt so good. Still... he wanted more.

Spike stopped supporting Fluttershy's upper body and she had to catch herself on her hands quickly as she fell towards the grass, panting hard at the sudden surprise of being let go and all the rough sex. "Sp-Spike... is something wrong? Did you-" Her cyan eyes became wide feeling what was coming next. "Spike! No wait... are you going to hurt me that much? Spike wait... please..." Fluttershy didn't have time to recover as Spike pushed his cock against her ass, pressing inside of her other hole.

The woman made high pitched squeals as she endured the surprise violation, letting out a cry when Spike forced himself inside of her. From her hands and knees Fluttershy dropped to resting on her forearms, her head hanging down and her pink hair pooling before her. Then Spike started to move.

It was slow at first, adjusting to the new tight entrance and feeling the harder squeeze around his cock. Fluttershy dug her fingers into the grass before her and gripped hard, enduring Spike as he violated her in a new area. Each drag against her ass and push inside of it made her give a shuddering moan, her body tense. The shaking sensation was what he wanted. He could be happy with this.

Spike began to pick up the pace of his thrusts, Fluttershy's cries growing louder with each time he did so. He could feel how tight her muscles were and could only imagine the pressure must have been hard against her. Still it felt good, his hands gripping her ass and squeezing it as he plowed into her further. "This is the best feeling!" He said in a growl and his nails lightly pressed against the skin of her ass, making her squeak in alarm feeling the sharp ends poke her behind. "I'm gonna come."

"In-inside!?" She asked but was powerless to argue or suggest otherwise, her fingers digging hard into the dirt as Spike shot his hot load into her ass. Fluttershy cried out as she took the abuse, shivering hard as it filled her. Spike gasped for air after reaching his climax, feeling drained with each thrust into her. Before he was aware of what was happening he grew very tired, and the world turned black.

When he awoke his head was groggy and swimming, his mind a murky sea of grey. He tried to move his body but other than wiggling a little he found it was too difficult to get up. Something was resting upon him as well, something big enough to keep him pinned.

"So you woke up, I wasn't sure if you would." It was a woman's voice, one he recognized.

"Damselfly?" Spiked asked as his eyes were starting to open slowly.

"Well it sure isn't Fluttershy." She said and Spike managed to finally look around, seeing her laying against him on his chest.

"What... what happened?" He remembered how he got there, he remembered the two of them had a fight or something like one. Then she bit him. The venom must have clouded the rest of his memory.

"You came here to let off some steam, so I let you do just that. Just feel lucky that poor girl Fluttershy wasn't the actual person that let you take out all that aggression on her." Now it was coming back. She'd turned into Fluttershy when they'd had sex and she'd fed off his energy. She turned into Pinkie Pie too if his memory served him correctly. She sounded somewhat upset though.

"Damselfly? Did I do something?" He asked hesitantly. He didn't know why it was important to him that she seemed to be angry. When they first met she betrayed him and raped him without his consent. But this time had been very different, he went out to find her himself. Now there was an odd fear of making her unhappy with him. "If I did something to make you angry then I'm sorry."

"You fucked me in the ass, Spike!" She said rather loudly and angrily. "You didn't even ask first. You just... just pushed it right in there! No one's ever done that to me before." She curled against his chest a bit more, Spike finding it odd that she seemed to be coming to him for comfort when he was the one she was angry at.

"I'm... I'm sorry Damselfly. I guess I wasn't thinking."

"Just shut up and cuddle me, dammit." Spike did exactly as he was told and brought his arms around her, hugging her against his chest. Damselfly put her arms around him as well but she didn't look up at him. As they laid together on the grass Spike noticed that she'd taken the time to dress them both before he had woken up. They cuddled for sometime before she rubbed her face against his chest and sat up off of him. "There. I'm leaving now."

"Wait." Spike said trying to stand up but it was useless, just making him roll onto his side. "You're just... you're just going to leave without a word?"

"Yes, I am. I told you I was in it for the food. Why else would I stay and talk?" She got to her feet and glared down at Spike, still kind of angry. Even if she was upset with him he couldn't let her go like this.

"Wait please, don't just leave now. Damselfly, I think that I lov-"

"Do not say that to me!" She shouted at him again, this time looking furious. "You can't do that. You can't come out here and use me for yourself to feel better and say something like that to me. You just can't." She clenched her hands into fists staring down at him, making Spike that much more confused. He thought there was something between them; some sort of connection due to their being different from every other human in this town.

"Why can't I? Even if I just like you, even if I want to be your friend. Can't we just have something?" Damselfly glared at him coldly and crossed her arms.

"You're nothing more than a meal to me Spike, and I'm nothing more to you than a quick fuck. Don't try to tell me it's anything else. I'm a changeling Spike, we don't have friends outside of our own kind. Every other creature we meet either becomes an enemy or food to us. Humans all end up dead around my people."

"I'm not human." Spike argued managing to prop himself up on one arm now with what little energy he had left. Damselfly watched him and sighed.

"No, you're not human are you? But you want to know something; you're human enough." She walked over to him and leaned down, looking at him with those alluring green eyes. "Do you remember what I told you Spike? About what a monster really is? It doesn't have anything to do with bodies or magic or any of that nonsense. A manticore and a hydra are no more monsters than a rabbit or a dog. They're just animals and like animals they act on instinct. The real monsters are the ones that hurt others knowingly with desire to do so. They're the ones that tear things apart for the sheer joy and disrespect of it all." Her eyes were not so angry any longer but rather softer and more concerned. Their intensity never leaving though.

"Spike every 'monster' I ever met always wore the skin of a human, and it always acted with the most evil and selfish of intentions. I'm scared because whatever being dragon-blooded means doesn't matter in the least. What matters is you, and if you don't do something about your desires I'm scared you will become a monster." She kissed his lips suddenly, it was a soft and innocent kiss to the lips and nothing more. Then she stood up again. "For both our sakes don't come back here again." With that she took to the sky and flew over the trees quickly before Spike could respond to her.

So here he was again, laying in the grass looking at the passing light in the sky. Fresh wounds in his neck and a mind filled with mixed thoughts. The pretty black skinned woman had abandoned him and he didn't know if she'd done him a favor or not. She only ever spoke the truth to Spike, even when it was hard to bear. Yet her words echoed within him about what a monster really was. He determined she wasn't one; she didn't act with evil intent or a vicious nature. She never harmed anything or anyone outside of her needs to live from what he could tell. Perhaps her kind was a threat to his friends but it was no different than a wolf to a rabbit.

So what did that make him? He was no rabbit and only her prey in the regard that he let her have him to feed off of. In return he'd done things; violent and angry physical rewards that he stole from her body. In actuality he'd believed he was stealing from the body of the kind soul Fluttershy when they were together. But it hadn't bothered him in the slightest at the time. Truth be told it didn't bother him now and that chilled him most of all.

"Home... have to get home." Spike slowly rolled onto his feet, picking himself up and taking a step which sent him tumbling to the grass again. "So weak." She'd really done a number on him this time. He was so much more tired this time around compared to the first time they'd been together. "Twilight, I have to get home to Twilight." Summoning his inner strength Spike picked himself up again. He leaned on the trees as he stepped, moving forward slowly and surely. He had to get to the warmth of his family, to the safety of his home, even the normalcy and repetition of his books and chores.

He had to get home to civilization where his heart lied. For these woods frightened him now; it was here he'd seen what a real monster could be. That monster not hiding in the shadows of the trees but instead in depths of his soul.

The Maze

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 5 - The Maze

With the rise of the sun on the new day so too did the young librarian and her assistant rise to meet it. The pair going about their routine as repetition had a way of setting rules into one's behavior. Spike took advantage of the bathroom first and when he was finished cleaning himself retreated to allow Twilight her chance to clean up for the new day. From there the cycle continued on its normal course; Spike dressed while Twilight showered, Spike cooked while Twilight dressed, and Spike served the food as Twilight came to join him at the breakfast table. It was all as it should be aside from one thing that put the process off; Spike's attitude was hardly as chipper as such a beautiful morning would normally put him in.

"I made waffles, I hope that's okay." Spike said serving up their plates and sitting across from Twilight at the table.

"Of course Spike. Thank you for getting breakfast for us." Twilight praised him as she took to adding sugar to her waffles, hoping the compliment might perk him up.

"It's not big deal. I always do." Spike pulled up a container of emeralds and crushed the gem stones in his palms, sprinkling them onto his morning meal. He insisted it tasted better than sugar and even offered a bite to Twilight but she was content to stick with her normal choices for sauce and seasonings. That had been something the two had to work out the first few months Spike started cooking when they started living together. Twilight's stomach barely survived each new recipe he came up with back then.

"So did you have any special plans for today?" Twilight tried to get him talking more but Spike didn't seem interested in coming out of his funk.

"Well no... I figured I'd just do whatever it was you wanted to do Twilight. Were we studying or organizing something? Or studying on how to organize things?" Spike really hoped that wasn't the case. Last time they did that it was the longest and dullest day of his life.

"I didn't really have any plans. Matter of fact why don't you decide what we do today Spike?" His green dragon like eyes looked up surprised. "After all we usually don't let you decide the days events. The library is mostly clean and chores can wait till later." Spike took a bite of his emerald dusted waffles and thought about her offer. His mood didn't seem to change though as the thoughts at the back of Spike's mind seemed to come to rise. That expression wasn't lost on Twilight.

"Well actually I was thinking maybe we should do some studying."

"Really?" Twilight held back her excitement; Spike almost never voluntarily wanted to stay in and read when he had the option to do anything else. "Okay then, what subject should we research. I'll take care to find everything you need for whatever it is we're looking up."

"Well okay then. I was wondering if maybe... we could study um... changelings?" Twilight's fork hit the plate with a noticeable "clink", Spike looking away as he didn't want to see the expression on Twilight's face.

"Oh. Well... sure if that's what you want." Twilight said as her enthusiasm plummeted like a stone. Spike was aware this would happen. Ever since Twilight's encounter with Chrysalis and how the changeling queen had manipulated both her brother and sister-in-law (as well as Twilight herself) she was actively against looking at anything involving the creatures too closely. "That's just an unusual choice for you to want to study."

"I just thought that after they were expelled from the castle they could still be around." Spike said going over his rehearsed excuse for this occasion. "So being able to recognize them and knowing what to do when we encountered one would be a good idea." Twilight nodded, now eating her waffles more quietly than before. "If you want I can do it on my own."

"No, I said we'd let you pick and I'll stick by that." Twilight forced a smile onto her face. "Besides Spike I think you're absolutely right. We should be more prepared in case we ever encounter anything like them again. I don't know what I'd do if one of those things tried to injure someone I love a second time." Spike forced himself to eat as well, finding his appetite dwindling the farther the conversation went.

"I can understand that." Spike said making sure to hide any sense of discomfort in his voice. "Hey Twilight, have you ever wondered if maybe the changelings weren't all evil?" Twilight stopped eating her waffle entirely now and Spike tried not to pay attention to it.

"No Spike, I've never wondered that. They're creatures that feed off of the affections of other people and drain them of their energy. They're evil." Twilight's words were cold and calculated. They didn't even carry the arrogant tone she sometimes had when relaying information she was sure she knew more about than others.

"Well Chrysalis was without a doubt. I mean she proved it but maybe all the others were just following orders?" Twilight set her fork down on the table and her expression had gone from calm to looking agitated. Spike knew he was pushing a hot button subject but this was something he had to do for his own sake.

"Spike the changelings tried to overthrow the entire kingdom. Chrysalis was willing to lock up Princess Cadence, did who knows what to my brother, tried to imprison ME and then attacked and captured Princess Celestia." Her violet eyes looked at him with an anger that was hidden behind them for what those creatures had done to her family and mentor. "What's worse she manipulated all of us and turned everyone against me. Then her creatures invaded with smiles on their faces. I saw them Spike; I fought against them. They're evil."

"Oh." Was all Spike could respond with. She made it seem so black and white, when before everything Spike had thought about those creatures was a sea of grey. "So there's never been a changeling that was good."

"Not that I know of." Twilight said and rose one of her hands into the air casually, magic glowing around it. From somewhere in the library and book floated up towards Spike and sat on the table. Its title read Advanced Magic for Disguise. "That book talks about them a bit since it was based on their abilities that we learned some illusion magics. It describes changelings that would impersonate loved ones and move into families." Spike picked up the book and started flipping through it.

"You read up on it already then?" Spike asked surprised Twilight was willing to learn more about them before today.

"I've read that book before to study illusion magic." She said, avoiding any suggestion she'd want to interact more with the changelings in any way.

"So what happened to the family member they impersonated?" Spike asked hesitantly.

"They were killed. Usually after being kidnapped and drug back to their nests." Spike shuddered thinking about that side of these creatures. "Or they would kidnap infants and replace them with young of their own to be raised by the victim's family. The end result was almost always the same though." Spike closed the book and set it down, getting too uncomfortable to learn more on this subject.

"I guess you just can't trust things that aren't human, huh?" Spike said unable to hide a twinge of sadness to his voice. Twilight looked over concerned.

"Spike, is something the matter?" Twilight asked softening her voice and Spike looked up at her. "You can tell me if something's wrong. I don't mind." Spike swallowed a lump in his throat. He'd been debating on whether or not to inform Twilight of his visits to the forest for a while now. The two times he'd come home from the woods she'd noticed how tired he was but he made the excuse of it being a long day and was sure to not let her see the bite marks on his skin. After the last event though he didn't know what to do and wanted to mention it to someone. Despite how much she might be angry at him. Taking in a deep breath Spike opened his mouth.

"Hwooorf!" Twilight nearly leaped back out of her chair as the dragon-blooded boy coughed out in a green flame a scroll that appeared on the table with the royal seal on it.

"A letter from Celestia?" Twilight asked, Spike blinking and shaking his head to clear it from the unexpected delivery and smoke bellowing from his mouth. "What would she be sending so early in the morning?" Spike reached out and broke off the seal, unraveling the letter to read out loud. It was tradition after all that he should read all the letters that were sent through his magic.

"Ahem. 'Dear my most faithful student. I must request that you gather the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony and make haste to the castle. I have arranged a pair of chariots to escort you on your trip. Please do not delay, I will explain when you arrive. Signed Princess Celestia.'" Spike handed the letter over to Twilight and let her read it for herself. Both seeming confused but recognized the urgency in its contents.

"It looks like the princess needs us." Twilight rose from her chair and took to the stairs before Spike could even get up from his chair. She came back down with a small shoulder bag. "I'll go get the girls and meet the chariots. They'll probably land in the town square as it has the most room for a landing. I just hope everyone is awake, Rainbow Dash can be lazy sometimes. I should probably tell Rarity first since she'll want to clean herself up and then to Pinkie Pie who-" Spike stood on quietly looking at Twilight as she made her frantic plans to respond to her teacher's summons. "Oh um... I'm sorry Spike, I guess we wont be spending today together after all."

"No it's okay Twilight." Spike tried to reassure her and put a smile on his face. "I mean the Princess needs you. She wouldn't send a message like that unless it was important. I'll be fine tending to the library by myself." He stood up straight to put on the image of a responsible adult to her. Still Twilight looked concerned.

"It's going to be at least a whole day I'll be gone Spike, maybe longer depending on what Princess Celestia needs us for. Are you sure you'll be okay all that time by yourself?" Spike could handle himself Twilight knew but normally she was always near by in case a situation was more serious than it looked.

"Relax, it's in the bag. How much trouble can I get into caring for a library?" Twilight didn't want to think of the possibilities.

"Well okay then. I'll see you when I'm done in Canterlot." Twilight gave Spike a kiss on top of his head, making the boy blush a little. "Good bye Spike."

"Later Twilight." Spike waved to the lavender haired librarian as she rushed out the door to go on whatever adventure it was today that had been arranged for her. Spike went back to the table and cleaned up Twilight's breakfast since it seemed it wouldn't get eaten today. As he went to finish off his own plate he noticed the book Twilight had given him and thought about the things she'd said and what it was changelings did with their victims. He rubbed the bite marks on his neck thinking about the ultimate fate of the humans that crossed these creatures. It did nothing to settle the turmoil in his heart.

"We all ready tah skedaddle outta here?" Applejack asked the group as they were getting together in the town square. The girls attracting a lot of on lookers as they were shown preparing to leave by chariot with two of the royal guards. Even with Twilight's position with the royal family being well known to everyone in town they still rarely saw such presence in their quaint village.

"I let everyone know where to meet but they're still not here yet." Twilight said with a tone of annoyance. "I'm really sorry. I'm sure they're on their way." Twilight offered her apologies to the soldiers but not a one of them seemed to mind.

"It's alright Ms. Sparkle. We are here to serve after all, be it for the Princesses or their esteemed associates." One of the knights assured her standing at attention as he delivered his line.

"Besides Twilight, everyone at the castle knows you. We'll wait as long as you need for us." Another more casual knight with the other chariot spoke up. "I don't think we're going to complain having to escort the famous and beautiful Bearers of the Elements of Harmony."

"Famous and respected Bearers of the Elements of Harmony." The other knight corrected, not wanting to offend the women. "You always speak too openly Ironguard, you're going to get us in trouble one of these days." Despite being corrected his associate didn't seem to take offense to it.

"Don't mind Spearhead over here Twilight, guy is always as stiff and dull as a board. You don't mind right?" Twilight smiled nervously not really sure how to end this banter before it got beyond her social skills to deal with. Thankfully one of her friends with loads of social skills interrupted.

"Goooooood morning!" Pinkie said arriving on the scene. "Morning Twilight. Morning Applejack. Morning royal person 1. Morning Royal person 2." Pinkie made rounds to everyone and dropped a muffin into each of their hands. The guards looked it over confused to receive a gift from the energetic baker. "I made us all some treats since we all had to go so early, cause Twilight said it was reaaaaaly important that we get going, so I only had a little time to bake them, and I knew Rarity was going to take a while even though I bet Twilight told her first, so I managed to get these made just in time before everyone arrived. Like Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Hi Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy!" The girls and the guards didn't have time to respond as they turned to see the other two women walking up towards the chariots.

"Hey Pinkie." Rainbow said followed by a large yawn. "Good morning, are we gommmf!?" Rainbow's rose colored eyes grew wide as she had a muffin shoved into her mouth.

"I made us muffins!" Pinkie exclaimed and handed one to Fluttershy gently. "And one for you."

"Thank you Pinkie." Fluttershy said meekly as Rainbow pulled her treat out of her mouth and chewed it. She'd have been more upset if it hadn't been so tasty. "Morning Applejack, Twilight. Did the Princess say why she needed us so soon?"

"Sadly no, I still have no idea why she'd call us all out like this." Twilight responded, wondering what exactly was taking Rarity so long. "Last time she needed us in an emergency it involved you-know-who."

"No ah don't, do you?" Applejack asked looking legitimately confused.

"No I mean last time it involved that one guy, the dangerous one. You know... you-know-who." Twilight didn't want to say his name outright since with all the panic he caused before it might concern all the on-lookers they were attracting.

"Ah still don't know 'em. Was it Mr. Yanow Who or U. Nohue?" Twilight made an annoyed expression that she was having to spell this out for her farmer friend.

"You mean Discord?" Rainbow blurted out and everyone around her got wide eyed. "What? That's what happened the last time we had an emergency meeting at the castle." Twilight looked around to see some people whispering to each other after Rainbow had said that name out loud. The two guards were even casting each other nervous looks.

"Yes... him." Twilight said. "That was what it was about last time."

"There's no need to worry." Pinkie said happily. "The weather isn't magically delicious and Fluttershy isn't being a jerk, so I doubt he's back." Pinkie bounced in front of the guards with a big smile. "You two should eat your muffins before Rarity shows up." She gave Spearhead a big smile and the guard gulped.

"I'm afraid as we are on duty it would be improper for us to do something like snacking while..."

"This muffin is the best baked good I have ever eaten." Ironclad suddenly said without a hint of joking tone to his voice and then proceeded to devour it. Between his partner's exclamation and the pure joy of the pink haired girl the other guard caved in and ate his too.

"By the moon... what did you put in this?" Spearhead said shocked.

"A dash of tasty, a pinch of smiles and a lot of joy." Pinkie said and skipped over to her friends, delighted in her success. Spearhead just looked confused by her answer but she didn't give any more explanation.

"Sorry to keep you, darlings. I hope I'm not too late." Rarity finally arrived on the scene and looked as if she were dressed for fashion and function in her white blouse and slacks. She got a few good looks as she walked up, and even more from her friends when they saw the three bags floating behind her carried by her magic.

"Rarity, I don't think we'll need all of those bags. We're only going to be at the castle for a day or two Twilight said." Fluttershy attempted to reason with her friend, seeing where things were headed with the fashion focused female and her parade of belongings. The other girls had dressed modestly, Twilight in a skirt and blouse with a light sweater vest. Applejack had just come out of the field so she was in jeans and her normal work shirt with her trusty hat as always. Pinkie wore some cute shorts and a pink shirt with three balloons on them. Rainbow Dash was in her normal running outfit as she had just put on the first thing she could find after being woken up by Fluttershy, who was in a green skirt and yellow sweater top of her own.

"I know, that's why I packed lightly." Rarity explained and loaded the bags into one of the chariots. "Should we be off?"

"Yes, we can't waste a moment. Gentlemen, if you could prepare to escort us to the castle?" Twilight asked politely and the two guards nodded. The men tightened up their arms and held them out with a flexing motion, a pair of large wings made of pure magic appearing on each of their backs as they did. Pinkie leaned towards Applejack and whispered to her.

"I don't have to be a baker to recognize a beefcake when I see one." Applejack chuckled and the girls shared a high five. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Okay everyone, load up." Twilight gave the order and the girls began to get into the chariot. Pinkie and Twilight fit into theirs fine with room to spare but there was problems on Rarity's side already with Applejack.

"Your bags are taking up enough room for a person." Rainbow Dash complained looking at all the stuff Rarity had jammed into the open chariot. "Do you really need all of this junk?"

"Well I know the concept of being able to dress up to appear your best is foreign to you Rainbow Dash but you don't have to question what I do or do not require." Rarity said in her defense.

"Ah don't rightly get it either." Applejack admitted looking at all of the stuff crammed into their space.

"I um... I can accommodate four of you if necessary Ms. Twilight." Spearhead spoke up. "It would be no trouble."

"Forget it." Rainbow said and flexed her own arms, producing two beautiful blue wings made of magic as well from her back. "I can fly faster than all of you anyway. They'll move quicker with just two people to carry. Fluttershy, we'll just fly alongside them."

"Me-me too?" Fluttershy stammered looking around at everyone. She noted the girls and the guards were all looking her direction and she shyly walked up to Rainbow. "Um... Rainbow I... um... I'm wearing a skirt." She said quietly. "What if someone sees?"

"For crying out... just fly behind them, I'll stay behind you okay?" Rainbow said trying to get this show moving. Fluttershy didn't look very confident in Rainbow Dash's idea though.

"Is everything okay back there?" Twilight asked growing impatient herself. "We can't delay anymore."

"Yeah it's fine, just go and we'll be right behind you." Rainbow shouted back.

"Okay then. Thank you for waiting, it looks like we're all ready." The guards nodded back to Twilight and reached down, grabbing the poles attached to the chariots. As the men prepared to take off Spearhead suddenly let out a yelp as a whip cracked against the armor on his back.

"Mush! Mush!" Pinkie shouted with enthusiasm as she held the dog sled whip and shouted commands from the chariot. Twilight just stared in horror at the action the pink haired eccentric girl had just taken and the guards didn't even know what to say. When Spearhead looked back at her she wiggled her eyebrows with a sensual grin. "Mush?"

"Give me that!" Twilight shouted and pulled the whip out of Pinkie's hand, tossing it away quickly. It landed in another woman's hand who suddenly got the exact same expression as Pinkie while looking towards her husband. "Oh by everything that's magical can we please get going? I'm so so so sorry!" The guards assured her it was okay and despite the embarrassing exchange the two chariots were soon pulled into the sky by the royal guards and the power of their muscle and magical wings. Back on the ground Rainbow was having a harder time with Fluttershy than the guards were carrying two other people and a chariot.

"Fluttershy let's go! They already took off." The rainbow haired girl complained but her meek friend couldn't stop looking around out of paranoia of what they might see should she take to the skies in her current clothing.

"Maybe I could run home and change into some pants...?" She said quietly and started to turn to leave before Dash finally got fed up with her.

"Just get your wings out." She slapped Fluttershy across the butt making the girl "eek!" out loud and her yellow magical wings popped out of her back.

"D-Dash! Don't do that!"

"We don't have time, get moving!" Rainbow began to push her butt up into the air, flapping her magic wings to make them both start to rise up. There was an even bigger scene now as Fluttershy fussed with getting Rainbow Dash to stop pushing her as it was becoming humiliating. Twilight watched all of this going on behind her as her friends finally took to the sky and started to follow. She let out a sigh.

"I hope Spike is going to have a better day than this."

"So you have the whole library all to yourself?"

"That I do."

"Without any adult supervision or anyone to tell you what to do for at least a day?"

"That is the situation."

"This is the best thing that's ever happened to us."

"Excuse me?" Spike said as he was putting the night drop-off books back on the shelves for the library. "How is Twilight going to the castle on an emergency summons the 'best' anything?"

"You know what you have to do right?" The boy asked with enthusiasm. Spike had no idea why Snips was so excited over him having the library to himself but it was getting annoying.

"What do I have to do?" Spike asked freeing his hands up as he put the last book back.

"You totally have to do it!" Snips replied more excited than before.

"I still don't know what I should do if anything."

"Doesn't he have to do it?" Snips turned back to his lanky friend Snails who was sitting at the table looking far more laid back.

"What, kick you out? Cause that's about all I'm thinking of doing." Spike threatened getting a little annoyed. It wasn't that he didn't like Snips and Snails. They were two of the only males he could really hang out with that were close to his age. But Snips could wear on him a bit at times. "Snails can you translate for me?"

"House party." Snails said simply.

"House party?" Spike asked.

"House party!" Snips confirmed.

"Okay back up the train here a second." Spike interjected before this got much farther. "Why do I have to throw a house party?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Snips asked. "You've got a huge house all to yourself, there's no one around to see what we're doing or to chaperon us, and you're cool enough that a lot of girls will come to the party." Spike thought this over a little. It kind of made sense in a way. After all he did have a lot of open space that even Pinkie was able to accommodate for a party full of adults back when he first moved to the town. Now that he had control of the place and everyone he had to answer to was in another city he could do whatever he wanted.

"Forget it." Spike said and picked up another armful of books.

"What!? Why not?" Snips asked completely shocked Spike would turn this opportunity down.

"Look I'm not stupid. I don't go to school with you guys but I've read enough to know what happens when you throw a party when there's no one to supervise. The place gets trashed, things get broken, someone sneaks in booze, a fight breaks out and then I'm left to clean the whole place all by myself while trying to get it all done without anyone finding it out." It made perfect sense to him. The risk wasn't worth the possible reward, not that he saw much of one other than a bunch of people getting into his food.

"Usually lots of girls come to these parties though." Snails advised. "Sometimes you can even get lucky." Well... yeah there was that. Though if Spike was to take wise counsel that was given to him previously then the possibility of more sex wasn't the best option.

"I think I'll survive." Spike said putting more books back.

"But I wont!" Snips said suddenly standing before Spike. "Spike, buddy, listen. I'm not like you okay. I'm not some guy that knows the princesses personally and is friends with a bunch of pretty women and can do magic and stuff."

"You can do magic, you both can do magic." Spike said not impressed with his plea. "You guys can do more kinds of magic than me."

"We can potentially do more magic than you." Snails corrected.

"Yeah and it's not like it's that impressive to begin with. C'mon Spike I'm beggin' you here. This is a chance to have a really amazing party where all the really pretty girls come to and we can possibly get a kiss. Maybe even touch a boob." This was actually getting kind of hard for Spike to listen to and not feel bad for him. "Snails you're with me on this right?"

"I like boobs, it's true." Snails was at least focused on the important things. "Be nice to see more than just Ms. Cherilee when she wears those low cut shirts."

"Okay this is getting weird." Spike said putting a stop to this. Snails suddenly grabbed onto Spike's shirt and gave him huge puppy dog eyes that were just begging for his mercy. Spike let out a sigh of defeat. "...fine."

"Alright!" Snips ran over to Snails and gave him a high five. "Don't worry Spike you wont regret this. We'll make sure nothing gets broken and help you get it all cleaned up before Twilight gets back. She'll never even know." Something in Spike's fiery gut told him that this probably wasn't going to be how things turned out.

"Okay okay before we get ahead of ourselves who are we inviting to this party? I don't want to open it up for everyone in town to come." The boys looked at each other and shrugged.

"Should we invite the girls?" Snips asked. "Like... all of the girls? Yeah, all of the girls." Spike was already rubbing his forehead from this conversation.

"I don't think 'all of the girls' are going to come." Spike responded. "Look I can probably ask Applebloom and I'm sure her friends will come. So that includes Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo."

"We should invite Rumble." Snails said. "He's really got a thing for Scootaloo as it is. I'm sure he'd appreciate it." Snips and Spike were both a little surprised to hear that.

"Scootaloo has an admirer?" Spike asked. "I don't really know this Rumble guy but I've never heard of Scootaloo saying anyone wanted to ask her out."

"He's shy." Snails just responded with the same low and even tone he always had.

"Okay so Applebloom and her friends, Rumble, and all the girls." Snips was reciting and Spike was wondering what exactly he was going to do to feed and provide drinks to all of these people. Looked like he was hitting one of the stores today for party favors. Still without Pinkie around there was no way Twilight would find out so this worked out okay if he actually planned to do it.

"What about Rain Catcher?" Asked Snails.

"What about Rain Catcher?" Snips asked in return with a little more indignation than Snails. Spike had no idea who they were talking about and the tone of the conversation caught his attention.

"What about Rain Catcher?" He asked as well. Snips looked annoyed he even had to explain it.

"The guy's a jerk." Snips said plainly. "He's good at sports and tall and all the girls seem to like him." So that explained it.

"You're jealous of him?" Spike asked a little amused.

"No! I mean... kinda. I dunno. I just don't like the guy. He acts like he's so amazing but he doesn't really do anything that great. Worst of all it all comes so easy to him."

"He pushes Rumble around a little too." Snails noted.

"Well if he's trouble then I don't need him here. Listen you guys just invite whoever you like but don't be weird about it okay. Act calm." He looked at Snips. "Calm. Like Snails here." Snails looked up from his chair now that the conversation was about him, not really getting excited.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm all pumped for this party." Snails replied in an even and lazy tone. "What time do we start?"

"Seven?" Spike asked with a shrug. "After the sun goes down is probably best, that way the library will close on time." He didn't need anyone they didn't invite poking their head in around here. This was stressful enough as it was. He couldn't believe he was actually agreeing to it.

"Great, Snails and I will go and let people know. That way everyone will be ready for when it starts." Snails got up now that he was signaled it was time to get moving. "This is going to be so freaking awesome." Spike still had his reservations about the whole thing. "Later Spike, we'll be back soon okay?"

"Sure sure, I'll see you guys later." Spike waved as the duo took off out the door. He remembered this whole day started with him and Twilight getting ready to spend a quiet afternoon together. Now she was off on an emergency meeting with Celestia and here he was trying to plan something that he was pretty sure was going to blow up in his face. "I sure hope Twilight's having an easier time than I am."

The women strolled through the great halls of the castle towards the throne room. The trip had not taken that long with their private escort and even with Fluttershy lagging behind a bit she and Rainbow Dash were able to keep up in flight. Everything had gone painless... well for most of them anyway. Fluttershy herself still had her head hanging down and looking at the tiles of the floor rather than facing forward. Everyone was quiet until Rainbow Dash finally broke the silence. "C'mon Fluttershy, you're not still upset are you?" The woman with the light pink hair kept quiet and just pouted. "I said I was sorry like fifty times."

"You said no one would see..." Fluttershy muttered under her breath but slightly louder than her normal speaking voice. Rainbow Dash gave a frustrated sigh.

"Look I did my best the whole flight over to stay right behind you, even with how slow you fly. It's not my fault there was that big updraft when you landed." Fluttershy's cheeks turned rosy at the mention of the incident outside. "If you just swung your feet down right before you landed like a normal person instead of coming down feet first from ten meters up then things like this wouldn't happen."

"Everyone saw Dash." Fluttershy couldn't seem to let go of it. "Everyone."

"Cheer up Fluttershy, I think pink panties look really good on you." Pinkie offered trying to make the situation better. Though it just made Fluttershy blush more. "Besides those guys flying us in were pretty hot, so I wouldn't have minded if they saw. And that whole platoon of guards probably had their whole day made by you. Even the girls looked impressed."

"Pinkie... please stop..." Fluttershy asked meekly and the excited pink haired girl was physically lifted and moved aside by Rainbow Dash to give Shy a break.

"Oh don't be so embarrassed darling." Rarity said trying to comfort her. "When you're good looking enough to stop a group of soldiers from marching with a little show like that you should be proud. Right Twilight?" Twilight herself was trying to hide her own embarrassment and hoped word of all this didn't get back to the Princess. After Pinkie's little act with the whip back in town she was sure those two would avoid them at all cost for future escort jobs.

"I'm all for letting it drop myself." Twilight said. "At least around the Princess, please." Twilight opened the door to the throne room and walked inside, seeing the sight before her that she'd witnessed many times since she was a child but always impressed her. Celestia stood before her throne rather than sitting on it, dressed in a white and brilliantly designed uniform that spoke of power and still had an air of femininity about it. Her long rainbow colored hair flowing behind her from the vast amounts of magical power she possessed. Near her throne was something Twilight rarely saw though; her scepter with the brilliant and huge magical diamond gem sitting atop of it. It was practically a staff for battle in its length and she normally only carried it during royal ceremonies or a times of war should she need its power. "Princess Celestia, we have arrived." Twilight announced their presence and all of the women bowed to her.

"Twilight, my faithful student. Everyone, thank you all for coming as quickly as you could. I know it was on short notice but I'm afraid there was simply no time to spare. Something has come to my attention that may signal a great threat returning to us." Twilight could only assume what that meant, and she was sure Celestia didn't need the six of them for Chrysalis returning.

"Is it... Discord?" Twilight asked nervously.

"Maybe, but we're hoping that's not the case." A male voice suddenly spoke up from near the side of the room and Twilight couldn't hide her smile at the sight of who it was.

"Shining Armor." Twilight said happily.

"Hey sis. Ladies." Twilight's brother smiled to her friends and they all greeted him in return. "We received something in the mail that had to be brought to Princess Celestia's attention right away. It could be a prank and maybe the royal guard is just being overly cautious but we wanted to be safe."

"No, you did the right thing Armor. This isn't out of character for him." Celestia raised her hand and something floated to her from a nearby table. When it landed in Celestia's hand she showed the objects to Twilight and her friends.

"Letters?" Applejack asked confused. "The Princess got some fan mail and it raised this much of a stir?"

"Not just me Applejack, you as well." Celestia walked up and handed a letter to the blond woman who looked at it confused. "And you Twilight. All of us in fact received a letter." Celestia passed each one to its appropriate recipient and the girls looked them over in confusion.

"That's funny." Applejack commented. "Ah don't even know a C. Haos. Wonder who this feller could be."

"You're not the only one." Twilight agreed. "Mine is from a D. S. Cord."

"Mine was signed by a Crazy D." Rarity said not seeming impressed with her letter.

"Mine is just a drawing of an anarchy symbol." Fluttershy said not really understanding what that could mean.

"At least your guy put something." Rainbow said. "Mine is from 'Q'. He didn't even finish writing his own name."

"Well at least Mr. De Lancie here signed his letter for me." Pinkie Pie said quite happy hers was the least weird of the bunch. Twilight looked to Celestia who she noticed had a letter herself.

"Who is your letter from Princess?"

"Mine just says 'An Old Friend'." Most of the clues seemed to be pointing to the same conclusion. If due to nothing but the sheer randomness of it all. "I think we can all guess who really sent these to us."

"But ah still don't get it none." Applejack said. "Ah mean we sealed up Discord tight in that stone statue of his. How could he have sent us all these letters?"

"Maybe he had a friend do it for him?" Rainbow Dash suggested which was a pretty well thought out idea. "He might have made some when he got out."

"Or maybe he sent them early on after he was released and they just shipped now?" Rarity offered as well.

"Or maybe he got out?" Fluttershy asked nervously and everyone looked towards Celestia. She looked tired, as if this had been weighing heavily on her since she discovered it. After a moment the Princess responded.

"I don't believe he has escaped again. I've checked his statue multiple times and by all accounts he still appears trapped with a stronger seal than before. Still..." She turned towards Twilight's brother who stood at attention when her gaze fell to him. "I wanted Shining Armor here to use his shielding magic just in case we require the protection. The Elements of Harmony are still present as well." Celestia motioned to the chest that normally contained the jewels that housed and amplified the girls individual magical powers. "We cannot ignore this though, for leaving it unchecked could play into whatever plot Discord may have set in motion after his defeat. Which is why I'm requesting that you open your letters." The girls all looked between each other as if they were wondering if this was the wisest course of action.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"Normally I would agree with you." Shining Armor spoke up. "I didn't really want to put any of you at risk if I could help it. So when the letters arrived and Celestia decided that we needed to investigate further I attempted to open Twilight's letter for her."

"You what!?" Twilight shouted. "Are you crazy!? What if it had a spell that killed you or turned you into a frog or something!?"

"What if it was going to do that to you!?" Armor countered back to his sibling. "I wasn't going to let that happen. But it didn't matter anyway. Watch." Armor took Twilight's letter from her hand and attempted to open it. The sound of the paper ripping was heard but the place he pulled it open was untouched. "See, no one can open these letters besides the senders." Armor handed it back but Twilight still wasn't happy.

"Big idiot. You got a wife now. You can't do stupid things like that and put yourself at risk, okay?" Twilight tried to scold him but she only got a smile back from her brother.

"Okay, whatever you say sis."

"Jerk." She hugged him real quick. "Okay then I guess someone has to open their letter first to see what happens." Twilight looked back at her friends who all watched her in anticipation. "Then I guess that person should be mysel..."

"On it." Applejack said simply and just ripped her letter open right away, all of her friends leaping away from her in a shout. The farmer stood perfectly still waiting for something to happen, everyone in the room holding their breath. When nothing seemed to occur she shrugged and slid her letter out, opening it up. "Now lets see here. Hmmm... 'Dear Applejack, you can't eat all them apples. Signed, C. Haos.' ... forget you I can't eat all them apples!" She said in return, not impressed at all with her letter. "That's it."

"That's it?" Pinkie said disappointed that nothing seemed to happen.

"It's all he wrote. Nothing on the back either." Applejack flipped it around to show the group. "That's it?"

"That can't be it. Let me try." Pinkie said completely disappointed nothing cool happened like a cotton candy cloud full of chocolate milk appearing. She opened her letter and pulled it out to see what Mr. De Lancie had written to her. "Hmmm... huh?" She read down the letter and flipped it over. "That's funny, it's just a recipe for cupcakes... it doesn't make sense though. I guess Rainbow Dash is supposed to help me make them? Hey Dashie, want to try this later?" Pinkie offered and the other rainbow haired woman in the room shrugged.

"Sure, why not. I bet if they involve me they gotta be awesome. So I'm next?" Rainbow offered and opened up hers, the tension in the room dropping considerably since the last two had been read. Twilight noticed that Celestia still had a serious expression about her face as she seemed to be waiting for something to occur. Rainbow opened up her letter from Q and began to read. "Huh... that's funny. This is a letter of acceptance from Cloudsdale. Something about working in the Rainbow Factory? I don't get it, I'm not even qualified for a place like that." Rainbow sighed. "Well that was boring."

"Well I guess I put mine off long enough." Twilight said as she opened up her letter, her brother staying close by just in case. Twilight took a breath and pulled the letter out of its envelope but she didn't have to wait long as there was something written on the folded part of it. "It says 'Open Last.' Like heck I will." Twilight said trying to open the letter, but when she went to unfold it it just seemed to collapse back in on itself with a new message that read "Just Wait." Twilight tried it again but when she unfolded the paper as second time it collapses in again and read "Be Patient". Annoyed Twilight flipped the paper over and found another message on the back that read "Seriously. Wait."

"Guess I'm not opening mine next." Twilight said putting it back in the envelope. "Any other takers?"

"I'll go." Rarity said as she opened her letter and pulled the paper out delicately with her magic. "Now lets see here. Oh it looks like an order for an outfit. It's not a dress though... more like a body suit. That's odd, why would you need zippers there unless you..." Rarity's eyes grew wider as it started to dawn on her exactly what this order form was requesting. "I don't think I'll be making this." She folded the paper back together before anyone else could see what she was holding. "Anyone else?"

"Okay then. Here it goes." Fluttershy opened her letter even more daintily than Rarity had, slipping the paper out and reading it. She looked it over with a confused expression. "It just says the word 'clop' over and over again. I have no idea what this means." The girl said and shrugged.

"Then that just leaves me." Celestia stated as she opened her letter with a swift motion of her hand, using her magic to tear the envelope open and pull the letter out. Celestia unfolded the paper and began to read. The room was quiet as they watched their monarch go over each line of the letter and her expression change from surprise to confusion to down right anger. Everyone was dead silent until Twilight being the least likely to incur any wrath from her teacher stepped up.

"Princess? What does it say?" Celestia turned her gaze towards her student and handed her the paper, crossing her arms and turning away from the group to stare out one of the stain glass windows that lined the throne room. Twilight wondered what could possibly be written that would anger her benevolent teacher so much. It must have been something truly awful. Turning her gaze downward Twilight began to read.

"'To whom it may concern. Celestia's butt is so big that when she gets up from her throne people think the moon has risen. Celestia's butt is so big that when she sits around the castle she sits AROUND the castle. Celestia's butt is so big that when she wears tight pants the back looks like someone smuggling two hams.'" Pinkie actually giggled at that last one and Celestia turned her head with a glare that looked like it could literally kill. Applejack tackled the pink haired girl and covered her mouth before she could utter another giggle. "'Celestia's butt is so big...' this just keeps going on and on." Twilight said flipping the letter over. "It's written on both sides. And in the margins. There must be like two hundred jokes here."

"Can I read them?" Pinkie asked and got tackled again in a second before she could say another word. Celestia let out a breath to calm herself down and turned back to her student, though she still doesn't seem pleased with the last letter.

"That just leaves you Twilight." The lavender haired girl looked down at her letter which had instructed her to be the very last one to open. She let out a breath and slowly folded open the paper to see what it said. Everyone held their breath in anticipation. As she folded the letter open Twilight read it aloud.

"'Look Up.' Look up? What exactly am I looking foAAAAH!" Twilight screamed and jumped back into her brother as she was met with mismatched eyes looking directly into her own. Everyone seemed shocked at the sudden appearance of the man in the throne room with the two different colored eyes, wild white hair and robe that seemed to be made of different types of fabrics. "Discord!?"

"Surprise! Did I surprise everyone? I hope I wasn't too obvious." He said with a smile. Shining Armor stood in front of Twilight and drew his sword quickly, Celestia raising her hand and summoning her scepter to her hand. The other girls had all given some room to the Chaos God's appearance but looked ready for a fight if it came to it.

"Discord, I knew it. How did you escape your prison?" Celestia pointed the jewel of her staff at him while he still smiled smugly.

"Now now, I know you all have questions but they can wait. How are all of you doing?" He said politely and everyone looked around confused. Though none of them seemed convinced he was here to simply say hello.

"I'm doing fine." Pinkie responded and Discord turned to her and pointed her direction.

"Glad to hear it. Did you enjoy my letters? I spent some time writing each one separately for you. Celestia's was the most fun." Twilight noticed a glow of magic in Celestia's scepter and took a step back as she expected her to strike.

"Enough with the chit chat, how'd you get loose?" Rainbow Dash asked, preparing her fists for a beat down.

"Well you see it's quite simple; mango." Discord said simply. Rainbow Dash just stood there confused at the nonsensical answer.

"What?"

"Did I say Mango? I meant motor oil and basket balls." The girls all looked amongst each other completely confused now as to what he could be talking about. "Is that not a good enough answer?"

"What is it you want!?" Celestia asked with a commanding voice and Discord just burst into laughter.

"Oh are you still asking questions? I hope so. You see this is a recording!" He said spreading his arms open to show himself off. "I'm not even solid. I can't even hear your questions, those were pre-set responses to hearing anyone talk. Go ahead, touch me. Anyone, touch me." Shining Armor walked forward to poke the fake Discord with the end of his sword but Twilight held him back just in case that was an invitation to a trap. "No one? Oh all right then. I suppose it's time I got right down to the nitty-gritty. You see in the very unlikely event that I would actually be defeated by you ladies I took precautions to ensure my continued reign over the stifling grip of this monarchy. That would be you Celestia." He didn't face her but was aware she was in the room with her letter.

"So with the threat of my freedom being stolen from me once more I made sure to leave you girls with a gift. This little recording here and an additional spell. See you all soon." The magical recording of Discord smiled as he became a ball of light that floated straight up into the air and through one of the windows going outside.

"Armor! A shield around Discord, now!" Celestia commanded and thankfully the captain of the guard responded in time, putting out his hand and casting a force field out in the garden around Discord's statue.

"You can do it from all the way in here?" Rarity asked impressed.

"I memorized the spot after we got these letters. It was Celestia's idea." Armor said with a confident smile. "Don't worry, with my shield up there's no way he'll ARRRGH!" Armor nearly fell to one knee but still kept his hand facing forward. "It's trying to break through!"

"I got you." Twilight ran beside her brother and put her hand around his, adding her power to his own to reinforce the barrier. Even with their combined strength Twilight could feel a great strain being put against his magic. Despite being sealed Discord's power was still as undeniable as ever.

"Fear not." Celestia said as she took his other hand lending her power to him as well. Twilight could feel the barrier they created grow solid and strong in seconds as the Chaos God's spell tried to penetrate it. The other girls looked on as there was a growing light from outside the windows and soon a bright flash exploded from the hedge maze garden. Twilight and Shining Armor were both breathing heavily from the strain but Celestia had the same determined look as before. "The barrier has held. Everyone, outside to the garden! We're going ahead." Celestia commanded the other girls in the room and they all agreed taking to their feet (and in some cases wings) as they ran through the halls. Celestia placed her hands on the magical siblings and they disappeared in a flash of light.

Once the other girls finally got through the garden and to where Discord's statue was kept Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor and Celestia were already there after the Princess had teleported them. Celestia was looking the statue over and the barrier Armor had created still held strong. They were pretty out of breath after running all that distance on foot but Applejack was in well enough shape that she was able to speak normally. "So everythin' alright here?"

"We were fortunate." Celestia responded looking Discord's prison over. "Discord's spell was not powerful enough to penetrate Shining Armor's magic. The stone prison you created to seal him away has not faltered. However as all things are with Discord I'm afraid this may not be as it appears." Twilight was standing close to her brother looking worried over the strain he'd submitted himself to earlier.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked but the blue haired soldier gave her a smile in return.

"Nothing to worry about Twi', thanks to you and the Princess that is."

"So if the spell was stopped then why is Shining Armor still using a barrier?" Rarity asked curiously as she approached Celestia. "Did he not defeat it?"

"That's what I need to determine." Celestia said watching Discord's body carefully. "I can't allow there to be a single crack in his prison lest he find a way to escape again. I don't know if the kingdom could stand his anarchy a second time so soon after our previous crisis."

"That was super duper the way you stopped that magical crazy ball, Shining Armor. I didn't know a regular person could use magic that tough from so far away." Pinkie Pie complimented as she approached the siblings. Armor was about to respond but felt a sudden grip on his arm from his sister as she stepped in to answer.

"Shining Armor has always been a master of his barrier spells. Why I remember when we were little I wanted to make a fort he went to the trouble to..."

"What is this little creature?" Fluttershy suddenly asked as a small, humanoid black creature came out from the hedges and sniffed about the ground. It had long ears and beady red eyes. It was like if someone crossed a rat with a monkey. "Hello little guy, are you lost?" The little creature looked up at Fluttershy and the woman smiled, offering her hand. "That's right, it's okay. I'm a friend." The creature sniffed at Fluttershy's finger tips and the woman smiled down at it lovingly. Then it opened its mouth to reveal the many rows of jagged teeth and lunged for the girl. Fluttershy didn't have time to scream but thankfully Applejack was there with a strong right hook to send the fearsome little monster back.

"Down ya varmint!" She called out as it crashed against the ground, however that didn't seem to stop it as the little beast got back to its feet and pounced again. Applejack was ready with another attack but the monster stopped in mid-air as a bubble of magic was created around it. Celestia walked forward from Discord's statue and floated the creature over to herself. "Phew, thanks Princess. Ah dunno what the heck that thing is but it sure has a bad attitude."

"Princess?" Twilight asked approaching slowly towards the little creature that was fighting to escape its magical bond. "Is that what I think it is?"

"This is an Imp." Celestia said as she floated the creature closer to herself, looking it over.

"But... those are only supposed to live down in Tartarus." Twilight said confused. "How is it that one could have escaped and made it all the way to the castle?"

"It didn't." Celestia stated and looked to Shining Armor. "Captain, I regret having to ask this of you but I'm afraid I have no choice. I need you to create another barrier around the castle gardens while keeping the barrier on Discord."

"What!?" Twilight stated. "Princess I... I respect you in every way but asking my brother to maintain two barriers at once is..."

"Yes your highness." Shining Armor said dutifully despite his sister's protests and held up both his arms. A blast of magic flew into the air as it exploded and spread out in the form of a dome, dropping down around the length of the gardens. Armor's brow looked strained over having to take on the stress of two barriers at once but despite the stress he managed it and the glowing dome around all of them was completed. "It is done your highness."

"Armor..." Twilight said worriedly.

"Very good Captain. I knew you could be counted on." Twilight still didn't seem at all reassured by her teacher or her brother and walked up to him.

"Don't worry any big brother. Your sister is here to help." She said putting a hand over her brother's. Celestia watched this with some interest. "With our magical power combined we can maintain a dozen barriers."

"I'm afraid that wont be something we can afford Twilight Sparkle. There is another mission you must carry out." Celestia turned to the other women. "Elements of Harmony; I must confess something to you and ask you to take on a dangerous task. With this maze I have set many statues over many centuries. While I have always done this of my own hand and purpose it was in truth to not allow any to know what my intentions were with each piece I added." She sighed a moment and faced her subjects gazes again. "Each statue within this maze is in fact a prisoner of the kingdom."

"What, no way!" Rainbow exclaimed. "There's dozens of statues all over this place. I've flown over it a couple times now. You're telling me every single one of them is alive?"

"That's awful." Fluttershy said sounding shocked. "Those living creatures..."

"It was not without good reason." Celestia continued to explain. "In the hundreds of years I have ruled this land without my sister's aid there was only so much I could do. My magic and attention was taxed to its limit. In this case I encountered several situations where simple containment or diplomacy wasn't an option. In many of these cases it involved monsters that could not be controlled." Twilight noted that by addressing it as several it didn't mean all. She wondered what the exceptions were. "So to protect my people I invoked a stone sleep spell and held them here in the garden where they would be treated as simple pieces of art. It seems though Discord had the last laugh despite not escaping his prison."

"So there's a bunch a magical beasties all runnin' 'round this maze right now!?" Applejack asked looking stressed out at the idea of encountering something super natural.

"Yes, that is where you come in. Until I can be sure Discord did not create this as an elaborate ruse only you six can gather and contain the monsters that currently wander this maze. I'll be sure to post guards near the gardens in case any of them managed to escape." Not everyone seemed convinced this was actually the best plan of action and Rarity had the will to speak up.

"I'm a seamstress." Rarity admitted. "I can't fight a monster."

"Ah'm... Ah'm just a farmer Princess." Applejack said as well "Ah dunno if ah can do this."

"Will you guys relax?" Rainbow Dash said suddenly as she hovered over the ground with her magical wings. "We've fought like a hydra and convinced a dragon to leave our town before. We can handle a bunch of small monsters."

"That's right!" Pinkie chimed in with her enthusiasm. "Why if we can stop that big meanie head Discord then we can handle this, no problem." Celestia nodded to the girls confidence and turned to Twilight.

"Twilight Sparkle, I know this seems daunting but it is not something I would ask of you if I did not think you could succeed in this task. Will you help me?" Twilight looked between her teacher and to her brother who also nodded to her. She sighed and removed her hand from Armor's. He faltered ever so slightly from the stress of maintaining his barriers on his own but was quickly recovered when Celestia took his hand.

"If that is what you need of me Princess, I'd never deny you." Twilight said a little disappointed.

"Thank you Twilight. And thank all of you as well. Do not worry for the outside, I shall request Princess Cadence to come to us right away to help Shining Armor in his reinforcement of the barrier. We shall come to assist as soon as we've secured the rest of the castle." As Celestia delivered her words she was suddenly approached by Fluttershy.

"Um... beg your pardon... Princess, but... I was wondering... could you free him?" She motioned to the little Imp that was still trapped in her small barrier.

"Fluttershy, have you lost your wits?" Rarity asked approaching the girl.

"Yeah, he tried to chomp up your hand like a chocolate chip cookie!" Pinkie said with concern but Fluttershy didn't seem to mind.

"Oh it's okay, I bet he's just hungry after being kept in stone for all of that time. I know that if I just talk to him it'll be alright."

"Shy, hun, listen that there is a monster." Applejack tried to explain. "He's not one a yer little critter friends. He's gonna try tah eat ya up first chance he gets." Fluttershy was unaffected by their words and stood strong in her resolve. She looked to Celestia pleadingly and moved by her conviction Celestia released her barrier. The monster dropped to the ground with a little grunt and got to its feet quickly. It looked around frantically before being approached by the pink haired woman.

"Hello there little one. You don't have to be afraid okay?" The little black Imp shuddered and cowered from her. Fluttershy reached into the bag she'd brought with her when they were told she was going to travel and produced a biscuit. "I know it's not much but it should still taste good. I don't know if you eat meat or vegetables." Fluttershy offered the treat again and everyone watched on tensely as it sniffed at her food. The little demon started to growl at her and Fluttershy changed her gaze from a loving expression to an intense glare. "Don't you bite! You understand?" After making eye contact the creature stopped growling and instead took the treat in its hands and began to eat it hungrily. "Good boy."

"Stars and garters ah was mighty scared right about then." Applejack said letting out a breath. Fluttershy called to the little Imp and the creature crawled up her arm onto her shoulder. Fluttershy smiled at it and gave it another treat. "Ah guess even beasts a Tartarus can't compete with Shy's stare."

"Whatever, it's not like it's so tough anyway." Rainbow said looking at the little beast on Fluttershy's shoulder. "He's the size of a sports ball. Who's gonna be scared of that?" The little creature narrowed its eyes at her annoyed and grabbed a fistful of Rainbows multi-colored hair. "Hey hey hey! Stop that! Lemme go! That hurts."

"Now now, you shouldn't pull people's hair." Fluttershy gently scolded and the creature let go. Rainbow growled and raised a fist but it hid inside of the pink hair that draped around the soft spoken woman.

"Yeah you better run. Little punk." The creature poked its face out and stuck its tongue from its mouth, doing a raspberry at her. "Why you! Why is it you always attract the little jerks, Fluttershy?"

"You think he's mean? He seems a bit more behaved than Angel." Fluttershy commented at the little creature that had grown attached to her. Celestia seemed satisfied in Fluttershy's display of control over the small demon.

"Very well then, I shall leave this in your capable hands. Be careful and tread lightly. The monsters in this maze can be subdued with words or outright defeated with force. But they must be kept within the confines of the maze so that they do not risk opening the barrier to the castle or to Discord."

"We shall do our best Princess." The girls bowed to their ruler and Celestia nodded to her subjects. In a bright flash the Princess and her captain of the guard disappeared, leaving the six girls alone in the maze filled with beasts.

"I'm still not so sure this was a good idea." Rarity admitted with a nervous tone. "Just the six of us to tame an entire garden full of monsters?"

"Monsters that Celestia couldn't beat herself." Applejack added and Twilight focused herself on the task at hand before she responded.

"Don't worry girls, I have a plan. We're going to split up." Everyone looked at her like she was insane. "It's simple really. Fluttershy with your talents in taming animals should head into the garden to try and gather them up and calm them down as quickly as possible. For protection I think you should take Rainbow Dash to accompany you."

"Well... okay then. If Dash is with me I should be safe." She felt a soft tug at her hair and looked over at the little Imp. "Oh right, I have you to protect me too. I guess I don't have anything to worry about then huh?" The little Imp looked proud of itself and Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. Twilight seemed satisfied with this.

"Right. Next Rarity and Applejack should patrol the outside of the garden. Between Rarity's magic and Applejack's strength they should be able to distract or control any monsters that try to escape the barrier."

"Well ah suppose we can handle that, right Rarity?" The cowgirl said next to her more proper friend.

"It's a bit more dirty than I usually let myself get but desperate times." Applejack smirked at Rarity's priorities still showing through despite all of this. "So where does that leave you Twilight?"

"Pinkie Pie and I will stay here. With Discord." The lavender haired librarian looked up towards the statue of their past enemy. "If the monsters do try to escape someone needs to be here to keep him sealed for sure. Worse if they come looking for him to try and free him I may need help in keeping his barrier maintained and the statue defended."

"You can count on me Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed and put an arm around her friend.

"Great. Okay with any luck we wont have to do this for very long so we should get started right away. Is everyone ready?" The six friends nodded to each other and the two duo's ran off to their appointed tasks. Twilight sighed looking at Discord's frozen body in stone. "He really caused a mess huh?"

"Don't worry Twilight. His big meanie head is still all locked up inside there, and there's no way he's getting out. Your brother made sure of it." Twilight smiled and nodded her head, remembering his brave actions in stopping the Chaos God. "I'm gonna admit though, I'll miss those cotton candy clouds with the chocolate rain."

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had wandered into the maze for about a good ten minutes but they hadn't come across any monsters. There was the brief sound of plants rustling or a possible growl that made the delicate girl jump but Rainbow was always there to reassure her it would be okay. Actually since nothing was happening she was getting pretty bored. "I thought there were supposed to be dangerous creatures all over the place? We haven't seen a single monster yet."

"Thank goodness." Fluttershy added. "Maybe they're all scared and confused now that they woke up some place they don't recognize. The poor dears."

"The poor dears? Fluttershy they're monsters. They'd just as soon as eat you than actually be your friend."

"That's not how he acted." Fluttershy said giving another biscuit to her new little friend. The Imp eating it happily. Rainbow glared at the creature.

"I don't trust him either. He might be just getting close to you so that he can attack when your guard is down." The little Imp frowned at Rainbow, and then took some of Fluttershy's hair and wrapped himself in it like a pink coat. It made a happy sound that made Fluttershy giggle and Rainbow even more upset with how much it was getting away with.

"Don't worry Rainbow Dash. If they're anything like our little Imp here then we'll hopefully find some more cute, tiny and silly little friends. You can't always judge a book by it's cover you know."

"I only read one kind of book thanks." Rainbow said still pouting that Fluttershy trusted the little creature when she thought it was a small black ball of evil. "Besides I'm not just going to go crazy at the first thing I see. I got more control than that." As if on cue a small creature suddenly leaped out from the hedges and in front of the girls. It was thick and yellow and seemed to have a magical electric current running through it. It turned quickly with its tiny arms stretched out towards Dash.

"Pikachu!"

"KILL IT!" Rainbow screamed in a panic and kicked the small electric mouse like a foot ball. The force of her kick sending it clear out out of the maze.

"PIIIIIIIIKAAAAAAA-" Its shout was cut short as it bounced off the top of the dome hard and ricocheted back down towards the ground some where far away. Both the Imp and Fluttershy looked horrified at Rainbow's actions and she gulped realizing what she'd done.

"Uh... um... I might have over reacted." Rainbow said embarrassed and Fluttershy stomped ahead of her. "Aw c'mon Shy, I'm sorry. Are you going to spend all day mad at me?"

"If this keeps up maybe." The girl muttered. "I swear Rainbow first the whole thing with my skirt flying up and now you're kicking small animals. How are we ever going..." As she walked forward another creature began to come around the corner. This one not looking nearly as friendly as the last. "...make... friends." She took a few steps back as it growled and stalked forward.

"Fluttershy! Don't make any sudden moves, okay!?" The creature noticed the other woman now and it began to circle towards them in the small amount of room the section of the maze allowed. "What is that thing?"

"It's a Chupacabra." Fluttershy squeaked out as Rainbow stood before her now. "It uses its fangs to drink animals blood." The wolf like beast with the huge teeth was growling and tensing its muscles. Rainbow got in position to strike if she needed to. Before either of them could move however the little Imp jumped off Fluttershy's shoulders and stood before the girls. It began to chatter with strange noises as if it were talking to the monster.

"What's he doing? Hey move out of the way before you get eaten!" Rainbow tried to get it to shoo before Fluttershy's new pet got hurt but the pink haired girl stopped her.

"Wait a second Dash. I think he's talking to it." As the little Imp continued to chatter at the creature it stopped growling and laid down on the grass panting. The Imp then ran up to Fluttershy and chattered at her. "What, he's thirsty?"

"You can understand that thing?" Rainbow asked surprised.

"Sort of, he doesn't communicate like any other animal I've ever met." Fluttershy reached into her bag again and pulled out a dog dish. Walking forward she kept her distance but put it down and poured a bottle of water into it. After backing up the girls waited and eventually the monster stood up and walked towards her gift, drinking happily. "The poor thing was just dehydrated after being imprisoned for so long." Rainbow Dash looked on and she had to admit she was impressed how her friend could so easily tame these things.

"Jeez, I guess you really can communicate with any animal can't you?" Fluttershy smiled happily.

"It just takes opening your ears and your heart and eventually you can listen to anything when it speaks to you." Fluttershy said happily in a sing song voice. Suddenly though one of the hedges collapsed before them all as a body fell through it. Lifting itself up they all found themselves staring into the eyes of a six legged, bison like creature with a gigantic mouth and horns. The huge beast gave off a deep growl at the sight of all the other animals in its territory and Fluttershy swallowed a lump in her throat. "Though some might take more work than others."

"Seems like we got the easy job." Applejack said as her and Rarity made a slow walk around the outside of the maze. It wouldn't be so bad aside from the fact that the maze was huge and that she didn't know if they'd even make it all the way around the maze before Celestia got back with those reinforcements. "Ah ain't seen hide nor hair of any critter tryin' tah get out. Even in the sky."

"PIIIIIIIIKAAAAAAA-" Both women turned their heads upward to see the small yellow object fly out of the maze and then bounce off the top of the barrier painfully. Rarity cringed.

"Well... none that did it successfully anyway." She commented. "I wonder what exactly Celestia kept in this place that was so dangerous she couldn't let it roam free?"

"Ah dunno. But if it was bad enough fer her tah change it tah stone then it must be bad news." The girls were finally coming upon one of the edges of the labyrinth and walked around the bend. "Ah just hope we manage tah not run in tah any of 'em before she gets back and does her spell again."

"I think your wish isn't going to come true today, darling." Rarity said and pulled her blond friend back behind the corner quickly. The two women looked past the hedge to see a creature clawing at the barrier trying to escape. It was fairly large, almost standing as tall as a person. It's body was covered in green scales and it stood on four legs. The beast's head was similar to a dragon but it's snout was short and closer to it's face, with a mane of hair around its head like a lion. "What is that?" Rarity asked in a whisper.

"Ah dunno, but it looks mighty fierce." Applejack said as it clawed at the magical wall in an attempt to escape. "Do ya think it's dangerous?"

"I'm not sure." Rarity sounded a bit fearful. "Perhaps it's best we turn back?"

"But we can't leave it like this. What if it gets loose?" It was true their job was to stop monsters from trying to escape the maze but Rarity wasn't feeling confident in taking on something so dangerous looking.

"Well what do you suggest we do, try to ask it nicely to stay in a prison?" Rarity said sounding curt but it was more out of her shaken nerves than actual spite.

"Sure, lets give it a whirl." Applejack walked out and Rarity tried to grab her to pull he back but missed her grab.

"I wasn't serious! Applejack! Applejack don't! Please!" Rarity tried to reason with her friend as quietly as she could but it was pointless as the monster saw her and stopped clawing the walls as she approached.

"Pardon me." Applejack called out. "Ah reckon yer mighty confused since ya'll just woke up from a stone sleep. But ah gotta ask ya tah stop scratchin' at that barrier there." The dragon like beast lowered itself from its back paws onto all fours and roared in Applejack's direction. The woman held onto her hat from the force of its bellowing at her. "Well now ya don't gotta go gettin' all bent outta shape just cause ah asked that of ya." The creature growled upset over Applejack not being intimidated by its roar and began to scratch its claws at the ground in an attempt to scare her off. "Jeez yer an ornery sort aren't ya? No reason we gotta be like that ya' know. Why don't we be friends?"

Applejack approached the dog shaped dragon-like creature and it head butted her to back up right in the chest. Rarity reached out her hand in concern as her friend was struck but the attack only pushed the blond farmer back three steps. "Haaaff! Hey now! That was uncalled for." The dragon like beast just growled and postured itself to appear dominate. "Oh so ya wanna tussle do ya?" The beast growled and scratched against the ground as if it were ready to charge. Applejack cracked her knuckles in preparation as well. "Fine then, lets see if ya got what it takes ya over grown gecko." The dragonish creature ran at Applejack and she did the same to it, the two bodies slamming against each other.

To Applejack's credit she held her own. Catching the beast in the chest and holding it up while it balanced on its hind legs. She sunk her neck in deep against it so it couldn't bite her and began to push back against it as her powerful legs walked. "Yer tough an all but lets see how tough ya really are." Bracing herself the blond woman bent her knees and shoved hard with her upper body, tossing the beast back as far as it had pushed her. "Ha... Phew... serves ya right... whew." The monster tumbled a bit but righted itself soon onto its feet, not looking near as tired as Applejack did. The beast took a moment to lick its paw and groom its mane before preparing for another charge. "Ya still wanna fight? Well if that's what ya want..."

"Bravo!" There was applause coming from behind Applejack as Rarity walked up towards the two of them. "Bravo, what a magnificent display of strength. Why have you ever seen such a powerful creature?" Rarity asked her friend as she motioned towards the dragon like beast, both of the previous opponents looking at her shocked.

"Well... yeah ah guess he is pretty tough." Applejack admitted.

"Why he's not just tough. To think he could hold back our very own Applejack. One of the strongest fighters in our fair lands." Rarity said boasting up the farmers prowess in battle far higher than she'd ever admit to.

"Well really I'm just-"

"But even her strength could compare to this strong and dare I say it, handsome creature." After receiving the compliments the dragonish creature seemed to smile proudly to itself. Rarity approaching it confidently now. "Why I've never even seen something so exotic. This mane is just too beautiful to ignore. While those claws are sharper than any fearsome predator I've encountered. It would be my honor if I could spend some time with you." The beast huffed a breath and Rarity began to pet it, the creature seeming to enjoy the gentle stroke of her hands. Applejack smiled as she walked up as well to the proud and now docile monster.

"Well ah'll be." Applejack said impressed. "How'd ya know this her fancy guy wanted tah be respected like that?"

"One can tell when she sees elegance darling." Rarity said to Applejack over the creatures back with a wink. "When I saw the care he gave to this wonderful mane of his I knew he was both a creature of strength and beauty."

"Well ah can't deny the two of ya seem tah fit together mighty fine. Guess yer both just fru-fru enough fer each other." Both the dragonish creature and Rarity gave Applejack the same look when she made the less than appealing comment about their concern with their own appearance. "Ah mean yer both mighty fine looking." They then shared the same smile as well.

"Tell me; would someone as regal as yourself mind accompanying two maidens along the edge of this maze? Surely your power would protect us as we travel and we would gladly speak of praises to your glorious figure." The creature seemed to think that was a fine arrangement and it allowed Rarity to sit upon its back. "Such a gentleman! Applejack would you like to join us?"

"Well... why not. That is if this big fella will let me?" The creature seemed to consider it, sizing Applejack up, before allowing her room to sit upon his back as well. "Thank ya kindly." The girls smiled as the powerful monster walked proudly with the two beautiful women on its back as if it were showing off its trophies. "Gotta say ah feel kinda like a blue ribbon pumpkin on display at the fair."

"Soak it up darling. When you're this good looking you need to let others know it too." Rarity said confidently and stroked her new friend's mane as he patrolled along the boarder of the maze with them.

"I spy with my little eye somethiiiiiiiing green!"

"Is it the grass?"

"Yep! Wow Twilight, you're really good at this." Twilight sighed as she began to contemplate her decision to stay behind with Pinkie Pie when she could have taken Rarity just as easily. The whole time they'd been alone here with the statue of Discord nothing had happened. No creatures had appeared, nothing had threatened their safety. Not even a sound of a monster rustling in the hedges. Just Pinkie Pie playing the same game over and over again.

"It's always only one of two things. If it's green it's the grass. If it's blue it's the sky." Twilight said wishing she had something to read.

"I guess you're right. I can't allow myself to become predictable. I'll have to start thinking out of the box." Pinkie thought carefully looking around herself and Twilight waited for it to be one of two things again. "I spy with my little eye somethiiiiiing..."

"PIIIIIIIIKAAAAAAA-" Both girls looked up to see something soar into the sky with an unusual shout.

"Yellow." Pinkie answered as the small thing flew straight up and bounced against the barrier flying down again. "Wait, no, it's gone now."

"What was that?" Twilight said with a confused look. "That came from inside the maze. I wonder if Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are doing okay in there?"

"Don't worry Twilight, I'm sure that was just some sort of monster that Rainbow Dash kicked because she was out of balls to catch it with." Twilight stared at Pinkie Pie as she tried to wrap her head around that one.

"Why would she...?"

"How else is she going to fit it into her pocket?" Twilight sighed and gave up. Arguing with Pinkie Pie had proven to be a useless practice in the past. No reason to think otherwise now. "Do you think anyone is really going to try to break out Discord? It seemed like he didn't care what he did to who ever he did it to." That was a good observation by the pink haired girl. It wasn't like Discord had subjects or followers. He was the God of Chaos, something as orderly as followers to his purpose was entirely against his nature.

"I'm not sure Pinkie, we just can't take any chances. There might be monsters out there that would want Discord loose if it preferred him in charge over us."

"Maybe, but we always try to make things nice for everyone don't we? We take care of the weather and the trees and the animals. Why would anyone want to stop all of that?" Twilight wasn't sure herself. She always thought that the land under her teacher's rule was in perfect order. Everyone did their best to ensure that everything around them was cared for and protected. Why would someone turn against that kind of love and benevolence? "Hey Twilight, my eye just spied something new."

"Is it the grass again?" Twilight asked annoyed.

"No, it's that guy over there." Twilight Sparkle looked to where Pinkie was pointing and saw a man in armor. He was coming out of one of the entrances to the maze from the section of space that had been set aside for Discord's statue within the hedges. The sight of an armored guard filled Twilight with relief. "Oh thank goodness, Celestia got us the help she promised. Hey, over here!"

"Um Twilight..." Pinkie tried to stop her but Twilight was already running over to the armored figure. After hearing her voice he began to approach her quickly.

"Hey there. Boy are we glad to see you. Our friends are still out in the maze trying to get all of this sorted out. Did you get any orders before you arrived?" Twilight asked and looked the man over starting to notice something odd. "That's some unusual armor you have there."

"Unusual thou says? To think there was ever a human who looked upon this armor and did not recognize the power it represented." Twilight was further confused now by the man's manner of speech.

"Twilight, I don't think he's part of the royal guard." Pinkie said as she snuck up behind the librarian. "He doesn't look like he's even from around here." Now that Twilight took the sight of the man in it was clear to her that she'd missed some very important details through her excitement at the possibility for help. For one his armor was like nothing she'd ever seen inside the castle; it was covered in multiple plates of metal that had a variety of sharp edges. The design appeared as if it were something made for war with the armor covering him from head to toe and engraved designs of ferocious beasts that she could only assume were dragons.

The man himself should have stood out to her right away; his blond hair stood up in spikes and was surrounded by a golden crown set with ruby red jewels that would have made Rarity jealous. Most unusual of all though was the pointed ears under the crown and the golden eyes beneath that stared at them. It was then she realized.

"You're dragon-blooded." Twilight said in shock seeing the resemblance to Spike's people.

"That I am fair maidens. Unless I have made a mistake in my judgement, tis that not Celestia's royal castle in the distance?" The man in the crown motioned past the barrier to the castle towering over the garden. Twilight was still surprised to actually see another dragon-blooded man in her life time. Even more so that unlike Spike who always made her feel comfortable and safe there was something about his eyes that frightened her. As if he would literally eat her up where she stood. The girls nodded slowly in unison to answer him. "Most desirable. I shall bid you farewell young maidens, for there is a princess with which I must attend business to."

"What do you need with Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked as the question seemed to leave her lips without actually considering the judgement of stopping this man from his goal.

"Why I intend to kill her, of course."

Crown and Conviction

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 6 - Crown and Conviction

"I still can't believe I'm doing this." Spike mumbled to himself carrying the two bags under each arm. He'd gone out to the store to load up on snacks and punch mix for the sudden party he was now obligated to hold. He couldn't risk using anything that they already had in the pantry since Twilight might have noticed with her obsessive manner to catalog things and eventually found him out. So this left him spending what few personal funds he had on a party he wasn't all that interested in doing in the first place. "Snips and Snails better make this thing freaking amazing. Otherwise I'm gonna..."

"Hey, what 'cha got in the bag Spike?" The dragon-blooded boy stopped to see two girls coming up beside him. It was Applebloom riding along on the back of Scootaloo's scooter with her driving them both. "Lookin' like it's stuff fer a party." Spike hadn't actually taken the time to go and find anyone to ask to this party. Apparently Snips and Snails didn't bother to let them know either. He hoped those two weren't slacking off and letting him do all the work for this.

"Well uh... yeah actually. I am having a party." The girls eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really?" Scootaloo asked. "Where's it going to be? What's it for?"

"It's um... just because I guess." Spike shrugged having never thought about anything like a theme or a reason for what he was doing. The reason had been that Snips had begged and pleaded until Spike had caved in. "Some of the guys and me decided we were going to hang out and invite some people over." Applebloom and Scootaloo looked between each other as if they were considering this.

"Is there going to be dancing?" Scootaloo asked and Spike nodded in agreement. He hadn't planned on it before but they had a record player. He could find something to play he was sure seeing as how Twilight loved to dance (even if she wasn't the best at it.)

"There gonna be snacks and punch?" Spike showed off the contents of his bags to Applebloom who seemed satisfied with what she saw. "Well heck, when's it gonna be? Ah reckon we can make it on over."

"We were going to have it at around seven tonight. If you can make it we'd definitely have you over."

"We'll be there, no problem." Scootaloo confirmed quickly for both of them. "Applebloom, you can get out for a bit after dark can't you?"

"Ah guess so. Ah mean as long as ah tell Big Mac where ah'm goin' an git back before too long it should be alright."

"See, it's settled then. We'll be there Spike." Scootaloo confirmed and it perked Spike up a bit. "Is there going to be anyone else?"

"Well there should be a few other people." Spike was actually hesitant to mention Snips and Snails. It wasn't that he didn't want to be associated with the two of them but they were kind of a girl repellent. "We're not sure who's all coming yet so it's kind of up in the air."

"Do ya mind if we invite anyone else over tah the party?" Applebloom asked and just the fact she seemed interested made him happy. As for who ever else she'd bring he had a pretty solid idea that it would be Sweetie Belle. Who else did she know?

"Yeah sure, invite anyone you like. It's going to be for just us after all. No chaperons or anything like that." Spike was starting to get into this, feeling like the host of a big event. "You don't have to dress up or anything, just come in whatever you like."

"This is gonna be great. C'mon Applebloom, lets get ready for tonight. We'll see you then okay Spike?" Applebloom hopped onto the back of the scooter and the girls were rolling off down the street. Spike waved to them as they disappeared off into the horizon and went back to lugging his bags with renewed purpose. He'd been dreading whatever it was that Snips and Snails were going to be dragging into his house for this party but with the assurance of the girls showing up it felt like it was actually going to be something worthwhile. Not just due to that it was going to have girls at it, or that he thought he was going to get lucky with any of them. That was the farthest thing from his mind. Well... not the direct intent of his mind anyway. He was just looking forward to having some fun with people he knew.

"Heck, this might actually be a good night after all." Spike smiled to himself and walked proudly through the streets. "I hope Twilight's day is getting better too."

"Stay behind me, Pinkie!" Twilight shouted over the roaring flames that threatened to consume her and her friend. The girls were hiding behind the near transparent barrier of Twilight's magic protecting them. Golden flames violently pounding at her defenses, threatening to burn the girls to a crisp. Despite the very real threat it posed Twilight managed to maintain her magical wall, keeping the flames of the dragon-blooded man at bay and both of their lives protected.

It had all happened so fast; they were questioning him as to why he'd declared to kill the Princess. The man ignored their questions and attempted to storm the castle regardless of what they had to say about it. When Twilight had ordered him as Celestia's student to stop or face the consequences in hopes of dissuading him from causing more chaos he responded to her challenge happily. So it was that she found herself under fire so to speak. The golden flames smashing against her magical wall with each intake of air the man took. "Twilight, are you okay?" Pinkie asked fearfully as the lavender haired girl was sweating from the heat and stress of keeping them from becoming ash.

"It's okay Pinkie. I can keep him held back. You run away now, okay? Go get help." Twilight put on a strong face in hopes of getting the pink haired girl to run but Pinkie instead stayed by her said with a worried expression. "Pinkie, what are you doing? Get going."

"I can't." She confessed. "There's absolutely, positively no way I could leave you now." Of all the times for this girl to feel guilty.

"Pinkie, listen to me. You can't fight this guy. You need to hurry up and leave while I can still hold him back." Twilight took a more commanding tone to her voice but it sounded strained. Her arms were tired from holding them up to maintain her spell and her mind was taxed from holding it together while she was assaulted by the man's flames. "Don't worry about me. There's no way he can get through this barrier."

"Twilight, look out!" Pinkie shouted pointing forward, Twilight turning her head to realize the armored man was no longer spewing his magical fire but instead had changed tactics and was charging toward her. Twilight braced herself as she was ready to bounce him back when he made impact with the shield. The man's foot came up and kicked hard into Twilight's barrier, causing the purple haired girl to scream as it shattered like glass before her. She collapsed back into Pinkie's arms as if she'd been punched herself. "Twilight! Twilight are you okay!?" Twilight Sparkle's eyes were closed tightly and her brow furrowed like she was in a great deal of pain. The man in the armor laughed.

"Thou are an impressive wielder of magic, young maiden. Many a soldier that would dare cast a spell before my might has been crushed beneath these boots. It is a shame thou recklessness shall cost you both the same fate." Pinkie hugged Twilight protectively and turned her away from the armored man in the crown, giving her best mean scowl that she could muster.

"What's your problem you big meanie head?" Pinkie accused angrily and the man stopped, surprised she would speak to him in such a way. "We tried to say hi to you, then you say you're going to hurt Princess Celestia and then you attacked us. What did we ever do to you?" He smiled at Pinkie, amused at her question. Reaching to his side he pulled a bottle from a rope that was hooked to his armor and took a long drink of the contents. Letting out an exhale that was accompanied by a golden spark of fire.

"Surely thou jests to ask such a thing of I? Are thee saying that you are so ignorant of the affairs of the kingdoms that thou are without knowledge of my quarrel with your kind?" Pinkie stared at him for a while with a serious gaze before responding with...

"What?" The armored man sighed and shook his head.

"These foolish peasants with their short-sighted nature and truly odd clothing." He commented looking Pinkie and Twilight over and taking another long drink of his bottle. "Have thou not heard the sounds of war among your own kingdom? Are thou so far removed from the battles in the south that you all know nothing of the plight of thine own selfish people?" His voice was picking up depth and aggression with each word but it still all sailed over Pinkie's head.

"Are you crazy or something? There's no war in the south. There's no war in any direction. We wouldn't hurt anyone if there was a way to solve a problem peacefully." Pinkie's words just seemed to bother the armored man more as he approached and towered over the two girls. "Princess Celestia is a kind person and you're just a big bully."

"Kind thou says?" He leaned forward, letting Pinkie get a good look at his reptilian like golden eyes and sharp teeth. Despite her brave nature to protect her friend the girl couldn't help but feel a shiver of terror seeing him this close. "You humans are all the same. Your kind would crawl over this whole world until there was no barrier left that you hadn't crossed. No land that you hadn't claimed under the supposed benevolent flag of thine monarch." He put a hand underneath Pinkie's chin and forced her to look him in the eye, the girl clutching Twilight to herself tighter. "You humans are disgusting creatures that will consume the world unless your kind are ultimately vanquished. If thine monarch will not regulate you herself, then it is left to I to ensure she understands the price of leaving her subjects unchecked. Even if I must carve this lesson into one peasant at a time." Pinkie was shaking fearfully but held her friend in her arms despite her desire to run. Thankfully she didn't need to wait much longer.

Twilight made a fist and swung her arm forward in a punch to the armored man's stomach, her hand producing a large gauntlet of magic that grew in size and knocked the dragon-blooded man with the crown across the clearing they were in. "Pinkie... I told you to run."

"Twilight, you're okay!" Pinkie said in joy seeing her friend awake again. "And no way am I leaving you alone, we'll run together."

"This isn't up for debate." Twilight said rubbing her forehead where the pain from having her spell broken seemed the most focused. There wasn't much time to dwell on it as their opponent was getting to his feet quickly, the magical punch not seeming to do much damage.

"Whether or not thou chose to believe so, I do admire thy spirit young maiden." He grinned arrogantly and adjusted his crown as he stood. "Though it will take more than spirit to smite me." Twilight didn't waste time with any banter, instead thrusting her arms out again and raising them into the air. From the burnt grass and singed hedges vines began to creep out towards the dragon-blooded man. "Thou intends to halt my advance with vines and thorns? Thou art more foolish than anticipated." He tried to walk forward but found the vines had gained a thick grip upon his boots, and they were climbing up the rest of him rapidly. "Hm. Amusing."

"Pinkie, don't argue with me this time. Just run and get help." Twilight said as she focused on her spell. The dragon-blooded man had stopped pulling at his bonds, instead he reached to the chest of his plated armor and slid up another sheet from the armor that extended from beneath the chest plate and covered the front of his face. Twilight had no idea what that was for but she didn't think about it as she focused on getting the vines to grip him tightly with her magic.

"But Twilight, I can't just-"

"Pinkie! Someone has to stay here and keep Discord from escaping. I can't fight this guy, protect the statue and protect you all at once." Pinkie was watching hesitantly, still not convinced leaving her friend behind was a good idea. She couldn't form the right words to argue and instead just shook her head hard. Twilight sighed and put her arms down. "Well, maybe it wont be an issue anyway. I think I got him." The girls looked upon Twilight's handiwork; she'd covered the armored man from head to toe in thick, interwoven vines. You couldn't even seen the shine of metal beneath the plants it was so thick.

"He's wrapped up tighter than a burrito." Pinkie chimed in happy to see their attacker stopped.

"Yeah, thank goodness. But what was he doing here anyway? I thought Celestia said only monsters had been frozen in stone? This is a person."

"Well... he's a dragon-blooded person. So maybe that doesn't count?" Twilight actually took a personal offense to that statement and was about to correct Pinkie when the smell of smoke filled their noses. "Is something cooking?"

"Something's burning. Oh no." Twilight backed up from where she was standing along with Pinkie as the vines wrapped around the dragon-blooded man's body began to light up with golden flame. Before long the vines were entirely engulfed in fire and were crumpling up to ash as it burned them away mercilessly. As they fell Twilight and Pinkie could see there were vents in the armor that were spewing out flames from within the protective plating. All being fueled by the fire that was spewing into the vent like mask the man had pulled up seconds before being wrapped completely still. As the fire began to die down the ash rose into the air and the blond man opened his golden eyes again. He lowered the mask to reveal his skin hadn't been burned in the least from his own intense flames spewing forth into his armor.

"Thou are resourceful with thine magical power. Some time has passed since a single sorceress could give me pause." He pulled up his bottle from his side again and took a long drink, exhaling a little flame as he breathed out. "Now then, would you like to see thy own use dragon-blooded magic?" Twilight stood still, her mind frozen and body unresponsive as the man built up a golden ball of fire in the back of his throat and aimed his gaping maw in her direction. She didn't even realize that he'd launched the magical fire ball until after Pinkie had tackled her to get her out of the way of the attack. They watched as the ball engulfed one of the hedges in flame, exploding on impact and shining with a glorious golden glow before withering the plants to ash.

"Twilight we gotta run!" Pinkie shouted trying to pull the librarian to her feet but it was far too late. The man in the crown was already preparing another ball of that explosive golden fire in his throat. Twilight finally snapped out of her surprise and slammed her hands into the ground. She filled it with her magic and a mound of earth deeper and taller than the hedges of the maze themselves rose up as a barrier between them and their attacker. He fired his blast again, confident in its power but as the explosive flame hit like a cannon ball it's blast was directed outward and the earth shifted but did not fall completely. The thick and damp soil absorbed the impact enough to protect the women behind it. Twilight put her hands into the dirt pile to help it hold its shape and repair it with her magic.

"Very resourceful." The man complimented looking at Twilight's quick work. "However ultimately futile. Shall I test thine resolve?" He built another ball of golden flame in his mouth and fired upon Twilight's mound of dirt. The earth that was keeping the two girls safe shook dangerously and Twilight was doing all she could to keep the barrier together. Pinkie stayed close by as they braced themselves against the dirt pile with the powerful impacts shaking through it. Twilight was worried she wouldn't be able to keep her barrier together much longer when suddenly the blasts stopped.

The girls looked around to see what caused the assault on them to cease but nothing appeared out of the ordinary on their side. Twilight decided against better judgement and crawled on all fours to the edge of the dirt pile, peeking around to see what was the matter. There she noticed the armored man was still in his same position. However instead of attacking he was drinking yet again from his bottle that he kept at his side. After taking a gulp of his drink he coughed a bit and tested his flame to ensure it was being produced. Twilight Sparkle suddenly was hit with an idea.

"Pinkie." Twilight crawled back over to her. "I have something I need you to do for me."

"I'm not leaving you." Pinkie said defiantly despite the fear that had been running through her seconds earlier.

"No no, it's not that. Listen I have a plan but it's going to take both of us and it's going to be dangerous. Are you up for it?" Pinkie looked at the pile of dirt and her friend again, seeming to weigh her options.

"Don't worry Twilight, I'm with you all the way." Twilight smiled at the pink haired baker's enthusiasm and nodded to her.

"Great! Okay, here's what we're going to do."

The armored man stood outside the dirt pile, looking it over and scratching his chin. He'd been surprised how well something so simple had held up against his barrage of attacks. With how much time had passed he was starting to wonder if the girls were even still there. "Maidens, have thou taken flight and retreated from this battle? Thou should not consider cowardice something to avoid. It is a common trait amongst you humans after all." He waited a moment and there was still no response. Curious he began to walk towards the mound of dirt when suddenly it shook on its own without one of his attacks. The middle of it was blasted open from the other side and the purple eyed sorceress stepped forward. "So thou has chosen to continue the battle. It shall be thine undoing." Twilight pointed a finger at the man in the crown in challenge.

"I'll tell you one last time; as the pupil of Princess Celestia herself I command you to give up your crazy mission to attack us and her majesty. If you do not surrender you shall suffer the consequences." The dragon-blooded man stared in complete shock at the girl, and promptly began to laugh uproariously.

"Again with thine threats!?" He managed to speak between his laughter. "A mere human child shall stop my quest? I would be most amused to see thine plan to accomplish this. Do not tell me thou has more vines she wishes to play with. Perchance a house of sticks to cage me in this time? Or shall I allow thee to plant some flowers now before lighting fire to this garden?" He made time to mock her use of the planets in this battle against him but Twilight didn't stand down.

"I'm no child." Twilight said and cupped her hands together, her eyes becoming a shining white light. "Laugh while you can. I'll be happy to show you what I can do!" The man in the crown continued to smirk but now he braced himself for Twilight's attack. Planting his feet firmly and covering his face with his armored gauntlets just in time as Twilight unleashed her spell.

A large beam of her telekinetic energy was fired forward like a cannon, uprooting several of the hedges around and behind her target. The force of the blast encompassing her opponent's body completely as she forced her body to produce the concentrated energy with as much impact as she could. The blast only lasted for a few moments but was enough to carve a now large and obvious clearing and ditch through half of the garden maze. Twilight's eyes returned to normal and her arms dangled at her sides as her power was spent. She stopped to catch her breath and looked forward to see how her target had fared.

"Well done, little maiden." She looked on wide eyed; he was still standing where he'd been when she fired the blast. His armor wasn't even dented. The dragon-blooded man flexed his arms and cracked his neck after taking the impact. "Such an attack I have not had the pleasure to face in quite some time. Thou are indeed an exceptional sorceress. All the more pity thine battle has come to an end." Twilight fell to her knees and let out a gasp for air. She was spent. "Thou chooses to die on her knees rather than her feet? So be it." The dragon-blooded man reached down for his drink and hoisted it to his lips to prepare his next attack. After he'd swallowed some of the liquid he suddenly sputtered and coughed hard.

He tried to cough out what he'd drank but much of it had already gone down his throat. He looked at his bottle confused. "What trickery is this? The wine now tastes of tomato and herbs. What... what have thou done to me?" He put his hand over his chest and coughed harder. Opening his mouth he tried to produce a flame.

"Nice work Pinkie." Twilight said as the pink haired girl poked her head out from behind the pedestal that Discord's statue was resting on. "That went exactly as planned." Pinkie now seeing that the dragon-blooded man was preoccupied walked out of her hiding place over to help up Twilight. In her hand was a gourd filled with a very special brew.

"How?" The man in the crown growled at the two women.

Spike had finally arrived back home after gathering everything he needed for the party. It was mostly food and punch mix really. He didn't think things like balloons and streamers and all of that were going to be needed. He was sure Pinkie would have argued that point against him but for the guests he had coming over he didn't think that kind of stuff would be wanted. Or would it? Honestly he'd never hosted a party before and had no idea what was involved. He was just kind of playing it all by ear. Thankfully a glance at the clock told him he still had a good amount of time to set this all up. Actually speaking of the time... "Guess I need to take another shot of my medicine."

Spike walked over to the fridge and opened it up to look at the gourd filled with the tomato-flavored flame suppressant drink. He hated this stuff but it was better than lighting the house on fire. He'd probably need it too if they actually succeeded in bringing over a lot of pretty girls. "Then again why do I need this stuff?" He argued out loud against his own logic. "It tastes awful and I haven't had an accident in a long time." Well there was that problem from when he ate that magic coal that made him a little crazy. But other than that he'd been pretty okay... with the fire part of his problem anyway.

"Yeah, I don't need this stuff." Still it was there and he had promised Twilight that he'd take it regularly until Zecora said he'd no longer need it. The very presence of the bottle was an annoyance to him. He grumbled. "I wish this stupid gourd would just disappear." Spike started to reach for it when all of a sudden the gourd was enveloped in a purple flash of light and disappeared from the fridge. Spike stared dumbfounded at the place where it had been, totally shocked he'd gotten his wish granted. Closing the fridge door he looked around himself to see what might have caused that in the first place. Seeing no one he tried his luck again. "I wish for a hot babe with a delicious lunch." There was a knock on the front door.

Spike slowly walked over to the entrance of the library and opened it to the sight of pretty green eyes framed by lovely purple and pink hair. Before the owner of said eyes was a plate of sapphire sugar cookies. "Hi Spike! I decided to come over to see how you were doing. I made some cookies, all by myself this time. They didn't come out burned or as a liquid or anything." The girl showed him her creation proudly and Spike just stared looking completely shocked. Sweetie Belle awaited a statement to be said but the dragon-blooded boy just kept looking amazed. "Alright, I know I'm not the best cook in the world. You don't have to look so surprised by it." She said sounding annoyed.

"I wish for a great treasure to rain from the sky!" Spike suddenly declared to the roof, now making it Sweetie's turn to stare at him completely confused. Spike kept looking around as if he was waiting for something to happen and seemed disappointed when nothing did. "Aw nuts." Spike swung the door aside for Sweetie to come in, the door hitting one of the book shelves nearby and dropping a book on his head from the top shelf. "Ow!" It bounced off his head and Sweetie Belle came inside looking worried.

"Spike, are you okay? You're acting a little... weird." Spike rubbed his head and picked up the book, reading the title he saw it was Treasure Island. Very funny.

"Uh yeah, yeah I'm fine." He rubbed his head a bit and used his other arm to pick up one of Sweetie's recently baked treats. She had a bit of a reputation for completely destroying food when cooking on her own but these looked like they were normal. "So you made some more cookies? They smell good."

"Yep, go ahead and try some. I bet you'll love them." Spike looked at her eager face and realized he didn't really have much of a choice lest he disappoint the eager young lady. Letting out a sigh he closed his eyes and put the cookie in his mouth, taking a bite slowly and waiting for something shocking to hit his taste buds.

"Hey..." He said chewing it down. "These are really good." He grabbed another and ate it up quickly. Sweetie smiled proudly as her creation was appreciated by the person it was meant for.

"Thanks Spike, I worked all day on them. The first couple batches didn't come out so well but the oven was cleaned out okay and Rarity still has most of her sapphires." He wondered just how many casualties of ingredients there were to get to this batch. Probably best not to ask. "I'm really happy you like them." She gave him those flirty eyes again and Spike thankfully had a mouthful of cookies, helping him choke back any kind of fiery reactions his gut might have. Actually now that she was here it gave him an idea as he swallowed down his food.

"Say Sweetie, are you free tonight?" Sweetie Belle's face went from flirtatious to shocked, a blush appearing in her cheeks seconds after being asked. Spike smiled at how funny it was to see an expression like that on her. He'd never known her to get embarrassed like that.

"I... I guess I am... if you wanted to do something." She said looking nervous suddenly.

"Great, you see I'm having this party tonight..."

"So you see we didn't poison you. We just gave you some medicine to make you act better." Twilight said confidently as Pinkie had helped her get on her feet. The man in the crown was coughing hard and still trying to produce a flame from his gullet, though the fire refused to come out. "That's a special mixture designed to suppress dragon's flame. With how much you drank I'm willing to bet you wont be making any more fireballs for at least the rest of today." He held his throat and looked horrified by what the women had done to him.

"So no more nasty old fire to spit around all rude like anymore, okay." Pinkie chimed in happily. "Maybe now you can stop being a meanie-pants and just play nice and talk with us. There's no reason we can't be friends." Pinkie assured the man but he didn't have a look that agreed. In fact there was something of a change in him. Twilight watched as his hair seemed to become thicker and spikier. His sharp fangs were more pronounced and Twilight was willing to bet if she could see his hands under the gauntlets that his claws would have become extended. It was frighteningly familiar to how Spike looked that night he went wild.

"Such impudence." He said with a deep growl in his voice. "To cause such shame. To take that which is sacred and speak as though there can be peace!?" His movements were too fast. Twilight saw his charge coming but reacted far too late as his gauntlet covered hand closed around Pinkie's neck and hoisted her into the air. She let out a surprised yelp, gripping onto his arm in a desperate attempt to hold herself up, the strain on her neck painful.

"Pinkie Pie! Put her ggkk!" Twilight shortly followed as his crushing metal grip closed around her slender neck and held them both off of their feet. Pinkie had dropped the gourd containing Spike's medicine and the man in the crown stomped it into pieces under his boot.

"Filthy humans. Thou speak so highly of thine people and thine monarch. Celebrating your dominance over the world and subduing any who would stand up to the hypocrisies and tyranny humans stand for." Twilight was unable to wrestle herself free from his grip, the medicine taking away his fire but clearly not his strength. "Allow me to display the price for your crimes." Pinkie's cheeks began to run with tears as his grip around her throat tightened. She was whimpering for help and Twilight panicked. Surrendering the support it gave her Twilight reached out with her hand and placed it onto the dragon-blooded man's arm that was choking Pinkie. There was an audible boom as Twilight released what last bit of magical power she had left into one solid telekinetic shot.

Pinkie Pie fell to the grass, coughing hard and curling up as air mercifully returned to her lungs. The man's arm had swung away from him hard due to Twilight's attack and now hung uselessly at his side. He looked down at his arm and tried to lift it, the limb twitching in response but not able to move. Now his rage filled golden eyes turned upon her. Twilight muttered out what she thought would be her last words. "Pink..ie... Run."

"It will be of no consequence." He said to her, looking as if he would relish the pain he planned to cause them. "Run to the ends of the earth, thou cannot escape. However thine bravery to battle still for your allies is commendable. I will speak well of thou in death." Twilight closed her purple eyes and silently apologized to her parents, to her brother and sister-in-law. To Spike, wishing they'd been able to spend today together instead like she had wanted. She would miss him and everyone else. Her eyes winced as the tight metal closed around her windpipe and threatened to end her life.

"GIT AWAY FROM HER!" Twilight's eyes opened to see a flash of blond hair run forward and leap at her attacker, planting a cowboy boot firmly into his face as she sailed through the air. Twilight was roughly dropped to the grass upon impact and mimicked Pinkie as she tried desperately to return air and blood flow back to her throat. "Twilight hun, are ya okay?"

"Another child wishes to challenge me? How many must be killed before Celestia will show herself?" Despite the powerful kick striking his face the man had only stumbled back slightly when he released Twilight. Applejack was however ready to face him regardless.

"Ah don't give two bits who ya are but if ya gonna tussle with mah friends then yer gonna get bucked!" Applejack announced her threats and Twilight tried to warn her but couldn't manage to speak. The dragon-blooded man looked less amused this time around, still in his somewhat more feral and monstrous appearance. He motioned for Applejack to attack him and the woman replied in kind as she turned her body around and delivered a powerful kick directly into his stomach.

The man didn't flinch. Applejack looked on surprised at how useless her kick had been and found her leg grabbed onto by his left arm that was still working. Tossing it aside Applejack was thrown off balance and he closed in, punching her hard in the face and dropping the girl to the ground faster than her hat had time to fall along with her. Twilight watched in fear as her friend was knocked out onto the grass mere moments after trying to save her. He looked at her with disgust before turning back to Twilight.

"I believe that I had promised thou the first death. It would be rude were I not to keep my word." He raised his foot to stomp on Twilight's head, the girl wiggling to escape but finding her strength hadn't returned. "Unless another of thine friends wishes to intervene." Almost as if on cue Twilight felt the ground shaking with the thud of footsteps. The man looked over at the source of where they were coming from just in time to be tackled to the ground by a large, scaled beast with a thick furry mane. The monster pinned him to the ground and clasped his good left arm in its jaws.

"Applejack!" Rarity ran over to the blond farmer and knelt down next to her. "Oh Applejack, are you alright? Can you hear me darling?"

"Ah hear ya... which one of the three of ya is talkin'?" Applejack said woozily and Rarity helped her sit up. She then ran over to Twilight.

"Twilight who is that man? What happened to you?" Rarity's purple eyes were filled with worry and Twilight coughed hard as she tried to find her voice.

"Run." She said between gasps. "Run. Take them, escape the maze. Hurry."

"I will, but I'm not leaving you behind. Come on, we have to go while our friend is buying us some time." Rarity helped Twilight stand up shakily and the girls looked over to see the man wrestle his arm free from the dragon-like beast and punch it in the face hard enough to make it roll off of him. The girls watched in shock as he got to his feet and ran up to the monster, kicking it hard in the chest and making it roll away from him on the grass.

"To think I'd face a Drake in such a place." He shook his hand to loosen it up, finally getting his other arm to rise though it still looked injured from Twilight's attack. "Such fortune. With the slaughter of these useless humans I shall take it as a trophy. Thine hide will do well to decorate my chambers." The man began to approach the monster with his good hand ready for a killing blow.

"Stop this right now!" Rarity shouted and left Twilight to stand on her own, running over to where the Drake had fallen and standing between it and the dragon-blooded man. "I've had just about enough of this brutish behavior. I will not tolerate another moment of this senseless violence." The man in the crown just looked Rarity over in amusement and approached her, though the purple haired seamstress didn't move from her spot or lose her defiant expression.

"How very interesting. Thou art quite beautiful for a human. A rare prize indeed. But it shall take more than beauty to stay my hand." Funny enough all Twilight could think of in that moment was how Rarity seemed to always attract the vicious, monstrous type of men. It seemed dragon-blooded people were quite easily charmed by her. "What shall thine challenge be for me? Does thou have magic to wield or skills to best me in battle?"

"Absolutely not, I'm putting an end to this violence right now. To think someone in armor and wearing a crown as if they were royalty would act this way." Rarity spat back at him. Funny enough this seemed to rise an argument out of the dragon-blooded man as he forgot about attacking his prey.

"Look upon me woman, for I am royalty and far superior to the likes of any human monarch thou may have bore witness to." He stood proud but it didn't impress Rarity.

"A crown and armor do not make a king. You've pushed women around with those brutish fists of yours and beaten creatures that only tried to defend their friends. You call yourself royalty? I'll tell you what I see before me; a bully." Twilight was getting worried that Rarity's normal strategy of talking her opponent down was starting to fail as the man looked angrier.

"Little human girl, do thee hold hope to stand against and judge the Dragon-Blooded King? Is it not recognize that which stands before thee?" He bared his teeth at her and Rarity just glared back.

"Oh I can see what you are. Should I be impressed? You're not even the first dragon-blooded man I've seen." Rarity said in a mocking tone. "Actually I should correct my statement. The previous dragon-blooded man I've met is a gentleman and a scholar. Calling a bully like you a man is more than you deserve." He suddenly grabbed her by the shirt and hoisted Rarity forward to look him in the eye. There was a moment of panic in Rarity's face as she was shaken from her solid stance.

"I will not tolerate lies and insults of myself or of my people." He said staring piercingly into her. "I have grown tired of thy useless chattering. I shall silence thee, then thy friends and then thy monarch. I shall burn this castle and kingdom to the ground and put an end to this tyrant's rule. No less than an army shall be required to give pause to the death that shall be brought to thee treacherous humans!"

"How about us then?" A voice spoke up from the clearing that Twilight had cut through the maze with her powerful magical attack and everyone looked over to see the new arrivals. There was Rainbow Dash with Fluttershy alongside her. Behind Fluttershy was a collection of exotic and unusual monsters that she had gathered through the maze. "Now get away from her and get ready for a real fight." Rainbow ordered and raised her fists, the other monsters around Fluttershy getting ready to attack the man threatening their mistress' friends. The dragon-blooded man shoved Rarity away who stumbled a bit before falling onto her butt on the grass. He turned to face the new crowd of opponents as all the girls were shakily getting to their feet.

"Yes, this will suffice." He said and finally rose his damaged hand up to his side, clenching a fist and preparing himself for combat. "Come then. Come and face me. Face thy inevitable demise. Stand before me and fall in turn until this entire kingdom burns! Let all of her subjects fall one by one until thine ruler has no choice but to descend from her throne and face me herself. Upon thy gravestones it shall be carved that it was Celestia's cowardice that let her people fall and their lives were extinguished by the fury of-"

"Devour, King of the Dragon-Blooded Clans." The man stopped in his declaration as her voice spoke up. It was soft yet full of strength and wisdom. A voice everyone recognized and paid heed to. His rage had not subsided but the smile upon his face was obvious. The man in the crown turned to Celestia and bared his teeth in a wicked grin.

"Princess Celestia. I had grown concerned that thou would allow me to stomp thy people into their graves further than previously done before thou chose to poke thine head out of the castle." He prepared himself for combat but Celestia was unmoving, standing with her arms crossed as she looked upon the man. Near her was a chest that Twilight recognized held the Elements of Harmony and her magic staff, each floating with the power of her telekinetic power. "Shall we begin where we left off previous? Princess Luna does not appear to be present."

"Luna is sleeping at the moment. She has to rest so she can take over duties for the night." Celestia replied in an even tone. She didn't seem any more distressed by the presence of the man she'd named Devour than she had earlier in the throne room.

"Then wake her! Tell her to draw her sword. I would be most displeased if I did not kill the monarchs of this land while thee were together and at the peak of thine strength." He was shockingly confident when facing the sun goddess. Twilight knew he'd proven his strength to be amazing in the short time she'd faced him but his eagerness for battle was surprising even to her.

"Devour, listen to me..."

"No!" He pointed at her accusingly. "No more of thy honey-coated words. Thy speak sweetly dear Princess but as before I shall pay those words no heed. Our lands are not for the humans to lay claim to and do as they wish. Pleas for peace and reason were forfeit long ago. Our kingdom shall reign over the greedy humans who dared to raise their swords against us."

"Your kingdom is gone!" Celestia spoke forcefully and this actually paused the dragon-blooded king, his hand dropping back to his side from its accusing point. He laughed nervously.

"Thine lies shall not deter my spirit."

"It is no lie." Celestia corrected, looking most serious. "Your kingdom is gone. Has been gone for some time now. Devour, do you have any idea how long I've kept you encased in that stone prison?" The man stood confused for a moment, looking around at the other girls and monsters as if there would be some kind of clue for him to draw conclusion on this question.

"Even... even if it was a hundred years or two that would not be enough. Thy could not have destroyed all our forces enough to..." Celestia closed her eyes and sighed, the king stopped talking as he was starting to realize Celestia wasn't lying to him.

"I can't believe even after all this time I forgot about you. Otherwise I would never have left my pupil and her friends alone in this maze." She looked upon the bearers of the elements with regret at the injuries they suffered for her misjudgement, then focused her eyes upon Devour again. "You've been a statue within my garden for over thirteen hundred years." Twilight noticed the man's body change. His feral and dragon-like features began to recede as his face became human like as when she had seen him originally.

"I... this can't..." He stumbled back and fell, sitting on the grass and looking at the ground as his mind tried to wrap itself around the facts that had been presented to him. Everyone watched him closely as the truth that everyone and everything he'd ever known was now gone from this world. "This can't be. These lies are..."

"Look around Devour!" Celestia shouted at him and the man looked up in shock at being yelled at. "Look at the castle, does it look the same as when you remember it?" He looked up at the fortress as it indeed was not the same home to the Princesses he once knew. "Look at the women around you. Do they dress like the people you remember from your time? Do they talk as they did when you were king? Do I?" Devour was looking around himself as if the world didn't make sense any longer, the fire in his heart now quelled further than the flames in his gullet had been from the drink Pinkie had tricked him into swallowing. "Do I even look the same as you remember me?"

"No." He said quietly, looking down at the grass. "Thy clothing... thy hair... nothing is as it should be. All is lost. Thou have won Celestia." His hand dug into the ground, the metal gauntlet tearing through the earth in powerless frustration. Oddly even after everything he'd done somehow Twilight Sparkle was able to feel pity for him. He'd lost everything in his life in an instant.

"Twilight Sparkle." Celestia spoke up and her student was at full attention looking upon her teacher. "There is not a moment longer to spare. Take the elements and recast the sealing spell that imprisoned the monsters from before. We cannot afford to let them have the chance to cause havoc a second time." Celestia used her magic to open the chest containing the elements of harmony and floated each respective element to its owner. Devour did nothing to stop or challenge this, he just sat there quietly.

Twilight looked at the tiara in her hands and back at her teacher wondering if this was truly the correct thing to do. She did not appear to be alone in this hesitation. Rarity stared down at the necklace in her hands and then looked to the Drake that had helped fight for her sake just moments earlier. The beast watching her as if asking what her decision would be. Rainbow Dash looked to Fluttershy with uncertainty as she understood what this would mean for all the creatures they had collected in the maze together.

Then Fluttershy dropped her jeweled necklace to the ground. "No." She said clearly as the other girls looked to her, including Celestia.

"Fluttershy, I understand your hesitation. Your heart is a kind one but there is too much risk to allow them to be free." Celestia tried to reason with her but Fluttershy shook her head hard.

"No! No, I wont do it." The pink haired girl said standing before all the creatures with her arms cast out protectively. "I'm not putting them back in there. It's wrong! They're not all bad." The assortment of monsters grunted and growled uneasily but stayed behind their new mistress as she defended them. "I don't know what they did before but... but they can change."

"Fluttershy, sugar cube, they're monsters." Applejack tried to reason with her friend. "Ah dunno much about 'em but what if they can't help it none? Ah mean Celestia wouldn't have put 'em in here in the first place if it wasn't necessary." Fluttershy's eyes threatened to tear up but she stood her ground regardless.

"I wont do it, you can't make me. Even if... even if all of you don't agree I'm not going to just let them get locked up without someone to stand up for them." Devour raised his head to look at Fluttershy as she spoke, taking an interest in her words. "You can't do it without me anyway." She said sounding more threatening than before. "So if you're going to throw them all in a zoo or a dungeon then you'll have to put me in there too."

"Fluttershy, stop talking crazy." Rainbow Dash argued. "This is an order from Princess Celestia herself. We can't ignore a command from the Princess, we have a responsibility to the kingdom." Fluttershy looked hurt by Dash's words but still held her position.

"I have a responsibility to these creatures too, Rainbow Dash. You don't have to stand by me if you don't want to, I understand." Rainbow looked torn between honoring her friend and honoring her ruler.

"I agree with her." Rarity suddenly spoke up and dropped her necklace as well. "This creature... this Drake was it?" The monster nodded its large head and Rarity nodded in return. "This Drake protected Applejack and I as we walked through the maze and fought to save Twilight. I at least owe it to him to fight for his sake as well."

"Well... shucks..." Applejack said and dropped her necklace too. "Ah spose ah owe 'em too." The only ones holding their jewels still were Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie who seemed very conflicted as to what they should do and what should happen next. Devour was still looking on as he was growing increasingly fascinated by these women and their willingness to oppose their leader. Twilight walked up to Celestia, still holding her tiara in hand.

"Princess, you know I love you like my family. But this seems so extreme. Is there no other way?" Celestia held her staff tightly as she took in a controlled breath.

"Twilight I can understand how you all feel but their crimes are inexcusable." Celestia pointed at the Imp on Fluttershy's shoulder. "He escaped from Tartarus and freed criminals from prisons all across the kingdom to cause havoc in the land." She pointed at a large serpent that was coiled nearby. "She snuck into my castle and devoured two of my servants in the night under Luna's nose." She motioned to the large, bison like creature. "That beast went on a rampage through a village, destroying every building it came across until I was able to stop it." Next to the dog like monster with the large fangs. "It feasted on livestock and threatened several farmers and their families. None of these are crimes I can judge lightly. This is the nature of these monsters."

"They know that!" Fluttershy said out loud. "They know that now, they understand what they did wrong and the consequences. I can take them to the Everfree forest. If they stay there with the other creatures of the forest then they wont be a danger to anyone." Celestia looked doubtful and Fluttershy dropped to her hands and knees, bowing before her. "I promise! If I'm wrong then... then you can give me the same punishment that you give them."

"Fluttershy that's going way to far." Rainbow Dash tried to reason but her friend didn't listen, instead keeping to her position and pleading her case. Twilight looked at Fluttershy's conviction and spoke up as well.

"Me too." She said simply.

"Twilight, this is not a simple matter." Celestia tried to make her understand and there was a small laugh from behind the librarian. Devour looked up at the women.

"There are no simple matters in dealing with the heart, Celestia. When will thou learn that not everything can be held to thine order?" Celestia glared at the fallen king, not appreciating that statement in the least. "I will confess that thine subjects impress me. Such devotion to their cause is a trait thou does not see often amongst a human."

"There isn't that much difference between us you know." Twilight said to Devour as she turned from her teacher to the dragon-blooded king. "You keep talking about humans and dragon-blooded people as if they're from different worlds." Devour scoffed at Twilight's words.

"What would a human know of my kind?" Pinkie walked up next to Twilight, having finally found her voice again after the trauma that had been placed upon her throat.

"Twilight knows more about dragon-blooded guys than anyone. After all she's lived with Spike for like ever now." Devour raised a curious eyebrow. "Spike is way nicer than you though. That's why I was surprised you could be such a meany-pants even after we gave you his medicine."

"Thou keeps one of my kind captive and drug him docile?" Devour got to his feet looking as if he'd go into another rage filled rant but Twilight stepped up to him.

"Certainly not! Spike is... Spike is my family." Twilight said in challenge to him. "He's not drugged docile or held captive or anything like that. It was just he need a little help with keeping his fire under control in the library full of papers and books. He drinks the medicine by choice." Twilight took Devour's challenging stance from earlier and pointed at him. "Furthermore he's both a strong and intelligent guy who can make his own choices. I wont have anyone making up claims on what our relationship is!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie shouted and stood like Twilight, copying her. "You could learn a thing or two from him Mr. Royally Mean Dragon-Man."

"My thoughts exactly." Rarity approached with the Drake in close step near by. "Spike is a gentleman. Until today I thought all of his kind were so regal. He's even part of the royal court as Celestia's ward." Devour looked at Celestia completely confused now. She felt a light smile appear on her face as all the girls began to gather round each other in support, Fluttershy finally back to her feet as Applejack and Rainbow Dash pulled her along with them. Celestia spoke up behind them.

"King Devour, you may have lost your kingdom but you never lost your people or your legacy. To this day the great southern provinces still stand with their respective leaders governing over each. Once you fell in battle they were quick to reorganize to avenge you but fortunately we were able to work out a peace treaty. Your lands were returned."

"Celestia... thou achieved peace so easily?" Devour said dumbfounded.

"Far from it. I will be the first to admit that when you were king your people were far more organized and agreeable. There haven't been any civil wars but I don't think those old men can come to a consensus about their lunch let alone their politics." Devour actually smiled a little as a memory from his old days came back.

"So not everything is different." He said.

"However when we returned their lands and ended the war there was an uneasy peace. Eventually the human farmers and miners on your lands paid to have access and a trade route was born very quickly. From this the first real bonds between our people were made. Your people may be prideful and aggressive but above all the Dragon-Blooded Clans have proven to be fair and honorable." There was a moment of silence as everyone, even the monsters waited to see what the powerful King Devour would chose to do. Slowly he reached up and took off his ruby encrusted crown from his brow and looked to the women that had bested him.

"Truly thou has won Celestia." He admitted. "I did not believe there could ever be peace between our kingdoms. I thought thine words were meant to fool me and strike us down when we were weak and unfocused. But you returned our lands, created peace between us. Even taken one of my own into your home. I was... wrong."

"There were mistakes made on both sides." Celestia admitted and walked past the girls to approach Devour. "If you can let go of your anger King Devour-"

"I am no King." He said. "My kingdom is gone, my people have moved on without me. There is no more Dragon-Blooded King."

"...Devour, if you can move past your anger would you like to see what the world has become? The gift that Fluttershy has asked for, the gift of freedom for those that were imprisoned here, I can extend it to you." Devour looked to the pink haired woman that had challenged him with her army of beasts and subsequently earned his respect by defending those beasts in their time of need. "King Devour may no longer exist in this world as more than a legend, but the dragon-blooded man with the fierce golden flames can still walk among us." Devour let out a little laugh.

"Indebted to a human. This world has changed." He considered this quietly for a moment, keeping all on edge until he spoke again. "I shall not be so foolish or disrespectful to refuse a gift from such a strong heart." He said and approached the women, dropping to one knee and bowing to them. "Great warriors and pupil of Celestia herself, I admit defeat to you."

"Oh um... you don't have to." Fluttershy instinctively apologized to him, which was what she always did when faced with something she didn't know how to handle.

"We accept with honor, your highness." Twilight said recovering the situation and bowed back to him, the other girls looking between each other and deciding to do the same out of respect (or maybe worry he would get angry again). With that done Devour rose to his feet and approached Twilight Sparkle.

"Great sorceress, if thou would fulfill a request; please give this to thy family who shares my blood." Twilight put on her Tiara as Devour placed his crown into her hands. The girl looking at the priceless artifact that had been just handed over to her in wonder and amazement. Rarity's eyes were shining as brightly as the rubies at the sight of it.

"But this... this is your crown. Something like this belongs in a museum or a castle to your people." Devour scoffed at the idea.

"Merely a symbol of power, something that was necessary in its day and has lost purpose. Thou spoke of this Spike as if he were a man of worth and knowledge. I can think of no other who should hold it." All the girls looked at the golden crown in Twilight's hands. It felt heavy, as if it carried more weight than just the metal and gemstone that it was comprised of. Devour then turned back to Celestia. "Princess, with thy permit I shall do as you say and... see the world that has forgotten me." It sounded far more fearful of a prospect to him than going to war ever was.

"A king turned into a legend by his people, not forgotten by them. More than anything Devour I hope you can learn to love and feel peace again. If you should need help finding this then look to the spirits of the women that stood before you. They are by far this kingdom's greatest treasure. They and all those like them." Devour took a moment to reflect on the violence he'd ushered into this kingdom in a matter of moments after coming back to the living. A terrible destruction that had threatened lives in an instant and was halted by six young ladies and the allies they made from past enemies.

Celestia rose her hand into the air and shot off a bright flare in the sky. The barriers around the maze dropped as the signal was given to Shining Armor waiting outside of the force field he'd created. Devour looked amongst them all one last time. "So then this is goodbye."

"The world is different than you remember Devour. I can contact the governors of your country, ask them to send a convoy to provide you escort back home." Celestia offered but he shook his head.

"No. I have never requested help without intending to return that debt in full. I do not plan to be in debt further to anyone. Fare well." Devour's features changed to the more feral and dragon-like face he had before, shifting at will rather than from an emotional response or battle high. Two panels on the back of his armor swung open on hinges as large, leathery wings were produced from his back. The display earned a "Cool!" from Rainbow Dash before the armored king took to the sky and flew away from the ruined garden. Celestia watched him go, clutching onto her staff tightly. Twilight walked up next to her teacher as Devour flew past the castle's position on the mountain and down to the grounds below before he was completely out of their sight.

"Are you worried you made the wrong choice?" Twilight asked her teacher and Celestia shook her head.

"I have to believe in people sometimes, my faithful student. Devour looked to me as an oppressive power that wanted to invade his country. My attempts to reason with him were made too late by the time I had seen where the situation was escalating to." Celestia looked from the sky to her student. "I still believe what I did was right for everyone involved, just as you and your friends did what you believed to be right as well. I shall have to support you as you support me. Even if that means all the support I give is my trust." Twilight nodded and suddenly hugged Celestia tightly, surprising the Princess but she returned it to her.

"I'm going to just freak out a little bit right now cause I almost died and hold you tight, okay?" Twilight said hugging her teacher for as long as she could. When she finally felt composed again she released the embrace and caught her breath. "Okay. I'm okay now."

"Good. Now lets get you all inside to be sure you're okay. Your brother and Princess Cadence have been worried sick about all of you since we've left you." Celestia walked Twilight forward to her friends. "That goes for you too Fluttershy. Your new friends can wait her in the garden until we can find a way to get them safely to Everfree Forest. The barrier will be going back up." Celestia raised her hand and the statue of Discord floated up into the air behind her. "And as for you trouble maker, you're coming with me."

"Say Princess, what here did this fella do tah wind up turned tah stone?" Applejack asked as she was leaning on the Drake who was helping her keep her balance since the fight. "This guy seems pretty reliable." Celestia looked the monster over for a few moments before her memory caught up to her.

"Oh yes, the Great Drake of the Peaks. He was attacking travelers and stealing their wives and daughters back to his cave." Rarity and Applejack looked between each other and then down to the Drake.

"Um... tah... tah eat 'em?" Applejack asked nervously.

"No, Drakes don't eat humans. But they do collect prizes they deem beautiful or valuable. They only kept women for... well... I'll let you just imagine what happened afterwards." The Drake looked up at Rarity and Applejack with what could only be described as a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. Rarity scoffed.

"You're impressive but don't get any ideas." She leaned down and gave the beast a kiss. "Thank you for saving us." Applejack wasn't usually one for that kind of show of affection but she rewarded the monster as well. The women followed their ruler out of the maze, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash talking about how happy they were all of this was over and how they wanted to try to make those cupcakes later. That is until Rainbow felt a small tug on her pant leg. She looked down to see a small, yellow rodent that she'd met before.

"Pika." It said looking annoyed.

"Oh, yeah, right. Hey uh sorry about that. I sort of jumped the gun when I ran into you earlier." Rainbow apologized to the little guy but he didn't look satisfied. "Hey listen, I'm sorry okay. What do you want me to do? I didn't mean to kick you, I just got scared is all. Friends?" Rainbow knelt down and put out her hand to shake the little critter's paw. It reluctantly did so after a moment. "There, now that's all behind us." Then it sent a shock of electricity through its body into Rainbow Dash, her hair sticking straight up from the sudden surge.

"Pika." The little creature grinned at its handy work and Pinkie walked over to look at Rainbow's new hair style.

"Wow Dashie, that sure was a shocking resolution, wouldn't you say?" Pinkie at the other girls started laughing. Rainbow Dash picked up the yellow rodent and touched it against Pinkie Pie, causing her to shock and her hair to frizz out even more than usual.

Then everyone was laughing, that is except for Twilight who was staring at the crown in her hands. It seemed like such an important object for being so simple. She wondered how Spike would react to having something so close to his own people.

"Well Spike, it looks like I have quite a story to tell you when I get home. I hope you're okay."

Night Out

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 7 - Night Out

"Ah still don't see why ahm the only one laid up like this." Applejack complained for possibly the tenth time from her bed as her friends gathered around her and tried to be supporting despite her attitude. "All's ah got was a bump on the noggin."

"You were punched in the face by the Dragon-Blooded King, Applejack." Twilight corrected as kindly as she could. "You're lucky he didn't take your head off. Devour was strong enough to fight both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna together back during his days as ruler." The praise of her survival from the encounter didn't pick up her spirits any, the blond farmer practically pouting that she was forced to stay in bed for the rest of the day.

"Ah still say ah'm fit as a fiddle." Applejack contested. Rarity laid a plate of peeled and cut apple slices on the table near the bed and offered one on the end of a fork to Applejack.

"No one's doubting your strength or bravery darling. We just need to be sure you'll be in tip top shape before we take you back home to your family. I certainly don't want to be the one to explain why their dear sister and grand daughter is fainting in the orchard after a day's work. Now eat up wont you?" Rarity smiled brightly as she offered the fruit again and Applejack blushed at the sight of it.

"Of all the humiliatin'..." She sighed and took the piece of fruit in her mouth, Rarity seeming to enjoy playing nurse maid while the normally tough farm girl was bed ridden.

"Don't feel bad AJ. After all once you're up and running again we can throw a party to celebrate our victory!" Pinkie said enthusiastically to pick her spirits up. "We can have music and decorations and a special apple cake and- aaah!" Pinkie suddenly stopped her jumping about and put a hand to her bandaged neck. Twilight was sporting a similar wrapping to cover the nasty bruises that both girls had received at the hands of Devour.

"You really need to be careful too, Pinkie. Or else you could add extra damage to your neck." Fluttershy gently lectured and Pinkie gave a painful smile as her body was doing enough on its own to remind her to slow down and behave herself.

"I still can't believe you got to fight a king. A Dragon-Blooded king no less, I mean how cool is that?" Rainbow said with a brighter smile on her face over the battle than any of the others had. Probably because she'd come in right as it had ended. "Jumping in and saving Twilight and Pinkie Pie, all while kicking him in his big stupid face. Man can you imagine if we'd been there together? We could a mopped the floor with that joker." Rainbow started throwing fake punches wildly in her excitement. All of which Fluttershy was expertly dodging with a frantic expression as Rainbow didn't seem to notice the world around her, lost in her little fantasy of victory. She didn't come out of it until Applejack put one of her hands up and caught her punch with ease despite the injuries.

"Ah reckon we might have tussled a bit longer had ya backed me up. Fer what it's worth though ah'm still glad ah'm the only one that got the brunt of it." Rainbow looked around as everyone was giving her stares for taking the battle so lightly, Rarity foremost of these glares as Rainbow was distracting Applejack from her bed rest.

"Heh... guess I got a little carried away." Rainbow smiled sheepishly. "Well you just rest up okay? You need to be in top shape for when we head home."

"That goes for all of us. The doctor will be back any minute now so we should all let Applejack rest." Twilight instructed as the girls groaned in disappointment but did as they were told, all filing out one after the other as they wished their friend good night. Twilight used her magic really quickly to cut up another of the apples by Applejack's bedside into slices before walking out of the room with a smile and a wave, closing the door behind her.

"I certainly hope the poor dear will be alright." Rarity stated as they strolled down the castle's hallway together. "She took such a hard hit from that brute. I'm surprised she was able to get onto her feet so soon afterwards." Despite her concern Rainbow scoffed at the idea.

"No way would Applejack go down like a chump. Why I'm the only person in the whole town tougher than AJ and that big jerk couldn't have even laid a finger on me." Rarity rolled her eyes at Rainbow's boasting. "Why he's just lucky the fight stopped before I got there."

"I dunno Dashie, he was really strong. Like super-duper strong like I've never even seen before. Twilight blasted him with all her purple-magic-special-beam-cannon and he totally took it like it was nothing!" Pinkie was on a role now, getting more animated with each description. "Why I bet he's even stronger than a manticore, or a hydra or even a drago- aagh!" Pinkie stopped short as she felt another twinge of pain in her neck keep her from bouncing around. "Owie."

"I think we get the idea Pinkie." Twilight said to halt her further explanations. "Which reminds me; with that neck injury of yours there's going to be no partying tonight for you. Understand?" Pinkie stopped in front of Twilight and gave her huge puppy dog eyes, complete with tears streaming off the sides of her cheeks. Despite the impressive display of sadness Twilight didn't budge. "I mean it. I don't want you doing anything to hurt yourself further. We're both lucky we didn't end up bed ridden ourselves."

"Perhaps I can offer a solution?" Rarity spoke up smiling. "It might not be the kind of party you're used to but if you like you can come out tonight with me. We're in the capital after all and it seems a shame to waste such an opportunity while we have the night to ourselves." The girls could see the sun starting to drop through the windows and the deep orange colors it cast across the landscape. Twilight reminded herself that Luna should be up by now and she should make a note of it to say hi to her. "Did anyone else want to come? Fluttershy dear I brought a dress for you that would look smashing."

"You brought me a dress?" Fluttershy asked astounded. "But... how did you know I'd need one?"

"I brought one for everybody." The hallway got quiet as the girls all stopped to look at the purple haired woman. "What? I knew you wouldn't prepare properly so I took it upon myself. Nothing odd about that at all... right?" She asked nervously.

"I'll gladly take it, Rarity." Twilight said with praise. "However I wont be able to join you tonight. I have to meet up with my brother and Princess Cadence while I can for dinner tonight." Rarity pouted a little in disappointment and turned to Fluttershy. The meek girl with the pink hair looked around a moment at the others and eventually caved into Rarity's expression.

"Okay I'll go out with you." Rarity let out a giggle of joy and hugged her friend tightly. "We'll still all have fun together, right?" Fluttershy said smiling and looking to the other two girls but Pinkie still didn't seem in that high of spirits.

"Sorry but I'm going to sit this one out." Pinkie informed them. "I wont be able to be Pinkie if I can't party the way I party, you know?" It was somewhat disheartening to see Pinkie actually look depressed over not being able to have a good time. She quickly brought a smile back to her face however. "But it's okay because I already have a plan. I'm going to ask the chef if I can use the kitchen to try and make these." Pinkie held up an envelope that all the girls recognized. Twilight carefully interjected herself into the conversation.

"Say Pinkie, that wouldn't be the recipe you got from Discord's letter would it?"

"Sure is!" Pinkie said excitedly. "I figure I can whip up a batch of these with all the ingredients they have here at the castle. I don't know what they'll be like but I'm willing to be I can make them yummy!" The girl looked over the cooking instructions happily to herself. "Say Rainbow Dash, did you want to give me a hand? The recipe practically suggests your help."

"Sure, why not?" Rainbow replied quickly. "I'm not good at these fancy party things anyway. We can find a way to make baking fun."

"You're not coming?" Fluttershy suddenly asked sounding upset. Rarity didn't seem to notice as she pulled the pink haired girl with her.

"Well tah tah for now then darlings. We'll be sure to see you in the morning. I bet we'll be out all night." Fluttershy looked worriedly between Rarity and her other friends as they waved goodbye to them and all went their separate ways. She sighed as they traveled down the corridor towards Rarity's chambers.

"I should have known she wouldn't want to go." Fluttershy said under her breath.

"Did you say something dear?" Rarity asked and Fluttershy shook her head, retreating into her long hair to cover her face. "That's odd, I must be hearing things. Well no fret or fuss now, just because everyone else is preoccupied that doesn't mean we can't still have a night on the town. Honestly Fluttershy I'm so happy you decided to come out with me. It wouldn't have been near as much fun on my own."

"No problem Rarity." Fluttershy said mustering up a little enthusiasm to share with her. Maybe she could still enjoy tonight after all. She did have fun being with Rarity and the seamstress was good at intercepting social situations for her that were too intimidating for her to handle on her own. Plus she was thoughtful enough to pack her a dress. Speaking of which... "Wait, I thought Twilight needed her dress too?"

"Hm? Oh you're right. Well we'll just leave it out for her. I imagine she wanted to go talk with Princess Celestia before she retired for the evening. I'll say even though I've spoken to the Princesses multiple times I can't imagine what it must feel like to be personally associated with them." Rarity's eyes sparkled at the thought of the glamor involved. Fluttershy didn't really understand it though.

"Wouldn't it be just like any other person you talk with?" She asked innocently enough and Rarity was more than happy to clarify on the subject.

"Oh no, of course not. By being associated with the Princesses and the royal court you enter into a whole new social structure. One of fine society and even finer culture. As a personal friend to the royal family we could go anywhere in the capital and do anything we pleased. Can you just imagine the recognition of being with such astounding and respectful individuals?"

"Well then ladies today is your lucky day." A haughty voice spoke up before the two women as they stopped to see the man standing in their way. Even disregarding his signature uniform and finely sculpted good looks Rarity was able to sense him by the tone of his voice and the feeling of dread in her heart. "For I've come to personally escort you out on the town tonight." Prince Blueblood smiled at the women with his pearly whites and seemed to actually pose in that moment for them to take him in. Before Rarity was the man that she'd worked so hard to gain the attention of in the past; the nephew of Princess Celestia herself. He was also the man that had treated her like dirt on their first encounter and publicly shamed her at every opportunity. Rarity observed the member of the royal court that she wanted to be part of so badly and yawned at his display.

"Well... I suppose there are exceptions to the rule of those that grace high society." She said flatly looking at the prince. "Would you mind dragging your posterior out of the way? My friend and I have a night of enjoyment planned and we'd hate to blemish the evening with... well what would the proper term be? I know; disappointment." Rarity walked right past Blueblood who looked like he was doing everything in his power to keep himself from letting loose a flurry of insults her way. Fluttershy quickly followed after Rarity and she was quickly followed after by Blueblood.

"My fair maidens please don't be so hasty. Why the moment I'd heard the famous and beautiful-"

"And respected." Fluttershy added in.

"Yes yes, respected! The famous, beautiful and respected Bearers of the Elements had come to the castle I knew I had to ensure their time here would be of pure joy. Would you please stop walking so quickly at least?" Rarity had picked up the pace of her marching to escape the horrible sounds that were coming from behind her. As she finally arrived at the door leading to her bed chambers Blueblood in a most undignified manner threw himself in front of her and blocked the door way. "Wait!" Rarity glared daggers at the man and crossed her arms as she stared him down.

"You have seconds to give me one reason why I would allow a selfish, spoiled child of a prince to be around me while I go out this evening." Blueblood was wide eyed as he seemed frantic to get Rarity's approval. "Counting down now. Ten... Nine... Eight..."

"I'm yours to command!" Blueblood suddenly blurted out and even Fluttershy was surprised at the offer. "You can tell me to do as you please and I shall follow suit. Just allow me to come with you and do... do whatever it is you need done? Jewelry; it's yours. Private walk through the castle gardens; I'll make it happen. Um... Wonder Bolts signing session? I can make that happen. One of you likes them right?" Blueblood apparently didn't really remember who all the Elements were aside from Rarity herself.

"I would like that tour of the garden..." Fluttershy thought out loud and a smile came upon Blueblood's face seeing that he was starting to bribe his way in. Rarity wasn't convinced however.

"Fine, but cut out the performance and we'll talk." Blueblood raised an eyebrow and looked around as if to see if anyone was watching.

"P-performance? Why I have no idea what you're referring to my dear ladies."

"Fine, off you go then." Rarity said reaching for the door handle and Blueblood forcefully stopped the door from being opened again. He sighed and showed a much truer expression of a man that hated to be here in this situation.

"Okay you win you win! You know you're just as insufferable as the night we parted ways." Blueblood stood up tall now and glared right back at Rarity. "If you must know my aunts have directed me to escort all of you into the city tonight and provide you with anything it is that you ask." Rarity raised an eyebrow at the thought of it; Blueblood actually taking the time to ensure someone else was happy besides him?

"So why is it so important to you to make sure that we're taken care of? The Princesses threaten to cut off your head if you didn't keep us smiling?" Fluttershy had never seen a more wicked grin on Rarity once that thought had crossed her mind.

"Worse; she's going to cut off my allowance. Or as Auntie Luna put it my 'funds will be chopped off quickly, like the end of a carrot on a cutting board'. So as you can see I am very much in need of your cooperation tonight. All I ask is that you allow me to perform my aunt's request and fulfill your desires so that I can continue on with my life as blissfully as the days before I knew you existed." Rarity pondered this for a while and Fluttershy watched her expression as she continued to think on the best way to torture the prince. Fluttershy didn't know much about Blueblood herself but from what she understood he'd done quite a bit to enrage Rarity back at the royal gala where they'd all had a difficult night.

"Fine, you may escort us." Rarity gave in and Blueblood let out a held breath that he didn't even know he'd been holding. "However it's unseemly for a single man to be seen with two women who are by all rights so far out of his league. I don't want people getting the wrong idea after all."

"No... of course not." Fluttershy noted that Blueblood seemed to have a habit of squeezing his left hand into a tight fist whenever he was fighting back his urges to let someone know just how much he disliked them. "Fortunately I have this planned. Allow me to provide for you at every turn." Blueblood released his death grip on his hand and suddenly clapped them both together. From down the hall came an unarmored guard in uniform who marched forward and stood at attention. "Ladies, this is Heavystep. One of the guards who has been in service to the crown for many years now. I trust he'll be an acceptable companion for tonight's affairs?"

"Not bad." Rarity commented looking the guard over. He was a little older than the three of them but still nothing to sneeze at. "You wouldn't mind this gentleman spending the evening with us, would you Fluttershy?" Fluttershy's cheeks blushed red at the implications of a man being provided to her. She suddenly felt very self conscious and positioned her hands to cover her chest and tried to hide behind Rarity.

"Well um... that is... I just don't know... I mean..." The girl nervously fussed about and Blueblood rolled his eyes at the pink haired girls lack of a spine. "It's just I'm... not really looking for a boyfriend... right now." The girl finally squeaked out but Heavystep just smiled kindly at Fluttershy.

"You needn't worry about it miss. I'm only here to provide you with an additional companion to even out the numbers and to act as a chaperon for Prince Blueblood here."

"You mean bodyguard." Blueblood corrected.

"No, I'm certain that Princess Celestia specifically commanded me to act as your chaperon with the ladies while we were out tonight." Blueblood's fist clenched up again and Rarity was smiling brightly. At least she seemed to enjoy the guard's company. "As for my intentions I can assure you miss that I'm here as your friend and nothing more. You need not fear." Slowly Fluttershy crept out from behind Rarity and seemed to grow more comfortable now that there wasn't any pressure from the older man. She smiled and nodded to him.

"Well okay then, it's always good to make new friends. Nice to meet you Mr. Heavystep, I'm Fluttershy." The two shook hands and the pink haired girl was back to her normal good spirits if not still a little shy around the two males. Blueblood sighed and stepped away from the door.

"I believe you two need to change before we step out tonight, correct? We can await you at the entrance to the castle until you are ready. I'll be sure to inform everyone that sees us as well that we're not together, for your benefit of course, not mine." Blueblood said with a hint of disdain for Rarity in his voice. Though his expression changed when Heavystep pulled out a notebook and recorded something quickly before closing it and putting it away. That got Blueblood in a kinder mood again. "That is of course I wouldn't want any of your male suitors back home to become worried while you were here!" Blueblood corrected himself quickly and Rarity's eyes suddenly grew wide.

"Oh... yes... well about that." She seemed nervous all of a sudden. "As for male suitors back home I don't really have anything of that sort. No one at all for me I'm afraid. So focused on my business that I just don't have the time or the energy for it." She assured and reassured to the men which earned her an odd look from everyone, especially Fluttershy.

"Yes well... I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't have proposed to you by now." Blueblood commented with more than a little sarcasm to his voice. Seeing Heavystep pull out his notebook again to record that little event Blueblood was fast to recover it. "I mean because you're such a prize after all!" He forced a big smile.

"Right right, no propositions for me. Not a one, completely single girl here. Come Fluttershy, lets get changed shall we?" Rarity grabbed a hold of Fluttershy's wrist and pulled the girl into her room with her. Blueblood remaining outside until the door closed and letting out a sigh as he turned to head for the entrance.

"Such a handful that one's sure to be. Still I must admit; impeccable breasts on the both of them." Blueblood looked over at Heavystep who was recording his little comment in the note book meant to report back to Celestia. "Oh come on now, as if you didn't enjoy the view too."

Twilight strolled through the hallways of the castle on a path that was still second nature to her despite how long it had been since she visited the castle regularly. The short flights of stairs, the curving stone corridors leading up on a steady incline till she would find herself around the corner leading to the personal chambers of the Princesses themselves. Though those years ago she only ever thought of it as her path that lead her straight to her beloved teacher. Now in retrospect she realized Luna's room had been there the whole time and Twilight just never questioned where that other door lead to. Funny how something in plain sight like that could go unnoticed or thought of for so long.

"You did what!?" Speaking of the princess of the night, Twilight was able to hear her voice echo down the hallway with a powerful shock wave before she came around the corner. Stopping in her tracks and still out of sight the lavender haired girl waited a moment.

"Please sister, it's not as bad as you think it is." That was Celestia's voice. Calm and smooth as opposed to Luna's booming and powerful one. "Also do lower your volume. It wouldn't do the kingdom well to have our subjects hear us argue."

"Sister, thou knows I trust thee but this... to think thou would just act on such a decision without first speaking with your own sister and fellow ruler?" Luna was slipping back into her older style of speech. Something she usually did whenever she spoke freely without controlling her words to sound more natural around her subjects.

"It may seem extreme or even dangerous but you weren't there. You didn't see him. His spirit was devastated Luna, the old fire in his heart totally wiped out. Everything that ever made Devour a danger to us is gone."

"Nay, the only thing that is gone is Devour himself from our watchful eye. But I shall rectify this situation before it is allowed to get any further out of hand." There was the sound of something adjusting, it sounded metallic. Like a kind of strap or buckle being locked into place. "It surprises me that thou has such faith in a monster like he, dearest sister. I would have thought thou wisest of all in dealing with evil beings; they are to be banished. Or eliminated." Foot steps were headed Twilight's direction and she looked around for a way to not seem as if she was eavesdropping on the Princesses. There was little time though as Luna came around the stone wall but didn't look surprised at all to see her. "Greetings Twilight Sparkle."

"Um... evening! Good evening to you Princess Luna. Are you well?" Twilight put on a smile that felt as fake as it looked.

"I shall be better soon I think. I hope to see you in the morning during our breakfast." Twilight nodded and bowed to the starry haired princess as she passed. Luna was similar to Celestia in many ways when it came to their appearance. While she wasn't as tall as her elder sister she did carry a stronger presence. Her hair flowed behind her filled with magic the same way Celestia's did, though her's looked like a starry night sky where as Celestia's had the rainbow hues to it. Luna also wore a more modern uniform though her clothing was a deep blue as opposed to Celestia's brilliant white and on her hip was a powerful looking sword that Twilight had never seen before. The hilt and scabbard alone seemed to pulse with magical power as she passed.

Twilight watched the younger princess go and then rounded the corner to meet the elder, Celestia smiling but still looking tired from the day's events. With no one around to witness them they were allowed to act openly and Twilight gave her teacher a big hug. "Good evening your highness."

"Good evening to you as well, my faithful student." Celestia had changed out of her uniform and now wore a thick and comfy robe over her night gown. "I trust everyone is doing alright tonight?" Twilight let go of the hug despite how comfy that robe was to lay against and smiled brightly.

"Yes and thank you so much for getting a doctor to look us over right away. Applejack says she's fine but they're asking her to spend the night in care of the castle doctors."

"It's the least I could have done for you all. I'm only happy things turned out as they did. I don't know what I would have done if... well, I suppose I shouldn't dwell on such thoughts." It's true the incident in the garden was pretty scary. Twilight was sure she was going to die at least once back there but thankfully due to her wonderful friends she was able to pull through okay.

"It seems Princess Luna isn't dealing with your decisions today as well as we are though." Twilight commented, looking over her shoulder just to make sure Luna wasn't still lingering about to over hear.

"Yes, I'm afraid she can't simply accept that Devour would not take an opportunity to cause destruction when having it given to him." Twilight had questioned that herself once Devour was set free. He'd certainly proven to be a force of destruction if he so desired. Should the Dragon-Blooded King chose to go against his word and start his war again who would be there to stop him? "I can't blame her though. The memories are much fresher in her mind." Twilight had a confused expression to that statement.

"Her memories? Are you saying that... there was something between them?" It was Celestia's turn to look confused and she laughed lightly to herself at the idea.

"Yes I guess there was something between them but that thing was a sword. With the sharper end pointed his way." Celestia opened the door to her chambers and Twilight followed her in. The Princess settled on a plush collection of cushions that was extremely comfortable before a fire place. Twilight took a spot on a single cushion opposite of her teacher that was comfortable but she always suspected not as comfy as Celestia's. Ever since she was a little girl she'd wanted to get her tush on those pillows. Even to this day she still wondered what kind of special bedding was used to support a goddess. Her butt would know that comfort some day, just you wait. "Though I was referring to the war itself. For Luna it was a mere three hundred years ago."

"A 'mere' three hundred years?" Twilight asked with some amusement.

"Everything is relative my dear student." Celestia smiled. "Her time as Nightmare Moon and banishment from the kingdom is a hazy memory at best. She might as well have been another person entirely, simply watching the actions being taken from outside her own body." It was far more complicated than that, sadly enough. Twilight knew that Luna didn't enjoy any point of conversation turning towards her darker half which was indeed very much the same person as the Princess of the Night. "As such the times before her banishment are her most recent memories. The battles against Devour were quite brutal indeed."

"I can imagine." Twilight confirmed. "I threw everything I had his way and it still didn't stop him. He might have been telling the truth when he invited all of the monsters in the garden to attack him and claimed he could defeat us all."

"We were fortunate I arrived before he started to fight seriously." Twilight looked on wide eyed. He'd taken the brunt of her magic, had his fire restricted, fought a Drake and Applejack (with one arm) and he still wasn't giving it his all?

"That wasn't serious? What the heck was he holding back!?"

"Quite a lot actually." Celestia admitted grimly. "At the time Luna was the strongest swords-woman our kingdom had ever seen. Somehow Devour was able to fight her even with my assistance. It wasn't until we realized just how strong he was that we decided to seal him away in the stone sleep. Any further violence with that mortal would have been catastrophic." Twilight tried to wrap her head around the fact that there was a man out there, currently walking around the capital city freely, that was strong enough to fight both goddesses at once.

"Gosh... I didn't have any idea someone could be that strong." Twilight said a little fearfully.

"Not to worry Twilight. I still believe that there's a chance for Devour to come to love this world. Given the opportunity to meet it on his own terms. Speaking of meetings isn't Princess Cadence and Shining Armor awaiting you for dinner?" Twilight looked up at the clock and realized just how late it was getting.

"Oh yeah, I really need to get going. But Princess Celestia, are you going to be okay? I mean Princess Luna was awfully angry when she left." She'd never seen the two sisters argue like that before. It could have been just a normal spat between them though as Twilight wasn't around the castle near as much as she used to be. She didn't really know what their day to day life was like.

"It will be fine Twilight. Luna needs to come to some closure as well on this. Perhaps meeting Devour directly will help her understand how he's changed." Twilight sure hoped so. The last thing they needed was an all out battle between a goddess and a king that can fight one. Former king anyway.

"I know mine was a nice way for it to end. I even got a crown out of it." Twilight was very pleased with the artifact she'd come away with after she realized that it was okay for her to take such a thing. "I mean to think I'll get to show that to Spike, a relic from his own people's history. He's going to be so excited." Twilight giggled to herself and realized something. "Spike. I totally forgot about him. I ran out on him this morning after we got your summons. Oh gosh I bet he's really cross with me. I'd promised we could spend the whole day together too." Celestia watched her student carefully as she thought on her assistant before speaking up.

"We could send him a letter if it would make you feel more at ease with the situation." Twilight thought of it only for a second before deciding that yes she would enjoy that. Using her magic she summoned a parchment, quill and bottle of ink from Celestia's desk and wrote out a quick note just asking how things were and that they should be returning tomorrow night at the latest. Once it was written Twilight rolled it up and handed it to her teacher who whisked it away in a small "pop" of magic. The two women waited for a short while for a response to come, taking longer than Twilight had expected. When she began to wonder if he was asleep or worse yet still angry with her there was another magical "pop" and a parchment arrived. Celestia caught it as it fell and opened the scroll but simply looked confused when she read it. "This is the letter I already sent."

"Wait, on the back. Lets see..." Twilight leaned forward to read Spike's response. It was odd though since it wasn't written in ink. "It says 'Looking forward to seeing you, I'm doing fine here. Have a good night, love Spike.' That's it." Twilight said standing up straight again and looking at Celestia. "What is that written with?" Celestia flipped the scroll over to look at the writing as well.

"It looks as if he wrote this response in lipstick." Celestia said and Twilight had a very weird batch of emotions run through her mind all at once. It must have shown on her face as Celestia looked surprised at her expression. That got Twilight to calm down.

"Well... um... there must be an explanation for that." Twilight said trying to convince herself more than her teacher. "As in he um... must be in the bathroom. So the only way to respond quickly would have been to write out a response with whatever he had. So... that's the reason?" Celestia looked confused and looked at the letter again, then showed it to Twilight.

"Oh, so this is your lipstick then?" No. No it was not. Twilight didn't own much make-up but she knew she didn't own any shades of lipstick that color. Why did he have that?

"Probably. I mean I don't wear it often so I'd imagine I'd forgot which ones I own." By all that's magical she was covering for him! Why? Why lie about something like that? What was even going on? Who's lipstick was this? There had to be a reasonable, normal (and faithful) reason for this. Celestia was watching Twilight ever so closely now as if she knew something was odd but couldn't place her finger on it. Twilight realized she was holding her breath and tried not to exhale all at once.

"Well whatever the reason you can ask him when you get home. I should have him visit sometime soon myself. It has been a long time since I've seen him." Did she suspect something? No, not even Celestia was that perceptive. Twilight was going to have to be as non-awkward as she'd ever been in her life as there was a panic and even a bit of anger inside her that was threatening to come out. "You're free to meet with your brother Twilight. You needn't worry about me, I shall be fine tonight. I suspect my sister will be as well." Yeah that's right, an angry Moon Goddess and Dragon-Blooded Warrior are in the city on the possible verge of a battle. That's the crisis she should be concerned with. Not where Spike was getting lipstick from in the middle of the night.

"Okay then, thank you Celestia. Please have a good night." They two said their good byes and Twilight bowed to her monarch, closing the door behind her as she left the room and descended the stairs. There was no reason to worry. Whatever it was that Spike was doing she was sure there was a good explanation. Maybe even a funny story to tell along with it. Twilight walked with renewed confidence. She had no reason to be concerned.

"So... all the girls right?" Spike said as he leaned on a book shelf. "All the girls were who you wanted to invite. So mind telling who everyone else is?" The dragon-blooded boy looked out to the collection of teenagers that filled the library. There were people everywhere he looked; on the main floor, leading into the back room, in the kitchen, up the stairs and on the balcony. If he hadn't locked the door to the bedroom he was sure they'd be in there too. As he asked his question a few more people he didn't know complimented him on the great party as they went to mingle back into the crowd. Snips was standing beside him looking not that much happier.

"Hey you said we could invite whoever we wanted. So I invited all the girls. I just didn't think they'd all bring their friends and boyfriends too." Snips strategy hadn't been as sound as he'd hoped. Apparently bringing a bunch of people over to party in one place was not a guaranteed touch of the coveted boobies.

"Looks like this plan didn't work out exactly like you thought huh?" Spike commented, dreading what this place was going to look like after the party ended. "Have you even tried to talk to a girl yet?" Speaking of which, one was coming through the crowd directly at the two boys. Spike had seen her minutes ago previously. A pretty blue haired girl who he didn't know the name of. She stopped in front of him and smirked.

"So, are you done with that lipstick I lent to you?" Spike nodded and held up the make-up for her to take back. "You know if you want it more directly you can ask again later." She winked at him and melded back into the crowd of dancing bodies. Spike looked over at Snips who was giving him a death glare.

"What?" Spike said shrugging. "I don't even know what her name is." Snips just crossed his arms and looked away, Spike grumbling. "Don't get all upset with me just because girls aren't throwing themselves at you. This is my house after all. Where the heck is Snails anyway? I thought he'd be all over this too."

"He said he had to go pick someone up, I got no idea who." Spike wondered who that could be himself. He was sure if Snails popped up with a girlfriend of his own that Snips was going to lose it. Spike didn't have time to think long about it as there was the sound of something heavy falling over from somewhere in the library and then the sound of a knock at the door. The dragon-blooded boy looked annoyed at having options as to which problem he should attend to first.

"You; go check out what the heck that was." Spike said to Snips. "I got the door." Spike didn't allow a chance to argue as he made his way to the front door, weaving past the various people who did little to stop their activities for his sake. When he finally got to the entrance he swung it open to a happy sight. "Oh thank goodness it's you guys."

"Golly, that's a heck of a lot a people in there." Applebloom said looking kind of overwhelmed at the sight. "Ah thought ya said this was gonna be just a small git together?"

"I had kind of hoped the same thing myself. Everyone coming in?" Spike stepped aside to let the ladies pass. Scootaloo of course was close behind but there were two more that Spike hadn't expect. "Oh uh... hey Silver Spoon. Diamond Tiara." Spike smiled trying to seem pleasant even through all of his uneasiness from the party. Diamond had her arms crossed as she gave him an angry glare. She hadn't exactly forgiven him so easily after stuffing her in a storage barrel that night he went all feral at their slumber party.

"This is a really impressive party Spike." Silver commented looking over the crowd. "I didn't even know you knew this many people."

"Neither did I." Spike said sounding exhausted. "Well you can feel free to mingle. As you can see everything is under way. Punch is in the back towards the kitchen."

"Savage and out of control." Diamond suddenly commented out loud looking at the crowd and then over to Spike. "Not very surprising for you, fire boy." The girl strutted away from the group and Applebloom rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Tiara, ya said ya weren't gonna be like that!" The red head followed along after the rich girl leaving Scootaloo and Silver Spoon with Spike. Silver laughed a little trying to avoid showing how embarrassed she was by her friend's behavior.

"She's uh... still a little upset." Silver admitted. "From that one night you..."

"Yeah I figured. It's okay, you don't have to apologize for her." The girl in the glasses looked relieved that Spike was understanding. The boy closing the door finally as everyone was in. "So shall we go have fun?"

"You bet!" Scootaloo suddenly said grabbing Spike's arm. "You promised dancing right? Well then it's your responsibility to give me the first spin." That was more forward that Spike was used to from her but he didn't mind it, glad to be with a friend of his finally. He started to walk forward towards the middle of the dance floor with her until there was another knock at the door. Figures; he was just about to start having fun.

"I better get that real quick. Silver can you hold her until I'm free?" Spike made good on his promise and gave Scootaloo a spin and a twirl before handing her off to Silver Spoon. The act leaving Scootaloo with a blush in her cheeks at just how quick the dragon-blooded boy could be on his feet. Spike was quick to leave the girls while they were impressed with him as he got to the door and answered it again.

"Sorry we're late." The slow and even toned voice stated as the lanky boy stood in the door way. "Had to pick someone up."

"Geez Snails, took you long enough. Everyone but you is here at this point." Spike complained seeing as how he'd promised to help out get this thing started. Thankfully Snips had at least provided a hand to him before everyone arrived. "Who's that with you?"

"I thought you knew them already." He knew at least one of them. The bright smile of Dinky Doo shined his way from the back of the group of four. The other two he didn't have any idea. "This here's Rumble." Oh yeah, that kid. The one that didn't like that other guy, what's his head? Rain something or other. "And this here is Ruby."

"Wait. Ruby Pinch?" Spike asked hesitantly looking at the girl with the multiple shades of pink in her hair. Honestly Spike had never met the girl but her mother Berry Punch had quite a reputation as being someone that enjoyed a drink or two during the evening. And the morning. Pretty much the whole day. Rumor was that's how her daughter came about in the first place.

"Looks like my reputation precedes me." She said with a tone that reminded Spike of a black skinned changeling woman in the Everfree Forest. "Here, I brought you a party favor." Ruby walked past him and dropped a bottle into Spike's hand, heading straight into the building. Snails excused himself and followed along after her, making Spike wonder what exactly that was all about. Did he offend her? He'd barely gotten a chance to speak. Now that she was gone Spike looked over the bottle to check its contents. He really shouldn't have been surprised.

"It's alcohol." Dinky informed him almost innocently.

"Yeah I... I got that." Spike said with a sigh and invited them in. Last thing he needed was for everyone to dip into this. Closing the door behind them he nodded their way. "Well guys, here's the party. Feel free to mingle and enjoy yourselves. I'm sure I'll be busy cleaning up something in a minute."

"Uh hey, Spike was it?" Rumble asked all of a sudden. "I heard Scootaloo was coming to this party, is she around?" That's right this guy was also the person that had a crush on Scoots.

"Sure thing, she's out there with Silver Spoon right now." He pointed to the dance floor where the girls were tearing it up. Turned out Scootaloo was a really good dancer and Silver was managing to keep up with her. Spike was actually a little happy he'd handed her off. Other than his quick little motion that he'd used to impress the girls earlier when he twirled Scootaloo around he wasn't really as coordinated as they were. "You can feel free to cut in if you like, she was looking for a good dance partner." Spike offered. He didn't really care if those two hit it off but might as well get everyone busy.

"I'll uh... I'll wait till their done." Rumble said under his breath and Spike shrugged turning to Dinky now.

"Applebloom and Diamond Tiara are here too. She ran off in the back, probably the same direction as Ruby."

"Okay, I'll see if I can find them. Come hang out with us when you're done, okay Spike?" Dinky said happily and walked into the room, Rumble following behind her and watching Scootaloo the whole way. Spike would have been more curious but he had an immediate problem to take care of. He looked the bottle of alcohol over, not really sure what to do with it. Honestly Spike had never drank before and Twilight didn't keep anything like this in the house. Maybe he could dump it out the window or something?

"Wild party man!" Another new voice suddenly spoke up from behind and an arm was laid across Spike's shoulders by some taller boy. "I knew you were going to throw one heck of a bash when I heard about it but this is way better than I'd thought."

"Yeah... thanks?" Who was this guy? He was even taller than Spike was and had a cocky grin on his face with short brown hair. He was sure he'd seen him earlier when people were filling in. Probably with the other jocks from the looks of him.

"So guess the pizza isn't here yet huh? That's cool. Hey, isn't that Scootaloo out there?" The boy commented still keeping an arm around Spike like they were best buddies or something. "Dang, she can dance! Hey uh... do you know if she's seeing anyone?"

"Wait what? Why the heck would I know that?" Spike asked starting to get annoyed with this guy, whoever he was.

"Yeah guess you can't know all the girls huh? Whoa, is that what I think it is?" He noticed the bottle in Spike's hand. "This is going to be an even better party than I thought! I'll catch you later Spike." He clapped Spike on the back and headed off towards the dance floor. Spike didn't care that he saw the bottle of booze, he was just happy to get rid of the annoyance.

"Wait a second, did he say something about a pizza?" Spike thought to pursue that thought further but he was interrupted again by someone he actually knew this time. Snips wandered up onto him not looking any happier than when Spike had seen him before. "Oh there you are, so what the heck was that noise?"

"I guess they knocked over some kind of pedestal holding a crystal ball?" Oh by Celestia's sweet beard please don't say they broke it! "They managed to catch it and save it though, so nothing's damaged. I put it in some cupboard so it wouldn't happen again." Spike could feel his heart start up again after Snails assured him that Twilight's divination ball was safe. She would have murdered the town had that thing been damaged. "So enjoying your chat with Rain Catcher?"

"That was Rain Catcher?" Spike said trying to see where that guy had ran off to but he was gone as was Scootaloo and Silver Spoon from where they'd been. "Had no idea who that guy was, he just came up to me and started babbling. Oh speaking of which Snails and that other kid Rumble are here too. So's Applebloom and Dinky."

"'Bout time he got here. Snails probably stopped to pick up Ruby huh?" If Spike hadn't suspected something before he was starting to now with those two. "I mean I figure that's where you got that right?" Snips pointed to the bottle in Spike's hand and he remembered what he had again finally. There was yet another knock on the door and Spike felt a little growl escape his lips.

"You called it, so you take care of this for me, alright?" Spike handed off the bottle to Snips who looked at it as confused as Spike did. The dragon-blooded boy turned around on his heels to answer the door again looking to see who was coming over to crowd the library this time.

"Saucy's Pizza delivery." Spike stared blankly at the delivery boy that was before him as he tried to process what he was seeing. That was when it clicked in his head what Rain Catcher had said earlier. "I got two Super Supremos with stuffed crust. We got a special going so that'll be only twenty bits." Spike stared at him wide eyed for a while and then turned to look back at the party. Naturally Rain Catcher or any of his buddies were no where to be seen. Slowly he turned back to look at the delivery boy at a loss for what to do. "Wow that's some party you got going on there." As if on cue there was the sound of glass breaking somewhere inside the library and Spike fought every urge to set fire to everyone inside. Some people he still liked were in there after all.

"Yeah so... twenty bits. Here you go." Reaching into his pocket and pulling out literally every last bit he had Spike gave the delivery boy his money. He counted the cash and looked Spike over.

"What, no tip?" Spike felt a very small sliver of satisfaction as he slammed the door shut and grumbled at the pizzas in his hand. He was about to turn away and drop these off to anyone and then head off to extort his money back from that idiot jock but then unfortunately the door got another knock. Bearing his teeth Spike swung the door open.

"I don't have any tip for you!" Spike shouted and immediately regretted it when he saw the girl back up in shock.

"I wasn't asking for one!" Sweetie Belle shouted and Spike covered his idiot mouth before he said anything else. "Jeez Spike you invite me over and this is the greeting I- Whoa, that's a lot of people." Sweetie said looking inside. "So can I come in or what?"

"I am so sorry." Spike said and invited the girl in. "I was just having an argument with the pizza guy." Sweetie looked down at the boxes of pizza and Spike passed them off to the next person that walked by him without a word. It left the receiver totally confused but he was just happy to be rid of them. Sweetie still looked a little annoyed with him for shouting at her and Spike sighed. "I'm really really sorry, forgive me?"

"Well... okay." The girl said and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. A move that made the boy blush and fight back a little flaming cough from coming up. She giggled and walked into the library with Spike following. "This is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be."

"You can thank Snips for that one. I'm not sure there's anyone he didn't invite." Spike complained and Sweetie smiled at him.

"That's pretty nice of you to still accommodate for everyone even if you don't know them. I mean not everyone would let all these people still hang out if they weren't friends with them already, right?" Spike shrugged at the compliment.

"I didn't have much choice, I told Snips to invite anyone he wanted. So he invited everyone he wanted to. Well... all the girls anyway." Sweetie giggled a little and that made Spike smile. "I don't think things are going to end up for him like he wanted to though."

"Oh? Was he looking to get lucky?" The way she asked that caught Spike's attention. She had the sultry eyes again, the kind that threatened to make him lose focus like they had before. It reminded him of that day he'd seen her in just her undergarments, which made him wonder what she was wearing under her dress now. Which further lead to thoughts of Rarity and... well, that was a mixed bag of emotions. It left him kind of angry. And aroused.

"I suppose he, and a lot of other people, kind of hope they'll get lucky when they come to parties like this." Spike wasn't sure what he was saying but he recognized he was leading this conversation in a specific direction. Sweetie didn't do much to deter the course.

"You know when I was getting ready to come over tonight I was wondering the same thing. About getting lucky." Her voice was so sweet it was intoxicating. "Only with someone specific though. Someone that might be important to me. Do you ever think like that too Spike?" This was going really fast. A lot faster than he thought Sweetie Belle would have wanted to take things. Was this okay? Or was she just testing him to see what he would do? She looked really pretty. As she got closer he noticed she smelled nice too. Some kind of perfume and what he could only think of was her natural scent. He liked it a lot.

"I do. Do you want to talk about it upstairs?" That cute blush appeared on her face again as he called her bluff, similar to when he'd asked her to come over earlier today. Her flirtatious side seemed to dwindle when it looked like Spike was willing to take the lead, the girl agreeing shyly with a nod.

"Okay... lets go together." She smiled with those beautiful green eyes. Spike wanted her right now. After all this bother with the party, the stress with Twilight, the rejection from Rarity, the abuse from Damselfly and the down right uncertainty of his own future Spike decided that he deserved a chance to forget about all of that. He didn't just want her; he felt he deserved her. It was with this reasoning that he took the beautiful girl's hand and walked up the stairs towards his bedroom with her shyly following behind him.

"I have to say darling that despite the incident with that nasty piece of work King Devour and poor Applejack's condition that this has been a very rewarding trip to the capital." Fluttershy nodded in agreement to her purple haired friend as she and Rarity marched down the main street of the commerce section. Rarity's eyes were looking along each store eagerly as they passed for yet another victim for her shopping spree. "Fine dining for dinner, shopping galore and all on someone else's tab. I was thinking we could hit a night club tonight as well. Does anyone have any disagreements?" She looked to Fluttershy first who quietly shook her head. The pink haired girl glancing back at her escort as he followed behind her.

"Would you mind if we went to a night club, Mr. Heavystep?" Fluttershy asked meekly.

"If that is what you ladies would enjoy then by all means. I will gladly accompany you." The soldier responded assuredly and Fluttershy nodded to him.

"Oh I hope my bags aren't too heavy for you. I may have bought too many things. I'm sorry for having you carry them." The large soldier looked down at his hands where he was very easily handling the two shopping bags. They were full to the brim with clothing and accessories but he didn't seem to mind in the least.

"Compared to my daily training this is a very welcome change of pace, Ms. Fluttershy." Fluttershy smiled and nodded shyly in approval. Just happy that he wasn't unhappy. Rarity watched this exchange and looked behind her to her own escort.

"Bag Boy, are you doing okay back there?" Rarity asked with a lot of joy and just a little bit of smugness to her voice.

"You cannot possibly need all of this." Blueblood complained from behind a stack of clothing boxes piled higher than his head that he was carrying with some strain in his arms. It didn't help that his limbs were already laden with other shopping bags hanging from them. "Who in their right mind would require all of this clothing?" Rarity kept her composure the whole time.

"Now I know you don't take the time to learn about anyone other than yourself but do keep in mind that I'm a seamstress by trade. I need to keep up with all the latest fashions, trends and styles. You're not just holding dresses for my wonderful figure. What you're holding is my livelihood. So do be a dear and be careful with it." The relevance of the clothing didn't seem to make Blueblood any happier to be supporting it. "Besides what are all those muscles of yours for if they can't even support a few boxes of clothing?"

"My body is like... a decorative sword or armor..." Blueblood was straining to speak and keep his balance with all the clothing boxes. "Beautiful to behold but not... for... actual use. Can we please take a break?" Blueblood complained yet again but this time he'd actually used the word please. Previously all of his statements had been along the lines of 'my arms will fall off if this keeps up much longer' to 'do you really need these dresses or are you constructing a tent to cover yourself?' He'd apologized pretty profusely after Heavystep had pulled out his notebook for that one.

"Oh fine then. You boys find a spot to relax for a moment. Fluttershy deary, care to accompany me for another stop?" Rarity pointed out a lingerie store that got an immediate blush out of the pink haired girl.

"Oh... well um... I'm not sure if I should... I don't really ever go into places like that." Fluttershy stammered looking at the lingerie store before her. Her hesitation didn't deter her friend however as Rarity took her by the hand and lead Fluttershy into the shop. Blueblood found a bench to sit on in the mean time and Heavystep was assisting him with removing the boxes and bags from his arms.

Once inside the girls were surrounded by all manner of lacy, pretty and exotic accessories and undergarments. Rarity went to work right away as she sorted through different panties in a bargain bin. Fluttershy found it useless to try and resist her strong willed friend and started looking through as well for something that was cute but not too much. "They have a nice selection here. I was thinking of picking up some stockings as well but I already have so many I'm not sure if adding more to the group will be too much. Oh look at this green pair Fluttershy, do you think it would look good on you?" Rarity held up a green thong for the girl to see but Fluttershy was in her own world of thoughts at the moment. Rarity looked down to see where her eyes were focused and saw the girl was looking at a pair of rainbow striped socks. She put a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder and the girl snapped out of it immediately, looking up and embarrassed she'd been caught day dreaming like that.

"Oh um... yes, those would look good on you Rarity." She smiled and nodded.

"They weren't for me, they were for you deary." Fluttershy looked at the thong and shook her head, setting the socks down now. "Fluttershy, is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"No. Nothing I can think of." Fluttershy said still looking through the bargain bin now so as not to have to make eye contact.

"Are you upset that Rainbow Dash didn't want to join us?" Fluttershy stopped pretending to sort through the clothing and kept her head down. "You shouldn't feel bad simply because she didn't want to go out with us Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash has always had a hard time doing anything that required being... delicate."

"I know." She admitted with a sigh. "But we almost never just spend time together. I just wish I could be more... fun I guess? I'm not fun. Not like Pinkie Pie." Rarity leaned over and put an arm around her friend, Fluttershy leaning into her and enjoying the comfort. "Am I fun?"

"Well you are fun, but you're certainly not like Pinkie Pie." Her head began to dip and Rarity put a finger to her chin to make her lift her head up. "But that's not a problem. I know you and Rainbow are friends from when you were children but you can't compare yourself to Pinkie. You have strengths that make you special Fluttershy. Just like myself or Applejack or even Pinkie Pie. Even if Rainbow Dash found being out in public too intimidating that doesn't mean she wouldn't want to spend time with you."

"You think... she was scared to come out with us?" Fluttershy asked sounding confused at the idea Rainbow would be scared of anything.

"Of course. The dear is a sweet heart but anything involving her to be out of her natural element and she'd rather find something else to do. That's why I appreciate that you're here with me tonight darling and willing to take on these challenges. Without you I wouldn't have had the courage to try and deal with Mr. Too Perfect out there." The girls giggled at the nick name assigned to Blueblood, Fluttershy already looking happier that she was needed by one of her friends. "Oh what do you think of this pair?"

"Those?" Fluttershy asked holding up the black, nearly see through underwear. "They're um... they're very... exotic." It was the best word she could come up with. "I couldn't wear them I don't think but you could do it."

"Oh pish posh darling, you're a super model of a woman. Something like this on you would knock a man off of his feet." Rarity added it to her growing pile for purchase with a sly grin. She hoped to do the same to a certain man back home when she got the chance to see him again. She hoped the outfits she selected would be to his liking. Of course Spike generally liked anything she was wearing as long as it was her in it. With any luck she could get that dragon's eye for beauty to give her an honest opinion on some of them.

"Is there someone you're going to impress with it Rarity?" Fluttershy asked innocently and Rarity froze for a second. It must have been noticeable because Fluttershy stopped what she was doing to look at her. "Rarity?"

"Oh! Oh why no. No, no one at all. I just want to feel sexy sometimes you know darling?" Rarity forced a smile and it felt like she was protesting too strongly. Why did she have to feel this way every time someone asked her a question like that? Sure she didn't want to admit that her and Spike had been "together", if she were to put it plainly as possible. Still she retreated like a frightened child the moment anyone even mentioned her and a romantic affair.

"I see. I just thought that maybe you had someone you hadn't told us about yet, since you seemed to be picking a lot of... well, I guess they've been very sexy outfits." Just the word "sexy" coming from Fluttershy's innocent voice was too adorable not to admire at how awkward it was. "Oh those stockings are pretty. They have little butterflies on them." The pink haired girl walked over to look at the clothing as Rarity got herself back together. She needed to sort this out or it was going to cause her a lot more trouble down the road. Maybe it was guilt for shutting Spike out so hard after they had made love that night? He'd taken that pretty hard.

Whatever it was Rarity would address it the first chance she got when she returned home. He'd been such a faithful, loving man to her. Even with all of the business involving Twilight he still always decreed his intentions for her first. Rarity had to make sure he was going to be okay with their arrangement going forward. After all she owed him that at least for all the kindness and consideration he'd given to her. To think that their relationship was sparked by her suspicions of lustful intentions towards her innocent little sister. As if Spike could have been anything less than a gentleman.

"I've never actually seen your bedroom before. There's a lot of books." Sweetie Belle commented as she looked around the bedroom. Spike closing (and locking) the door as he followed her in. "I mean I know it's a library but I was kind of expecting out of all the rooms in the house not to have any it would have been this one."

"Are you kidding? I don't think Twilight could sleep if she didn't have at least twenty books at all times within eyesight." Spike joined her by the wall where she was looking over the different titles. "This is all pretty much her personal collection. The stuff that you're not able to check out if you want to borrow a book."

"She has so many." Sweetie admired looking around the room. "Have you read them all too?"

"Me? Nah. I've read a lot of them since Twilight recommends them for my studies. I have to follow a set criteria of schooling while I work as Twilight's assistant. She gives me a lesson plan and I eventually have to report to Celestia about what I've learned."

"That's right, you don't go to school with us." Sweetie hadn't ever really thought about that before. Spike had a totally different life style and set of expectations on him than most everyone else in the town. "Is it hard having to study with Twilight Sparkle and the Princess?" Spike shrugged in response.

"I guess not? I mean it's how I've always done things. Twilight says I'm farther along for my age than I should be. So I guess I'm handling it pretty well." Spike wasn't sure if he was bragging or not with this. He'd never given his studies much thought at all. He just figured it was a requirement for him to be educated as well as he could as the ward to the Princess herself. At least Sweetie seemed impressed with him.

"You really are something amazing Spike." Sweetie said with a mischievous smile. "So I'm guessing this is your bed over here?" She walked over towards his bed and Spike did everything he could to try and not think about sex immediately as she headed that direction. He managed to keep about 30% of his thoughts not actively on trying to get under her skirt; a greater average than most boys his age.

"Yep, that's where I sleep. Not much to it really. Twilight gets the big comfy bed." Spike motioned over to the other bed in the room and Sweetie was looking at how close of proximity that bed was to his.

"So... you guys still sleep in the same room together?" She asked hesitantly as she looked at Twilight's bed. "Isn't that kind of awkward?"

"How do you mean?" Spike asked legitimately confused, sitting on the side of the bed. Sweetie sat down next to him and his focus went from 30% "non-horny boy thoughts" to about 15%. Despite that he was able to continue talking like a normal person. "There really isn't anywhere else in the library to use as a bedroom. This is pretty much the only place we can sleep in. Only spot with a private bathroom and shower too." Spike motioned to the rest room not very far away, Sweetie not looking any more reassured by his answer though.

"Yeah but... isn't it kind of weird? I mean she's a girl and you're a guy. Should you really be sharing a room? What if you see each other naked or something?" There were red flags going up on these questions and oddly Spike found himself very comfortably lying about what his relationship with Twilight Sparkle was.

"Well Twilight's like a sister to me. We've been together almost our whole lives. So it's really not so weird that we'd share a room together." At least that much used to be the truth. A much simpler and happier truth. "Besides it's not like we walk around the library with our clothes off all the time or anything. We don't want to see each other when we're not dressed." That... was not quite as honest as the previous statement. Sweetie Belle however seemed relieved to be told that there wasn't crazy naked romps going on upstairs when no one was looking. If only she knew.

"Okay, I guess that's not so bad. I know what it can be like to have a big sister. You're friends with Rarity already and everything but not everyone knows her like I do." The confidence in Sweetie's voice wavered when Rarity was brought up. It's not like Spike's feelings for the elder sister were unknown to her or anyone else for that matter. For her it was the most intimidating person she could possibly try to see as a rival for anything. Rarity could be so frustratingly perfect on the outside to everyone.

"It's not so bad though right? Having a big sister close by all the time that loves and cares about you?" Sweetie shook her head but she didn't seem any more confident. "I guess we have that in common. I mean there's things about Twilight that only I know. It must be the kind of thing only us younger siblings can understand." Sweetie looked at Spike's eyes in an almost pleading way.

"You think we've got something in common like that?" Her voice was soft and fragile. It touched Spike's heart but it also spoke to another part of him. The part that saw her even more desirable in this moment of vulnerability. The hungry part.

"I do. It's something special for us." He put a hand over Sweetie's and the girl smiled brightly, squeezing his fingers with her own. "Not everyone has to look up to or try to live up to expectations like that. Or hold onto each others secrets and never let anyone else know." Sweetie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right. Rarity's secrets are far from the kind of stuff I bet Twilight knows, being some super magical sorceress and all that stuff. Sis' goes on and on so much anyway about every little thing I'm surprised she has any secrets left to keep." Spike laughed a little at the comment which loosened Sweetie Belle up some more as well. "Talk about a drama queen."

"See, it's not so different. Despite being a super sorceress and all that Twilight is one heck of an awkward, lovable nerd." The two laughed together again, Sweetie cuddling up to Spike's arm now. His thoughts were pretty focused on one thing after that brush of affection. "Plus is us staying in the same room together so weird anyway? I'm sure you and Rarity have seen each other naked before and no one cares." Sweetie's expression changed to confused and cautious but she still continued the conversation.

"Well I guess so. I mean she has me try on so many dresses and stuff that I have to change a lot. I also got to help her get into outfits sometimes too. It's not like there's some great secret; it's just girls in underwear. No big whoop." Spike begged to differ.

"Really? So it wouldn't be any big whoop if I got to see you like that?" Sweetie froze for a second, her face red with embarrassment. She didn't look as if she knew exactly what to say to Spike in response to that and it left this long, awkward pause between them. Spike wasn't deterred however. "Well how about this; you show me yours and I'll show you mine." Sweetie looked away suddenly not really sure what to do. She was squeezing Spike's arm hard with her hand as he put a debate to her that was of a very serious affair. Spike was about to break the other long pause as he was getting tired of waiting for her to respond when she finally spoke up.

"Okay." Sweetie said softly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Okay. I mean you saw it once before right? So like I said; no big whoop." Sweetie slowly got off of the bed and stood in front of Spike. She started to lower the straps to her dress slowly out of nervousness but Spike was eating it up. Something about the slow undress in front of him making him more turned on than he already was. When her dress finally dropped to the floor the girl stood before Spike in her bra and panties, looking away. "Listen you're not allowed to compare me, okay? I don't want to hear how like... some girl is better than me or something." Sweetie's confidence was still plagued by Rarity. Not surprising considering the boy she was trying to impress and his previous obsessions.

Spike had to say though that Sweetie was a knock out of a girl. Sure Rarity was of course much sexier and even Twilight had a sort of allure about her that came with her knowledge and age. But Sweetie was still very attractive in her own right. "You're beautiful." Spike said out loud and she covered herself with her hands, feeling more embarrassed than ever. "I was wrong; you're a very big whoop."

"So I'm a big whoop? Like some kind of whoopee cushion?" The girl said jokingly trying to take the edge off her nerves.

"Bigger whoop, but not as loud and a lot more dignified." They both laughed nervously as Spike took in the sight of her. "So, I guess it's my turn." Spike stood up and Sweetie looked forward now to see if he was really going to follow through. Casually Spike undressed in front of her, the act now something that didn't bother him after so many times with Rarity and Twilight. Even if he was more at ease with it Sweetie still blushed and covered her mouth when she saw the erection pushing against his boxers. "So... big whoop?"

"Really big." Sweetie said looking down and realizing that she was staring. Pulling her gaze away quickly she looked at Spike's eyes instead. "I didn't... I guess I didn't expect that." She confessed awkwardly and Spike nodded with a smile.

"Sorry if it surprised you. But it's because of you that I'm like this in the first place." Sweetie stood awkwardly, not sure what to do or how to act. The entire situation was new to her and for Spike it was different having to be the person guiding the situation for once. Still that wasn't going to stop him; she was far too beautiful of a prize to let get past him now. Walking forward Spike held Sweetie's hand in his and intertwined their fingers. "Would you like to share a kiss?" Sweetie didn't respond verbally, which was a shame seeing as how much he enjoyed hearing her voice. Instead she nodded her head and closed her eyes. Spike leaned in and pressed their lips together.

In all honesty... it wasn't really what he was expecting. The kiss was sweet and he enjoyed being close to her. Her body fidgeting and making cute noises as she touched against him every so often. But the kiss itself was awkward. Her lips stayed closed tightly and she didn't know what to do with her hands at all. Spike had to guide her arm around him, his own stroking her back and being rewarded with happy moans. Yet she was still so stiff! This kiss wasn't getting him anywhere he wanted to be. So it was time to up his game.

Spike pulled his lips away from Sweetie, who took in a deep breath once their faces parted. She was flustered but excited and her eyes were like sparkling emeralds to him. "Would you like to sit?" She let out a breath and nodded, Spike guiding her along towards the bed. When he sat down though instead of allowing her to sit next to him Spike guided her to sit on his lap, straddling him with her legs. The process was awkward even after he'd gotten the idea across but eventually Sweetie went along with it. Shivering when she felt her panties press against the bulge in his boxers.

"Spike... Spike it's... it's awfully big." Well didn't she know exactly what to say to a young man now.

"Do you want to feel more of it?" Spike's arms went around her lower back and Spike pushed against Sweetie lightly, the girl gasping for air the moment she felt the pressure.

"Sp-Spike!" Sweetie said in surprise but the boy kept a very light pressure between them with his arms. With her on his lap like this Spike leaned forward and began to place small kisses onto her collar bone and chest, just above her chest. The girl groaned in response and rested her hands onto Spike's shoulders.

"You're very beautiful Sweetie." Spike said in hot breaths to her, one of his hands resting onto her ass as he increased the pressure and the rubbing between the two of them. Sweetie moaned much louder this time in response out of arousal or either shock that things were happening this fast. Spike didn't mind; the sound of her voice just helped things along for him. His cock was pressing hard against her through her panties and Spike could feel the heat between them. His hand gripped at her behind and found it fit well into his hand. He was going to enjoy this tonight.

With the pressure between their legs growing and the movements of their hips picking up in speed Spike let his other hand wander up along Sweetie's body. She was moaning loudly still and her hands were gripping his shoulders hard. There was the possibility that someone outside the bedroom door could be listening in but he didn't care at the moment. This was a special time to feel each other in a loving embrace. When he gripped her breast through her bra Spike could feel her hips start to press down harder back to him. She was close.

Spike craned his head up to suck at her neck, she was saying his name but Spike couldn't take the time to listen to what was being mumbled through hot breathing now. His teeth lightly grazing her skin and causing the girl to shiver with arousal. They were grinding their hips together in hard and fast motions now until Sweetie Belle dug her nails hard into Spike's shoulder and let out a high pitched moan that suited her sweet singing voice. The girl froze as she pressed hard down on the boy and she shook hard as she hit her climax against him. Feeling her curves in his hands and her body pressing against his cock Spike was ready to come soon himself. She was slowing down but Spike kept up the pressure as he pushed against her looking to hit his own orgasm.

"Spike... Spike..." Sweetie said breathlessly.

"Sweetie... it's so good... it's so-"

"Please... Please no more." Something in her voice caught his attention and Spike stopped everything.

"What?" He asked confused, pulling himself away from his attention to her body to look at her eyes. There were tears streaming down her cheeks.

"No more." She pleaded and pressed her head against his neck and shoulder, hiding her face from him. "No more. No more no more no more. Please." Sweetie wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug and Spike did the same, feeling a panic set into his heart. She was crying openly against his shoulder and he had no idea what had happened. His focus on achieving his orgasm completely faded away to nothing at the sight of those beautiful eyes filled with tears.

"Sweetie what's wrong? What... what happened!? Did I hurt you?" The girl shook her head and hugged him even tighter as a new batch of tears came to her eyes. Spike held her tightly trying to figure out just what it was that he'd done to make her this way. Fear replacing all the desire he'd had just seconds ago. After a while of their embrace Sweetie Belle pulled away from him but her eyes were still filled with tears. Spike tried to give her a kiss to reassure her but she didn't return it. Instead she got to her feet and picked up her dress, walking right for Spike's bathroom and shutting the door.

Spike just stared on stupidly as he witnessed the first time a sexual experience with a woman didn't go his way. Not only had it not gone the way he'd expected it but he'd left the poor girl in tears. What exactly had he done!? Slowly he got to his feet and dressed himself, walking over to the bathroom and sitting by the door way. He could hear her crying inside more and Spike felt completely awful.

He'd done this. Not only had he done this but he'd done so willingly. He was so eager to get Sweetie in bed with him. So filled with desire to have her to himself, to own her and taste every bit of her. He'd wanted to claim a prize tonight and he was going to sacrifice a friend to get what he wanted. It didn't matter how she had felt or what she had wanted from him. Or even if she was afraid to go this far when she had no idea what he'd already done behind her back with her very own sister. Heck the moment she'd arrived at the party all he'd done was try to get her into his bedroom, not even letting her say hi to her friends. He was lucky things hadn't progressed any farther, if he hadn't let her keep her panties on who knows if he would have even stopped?

By Celestia, Damselfly had been right about him; he was a monster.

"Spike?" Sweetie called out with a pathetic voice and Spike felt his heart sink like a rock. Appropriate since he was sure he didn't need a heart anymore anyway. He was filth.

"Yeah Sweetie? What's up? Can I... Can I come in?" There was silence for a while and Spike was on pins and needles waiting for her response.

"Can you get Applebloom? Please?"

"...yeah. Yeah I'll go get her right away." Spike stood up and stood there by the door for a moment as he tried to tell his feet to get a move on. Though his brain wanted to make him even more of a jack ass before he left. "Sweetie I'm sorry. I didn't meant to." Didn't mean to what? He sure as sunshine meant everything he'd done and he knew it in his heart. Did he really expect her to forgive him?

"Please just get Applebloom." The voice sobbed from behind the door and Spike trudged away back towards the bedroom door. He was screwed no matter what now. Once Applebloom got up here everything was over. He'd practically tried to rape Sweetie when she trusted him and had been willing to be with him of her own accord. Maybe the whole party would turn on him as soon as they found out? Maybe they'd just run out and get someone to lock him up until Twilight and Rarity got back from the Capital? Just arrange to send him back to the castle and away from the town forever to keep everyone else safe from all the horrible things he'd done.

Whatever his punishment would be it was too good for him, Spike thought to himself. He was a monster after all.

House Party

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 8 - House Party

"I had no idea you were such a good dancer." The boy complimented her. "Had I known that I would have come looking for a dance with you right away." His words were sweet and he was good looking. He'd been giving her a lot of attention since he'd starting talking to her. She only knew him passingly at school but lately she had been admiring him along with a few of the other boys. None of them had noticed it before though. Not until now at least.

"Thank you, I just sort of have a knack for it I guess." He stood closer to her now, she could feel her cheeks flush and wished she wasn't so embarrassed when just talking to him. She was just so happy, finally a boy was giving her the kind of attention she wanted. A boy she liked too. It was almost too perfect to be true. "Are you enjoying the party?" Each word out of her mouth felt clumsy and difficult but she was managing somehow.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool isn't it? Spike's an awesome dude to throw such an awesome party. Want some more punch?"

"S-sure." Taking the cup from the boy she felt their fingers touch and tried not to get too excited over something dumb like finger contact. She had to be cool, like Rainbow Dash. Or else he might not like her and then he might... leave. "Thank you Rain Catcher."

"No problem Scootaloo. Drink up?" She nodded and tossed back the drink along with the boy. It felt funny in her throat, not like any punch she'd ever tasted before. There was an odd after taste that she couldn't identify but it wasn't important. She was sharing a glass with him. She was trying to work up the courage to reach out and hold onto his hand when suddenly some other boy called out to him. "Oh hey there Shot! Hey Scootaloo, Long Shot wants to ask me something. Give me a minute, okay?"

"Okay!" She found herself agreeing way too quickly and swallowed the lump in her throat. "I mean... I'll be fine." His arm came around her shoulders and gave her a quick little half hug against his chest. He smiled at her as he walked away through the crowd, Scootaloo fighting every urge to just... she didn't know what! Explode in a fit of giggles? She had to control herself better. Turning away from where Rain had walked off to she decide to sample some of the finger foods that Spike had laid out on the table for everyone. "Hey, these are pretty good. Spike went all out on this party." She'd have to thank him later for inviting her as things were going great. As she was munching her way through her giddiness another person walked up to the table and stood next to her. "Oh hey Diamond. Are you having a good time?" Scootaloo asked cheerfully, though the look she got in response from Diamond Tiara wasn't what she was expecting. "Are you okay? You look upset."

"So I saw you were making friends with Rain Catcher." Diamond suddenly commented and it left Scootaloo surprised, not realizing anyone had been watching the two of them. Everything was so chaotic here that she wasn't sure how you could keep track of anything. "Having fun with him?"

"Well... yeah I guess. I mean we're just talking." She said and looked over her shoulder to be sure he wasn't near by as well and able to hear this. "Why is there something wrong with that?"

"He's using you." Diamond said coldly.

"Wha... excuse me?" Scootaloo was stunned. Just moments earlier she'd been about as happy as she's ever been and suddenly Diamond had just come up from out of now where and practically slapped her in the face with that statement.

"He's using you. He doesn't care about you. To him you're just a toy or a game to play. He's going to try and take you for everything he can." Carefully and calmly Diamond picked up a cup and filled it with punch, turning to face Scootaloo. "Then once he gets everything he wants he'll leave you." She took a sip of her punch, her eyes level with Scootaloo's own. The purple haired girl wasn't sure just how she should react. In fact she was having a difficult time processing everything she was being told.

"Diamond Tiara, I... this isn't funny." Scootaloo put her drink down and looked at the girl's eyes but there was something about them that was scary. It wasn't like when they were younger and Tiara would say mean things just to tease her. The mocking tone in her voice wasn't present like all those past times.

"It's not meant to be funny. I'm trying to tell you to stay away from him. It's for your own good."

"Well who are you to lecture me?" Scootaloo said challengingly to the other girl feeling a fire growing in her. "So like, what, you see me talking with someone and you're going to just come over here and make sure I don't spend time with them? Are you so lonely here that you want to be sure no one else is having fun too?" Tiara actually hit her cup against the table so hard that it caught the attention of a few people near by. Though the look in her eyes was enough to convince them not to get involved.

"I'm telling you that he's not a good person! Are you too stupid to know when someone's trying to help you?" Scootaloo clenched a fist feeling the need to pop this girl in the face for insulting her like that.

"Who are you to say that about him anyway? He hasn't done anything wrong and you just come over here with your accusations out of the blue?" Tiara crossed her arms and looked down at the ground, she was still clearly angry but there was something else bugging her too.

"I... I just know okay! He's done this before. With other girls..." That was when it all came together for Scootaloo, a smile coming across her face as she figured it all out.

"Now I get it. You're jealous of me." Tiara's head snapped back up and her arms dropped from their crossed position.

"Jealous!? Of you? Why that's ludicrous. Why in the world would I be jealous of you of all people?" Scootaloo really wanted to pop her in the mouth now after that remark, but she knew where to hit that would hurt more.

"Because apparently there are guys that like me a heck of a lot better than they do you. Guys' that think I'm prettier than you. And you can't stand the idea that a boy likes me more, can you?" Diamond Tiara looked furious at Scootaloo for those remarks, her body shaking like she was about to scream some much stronger insults at her before she finally turned away.

"Fine! Just do whatever you want! This is what I get for trying to help people!" Tiara stormed off in a huff, Scootaloo left wondering if she should feel proud for having told off one of her oldest bullies or sad to see her run away like that. She considered following after her but before she knew it there was another person at her side.

"Hey Scoots, hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Rain Catcher was with her again and before she knew it Tiara's words had faded away and were replaced with Rain Catcher's. "So did you want to go some place and just... talk for a while?"

"Yeah." Scootaloo said almost automatically. "Yeah I'd like that a lot."

"Wow... you're a really good... dancer... Silver Spoon." The boy huffed as he leaned on one of the book cases for support after getting off the dance floor. The silver haired girl with the blue rimmed glasses just looked on calmly, smiling to herself.

"You're not as bad as you claimed to be Rumble." She said not near as out of breath as him. "Though if you're going to want to impress Scootaloo you'll need a lot more endurance than that. I thought you worked weather control with your older brother?" Rumble's big brother Thunderlane was quite the athlete and Silver Spoon had to admit a hunk to boot. Though it seemed like Rumble himself had a ways to go before he could compare to him.

"Flying... and weather control... are different than dancing." He stood up now finally catching enough breath. His body happy to finally have stopped moving so quickly with his feet and arms. "You use a lot of different muscles for each. I just hope I can keep up with her too." It was a little weird helping some boy out for another girl. Especially when that other girl wasn't Diamond Tiara. But since things had somewhat evened out between all of them Silver didn't mind being nice to the whole crowd. Actually she was happy to have more friends now and she was hoping Tiara would come around to feeling this way too.

"Just ask her to go easy on you. Scootaloo's nice. Though you better be sure to act cool and don't stumble all over yourself. Girls don't like a guy that's sloppy and can't talk straight." Silver lectured confidently and adjusted her glasses. "Just be fearless, walk right up and ask her for a dance. Simple as that."

"Walk right up.. and ask her. Okay I should be able to manage that." He recited to himself as if he were trying out for an audition. "What if she says no?"

"Then she doesn't want to." Silver said again calm and collected. "Don't be too pushy either. If you try to force it she's not going to want anything to do with you." Rumble was nodding to himself as he took all of this in.

"Okay... I think I can do this. Wow Silver Spoon, you really are smart about all this kind of stuff." Rumble complimented looking at her with admiration. Silver smiled confidently to herself and adjusted her glasses again out of habit.

"Well it's just a woman's intuition I suppose. A girl needs to know how to handle herself around a boy. And boys should know how to behave around a lady." Silver said trying to appear as sophisticated as she could. She was getting a sense of pride from the respect he was paying her.

"I guess that makes sense. But how come you don't have a boyfriend of your own?" That question caught her off guard for a moment and she didn't make eye contact with him, trying to come up with an appropriate response.

"Well I... just haven't found the time for it! What with all the social obligations I have to my friends and my family's outings and my schooling there just hasn't been any room for boys." Silver stated a bit forcefully but keeping her composure enough that Rumble didn't seem to find the statement odd or untrue. "Besides that's also a personal matter."

"Sorry if it upset you." Rumble apologized sensing a bit of dissatisfaction in her voice. "Just you seem really talented and pretty. So I'm amazed you're not going out with anybody." Silver was playing with the end of her braid as a nervous habit now, but she just let the statements slide over and didn't dwell on them.

"Maybe one day. If I can find someone I'm comfortable with." She said out loud but more to herself than in response to Rumble. As Silver Spoon dwelt on the complications of her own heart she noticed a familiar face of one of the only people she was ever truly comfortable with. That face currently looked furious and that set off the warning alarms in her mind. "Oh goodness, here we go." Silver said getting ready to run.

"Everything okay?" Rumble asked concerned but Silver was already in motion.

"I have to go alright, go find Scootaloo now and stop putting it off." She winked teasingly at him and Rumble looked even more lost and embarrassed than before but Silver Spoon didn't have time to consider that. Wading through everyone she eventually caught up with Diamond Tiara in the middle of the library and grabbed her wrist. "Tiara!" When the girl turned her head she had a look in her eyes like she'd been hurt, something that Silver rarely saw in the girl and made her worried instantly. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Tiara said and pulled her hand away from Silver's in a hard yank. Though she realized right away she'd basically just snapped at her best friend and crossed her arms together. "I'm sorry I'm sorry! I just... I'm mad." Tiara said not making eye contact and Silver got worried.

"Okay Diamond, tell me what happened and I'll kick the ass of whoever did this to you." Silver said and placed both of her hands on Tiara's shoulders. The girl looked up still in a mixture of anger and hurt and then looked away again.

"Why not ask Scootaloo what happened? Maybe she'll listen to you. I know she wont listen to me."

"Wait, what did Scootaloo do?" Silver was surprised to hear that they'd fight... well okay that wasn't true. If any of them were going to fight it would probably have been the two biggest firecrackers amongst all of them. But here at the party at least she'd hoped they'd get along.

"Who cares about her anyway? Or that big jerk." Diamond gripped her arms with her hands as she held them crossed together and sighed. "I just need a second alone. Sorry Silver... I'll be back." Tiara turned away again and started heading to the farther side of the library where there were less people gathered. Silver Spoon watched her friend go and sighed, feeling disappointed in herself. It was one of the few times where Tiara hadn't confided in her when something was a problem. Feeling depressed now too Silver Spoon wandered back into the crowd.

"Y'know it ain't all that often ah come in here." Applebloom commented looking around the library. "Usually if ah wanna book ah just ask Sis or it's provided by Ms. Cheerilee. Never thought the ole' library could hold so many folks."

"I come in here a lot with my mom to check out books so I wasn't surprised. I just didn't think there'd be so many people." Dinky added feeling a bit crowded with how many teenagers were around them. The present company made it bearable though. Applebloom along with Snails and Ruby Pinch were all off to one side just having a conversation over all the sound as best they could. The chatter of the library and the music playing didn't make it the easiest though.

"Well we invited just about everyone." Snails calmly explained and he got curious looks from all the girls.

"Now hold on fer just a sec." Applebloom spoke up. "Why is it that ya'll were inviting people over? Ain't this Spike's shindig?"

"I guess so. It's his house." The even toned and calm response seemed to annoy Applebloom as Snails gave it. "But it was pretty much Snips' idea. I just went along with it."

"And here I thought Spike was the party animal. That's a disappointment, he's not that bad looking over all." Ruby said and getting a few odd glances from her friends with the last part of that comment. "Guess he is a goody goody. So why rope him into throwing a party in the first place if it was your guys' idea?"

"Well how many people do you think would show up to a party Snips and I were throwing?" The girls didn't need long to think about it to realize that yes, the would most likely never show up to a party hosted by the school nerds. Even Dinky was looking away as to avoid having to acknowledge this question. "Ya don't have to say it. We already know. That's why Spike was nice enough to help us out."

"Golly, ah never considered that Spike might not actually be enjoying this." Applebloom suddenly seemed bothered by the idea of being here at all. "Ah wonder where he skittered off tah anyway?" As she began searching around the quartet was approached by a shorter member of their gang, his arms filled to the brim with cups.

"Hey guys, got the drinks!" Snips announced as he began passing them around to everyone. "How's everyone feeling? Enjoying the party?" Snips seemed in pretty good spirits despite how much he was being run ragged around here helping Spike with every little emergency that was popping up.

"I like it." Dinky said with an innocent smile. "You and Spike and Snails did a really good job inviting all of your friends over. I bet everyone will be really appreciative of you." Snails seemed to get embarrassed at the compliment and looked away from the blond girl, swishing his cup around in his hand.

"Well geez... it wasn't really anything special. I just passed out the invites. It's Spike's party." Snips admitted but Applebloom was grinning cleverly.

"Word is ya'll are the real host 'round here." The country girl explained. "Snails told us how Spike was working with ya'll tah host this here hootananie. So ya'll should feel proud of yerselves. In fact how's 'bout a toast?" Everyone seemed to go in for the idea, all except Ruby who rolled her eyes but joined them anyway. The group of friends touched their plastic cups together and then took a long drink. Then there was a long pause afterwards. "...say. This punch has a kick tah it."

"It tastes kind of weird." Dinky admitted. "I guess it's not bad. Isn't it just fruit punch though?" Ruby Pinch raised an eyebrow and took another drink of her glass. Then a knowing smile crossed her face. "Well... guess Spike's more of a party animal than I gave him credit for."

"What's that supposed tah mean?" Applebloom asked suspiciously and Ruby didn't hesitate to take another drink. Snails was giving Snips a questioning look as well but the boy was doing everything he could to avoid making eye contact.

"Nothing." Ruby said quickly with amusement in her voice. "I guess this is his special mix. Spiked Punch I'd call it." The other girls didn't seem to get it but the boys knew right away what she was referring to.

"Maybe ah outta ask him what he put in this here mix a his?" Applebloom said eying her drink suspiciously. "Where the heck is he anyway?"

"Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara have been gone for a while too." Dinky added looking around now along with Applebloom. "I don't know where they are."

"I saw them." Snips interjected, glad to get the conversation off of the punch and onto other people. "They were on the other side of the library. Scootaloo was with them too, I think she was talking with that guy Rain Catcher." Snails and Ruby gave each other a glance at that name.

"That's trouble." Snails suddenly said which caught everyone by surprise as outbursts weren't his normal style.

"Why would that be trouble? Isn't Rain Catcher the team captain at school?" Dinky asked and Snails and Ruby shared another glance between each other. "It's really weird when you two do that." She commented and that actually made the lanky boy and the pink haired girl look embarrassed.

"There's nothing weird about it." Ruby corrected and averted her gaze from everyone now sounding upset. "No one asked you."

"I didn't mean anything by it." Dinky apologized sad but confused as to how she'd offended the girl in the first place. "I'm sorry Ruby. Is something going on with...?"

"It's Diamond Tiara." Snails suddenly spoke up, pointing over to the girl in the crown as she was pushing her way through the crowd over to a less occupied corner of the party. She had a face that suggested she wasn't enjoying herself in the least and everyone felt a heavy cloud over them knowing what that could mean. "She's in a bad mood."

"Aww haybales. She was all rustled up comin' over here in tha first place. Wonderin' why she even bothered." Applebloom sighed. "Where's Silver Spoon when ya need her?"

"Right here." The silver haired girl announced walking up to the group, though she didn't look very happy either.

"Hi Silver." Dinky waved to the girl and Silver couldn't help but smile and wave back. "Is Tiara okay? She looks really upset."

"She's just got in a fight with Scootaloo I guess. I think it was over some guy." Applebloom let out a tired sigh and Snails gave a glance Ruby's way but she wasn't returning it this time after getting noticed previously. "I tried talking to her but she didn't want to speak to me about it at all. I think she might feel... I don't know. I guess isolated."

"How's that?" Snips asked genuinely. "We're surrounded wall to wall by people. I haven't found a single place in here that doesn't have someone in it."

"Not in the literal sense." Silver said a bit haughty in Snips direction, earning her a glare from the shorter boy. "I mean she just isn't getting along with people very well. She's trying though, I can tell. Otherwise we would have all heard that fight when it started."

"Maybe someone should go talk to her." Snails suggested and everyone looked around the group trying to figure out who the best candidate was with Silver Spoon out of the running. Applebloom sighed figuring it was going to be her anyway."

"Well shucks, guess ah can take a minute tah-"

"Applebloom?" The male voice that approached from behind her nearly made the girl leap out of her shorts.

"Spike!? Where the heck have ya been?" There was something noticeably wrong with the dragon-blooded boy. Earlier he'd looked a little annoyed by all the activity in his home but he at least seemed lively and happy to see his friends. But now it was as if all the color had been washed out of his skin. His eyes even seemed dimmed in an odd way as if they couldn't reflect any of the energy behind them.

"I was upstairs... with Sweetie Belle." Everyone looked amongst each other when they heard that.

"Wait, Sweetie's here? Ah didn't even see her come in tha door."

"Yeah, she is. Um... listen, she's upstairs right now. In the bathroom. In the bedroom." There were confused expressions all around over this information and no one seemed to know what to make of it. "She's asking if you'd come up there."

"Oh golly, ah hope she's feelin' all right. It's just upstairs?" Spike nodded quietly, just adding to the confusion of the situation. "Alrighty then, ah'll head right up." Applebloom handed her cup off to Spike and dutifully ran towards the stairs to check on her friend. Spike just stood on as the red head passed by him, not saying anything and bringing an awkward silence to everyone. Ruby was staring at Spike intently and he didn't appreciate it.

"Something wrong?" Spike asked annoyed.

"Nothing. Nice punch by the way, glad you made use of my gift." Spike cocked his head as if he had no idea what she was talking about. Though that got a reaction out of Snips quickly.

"Say uh, I'll go talk to Tiara!" The chubby boy offered and that brought everyone's attention to him unintentionally. "She's still upset right?" Silver looked like she didn't have much faith in the man that had signed up for the job.

"Are you sure?" The bespectacled girl asked. "I mean Diamond can be a little difficult to get through. She might just tell you to get lost... only not near as politely." Snips shrugged.

"Well then it wont cause anymore harm either, huh?" Downing his drink in one gulp and turning on his heels Snips exited the group quickly to head towards the fuming young woman who was occupying a lone corner by herself.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Silver sighed.

"You know I think I'll go check on Sweetie Belle too." Ruby suddenly stated getting a surprised look from Snails and a concerned look from Spike. "After all she might need help from more than one person while she's up there. Anyone else coming?" No one spoke up, but Snails let out a breath, downed his cup of punch in a single slam as well and turned to follow her. The remaining trio watched on as they walked off, Snails dutifully following behind Ruby as they went up the stairs.

"What's up with those two?" Silver suddenly asked adjusting her glasses. "It seems like he's responding to every little thing she says."

"Maybe they're dating?" Dinky offered simply.

"What? I couldn't even imagine Ruby going out with someone like Snails. Considering her... reputation I couldn't expect him to possibly be able to keep her interest." Silver analyzed and felt confident in her assessment. "Maybe he's just hoping to get somewhere with her considering some of the rumors I've heard at school."

"Opposites do tend to attract. Besides maybe she finds tall guys sexy? Or maybe he's just really well endowed?" Silver and Spike were left speechless after the oddly innocent way Dinky had offered her suggestions to why a relationship between a nerd and the supposed school harlot could work out. "Oh Spike did you put that bottle of alcohol in the punch? It tastes kind of funny." Spike had to shake his head quickly to recover from the second impact that the pretty blond girl had hit him with?

"Wait, what!?" Spike tasted the punch from the cup Apple Bloom had given him and realization came over his expression. "That little... he dumped it in the punch bowl!"

"So the punch has been spiked?" Silver asked and Spike gave her the most sickening expression over the unintentional pun. "Oh Celestia... Diamond drank about three glasses of that already."

Diamond Tiara leaned against the wall of one of the few places in the library that didn't have a bookshelf on it. She was furious and more than a little hurt over her conversation with Scootaloo about Rain Catcher. It wasn't just that she'd been so stubborn as to not listen to Tiara when she tried to warn her. But she'd been so hurtful about it as well. Diamond had been trying so hard lately to get along with people besides Silver Spoon but no one seemed to understand her. Every conversation and interaction just rubbed her the wrong way and when she wanted to explode she had to hold it all in. Why did everyone have to be so stupid!? Even when she went out of her way to help someone they just treated her with spite. Maybe she should go over there and give Scootaloo a piece of her mind? Sure she'd probably start a fight but at least she'd avoid having to go through anything like...

"Hey Diamond." A voice spoke up and Tiara looked over to see the portly boy before her, holding two cups in his hand. "I brought you some punch. I thought you might like some." The high society girl looked at the glass she was being offered. At first her instincts told her to slap it out of his hands. Who was he to think he could even approach someone like her? But... she'd promised her daddy and Silver that she'd try to be nicer. He was being the kindest one to her so far at this party too. So without a word she accepted the glass and continued to stare blankly out a nearby window instead of making eye contact.

Annoyingly he didn't go away after she had taken the glass from him. Just standing there nearby as if he actually had some business with her. Diamond tried to ignore him but it was just too difficult to act like he wasn't right there and occupying her space and breathing the same air as her and geez would he just go away!? "Can I help you?" Diamond finally asked.

"Well um... you looked kind of lonely over here. So thought I'd see how you were doing."

"Lucky me." Diamond responded, grumbling to herself. She looked over at the boy again. "You're Snips right?"

"That's right. We're in the same class together. My father runs the barber shop in town." Snips replied sounding hopeful. Tiara was still a bit indifferent though to the whole conversation.

"Oh yeah, daddy goes there often to get his hair done." Diamond took a sip of her punch and went back to ignoring him. He didn't seem to notice the intention though.

"So... I'd heard you and Scootaloo had an argument?" Diamond felt herself flare up a bit internally and tried to keep it under wraps.

"So she's going around telling everyone about how horrible I am, is she?" Her grip around her plastic cup increased and made a small noise as it dented in on itself. Diamond tried to ignore that and regain her composure.

"Actually Silver Spoon mentioned it to her friends. I haven't heard anything from Scootaloo talking about it." Well... maybe she wasn't bragging about how she'd humiliated her publicly after all Diamond tried to do was help her. That didn't mean she wasn't still over there gloating over it. "What was it about?"

"You wouldn't understand." Tiara said in a huff and turned back towards the window. "It's complicated."

"Well... I don't know about that. I mean sure I'm not as popular as you but I'm not in the dark about what goes on with everyone." Diamond didn't turn towards him but didn't feel the need to tell him off either. It was odd that she didn't want to snap at him. "Why don't you try me? I wont blab about it to everyone. The only one I ever talk to is Snails really and he doesn't need to hear about it." Why was this little nerd so persistent? All logical faculties in Diamond's head told her to distance herself from the tubby boy for fear of her reputation suffering. But... she had just snapped at her only real friend in this whole place. It would be nice to have someone to talk to.

"She yelled at me when I tried to help her." Diamond admitted and Snips listened closely and quietly. "I was trying to warn her about him and she didn't listen to me."

"About who?"

"Rain Catcher." Diamond said with a little bit of disdain in her voice. Snips grumbled as well at the name and took a sip of his drink. "You know him?"

"Yeah, of course. Guy likes to push around anyone smaller than him." Snips said sounding like he was holding back a lot of upset emotions himself. "He always acts like he's just messing around or it's not a big deal and he's still your friend. But you know... he's just laughing at you when your back is turned."

"Yeah." Tiara said sympathetically. "That's what I tried to tell Scootaloo but she just... she just wouldn't listen to me." Tiara said holding her cup close as if it would comfort her. "Then she said that I couldn't handle some guy liking her more than me and it's just... that's not it at all, you know? I just wanted to help someone and I thought that if I did then... I don't know. We'd be friends? Real friends." Tiara looked down sad. "Snips, am I a bad person?"

"You're asking me?" Snips sounded surprised and Tiara looked at him seriously.

"I need to know because I'm trying to be different and everything is just turning out wrong. It's like everyone thinks I'm horrible and no one wants to talk to me but I don't want things to be that way." She put both hands around her cup now, she didn't know why she was gushing out to some guy that she normally would never associate herself with. But she wanted to talk to someone. Anyone. "So am I?" Snips emptied his drink in one gulp and took a breath like he was steadying himself which didn't make Tiara feel any better.

"Well... you used to be real mean. Like really mean, you know?" Tiara looked down at the ground. "I've seen you say and do some really hurtful stuff. Mostly to Scootaloo and her friends but sometimes Snails and me too. You probably don't remember any of that though."

"I do." Diamond admitted. "I got Silver Spoon to make fun of you when we were going to sell cookies around town to raise money for the school. I accused you of eating them all up before they'd even leave your house." She tapped her cup with her finger feeling a twinge of shame. "I um... I'm sorry about that. It was mean. It probably doesn't mean much to you to hear it now though."

"It means more than you think." Snips said and that got her to look up again. "I wont admit that I know a lot Tiara. I mean... look at me. I'm not the guy people talk to or share stuff with often, you know? I'm not in the loop." Tiara didn't want to say that out loud after they'd been talking like this but she knew just as well as he. He was a nerd and she was the rich, popular girl. These two didn't mix and one was clearly on the bottom of the social food chain while the other was at the top. "But you're obviously trying and I think you shouldn't quit. Silver Spoon was really worried about you and so was Applebloom. In fact she was going to come over here first but I guess Sweetie Belle needed help. So you got stuck with me." Snips said it as a joking apology.

"Wait, Sweetie is here too? I didn't even see her come in."

"Yeah I guess she met up with Spike or something. He said she was upstairs in his bedroom. I guess she got sick? He didn't really explain much about it." That got Diamond's attention quickly, cutting through the annoying haze that had been effecting most of her judgement and emotions tonight.

"Spike had her upstairs in his room with her?" Snips was surprised by her sudden attentiveness and just nodded, Diamond getting a more intense look. "Oh that fire breathing rat, thinks I don't know what he's up to after last time? Where the heck is he? I'm not having anyone else getting taken advantage of tonight." Snips was completely confused now but did as she asked.

"Well he was right over-"

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" There was a sudden chanting over the sound of the normal noises of the party and music from a group of the party goers opposite of where Snips and Tiara were standing. It stopped their conversation cold and there was a shout of "what's going on" in the crowed that Snips was sure belonged to Spike but he couldn't tell with how loud it was.

"That's where I left Scootaloo." Diamond said and started pushing her way through the crowd.

The dark haired boy had been working up his courage for a while now. The task was simple in its execution; just ask Scootaloo if she'd like to have a dance. Nothing more and nothing less. Approach her, tell her you'd like to have a dance with her and maybe strike up a conversation afterwards. Rumble had gotten himself psyched for this moment but there was one obstacle in the way that was going to prove to be a lot more difficult than he expected; Rain Catcher.

It would figure wouldn't it? The prettiest and coolest girl in class and rather than be satisfied with the girls he'd been with before he was moving in on her. The only one that Rumble was interested in himself. They were over by the staircase just standing and talking. Scootaloo looked like she was enjoying herself and it was killing him just how much she smiled at Rain Catcher whenever they looked at each other. Why couldn't that have been himself? Why shouldn't it be himself? In fact who's to say Rumble wasn't better than that big jerk? Sure he was the team captain at school but what did that matter? Rumble took another drink of the odd tasting punch and set the cup aside on a book shelf. He was gonna do it.

As Rumble got closer he saw that Rain Catcher had an arm around Scootaloo, like he was claiming her or something. Well that only fueled Rumble's cause to free her from this horrible person before he made her do something she'd regret. He could just see how appreciative she was going to be after this. Walking up to them Rumble stood in front of the two while they were talking quietly to each other. Practically whispering into her ear. After standing there for a moment Rumble cleared his throat and they looked up at him, Rain Catcher smirking.

"Well if it isn't Rumble. What you need man?" Look at him acting all friendly, the jerk. Who did he think he was that he could talk to him like that? They weren't friends. Ignoring him Rumble looked right to Scootaloo who seemed really confused by the boy's sudden appearance.

"Scootaloo." Rumble said trying to sound as confident as possible. "Would you like to dance with me?" Scootaloo's eyes lit up in surprise seeing this boy approach her. Rain Catcher actually laughed a little and stopped himself before it became too apparent. The purple haired girl looked at Rain and then back to Rumble with uncertainty.

"Well... um..." The girl was unsure suddenly on what to do, though someone made the choice for her.

"Okay, listen up." Rain Catcher removed his arm from around Scootaloo's shoulders and stood forward to face Rumble, but he wasn't backing down. "We're kind of in the middle of something here, bro. So if you just find someone else to go ask to have a little dance with I'll just act like everything's cool, alright?" Rain was taller than Rumble but the darker haired boy still held his ground.

"I didn't ask you." He said to Rain Catcher. "I asked Scootaloo. I'll respect any answer she gives me. But I'm not taking it from you." Rain's smile dropped when Rumble actually stood up to him and he didn't look at all pleased with Rumble's answer. Rumble turned to face Scootaloo again. "Well? Would you like to dance with me?" Scootaloo looked between the two boys, still reeling from the attention she was getting.

"I... I guess that..."

"Hold up a sec, Scoots." Rain Catcher put his hand up to cut her off and looked down at Rumble again. "I don't think you understand here. You're interrupting our conversation, okay? You're butting in right now. What makes you think I'm gonna just sit back and take that?" His voice was getting more aggressive and his posture equally so. Although Scootaloo herself didn't like being butted in on when she was talking.

"Rain it's okay. I can talk for myself, alright?"

"Who are you to make decisions for her?" Rumble suddenly said in challenge to Rain Catcher and both boys were getting serious. "Must be a nice relationship you're planning huh? Already bossing her around."

"Wait a second, who said anything about-" Scootaloo tried to question but they weren't even looking at her now.

"You are walking a thin line you little punk." Rain Catcher said and leaned down to look him in the eye. "Now why don't you go take a walk somewhere before I remember how weak you are on the field and knock you on your ass here too?" The situation was getting tense enough between both boys that other people around them were starting to take notice. Scootaloo felt trapped in a situation that she didn't know how it got out of control so fast. Though she had an idea who was probably the one that could cause the most damage of the two and responded appropriately.

"Okay Rain Catcher, you should just calm down for a second? Everyone's getting a little tensed up right now."

"Why don't you sit down." Rumble suddenly said. "You can wait it out while we head out to the dance floor real quick. Maybe get yourself back under control." Rumble actually grinned at that statement and it was enough that Rain Catcher was being tired of having this guy talk down to him. It surprised all three people when he suddenly shoved Rumble away from him, causing the boy to stumble backwards into two girls who were standing nearby. They pushed him back up onto his feet and soon all three realized everyone near by had their eyes on the scene going on before them. Rain Catcher took a deep breath and shook his head.

"Just walk away." He said to Rumble seriously. "Just walk man, I'll forget all about it. You don't want what's coming next." Scootaloo's eyes went wide as it was sinking in that there were suddenly two guys about to fight over her. She didn't know if she should be excited or frightened but everything seemed to stand still despite the people around them. In that tense moment Rumble made the next move, and gave Rain a hard shove right back. He only stumbled about a step but it was enough to entice him to retaliate with another small push.

"That's all you got huh?" Rumble said and tried to shove Rain Catcher harder but he efforts were being deflected by the taller boy's longer arms. Somewhere in Rumble's desperate struggle to try and demean his antagonist and Rain Catcher's attempt to not lose face in front of a whole crowd there was a sudden loud clapping noise as Rain Catcher slapped Rumble across the face. Hard enough that his head swung with the hit.

Scootaloo shuddered but froze up again as both boys stopped their fighting for an instant. "What I tell you!?" Rain Catcher said forcefully. "If you don't get out of here now you're not walking away." His words sounded serious, but not as serious as Rumble's fist as it came around to punch Rain Catcher in the face. That got everyone going.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" The crowd was chanting now, all except Scootaloo who was standing aside and had no idea what to do in this situation. Rain Catcher touched his lip and saw a bit of blood on his finger afterwards, not much but enough he could taste it. After that he went after Rumble and the dark haired boy responded by lunging back at him. There was a futile struggle as they gripped onto each others' collars, trying to get around the arms of the other with a very sloppy, school yard fighting. There was a loud cry of a male voice in the background of "what's going on" but Rumble didn't have time to think about it. He was trying to make sure he didn't get his nose broken from one of those longer arms getting lose and bringing a fist to his face. People were pushing back and forth to get a closer look at the fight. Some seemed to want to try and stop it while others kept them out to let it carry on. With his adrenaline pumping Rumble didn't have much time to consider the actions of anyone else around him. Rain Catcher got lucky and broke his arms free from Rumble's grip.

Grabbing Rumble's shoulders, Rain Catcher threw him backwards making the boy stumble onto his heels. Some people in the crowd caught him and pushed him back. He thought he saw Scootaloo pleading for them to stop but it was far too late for that now. As he was forced back into the fight he could see Rain bringing a fist back to connect to his face. All he could think of in those few seconds was just how ugly he was going to look with a busted up face. There was a swing and a thud as the fist hit hard against flesh. But Rumble felt fine. Opening his eyes he felt a hand on his chest that didn't belong to Rain Catcher, someone had stepped in to stop the fight. They had taken his punch for him. There was only one person he could think of that would have been close enough.

"Scoota-" he stopped mid word seeing the body before him. It wasn't Scootaloo at all that had jumped in; it was Spike. And Rain Catcher had just punched the dragon-blooded party host right in the face.

Spike had to consider just how well he'd predicted tonight into becoming something he had never wanted to be a part of. Just as he'd foreseen the party had gotten out of control nearly right away. The library was a huge mess and it was just getting worse with everyone's habits of leaving their cups and plates all over the place. Thankfully he'd been wrong about something getting broken (hopefully) as they'd saved Twilight's divination crystal ball. But as all the pieces were falling into place now he was onto the main event as the punch had been so ironically spiked and a fight had broken out between two idiots.

When the chanting for a fight had started Spike had been doing his best to avoid questions from both Dinky and Silver. They were worried about Sweetie and rightfully so but what could he say? He didn't want to tell them what he'd done but he didn't want to lie either. So it left him just dodging questions or outright not answering at all and making both girls even more worried. Frankly the idea of a fist fight was welcome in comparison to the questions being hurled his way. Crying out "what's going on" over the crowd's chanting Spike pushed his way through everyone to get to the center of the action.

Some taller boy and a shorter one were at each others' throats. He thought they looked familiar but he didn't have much time to dwell on it. Instead pushing his way past everyone to try and break it up. When he finally got his hands on them the taller boy had pushed the shorter one away and the crowd was pushing him right back (thanks a lot, jerks). This was an opening though as Spike wedged his way in between them to stop them from colliding into another mess of arms gripping onto shirts. His palm hit against the dark haired boy's chest and he realized suddenly that this was the kid that had arrived with Snails. Least Spike knew who to dump him with once he got this stopped. As he turned to be sure to keep the other boy apart as well Spike was suddenly met with a fist to his face in a solid hit.

It hurt. Even with how tough his skin was a solid impact while he wasn't ready for it still stung a lot. Though that wasn't really what got to him. It was the fact someone had punched him at all. Someone wanted a fight with him. Funny enough, right at this moment, he wanted that too.

The taller boy pulled his hand away from Spike's face and backed up when he saw he'd punched someone other than who his intended target was. "Oh man! Oh Spike, man are you hurt!? I'm so sorry bro, I didn't mean it." Rain Catcher was apologizing rapidly but Spike wasn't really listening. Actually the voices were drowning out around him and he took his hand off the other boy's chest, turning to face Rain Catcher.

"So... you want to fight?" Spike asked and looked at the other boy. His face didn't hurt much anymore, the pain just washed away. Actually he didn't feel that bad at all. He felt better! Like all of his problems were suddenly rolled up in a tiny ball that he'd put in his fist and he could just let it all out with one swing. It was the best he'd felt all night.

"No. Spike, listen man, it was an accident. I'm sorry, we're still cool right?" Oh they so were not cool. Not by a long shot.

"Spike, your eyes." Scootaloo said quietly and Spike glanced at her for only a moment, turning his attention right back to the punching bag he could let out all his aggression on.

"Sure. We'll be 'cool'. Just as soon as I take care of something." His feet felt heavy but powerful as he approached Rain Catcher and prepared to slam the boy's head right against the wall he was standing by.

"Spike!" A girl's voice suddenly cried out and a hand grabbed Spike by the shoulder and forced him to turn around. The red headed farm girl was looking him dead in the eyes and she looked mad. "What in tarnation is goin' on 'round here!?"

"Applebloom." She was upset but he didn't know why and furthermore didn't care in the least. "Move, I gotta..." He tried to turn away from her but in a surprising show of strength she turned him back to face her.

"Ya'll ain't gotta do nuthin' but talk tah me! Ah just got back from checkin' on Sweetie." That got his attention as he suddenly felt his body lock up and his anger turn into icy cold fear. She leaned in and said the next part quietly. "Ya'll stop this now an yer commin' with me, ya hear?" Spike stopped trying to pull at her grip and looked down at her, letting out a sigh and nodding. "Good." She turned and pointed at Rain Catcher. "You, skedaddle. Go, git." Rain Catcher looked a bit relieved to not suddenly be in a new fight with a lot tougher opponent. But he wasn't fond of having the farm girl talk down to him like some kind of child.

"Hey, I'm not the one that started all this. It was an accident." He tried to argue further but Diamond Tiara came out of the crowd and grabbed his arm.

"For Celestia's sake just shut up you idiot." The girl in the crown pulled him aside and away from Spike just to get some distance. Dinky and Silver Spoon had expertly made a move to do the same with Rumble and keep him away from the other two boys. Spike watched as everyone was keeping their distance from him and Applebloom and she pulled him another direction to keep all the territorial boys apart.

"All right, ya'll just wait fer a second and calm down. Ah'll be back for ya." Spike nodded and the farm girl watched him for a moment before turning to go do whatever it was she felt she needed to. Spike put his hands to his fore head and rubbed, letting out a breath and letting himself settle. He'd been so angry. He was going to seriously hurt that guy, someone he hadn't ever met before and who didn't even want to start a fight with him in the first place. Spike had seriously considered harming him as severely as he could and he hadn't felt bad about it at all. What was wrong with him? As he took his head from his forehead he noticed something odd about his fingers.

"Spike?" Looking up Spike made eye contact with the purple haired girl this fight had all been about in the beginning. Seeing her made him try to hide his hands so she wouldn't be able to spot their sudden problem. "Spike, are you okay?"

"Yeah... yeah I'm fine." Spike lied and tried not to make eye contact. "My face doesn't even hurt anymore."

"Oh, that's good. But I was actually asking about something else." Spike looked up at her again and she sighed a breath of relief. "Thank goodness, they're back to normal."

"What are?" Spike reached up and felt around his face, wondering if maybe that punch had done more damage than he thought and messed up his nose or ears or something.

"Your eyes. After Rain Catcher punched you they were glowing. But your hands..." Spike realized he'd just forgotten that he was trying to hide those from her and revealed the pointed claws on the ends of his fingers that had grown from his finger nails. "Your teeth look sharper too. Are you okay Spike?" Scootaloo watched him with concern and Spike sighed, not sure how to respond to that.

"I don't know." He said looking down at the floor. "This was all a mistake. I never should have had this party. I'm doing everything so wrong lately. I just can't seem to... I mean I just don't know what I'm feeling. I don't know how to deal with what I'm feeling. I'm sorry Scootaloo. I'm not a good person."

"That's not true." Scootaloo said in protest. "You're a great person. You've always been a good friend to everyone and you were nice enough to throw a party for everybody and... and... you walked me home that night. And the holding the hoop thing with Rainbow Dash and the fire and... all that stuff." Scootaloo was doing her best but expressing emotions wasn't her strongest suit either. Funny enough it made Spike feel a little bit better regardless. "I'm glad you're my friend."

"You might not be after tonight." Spike said.

"Oh please, how much worse can things get?" Spike would look back on this moment as the one where he realized you're not supposed to tempt fate. As if one cue one voice at the front of the library suddenly cut above all the other noise and everyone heard them with perfect clarity as they said the dreaded name.

"Ms. Cheerilee!" Funny enough the music stopped at the mention of her name. Whoever had been by the record player must have turned it off as soon as her name was uttered and it just seemed so fitting for the moment. It was too bad Spike was too terrified to laugh. Everyone made room as the pink haired school teacher walked into the library and looked around. Snips and Snails had been right; she was really pretty and a low cut shirt made her that much more attractive. Too bad there wasn't time to admire it.

The school teacher looked around the library as if she were recording everyone's faces. No one dared speak. Almost casually she walked over the the punch bowl and without a word poured herself a cup, tasting it and filling Spike with that much more dread. He was doomed. As she set the cup down Cheerilee turned towards the crowd. "So... is everyone having a good time?" No one said anything. "Really? That's too bad. It seemed like everyone was having a good time. Every single one of you who's faces I recognize from my class." There was a low mumble and some kids were trying to duck out of sight in hopes she may not have seen them. "Staying out late, throwing a party in the library while Ms. Sparkle is away on business and drinking alcohol. I am very upset with all of you."

The crowd of kids was a mix of reactions but the most common was dread at having been caught in this situation. Now that they'd been seen there wasn't any way out. "I don't want to hear excuses. I know for a fact Twilight Sparkle left, I spoke with the Cakes to be sure this wasn't a party Pinkie Pie had thrown when I saw two students who should not have been out this late come into the library. So what I want to know right now from everyone is who set up this party?" The school teacher crossed her arms under her chest and looked out amongst the see of teenagers. Waiting for someone to sacrifice one of their own in hopes of getting out of punishment. She tapped her fingers looking around and becoming impatient. Spike decided it was time to face the music. Maybe if he confessed to everything he'd done at once they would go easy on him before Sweetie and Apple Bloom got to her.

"I did it." The voice spoke up, but it surprised Spike since it wasn't his own. Out of the crowd stepped the short, portly Snips before Ms. Cheerilee. "I did it. I'm the one that set up the party." Spike stared awe struck as the boy walked forward to take the punishment that belonged to him.

"Snips?" Ms. Cheerilee asked looking just as surprised as anyone else. "You did this?" No, this was all wrong.

"Wait, no. I'm-" Spike tried to say but suddenly Diamond Tiara was before him. Before he could react she shoved him hard onto the floor on his butt. Scootaloo was still near by and looked at the situation like it was crazy as Tiara leaned down and put a blanket around Spike. "What the...? Diamond what are you doing?"

"Stay down and shut up." Tiara said and dropped a lamp shad on top of Spike's head. Making him look like a very misshapen night stand. As if someone had put a lamp on a bean bag. "Help me keep him out of sight." Tiara then grabbed Scootaloo and pulled her in front of Spike as well, essentially disguising him and blocking him out of sight from Cheerilee. Spike had no idea what was happening and was still recovering from all the other events from tonight to be able to put up an argument.

Snips was still before Cheerilee now, confessing to everything. "Yes... it was me. I'm the one that organized the party. I got everyone to come here tonight. I'm even the one that put the alcohol in the punch." Cheerilee was watching carefully with the skill of a woman who's dealt with kid's lying and fabrications as a career.

"How did you get into the library with Ms. Sparkle out of town?"

"I took the key from Spike. I don't think he even knows I used it to get in here for this party. I told him it was going to be to borrow some books. I think he left with Twilight Sparkle when she left too." Snips confessed carefully and sadly, the school teacher watching him the whole time. After a moment she sighed and shook her head.

"I'm surprised at you Snips. Really surprised and really disappointed. I'll have to have a talk with your father later and Ms. Sparkle when she returns."

"Wait!" Snips suddenly said. "Ms. Cheerilee please don't tell Ms. Sparkle. I don't want Spike to get in trouble for what I did." This was insanity. Why was Snips confessing for all of this when it was just as much Spike's own fault? Where the heck was Snails to stop him when he needed to? "Everyone will take all of their trash out with them and be sure the place is clean as we leave, right guys?" Snips turned to the crowd and everyone looked amongst each other. Though they all nodded their heads, not wanting to say anything that would upset Cheerilee further. Cheerilee thought it over carefully and looked around at everyone.

"Fine." She finally said with an upset tone. "I want this place spotless before everyone leaves. Take all your trash out to the dumpster and don't leave a single thing behind. And Snips, I'll still be talking to your father about this." Snips nodded and started to pick up the closest trash he could on the table. Soon the room was alive with the sound of bustling activity as everyone was frantically trying to clean up the mess of a full night's partying. As everyone started moving about Spike heard Tiara's voice as she leaned down next to him.

"Don't you come out till everyone's gone. I don't want you screwing this up like a dumb animal." He had no idea what she was talking about but he decided to take her advice and stayed perfectly still. Scootaloo also leaned down to tell him a quick good bye as he heard feet move all about the library and heading out the door. Everyone must have worked crazy efficient because it didn't seem to take long to get everyone outside. Cheerilee must have really known how to crack the whip when she needed to. Despite how quick it had been time felt like it was passing painfully slow before finally there were only a few foot steps and voices left. Soon after Spike heard the door to the library shut and he waited for a while to be sure no one was around. Turns out he still wasn't alone.

"Spike?" A female voice called out. "Spike, where are ya? Spike?"

"Applebloom?" The girl let out a little startled shout as the lumpy night stand called out to her and the lamp shade was taken off of his head by the farm girl.

"What the land sakes are you doing down there?" Spike took off the blanket and stood up, stretching out his back after being forced to squat there for so long.

"Diamond Tiara dressed me up like that. I don't know why." He really didn't but it must have had something to do with keeping him out of trouble while Snips took the blame. Why would she care about keeping him out of trouble though? Or going along with a plan Snips wanted to do? "Is everyone gone?"

"Guess so. Ah don't think Ms. Cheerilee saw me. Good thing too, ah bet Applejack woulda whooped me good if she found out ah'd been drinking alcohol. Ah still can't believe Snips did that."

"Yeah... wonder who gave him the idea to." Spike knew who must have done that. Although that hadn't been what Spike had meant when he had told the boy to take care of the bottle. "Listen about Sweetie Belle."

"No, ya'll listen. What in tarnation were ya thinkin' of!?" Applebloom suddenly laid into him and Spike did nothing to resist. This was just a taste of what he deserved. "Pressuring a girl like that when ya know she couldn't handle it."

"I'm sorry I just... I haven't been thinking straight." What now you were going to make up excuses Spike? Be a man for once in your life and face what you've done. "I'm so sorry."

"Well... Ah guess ah can forgive ya."

"Wait... what?" Spike asked completely surprised.

"Well yeah. Ah can understand wantin' all yer friends tah come over tah yer big fancy party. But askin' a girl tah show up when she's feelin' ill ain't very gentleman like, y'know." Spike stared blankly at the red head as he tried to process what she was saying.

"What?"

"Now don't play dumb. Ah know ya'll wanna show off in front a all the girls but ya gotta be more civil ya'know. Can't be forcing a girl tah do something she's not able to muster herself up fer. Thankfully ah'm a bit brighter apple in the bunch that ah can see past all this macho manly showin' off yer goin' on about. It's gonna git ya in trouble y'know. Like how ya got them glowin' eyes again when ya were pickin' a fight back there." The strange physical change Spike had undergone was so far out of his thoughts he barely remembered what she was talking about. So focused on one subject alone.

"So then... Sweetie Belle is..."

"She's in the back room waitin' fer ya. Wanted tah talk before she had tah git home. I gotta run mahself before granny notices ah've been gone awful late. Ya'll be kind tah her, ya hear?" Spike nodded to Applebloom and she took that as an agreement, patting him on the shoulder before heading out of the library herself. Spike stood there dumb founded and soon found himself walking past the stair case and to the door leading to the back part of the library. Sure enough when he had arrived there Sweetie Belle was standing in the middle of the room waiting for him. Her eyes were sad. It hurt his heart.

"Hey Spike." Sweetie said quietly and the dragon-blooded boy closed the door behind him as he walked into the room. "I guess your party got ruined, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Spike said rubbing the back of his head, finding it hard to look her in the eye. Before he had admired them so when she glanced at him with that flirtatious look. But now after what had happened he just felt guilt for his actions. "It's okay though. I mean I think I kind of deserved to have it ruined. I wasn't being a very good host."

"I guess so." Sweetie said quietly and the two stood before each other in silence. Spike decided that he finally needed to man up and confess what he'd done wrong to one person at least. Snips and Sweetie having covered for him so far and making him feel like a complete heel. "Sweetie, I need to say something."

"I do too." Sweetie said and the duo made eye contact. The purple haired girl took a deep breath and gathered her courage. "Spike, I want you to believe me when I say this." Here it comes. The truth; he's a monster. He's a rapist. He's a terrible creature and he deserves to be locked up and she never wants to see him again. And he deserved all of it. "I'm sorry."

"...you're what?"

"I'm sorry." Sweetie repeated and stepped away from Spike, looking at one of the book cases. "I'm sorry I did that to you. I didn't mean to end up like that but I just... I don't know. I guess I got scared. I realized I didn't know what I was doing. I felt like a little kid all of a sudden." She clasped her hands together and faced him. "I let things get out of hand and then I just... fell apart. I'm sorry Spike. Can you forgive me?"

It was too good to be true. He'd dodged every bullet. The party wouldn't be blamed on him, Twilight was never going to find out, Sweetie had covered for him with Applebloom and now even the very act he'd committed in his bedroom with her was off his shoulders. He'd gotten away with all of it and none of it would come back to haunt him. He'd won. He was the king of the world. Nothing could stop him now.

"No." Spike suddenly said and Sweetie looked heart broken.

"No?" She asked, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks again. Spike put his hands on her shoulders.

"No, I wont forgive you because you did nothing wrong. I'm... I can't keep doing this. I can't just let everyone let me get away with these things. Sweetie what I did was wrong. I'm so sorry I made you cry. I'm sorry I pushed you that far when you didn't want to. It was all my fault and I don't want you to feel bad about any of it." He had to be a man, not a monster. He was going to make that choice right here and now. "Can you forgive me?"

"Of course." She hugged him suddenly and he hugged her back. Despite everything she still let him get away with it even after confessing all of his sins. He felt like he owed her more and that he hadn't paid enough. But if she was happy then well... that's what's most important. He could pay up the rest later over time. "Spike, please don't be mad but I don't think I'm ready to be a girlfriend."

"I'm not mad." Spike said calmly. "Maybe I'm not ready to be a boyfriend either." She nodded and stepped back to look at him. Things were different now and Spike suspected they probably wouldn't be the same going forward. But perhaps there was a new found respect for each other now and that was something precious to keep between them. A secret, but more than that their understanding of their limits together. Spike walked her out of the back room and towards the door, holding it open for her. "Do you need me to walk you home?"

"No, that's okay. I can make it just fine. But Spike?" Sweetie said and darted up, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "When we are ready to be a boyfriend and a girlfriend, do you want to try it with each other again?" Spike blushed at getting the kiss but smiled in return to her.

"Sure. If we're ready, maybe we can try it again." Sweetie giggled in that adorable way that made him feel good inside and said her goodbyes as she walked out the door. Spike closed it behind her and touched his own lips. Even after all of that she was willing to give him a parting gift that was so sweet. Spike let out a breath and caught a little spout of flame coming out of his lips. "Shoot... guess she got me pretty good with that last one."

Spike looked around the library, other than the larger than usual amount of foot prints on the floor the place actually looked pretty good. Seemed his party guests were honest about cleaning up after themselves, another bullet dodged thankfully. Spike headed up the stairs to his room looking to get a shower and maybe some quick personal relief after all the pressure Sweetie Belle had built up in him. He could use something to calm him down after all. As he got up to the top of the stairs and reached for the door handle it swung open first and Spike found himself face to face with a left over from the party that could have helped with that relief but he doubted it would be a very good idea. "Ruby Pinch?"

"Hey party man. Nice punch you mixed up for us tonight." Ruby Pinch said looking like she'd enjoyed a few cups of them herself. "Guess it's all over already huh? That's fine, I was looking to head home anyway." Ruby walked past him with a sway in her hips that made the boy a little upset she was leaving the one place he could use a girl right now. Though a more important question was stuck in his mind.

"What the heck were you doing in my room?"

"Helping Applebloom." A slow response came from the doorway and Spike turned around quickly to see a lanky boy walking out of the bedroom as well.

"What the... Snails? What are you guys doing? Applebloom was down stairs." Ruby hadn't stopped to have a conversation as she was still walking towards the door, Snails looking after her as she did.

"Yep, she took her down after a while to see you. Looks like the party ended pretty early." He responded in a low and slow tone, though there was something about it that was kind of... anxious. Spike didn't know how to describe it. Snails didn't get agitated or excited like most boys. "Where's Snips?"

"He uh... he took the blame for the party. Cheerilee showed up." Spike said simply and Snails face when from uninterested to concerned faster than Spike had ever seen it change before. "I don't know why he did it."

"Hmmm... that's trouble." Was just about all the analysis he had to offer. "Hey, I'm gonna walk Ruby home right now. You want me to come back to help you clean up?"

"No man, it's okay. Everyone did it before they left. Cheerilee made them but uh... Snails what's going on here?" Spike asked nodding over towards where Ruby was standing by the open door of the library and awaiting her escort. Snails looked at Spike then down at the pink haired girl and back to his buddy.

"Nothing." Snails said but Spike raised an eye brow in curiosity. "Well then I'll see you later. I'll keep you updated on Snips."

"Yeah... sure." Spike said waving to them both from the stairwell as they exited the library. That response had been weird and Spike wasn't really sure what was going on between them but he was sure it was something now. Where they really going out? He wasn't sure and didn't have any proof but the fact they were still up here while Applebloom was downstairs was troubling to say the least. Deciding he was now way more tired than earlier Spike went around the library to be sure all of the lights were off and then trudged back upstairs to just go to bed.

Once he was in his room he turned the lights off and just fell on top of the covers, groaning and kicking his shoes off. "I sure hope Twilight had a better night than me." Was all he could think as he was drifting off to sleep. Adjusting on his bed his arm went up around his pillow and he felt something odd. "Whats... that?" Gripping it in his fingers Spike pulled the object back up and found he was holding a pair of pink panties.

"These aren't Twilight's." Spike commented to himself. "... they're not Sweetie Belle's either." Looking at the panties for a while Spike slowly just put them back where he found them and tried to put it out of his mind as he went to bed. He sighed loudly. "What the heck is the deal with this bedroom and people getting naked anyway?"

Shining Night

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 9 - Shining Night

"So by this point I had figured I'd come up with a solution to the whole problem. Since the parasprites just kept eating all of the food they'd run across I simply cast a spell to make food unappealing to them. Funny thing though, it seems when parasprites don't like food anymore they just start to eat everything else in sight! By this point I was having a break down and thought if we built a fake town in the next clearing over it would be enough to fool Princess Celestia before she arrived. I'm just thankful for Pinkie Pie and her banjo."

"Wow." It was about all he could come up with in response. Twilight Sparkle had been entertaining her brother and sister-in-law with stories of her time in that small village since they had finished their dinner. With each story managing to surprise the couple every time they heard another. Shining Armor had always admired his little sister's talents and ingenuity but he had no idea how often it was being tested.

"I can see now why Princess Celestia has such confidence in your abilities." Princess Mi Amore Cadenza said cheerfully while sipping some tea. The small family get together had been moved from the dining hall into a comfortable meeting room that Celestia sometimes used for speaking with visitors. The decor had a very formal air to it but the couches were some of the most comfortable in the castle and with the furniture facing each other made it easy for them to have their conversation. The table between holding their respective tea cups and pot to enjoy together. "To handle so many situations regularly in your day to day life has made you qualified for just about any emergency with you and your friends. You've come along way from building book forts and launching pillow cannon balls." Twilight blushed at the reminder.

"We don't need to bring up old stuff like that." She tried to dismiss the memories and the couple on the couch across from her laughed lightly as they recalled it.

"I remember that. Twilly didn't start building those forts until you babysat for her, Cadence. After that she started putting them together by categories of book." Twilight groaned and stared at her tea cup having such embarrassing memories brought back. "Aw what's the matter sis? It was adorable."

"Kind of like you and your epic duels with Sir Ashtree?" Twilight countered her brother and the soldier prince gulped with a very similar expression to Twilight's from earlier.

"We don't really gotta talk about that." Shining Armor assured and Cadence found amusement in seeing the similarities between the siblings.

"Don't we? I'm sure you never defeated him." Twilight said with a smirk and looked to her royal sister-in-law. "When we were little Armor used to get a stick and duel with this tree in our back yard that had one broke branch lower than all the others. He called it 'Sir Ashtree' and my dad would always ask him how his duel had gone that day." Armor was blushing and looking any way but at his wife who was richly enjoying this.

"I'd um... pretty much settled that duel before you were coming around Cadence." Armor assured her. The princess smiled lovingly at her husband.

"Too bad, I'd love to meet Sir Ashtree if we could. As a matter of fact when will we be visiting with your parents?" Cadence asked and the idea suddenly hit Twilight too.

"Oh my gosh, I never even thought about it. I mean we only came to the castle because Princess Celestia ordered us to. I didn't once consider when to make time to see them." Twilight sighed. "I'm probably going to head right home tomorrow too. I'm an awful daughter." Twilight said glumly but her brother was there to reassure her.

"Don't worry about it Sis, they'll understand. Even with me being here all the time it's not like I can escape every day to visit them. Mom and dad have been having fun by themselves ever since they retired. We can all set some time aside to get together back home like we used to." Twilight nodded and thought back to that. Those were good memories. Fond ones of home from when she was so little and things like Discord and Nightmare Moon weren't looming evils she had to combat. It was a little lonely being just her and her books, but she had Shining Armor for most of it. And Princess Celestia for the rest when Armor went off to the Academy.

"I guess you're right." Twilight agreed, a little calmer now than she had been. "Oh that reminds me; when are the two of you moving into your own place?" Shining Armor had to stop himself from spitting out his tea and coughed suddenly. Cadence at his side and patting him hard on the back to help him cough out the tea from going down the wrong pipe. "Did I... say something wrong?"

"Sorry, sorry." Armor said as he coughed the rest out and gained his composure. Cadence took over in the mean time.

"We've talked about it some. In fact we're getting some assistance finding a place from Princess Celestia. Though it may be a little while before we can secure it." Twilight watched the two curiously. It wasn't often that he brother or beloved sister-in-law kept something from her. But watching them now they were giving little signs that there was something fishy about all of this.

"It sounds nice." Twilight said suspiciously. "It kind of reminds me of when Princess Celestia had secured a home for me when I moved out of the castle. Getting me a residence in the library was a dream come true. Though I often wondered who ran it before I arrived." Another little mystery she'd never taken the time to address. Perhaps it was best left for another day as the one before her was starting to take a root in her mind. "The Princess is usually so kind and helpful in finding us just what we need."

"Yeah, it's pretty convenient huh?" Shining Armor said now having his lungs work at a proper rate. "Seems we're always lucky enough to find ourselves in the right places at the right time." Cadence gave a glance to Armor and then returned to her tea. The look wasn't lost on Twilight.

"You know something else I've never gotten around to asking; how exactly did mom and dad find Princess Cadence to babysit for me in the first place?" Twilight asked curiously as she was getting a small nagging feeling. It was probably nothing but it persisted. Shining Armor thought on it too for a second and gave a less than helpful shrug.

"I don't know actually. I never asked. I just know some knock out of a girl was your baby sitter all of a sudden and I couldn't have been happier." Shining Armor said with a genuine smile and it got a smirk out of his wife.

"You were happy all right. I remember seeing your face when we first met." Cadence said confidently.

"What can I say, I knew a quality woman the moment I laid eyes on her. It was like destiny." Shining Armor said pleased with himself. "I'd even be willing to go as far as saying when I saw you I knew you were the kind of girl I'd like to marry." Twilight wanted to "Awww!" out loud but held her composure. "What did you think when you first met me?" Cadence thought back to that day happily as well.

"I thought for how cute Twilight was her brother sure was a mess." Twilight laughed out loud at Cadence's response. "Well he was covered in dirt! I didn't know what you'd been doing outside that whole time but it wasn't the best look to impress a princess when you came home. Also I knew you were looking at my butt when I'd turn around."

"Every guy was looking at your butt when you turned around." Shining Armor commented and Cadence just rolled her eyes. "Only difference is I'm the only one that was lucky enough to marry the amazing woman attached to that cute butt." Armor got a kiss on the cheek for his compliment but the whole conversation didn't deter Twilight from her question.

"So how did we get to meet Cadence when we were younger?" Armor still didn't know himself and looked to his wife who felt on the spot. She cleared her throat before she began.

"Well you see... it was actually at Princess Celestia's request." Well that was... convenient wasn't it? "You'd just become her student, remember? She knew you'd need a baby sitter now and then so she suggested I take the role. I didn't mind it at all really, it was a very nice change of pace to be with you so often Twilight. You'd always felt like my little sister and now you actually are." Cadence smiled warmly at her sister-in-law. It made Twilight feel happy but the knowledge didn't make her feel any more settled. Princess Celestia had guided so much in their lives. It was almost like... "So Twilight, are you seeing anyone?" ...like she needed to dodge that question right away.

"Seeing anyone!? No no, not me. Nope, I'm doing just fine and dandy living the single life." It was her siblings turn to give her the confused look as she protested far too hard to the idea of her with someone else. "That's kind of out of the blue, don't you think?"

"Well it's not that weird Twilly." Armor said in his wife's defense. "I mean after all this time I'm a little surprised you haven't been dating someone. You always had a kind of rough time approaching people but since you met your friends I figured you were past that." Twilight wasn't going to argue the reasoning but she could keep denying it.

"Well making friends and making friend-friends is a totally different type of method. I mean I haven't even read any books on that sort of thing so I wouldn't know where to start." Armor rolled his eyes at the idea of her needing a book for literally everything life challenged her with. Cadence was watching her closely though. Almost like she was peering into Twilight's heart.

"That's odd." The princess said quietly. "I was sure I heard...never mind." She shook her head. "Well that's too bad Twilight. I know when you find the person for you that it'll be magical. You already have so many admirers." Twilight scoffed at the idea.

"Yeah right, everyone wants a piece of the scrawny book worm that's completely unapproachable because of her time spent with all the royalty. The only guys I've ever even met that tried to get to know me only cared about getting closer to Celestia." At least she thought they did. Honestly back in those days studying in the capital Twilight was only approached by a few men and she didn't care for any of them. Maybe a woman once? There was a female guard that always seemed attentive of her but she just chalked it up to being bored with her job of guarding the library. "Besides I can't find a nice guy anyway." Except one that she knew of back home but it was so very complicated.

Cadence raised an eyebrow as she looked at Twilight and the lavender haired girl raised one back. "Is there something on my face or something?" Cadence shook her head.

"No no I just... never mind." It was twice she'd done that now. It was starting to annoy her a little. "Well don't dismiss every person that shows a passing interest in you sweet little sister. You may even find your enjoy going on dates." Twilight doubted that but she wasn't going to dismiss Cadence's advice outright. She was the authority on emotions after all what with her magic tying into the whole spectrum of the human heart.

"Want me to introduce you to some of the guards here?" Shining Armor offered and Twilight couldn't think of a more terrifying prospect. "I wouldn't let any creep have the chance to spend time with my little sis, you can be sure of that."

"Thanks for the offer Armor." Twilight said still not at all enthusiastic about it. "But I think I'll pass. Me being nervous around new people is bad enough without my date worried about losing their head if they mess up." Armor laughed a little.

"I'm surprised, I figured you'd jump at the chance to find a nice guy amongst the royal guard. I mean you used to come with me all the time to watch them practice and I swore you had a crush on a few of them." Twilight thought back to those days long ago. When her brother was only dreaming of the chance to join the royal guard and Twilight would follow behind him with every step he took. Sometimes it felt like her big brother had been her entire world. Those were some good days.

"I was only going because I wanted to follow you where ever you went." Twilight said amused. "I was just always tagging along to see what it was you were doing since it was more exciting than reading usually."

"Yeah but even after I went to the academy you were really interested in the royal guard." Twilight remembered that too. "When I'd come home you'd ask me all sorts of questions about what I did and what it was like. What kind of training I'd done, the whole works."

"I was just curious. I couldn't help it." Twilight protested but a natural smile was coming over her lips. "It was exciting because I'd miss you since you'd be gone so long." Cadence was silent as she watched them closely, Twilight especially. "I mean I didn't know anything about the guard aside from what I saw by the castle. Which was usually them guarding something or just running those drills you always did." Which were really impressive she had to admit. It was always fun seeing the tricks they did with their swords and spears as they went through the drill instructors motions. She'd always hoped she'd catch Armor doing those as well but it never happened. "So when you'd come home I'd get a little taste of it and you always brought all your gear too." She had to admit those uniforms did make a man look more appealing. Shining Armor was always really handsome when ever he wore his.

There was a loud noise as the small plate Cadence had been using to hold her tea cup on fell from her hand and hit the table. Thankfully it didn't break but the noise was loud enough to surprise the siblings from their conversation and look at the princess. She was staring at Twilight with a shocked expression. "Cadence, are you okay?" Twilight asked feeling very uncomfortable with the way she was being stared at.

"Honey, is anything the matter?" Shining Armor asked and Cadence looked at her husband as if she'd been woken up from a shock. She picked up her plate and cup with an apology and set them on the table.

"No, everything is okay. Sorry everyone, that was really embarrassing. I'm glad no one else was here to see it." She said with a nervous smile but something about it felt off to Twilight. Cadence was acting in a way she hadn't seen before and it was setting off warning bells in Twilight's head. "Maybe I just need to rest. So should you Shining Armor, you still have work to do tomorrow and I know you've been hiding that head ache of yours so we wouldn't worry about you." Cadence said and rubbed her husbands forehead knowingly.

"I forgot how much stress you were put under today, I'm sorry Armor." Twilight said and Shining Armor just smiled appreciatively.

"Having you two worry about me is all that I need to make me feel better." He put on a big grin but his wife was giving him a look. "I guess sleep wouldn't hurt as well though."

"Good." Cadence said and stood up. "I suppose we should make our way to our rooms. I can request one of the maids to clean up after us so we don't have to worry about the tea set." Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle took to their feet as well, Twilight stretching her arms out and being careful not to strain her neck in the process.

"Twilly, are you sure you're okay?" Shining Armor asked considered of his little sister. "I still can't believe I let that scummy monster get his hands on you."

"I'm fine for the fiftieth time, Armor. I know you're worried about me but seriously the doctor said it'll all be okay. My neck only has some bruising and my magic was depleted but it'll recover in a night. I just hope Rainbow Dash actually gets Pinkie Pie to go to bed on time too."

"You were all so brave." Cadence said cheerfully. "I'm so happy none of you got hurt. Poor Applejack risked so much and we all owe her a debt. All of you a debt."

"Just another day in a small town girl's life, right?" Twilight said happily and it got a smile out of her family. "Guess we should all head to bed. I hope Rarity isn't keeping Fluttershy out too late. I don't know what they're getting into but as soon as Rarity got into the capital she was raring to go."

"That's a really long line." Fluttershy commented as the quartet looked at the entrance of the Luna Eclipsed Nightclub. The line was indeed large and seemed to stretch past the door and around the edge of the building. The wait must have been an hour at least to get in. All filled with young, beautiful people looking to become the center of attention for a night inside these coveted walls. "I don't think we're getting in."

"Don't despair darling." Rarity said with some confidence as she was looking the line over. "Everyone knows the regular people have to wait in line to fill in for one of these places. But we're hardly a regular crowd. Wouldn't you agree?" Rarity said looking at Blueblood. Blueblood and the faithful guard Heavystep had been following along faithfully every step of the way. While Rarity had been relishing the opportunity to punish Blueblood with every request she could think of Heavystep couldn't help but notice she was easing up on her treatment towards him. She even thanked him when he had made arrangements to have her and Fluttershy's packages delivered back to their homes by his own personal staff.

"Well at least now you're beginning to recognize that I have clear authority and sway over the common folk here in the capital." Blueblood's haughty tone was returning to him with his speech but he was still cautious. The sight of Heavystep's notebook recording every mistake he made putting him in check quicker than the guard would have though possible. While the seamstress and prince were making plans to get them all inside the building Fluttershy was standing uncomfortably and looking at the line.

"Are you alright Ms. Fluttershy?" Heavystep asked her and she looked up with those innocent eyes of hers. The guard had to admit when it came to soft, demure, pretty young women Fluttershy was the epitome of them. It was enough to knock a man off his feet, were they not so well grounded as his. "You seem uneasy with our next destination."

"Oh um... you see I'm just... not comfortable. With crowds. Not this crowd but... Big crowds. Sorry." When she apologized she seemed to retreat inside her long pink hair as if it were a shield to cover her. "But Rarity wants to go so I guess I'll be okay."

"If the situation calls for it I can escort you back at your request." Heavystep offered reassuringly. Fluttershy had seemed like she needed special care despite being one of the Elements of Harmony. He supposed social situations and monsters were two different kinds of beasts to face though.

"And leave Rarity alone with Blueblood?" She whispered to him surprised, making sure neither of them over heard. Though at the moment Rarity and Blueblood were in a discussion as to what the best way to approach the bouncer of the club was.

"Well yes, I admit that would be against the entire reason I was called out here. But Ms. Rarity seems to be handling herself quite confidently and I'm starting to think I'm less required than previously thought." He didn't know how to explain it but in a way those two were becoming more comfortable. Maybe they just needed someone around to keep both on their best behavior and honest with each other. If this continued who knows where it could lead.

"Well... okay. But I'm still happy you're here at least. You've been very nice to me." She smiled kindly at him and he nodded with a pleased smile in return.

"It's been a pleasure, my lady." Heavystep replied.

"Are we done chatting?" Blueblood asked the rest of the crowd. "We're going to attempt to gain access. I'm sure my name should carry enough weight to gain all four of us entry without having to wait in line." With that they started for the door, Rarity and Fluttershy looking up to see the name of the club with Luna's own insignia next to it lit up with electric neon light. Rarity found it curious.

"I'm surprised the princess allows them to use her symbol like that so openly." The seamstress commented. "She isn't offended?"

"Quite the contrary, she's the one that opened this establishment." Blueblood said a bit smugly, seemingly happy to be in the know on things over his guests. "After visiting with Miss Sparkle and yourselves on Nightmare Night my aunt was convinced she needed to do something to associate herself with more fun activities. 'Double fun' activities if I remember her wording right, was too odd a phrasing to forget. In any case there aren't a lot of events at night where she could do something to entertain the public at large. But when she learned of these sorts of places that entertain guests all the way to the dawn of day she became thrilled at the idea and had her own opened at once."

"I never would have imagined." Fluttershy said amazed. "Does she visit it often." Blueblood smiled again but it was less smug.

"She did once. I'm afraid it was a bit too overbearing for her. Though she was quite happy everyone seemed to like it so. It's since become the most popular spot for the socialites looking to get a bit rowdy." Blueblood stopped. "Now then, lets put my skills to work." Blueblood said confidently and strolled up past the line to the bouncer. Even walking up some of the people in the line recognized him immediately and tried to call out but he only nodded in return. Making his way to the intended goal Blueblood stopped before the bouncer and began to speak. There was no way to hear him talking over the music coming from the door way but he motioned over to his company a few times and the bouncer looked over at them. Fluttershy even waving shyly when he did, unsure what to do. After a moment longer of speaking Blueblood looked annoyed and walked away from the bouncer agitated.

"I take it things didn't go as planned?" Rarity asked.

"He doesn't believe I'm Luna's nephew." Blueblood said in annoyance. "To think after I went out of my way to assist the manager in getting this place established. Oh you can believe there will be words shared over this later!" Blueblood was speaking strongly and the girls looked disappointed. Heavystep was confused however; how did that bouncer not know who Blueblood was? Everyone in the capital knew who Blueblood was. The idea someone could have not seen his face eventually was so unlikely.

"Well... you tried your best." Rarity reassured not sounding as upset as they may have thought. "Is there a different establishment we can go to?"

"Certainly, I'll make preparations ahead of time." Blueblood was getting ready to leave when they heard a voice call out.

"Hey you there!" The bouncer suddenly shouted and the group looked between each other. "Yeah you, with the purple hair." Rarity pointed at herself, really quite surprised to be called over suddenly but she obliged the bouncer and approached him. "Hi there, sorry to yell at you but you're Rarity right?"

"Well... yes! Yes I am! But how did you know that?" Her entourage watched with interest as the bouncer so clearly identified her.

"You're one of the Elements of Harmony right? So is she, um... Flutterfly right?"

"Flutter...shy." Fluttershy's voiced dropped extra quiet at the end as if saying it just added to her shyness.

"Well we'd never turn away celebrities like yourself. Please come in! We'd be happy to have you here." Rarity's eyes lit up with excitement at the celebrity status she was getting and she actually giggled out loud in joy until she realized everyone was watching her. Controlling herself she smiled and nodded.

"Why thank you sir, I'd be glad to spend some time in your nightclub. Oh and our plus one's can come as well I'm sure?" Rarity said motioning to Heavystep and Blueblood behind her.

"Of course ma'am. Enjoy yourself." The bouncer removed the ever so sacred velvet rope and allowed them entry. It was somehow more an honor to watch that moved aside for them than if a castle gate was lifted for their entry. The two ladies walked in with excitement as their escorts followed. Blueblood turned to the bouncer and shook his hand as they passed, something odd to Heavystep considering they'd argued just moments earlier. But then it occurred to him as they entered the nightclub.

"You paid him off to do that, didn't you?" Heavystep said to Blueblood who was smiling but still acting casual.

"Why whatever do you mean? It was their celebrity status that got us into here, not mine. I'm sure the simple fact they were recognized publicly like that only served to make their night that much more enjoyable. How fortunate for them the bouncer had such a good eye."

"And you didn't just shake his hand and leave a sizable tip with him so that he'd recognize those ladies your instruction?" Blueblood just smiled slyly.

"Well as long as no one saw that happen, it didn't. We should allow them to just enjoy tonight wouldn't you say?" Heavystep had to admit; the Prince had impressed him.

"As you command your highness."

Once she had settled in Twilight was feeling much more relaxed. In her rush she hadn't actually packed anything to sleep in or even wear the next day. Luckily she still had some clothing at the castle from when she'd stay over to study and there was a robe that fit her. At the moment it hung unused as the girl sat in front of her vanity in her panties and brushed her hair, getting ready to rest after a very stressful day. Funny enough the attempt on her life wasn't what weighed on her the most, though the bandages served as a powerful reminder to the event. More than that was the odd conversation she'd had with Cadence and her brother. Everything about it had left her feeling uneasy. From the way they stepped around questions to their conversation on how Celestia always had whatever they needed at the ready even when they didn't realize the needed it themselves. Most of all though was the looks Cadence had given her. It was like she was listening in on another conversation besides the one they were having. Then there was Spike.

That letter was nagging at her mind. Why would Spike write a response in lipstick no less on the back of the paper sent to him and send that back to Celestia? It was almost disrespectful to not write a full letter in response to the princess. But there could be many reasons why Spike had replied the way he did. Perhaps he was out with his friends and it was the only writing utensil he had? She didn't think Applebloom or Scootaloo would wear lipstick but maybe Sweetie Belle? Or even one of their other friends who was nearby provided it. Or possibly some passer by lent it to him in an emergency while he was out with them and he didn't want to leave them delayed.

Or maybe he was sleeping with some girl in Twilight's own bed back at the library right now.

There was a sudden cracking noise by Twilight's ear and she saw that a sudden small burst of magic had shot through her arm and cracked the handle of the brush she was using. She took a deep breath and set the brush on the vanity, looking in the mirror. "Spike wouldn't do that to you." Twilight reassured herself. "He's not going to go out and just have... sex. With any girl he can find. He wouldn't do that because..." Why? Why wouldn't he? Twilight had made it clear as day they weren't a couple. There was no reason he couldn't do that to her. No reason he wouldn't do that to her. "He wouldn't do that to Rarity." It made Twilight feel a little bit better thinking of it that way. But not by much. She looked at the cracked hair brush which bore the scars her heart was carrying. "Well at least the doctor will be impressed my magic recovered faster than he'd thought." Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Twilight, are you still awake? It's Cadence."

"Just a minute!" Twilight called back and got up to put on her robe. She was surprised, what could Cadence want this late? With how worried she'd been about both Shining Armor and herself she figured the princess would be assuring them both off to bed as soon as possible. Once the sash of the robe was tied securely around her waist she approached the door and opened it. Cadence was also in a robe, a very thick one similar to what Princess Celestia had been wearing when Twilight had seen her off to bed. Princesses sure had some nice every day items. Twilight would love to get her hands on some of them. "Hi Cadence, is everything okay?"

"Yes it is, may I come in?"

"Oh uh, sure. Come right in." Twilight moved aside to allow her sister-in-law passage and shut the door after her. "How can I help you?"

"Well actually Twilight I was wondering if we could talk? Sister to sister for a little while, if that's okay with you?" More curious behavior from the princess. But Twilight didn't see the harm in it. In fact maybe she could get some answers so she had less weighing on her mind tonight.

"Okay then, sit please." Twilight offered and the women sat on the bed together. "What exactly did you want to talk about?" Cadence got ready to speak but stopped right before, taking a breath and approaching the conversation again.

"Well this is going to be harder than I thought." Twilight watched a little nervously now and Cadence shook her head. "Sorry sorry it's just... I guess I've never had someone like you to talk to like this. A sister I mean. Not someone who's like my family. Sorry, this must all come off as sounding very odd to you."

"No it's okay Cadence, really." Twilight put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "I mean I had Shining Armor growing up. As far as I know you've been pretty much on your own for a long time now." Cadence nodded and smiled, putting a hand over Twilight's.

"Thank you precious little sister." She gave her hand a squeeze and let it go. "Okay then. What I'm going to bring up isn't a subject you like but I'm going to talk about it anyway." Well that was an uncomfortable lead in if there ever was one. "Twilight I wanted to ask you about who you're dating."

"Who I'm dating?" Twilight laughed a little and shook her head. "Cadence, come on now, we talked about this. I'm not dating anybody. I barely have the time to make for that sort of stuff."

"Well okay then. Can you tell me about who it is you're being intimate with?" Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat as Cadence was starting to pick apart at a very carefully built castle Twilight had erected around her emotions. After that letter with Spike, the last time they had an "accident" together in bed and everything with him and Rarity she really didn't want to think about this right now.

"I'm... not being intimate with anyone." Twilight said and cursed herself for how shaky her voice sounded. Cadence took another deep breath and Twilight was taking that as a sign she was always going to say something difficult to hear afterwards.

"Twilight, I want you to know that you're the smartest person I've ever met in my life." The princess said her words confidently. "You're so very clever. In a a way you're the exact opposite of me. You're a master of facts and numbers, science and rules. You know more about the world and how it works than most people ever will in an entire life time. Where as I'm all about emotions and spirits. The soul and the heart. So while I'm not very good with the way of the world I'm not a fool of the way of the heart. So I have no choice but to ask this directly; what is it you've been doing with Spike?" Twilight felt like her heart suddenly tripled in weight and dropped into her stomach. Her mouth hung open but she couldn't say anything. "Twilight?"

"How... why would you..."

"I told you Twilight this is my field of expertise. I know you've been doing something with him and I'd like you to tell me what is going on before I have to ask anyone else." Panic was setting into Twilight as she was trying to figure out a way around or out of this. Cadence had walked right into her life and deconstructed all of her efforts to hide what had been going on behind closed doors. Cadence pulled out a silk handkerchief and dabbed at Twilight's cheeks, soaking up tears she didn't realize were falling. "Shhh... it's okay Twilight. I just need to know you're okay. Please, just tell me what's going on."

"It... it didn't start out that way." Twilight said weakly as her gaze averted from looking Cadence in the eye. Her sister-in-law sliding closer and putting an arm around her. "I was just trying to help him sleep. He had trouble sometimes and well I... just used my hands. That was all at first." Cadence watched on patiently as Twilight began to unravel the information she'd been keeping from her friends, family and her beloved teacher. "It was harmless and it didn't hurt anything but then I used... I used my mouth. Some time later we started kissing too and it just started to get out of hand." Twilight dropped her face into her hands to support herself and keep her head up. "But then the whole thing with Spike's body changing and his fire bursting out and it was all tied into him wanting the girls around him and I just thought that if he... if he wanted to be with someone so badly that it was actually making him act different..."

"Then it should be someone that loved him, right?" Twilight didn't look up but she nodded. It all sounded so stupid when she said it out loud. As if all of this could have been going on harmlessly without any sort of back lash on either of them. As if she actually needed to step in and let him use her when he was already getting medicine for his problems. What had she been thinking!? "I see... is that all?" Twilight nodded her head again. She wasn't going to mention everything involving Rarity or that Everlight Coal she'd accidentally let Spike eat. or their latest accident. As if everything else hadn't been shameful enough to confess to Cadence.

"Are you going to tell Celestia?" Twilight asked fearfully. Cadence let out another deep breath as she thought hard on this.

"Well... Spike is a bit younger than you, isn't he?" Twilight didn't look up, just keeping her face in her hands as if that would allow her to disappear. How she wished she had her magic available to actually let her disappear right now. "But I can't say he's a child anymore either. I can't believe that whatever was going on that he was completely unaware of the situation." Cadence rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Are the two of you still having sex?"

"No." Twilight said and shook her head slowly. "No we... decided we needed to stop. That it was for the best." After having a three way between herself and one of her best friends with him. Not to mention letting him climax on her thighs not that long ago. But beside that no, they were all clean now.

"I think you made the right decision." Cadence said reassuringly and hugged Twilight against herself. "Spike aside Twilight I'm actually worried about you the most. Tell me; do you avoid seeing anyone else romantically because you're really not interested or because you want to keep what you have with Spike?" Twilight thought on the matter for a while before finally lifting her head to look at her sister-in-law.

"I don't know." She said finally. "I mean I've just never really been with anyone. I've never dated anybody and I haven't ever really had a relationship like... like this sort of thing. It's not like I'm completely clueless about men though." Or women at this point. Twilight wasn't even sure what she knew about what she desired anymore. "Sometimes I just think that I can't do it. I can't just let someone get that close to me. The idea of it actually scares me a little. It's different than my friends and meeting new people. Something about letting them know me like that makes me feel uneasy."

"I see." Cadence said after listening to everything carefully. "Twilight I'm going to suggest something as I think I have an idea of why you may be feeling this way." Twilight quieted and listened to Cadence's words with interest. "It's been known to happen for some people who find themselves isolated. Either by being physically removed from other people or just by being emotionally isolated and not allowing anyone close to them. Even when I knew you as a little girl I knew you were in that later category, Twilight. You didn't like making friends or having anyone get close to you. It wasn't until I read a book with you that you were even willing to talk to me."

"I remember that." Twilight said smiling a little. "I had a reading contest with you to see who could finish a chapter fastest." Remembering that innocent time made her feel more comfortable.

"Exactly. You had so many obstacles in the way of making friends that there was barely a chance for anyone to possibly get close to you. These walls you've put around your heart are still there Twilight. If you want to get better then you're going to have to start removing them."

"So... what? I'm supposed to date a bunch of guys now?" The idea didn't sit well in her stomach. The protege of Celestia is out on the market, come pick her up while she's hot and emotionally vulnerable! Move quick now and you'll get her in bed before she has time to realize how many mistakes she's made!

"No no, you don't have to go to those extremes. But you should consider it for the future. If just to introduce yourself to the idea of dating someone nice. I'm afraid if you keep spending time around Spike as the only male in your life that you'll continue to project on him like you are."

"Wait a minute, project what?" Twilight asked all of a sudden a lot more interested in what Cadence thought was wrong with her as opposed to what her solutions might be.

"Well Twilight you close yourself off from people. Men and women. So with yourself so locked off and only a few people allowed in you're eventually going to start placing certain emotions into those that easily fill that gap." She didn't like where this was going. It was like Cadence was saying that Twilight had something wrong with her mind. "So what with Spike being the only boy in your life you've clearly taken those pent up needs for romantic and physical desires and placed them onto him."

"Now hold on a second here." Twilight said and facing Cadence fully. "You're trying to say that there's something wrong with me and that's why I'm doing... I mean I had done things, with Spike." There was tension building in the air and it was making both women uneasy.

"Twilight it's not like that. But think about it for a moment. Spike has been like your little brother for years now. You've grown up so close to each other since you were little. Now after all this time you're romantically involved? Or whatever it is you said the two of you were doing. Doesn't that sound unusual?" Twilight was trying not to let anger rise up in her as the more her sister-in-law talked the more it sounded like she was describing her as being crazy.

"Cadence that doesn't make any sense. I mean... okay what I did with him was probably wrong. Even if we were both consenting." Though she kind of forced Spike into it... no she didn't, he knew just as well as she. Right? She was confusing herself, better to focus on Cadence. "But to say that I didn't really feel anything for him and that I'm just using Spike as some kind of... substitute boyfriend because I'm sick in the head is out of line."

"Twilight I never said you were 'sick in the head'. I said that sometimes things like this happen in extreme situations with people." Cadence tried to calm Twilight down but she didn't feel like being calm at the moment.

"You know what, this doesn't even hold up very well. Because if what you're saying is true then that means I would have felt the same way about my brother. I've known him much longer while growing up and I've never once been attracted to him." Cadence suddenly looked away from Twilight, as if she didn't want to meet her gaze. "What?" She looked down to the floor now, still refusing to meet the purple eyes of her sister-in-law. "Cadence... are you suggesting that...?"

"I know you've never acted on it with him and you never would. But Twilight I looked into your heart and what I saw for him tonight and what I saw for Spike..."

"Stop!" Twilight stood up suddenly and it actually scared Cadence a bit. "I'm not going to listen to this! This is... this is sick! You're actually suggesting to me that I'm deranged that I want to fuck my own brother!?" Twilight was furious and hurt all at once. How could she come to her after they hadn't seen each other in so long and say these things? Cadence stood up as well and put her hands up.

"Twilight I didn't say that. I just said that these problems root somewhere and I know you're not going to do anything but I'm telling you that you need help." Twilight balled her hands into fists held back her tears as best she could.

"I know what I did with Spike was wrong! I know that and I'm sorry and I wish I could take it back and make things what they were but I can't. So please just stop making it worse." Twilight turned around suddenly and hugged herself tight.

"Sister I'm sorry-"

"Leave." Twilight said coldly. "Cadence I love you but I don't want to see you anymore tonight. Go. Now." Cadence sighed and walked toward the door, Twilight still facing away from her.

"I love you too Twilight. Very much. Good night." The door closed quietly and Twilight stood facing the wall for a while after she left. A minute later she reached for the vanity and grabbed the cracked brush on it, tossing it at the door with an angry shout and watching the handle break on impact. She breathed hard and wiped her tears off on the sleeve of her robe.

"Damn it Cadence. Why did you have to do this?" She felt betrayed, someone she loved had used her magic to root around inside Twilight's heart and mind and pick out all the most shameful bits. Then right after accused her of wanting to commit incest with her brother. It was just too much to bear after everything else that had happened. She wanted to sleep, she wanted to dream and she wanted Luna and every other princess to stay far far away while she slumbered. Hopefully that dragon-blooded thug was keeping her too busy tonight to bother checking in on them.

Discarding her robe Twilight slipped into the covers and held them close to her. Shamefully she realized that she would have slept a lot better with Spike in the room with her. She missed him. Not for the things Cadence was suggesting but for the comfort he brought her just being there. With him around it was like being home and being safe. Kind of like how her brother used to make her feel as a child. But different. Not like how Cadence was suggesting. There was never that temptation or hunger with him. She only saw him so often after she had started getting interested in boys anyway. He'd come home to visit from the Academy, stay a week or so and be off again. There wasn't even time for her to possibly develop those kinds of feelings around him. Not that she'd ever felt anything close to an attraction to Shining Armor.

Except, now that she thought about it, there was that one time years ago when she was just a young teenage girl...

"Yay! Shining Armor is back!" Twilight Sparkle said happily as she ran to the door, waving her arms as the young man with the two-toned blue hair and brilliant white uniform walked in. Twilight threw herself at him with a hug and her elder brother caught her happily.

"Hey little sis, I hope you've been behaving for Mom and Dad." The young girl smiled up at her brother and nodded happily as they shared their hug and eventually proceeded further into the house that they'd both grown up in since they were children. "I'm home!"

"I'm in the kitchen." Their mother called out and Twilight excitedly took her brother by the hand to lead him there. "Twilight, can you help set the table while your brother relaxes?"

"Sure thing mom!" Twilight said and set to work, putting her organizational skills to good use as she arranged each of the plates and silverware carefully with her magic. Her brother watched impressed as Twilight guided all of the table settings with one hand and a lavender glow of her power. "Lets see, looks like everything's in order... wait the flowers should be arranged better. Mom why do you set the table with and odd number of flowers? It's so hard to arrange them that way." Her mother sighed and rolled her eyes while Armor laughed amused.

"I see you haven't changed any, Twilly. How's school going? Is everyone treating you well?" Twilight stopped fussing with the flowers to pay attention to her brother instead, managing to place the need to arrange things appropriately under spending time with her brother.

"Schools good, I've been getting all good grades and Princess Celestia is the best-est teacher anyone could ask for." Twilight said brightly and her mother smiled as she was preparing their meal.

"It really is remarkable how far you two have gotten in such a short amount of time." She said proudly of her children. "You're both so talented it really makes me proud. Twilight has been doing her best to live up to her majesty's expectations and she has never once failed to finish an assignment with less than a perfect grade." Twilight was being happily at the praise and Armor looked on amused at how much joy Twilight got out of being perfect.

"Looks like I got a lot to live up to. Student of the Princess herself and perfect grades? It's hard enough for me just to get by in the Academy." Armor said and Twilight was beaming further from his praise. He rustled her hair a bit playfully and she didn't fight it, though did take some time to smooth it out after it had been moved out of place. "Where's dad anyway?"

"Your father is still at work but he'll be home in time for dinner. He wouldn't miss one of your visits after all." Armor's mother said as she began putting the plates together. "How is the Knight's Academy? I hear that they put you through some tough training." Armor let out a sigh as he thought back on it.

"Yeah they don't ever really let up around there. What's more you get put into certain classes depending on if you can use magic or not. So when they found out I seem to have a talent for barrier spells they started assaulting me with just about every attack they could come up with. I'm not sure if they're happy or upset that they haven't managed to break it yet." Armor shrugged and smiled in his casual way. Somehow despite his training for the royal guard he never seem to lost that relaxed demeanor about himself. Rather opposite to his sister who was always doing something or planning to do something. "You know what it's like right Twilight? They have you in the advanced classes." Twilight Sparkle was just admiring her big brother as he told her story but snapped back to reality when she realized he'd asked a question. Armor laughed as she looked confused for a second and the young teenager blushed.

"I was just lost in thought. Mm, anyway. Yes it can be difficult but I enjoy the challenge. What's more Princess Celestia sometimes gives me private lessons away from all the other students so I get to learn magic spells before everyone else does. It's so exciting." Twilight said almost giddy over her accomplishments.

"That's pretty amazing. So then do you have a boyfriend yet?" If she'd been embarrassed before she was even more so now at that question. Twilight looked away quickly not wanting to meet anyone's gaze.

"N-no! Who has time for stuff like that?"

"Well you're Celestia's number one student right? I'm sure some boys have noticed you and asked you out." Twilight shook her head at the question, not even entertaining the idea. "Or maybe you have one already and don't want to tell us?" Armor teased and Twilight found herself acting a little more immature than she thought herself.

"Do not! Mom make him stop." Twilight whined and her mother rolled her eyes and began setting the plates down on the table.

"He's just teasing you, sweetie. Besides I'm sure when you meet a nice boy then you'll be more than happy to tell us all about him." Her mother pat Twilight's shoulder lightly but the girl was still embarrassed being the center of this kind of topic. She grumbled but didn't whine anymore.

"Don't worry about it Twilly. One day you'll find a nice guy. And if he's not your brother will make sure to sort him out before he even knows what hit 'em." Armor winked at Twilight and that made her feel a bit better over all about everything.

It wasn't long after that their father came home from work and all conversation was back on Shining Armor and his time in the Academy. They didn't get to see him near as much as they used to so the whole family was always happy to gather round him and hear what stories he had to share. Through out all of dinner and even after the talked until the sun had set and the moon had risen. Even though they would have loved to simply stay up in each others company they all had something to do early the next day. Father with his work, Mother would have to clean and press both her children's uniforms before they left and Armor of course had to report in the next day. Twilight naturally had her schooling so she had to get plenty of rest to be ready for the challenges of tomorrow. It was too bad then that she couldn't seem to find a way to sleep.

"Well this is a pain." The young girl said as she lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling in the dark. Insomnia was never her friend even if she did sometimes pull all-nighters to get her work done on schedule (or more often than not ahead of schedule). But she wanted to be sure she was up early enough to see her brother off before she had to go to school. Funny enough she really didn't feel like reading anything which didn't help the situation. Twilight rolled over onto her stomach and kicked her feet lightly as she just let her mind wander.

It really was great to have her brother home. It always made her feel better having him around, especially since she didn't really get along to well with the other students in class. None of them were bad or mean to her, though she suspected some might have been jealous of her for being Celestia's student. They rarely approached her though, much less any of them asking her out on a date like Armor had been so eager to tease her with. So having her Big Brother Best Friend Forever back in her life gave her a kind of happiness she just couldn't get anywhere else.

She rolled onto her back again and sighed. She knew going to the Academy was his dream but it bothered her they had to be separated so much. She had her mom and dad of course but they weren't like him. They didn't give her the same kind of security that he did. Though she had to admit it was really cool that he was becoming a knight. Sometimes it seemed ever cooler than being Celestia's student and that was the top honor anyone could have at her school. Plus that uniform really did make him look handsome. "Yeah, soldiers are cool."

Maybe one day when she finally decided she did want a boyfriend that she'd date a soldier. Or even an actual knight of the royal guard. With how much time she spent around the castle that didn't seem so unlikely and someone who was chivalrous is the kind of person she'd like to be with. Twilight wasn't ignorant about what it was boys and girls did together and she wasn't unfamiliar with sexual attraction or romance either. She just didn't really have any sort of experience in any of that stuff. Who would when they were so busy with their studies like she was? Still one day maybe it would be nice and even fun to live like that. Her own house that was organized exactly how she liked it with book cases and artifacts everywhere. Making a special dish in her kitchen after her husband comes home from a long day of work at the castle. They'd eat and share stories and have intellectual conversations about life and theories and the world itself. Then they'd retire to bed and she'd help him get that nice uniform off...

Twilight felt a twinge suddenly. Something that had been slowly building and was now apparent as she felt it under her pajama bottoms. She knew how she could help herself get to sleep now. It wasn't something she did often but since she'd discovered it this treatment always helped her relax and she had to admit it felt really good. Lifting her butt up off the bed Twilight slipped her pajama bottoms down till she was in her panties and top and let her hand rest down between her legs. She spread them apart to give her easier access and rubbed herself softly.

She was already starting to feel a little better once she began. In fact maybe she'd been thinking about doing this earlier, it had been a while since the last time. It wasn't her fault though, blame Shining Armor. He was the one that brought up boyfriends and all of that kind of stuff. She'd just gone along with something that was only natural for her after thinking about it. She closed her eyes and rubbed herself with a little more pressure as she tried to picture that night she was thinking of. That husband who's face she couldn't quite make out in her head but she was sure he was handsome. Telling her how pretty and how intelligent she was and that he loved having her as his wife. She let out a happy, soft breath as she pictured her lover doing this for her and helping her feel even better about herself. In fact maybe he should just leave that uniform on.

Twilight's eyes opened as an idea came to her. It was an unusual one that she wasn't sure if she should follow through on but the idea of it wouldn't leave her mind. She'd already started to enjoy the way she was feeling and she thought she knew of how to make it that much better. Pulling her hand away from its task Twilight got up off her bed and put her pajama bottoms back on. Slowly she opened the door to her bedroom and peeked out into the hallway. Thankfully it looked like everyone had gone to bed for the night. She pushed the door open slowly and tip toed down the hall, careful not to make a noise as she had to pass by both the bathroom and Shining Armor's room as she went. After what felt like forever she found herself at her destination; the laundry room. The door to it was different, more like a closet door and it open very easily to let her in. There hanging on the wall was Shining Armor's uniform ready to be cleaned up in the early morning by their mother. Twilight carefully removed the jacket of the uniform and took it back with her to her bedroom without a sound.

Twilight looked it over once she was safely in her bedroom. It felt heavier than she expected and guess whatever fabric it was made of was designed to endure a lot of abuse. She put it over her shoulders, finding way too large for her but made her inexplicably happy to wear. It smelled like her brother too but she didn't think that would be an issue for what she had in mind. Setting it carefully on the bed Twilight removed her pajamas and her underwear entirely so she was standing naked. Once her clothes were removed she picked the jacket up again and laid down with it over her like a blanket.

Carefully Twilight put her hand through the sleeve of the jacket while it was still over top of her reverse of how you'd normally wear it. Once she had the sleeve pulled up enough that her hand went through it all the way easily she spread her legs out again and closed her eyes. Her fingers touched at her now eager pussy and began to rub energetically. It was still her soft, small hand that gave her pleasure but somehow it was different. Feeling the fabric of the coat on her body, that hand through a sleeve it was like her own shining knight was the one over top of her. Stroke her as she kept her mouth held closed to hold back the moans.

In all honesty she hadn't thought the aid of something like this would help her so much, but Twilight Sparkle was panting hard as she enjoyed herself. Lost in her little fantasy as the man in uniform brought her closer to her climax. Twilight covered her mouth with her free hand as her fingers stroked further against her pussy and teased her entrance. Her legs closed together on her right hand as she moaned into her left, her hips shaking from the feeling. She stayed like that as her body enjoyed the little tremors that shook through her until the initial shock had passed and her body relaxed a little more. Her breathing was still hot and she found herself hugging the jacket against her chest, her right hand still resting between her legs. Was it good for him? Of course it was, this was her perfect fantasy. Her shining knight loved to make her feel special and good about herself. In fact he'd like to do it some more if she was inclined to.

She was, for him.

Twilight carefully pulled her hand out through the sleeve, not wanting to let the wetness from her escapade end up on her brother's coat even if he was having it cleaned tomorrow. Twilight kept the jacket on her as she turned around and got onto all fours on her bed. She'd only tried it like this once before and usually didn't experiment with these sorts of things. It was just too embarrassing even when no one else knew about it. But tonight was okay because her Shining Knight wanted to try and she'd oblige him. Now with the jacket over her back Twilight leaned her head down on her pillow and slipped her arm through the sleeve again. The anticipation alone was already giving the normally shy bookworm thrills. Once it was carefully through all the way her hand moved up her thighs and against her awaiting sex.

Somehow it was even more exciting like this. Maybe it was due to being lost in her fantasy or the combination of her new pleasure aid and the naughty position but she was hungry for it. Twilight was moaning into her pillow as her fingers played with her sex. Rubbing her in quick circles and every so often stroking against her clitoris. Her Shining Knight knew just how to please her. Where to touch her and just how to do it. Her toes clenched and released as her body was gaining momentum for another orgasm and she was being careful not to hit too early. She wanted to enjoy it and let it drag out. She could practically feel him over top of her slender body. Asking her if it was okay to continue. "Of course..." She said the words softly as her finger pushed inside her and began to tease her entrance. Her left hand gripping the bed sheets hard.

Her Shining Knight would want her to feel pleasure, to push herself over the edge. That's exactly what he'd want from her because he loved her. She could swear she felt his hand on her instead of her own. That he was leaning over her now and she could make him out better now. Handsome with blue hair and a kind smile. Pressing against her body and whispering that it was okay and he wanted her to do this. She could even smell him on her now. He asked her if she wanted to cum, and in her pleasant fantasy she replied. "Shining please make me cum." She almost never spoke like that but for him she'd say anything. Twilight pressed he face against her pillow as another orgasm hit her body and the girl's thighs clenched together again. She fell to her side as the tremors of sexual pleasure rocked through her and it was wonderful.

Twilight pulled the other sleeve around herself and cuddled with it. In all honesty she'd never made herself feel that good before when experimenting with masturbation. Not even the time she learned that spell that made one of her stuffed animals vibrate. It was all thanks to Shining. Or rather her shining knight she meant. Yeah that was it. Her shining knight and his amazing uniform.

Despite how comfy she was Twilight knew she had to get the jacket back to the laundry room without being caught. Very slowly she got up out of her bed and managed to stand on her feet again. They were shaky but they held. Twilight considered getting dressed but she figured there wasn't much point since she was sneaking around with stolen property anyway. The whole idea was to not get caught. So wrapping the jacket around her she held it closed from the inside with her hands. It just managed to hide all her naughty bit, cutting off just at her thighs. Heading to the bedroom door Twilight looked out to see the familiar sight of darkness in the hallway. Perfect.

She actually walked much more casually this time, possibly due to how much she'd relaxed herself. Sleeping wouldn't be a problem at all tonight. Strolling down the hallway she was completely oblivious to the small light that glowed from underneath the bathroom door. That is until the door opened and Shining Armor came out into the hallway. Twilight froze in place as her brother noticed her instantly. He was shirtless and wearing his pajama pants, something Twilight was desperately wishing she'd bothered to put on just moments ago. "Twilly?"

"Um... hey... Shining Armor." Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. What could she possibly say? "Why are you up?" That was not the best diversion strategy but it was all she could muster.

"I was using the bathroom. Twilight are you wearing my uniform coat?" Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Y-yeah. I am." The answer just kind of hung in the air for a moment before Armor followed up.

"Can I ask why?" She'd rather he didn't. But she had to give some answer. Just please oh please don't take it off of her right now.

"I was... um. It'll sound kind of silly but it made me feel better." Twilight answered with a half truth. It made her feel incredible. She didn't look at her brother's eyes as she spoke. "I'm sorry, I wasn't going to ruin it or anything. I know how important it is, I just sort of... wanted to wear it. Just a little while." She was going to get caught and she was suddenly overcome with shame. Shining Armor put a hand on Twilight's head and she waited for him to rip it off and expose her. Instead though he just rustled her hair a bit.

"Well... okay. Just don't get it dirty or anything okay? They inspect these things pretty thoroughly and I'm not interested in doing a bunch of push ups again because of it." Twilight looked up at her brother in disbelief. She was going to get away with it.

"Of course! Of course I'd never want to do anything bad to you. I'm sorry I took it without asking." She still held the jacket around her tight from inside it, desperate to keep her protective shell.

"That's okay, just get it back to the laundry room soon and get to bed. We all got a big morning tomorrow." Shining Armor leaned down and kissed Twilight's forehead. "Love you Twilly. Good night."

"Love you Armor. Night night." Armor waved to her and quietly went back to his room. Twilight waited for him to go before letting out a breath. Her cheeks were flushed and she figured it must have been from the embarrassment of being caught. Still... it came back. At the absolute worst of times she felt that twinge between her legs and it was as strong as ever. She went back to her room. The jacket would get returned that night, but not before spending a little more time in that bedroom with a young girl who panted and moaned to herself as she achieved great pleasure. As it helped her feel wonderful and took its place as her Shining Knight. She wouldn't think of this night ever again until years later as a woman who was sleeping uncomfortably in her teacher's castle. Wondering what had happened to her and her life.

Out in the royal gardens that were surrounded protectively by the castle walls sat a beautiful young maiden and a strong knight. The pink haired maiden was carefully laying food out near the bushes and trees and returning back to the bench every so often to watch the various animals run off with their treats. Each cute animal that approached got a cute giggle out of the girl and caused her to repeat the process. The knight stayed on the bench dutifully, being sure not to stir or else he may frighten the animals himself. She'd explained how the last time she was here she'd been a bit over-zealous in her attempts to befriend the animals within the castle. This time however she was taking things slow and carefully. Having given up the last of the food she'd brought the pink haired maiden with the large innocent eyes sat down on the bench as well while a squirrel ran off with the treats she left. "I'm so happy they enjoyed the food. I was afraid they'd still be angry with me from the last time I was here."

"Animals are good at detecting intention I believe." Heavystep commented as he watched her food being accepted by the critters as well. "You've offered them quite a bit without asking for anything in return. I think they understand that it's a gift." Fluttershy smiled happily, watching the animals move about the garden from a safe distance.

"Do you come out to the garden often Mr. Heavystep?"

"Oh no, I'm usually tasked with jobs on the interior. Squad dispatch and such. It was quite a relief to be put on this 'special assignment' tonight to be honest."

"Oh, I see." Fluttershy said as she looked down at her feet awkwardly. "The night club was fun. More fun than I thought it would be. Rarity sure enjoyed herself a lot. I didn't think she even knew how to dance but after we were recognized she seemed to be the happiest I'd seen her all night." Heavystep smiled to himself remembering Blueblood's little act that had earned that happiness earlier this night. "Do you got to those kinds of places often? With your girlfriend or your wife maybe?" She asked curiously and the guard laughed lightly.

"No ring on this finger I'm afraid. I do hope you're not inquiring about my single status for yourself Miss Fluttershy. I do embarrass easily." At the mere suggestion the girls face flushed red and she looked away, completely embarrassed at the idea.

"N-no! Not at all! I was just... asking questions to... be better friends. Oh goodness I should never..."

"It's quite alright Miss. I apologize, it was just a joke." Heavystep was still smiling happily though Fluttershy was now just embarrassed she hadn't gotten the joke right away. "I suppose to answer your question I'd say I'm married to the crown. A guard at this age who isn't in a relationship usually is considered to be one of many spouses to the monarchy. Though it's fortunate our monarchy consists of two beautiful princesses." Fluttershy got over her flustered state to look at the guard curiously.

"Well why aren't you with anybody? Wasn't there ever anyone that you'd liked to be with?" Heavystep sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Being a guard was easy as compared to having to be open about himself. But he was her escort for the night and didn't want to be rude to her.

"I guess I just got passed up more than a few times when I was young enough to offer beautiful maidens like yourself a strong and good looking husband. I have too much time etched into me." He said with a little bit of a sigh.

"That's not true. I don't know how old you are but you don't look that bad to me." He thought about making another joke on her flattering him but kept it back for fear of embarrassing her again.

"Thank you Miss. I guess there was one girl that caught my eye but I may as well have aimed for the stars themselves before I tried speaking to her." Fluttershy blinked at him curiously and he realized she was awaiting an answer. "Well... if you must know; her honorable Twilight Sparkle was always a woman I found very engaging."

"Twilight? Really?" She sounded so surprised that Heavystep couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"I know, held too highly in regard and too young and beautiful for an old soldier like me."

"It's not that. I guess I'm just surprised to hear you say her. I mean Twilight's very pretty and she's smart and she's really good with magic." After that list of things Heavystep could agree with he wondered where the surprise could be. "But she's always been so against getting involved with anyone. Actually I don't think I've ever seen her even consider going on a date with somebody. It's almost like she wants to be unnoticed."

"Well for me she did a poor job of it." Heavystep said and ran his fingers through his own hair. "But we may as well keep this as a conversation between just the two of us if it's all the same to you Miss Fluttershy. I know she's a friend of yours and I don't wish to make things odd or awkward for you or her." Not that it really mattered. Twilight Sparkle lived in a quiet village closer to the remains of the previous castle than this one. These days Heavystep was lucky if he even saw the beloved student of Celestia herself.

"Yeah, I guess that's okay. I don't think it would be weird if you talked to her sometime though." Fluttershy confessed, she was glad she was feeling more comfortable around this man. He wasn't like the men in the nightclub or even some of the other shoulders. He didn't stare at her chest or try to keep her attention in some effort to get her to like them. He was just so calm and quiet. He seemed dependable. "As far as I know Twilight hasn't ever been on a date. Maybe she should try one sometime."

"Well if I managed to convince you this soldier isn't past his prime then maybe she wont laugh me out of the palace." He said jokingly. No, he knew his place and it wasn't chasing after young maidens and pretending to be someone that could keep their interest.

"She'd never be so mean." Fluttershy said confidently. "Um... I'm having a good time tonight. But wasn't there a job we were supposed to be doing?" Fluttershy asked hesitantly as she referred to the other two members of their party.

"A job I was supposed to do you mean. The only requirement for yourself was to enjoy the night. And as for the rest of us I'd say we may not be as needed as we were at the beginning of the day."

Farther back in the garden but closer to the castle walls themselves was the flower display of the garden. It was out of sight and earshot of Heavystep and Fluttershy but the couple walking through it didn't seem to mind. In fact Rarity had thought this would happen when Blueblood offered to take them into the gardens on the way back. She knew Fluttershy would want to spend time with the animals and leaving her with her escort was best for keeping her company. It wasn't that Rarity disliked animals but they just weren't her specialty outside of her precious Opal back home. So she found herself exploring the rest of the garden with the shameless prince that had been acting surprisingly polite despite a few sarcastic comments here and there. In fact she'd hate to admit it but much of tonight had been fun. "Oh, look at these flowers." Rarity commented as she approached the white flowers that seemed to be sparkling in the moonlight. They were fully bloomed.

"Ah those, they're called Star Drops. They can be difficult to come by since they only grow in one part of the kingdom. Our gardener was fortunate enough to come across the seeds and cultivate them."

"They're beautiful." Rarity said as she leaned over to admire them. Blueblood was watching the woman as she admired the flowers.

"So you are." He said quietly.

"Pardon?" Rarity asked wondering if she misheard something.

"Ahem! I said so they are. Well your gracious, beautiful, talented and respectful Element of Harmony, may I ask if tonight was to your liking?" Rarity smirked and pondered the question. She'd gotten a lot of fun out of teasing and torturing Blueblood where the opportunity had arisen but as it had gone on that had become less and less of her focus.

"I would rate it satisfactory." The seamstress said and Blueblood rolled his eyes but smiled.

"Your expectations are so very high. I suppose next time I'll have to work harder to dazzle you."

"Next time?" Rarity asked curiously.

"Oh well... what I mean to say is if you were to place me into such a situation again where I had no choice but to escort you I'd make sure to live up to my reputation and leave you speechless."

"Is that so?" Rarity asked again and approached the prince. "I can't believe I'm saying this but thank you for tonight Blueblood. I had a great time. Also thank you for your assistance with my packages as well." Blueblood coughed and looked away at that memory.

"I'm sure my wallet will recover eventually from that shopping spree of yours. But of course I'd be sure they arrived to their destination safely. I wouldn't have allowed so many fine dresses to be bought from our stores and not ensure their safe arrival. We do have some of the best shops in the entire kingdom."

"Perhaps for shopping for garments already made, but for tailor fit clothing I know a better store to visit." Rarity put a hand on the lapel of Blueblood's coat and looked it over. "You should come by some day, I could create a stunning outfit for you. Perhaps one that can actually live up to your ego's standards."

"Now that is a challenge I'd be willing to take." Blueblood said amused. Rarity kept her hand on his coat and looked up at his admittedly handsome face.

"You know Blueblood despite being an egotistical, selfish and vain prince there are times when you can actually be very charming." Blueblood laughed lightly at her odd compliment.

"You forgot clever." He said and Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Well then if I may speak freely? For being a vindictive, perfectionist and at times mean woman you are actually very alluring."

"You forgot talented." Rarity added with a hint of her own vanity.

"So I did." They were staring into each other eyes now and began to lean in closer. "As well as beautiful."

"It's alright..." Rarity said quietly. "I forgot handsome." Their eyes closed, their lips touched. Soon after they were very intently meeting each other in a kiss.

Rarity and Blueblood's arms went around one another as they kissed each other and it was starting to grow more intense. It was odd how she found herself in this position but it somehow felt good. Dangerous but good. She hadn't felt a kiss like this since the last time her lips had touched with...

Rarity's eyes shot open as she suddenly pushed Blueblood off of her. So hard in fact she shoved him onto the ground on the grass in a sitting position. Her eyes were huge and wild as she realized what she'd just done. She had expected Blueblood to be angry with her but he just looked up confused by what had happened. "Rarity I... do apologize but I thought that..."

"I'm sorry!" She said a little louder than intended and put her hands over her lips. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to push you. You didn't do anything wrong but I just can't. I'm sorry." Rarity suddenly took to her heels as she ran through the garden. Blueblood scrambled to his feet.

"Wait! What's wrong?" The prince tried to rise to chase after her but Rarity was already too far ahead. As she ran she flew past where Fluttershy and Heavystep had been sitting on the bench. Fluttershy rising to her feet as soon as she saw her friend pass.

"Rarity!?" Her purple haired friend didn't stop for her call and Fluttershy knew something serious must of happened. "Mr. Heavystep I'm sorry but I have to go."

"It's alright, go after her." The soldier said and got to his feet as well while Fluttershy ran off out of the garden after Rarity. Heavystep waited as the Prince came around soon after. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Blueblood exclaimed and Heavystep just looked at him accusingly. "Honest! I didn't do a thing. In fact I thought things were going so well. She told me she had a lovely time and then I let her know that I wouldn't mind doing it again. Then she said she'd make me a suit if I so desired and we... well sort of... kissed." Heavystep let out a long sigh and rubbed his eyes from the strain. "Well it's not like I forced her into it. We kissed and then she shoved ME to the ground. Which I'll admit she apologized to doing right before running out of the garden like it had been set on fire. The garden isn't on fire, correct?"

"No it's not, your highness. By the moon and the sun." Heavystep shook his head.

"So I suppose I failed my test tonight didn't I?" Blueblood said disappointed. "It's too bad really. I had actually started to enjoy the later half of this day." Heavystep thought on this for a moment.

"On the honor of the crown you swear you did nothing to the lady?" Heavystep asked.

"Let my aunt strike me down now if I had." There was a moment that passed where Blueblood looked skyward for an instant before back to the soldier. "Truly I did nothing. We did kiss but it was mutual up until she violently broke it."

"Well then I suppose when the Princess asks for my report I'll leave it up to Ms. Rarity to decide if anything out of line happened and just state the facts." Blueblood was looking towards the door way the maidens had escaped through, wondering where things had gone wrong exactly.

Meanwhile Rarity had escaped all the way to her chambers for the evening and entered quickly, closing the door behind her. She held a hand over her mouth in shock. She had kissed the prince. What's more she'd done so out of her own free will. What in the world had she been thinking? Why would she do something like that with a man like him? After he'd treated her so cruelly and deserved nothing more than to be regarded as the brute he was. Maybe he charmed her in some way? She knew he could use magic but as far as she was aware no spells had been cast by him at any time. Was he just trying to seduce her from the beginning? No that couldn't be it, he never would have allowed that guard to come with him if that had been the case. "What have I done?"

Rarity walked to the bed and laid on it, looking at the ceiling. How could she do such a thing? Not just kiss another man but kissing Blueblood of all people. What about Spike? If he found out about this then how would he react? Rarity had not only been intimate with Celestia's own ward (and her student that one time) but now was kissing her nephew in the gardens of her own castle behind the other man's back! She'd be lucky if she got sent to just the dungeon. After she he had confessed his desire to marry her and she turned him down. Not to mention her denying to Blueblood that she was involved with anyone in any way. She hugged her pillow tightly, it was like a house of cards was falling all around her.

"Rarity?" Fluttershy spoke a the door. "Rarity, can I come in? I'm worried about you."

"Come in." Rarity said just loud enough for the pink haired girl to hear. Fluttershy entered slowly to find her friend laying dramatically on the bed. Honestly this wasn't the first time she'd seen Rarity like this so she had no idea how to gauge how bad this was.

"Rarity, is everything okay?" What to say? How to even begin to convey how not okay everything was? This wasn't just not okay. This was the Worst. Possible. Thing!

"It's fine Fluttershy." Rarity lied and sat up, which made the girl more worried than if Rarity had over reacted.

"You ran away from Blueblood out of the garden. That doesn't seem okay." Rarity sighed and shook her head.

"I made a mistake is all. I... I kissed Blueblood." Fluttershy's eyes widened at that confession.

"Oh." Was all she could say with that bombshell. "I guess thing were going well back there huh?"

"I guess so... but it's over now. Sorry to ruin your evening. I should apologize to everyone appropriately later." Fluttershy shook her head and sat next to her friend on the bed.

"I don't think you need to apologize."

"I pushed the prince onto his royal rump after I kissed him."

"Oh. Well okay, maybe you should apologize for that. But I think if you just let Mr. Heavystep and Prince Blueblood know you're okay then they'll be fine. Honestly I think we're all more worried about you." Fluttershy held Rarity's hand and she squeezed it in return. "Actually this was one of the most fun nights I've had in a while. I didn't think I'd like going to all those places but really it was a lot of fun. So thank you Rarity."

"You're an angel, you know that?" She hugged her friend tightly. "Thank you Fluttershy. You're the best friend anyone could ask for." Rarity sighed and tried to let all the drama go. "Well I suppose I'll have to talk to them in the morning. If it's not too much trouble Fluttershy would you mind sleeping in my bed tonight? I don't think I want to be alone." Fluttershy nodded happily. with that agreed the girls went about getting themselves out of their night dresses and Rarity was glad to have the help. She could do it on her own but keeping everything in tact while getting out of it as fast as possible could be a challenge. Once the girls were undressed and washed up it was finally tie to relax. Fluttershy looked around the room curiously.

"Rarity did you have another pair of pajamas I could borrow? Mine are in my room and I'd rather not get dressed again to go get them."

"I didn't even remember to bring any for me, darling. I'm just going to sleep as is." Rarity unhooked her bra and Fluttershy blushed red.

"Y-you mean sleep naked... together?" The pink haired girl asked quietly and Rarity looked at her confused.

"Well I'm sleeping with my panties on myself. But if you want to go all the way I'm not going to complain. It's not like we haven't seen each other like this before with how often we've tried on dresses together."

"Well yeah but... never without..." They'd never gone even half naked before when trying on dresses. Normally at least they had their underwear on to cover up their modesty. Still Rarity didn't seem to care and Fluttershy wasn't comfortable sleeping in bra. Sighing in defeat she removed her as well and got into bed with Rarity. The seamstress using her magic to turn out all the lights. As Fluttershy settled down she began to realize it wasn't that big of a deal after all and realxed her body. She ended up sliding a little closer to Rarity and the purple haired woman let out a little breath.

"Oh Fluttershy, wont you touch me lower?"

"Eeep!" Fluttershy scooted all the way to the edge of the bed and Rarity giggled loudly.

"I'm just teasing darling."

"Rarity." Fluttershy said annoyed and Rarity rolled over to face her friend with a wink.

"Not that you aren't a looker." She laughed a little more and Fluttershy didn't find it any more amusing but got back onto the bed comfortably. "Good night Fluttershy, sweet dreams."

"You too Rarity." And so the young women went to sleep that night. Though Rarity was one of two that would find sleep more difficult to come by than the others.

Things Unsaid

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 10 - Things Unsaid

Even though sleep had been difficult to come by Rarity had eventually managed to fall into a comfortable slumber. The addition of her friend under the covers provided peace of mind to the young woman. Fluttershy had a way of making Rarity feel at ease even when she wasn't doing much at all. Perhaps a good friend nearby really was a magic all of its own. The comfortable sheets did the rest to take her off to Luna's realm as she slept. That is till the sound of a beating fist upon the door started to bring her back to the waking world.

"Rarity, are you up yet?" Rarity grumbled at the noise, refusing to open her eyes in as she remained in a half awake state. "Rarity? Come on you can't possibly still be asleep." The words were heard clearly though the door but the only way Rarity could process them was by rolling over away from them. All in hopes she could drown the words out by ignoring them. Still the beating fist against the door insisted. "C'mon, breakfast is being served. I don't wanna have to come all the way back out here for you." Impatient, violent and loud; it had to be Rainbow Dash. That didn't inspire Rarity to want to get out of bed any faster. Eventually the beating against the door stopped to Rarity's relief but was soon replaced with annoyance when she heard the door open. "Rarity, are you in here?" She was indeed, something Rainbow Dash would learn quickly along with the lesson of not to wake the seamstress by force.

"Rainbow Dash, do you mind!?" Rarity said with enough aggression in her voice to make the girl jump. Not to mention surprising her as Rarity sat right up in bed to deliver her message eye to eye. "If I'm in bed and I don't respond it means I'm sleeping! That is not a hard concept to grasp." Rainbow Dash froze for a second as the two friends were looking at each other. Eventually Rainbow's eyes drifted down and caught a sight of something more than she planned on finding.

"Whoa." As clarity began to return to Rarity she looked down and recalled that she hadn't worn any pajamas to bed last night. Blushing a little she pulled he covers up over her chest and sighed. It wasn't like it was such a big deal for Rainbow Dash to see those but it wasn't exactly proper. Besides unlike Fluttershy she hadn't shared a dressing room with Dashie repeatedly in the past.

"Now do you see the importance of knocking first?" Rarity asked with a lecturing tone.

"I did knock." Rainbow responded. "I knocked like crazy but you didn't ever answer." Well... yes that was true but Rarity didn't have to acknowledge it right away. Besides she'd been sleepy after everything that happened last night. "It's like nine in the morning already, I thought you'd have gotten all dressed up hours ago."

"Well... I haven't yet. It was a long night. I'll get started though if you don't mind giving me some privacy."

"Yeah, sure thing. I have to try Fluttershy's room again anyway. She didn't respond either for some reason." Funny how Rainbow Dash didn't barge in on Fluttershy's room, though she didn't mind doing it to herself, Rarity thought. As if it were on cue though Fluttershy mumbled and sat right up in bed, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she tried to get the words out.

"Mm... Rainbow Dash?" The Rainbow haired girl's mouth dropped open. Less from the sight of Fluttershy giving her a similar show as Rarity had and more to the fact she'd suddenly caught the two in bed together. Rarity reached over and pulled the covers up over Fluttershy's chest for her, which woke her up enough to let the pink haired girl realize they weren't alone in the room together. "Eeep!" She suddenly clutched the blanket to her body as Rainbow Dash made for the door.

"S-sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to walk in!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy called out but it was too late, she was already on her way out and gone in a second. Rarity sighed and got out of bed daintily after their visitor had left.

"Well that was a rude awakening if I've ever had one. I suppose that's Rainbow Dash's style though." Rarity stretched her body and yawned, then went to taking inventory in her head as she looked over the vanity in the room where her make-up sat. She didn't want to not spruce up but whatever she wanted to apply she'd have to do quickly. "We won't want to keep everyone waiting. It seems we've both slept in too long after our escapades last night. After everything that happened I was completely exhausted. How do you feel darling?" Rarity looked back to her friend to see Fluttershy with her knees tucked up against her chest under the covers. Her head was down and her hair draped around her. "Deary? What is it? Do you feel sick?"

"She saw us." Fluttershy squeaked out quietly. Rarity walked over to the bed again and sat on the edge.

"Who saw us?"

"Rainbow Dash. She saw us... in bed together. Like this." Oh, so that was what she meant. Well maybe it would look bad to some people but it wasn't like there was something scandalous going on in this room. "I can't believe I just showed her everything like that. She must think I'm-"

"A good friend." Rarity said as she got closer to Fluttershy and rubbed her back. "To have kept me company all night after I'd asked you to." Fluttershy slowly looked up at Rarity, her eyes didn't look any more assured. "Oh come now darling there isn't anything to fuss over. So Rainbow Dash saw us in bed, all that happened was you had a sleep over in my room. Nothing more or less. If she has some other ideas in her head we'll clear them up right away. Okay?" Rarity kept an arm around Fluttershy who let out a breath as she fought back the threatening tears and nodded. The pink haired girl leaned on her friend.

"Okay..."

"Good. So let's get ready to have breakfast." It was exhausting sometimes with just how fragile Fluttershy was. Rarity loved her to bits but the girl could be a handful when she was upset. At least that situation was diffused with little effort. Rainbow Dash probably did leap to some conclusion seeing the girls together like that but she'd be sure to sort it out. "You can borrow one of my outfits if you like, darling. I have enough to share. Did you want to use the shower first or should I?"

"I guess I will." Fluttershy said in a rare move of taking the initiative. Rarity took it as a good sign that maybe she was feeling better after their slightly unusual morning. Taking a seat in front of the vanity she let Fluttershy pass her by to the shower. "I won't take long though so you can get in too. I bet you want to see the Prince to apologize while we still have time." She'd forgotten about that actually. Her embarrassing end to last night in the garden. It was annoying to admit but Blueblood had behaved for most of the night and Rarity was completely at fault for what had transpired. She hoped he'd forgive her. "I wonder if Mr. Heavystep will be at breakfast too?" Fluttershy opened the door to the bathroom to get the shower ready.

"I can't imagine he would. Being a royal guard wouldn't he have to work today?" Rarity responded as she was looking her face over in the mirror.

"Oh, yeah, you're probably right. But um, maybe he's assigned to guard Princess Celestia? She's probably going to be there since Twilight will too, I think." That might be true, Rarity considered. "If anything she'd probably want to ask him about last night since Mr. Heavystep kept taking all those notes about The Prince." Rarity had forgotten about that little detail too. In fact if he was recording everything from last night that meant he had to report it to Celestia eventually, to be sure Blueblood had behaved himself. Which meant Celestia would probably talk with Blueblood herself at some time today, if she hadn't already to ask about things. That meant she'd probably hear about the embarrassing kiss and shove incident in the garden. As awful as all that had been the only saving grace was that Spike wasn't anywhere near the capital to have seen or heard about it.

Of course maybe neither Blueblood or Heavystep had spoken to Princess Celestia about last night yet. Maybe it was like Fluttershy had suggested and either one or both of them would be present at the breakfast table. Where they could give their report in front of all her friends... including Twilight.

The severity of this news becoming public finally dawned on Rarity and she realized she had even less time than previously thought. Rising from her seat at the vanity Rarity rushed towards the bathroom where Fluttershy was getting ready to close the door. "It just dawned on me we've been keeping everyone waiting so long! How about we shower together to save time?" Fluttershy had a shocked expression similar to Rainbow Dash's from moments earlier as she suggested they bath together.

"T-together? But... but then we'd be completely... you know... showing everything."

"Trust me deary I don't have anything you haven't seen before."

"But-"

"Hurry along now, I'll scrub your back for you. Let's get clean!" Rarity closed the door up tight as she ran Fluttershy through one of the most turbulent mornings of her life.

Celestia was in fact at the breakfast table already. As the one that raises the sun every morning she had a habit of being awake long before anyone else had a chance to rise. Her breakfast usually came much sooner in the day but she'd put it off for some time now to accommodate her special guests. Despite this it seemed she'd have to wait a while longer. The Princess wouldn't have wanted to admit it but her legendary patience was wearing slightly thin as they were two thirds short of expected attendees at the table.

Celestia had positioned herself at the head of the long table with another lavish chair at the other end for Luna when she chose to arrive. Aside from herself was her faithful student Twilight Sparkle and her student's good friend and fellow element of harmony Pinkie Pie. They both still had fresh bandages over their necks to cover up the marks and bruising that Devour had given them the day before. Aside from the similar wounds and bandages the two young women were as different as night and day. Pinkie had spent the last few minutes finding the perfect balance to keep a spoon hanging off of her nose. Even though The Princess was used to Pinkie's eccentric behavior after all this time Twilight would usually still lecture her to behave better in the presence of royalty. Instead the lavender haired girl just sat at the table and looked down at her empty plate in deep though.

The revelations of yesterday from Twilight's talk with Cadence had been weighing heavily on her mind. Not just the idea that her physical attraction to Spike had rooted from some sort of mental issue she had with her brother, though that was enough to deal with honestly. It was also how Cadence had so easily peeled back Twilight's mind and seen through everything without difficulty. She'd been aware of what Twilight did and even who she did it with. Then there was digging up that old memory of what she'd done that night years ago as just a young teenager. All those private moments laid out bare before someone she loved like her family.

It had been hard to get to sleep after all of that. She was bothered of course but it was more of the concern that she knew Luna had free passage into her mind through her dreams. How much could the Princess of the Night see through just your dreams alone? She'd finally passed out from exhaustion after assuring herself that Luna would have been too busy with Devour anyway. But now that she had dwelt on the fact Cadence could look into her heart, and Luna could look into her dreams, she was brought to only one last Princess. Celestia had always been very well organized and a brilliant planner. Taking into account nearly all things and guiding her kingdom accordingly to their current prosperity. But just how much could she know? Furthermore how could she come to know it in the first place? What secrets did Celestia hide?

"Twilight Sparkle?" The motherly voice called out to her and Twilight jumped a little in her chair. Her teacher was looking her way with a troubled expression. "Is everything all right? You seem preoccupied with something."

"Oh um... everything is fine your highness." Her lie sounded as fake as it was. "I just couldn't sleep very well last night."

"Do your injuries still bother you? Having to heal from being manhandled by Devour and then restoring your magic would tire any sorceress." She looked over at Pinkie who despite her neck injury was managing to upgrade from balancing a spoon on her nose all the way to a cup on her head with a plate and another cup on top of that. Celestia didn't seem bothered by her antics though. "I've been cursing my judgement to let you girls go in there ever since yesterday. You would have been fine had I just taken action myself."

"It's okay your highness." Twilight tried to comfort her teacher but Celestia let out a rare sigh in return. "Really, we're both fine. I mean Pinkie is doing even better than I am. I promise you I'm okay."

"Sure she is!" Pinkie chimed in, suddenly slamming her fist down on the end of her other spoon and causing it to flip up over her head and into the top glass on her head, balancing there perfectly with everything else. Twilight had to begrudgingly admit that was pretty impressive, even if she shouldn't be acting like this at the table. "We're both gonna be just fine Princess. Besides I bet it's something else that's got Twilight down in the dumpsies."

"Pinkie, you know too!?" Twilight said a little louder than she wanted to, gaining a surprised look from Celestia. But if Pinkie somehow managed to figure out all of Twilight's secrets as well then she was going to teleport out of the castle and into a cave somewhere for the rest of her life.

"Of course, you're just annoyed cause everyone's making us wait for breakfast." Pinkie said with a smile.

"Oh. Yes. That. That's it exactly." Twilight tried to calm down and look completely normal now that she knew her cover wasn't completely blown. Which just made her look stiff and even more suspicious.

"Don't worry though Twilight." Pinkie said. "I'm sure once Rainbow Dash gets back with everyone else we'll have a delicious breakfast with juice and fruits and cereal and bagels with that cream cheese spread, you know the strawberry kind cause that's the best kind cause it tastes like real straaaaaww!" Pinkie winced as her enthusiastic movements caused her neck to twinge with pain. She would have felt even worse with the tower of plates, glasses and silverware coming down towards her if Celestia had not raised a hand and caught it all in mid-fall with her magic. "Owwwwwie. Thank you, your highness."

"You're welcome Pinkie Pie. Do be careful though, like Twilight you'll need lots of rest to recover and be back to your old self." Pinkie glumly calmed herself as her injuries reminded her that she needed to reign in her more outlandish behavior. With a few finger movements Celestia had re-set all of Pinkie's dishware to its proper locations.

"Looks like ya got lucky with Celestia watchin' out fer ya." A kind voice with a southern drawl commented as it approached the table.

"Applejack, yay!" Pinkie exclaimed happily, seeming to forget her injuries altogether at the sight of their friend. The farmer was brought in by a nurse as she reluctantly sat in a wheel chair the doctors had insisted upon. Applejack was dressed back into her normal attire from yesterday with the exception of her hat, which rested safely on her lap. Once she was to the table Applejack sprung to her feet, earning a glare from the nurse.

"Ms. Applejack, please. The doctor warned you to be careful while you recovered." The farmer sighed and shook her bandaged head.

"Ah keep tellin' ya'll ah feel fit as a fiddle. Mornin' yer highness." Applejack bowed to Celestia who waved for her to rise.

"Good morning Applejack. I trust our castle physician saw to you before dismissing you today?"

"Like ah had a choice in the matter." Applejack commented looking at the nurse as she took her seat at the table next to Pinkie Pie. Their eyes pretty much told the story and Twilight was able to fit the pieces together just from the time she'd spent around her blonde friend. She doubted the farmer had been very cooperative with her caretakers when it came to taking it easy.

"Applejack you really shouldn't be so stubborn. They're just concerned for your well being is all. We all are." Twilight tried to soothe her, relieved secretly that the focus of attention had shifted from herself and onto AJ. Applejack sighed out loud over it all.

"Ah know ah know, and ah appreciate it. Jus' wish people would believe me when ah say ah'm fine." Applejack directed that last statement to the nurse, who was turning the wheel chair around back towards the exit of the dining hall she'd come from.

"Your highness." The nurse bowed to the princess and dismissed herself, clearly having had enough of fighting with the farm girl over this issue. Once she was gone Applejack seemed to loosen up more.

"So what ah miss?"

"Twilight's grumpy cause everyone is taking so long to get here." Pinkie suddenly answered and Twilight felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment.

"Really Twi'? Shucks ah know breakfast is important an all but ah'd expect ya tah be a bit more patient than that." Applejack looked on with an empathetical expression and Twilight felt more on the spot than ever.

"I wasn't upset or anything! I mean I'm not even that hungry yet." Twilight responded but Pinkie looked at her curiously for the statement.

"But earlier you said that the reason you looked all grumbily grump was because you wanted to eat breakfast ASAP." The baker interjected and Twilight funny enough grumbled in response.

"I didn't say that. I just agreed with you when you said it." Pinkie looked on confused to Twilight's response.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Twilight sighed as she just wanted to subject to change to anything else at all but her. Thankfully her wish was granted as a rainbow haired girl walked into the dining hall next.

"Hey everyone, Rarity and Fluttershy are on their way." Dash said abruptly as she walked up and sat down at the far end on Twilight's side of the table. All the girls and even Celestia looked on surprised as Rainbow Dash didn't say anything further and just looked down at the table. As if she were in deep thought over something important. When it was clear she didn't plan to elaborate further Celestia decided to break the uncomfortable silence that seemed to be constantly invading her table today.

"Were Fluttershy and Rarity well, Rainbow Dash?" Celestia's comment seemed to go ignored by the rainbow haired girl, an act that was surprising even for the Princess herself. She just kept looking down at her plate as something was clearly weighing heavily on her. "Ahem, Rainbow Dash?" When she didn't get a response a second time Twilight panicked a little and leaned over, giving Rainbow Dash a whack against her shoulder with her fist.

"OW! Twilight, what the heck!?" Dash looked up to realize that everyone at the table was looking her direction. Twilight tried her best to force calm into her voice as this breakfast was turning into one big ball of stress for her.

"Rainbow Dash, Princess Celestia asked you what had been keeping Rarity and Fluttershy?" The purple haired girl was motioning with her head to the Princess who was looking on with genuine concern for her subjects today. Rainbow finally got the hint and responded.

"Oh, um... yeah, they're uh... they're okay. I guess they're just y'know... doing their thing! You know what I mean." No, not a single person there had any idea what she was talking about. It didn't help matters when Dash laughed uncomfortably. "Like it's, y'know... girl stuff."

"Fru-fru stuff?" Applejack offered and Rainbow seized upon that.

"Yeah, like dresses and make-up and stuff? Sure." Even Pinkie Pie looked confused as to what the heck Rainbow Dash could have been referring to but no one pressed the matter further. Celestia chimed in after to try and assist Rainbow Dash with her explanation.

"I suppose they may be tired after going out last night. I know Luna asked for some assistance to ensure they'd enjoy themselves." This was news to Twilight. She knew they'd gone out together after everyone had called it a night but she wasn't aware of who else had gone along with the two of them.

"They had a special party without us?" Pinkie Pie asked sounding a little upset she may have gotten left out of some sort of celebration with her friends.

"Didn't you say you didn't want to go because their kind of party wasn't your kind of party?" Twilight asked Pinkie but it didn't make her any less depressed that she had missed out.

"Well yeah but I didn't know it was going to be a party party. Princess was it a party party? I thought it was just going to be dresses and proper etiquette stuffs."

"Heck, ah woulda took a fru-fru party over being laid up in bed all night any day." Applejack commented jokingly and got a smile out of Celestia. Rainbow Dash was still being oddly quiet though, Twilight had noticed. Celestia finally informed all of them just exactly what she'd been referring to before Pinkie got herself any more worked up.

"Well I don't know if they had a 'party' party last night, but I do know they were escorted so they wouldn't be alone. Luna requested our nephew Blueblood ensure they have a good time." The table went silent as the girls looked on horrified at the revelation. Twilight couldn't even imagine what a night with Prince Blueblood would have been like for Rarity. No wonder she was exhausted. "Is something the matter?" Celestia asked with a bit of playfulness in her voice. Twilight was the only one that had the courage to answer her teacher's question.

"Nothing is wrong your highness. Why I'm sure that Prince Blueblood was a... a..." It was odd how hard it was to call him a gentleman. Twilight had of course met the prince more than a few times and she'd have been happy if they'd been fewer.

"A complete gentleman?" Celestia offered.

"Yes, that exactly." Twilight agreed and Celestia continued to smile in that knowing way of hers.

"I have confidence my nephew would have been nothing less." Celestia said pleasantly, leaving the entire table to wonder just how well the Princess knew her own nephew. "Though if we want to find out I believe we can learn first hand." Celestia motioned to the entry way Rainbow Dash had come from earlier as two more ladies made their way into the dining room.

"Hello darlings, so sorry to keep you all waiting." Rarity and Fluttershy walked in, Fluttershy in a much more unique white dress than the outfit she'd been wearing yesterday with the small accessories to go with it . It was the kind of thing that wasn't too flashy but still an eye turner. A classic Rarity ensemble. Rarity herself was wearing a pants and blouse combination similar to what she'd had yesterday. The women bowed to Celestia as was the norm and she motioned for them to rise. When they approached the table Rainbow Dash got wide eyed.

"Oh sorry, let me make some room!" The girl said suddenly, her magical wings sprouting from her back as she literally flew over the table and dropped in the seat directly across from her on the other side. Sitting next to Applejack, Rainbow Dash left open seats next to Twilight as the only options for the two to choose from. Everyone looked a bit surprised by the outburst from the girl, aside from Fluttershy who seemed worried over it.

"You know darling there were already two open seats." Rarity corrected her as she took the seat closest to Twilight and Fluttershy sat across from Rainbow Dash. Dash seemed to go out of her way not to make eye contact with either of them. "It really wasn't necessary to move."

"Yeah well I guess I just... didn't want to be a bother." Rainbow Dash's reply didn't make the action any less odd to Twilight and the rest. Despite this being the most awkward breakfast ever Celestia was determined to get some food in her stomach. With everyone here she rang the small bell by her side and thankfully the waiters began to bring out some bread, muffins, butter and jellies to tied them all over while their individual orders were taken. With that done Applejack got conversation flowing again.

"So ah heard ya'll had an evenin' out with Blueblood?" Rarity's expression became more alert but she didn't seem especially startled.

"Oh you did, is he here? Did he already speak with everyone?" Rarity asked while looking a bit tense.

"Blueblood won't be joining us this morning." Celestia answered. "He chose to take his breakfast in his room today and had an appointment at the salon earlier. I do believe we may not see him before you depart."

"Oh, really? Well that's too bad, isn't it?" Rarity responded and seemed to let out a breath and relax more. "Did he happen to mention anything? About last night?" Twilight was watching Rarity curiously now that the focus was off of herself and Rainbow Dash and over to what it was Rarity was so uptight over. Celestia seemed curious too but didn't express it with her face like Twilight did as The Princess spoke.

"I'm afraid I haven't had the chance to talk to him directly." Celestia was sipping her tea now and enjoying a small personal cake that had been brought out to her while she waited for her proper meal. "Was it a fun date?" The Princess asked and Twilight watched her purple haired friend closely.

"You went on a date with Blueblood!?" Pinkie Pie asked in disbelief. "I thought you said you didn't ever wanna spend time with that dumb meanie pants again for as long as you live!?" Applejack put her face in her hand and shook her head as the baker openly insulted The Prince in front of Celestia. Oddly enough Celestia didn't seem to mind the comment. Even more odd was Twilight's lack of reprimand on Pinkie for such an insult, the scholar far more interested in Rarity's answer.

"Oh no no no no! It wasn't a date, exactly." Rarity declined forcefully. "It was just an evening out with friends. That's all, there wasn't anything more to it than that. Just walking around and seeing the capital's sights and stores and all of those fun things. That was all, quite a calm affair really." Rarity's insistence was a curious thing and something Twilight couldn't stop fixating on. It was a bit shameful but Twilight was wishing she had Cadence's powers to find out what was really going on in the woman's heart at the moment. "Isn't that right Fluttershy?" Fluttershy looked up suddenly as she'd been looking across the table at Rainbow Dash for some time now trying to read her expression. She looked around the table shyly seeing everyone's attention on her and cleared her throat.

"Yes, it was nice." She let the words hang a bit before Rarity motioned with her hands to elaborate further. "And um... Mr. Heavystep was nice too. He stayed with us all night and didn't complain once about anywhere we wanted to go, even if we did go out of the way. I'm glad we're friends now, if it's not a bother to him." Fluttershy said with some genuine happiness to her voice. "I especially enjoyed seeing all the animals in the garden last night. He spent time with me while I got to know them a little bit better." It certainly went better than the last time she was there, an event she didn't want to repeat.

"I'm surprised Rarity wanted to see the animals in the garden too." Twilight commented.

"Oh she was off with Blueblood in the garden while I was feeding the animals." Fluttershy responded innocently and everyone's eyes turned to look at Rarity after hearing that news with the exception of Celestia who was enjoying her personal small cake at the moment. Rarity nudged Fluttershy with her leg and the girl suddenly backpedaled on her words. "Oh I mean um... we were all in the garden together, and I was feeding the animals and... what do I mean again?" Fluttershy said looking at Rarity for help.

"What Fluttershy means is that we were all there at the garden together. While she was feeding the animals I requested to look at the flowers for some ideas for new designs for my dresses. Then we all said good night and went to bed. Separately, I mean. Separate beds. Not all together of course, that would be silly." Rarity smiled nervously and Fluttershy looked back to Rainbow Dash who decided not to make eye contact any longer with the two ladies. "How about you Twilight, how was your night with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" Rarity said eager to get attention deflected off of herself and onto someone else.

"Oh it went um, fine." Twilight said a little too quickly. Celestia looked upon her student curiously.

"I'd meant to ask that earlier myself, Twilight." The Princess commented. "It's been a long while since you and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had been given some time to just talk. I'm afraid I keep her and your brother quite busy around the castle. I'm sure you were happy to have time with them again." Twilight's fingers laced together in her lap as she was trying to not only control her words but also her thoughts, suddenly wondering if maybe Celestia could just look right into her mind similar to the way the other Princesses could and pick out what information she wanted. It left Twilight with an odd grimace as she concentrated. "Twilight, are you feeling alright?"

"Just fine!" Twilight responded. "It was a... good evening..." Happy thoughts, concentrate on happy thoughts. Puppies and kittens and books. "We had a very... nice dinner and then... I went to bed... early." Thoughts about books about puppies and kittens. Sunflowers and dandelions. Make a mental block to keep everyone else out.

"Twi', are ya havin' one of them aneurisms?" Applejack asked seriously confused about her expression as Twilight was attempting to block her thoughts from potential royal psychic probing.

"I'm good!" Twilight said. "Pinkie, how was your night!?" Blocking thoughts about your potentially incestuous childhood memories of your brother and damning conversations about your sexual promiscuity with your sister-in-law was a lot harder than Twilight thought it would be. Best to direct attention elsewhere.

"Like the worst night ever! I couldn't get these cupcakes to come out right at all!" Pinkie said holding up the letter she'd received from Discord the day before. "I even baked them with Rainbow Dash's help like it told me to but we couldn't get it to work right."

"It wanted you to put me IN the cupcakes Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash said with the most emotion she'd mustered since arriving at the dining table. "Why don't you understand that part?"

"That can't be it." Pinkie said reading over the letter again. "I mean that would be like gross and icky if I made cupcakes with a person in them. Plus they wouldn't even be cupcakes anymore that's like, tiny meatloafs or something."

"Well I wasn't about to let you use me as an ingredient for your tiny meatloafs." Rainbow Dash remarked and loosened up a bit as she spoke with her curly pink haired friend.

"Oh don't worry. I'd do anything for a lovely cupcake, but I won't do that." Pinkie replied. "In the end we just used some of Rainbow Dash's hair. Worst cupcakes ever." The entire table gagged at the thought of it. "Discord may be the personification of all of chaos but he doesn't know how to make a baked good." With that fresh thought still in their minds of Rainbow Dash Hair Cupcakes the waiters began to bring out their meals. Everyone ate happily as it was a nice distraction from the very awkward and confusing conversation they'd all gone through this morning. Their meal continued in relative silence until the final guest arrived.

"Sister, I'm so pleased you could make it." Celestia said in joyful greeting. Luna entered the dining hall causing all the girls to rise to their feet and bow in respect to the night princess. Luna thanked them all and permitted them to continue while she took to her own chair and placed an order for her breakfast. Once that was done Luna sat at the table looking downward in much the same contemplative way as Rainbow Dash had earlier. Her sister looked on most curious. "A bit for your thoughts, Luna?" The starry haired princess looked up with a bit of confusion and Celestia smiled. "My apologies, it's a common expression of today. I was simply asking what you were thinking on."

"Oh, my own apologies for not understanding." Even though Luna had been ruling beside Celestia for some time now since her transformation from Nightmare Moon she was still a bit ignorant of current phrases and slang. It could be embarrassing at times when a countries ruler wasn't familiar with its own culture. "I was contemplating the events of last night."

"You are up awfully late, aren't you Princess Luna?" Twilight said looking down the table towards her. "I would have expected you to be in bed by now." Luna watched her with a tense but somewhat innocent gaze. It was unsettling sometimes for Twilight to keep eye contact with Luna. She was nice enough but her eyes were piercing, as if they could see into your soul. Which for all Twilight knew with last night's revelations she could.

"Yes, normally I would. However thou was having thine breakfast in the morning. So I postponed my own meal." She was slipping back into her old way of talking again as well Twilight noticed.

"Well that's right kindly of ya." Applejack expressed to Luna between mouthfuls of her breakfast. "Sorry tah keep ya waitin' so long. Not all of us we're up as early as we'd like."

"Well we all head quite a day yesterday." Rarity said through dainty bites of her own food. "Also your highness I attended your nightclub while in the capital. Very chic, you must be proud to have such a popular establishment." Luna looked at Rarity with the slightest hint of uncomfortable embarrassment at the praise.

"Thank you, thine words of gratitude grant me much joy. I must confess though that I am still unfamiliar with most common acts of recreation our subjects prefer in this day and age."

"Oh yeah, speaking of yesterday!" Pinkie said out loud through mouthfuls. "What ever happened to Firebreath McMeanie-Pants? Did he skip outta town already?" Luna blinked in utter confusion at her question and Celestia held back a giggle. She couldn't blame Luna for being a bit lost when it came to Pinkie Pie.

"I believe she's referring to Devour, dear sister." Celestia clarified and that certainly sparked a memory.

"Oh, yes, King Devour." Luna laced her fingers together and rested her arms on the table as she thought on that. "I do believe he's left the capital as of this morning."

"You mean you met that big jerk?" Rainbow Dash asked as her adrenaline kicked in thinking of how she'd missed the chance to lay into that guy. "Who does he think he is sticking around here all through the night? After what he did he should have kept on flying and never come back!"

"But he doesn't have a home anymore." Fluttershy offered to Rainbow Dash who looked over for a moment and then couldn't meet Fluttershy's gaze any longer. That was disappointing to the pink haired girl but she continued in respect to Princess Luna. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, where would he even go to? I thought all his family and friends are from so long ago in the past?"

"King Devour declared he would travel south to thine homeland." Luna answered. "Back to the territories of the Dragon-Blooded clans. He stated his curiosity to see how thine society had grown in his absence." The way Luna had said that caught Twilight's attention.

"So you talked to him directly? Actually spoke with him?" Twilight Sparkled asked the princess and she seemed once again a bit lost as to why that would be important.

"Indeed. We spoke." Luna said simply, which sparked interest from Celestia.

"And? What did you think of the former king when you discovered him, sister?" Luna didn't meet Celestia's eyes but she did manage to answer.

"King Devour was very... different from what I had remembered him to be. His strength did not fade with the years but he is certainly changed. I do not believe he shall be the threat he was to the kingdom in the past."

"I should hope not. Otherwise the effort that was put forward to allow him to remain free would have gone to waste. Speaking of which, Fluttershy." The pink haired girl perked up and looked down at The Princess. "I've already spoken with some of the guards about what is required to transport your new friends to the Everfree Forest. Arrangements may take some time to prepare but I believe we can get them all moved within the week if that is fine with you?"

"Oh um... of course, your highness. Thank you so much for your help." Fluttershy bowed her head to the ruler.

"Not at all. Were it not for your bravery, things may have ended much differently. You all have my thanks for that." Celestia said appreciatively to her subjects around the table. "Now then Luna, did you have any other tales to entertain us with of your evening out with the king from a far away land?" Celestia had a slight teasing sound to her voice as she addressed her sister and Luna stared back hard.

"Dear sister, I feel as thou art implying events which have not transpired in the evening past during my encounter with King Devour." It was quite a ways to go just to tell Celestia that she hadn't been flirting with royalty from another nation.

"Oh no, not all. Just looking to entertain you and everyone else until your meal arrives." Celestia said cheerfully.

"It cannot arrive soon enough." Luna sighed.

Breakfast passed with all of its colorful conversation and eventually ended with Luna excusing herself to sleep for the rest of the day. Shortly after Celestia excused herself as well to attend to her own royal duties and thanked all of her precious subjects for all their support. Twilight was always sad to depart from her beloved teacher but now more than ever she needed some time away from the castle and back home to get herself situated. So the girls got their things packed, had their belongings taken for them to the train station and all easily boarded without incident. Thankfully the entire process was very smooth and easy. Now it was time for the comfortable train ride back, which left a few of the girls to pick their moments for what they'd been individually planning since breakfast.

Despite her protests that she was fine Applejack was happy to be seated on the train as her muscles still ached something fierce from her little exchange of blows with Devour. It hadn't even been a full day yet and her leg, head and most of her back still hurt. Maybe she had been lucky to walk away as well as she did. Rainbow Dash sat next to the farmer and Pinkie was one seat up so she could easily talk with her friends. Twilight had taken a seat across the aisle from Pinkie and was looking out the window, mind still heavy with her own concerns. This left the worried couple of Fluttershy and Rarity to take the seat directly behind the librarian.

They exchanged some idle chit chat as they waited, feeling the pull of the train when the engine started and the cars began to move along the tracks. Applejack adjusted her hat and leaned back to be more comfortable. "Woo-whee, am ah glad tah be headin' home. The capital is nice an all but it don't have the homey feel of the farm. Sides ah'll need to get tah the fields soon as ah can."

"Are you sure you're okay for that with all those owie's all over you?" Pinkie asked concerned as she sat on her knees to face backwards in her seat towards her friends.

"Heck, even if ah ain't ah can still help out somehow. Big Macintosh can't handle the farm all by his lonesome and Applebloom still needs some direction. Every little bit helps, right RD?" Applejack asked as she nudged Rainbow Dash, who seemed to be thinking about something else.

"Hm? Oh uh, yeah right. Say guys I think I'm gonna get some air." Rainbow Dash suddenly declared and stood up, getting some confused glances.

"Git some air? We all just got on the train." Applejack asked but it didn't alter the rainbow haired girls intentions.

"Yeah but I'm feeling kind of cooped up. I'll be back in a while, okay?" With that Rainbow Dash headed for the back of the train to the caboose. They all watched her depart curiously and everyone was quiet for a moment after she left. With a nudge to her side though Fluttershy suddenly stood up as well.

"I um... I'm feeling kind of... cooped up too." She said shyly.

"Really?" Applejack asked unconvinced.

"So um, I'm gonna just head outside. I'll be back... bye." The pink haired girl backed out of the train car slowly and awkwardly as her friends watched her go and close the door between the cars behind her. Pinkie and Applejack were left with suspicious expressions.

"Well that was kinda weird." Pinkie said bluntly.

"Ah'll say, kinda like somethin' is goin' on around here. What's yer take on all this Twi'?" Applejack asked towards Twilight Sparkle, who had been keeping her gaze out the window this entire time. "Twilight? Earth to Twilight, do ya read me?" The librarian looked around surprised suddenly and realized she was the center of attention.

"Oh sorry Applejack. Did you ask something?"

"Twilight, are you okay? Ya'll been actin' kinda funny since we left breakfast this mornin'."

"Oh I'm fine! Just fine right over here, nothing wrong with this girl. Though I'm kind of getting a headache so I think I'm going to get some of that headache medicine I put in my bag."

"Wait a minute, how come the doctor didn't give me or Applejack any special medicine?" Pinkie asked as she tapped her chin, a clear indicator when she was trying to unravel a mystery before her.

"Well that's because it's... for magic! Yeah it's magic based medicine, to recover my magic. And right now I feel like I could use some so I'm just going to head right on back there. Be back in a moment." Twilight said picking herself up off of her seat and heading the opposite direction of Rainbow Dash as she went to the baggage car. Once she was gone the baker and farmer looked over at Rarity awaiting the next excuse. Funny enough they weren't disappointed.

"You know applying magic medicine can be difficult, what with it requiring magic and all to do it. Quite an oversight considering what it's supposed to treat." The two girls didn't look very convinced as Rarity's lines sounded completely made up. Which to be fair, they were. "I should help the poor dear out, after all I'm the only other magic user here. Tah tah for a moment darlings." Rarity said and daintily picked herself up off her seat and followed after Twilight. When the passenger car door closed it left the two girls alone together where there was once six.

"Ya'll ever get the feelin' that yer a side character tah someone else's story goin' on around ya?" Applejack asked sounding annoyed.

"Maybe they all took off to make out with each other?" Pinkie suggested, then leaned over the seat and smiled at the blonde farmer. "Or maybe they left US alone so we can make out with each other?" She wiggled her eyebrows at Applejack and both girls laughed out loud.

"Oh yeah, that'll be the day, when someone in this posse decides tah start knockin' boots together."

As Rarity made her way through the other passenger cars to the luggage area she noted the train was somewhat deserted. A few individuals here and there, mostly dressed as if they had a business engagement to catch but it was nearly barren of anyone outside the main six of her and her friends. This wasn't something that bothered her though, in fact she was happy there wouldn't be anyone to interrupt.

Rarity had been hoping for an opportunity to talk to Twilight alone. Fluttershy and her had planned to find an opportunity to discuss with their friends their own individual issues when the opportunity would arise. Rarity was surprised to see that Fluttershy's prediction that Rainbow Dash would be the first to flee had turned out to be true. She didn't really understand what could be bothering the girl so much though. Even if Rainbow Dash did suspect Rarity and Fluttershy had spent the night together for more adult purposes than what had transpired. The seamstress couldn't put together what about that would cause such a reaction in Rainbow. It was as if she was scared of the very idea of the two of them having sex, or even sex in general. Thank goodness Rainbow was ignorant of what Rarity and Twilight had already done together.

It was just that kind of relationship between them though that Rarity needed for a confidant. She had to tell someone she could trust about what happened with Blueblood at the garden and also knew about what was going on with her and Spike. It wasn't lost on her how unseemly this all was; hiding secrets from her friends about her relationships with the various men she'd kissed recently. It was the kind of drama she normally enjoyed in her romance novels but never saw herself becoming a part of in real life. Yet her she was sneaking, around and looking to confess her affairs to her friend, who lets not forget was someone she'd had a moment of passion with herself not that long ago. When did things become so dreadfully complicated?

Rarity had planned to pin Twilight down while she'd be searching for that medicine she claimed she needed. However Rarity was surprised to find Twilight just sitting in one of the seats in the first passenger car, all alone. She was looking out the window in much the same way she'd been in the passenger car they had all loaded into together. She didn't know why Twilight would have lied to get away from everyone else but she hoped it wasn't serious. "Twilight?" She looked up suddenly as she was drawn out of her daydream by the seamstress.

"Oh, Rarity. Hi. Um I guess I just... kind of forgot to get the medicine. I should go and find it." Rarity's eyes softened seeing her obviously in distress and sat down next to her before she could escape.

"Darling, why don't you instead just tell me what's eating away at you? Somehow I suspect it's something more than your recovering magic." Twilight let out a sigh and looked at the floor.

"Am I that obvious?" She asked disappointed.

"Well you don't think you can fool your friends so easily when something is wrong, now do you?" Rarity said and hugged Twilight against her with one arm. "Come now, tell me all about it. We've both confessed our problems to each other on more than one occasion." Twilight raised a hand to put over Rarity's as it was slung around her, giving it a small squeeze.

"Rarity? Am I a bad person?"

"Heavens no!" Rarity said with confidence and hugged her a bit closer. "Twilight you're one of the sweetest darlings I've ever known. You always think of others."

"I think of problems and solutions, but not always people." Twilight said glumly. Maybe there was a little truth to that. Twilight didn't have the best history when it came to interacting and thinking of other people. But that was in the past as far as Rarity was concerned. She'd come such a far way since she'd taken up residence in that little library.

"The solutions you think up are to help with other people's problems, there's nothing wrong with that." The rephrasing of her sentence didn't seem to cheer Twilight up any. "Darling, I feel like we're dancing around the real issue." Twilight held Rarity's hand tight in her own and took a deep breath as she braced herself.

"Okay. You see Rarity I... I... I can't do it." She said and closed her eyes tightly. "I can't tell you. I'm sorry but I just can't share this. Not with anyone!" Rarity was taken aback by how upset this had made her friend and tried to calm her down.

"Shh, okay then, no need to raise a fuss. Well if you can't tell me then is there anything I can do to help? You know I'm here for you, Twilight." Twilight opened her eyes again and looked at Rarity's which much to her relief made the girl smile at her.

"Yeah, you are, aren't you? I can really rely on you, just like all my friends." Twilight let go of Rarity's hand and turned to face her head on now. "Rarity, if anything should ever happen can I ask a selfish favor of you?" Rarity nodded her head reassuringly. Even if she didn't know what would be asked of her she wouldn't hesitate to live up to her friend's needs. "If anything should happen with me, can I leave Spike to you?"

"Oh... I didn't think it had to do with Spike... wait a minute darling, what do you mean if anything happens to you? Are you sick? Are you ill!? Should we go back to the doctor!? Do you need money for the hospital bills, I can cover you. Never fear, Rarity will be sure to have you nursed back to health!" The seamstress grabbed Twilight in a crushing hug against her chest, which actually made the girl wince as her neck was pulled hard with the embrace. "Oops, um... my apologies."

"No no, it's okay." Twilight said as she rubbed her sore muscles with a groan. "Besides it's got nothing to do with my health. Rarity if anything like... well like what happened last time with me and Spike happens again..." Twilight lowered her voice now to be sure no one else could hear. "If I 'hurt' him again like I did before and can't be around him, can I rely on you?" Rarity could scarcely believe what it was she was hearing.

"Twilight, I know there were some issues before but I'm confident you and Spike are-"

"Rarity, I'm serious. If anything happens, anything at all where you can't trust me... can I rely on you?"

"I... yes. Yes Twilight, you can rely on me." She wasn't sure what exactly she was agreeing to and that was a little unsettling. But she did hope that it never came down to whatever it was Twilight was proposing would happen. "I will always do what's best for my friends. You can count on it." Twilight nodded and the two girls hugged each other, Twilight letting out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness I have friends like you Rarity. No matter what I know you'll never hurt Spike." It just dawned then on Rarity what her original reason for following Twilight in the first place had been. "I mean out of all of us you're the one that thinks of everyone's feelings first." The librarian said and released the embrace she had on her friend with a smile. "Honestly sometimes I wish I could be more like you. You always seem to know what to do when it comes to other people's feelings and relationships and all this sort of stuff. I mean bookworm Twilight here can't even figure out how to talk to guys let alone treat one right."

"Come now, I don't really deserve all this praise." After all she'd only kissed another man behind Spike's back without anyone else catching on. "I'm only human after all. There's really nothing to just being respectful to another person." Why it was so easy Rarity managed to mess it up on the very first opportunity when she had left town, she thought disappointingly to herself.

"Being respectful... I guess I have a lot more to learn after all." Her head was dipping down but Rarity caught her chin and made her pick it back up.

"You're farther along than you think, darling." Rarity said reassuringly. "Don't doubt yourself so much." Twilight glanced away for a moment but nodded her head.

"Alright then. Thank you for following me all the way here. I'd left to get away from everyone so I could think but having you here to talk to actually made things a lot better."

"Well you know me, always willing to help." Rarity was wrestling internally with what to do next. Should she still confess the little incident in the garden to Twilight? After all it was just a kiss, nothing more and she'd regretted doing it instantly. But she was so worried now of shattering all the confidence Twilight had placed in her. Honesty was the best policy though, right? Right? "Actually Twilight, I'm-"

"Fluttershy?" Rarity looked at Twilight confused. At the very least she was confident she was Rarity and indeed not Fluttershy.

"Come again?" Twilight pointed past Rarity and she turned to see the pink haired girl standing in the aisle by their seat, her arms hugging herself tightly. "Oh, Fluttershy, are you alright deary?" The expression on her face was enough of an answer to that.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "Can I borrow Rarity for a minute?" Twilight was on her feet in seconds and offering the chair to her friend as Fluttershy sat down in her place. Twilight began to head back towards their original passenger car and placed a hand on Rarity's shoulder before she left.

"Looks like everyone needs a bit of your help today." She said with a smile as she left. It was troubling for the seamstress that her opportunity was passing just as her confidence was enough to allow her to confess but she let it go. Someone else needed her right now after all. When she turned to Fluttershy the girl was sitting up straight and rigid with a worried expression, her hands folded together on her lap. Rarity put a hand out on top of Fluttershy's.

"It didn't go well?" Rarity asked and Fluttershy shook her head in response. "Okay darling, tell me what happened."

After Rainbow Dash had dismissed herself to the caboose as predicted Fluttershy was in pursuit. Even though this had been her plan she'd suggested to Rarity the girl didn't really know what she was going to say. Rarity had told her to just tell the truth but would Rainbow Dash believe her? She would believe her right? Not think that she was that needy or easy that she would just jump into someone's bed when they asked? Well, okay maybe that is exactly what she did but she didn't do it for naughty reasons. They were just naked because they didn't have pajamas, and they weren't even completely naked together because they still had their panties on. Although they did get in the shower together but that was completely explainable too and Dashie didn't need to know about that anyway.

Fluttershy took a moment to catch her breath, she was getting herself worked up before she had even gotten to where Rainbow Dash was. All she had to do was walk up to her, tell her what she'd seen wasn't what she thought, and it would be done. After all they were friends so there wasn't any reason for her to think they were lying. Rainbow Dash wouldn't think she was a liar. She wouldn't, so there's no reason to be so nervous about thinking about her thinking that about herself. No reason to think at all.

When she finally got the courage to open the door to the back of the train she found the rainbow haired girl leaning on the back railing and watching the landscape go by. She had noticed the door open of course as Fluttershy made her way onto the small ledge that was just big enough for about three people total to stand on. When Rainbow turned to see her and then looked away Fluttershy had to fight every instinct to go some place else and hide instead of having an uncomfortable conversation. Walking forward she put her hands on the railing too and broke the ice. "H-hi."

"Hey." Rainbow said in response. Which to Fluttershy's dismay was followed by dead silence between them for a full minute with the exception of the train's engine. Fluttershy was racking her brain for the right way to start but it was Dash that broke the silence next. "I think I'm going to go flying for a little bit." With that her magical wings appeared on her back and the girl took off from the ledge. The pink haired girl stood there motionless for a while before mustering up her strength and producing her own magical wings, taking off after her friend.

Clearly the weather girl didn't expect her friend to pursue her in the air, but thankfully she didn't try to out fly her. There wouldn't have been any way for Fluttershy to keep up had Rainbow Dash really wanted to lose her in the skies. "Are you sure you should be out flying?" Rainbow Dash asked as they followed along with the train in the sky. "I mean you're wearing a dress."

"I'm fine!" Fluttershy said knowing full well wearing one of Rarity's dresses was far from the best attire for flying but she needed to do this. "Rainbow Dash, can I talk to you?"

"Well yeah, sure, why not?" She was looking straight ahead still despite there not being any real obstacles in the sky where they were flying.

"Okay, then. It's just that um, well I'm worried you're avoiding me." Fluttershy responded to her question and didn't get much of a reply in return. "I just wanted to talk to you... about this morning. Cause um... I just don't want you to think-"

"It's okay Fluttershy." Rainbow cut her off and it gave the pink haired girl a little hope.

"It is?"

"Yeah sure, it's completely fine. I mean yeah I was a little surprised but it's all okay. There's no reason to feel weird or anything."

"Oh, good. That's such a relief, I was worried you might have gotten the wrong idea."

"No, I mean I understand if you don't want me to tell everyone." Fluttershy wasn't really sure what that meant but she supposed that would be best.

"Well I guess so, if you don't mind that is. It is a little embarrassing."

"It's none of my business anyway, right? I should have been more supportive from the get go. But you must have your reasons."

"My... reasons? I guess so, I mean it wasn't expected." Fluttershy asked not really sure where this conversation was headed anymore.

"So it was your first time?" Rainbow Dash asked surprised.

"I guess it was... but it wasn't a big deal or anything. Rarity just asked me to spend the night with her after what happened last night." She'd never shared a bed with another girl like that before it's true. But it wasn't any different than any other sleep over she'd had as a child. Rainbow Dash seemed impressed by it though.

"Oh, yeah, right. No big deal at all. That's all kinds of normal for us, huh?" Rainbow Dash laughed it off nervously.

"I-I guess so?"

"Okay then, so don't you fear. You're secret is safe with me." Fluttershy was really confused now and unsure if they were on the same page.

"Rainbow Dash, about what you saw last night..."

"I said it's okay, when you and Rarity are ready to tell everyone then I'll support you guys then to."

"No, that's not-" She tried to protest but her voice was being drowned out as Rainbow Dash was picking up speed with her flying.

"I mean I didn't think you'd want to do anything like that with anyone but Rarity is like you're best friend right? So I guess that it all makes sense." She was starting to fly past her now and Fluttershy was pushing herself harder just to keep up.

"Rainbow Dash please, I'm trying to tell you about last night."

"It's okay, I don't need details. I mean I don't need to hear about them or anything. I already understand what you guys want. I'll be there for you guys every step of the way. Mountain!" Rainbow Dash shouted back as they started to come upon a large mountain that the train tracks had a tunnel built in to go through the inside and out the other. "You better head back into the train, okay? I'm going to fly over, I'll be in soon!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy shouted but the rainbow haired girl was already heading up higher into the clouds. She could probably chase her down but it would have been difficult for her. Besides Rainbow Dash had made up her mind so completely that she didn't know how to argue with her. Defeated the pink haired girl flew downward towards the train and carefully landed onto the caboose. She was safely inside before the train was even close to approaching the tunnel, wondering if maybe Rainbow Dash had flown away just to escape their conversation.

When she returned Applejack and Pinkie Pie tried asking her what was wrong but she managed to deflect their concern with a put on smile and just asked where Rarity had gone. The two seemed oddly disappointed she wanted to talk to her instead of them but regardless gave her directions. Shortly there after she found Rarity talking with Twilight Sparkle who gave up her seat for the pink haired girl.

"It didn't go well?" Rarity asked and Fluttershy shook her head in response. "Okay darling, tell me what happened."

So she did, as darkness consumed the train when they finally entered the tunnel. Letting Rarity know just how badly she'd managed to steer the conversation and how Rainbow Dash had an even worse idea of her than previously. They had cleared the tunnel by the time she was done and Rarity let out a sigh.

"By Celestia, I knew that girl could be thick headed but to hold onto a speculation like that." She shook her head. "Okay then, I'll just go clear the air myself."

"Wait, no, I should do it." Fluttershy protested and Rarity looked on with a bit of pity in her eyes. "I have to do it."

"Deary, no you don't. There's no reason you have to put yourself through all of this. I'll just let her know exactly what happened and everything will be crystal clear." Fluttershy pouted a little.

"But if I don't do it... I'll look like I'm spineless." She said sounding depressed. "It has to be me because if it isn't then how... how will I ever be able to tell her how I feel?" Rarity put an arm around Fluttershy similarly to how she had earlier around Twilight, Fluttershy however took to it more gratefully than the librarian had and leaned on her friend for support.

"Okay then, I won't say anything." Rarity conceded and held her friend to help comfort her. "But I'm only going to let this go on for so long, you understand? If it seems like Rainbow Dash really does have the wrong idea about things I'll at least set her straight on us." Fluttershy nodded and still leaned into her friend. "I still can't believe we have to do even that much."

"It did sort of look like it when she walked in though." Fluttershy confessed and got comfortable against Rarity.

"Oh pish posh, darling. If people though every time beautiful women were together that they were fooling around then no one would ever stop talking about all of us." Fluttershy giggled a little which made Rarity smile. Everything would work out okay she was sure. Maybe their plans had fallen apart on the train ride home but it was only a temporary set back. Before long everything was going to be okay. So they sat there together alone in the first care for a while longer, just chatting while they got themselves collected emotionally. All the while unaware of the rose colored eyes that watched them from outside the train through their passenger window.

When the train pulled up to the town station all the girls were very relieved to be back home after their little adventure in the capital. Well most of them were anyway. Pinkie Pie had informed them all right after they departed the train that one day her and Applejack would be the main characters of their own story. Also when it happens that all of them would be their side characters for their amazing adventures. Naturally no one had any idea what she was talking about but they dismissed it as Pinkie being Pinkie and all headed home. Applejack wanted to check on her family and Pinkie Pie needed to get back to work. Fluttershy was worried about the animals that needed her care and Rarity had said she needed to be ready for a bunch of packages that were supposed to arrive at her home. That left Twilight and Rainbow Dash as the last two to leave.

"Well I guess I should get back to the library. If Spike slept in then I'll have to get a move on to open it." Twilight said and got ready to leave.

"Hey Twilight, can I ask you something?" Rainbow suddenly said as she floated in the air on her magic wings. "And don't think too much about this question or like there's more to it than what I'm asking. Cause there isn't anything more to it you know. It's just a question." Twilight was looking on with a waiting expression.

"And that question is?" She asked to get things rolling forward at little faster.

"Oh, yeah right. Well do you think that... sex can ruin a friendship?" Twilight's eyes widened with panic as she suddenly wondered if Rainbow Dash knew everything she'd done too. How the heck was everyone able to see into her private life like this!? Was someone writing and distributing all of her dirty little secrets down for everyone to read?

"What friends are we talking about exactly here?" Twilight asked and kept her voice under control as she did.

"No one. No one at all. I just was wondering if you knew anything about it. Like from all the people you knew in the capital or the books you read or something?" There was a clear tension between the two girls as they tried to talk without revealing anything they didn't want the other to know. "So what do you think? Just like an opinion, but it's about no one in particular." Twilight tried to control her heart rate as she attempted to answer her friend's question accurately.

"Well, lets consider it for a moment. I guess something as serious as that could cause some damage. It all depends on what those friends are doing and who they're doing it with. More so how what they're doing is going to effect each other emotionally."

"Oh. Yeah I guess it would be a big deal, huh? Sorry, this was a dumb question. I shouldn't have wasted your time." Rainbow Dash started to float a little higher as she prepared to leave, though it didn't stop Twilight from her lecture. Few things could when she got started.

"But you know..." The librarian said to catch her attention. "If friends are strong enough, care about each other enough, I don't think something like that is insurmountable. I think deep down friendship can take on any problem. Even if it's a problem between those friends themselves. Don't you?" Rainbow Dash thought on her words for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right Twilight. You have to be there for your friends when they need you. Hey, thanks for talking about this but uh don't mention it to anyone okay? Later!" With that the girl was off into the air, most likely to check the weather scheduled for the coming week. Twilight let out a breath of relief as it seemed whatever it was Rainbow Dash had been talking about it didn't have to do with her. Though it was kind of odd. Rainbow Dash was a tomboy no doubt but she wasn't what Twilight would consider ignorant about boys and girls or the things they get up to. It was just rare for her to ever talk about such things. Twilight couldn't remember a time Rainbow Dash had ever had a conversation with her about relationships before, let alone sex.

As uncomfortable as all that had been Twilight pushed passed it and headed for the library. She had enough of her own problems to deal with, not the least of which the uncomfortable revelations from the night before. She was a bundle of nerves. On the one hand she was almost scared to see Spike as she wasn't positive what her own emotions were anymore when it came to him. Of course she loved him but how did she love him? On the other hand his letter written in blue lipstick that he'd sent to Celestia was still nagging at her and she was both curious and suspicious why he'd have replied with that. Who was he with while both her and Rarity were gone?

Twilight shook her head. Spike wouldn't do anything like what she was suspecting him of. First of all she had no right to be upset and second he wouldn't do anything to betray his feelings for Rarity. Just like Rarity wouldn't have done anything to betray his trust in her. She was just being paranoid.

Though he was having those issues lately with his emotions and hormones. Then there was that night he'd gone wild and chased after all the girls when he'd swallowed that magic coal. Not to mention she'd removed his medicine away from the house during her fight with Devour, so he wouldn't have had access to it if anything happened. Spike wasn't at all ignorant of sex. Or how to talk to girls. Plus he'd sent her a letter written in lipstick. While no one was around to supervise him.

Twilight was marching now by the time the library came into view. Oh she had questions and that boy was going to answer them directly. If he'd been anything other than a well behaved gentleman while she was gone she was going to... to... she didn't know what but you better believe she was angry enough to do it. Marching up to the door Twilight swung it open as it was unlocked, catching Spike right in the middle of the library for anyone to see.

The boy had a mop in his hands and was leaning against it, his eyes closed and his head hanging. It looked like the mop was the only thing keeping him up and somehow he'd managed to prop it against the ground where it wouldn't slip away form him. Snoring could be heard through the library. He was asleep. "Spike?" Twilight called out and his eyes shot open, causing him to slip with his sudden awakening and fall, arms waving into a heap on the ground.

"Owwww." The boy grumbled and Twilight hurried over to his side to help him up. "Ugh. Morning Twilight." He yawned loudly as he got to his feet, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's almost eleven, Spike why were you asleep in the middle of the library?" Twilight asked as all her built up anger from earlier had dissipated when she found him performing his chores while passed out.

"I couldn't sleep last night so I started cleaning up. Guess I finally did pass out at some point, huh?" He said jokingly as he became more aware of his surroundings and looked at her. It was then Spike began to notice a big difference in Twilight Sparkle from how she had left yesterday morning. "Twilight, why do you have bandages on your neck? Are you hurt? What happened!?"

"Calm down Spike, I'm okay, honest." Twilight said trying to reassure him but the look in his eyes showed that he wasn't any less concerned about her. Despite his panic it made her feel good to have that kind of concern coming from him. "It's not as bad as it looks."

"Okay but what happened? Are you hurt anywhere else?" Twilight couldn't help herself and gave Spike a great big hug. It managed to stop him from panicking and asking so many questions, the boy hugging her back in return.

"Better?" She asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, but I'm still worried." He said and they gave each other an extra squeeze before letting go.

"Okay then, I'll tell you all about it. I had a big breakfast so I'm not hungry but want me to make you some lunch and tea?" To answer her question Spike walked to the table and pulled out a chair. Then he directed the young scholar over to it by the hand and made her sit.

"Uh uh, I'll make the tea and I'll get myself a snack. You rest right here, okay?" Spike said and proceeded directly to the kitchen. Twilight did as she was told but shook her head with a smile.

"Really Spike I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me."

"Okay, then you can sit there and humor me while I worry about you." So she did, even if it was just for his sake that she took it easy. But somehow in her heart it made her feel better too.

Sweet and Rare

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 11 - Sweet and Rare

It was an impressive sight really. Despite its age the golden exterior didn't appear tarnished or even damaged in the slightest. That was special in itself, because if what he'd just been told was correct he was certain this crown would have experienced many battles. Perhaps there was a sort of magic to it that kept its pristine condition intact? It wasn't just the gold of the crown that sparkled, the ruby gems set in the crown also appeared to be in perfect condition. It was the kind of thing he imagined Rarity would have gone nuts over.

Spike ran one finger over the crown as it sat on the table between himself and Twilight. Something about it seemed entrancing, almost dangerous. It was an artifact of immense importance and the idea of it being solely his was almost overwhelming. That wasn't the only problem with it though. Twilight was watching him as he was thinking, calmly sipping her tea every so often. "Is it weird owning something that comes from your homeland?" She asked curiously but Spike didn't take his eyes off the crown.

"Kinda. I mean... it's not really my homeland right? This is my home." He'd lived in the human kingdom his entire life after all. Spike had never once traveled far enough south to see the borders between the kingdom and the Dragon-Blooded Clans' provinces. "I just don't know if I should be the one to have this."

"He was rather insistent I give it to you. Devour had a face that you didn't say no to when he offered you a gift." Twilight said with a small laugh.

"It's not even that I don't think I deserve it. It's just... Twilight, he hurt you." Spike was having trouble pushing past that. After she'd left yesterday morning things had been strained between them with their unpleasant conversation about the changelings. But now when he saw those bruises on her neck the sight nearly broke his heart every time. "How can I accept anything from someone that would do that to you?" He motioned to the bandages the librarian wore and Twilight ran a hand over them. Thankfully she didn't seem too bothered by the pain despite how roughly she'd described the abuse Devour had delivered upon her. "Not just you but Pinkie and Applejack and then threatening to kill Celestia? It makes me angry just thinking about it." A soft hand reached out over the crown and rested on Spike's, Twilight smiling gently at him.

"I appreciate it Spike." She said sounding like her old, confident self. "Really I do, I'm glad you care so much about us."

"Of course I care about you guys." Spike said as he calmed himself down too. Twilight gave his hand a little squeeze and pulled her own back across the table.

"You don't have to worry about us though. We're made of tougher stuff than you might think." Spike never really doubted their individual ability and strength. Twilight and her friends had accomplished more feats of bravery than he'd ever have the chance to do himself. "Besides you shouldn't hate Devour. I don't anyway. When I think about him the first feeling that comes to mind is... well, pity."

"How can you feel pity for someone that tried to hurt you and your friends?" Spike was having trouble comprehending it. Twilight had grown up more isolated from her fellow man but he knew despite that she wasn't anyone Spike would call short on compassion for others. Regardless though of feeling compassion and empathy for others, that man tried to kill her and that made his fire burn hot inside his stomach.

"You have to think about what exactly his life is like now. Everyone he ever knew, everyone he ever cared about is long gone from this world." Spike took a moment to try and comprehend that. Such a feeling of loss that might come down upon you in a single moment. "The entire world is different now from when he was alive. The only people on the planet who are as old as him are Celestia, Luna and Discord of all beings."

"I guess I didn't think about it like that." Spike responded as he looked at the crown again. It seemed to somehow sparkle less when he understood the history behind its original owner.

"It must have been terrifying to go out into the world alone like he did. He has a shocking amount of bravery despite how much of a disadvantage he's at in this time period. So don't feel like you have to hold a grudge Spike, everyone is okay and we're all still here with you." Comparing himself to Devour's situation Spike suddenly realized just how precious the lives of his friends were. It was the sort of thing he took for granted every day. "I'm actually curious what he was like during his reign as king. I didn't have an opportunity to ask Luna or Celestia about it and I've never read about him in my books."

That wasn't completely surprising. Dragon-Blooded scholars were known to keep their texts on stone or metal tablets. Things that would resist fire and avoid the risk of losing their documents to an easy accidental sneeze or even a scornful reader. It made sense but it was also difficult to get them to transcribe their information to books and left a wealth of knowledge lost to the human kingdom. Twilight had complained about it a few times and Spike always found it amusing how the idea of books existing that she couldn't read bothered her so much.

"Well he lead a war against us, right? Something like that isn't recorded anywhere?" Spike asked.

"I've read about the Dragon-Blooded War before but I don't recall a lot of details about their leader or even their armies. Oh well, I'll just ask Celestia the next time I see her. Or maybe Devour himself if we ever meet him again."

"If I ever meet him I'm going to sock him right in his dumb face." Maybe Twilight had told him to forgive and forget but Spike still felt like he wanted to make that jerk pay for what he did.

"My knight in shining armor." Twilight said amused at Spike. He couldn't tell if she was teasing him or praising him but it was nice to be considered that, even if just in jest. "As well as my faithful assistant, thank you for the delicious tea Spike. As a reward for your diligence in service how about a day off from work?"

"What? But if I'm not here who's going to run the library?" Twilight just gave him a glance as if to ask if he was being serious with that question. "But Twilight, you're hurt!" Twilight smiled a little at his concern.

"I have a bruised neck, Spike. It's sore but as long as I don't continue to stress it then I'll recover in no time. I'm more worried about Pinkie Pie to be honest. Even after getting manhandled like that she didn't let up with her normal crazy energy in the slightest. The only time she took it easy is when her injuries made her stop. Applejack wasn't much different. Those girls just can't help but push themselves to give it their all." Twilight sighed with a bit of worry thinking of her friends well being. "But," she continued, "I do have the benefit of a rather low risk job if aside from the occasional book falling on one's head. Which doesn't happen all that often around here."

"Well... only if you're sure." Spike continued and Twilight suddenly got up out of her chair and motioned for Spike to do the same along with her. Once he was to his feet she waved with her hands for him to leave.

"Go on, get. Get out of here." Twilight said as she playfully tried to shoo him out of the library. "Out I say, there are no chores here for you."

"Are you actually trying to force me out the door?" Spike said unmoving with a deadpan gaze, Twilight smirking as she shoved his shoulder a lot harder than he thought she'd be able to do.

"Not so weak after all, am I?" Even though she was smile Spike noticed a wince in her expression from moving her shoulders with the push, sending a small wave of worry through him. "Go bug Rarity for a while and enjoy your day. I got things handled here just fine." Twilight held up her hand to put away the tea cups with her magic, only to find them enveloped in a pink glow that did all of nothing aside from rattling the dishes a little. Realizing she was still without her normal magic power Twilight smiled and picked the cups up, carrying them to the kitchen daintily to put in the sink. "Tah dah. See, everything is under control here. Now go on, I have some reading to catch up on."

"Yeah right, if anything you have a head start on all the books in the world." Spike said feeling a little better. "Okay, I'll be back later Twilight. See you soon."

"See you soon Spike." Twilight waved as the green haired boy exited the library. He didn't really have any place he needed to be today to be honest. He was mostly getting out of the house because it seemed to make Twilight happy to give him a day off. He was pretty sure everything from that disaster of a party last night had been cleaned up, so hopefully there wasn't any evidence of his wild evening.

Just thinking about that was like a rock in his gut. He was keeping a secret from Twilight and that alone felt bad but also everything that had happened with Sweetie Belle and that fist fight that broke out and everything else, it was just too much. "I'm a real jerk." Spike said to himself as he walked with his head down. He didn't even want to face anyone today. While he'd been throwing a party and causing all sort of havoc his friends were fighting for their lives to protect the kingdom. "I'm a selfish jerk." That felt more on target.

He supposed he could check up on Snips to see how he was doing after taking the fall for that party but he was probably at school by now. Same with everyone else who had attended unless they were skipping class. Which reminded him, he needed to return that little gift that was left for him back in his bed to Snails. Might be a little awkward to hand it over to Ruby Pinch directly. Second reminder; that jerk Rain Catcher that punched him in the face also owed him for those pizzas. Third reminder; his medicine magically disappeared yesterday when Twilight took it to help in that fight against that other jerk Devour. "Maybe I should stop by Zecora's and get some more? Less tomato flavored this time if I can." He had been walking towards Rarity's like Twilight had suggested but now that he had it in his mind he thought visiting Zecora first might be the better choice. "Wonder if she could make something else for me too?"

Rarity's boutique generally had quite a bit of room for anyone to shop around and view her products. She needed it too with all the dress dummies set up to show case her various creations. Her spacious home was being tested today though with her shopping ability as most of the house was filled with boxes, packages and dress bags full of various clothing and fabric. It was lucky her things were set to arrive shortly after herself when she got back from the capital as trying to move all these deliveries into the house by herself would have been tiresome. Now that they were here though she was left with the task of unpacking. The purple haired seamstress sighed. "Maybe I got a bit carried away last night?"

She didn't need half of these things really. Rarity had just purchased them to take advantage of Blueblood while she was able to and get back at him for all his past rude behavior. But even that she was feeling guilty about now, having spent so much of his money against his will. At least all that spending was good for the economy in his city? So she shouldn't let any of it go to waste. Perfect rationalization to alleviate her guilt and make it easier to accept these items. "Maybe some of the girls wouldn't mind taking these off of my hands?" With a few adjustments plenty of these outfits would fit her friends stunningly.

Best to cross that bridge when she arrived at it, for now she was left with sorting. So her morning consisted of opening a box, finding a hanger or dress dummy to give the clothing she'd purchased a home and then depositing said box in the corner of the store to be disposed of later. Open box, store item away, dispose of box, repeat. The only break from this would be when she'd locate a box that she hadn't purchased herself and realized it belonged to Fluttershy from their fellow shopping spree. She didn't know how much of these Fluttershy actually wanted or if she had just bought them because Rarity had suggested her to make the purchase. Regardless they were put into their own special pile to be sent off later.

It was closing in on lunch time before she'd made a significant dent in the mountain of packages and she was hoping she'd be able to get some lunch and open up the boutique before much longer. At the very least hopefully get these all sorted and the trash taken out to make the place presentable. As she was getting her second wind at the idea of having this task completed Rarity stumbled across an odd little box amongst the rest. "Hello. Where did you come from?" Using her magic Rarity floated the box to herself and looked it over. "I don't recall buying any jewelry last night. Did Fluttershy pick this out?" Maybe it was for Rainbow Dash? A little gift was a nice way to have an excuse to see someone you admired and try to win them over. That theory was debunked quickly however when Rarity inspected the tag on the box and saw it had her name on it. As if it were a gift.

"Oh no, tell me he didn't." Pulling at the ribbon to untie the bow over the jewelry box Rarity gulped as she prepared herself for what was inside. "Remember Rarity, even if he was nice to you the man is a pompous, selfish, spoiled-" She opened the box and a light literally shined out onto her face as the sun from the windows hit the diamond bracelet within. "Stunning gem."

Rarity snapped the box shut and blushed, feeling stupid having said something like that out loud. Was she really such a cliched damsel that a little jewelry would win her over? She was indeed not! The seamstress was a business woman, an artist, a proud and self-reliant individual. Something like a sparkling diamond bracelet that literally glittered in the light wouldn't sway her from her stance.

But there wasn't any harm in trying it on.

Rarity put the bracelet onto her wrist and admired it. It really was quite amazing looking, the diamonds had little rainbow like colors reflected within them when the light hit the jewelery just right. She sighed and got herself back together again after that little rush of excitement. "It's just a gift to make sure I didn't say anything about that night in the garden. There's nothing more to it than that, he's just trying to buy my silence to stay out of trouble." Rarity picked the box up again, planning to put what she was sure was a bribe away and not look at it again. That was when she saw the piece of paper resting at the bottom of the box. "Oh dammit." Reluctantly she unfolded the note.

Dear Rarity,

I felt a need to apologize for what happened that night. Perhaps I read something more into
our conversation than was there and intimidated you into the actions that took place. If so
understand I meant no harm to you and will of course keep such a thing between us to protect
your honor. Consider this item a gift for giving me a night with someone who wasn't spending
time with me for my influence and wealth.

I look forward to coming in for a fitting for that suit you offered, if I am welcome in your fine establishment.

Prince Blueblood

"Of all the times he had to start acting charming, why now?" Rarity folded up the paper and put it back in the box, closing the lid. After she had done so Rarity opened the lid again as she didn't have any intention of wearing a gift from some rude, pompous man. But he wasn't so rude that night, was he? The lid closed again. But he was probably trying to win her over just to keep out of trouble. The lid opened again. However it said right in the note it was a gift and she shouldn't feel any more guilty accepting it than anything else. The lid closed again. HOWEVER he was probably lying to her just to save his own skin and she shouldn't accept gifts from someone who would do such a thing! Rarity's hand landed on the lid but it didn't open. "How is accepting this any different than the other gifts he purchased for me?"

She knew why. Because those gifts she had made him buy as a punishment for his rude behavior before. This was something she never asked for and didn't know he'd bought her. What's more it was dangerous because it felt like there might actually be sentiment behind this gift and just wearing it made her feel guilty. Rarity slipped the beautiful diamond bracelet off and put it back in the box, closing the lid and staring at it like it might suddenly leap out and bite her. She rubbed her wrist where it had been thoughtfully.

Her mind started going over the very complicated and difficult position she'd put herself in when it came to her love life. Was she feeling doubt? She didn't want to think that. How could something so small cause so much turmoil? In fact why should she wear it with guilt... or feel guilt to begin with. She'd done nothing wrong, right? Maybe if she put it back on it would help her sort things out a little more clearly. Rarity opened the jewelry case and the sparkling jewels in the sunlight dazzled her eyes. So much so she almost didn't hear the bell of her front door ring.

"Wow, that's a lot of boxes." A familiar male voice spoke up and Rarity snapped the jewelry box closed in a panic. Using her magic the box flew across the boutique and into her sewing room, hopefully out of sight.

"Spike!" Rarity said as she turned around to face him. "Why darling, I wasn't expecting you at this hour!" Spike approached Rarity with a quizzical look as she was forcing her face to appear calm and normal, an act that just made it look more strange and staged.

"Rarity, are you alright?" Spike asked with a little concern.

"Just fine darling, never better."

"Good." Spike suddenly ran up and hugged her tightly. The hug snapped Rarity out of her act as it caught her off guard, but she soon returned it to him. Stroking his hair with her soft hands as he kept a firm but gentle embrace around her.

"Spike? Darling? What's the matter?" Spike's arms tightened just a little more as he nuzzled his head against her, letting out a held breath and finally releasing his grip on the seamstress.

"Sorry about that, I was just worried. Twilight told me everything that happened and well... after seeing her hurt I was afraid something happened to you too and I just... Sorry." Rarity smiled at how unbelievably sweet her Spiky-Wikey was and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Spike smiled and held her hands in his. "It was silly to be worried, Twilight told me you were okay but still it's just good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too Spike. I missed you, a lot." Rarity leaned down and the two shared another kiss. It was comforting to touch their lips together after she'd been so close to danger just a day past. Something was... off, though. She couldn't place it but there was something in this kiss that was different than the other times they'd been together. When Rarity pulled her lips away from his she could have sworn she'd seen regret there and she worried that maybe she'd done something wrong. "Spike? Are you okay?"

"Yeah... yeah I'm fine. Are you Rarity?" His hands squeezed hers a little tighter and Rarity's squeezed back. There was tension in their fingers and Rarity felt fear. Did he know? Did Twilight tell him about her and Blueblood? Maybe Blueblood had confessed to Celestia who had then confessed to Twilight who had confessed to Spike who was now staring at herself and waiting for her to confess what she'd done and if she did that it would mean- "Rarity?"

"Oh. Sorry about that, yes I'm fine darling. Just lost in thought." She pushed it down and ignored her insecurities. Spike smiled and released her hands, seeming to say that he was fine as well. It wasn't like Rarity to ignore something that could be a problem but she just couldn't face this right now. "Even though nothing traumatic happened to me that morning it was still an exhausting day. Then I came home to all of this."

"Yeah I was going to ask about that, what is all this?" Spike said looking over all the different piles of packages. "Did you hit the Crown Lottery or something while you were gone?"

"It's just a small thank you from the royal family. Nothing more than that." She didn't need to say which part of the royal family, no sense in causing needless worry. "Fluttershy and I went out for a little shopping last night and we came home with a lot of thank yous. Now I have the task of sorting through all of them and disposing of the trash. As well as taking Fluttershy's packages to her home." It wasn't a job she was looking forward to but she'd never be satisfied till the store looked like it should.

"I could take them if you want." Spike offered casually.

"Would you? It would be a benefit to me, then I wouldn't have to worry about it when the store opens after lunch." Rarity smiled at his generosity. Spike was always there to lend her a helping hand. So dependable.

"Of course, I need to go back that way anyway to see Zecora today. Oh yeah, that reminds me, Rarity I know it's a pretty big favor but could I have some of your emerald dust?" Rarity gave Spike a questioning glance with her eyes almost immediately. "I don't want to eat it." He answered before the words could even be said.

"Well I suppose so, emeralds aren't any harder to find than most gemstones. If you promise to help me grind some more later to replace it."

"Of course, I'll even pay you back if you want." Spike said and Rarity shook her head as she walked towards the sewing room.

"Don't even think of it. I wouldn't have any debts between us darling. Helping me here at the boutique is payment enough." Rarity strolled into the sewing room and Spike followed shortly behind her. Walking up to one of her work desks Rarity sorted through the various bags of different stones, beads and spools of thread until she found what she was after. "There we are, one bag of emerald dust." Rarity said as she turned around to face him.

"Thank you so much, I promise I'll help you make some more." As Rarity gave him the bag and Spike peeked inside she noticed the discarded jewelry box next to his feet. Her work room had different things strewn about it but even with her "organized chaos" the box stood out. Seeing it and him together hit her with another wave of guilt and she used her magic to slide it out of sight under a roll of fabric. She had to do something about this. She owed it to him.

"Spike, maybe you can pay me back." Rarity said in a sultry voice as she raised her hand, the door to the sewing room closing behind him with her magic. When the door closed Spike's head sprung up from admiring the tasty looking emerald dust at the very tasty looking woman before him. "I can think of one job that needs to be done." Rarity approached Spike and held him close to her, arching her back so that her chest pushed out towards him. "One job that only you can do." She leaned in to kiss his lips, parting her mouth open and letting her tongue meet his. There wasn't any hesitation between them this time.

Rarity's hands went around Spikes back and her fingers gripped him, squeezing the cloth of his shirt and holding him close. Their kiss was passionate but her heart was still shook up from the sight of that jewelry box. Was she imposing herself upon him simply because she felt bad about last night or was it because she really wanted him? His arms went around her as well and she moaned a little into the kiss, not caring why she was doing it now but just in need of the comfort he was giving her at accepting her invitation.

Their lips broke with heavy panting and Rarity stroked his hair again, looking down at him with lusty eyes. "Can you take care of this job, Spiky-Wikey?"

"I... I..." Spike tried to answer and suddenly put his face against her breasts, panting hard as he tried to find the words. "I can't believe I'm saying this." Spike groaned as he looked up. "Rarity, I can't do this right now."

"O-oh. You can't?" The woman was literally stunned. She didn't think she'd ever been rejected like that before. "I see." If he hadn't been holding her she might have fallen off her feet.

"I want to. I really... really want to." Spike said as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "But I can't right now. I'm on a schedule and I need to get back before time runs out for a lot of other people besides me." He laid his head against her chest and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry Rarity. I'm an idiot."

"No. No you're not." Rarity said and lifted his chin to look at her. "I won't hear that kind of talk about you, understand?" Spike nodded but still looked sad he disappointed her. "I was surprised, admittedly, but it would be selfish of me to keep you hear for myself if other people need you. So don't think a thing of it." Spike nodded to her and they kissed and they hugged and they kissed again as if Spike leaving right now would somehow take away their chance to share these feelings again later. Before long though they finally separated and Spike let out a breath.

"Tomorrow? Can I come over to see you then?"

"Darling... I have so many things I bought that I want to show you. I hope you'll be willing to come by and see them." Spike's response was very positive that he most certainly would not let those garments she bought for the bedroom go to waste. When they felt more confident again the two left the sewing room, Spike using one of Rarity's wagons to load up Fluttershy's packages. Once the trash was all taken outside into the dumpster Spike promised to get her friend's dresses to her quickly and that he'd be back tomorrow with her wagon. It was as good excuse as any for the lovers to meet another day. With that Spike was gone down the road through town and Rarity watched him leave through her window. Rarity let out a hot breath as she'd gotten herself very worked up only to not find a release for that delicious tension she'd been experiencing.. "How rude of you, darling. You shouldn't raise a lady's expectations only to leaving her wanting for so much more." She'd have him dutifully tend to those needs for her later.

The seamstress returned to her work in the hopes it would take her mind off other, more frustrating matters.

The trio of girls walked together quietly after their school day had ended, retreating to their club house where they could spend their free time however they pleased. Though one didn't walk so much as she skipped, flying a few feet into the air with each touch of her foot to the ground. Her orange colored magic wings sprouting from her back and looking very thin but just sturdy enough to give her a boost with each skip. Her friends watched on silently as the purple haired girl seemed to be in a world all her own with each step. They were all the way out of town and through the orchard of apple trees before Applebloom had had enough.

"Did ya want tah stay on the ground with us or ya gonna take off and skip on the clouds too?" Her comment didn't seem to deter Scootaloo in the slightest but it raised some alarm with the third member of their trio.

"Applebloom, be nice. Scootaloo's just happy." Despite her protest it was clear on Sweetie's face as well that she was a bit annoyed with Scootaloo's private celebration just like her friend. "Besides you shouldn't talk about... you know..."

"It's fine!" Scootaloo said as she made one last skip and came back to the ground, her small magic wings disappearing as she did. "It's not like I'm going to get all bent outta shape over you guys talking about my wings. Not like any of us can use magic that great yet anyway." She didn't speak falsely to be sure. Sweetie Belle was only just learning the basics of casting spells and moving objects with her magic, though she felt she had a firm grasp of it if she said so herself. Applebloom still didn't quite have the magic touch on the farm like her big sister did either. But usually it was Scootaloo that was the most sensitive about it as she felt it was another barrier to being like her long time hero, Rainbow Dash. But not today, things were just going to good for her. Sadly her friend's didn't echo the sentiment.

"Ah'm just glad we're outta school finally. Ah was gettin' tired of everyone askin' questions about that crazy party last night. Like we know somethin' they don't." As they cleared the trees the girls began to ascend the stair case leading up to their club house. It was nice that their own private personal space had been large enough to accommodate them all these years. Applebloom sometimes wondered just what they'd do once they were too old for it anymore. "Not tah mention that essay Cheerilee is makin' us all write."

"'Write down, in your own words, what you believe it means to be an honest and moral member of society.'" Sweetie Belle mimicked their teacher from the speech they had received this morning when they got into class. All in all the students had gotten off lucky, after being caught in the act Cheerilee could have done far worse by going to each and every one of their parents. Still having that kind of ammunition to hold over their heads came with its own benefits for the teacher. "She's obviously just punishing us for what everyone did last night. We were learning about countries and borders and all of a sudden we get a morality essay?"

"Coulda been worse ah guess." Applebloom sighed as she dropped her book bag on the floor and stretched out her shoulders. The other girls did the same, Scootaloo still bouncing around with some pep in each step. "Like maybe we coulda been harassed by a ton ah guys all day taday who were lookin' fer a date."

"It was only five, jeez." Scootaloo answered to Applebloom's obvious statement that was directed at her. "Two of them we both knew already anyway."

"That doesn't seem weird to you though, Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle asked concerned. "Last night you got two guys into a fight and now a bunch of them want to go on a date with you?"

"First off I didn't get anyone into a fight. Just cause two guys decided to punch each other doesn't mean it was my fault." Scootaloo said in her defense, not really liking the spin on that story where she was somehow the trouble maker.

"But two guys did punch each other cause of ya." Applebloom corrected. "Now apparently every guy in school's ready tah git inna fight over ya."

"Maybe they all just realized how good looking and athletic I am." Sweetie Belle and Applebloom exchanged a glance to each other at that suggestion. "Hey, don't doubt that idea. I saw those looks."

"Ah didn't say nuttin." Applebloom blurted out.

"No doubting here." Sweetie Belle confirmed, though neither one of them made eye contact with the purple haired girl. Scootaloo didn't really like that tone they were taking either.

"Hey, what, I'm not pretty?" She asked standing before them with a challenging posture. "What's here that a boy wouldn't like?" Her friends still didn't make eye contact with her and that was starting to get on her nerves. "What, do I stink or something!?"

"Kinda." Sweetie Belle admitted. "I mean you do a lot of sports stuff so you sort of have a... funk about you sometimes." Scootaloo rolled her eyes as if she couldn't believe such a thing, but took a minute to sniff herself to see if she indeed emitted a "funk".

"And ya never really comb yer hair or wear a dress or nuttin like that." Applebloom offered as well and Scootaloo started looking herself over carefully.

"Maybe guys just... like a girl that's comfortable with herself?" She said looking herself over now. Okay so she didn't ever wear dresses when she could avoid it, What's the big deal with that? They were too breezy and she couldn't really do a lot in them. Frankly she didn't know how Sweetie Belle could stand to wear them all the time. "I'm not all caught up in all that girly stuff so they find that comfortable? I'm cool. Like Rainbow Dash!" That sounded right. Actually that sounded great. She was cool like Rainbow Dash, no wonder all the guys wanted her.

"I don't remember Rainbow Dash starting a fight before though and then getting a lot of boyfriends." Sweetie Belle said, which annoyed Scootaloo a little. It wasn't just that they were doubting the obvious coolness of Rainbow Dash but they seemed to be trying to find flaws in everything she was offering. Why did it matter so much to them to knock Scootaloo down a peg when she was feeling this great? "I still can't believe they both tried to talk to you after that."

"Tried is the right word." Scootaloo said giving Applebloom a glare. "I can take care of myself you know, I don't need a body guard."

"Ah wasn't havin' them trouble makers comin' round me after everything that happened last night. Last thing ah need is another fight breakin' out in fronna me on account a these boys can't resist yer funk." Sweetie Belle giggled and Scootaloo blushed, did she really smell that bad?

"Scootaloo can't help it if she's funky fresh." Sweetie Belle said amused with herself. "I don't really care if you have a lot of boyfriends myself, Scootaloo."

"I don't... jeez guys, I don't have a lot of boyfriends. I don't have one boyfriend! Five guys asked me out on a date and I told them all I'd think about it. You act like I have a line of boys waiting outside the clubhouse for me."

"Not a line." Applebloom said glancing out the window of their club house. "Just one." The girls crowded around the window to see a tall boy with brown hair approach their club house. It was easy to see even from a distance that one of Scootaloo's more well known admirers had pursued her all the way out to Applebloom's farm. "Ah haybales, we really gotta deal with this?"

"Wow, I didn't think Rain Catcher would actually come all the way out here." Scootaloo said with a bit of admiration in her voice. A fact not lost on the other two girls as she watched the boy approach their club house. "I mean I told him we were coming here after school but I figured he wouldn't actually try to see me."

"Ya'll told him where tah find ya? Fer cryin' out loud Scootaloo, why not just invite him up fer cake and tea?" Applebloom was clearly annoyed by the presence of an outsider walking on their territory and Scootaloo didn't really want to fight her on the subject. It was Applebloom's club house first and foremost after all. She looked to Sweetie Belle for support but there wasn't any to be found there.

"I don't like him." Sweetie said firmly. "He punched Spike."

"That was an accident." Scootaloo tried to offer but her confidence was fading. It was true Rain Catcher ha'd hit Spike on accident but it was because he was trying to punch another boy on purpose. "Besides when did Spike start to matter that much to you? You guys dating or something?" Sweetie Belle's cheeks flushed red like an apple and she turned away quickly.

"N-no! No we're not I just... I don't like people that hit my friends, that's all." Scootaloo and Applebloom exchanged confused glances but their attention on Sweetie was over quickly as Rain Catcher was upon their club house and getting ready to climb the stairs to the entrance.

"Ah don't think so." Applebloom said with a hint of deviousness as she reached out the window and pulled on a rope, causing the spring in the stairs to make it fold upward and lock in place. The boy stopped, really surprised by the engineering feat the young girl had constructed. She stuck her head out of the window with a smug smile at the boy. "Halt there! No one gets up her without the password." Rain Catcher smiled confidently at the red head and didn't seem the least bit unmotivated by her obstacle.

"Oh yeah? Can I have the password then? I come in peace." The boy offered and waved to her.

"No can do, ya'll been vetoed out of here in a two tah one vote. Now git."

"Applebloom, don't be so mean!" Scootaloo said as she put her head out of the other window.

"Well ah don't want 'em up here and ah know Sweetie don't, so pretty sure ah counted up the votes correctly." Applebloom was smiling smugly and it was getting a rise out of Scootaloo that she was acting this childish in front of the older boy. "Should we tally 'em up again?"

"Rain Catcher I'm sorry! I just... didn't think you'd actually come out here." Scootaloo was trying to play peace maker now to avoid offending her friend and scaring the boy off. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah, I was just in the area..." Applebloom audibly scoffed at that notion, "... and I thought y'know, why not stop by and say hello. Say, if they didn't want me up there did you want to talk a while down here?" Scootaloo felt a lump in her throat at the question. The attractive boy was offering her a chance to go off with him to talk. She liked talking to him, when he did it always made her feel good about herself. Like she wasn't just some scruffy tomboy but a real girl that someone would want to be around. Still she could feel the looks she was getting from her friends as they watched her decide between him and them.

"I um... I..." Scootaloo tried to not look like a total idiot in front of the boy and was praying for some kind of help to get her out of this situation. Funny enough it appeared, but it wasn't what she was expecting.

"Are ya kiddin' me with this horsepile right here?" Applebloom asked aloud as she saw yet another boy approaching, this one was pretty familiar to her as well. The dark haired boy named Rumble walked up cautiously to the club house, looking between the girls and the other boy on the ground level with him. Even Rain Catcher was taken aback that Rumble would be willing to show his face after what happened just last night but the boy was here with only a bit of caution in his step. Scootaloo figured he must have seen Rain Catcher here before he got to the club house but apparently he kept going anyway. Was it really just to see her?

"Hey Scootaloo!" Rumble called out to her, completely ignoring Rain Catcher staring at him like he wanted to deck the boy across the face as well as the death glare Applebloom was giving him out of the window. "Did you have a minute, I wanted to talk to you if you didn't mind." Scootaloo had to admit it, the boy had kind of impressed her. Sure he was a lot more awkward than Rain Catcher, not quite as good looking and he didn't sound as confident when he talked. But he did look danger in the face and walk towards it regardless. Seemed like "danger" didn't appreciate that though.

"Are you serious, man?" Rain Catcher asked Rumble as he approached him and immediately Scootaloo was becoming terrified of a replay of last night happening but with no one here strong enough to stop them. "Is this like your thing? I come in and try to have a conversation with someone and you have to interrupt me every time? Am I gonna start having you stick your head into class every time I try to answer a question the teacher asks me?"

"I don't even care about you, Rain." Rumble said as he turned to face the larger boy again and Scootaloo felt her chest tighten as it looked like they were seconds away from another fight. "I'm just here to see if I could talk to Scootaloo for a second. I don't care why you're here or what you want. I don't even like you."

"Ah don't like either of ya!" Applebloom shouted at the from the window, wishing they'd just leave already. The boys didn't pay attention to her, completely focused on posturing themselves to try and intimidate the other one into leaving. Rain Catcher seemed to be the most fed up out of the two with the showdown they were having.

"Is this cause of your older brother?" Rain Catcher asked as he got closer, looming over Rumble now. "Your bro's a big shot with the weather patrol and suddenly you think since he's actually popular and likable that maybe you can be too and now you got the stones to just walk where you want and do what you want?" Rain leaned down to look Rumble in the eye. "Leave and don't look back, man." Rumble stared him back in the eye for a while as the two teenage boys were facing off.

"Make me. Man." Rain Catcher made a fist and Rumble did the same. Scootaloo's hands clasped together but she couldn't pull her eyes away, oddly excited by the fight about to happen before her and terrified of it actually coming to pass. They needed help, some kind of intervention. An adult to talk sense into them like Applejack or Big Macintosh or even Granny Smith to scold them. So she prayed for help again, asking the forces that be to deliver some kind of option to keep anyone from getting hurt. And once again those prayers were answered, but not the way she was expecting.

"Hey!" Another male voice spoke up and the teenagers all looked over to see the newcomer that had arrived. "What is all this?" The Dragon-Blooded teenager approached the other two boys standing at the foot of the tree that held the girls' club house. Applebloom pulled her head back in through the window to talk across the way to Scootaloo.

"Well that's sure lucky. Ah hope Spike bein' here at least git's 'em tah calm down." The farm girl said with a little relief.

"Is it lucky though?" Scootaloo asked fearfully. She remembered last night when Rain Catcher had punched Spike. The Dragon-Blooded boy looked like he was going to tear Rain's head right off and might have had Applebloom not intervened at the time. Having him here might actually make it worse. Scootaloo went to look back out the window at the scene before them but she was suddenly joined by a neighbor as Sweetie Belle forced herself next to Scootaloo to see the new arrival. "Uh, excuse me?"

"Hey." Sweetie said without looking her way, just fixating her gaze on the trio of boys now that Spike had appeared. He looked normal enough but he had some sort of shoulder bag with him that hung at his side. Scootaloo couldn't tell what might have been within. Spike had now approached the two and they decided to break off their fight for the moment.

"S'up Spike." Rain Catcher said a little nervous. Scootaloo wasn't sure if he was actually afraid of Spike or if maybe he just felt bad for what had happened at the party. "Hey man, listen, I'm really sorry about what happened last night. I just... I didn't mean for that to happen. We cool?" Spike stared at Rain Catcher for a moment, then looked at Rumble with just about as much disdain. Then he walked past both of them and waved at the girls, calling out to them.

"Hey guys."

"Hey." Scootaloo said neverously.

"Howdy." Applebloom let out with a small tone of annoyance to her voice she couldn't get rid of.

"Hiiii!" Sweetie Belle practically sang her answer back at Spike and that made him smile entertainingly enough.

"I was just dropping something off to your sister." Spike explained to Applebloom. "So thought I'd come by and see how you guys were doing. Are they bothering you?" Spike asked motioning to the other two boys.

"No." Scootaloo said quickly.

"Yes!" Applebloom insisted.

"Hiiii!" Sweetie still sang out and both girls looked at her like she might be a few lettuce leaves short of a salad. Rain Catcher just sighed and shook his head.

"C'mon man, that's just cold. I said I was sorry. What, do I gotta let you punch me for us to be cool?" Rumble seemed really intrigued by that idea.

"I'll punch you." The dark haired boy offered and Rain Catcher popped his knuckles into a fist.

"Try it, mud puddle. See how far it gets you." The two boys were getting into position for a fight again but Spike interrupted them before things could get that far.

"Twenty bits." Spike said simply to Rain Catcher and he released his fist in surprise after hearing that.

"Wha-what? Twenty bits? Are you asking me for..." It seemed for a second like Spike might actually be mugging Rain Catcher but he spoke up again.

"You bought pizzas at the party, I had to pay for them. You owe me twenty bits." Spike said and crossed his arms. "That was everything I had. Which I spent before you punched me in the face." Even with as cocky as Rain Catcher was he couldn't keep eye contact after hearing all that. "Twenty bits, where is it?" Sheepishly Rain Catcher dug through his pockets and pulled out all the money he had. He counted it out and offered it up.

"All I got is ten, man. I'll have to owe you the rest." Spike gave the teenager a glare who sighed and shuffled in place. "I'm not holding out on you, really this is all I got. You can have it, I'm fine with that but I have to get the rest to you later. Cool?" Spike didn't seem pleased still and it was obvious Rain Catcher was getting frustrated with him even if he had been in the wrong in the beginning. Suddenly Rumble approached and put something in Rain Catcher's outstretch hand.

"Here." The boy said, dropping more bits in. "There's the other ten. Just... I'm sorry too, Spike." There was an uncomfortable pause between them all as Rumble had done the unthinkable and helped his enemy. Spike didn't think anything of it though, taking the bits for himself and pocketing them. With that Rumble nodded and started to walk away, waving back at the girls in the club house as he did. Only Scootaloo waved back to him as he went on his way. Rain Catcher could read the writing on the wall and decided a respectful exit would be a good idea himself.

"I guess I'll see you at school, okay Scootaloo?" Rain Catcher said as he turned to leave, waving up to her as well.

"Yeah, guess I'll see you then." Scootaloo waved back, but she wasn't the only one with a kind farewell as he went.

"Git offa my property!" Applebloom shouted, channeling her most grizzled old lady voice that she could muster. Granny would have been proud. Once Rain Catcher was actually out of sight it just left the girls and Spike now. Applebloom released the rope that had held up the stairs to their club house in the first place, giving Spike access if he wanted. "Sorry ya got caught up in alla that, Spike."

"I'm not." Spike said happily. "I got my money back, this turned out great." The all laughed together, happy that the tension that had been setting in on all of them had finally passed.

"Did ya wanna come up for a while?" Applebloom offered.

"Yeah, we wanted to see how you were doing after everything last night. Did you get in trouble?" Scootaloo called out but Spike just shook his head, seeming very relaxed.

"Somehow despite all the stuff that happened I'm okay... I guess." Spike said with a hint of uncertainty. The girls were going to press him for more but the Dragon-Blooded boy beat them to it. "I'd hang out but I have some more deliveries I need to do before I have to head home to make dinner. Oh Applebloom, Zecora said you guys need to be careful around Everfree for a while."

"What? Why?" The farm girl inquired, sounding surprised. Sure the Everfree Forest could be dangerous but she'd been through it enough times now to know where not to go.

"I'm not really sure myself but she said we all need to be extra careful. Anyway I better get going, I'll see you guys later." Spike waved as well and turned to head off but he wasn't getting away that easily.

"Spike, hold up!" Sweetie Belle said suddenly as she walked out the door. The girl had moved so fast Scootaloo didn't even notice her leave the window the two had been sharing just a moment ago. "I just remembered I need to do a favor for Rarity today, can I walk with you?" Spike stopped and looked like he really wasn't sure if he should accept but did concede to the girl's request. Applebloom wasn't about to just let that go though.

"Sweetie, ya just got here! Yer leavin' already?"

"Yeah, it's nothing big but I should get on that favor so Rarity doesn't get mad. I'll see you guys later." Sweetie said happily as she walked off with Spike into the orchard on their way back to town. The two remaining girls watched them walk off as their trio was now reduced to a duo. With the show outside over they returned to the inside of the club house and sat next to each other at the table.

"Well, that stinks." Scootaloo said. "I was hoping we could work on that essay all together at least."

"Yeah, ah know what ya mean." Applebloom said in agreement, the two girls just sitting there now at a loss for what to do despite actually having homework they were supposed to complete. Neither of them felt like getting around to that right away though. "Ah wonder why Sweetie decided tah leave as soon as Spike showed up." Scootaloo leaned against the table on her hands to support her head, getting relaxed.

"Maybe they are really dating?"

"Pfft! Are ya joshin' me? Ah don't think Sweetie would do somethin' like that without tellin' us. Right?" Applebloom asked but Scootaloo didn't respond right away. "Right? Right Scootaloo? Ah'm lookin' fer assurance here."

"I dunno." She answered finally, not really satisfying the farm girl any. "If they were then why would they want to keep it a secret? It doesn't seem like something they'd have to hide."

"Ah dunno either, ah thought he liked Rarity anyway. Always thought Spike figured he was too old fer us anyhoo."

"I don't think so, Spike's been nice to us even if he doesn't hang out with us that much." Scootaloo lifted her head from her hands and started playing with a discarded pencil that was left from one of their other homework sessions on the table. "Sides... Sweetie Belle is pretty." Scootaloo almost sounded sad the way she said it.

"Do ya mean pretty?" Applebloom asked as she pointed at her face. "Or do ya mean 'pretty'?" Applebloom made a hefting motion with her hands in front of her chest as if she were handling considerably larger breasts than what she had herself.

"I dunno, both? She's got both." They weren't exactly bombshells at their age but Sweetie Belle did have a head start on her two friends when it came to "pretty", they both had to admit. "Some girls have it all." Scootaloo flicked the pencil away from herself and watched it roll off the table.

"Now just a minute, all the way over here ya'll were dancing on clouds over all them boys that wanted a date with ya. So what's with the mopey mumps alla sudden?" Scootaloo laid her head on her arms on the table, looking the direct opposite of how she'd felt all day earlier.

"I was just thinking that... what if Diamond Tiara was right?" Applebloom's ears perked at hearing that of all things come from Scootaloo. "What if these boys don't like me or don't actually think I'm pretty or nice. What if they just think that they can have fun with me and leave. That I'm just another Ruby Pinch."

"That ain't nice tah say, Scoots." Applebloom scolded.

"So you don't believe any of the rumors?" Applebloom knew what she was referring to. There was more than a few tales that Ruby Pinch was the girl to go to if you wanted something to drink and a roll in the hay. It didn't help Ruby wouldn't deny the claims when asked but she wasn't kind to anyone that accused her of it to her face. "Cause there's a lot of them going around about her."

"Ah ain't ever seen proof one way or the other. But ah know it's awfully mean tah start believing those kinda things on a rumor." Very diplomatic answer Applebloom had prepared. She knew who was going to be able to phrase their words the best out of the two of them for this morality essay they were currently putting off.

"Fine, so everyone at school just think's I'm a slut then." Scootaloo gripped her arms she was currently using to pillow herself with, feeling like a complete idiot. It made sense right? Why else would boys suddenly start paying attention to her? Rain Catcher liked her and that meant she was an easy lay. Might as well move in for your sloppy seconds while you have the chance. Her brow furrowed further with worry until she felt an arm go around her shoulder and give her a hug.

"None a that." Applebloom said comfortingly. "Ya'll were convinced they liked ya cause yer hot stuff, so don't stop thinkin' like that. Cause far as ah can tell yer real hot stuff, Scoots." Scootaloo leaned into Applebloom's light hug and smiled, sitting up straight now to face her friend.

"I guess I am hot stuff." Scootaloo said trying to rekindle her confidence. "But I'm not pretty... or 'pretty'."

"Well if you ain't pretty than ah ain't either. So ah don't believe ya cause, ah'm sure ah'm a looker." Scootaloo didn't really get how that logic worked but there wasn't any point in arguing. Still there was one obvious difference.

"You're more 'pretty' than I am for sure though." Scootaloo said nodding at Applebloom's chest. Sure Applebloom was farther along to a womanly shape that Scootaloo was but to be honest the difference wasn't anything to write home about. Applebloom seemed to agree as she rolled her eyes.

"Oooh big deal, mah saddle bags are a bit more filled. Whatever, boobs are dumb." Scootaloo burst out laughing at that statement and before long both girls were giggling together. The gloom and doubt was dispelled, Applebloom proving she was more magical than Scootaloo first thought with how she was able to turn her mood around. "Wanna sandwich?"

"Like those big ones you made before? Heck yeah, why are we in here when we can have some of those?" The girls popped up onto their feet and were down the stairs in a jiffy, heading towards the house in an even stride. "Hey Applebloom, remember the last time we had one of those sandwiches, when Tiara got shoved into that barrel full of juice?" Scootaloo laughed and even Applebloom snickered a bit.

"Yeah. Don't mention that to Tiara though, it still makes her upset thinking about that night." As they were walking Applebloom looked out towards the forest. "Ya'll think Spike's still okay? Ah mean cause he went kinda nutty that night and we just let Sweetie run off with 'em by herself."

"Yeah it's fine, he ate that weird rock remember? Not like it was his fault. It's not even the first time something like that's happened. Remember the love poison incident?" By the stars and moon that was the last thing Applebloom wanted to remember. Her brother was never going to let go of that and any time the anniversary of that day came around he always acted suspicious around her.

"Ah'd like tah ferget that day completely if ah can." So Sweetie Belle was fine but that still left one subject bothering her. "Say Scoots, old buddy old pal a mine, think maybe ya could... sorta apologize tah Tiara?" Scootaloo shot Applebloom a glare. "Just fer the argument ya'll had at the party! Ya said she might be right an ah believe she really was lookin' out fer ya." Scootaloo sighed to herself as she considered Applebloom's words.

"She talked to you today at school about it, huh?"

"Yeppers. So if ya don't mind ah really think she was just worried about ya an' didn't know how tah express it, what with Rain Catcher an alla that." Scootaloo grumble, pondered it, closed her eyes and winced as she thought harder until she let out a growl.

"Fine."

"Thank ya kindly!" Applebloom said happily and threw an arm around Scootaloo. The girl couldn't help but smile.

"She sure is lucky I like you so much."

"Ah sure am lucky ah'm so likable!"

"Wow, so Twilight actually fought a king?" Sweetie said in amazement, walking in step with Spike as the duo weaved through the trees of the apple orchard back to town. Shortly after Sweetie joined Spike on his stroll she had asked how he was doing after the whole party situation. Spike said he was fine but seemed set on not talking about it too much. She wasn't sure if it was because he really didn't want to speak of the night or if it was because of the two of them. Them and the things they had done. But she really hoped that wasn't the case.

"Yeah, as best she could anyway. They really couldn't stop him by force from what she told me. Celestia basically had to talk him down after she showed up and convince him we weren't at war anymore." Spike didn't seem very impressed by all of this either but Sweetie Belle thought it was amazing.

"That's pretty incredible. I mean he was the king of your people and he'd been frozen in stone all of that time." Spike was the only Dragon-Blooded person she'd ever met so she didn't know anything about their race at all. They never even studied their culture or customs in school. "I wonder what he was like, maybe he's even an ancestor of yours?"

"I really hope not." An obvious sound of disgust in his voice. "After what he did to everyone all I could think about was how I wanted to punch his face in." He punched his fist into his own palm as if to drive the point home. Spike wasn't the biggest or strongest boy Sweetie Belle had ever seen but she knew he could do things other people couldn't. When he punched his hand it made her think about how he nearly got in a fight last night and how just a few minutes ago it seemed like one would break out then too. It made her uncomfortable seeing him act aggressive. The Dragon-Blooded boy seemed to notice this and dropped his hands. "Sorry... I just get upset when I think about how he hurt Twilight."

"No, it's okay. I understand. I mean if he hurt Rarity I'd be pretty angry with him too." She didn't even realize while she was out going to school and having a party that her older sister was risking her life. It was true Rarity had put herself in harms way more than once due to her being an Element of Harmony, but Sweetie Belle didn't like to think about that too much. She loved Rarity and didn't want anything bad to ever happen to her. "I'm happy everyone came home safely."

"Hey Sweetie, I just thought of something. You said you were coming with me because you had to do something for Rarity today, right?"

"Uh... yeah. Is that okay? Did you need to see her too?"

"Well it's not that, I actually saw her earlier today. But her and Twilight didn't get back into town until around lunch. Which means you'd have been at school right? So when did she-"

"Guess you found me out." Sweetie said as she looked away from Spike, sighing and losing some of her happy tone. "Rarity didn't ask me to do anything for her today. I haven't even seen Sis' since before she left yesterday." Sweetie turned back to look at Spike's eyes, seeing the confusion in them as he tried to piece it together.

"So why did you lie about it then? I mean what was the point of saying that?" Did he have to ask it out loud like that? It was embarrassing enough being caught in her fib but now he wanted her to confess her intentions? Wasn't it as obvious to him as it was to her?

"I didn't think you'd let me walk with you if I didn't make something up." Sweetie confessed in a soft voice, wishing it didn't come out so squeaky at the end. Her voice was so annoying, all high pitched and girly. Why couldn't she sound as dignified as her sister or strong like Applebloom and Scootaloo? Instead she had this high pitched, squeaky voice that no one could take seriously. "Because... you know. I didn't think you wanted to spend time with me."

"Sweetie, that's not true at all. Why wouldn't I... I mean I know things got out of hand, but you're not to blame. If anything it's me that's the problem." He was taking it all on himself again, just like last night. Why was Spike so convinced he was the bad guy? Was it just because he was a boy and she was a girl? Yeah he was older and he did kind of push them in that direction but Sweetie hadn't really tried to stop it. She had just failed miserably when it matter as far as she was concerned. "I'm surprised you even feel safe being alone with me."

"Stop saying things like that." Sweetie said and grasped onto Spike's hand, holding it tightly in her own. The act surprised the boy but he didn't pull away from her grip. "You're not a bad person so stop trying to convince me that you are one." Spike looked back at her but his gaze was weak and even a little sad. Was he that distraught over what the two of them had done? "I'm sorry I cried like a little kid, so please don't beat yourself up over it anymore." Spike looked as if he was going to argue with her and just let out an exasperated sigh, seeming to concede to her.

"Okay, I won't say things like that about myself anymore if it makes you that unhappy."

"Good." Sweetie said finally smiling again. "But not just because it makes me unhappy, but because it's untrue." Sweetie kept her grip on his hand as they walked, Spike glancing at it every so often between them.

"Um... Sweetie, should we be walking like this? What if someone sees us and gets the wrong idea?"

"We're in the middle of the Apple Family Orchard. Who's going to see us out here?" It felt like a legitimate question and Spike didn't have a reply. "Besides I've held hands with my friends while walking before. There's nothing wrong with it." Spike didn't look like he agreed but he kept walking along with her anyway, not trying to fight her logic. They continued in silence like that for a while and Sweetie was starting to feel comfortable walking hand in hand with him as if it were the most natural thing. The silence was weighing on her though so she thought to strike up another conversation before they ended up breaking from the trees and reaching the road. "So you mentioned something about a crown?"

"Oh yeah, that thing. It belonged to that guy Devour." Maybe she shouldn't have brought that subject up, it seemed to put Spike in a bad mood again. "I guess he's the only king the Dragon-Blooded clans have ever had. So when he found out the war was over he just gave it up right away."

"That's surprising. You'd think if he was a bad guy he'd want to hold onto all his power for as long as he could." Spike thought on this a bit, as if it was a serious subject for him.

"Maybe... I don't know. From what Twilight said he wasn't short on power. I mean he used to fight Celestia and Princess Luna together." Sweetie thought about the significance of that. They were the two rulers of the entire kingdom and they were magic and everything but it's not like she'd ever heard anything about them being super strong.

"Is that special?" Sweetie asked sincerely.

"Celestia has a lot of power and she knows a lot of spells. Some are even used for war." Spike said as he now seemed lost in thought. "Princess Luna from what I heard was a really good swordsman before she had her Nightmare Moon incident. Possibly the best in the kingdom. It would take some kind of monster to be able to fight both of them." Sweetie watched Spike's eyes as he talked. She liked them most of the time, they were different looking from everyone else and they even glowed a pretty green color sometimes. But most of all they were also very expressive. The girl didn't know if Spike was aware of how much of himself he gave away with his eyes sometimes.

"Does it bug you that he's a Dragon-Blood person like you and he tried to hurt the Princesses?" Sweetie asked and watched his eyes soften with thought. Maybe that was the case but it seemed like there was more to it with him.

"I just wonder sometimes about what I'll be." Spike said and looked at his right hand while his left still held onto Sweetie's. "I just don't want to do bad things to the people I care about." He rubbed his thumb nail against his forefinger, noting the claw like tip on the end of it. "I don't want to be a monster." Sweetie couldn't take it anymore, watching him feeling so bad about himself just for being what he was tore her up inside too. She threw her arms around his left arm, hugging it tightly against her chest and leaning her head against his shoulder. Spike looked down in surprise. "S-Sweetie Be-" When he tried to say her name a little small spark of green fire spewed from his lips. Spike covered his mouth and looked away embarrassed. She'd seen him do that a few times now when she tried to flirt with him on purpose and guessed it must have meant he liked it when she did. The sight encouraged her further.

"You're not a monster, okay?" Sweetie said as she nuzzled her head against his shoulder. "You're not bad and you're not going to hurt anyone. I know you wouldn't hurt anyone because I know you're a good person." Spike didn't reply to her right away so she squeezed his hand with her own. "Are you going to tell me I'm wrong again?" Spike's chest rose as he took in a breath about to speak, then lowered as he said nothing. They'd stopped walking since Sweetie had grabbed hold of him, frozen in that one spot where she held him in place. She had to admit she enjoyed the moment. "Good. The only bad thing about you Spike is that you worry too darn much."

"Hey, you start saying things like that and it sounds like you're calling me an old man." Spike said with a little jest in his voice. Sweetie was happy to hear that kind of reply.

"Well you're still young enough but you're going to give yourself wrinkles if you keep worrying all the time." She just held his arm against herself as they talked, breathing softly and enjoying the close contact. This was the kind of thing she wanted, where she felt wanted and useful to someone. Where she was the person that was desired. It was unfortunate then that Spike had to shatter the moment.

"Um Sweetie, what if... what if someone sees us like this?" Spike asked nervously but he wasn't on the look out for people spying on them. He was just fixated on her.

"Who's gonna see us?" Sweetie said dismissively.

"But it's just... I thought you weren't ready to be a girlfriend?" Darn it, he would remember she had said that. She had even meant it at the time, not sure if she could live up to the expectations that another boy would have for her. Still it hurt to have him separate them when it felt like they were sharing a moment, at least to her. Slowly Sweetie Belle let go of Spike's arm, she didn't attempt to hold his hand again. Instead just standing a few steps away from him as if to put the invisible fence up that was now required. "I didn't mean that you-"

"It's okay, I'm not ready for standing so close to a boy is all. I'm just a kid still." Sweetie said and started to walk forward without Spike. He watched her go for a bit before walking behind her, the tone between them changing rapidly with that one statement he'd made. "So, you're not ready to be a boyfriend yet either?" Sweetie asked with some bite to her words. She was hurt by Spike's rejection and didn't feel much of a need to hide it.

"I wouldn't be a good one is all." Spike said with what almost sounded like shame, which frustrated Sweetie Belle. He didn't think that he wasn't ready to be a boyfriend, just that he wasn't good enough. Good enough for what exactly, for her? She didn't think so, so why did he have to argue against it so hard? Or was she the problem this whole time? Maybe he just wouldn't be a good boyfriend for her because he was older and she was just a little girl.

So who was acceptable then? Scootaloo? Was she the reason he came by the club house to talk to them? He did get involved with that fight last night when those same two boys almost threw fists at each other. The same thing happened today when those boys got ready to fight over her and Spike broke it up again. So was he after her like all the other boys in school? Was it Applebloom, she was more mature than Sweetie what with all her responsibilities on the farm and the fact she was always helping her friends and even Zecora. Or maybe Spike wanted a girl that could do the kind of things Sweetie couldn't, the adult kind of things. Maybe someone like Ruby Pinch was the kind of girl Spike wanted who could make him feel good without crying all over him like a baby. Perhaps it was someone older and even more mature than that. Someone Sweetie Belle knew very well and who was in every way her superior.

Deep down she really hated herself for it, but she just couldn't lose to Rarity again at something in life. Even if the only one that thought the two of them were competing was her.

"Spike, kiss me." Sweetie said suddenly as she turned to face the boy. Spike leaping up and jumping backwards at her words.

"Wha-what!? I mean... what?" He actually looked as if the words didn't make any sense in his head. So maybe words weren't enough. Sweetie began to approach Spike.

"Kiss me. Kiss me right here, right now." As she approached Spike he began to back away from her as if she was threatening him with a knife.

"Sweetie Belle I don't... I don't think we should oof!" Spike let out a grunt as his back hit a tree, Sweetie taking that opportunity to pin him down by putting her hands on his chest and keeping him there.

"I want you to. Won't you?" She was pleading now and maybe it was a little pathetic but she was desperate and didn't care if it got her the results she wanted. Spike was still looking around as if there was some kind of special exit this tree would provide him to get out of this.

"Sweetie Belle." His cheeks were blushing and that made her happy because she could feel the heat of the blush on her own face as well. "It wouldn't be... respectful to you. It wouldn't be proper." Her fingers curled and gripped his shirt. Those were Rarity's words and even though she loved her sister as much as the world itself she couldn't stand Rarity being a wall between them now even when she wasn't actually present. Leaning up on her feet Sweetie pressed her lips against Spike's and kissed him herself. "Mmmf!"

He resisted a little at first, trying to squirm away or push her off but she kept a tight hold on him. If he had really wanted he could have tossed her off easily but she knew he wouldn't. There was no way he'd risk hurting her by doing that and she took advantage of this fact to kiss him further. It took a little while but slowly he stopped fighting back so much and relaxed into the kiss as well. Once his hands were no longer pushing at her shoulders she broke the kiss away and gasped in deep breaths. Her hands were shaking but she was determined not to crumple up and fail this time. Spike was breathing hard too from the kiss they shared and she stared into his eyes, thinking she saw that pretty green glow just every so lightly behind them. It just encouraged their lips to meet again.

His arms went around her and her grip on his shirt slacked off, her hands resting now against his chest as they kissed. When his mouth opened Sweetie panicked just a little as she didn't know what to do herself but she parted her lips as well, mimicking him. When her lips gave him entry she felt his tongue slip into her mouth and her small fingers were gripping at his shirt again with anticipation.

His tongue was sliding against her own in her mouth. She'd never done anything like this before but she was determined to not fail this time, having made it her personal goal to satisfy Spike and prove she was just as good as (Rarity) any of the other girls. Her own tongue slid back against his and she prayed it didn't feel too awkward or apparent that she didn't know what she was doing. Soon his arms came around her back though and rubbed her gently. She began moaning lightly into the kiss, unable to help herself from the comforting but exciting emotions that were assaulting her.

When their kiss broke again they were both panting hard as Sweetie Belle was leaning against Spike now. It reminded her of last night when they were together in the bedroom and he was doing these things with her. But now he was stopping every so often as if to ask if she could go on. Regardless of if it felt like too much or not she just didn't want to disappoint him so badly and be rejected again. Her arms went from his chest to hooking underneath his own for a more supportive grip. She rubbed her body against his own and exposed her neck, bracing herself for what would come next.

Spike's head dipped down near hers and she felt his lips kiss along her jaw, her earlobe and against her neck. She'd never let a boy do this before Spike and it felt so amazingly good that she couldn't believe those little areas had that kind of power. She was moaning out now softly against her will but she didn't care, it was too hard to hold it back and felt too good to stop. Her fingers held to his shoulders tightly as he kissed and licked along her neck and drove her wild. She felt so very hot against him, her dress felt constricting.

This was the moment she'd been both dreading and craving at the same time. Sweetie lifted her right leg up against Spike's own, rubbing her knee along the outside of Spike's thigh and lifting her dress in the process. It was a big invitation and she wasn't sure if doing this was the right thing or not but she knew from experience it made him happy. One of the hands along her back slid down and hooked beneath her dress, gripping her ass and making her that much more excited and scared. He was going to do it again, they were going to do it outside and in the open. She was panting so hard she was worried she might faint.

He pressed against her butt with his hand, his hips pushing back against her own and greeting her with his erection through his pants. The pressure wasn't like anything she'd felt before last night and it was almost electric with how much it exited her. Sweetie's hands gripped onto Spike's shoulders hard, digging her nails into his skin through his shirt. They were getting a little faster now with each push and even if having her leg up like this in the middle of an orchard felt a little demeaning to her she was also excited from how much he wanted her. Her body wanting to release the pressure she'd been building insider herself in desire for him. In desire for this and this moment together.

Then it stopped frustratingly sudden. "Wait! Wait Sweetie... wait." Spike was suddenly saying, forcing his body to be still.

"It's okay." Sweetie whispered back, trying to control her voice. "It's okay, you can do it." She rubbed her leg against him some more, trying to encourage his hips to continue their task but he was holding his breath as she did to keep from giving into the temptation.

"Sweetie Belle wait... we can't. We can't do this."

"Please!" Her insistence was even a little surprising to her but she was just so frustrated with how difficult everything had been up to this point. "I promise I won't cry. I won't cry so please Spike..."

"Sweetie Belle." Spike said as his breathing began to become less ragged, his hand raising from under her dress onto her hip. She looked at his eyes and Spike raised a hand to her face, stroking some tears away from her cheeks. "Please, wait." When she saw him brush the tears away from her face she felt as if she might really start sobbing now, lowering her leg back to the ground and burying her face in his chest. She had failed and felt so stupid and like some cheap harlot in the process. Still just a foolish little girl.

"I'm sorry." She said managing not to cry, mercifully. "I messed it all up again."

"No. No you never messed anything up. I'm... I'm not good. I'm not good." Spike said as he leaned his head down on hers, the two hugging tightly now. "You deserve so much better than me. Better than this; outside in some field with me forcing myself on you."

"I forced myself on you." Sweetie corrected him with her face still hidden away. "And I thought the orchard was kind of romantic." She swallowed a lump in her throat as she got to the hard question now. "You don't want me for your girlfriend, do you Spike?" He didn't respond right away, instead still holding onto her in his arms in their tight hug. It was kind of scary in a way, as if when they made eye contact that something was going to change. Something even more important than from how things changed last night between them. Sweetie had said she wasn't ready to be a girlfriend (as if she even really understood what that meant in the first place) but the reality was she was just scared, not that she didn't want it. Now she was scared that he didn't want her and she wasn't ever capable of it to begin with.

Spike eventually separated them, the pair holding their hands together to keep some kind of bond between them. Sweetie looked up at Spike and he back into her eyes, his expression suddenly changing when they made contact. "Spike?"

"Oh, sorry you just looked like... nothing, never mind." She didn't know what that meant but it was going to bother her for the rest of the day. "Sweetie Belle, I'm-"

"Don't say you're a monster." She stopped him abruptly. "Don't say you're bad, don't say mean things about yourself. Don't put yourself down. Because I know you Spike because I can just see it. I can see it when I look at you; you're not a bad person. And I don't care if you're not human or whatever you think you are because no one ever thinks that about you either. They just see Spike." The boy looked like her speech had knocked all of the wind out of his sails. Whatever he was going to say Sweetie Belle had destroyed it with her confident words. Spike thought about what he had planned to say again, smiled to himself and then took to his knee before her as if he were going to propose. Which got an even bigger blush out of Sweetie Belle than she'd previously had today. "Spike!?"

"I vow that I will be respectful to you." Spike said, holding her right hand with both of his now. "I will do everything in my power not to harm you or shame you. I will treat you as the honorable maiden that you are." Spike kissed the top of her hand and if Sweetie Belle hadn't been embarrassed before she certainly was now. That was a very "classic" way to give a speech to a girl, maybe even a tad bit outdated. Still it was sweet in a way. Spike rose to his feet and rubbed the back of his head, clearly embarrassed by what he just did too. "I've seen guys in the capital make promises to women that way before and it felt like the kind of thing I should say to you."

"O-okay." Sweetie said a little dreamily.

"I better go, I really do have to make these deliveries before I get home tonight. Will you be okay on your own?" Sweetie Belle nodded slowly to Spike as he nodded to her in reassurance. Just like that he'd said his good byes and was now running through the trees, headed back to town. Sweetie watched him run off as she absorbed everything that had happened. The vow he'd just made, their turbulent conversations, their "activities" beneath the tree. All of it had been quite the rush and even though she'd never say such a thing out loud her body was yearning for more physical attention in her loins. Despite the whole exchange being stressful for her Spike made her body feel good in a way that no one else ever had. It was like she could hear him still calling to her from far off longingly. Saying her name over and over. Sweetie Belle... Sweetie Belle... Sweetie Belle...

"SWEETIE Belle! Hello! Wake up!" The girl jumped with a shout as the voice next to her actually called her name very loudly.

"Jeez Applebloom, why'd you sneak up on me like that!?" The red headed farm girl looked at Sweetie with a confused expression.

"Snuck up? Ah've been calling yer name fer a while. Ya'll were just standing there staring off inna space." Oh? She was? Just how long had she been day dreaming in that spot? "The heck ya doin' out here by yerself?"

"Oh um I just... kinda got distracted." Sweetie said, trying to cover up for her embarrassing behavior. Applebloom didn't look very convinced though.

"Uh huh. Where'd Spike get off tah then? He just left ya here?"

"He had to run off, I was slowing him down so I said go on ahead of me." That was half the truth at least. Better than admitting that they were dry humping on her farmland not that long ago. Good think Applebloom had shown up when she did instead of earlier for a peep show. "Why are you out here?"

"It's mah farm, ah live here." Well yeah that part was obvious Sweetie thought dissatisfied. "Ah was lookin' fer Big Macintosh. We're makin' sandwiches back home and ah was gonna invite 'em to have one."

"Wait, you mean he's out here somewhere!?" Sweetie asked suddenly, looking around herself for some kind of hint as to if her and Spike had been spied on while they were intimate with each other.

"Yeah, sure is. Once again, we both live here. Did ya wanna help me look fer 'em or ya gotta get over tah Rarity's?"

"Rarity's? Why would I be going to OH, yeah that! Um... well it wasn't really that important anyway. So I guess I'll help you look around for your brother." Applebloom was still watching her with the most confused of expressions but Sweetie Belle felt pretty confident that even if she did suspect something there was no way she'd guess what had actually happened out here with her and the Dragon-Blooded boy.

"So is somethin' up with ya'll and Spike?" Well never mind then!

"What? No, of course not. Why would you think that?" Sweetie put on her best fake smile and Applebloom still didn't seemed convinced but at least she dropped the subject finally.

"Never mind, dunno what got inna me askin' that. Let's start huntin' down my brother. He's out here somewhere ah'm sure." Unfortunately for Sweetie Belle that news wasn't reassuring.

Author's Notes:

So this is half the chapter I had originally planned to write, but it got so long that I decided to split it in half while I had a good position to do the split. So there you go.

(April Fools Special)

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 12 - The Final Chapter Forever We Are Done!

As Twilight sat in the kitchen of her home/library/tree house in the light of the twilight sky reading the Twilight novels, the sound of the front door creaked open as her useless and horny apprentice finally managed to drag himself back home. She of course hadn't bothered to make dinner herself due to her injuries. Besides, that's what the help was for.

"About time you showed up, what did you fall in a pond on the way back?" Twilight bellowed at the dragonish kid, not even bothering to look up from her fantastic novel.

"What up, bitch." Spike announced as he entered an entire entourage of woman following behind him. "Pimp daddy Spike is in the house! Literally... literally in the house. Right at this moment. See, those lessons from Celestia that no one ever sees me actually study are working." Twilight glanced up at the annoying brat, wondering why exactly he hadn't started making her food yet and saw a group of freeloaders following behind him.

"Spike, I have enough 'research material' for our necromancy project already. You don't have to bring me every single hobo you find on the outskirts of this nameless town we live in." To be fair he'd done a good job of it though, the basement was nearly full.

"These aren't hobos, they're bitches. Can't you tell?" Spike asked motioning to the three women behind him.

"Oh, yeah I guess I can. Hi Rarity." Twilight said dismissively. "Still trying to get in the royal family?"

"Of course!" Rarity said, delighted she could cut to the chase this time. "So which one of you do I have to fuck first to be considered for a room at the palace?"

"Later." Twilight said, pulling out a list and adding a new task to be completed after she went to bed tonight. "Spike who are these other two vagrants you pulled in off the street?"

"Aw c'mon, only one of them doesn't have a house. Give me some credit." Spike whined, as usual. "The shorty is Sweetie Belle. I figured I was tired of beating around her bush and I'd just get in it tonight to add her to the club."

"Wh-why am I here again?" Sweetie asked, more than a little terrified of the events that had transpired to bring her to this point.

"This one here's Damselfly. She's a changeling. You can tell cause she has completely black skin." Spike grabbed the changeling's arm and waved it around to show off the color of her skin, making whistling noises with the holes in her arm. "Seriously, black skin, that's a big deal. Cause no one actually knows what our skin color is. We've never said it. No really, go back and check. We didn't."

"Or our ages." Sweetie Belle said dejectedly. "Do I have my cutie mark by now? Does that apply in this world?" Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, dropping her book on the table and standing up.

"It's not like it matters anyway." Twilight said out loud. "Everyone's just going to think we're Caucasian, or maybe pastel like that movie made us look like. Except for Zecora, everyone's going to think she's black. Not this kind of black though." Twilight said looking the changeling over. "Damselfly, huh?"

"Got a problem with it, cunt!?" The changeling snapped without warning or prompt for her behavior. "I tell it how it is bitch! I look you over for five minutes and I got it all figured out. Like you bookworm, you wanna fuck your brother. Huge incestuous feelings in that heart."

"Is incest how you become a princess?" Rarity asked desperately and grabbed a hold of her sister. "I can learn to like it, honest!"

"This is terrifying and I want to leave now!" Sweetie protested a bit more loudly. Despite her terror Damselfly was ready with another forced observation that may be true or not.

"This one here has an inferiority complex to her sister and her tits. Also, she's dry humped the fire-breather twice."

"Word." Spike agreed. Twilight threw her hands up in the air and sat back down at the table.

"Fine, you can have all of them, I don't care. It's what everyone wanted to see anyway. A dragon collecting unicorn brides like some kind of cult leader. Enjoy your harem, just make me dinner so I have enough energy to fuck with Rarity later."

"Things are looking up for us!" Rarity said thrilled to her darling little Sweetie Belle.

"There is something very wrong with all of this!" Sweetie cried out. "And I'm pretty sure if I don't get back to my friends soon they're going to replace me in the Scooby Gang with Dinky.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa." Spike said bring a stunning and startling stop to everything. "Whoa. We promised everyone a little something didn't we?"

"Boobs?" Rarity asked.

"Tempting, underage dry-humping?" Sweetie offered.

"Rape?" Damselfly asked... or offered, was hard to tell.

"Incestuous rape?" Twilight offered, directly.

"Nah man, none of that. People want to see something beautiful. Something special with just a single person involved that can take the spotlight, touch their hearts and make them feel the mix of love and desire that this series is known for."

"Oh Spike!" Rarity said as she dropped her sister to the ground like a sack of potatoes and approached her love. "I knew you thought I was special. That I was the only one for you. I'll gladly take the center stage, expose myself to everyone, and let them bask in my beauty." Rarity slowly began to undress to the delight and amusement of at least three people there, but Spike put a stop to that.

"I'm not talking about you! I meant me!" Spike pushed Rarity out of the immediate scene before anything actually attractive could happen here. "The people have spoken and they want a scene of male masturbation. So we're going to give it to them?" Twilight raised a curious eyebrow.

"Like... now?"

"You bet." Spike said sliding his pants and boxers off in one quick motion. Sweetie Belle covered her eyes, Damselfly yawned. "For the people!" Picking up a copy of 5000 hues of Rainbow(dash('s butt))) Spike read from one of the many erotic pages within the book and began to work his crank right there in the middle of the library. His hand moving not for his own enjoyment or for the enjoyment of the women before him, but for the people! One. Two. Three. "Aaaaaand I'm spent." Spike declared, leaving both his pants and a puddle of his victory on the floor. "I'm gonna go take a nap, your all mine now so don't go no where without me!" With the our conquering hero ascended the stairs, missed one on a step, looked really embarassed as the women stared at him in that awkward moment, began climbing again and disappeared into the bedroom for his slumber.

"I'm not cleaning that up." Twilight said flatly. "Now who's cooking dinner?" Thankfully Damselfly had a suggestion.

"We could order pizza and I could eat the delivery boy instead of us paying him."

"You... have just earned your spot as wife number two." Twilight said as she offered a chair to the changeling. "Oh and don't either of you get any ideas, I'm number one." She said to Sweetie Belle and Rarity with a glare.

"Number three is still closer to being a princess than I was before." Rarity accepted somewhat pathetically and joined the other women at the table. Sweetie Belle was currently trying to work the door open but found the lock Spike had put on it was rather effective in keeping her trapped.

"Twilight, Rarity, what's-your-head, I don't really want to be part of a harem." The young girl protested but her sister was there to comfort her.

"Now Sweetie Belle it's best to just accept it and make the most of it, I'm sure all our friends will be part of it before long. Now come sit next to your sister so she can teach you what fellatio is. Twilight, do you have a banana?"

**********

Back in the capital the Goddess of the Night was staring at the stone prison of the God of Chaos, Discord. She was watching it with the most peculiar expression for a while now. Celestia had eventually come across her sister in this position and found she couldn't help her curiosity. "Luna, I'm sorry to bother you but... what exactly are you looking at?" The other princess didn't take her eyes off the statue, just staring with a confused look on her face.

"Sister, did thou know Discord slumbers while restrained in his enchanted confinement?" Celestia sighed, why couldn't Luna talk normal? She'd been back on Earth for over a year now.

"No, I didn't. Can you see his dreams?" Luna nodded. "And?"

"Verily, they are quite fucked up."

Author's Notes:

Nailed it!

Lie In Relief

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 12 - Lie in Relief

A book in one hand, a cup of tea in the other and a quill and parchment on the table beside her. If you were to ask to picture Twilight Sparkle in your mind this was likely the scene anyone living in the village would think of first. The only exception to the librarian's normal appearance was that her neck had bandages wrapped about it to hide her bruised muscles from the throttling she had endured just a day before. It seemed like so much had happened in such a short amount of time. So much of it having been traumatic for Twilight Sparkle that she was thankful to have this peaceful day to just read and enjoy the flavor of her beverage.

Not that the subject of her reading was all that comforting. Twilight had wanted to try and pick up a story book just to pass the time but her mind kept pestering her to address the issue that refused to be forgotten. So instead she found herself looking over what psychology books she could find based around the subject of physical attraction between members of the same family. Particularly that between siblings.

Not that she was all that excited to read about this but she had to admit the amount of information she could find in the library wasn't very thorough. What few books she could locate that addressed the subject seemed conflicted on their view points. All of course acknowledged that it was a taboo practice but they had different reasons as to why. Some felt it was a natural, biological safeguard to keep us from finding attraction in those with the same genetics as our own. Others thought it had to be developed psychologically in early life to prevent those with the same genetics from mating. They sited incidents of individuals finding attraction in people with similar facial features and in one case two siblings separated at birth who got married. All in all it didn't really help Twilight any with her particular concerns.

She even began to pull books aside that had fictional characters who either suggested attraction between siblings or outright had characters that went through with it. A lot of it was a "behind closed doors" kind of material when it was approached, nothing outright stated and often times it was never a protagonist that was in this position. The few she found that did depict siblings in sexual situations together were usually females and usually twins. Unsurprisingly the authors of said books were all male from what she could find. None of it made her feel better or even more informed about what she was trying to understand from all this.

Twilight sipped her tea and set it on her plate, closed her book and set it on the pile, then cupped her hands and set her face in them. She was already tired and her neck, shoulders and upper back were aching with pain. She would have loved to try and block out the throbbing soreness in her upper body by focusing on other things but her mind wouldn't let her rest. One question repeated in her mind that she kept wondering to herself. "Am I a bad person?"

She loved Spike so very much. He was her family and her friend and even before they did any of those "things" together she had felt her life would have been lost without him. He'd been with her for so long it was like a natural part of her own life to have him near by. But if that was only because she wanted to have him and use him for her own desires she didn't want to keep him here. Was she dangerous? Was she really this sick in the head? Cadence had brought up that memory from years ago about her brother and Twilight didn't know what to do with that information. She had never felt the same way for her brother as she had for a man she was attracted to. Then again she didn't used to think about Spike that way either.

So now she was left wrestling with the question of her possibly being a perverted monster that's using her assistant as a replacement for unsatisfied desires for her sibling. Would she eventually get to a point where she couldn't control herself? It sounded stupid thinking something like that could happen but if she rationalized it she could convince herself of anything. She wanted to think that this had to be a case of bad choices combined with bad coincidences. After all Twilight was forced to the castle in a life or death battle right after dealing with her conflicted feelings about Spike. Then her sister-in-law digs around in her heart (she was still upset about that) and pulls out something from so long ago that Twilight had forgotten it had even happened. Had she been more right of mind none of that may have occurred during her dinner with her family.

As long as her mind was still "right", right?

"Twilight?" The librarian picked her head up off of her hands quickly when she heard the boy's voice, regretting it when her body reminded her of her injuries. Not wanting to worry him though she rose to her feet quickly and put on a smile.

"Welcome home, Spike." Twilight said cheerfully as the boy walked in, though he had something extra with him from when he left. There was a shoulder bag slung to his side. "Did you pick something up for yourself while you were out?"

"Not exactly." Spike said as he approached the kitchen table. Twilight looked him over and noticed his cheeks were flushed and he seemed out of breath. Maybe he'd been running a lot while he was out today? She wondered why he'd push himself so hard. Those thoughts left quickly though as Spike produced a dried gourd that Twilight recognized right away as the kind Zecora used as a bottle for holding her potions and drinks. "But I did get something for you."

"Really?" Twilight walked over to the table and looked the bottle over carefully. "I don't remember Zecora saying I needed to pick up anything. Did I forget something I asked her for?" Twilight pulled the cap off the bottle to smell what was inside. It had a nice scent to it, floral but not something she'd want to drink.

"Well actually I went out to her place and kind of... asked her to make this for you." Spike said looking a little embarrassed as he admitted it. "It's an ointment for your injuries. I asked her if she had anything that could help you with the pain and she said she could make something special. But I had to help her put it together by getting the ingredients. So yeah, that's where I was all day." Twilight put the cap on the bottle and approached her precious assistant, giving him a gentle hug as best as her shoulders would allow. "Twilight?"

"Thank you so much Spike." Twilight said happily. "Thank you, this was so thoughtful of you." Spike hesitated a bit but soon after hugged Twilight as well, making sure to keep his arms around her lower back to avoid touching any injured areas.

"It's nothing Twilight, I'm happy to do it." He said rather humbly and earned a kiss on the top of his head.

"It's something to me." The librarian confessed and released him from her hug. "If it can get me back to one hundred percent faster then I'll appreciate it even more." Twilight looked over the bottle, wondering how it was going to feel on her skin. She hoped it didn't itch, moving her arms around to scratch her back would be torture the way she was now without magic.

"I'm glad you like it so much." Spike said with a little more red in his cheeks now. "I remembered what you said about Pinkie Pie and Applejack too so I asked Zecora for some for them as well. I would have been home sooner but I had to drop off their bottles too." Spike went to the kitchen, putting his bag aside that Twilight presumed now that he must have received from Zecora, soon after that he began to look through the cupboards. "By the way, what do you want for dinner?"

"Something light, if we have anything like that. I don't think I'll be able to stay up too late tonight."

"Me either to be honest." Spike agreed as he started to pull out some pasta noodles. Twilight sat at the table and relaxed her muscles, watching her young assistant in the kitchen. At that moment she felt a sudden surge of pride for him. Working all night while she was gone because he was restless and when she gives him a day off he spends it working to get medicine for her and her friends. Her insecurities from earlier in the day dissipating as she felt the comfort of being home finally setting in with Spike's arrival. It just felt more natural having him near by. "We could do pasta and salad if you want. I think we have a can of tomato sauce still too."

"That sounds good." Twilight said, finding her stomach agreed to the idea right away when food was suggested to her. She'd neglected to eat anything while he was gone as she hadn't felt the need till now. "Would you like some help getting it ready?"

"Nah, I'm good. You can keep reading if you want." It was a generous offer, he was probably still worried about her condition. Though she didn't feel like returning to any of the books she'd been reading before he arrived. Twilight looked the bottle of ointment over while Spike got the pans ready for making dinner.

"Oh, did you get a chance to visit Rarity today?" Twilight asked suddenly, hoping he didn't pass up on any time they had together on her account. Even if there was that small jealous part of her that would have preferred he thought of her first. She didn't want to give that part of herself any thing to help it grow though.

"Yeah, I stopped by. She had a lot of packages she bought at the capital." Twilight recalled seeing them taken out of the palace that morning and thinking the same thing herself. "I didn't stay for long though. She wanted to keep unpacking her stuff and I was doing the thing with Zecora." The "thing" must have referred to putting together and passing out this medicine. "So if it's okay I'll probably stop by her place tomorrow. If you... if you're okay with it?" Spike asked a little hesitantly, looking out at Twilight.

"Of course Spike, why wouldn't I be?" Spike didn't respond, instead turning back to getting the water in the pot to begin cooking the noodles. She had an idea what might have been nagging at him and she felt responsible to put him at ease. "If you're planning to see Rarity tomorrow to sleep with her, I'm okay with that Spike." Spike's arm froze when he went to dump the noodles into the water, instead spilling them onto the counter. The boy began to frantically collect them before they could fall onto the floor and Twilight admired how cute it was seeing him get flustered.

"Oh! Um, well... okay. Yeah I guess that it's not weird to say that out loud. Is it?" Spike gathered the pot full of noodles together and took it to the stove, still not looking her direction.

"Was it weird that I said it like that? I mean... I know that we know. We all know what's going on. All being the three of us." This was getting really uncomfortable and it was becoming apparent to Twilight she should probably quit while she's ahead. But still a point had to be made. "I don't want you to feel like you have to lie or hide things from me. That's all." Twilight let that hang in the air as she finished her rambling, hoping to at least get across how she felt. There was a few moments of silence between them as Spike continued to work but it was broken when she heard the sound of sniffling. "Spike?"

"Y-yeah?" The boy swallowed a lump in his throat and wiped his eyes, his back still turned to Twilight. She pushed her chair back with a skidding noise across the wooden floor and slowly rose to her feet.

"Are you alright?" She carefully approached the kitchen but Spike kept facing away, now stirring the tomato sauce in the pan slowly. As she stood behind him it dawned on her just how small he seemed sometimes. Spike had grown so much since they moved here and was still growing yet but that didn't change the fact he was still younger than her. Still vulnerable to things she'd come to learn how to endure in comparison. "I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn." Spike shook his head and wiped his eyes again.

"I'm fine. Really. It's just the chopped onions in the sauce is all." Spike offered as an explanation.

"You didn't put any onions in the sauce." Twilight corrected.

"Oh. Guess I should get on that." Spike moved to the cutting board but Twilight managed to intercept him in another hug. "Twilight?" Her arms went around him, gentle and slowly but firm as she held his head against her breast. "I... I don't..."

"It's confusing, isn't it?" Twilight said, trying to give her voice a comforting tone. "It's all still somehow confusing to have to deal with. Our lives, our responsibilities, our friends." She raised her hand up to stroke his hair, the boy relaxing and resting his head against her now. Was this crossing the line between them? She didn't know, like she'd just spoken aloud everything was very confusing. But he was clearly struggling with something and she wanted to relieve him of it. "But no matter what just know I'll love and support you, okay? No matter what it is you want to do or who to spend time with. Don't be afraid of me Spike. Don't be afraid for me."

Spike's arms rose up now as well and hugged her in return. He exhaled and shuddered a little as he did, Twilight hoping that he was letting go of whatever stress had worked its way into his heart. His face felt warm against her chest and it made her feel better as well to be this close. After a moment he finally spoke up. "I'm sorry you have to keep doing things like this for me."

"Don't be." Twilight answered and ruffled his hair a little. "You support me, I support you. We support each other and we'll never fall, okay?" Spike nodded his head, still leaning against her as she held him. After a little while she hugged him extra tight and released the boy. "Good. So in that case I'll make the salad while you make the pasta and we'll support each other through dinner."

"But you're injured." Spike protested and Twilight just smiled back.

"Injured, not bed ridden. I handled two whole pots of tea while you were gone. That salad doesn't stand a chance against me." Her cheerfulness brightened Spike up as well and the duo went to work. Making a delicious meal that was just as eagerly consumed together as it was prepared.

Later that night Twilight found herself in a bit of a conundrum. She'd chosen to go into the shower second after Spike to clean up before they went to bed. Her plan being that she'd apply the ointment Zecora had given her onto her body once she got out without having to force Spike to wait for her to finish. When she exited the shower and carefully toweled herself off she had gotten ready to apply to ointment onto her injured areas but there was a bit of a problem. "I guess I'm more hurt than I realized."

Every attempt to raise her arms up to try and apply the ointment to her shoulders or upper back was halted by a sharp stab of pain. After a few failed attempts to contort her body around she had ended up just being able to apply the dabs of ointment to her collar. Hardly touching upon the black and blue bruises that went up her neck. If she'd had her magic she could have just applied the ointment to a rag and let it take care of the rest but even that was still recovering. She sighed looking in the mirror. "Guess you're going to stay beaten up looking for a while longer."

Twilight gave up on the medicine and went to put her pajamas on. Wearing her normal shorts and this time tonight a loose tank top as opposed to her normal t-shirt. It ended up being a lot less of a hassle to slip on. Once she was covered well enough Twilight opened the door to the bathroom and switched off the light, stepping off the tile and onto the wooden bedroom floor. The steam from her shower had kept her warm but it was a bit cooler once she'd exited into the room. Spike was already laying in bed and appeared to had settled in so Twilight wasted no time in approaching her own and very carefully laying herself down on the mattress. She let out a little sigh as her body relaxed and her head hit the pillow.

"Goodnight Spike." Twilight called out in the dark.

"Night Twilight. Did the medicine help?" Spike called out in return. Twilight could hear him rolling over in his bed to face her direction. She felt a little bad that after all the trouble he went through to get her the medicine that she wasn't even able to apply it. She considered for a moment just saying it worked great to ease his mind. However if she didn't look any better after a while it would become obvious she wasn't actually using it. So, the truth it was then.

"Actually I couldn't really use it." Twilight confessed and she heard Spike sit up in bed. "My arms hurt to much to be able to put it on. So sorry... I guess I wasted your gift." She felt bad it wouldn't get put to use but what could she do? Putting it on just hurt her muscles too much.

"Did you want me to put it on for you?" Spike offered with a tone of concern in his voice. Twilight was about ready to polite decline his offer when she realized something.

"That would actually solve everything wouldn't it?" The answer was so simple, why didn't she think of it before? Although there was the issue of where he had to apply it but there was a simple answer for that too. "I can't believe I didn't just ask you for help. Would it be alright if I asked you to?"

"Of course!" Spike said eager to help out. "Where did you leave the ointment?"

"It's still in the bathroom. Thank you Spike."

"Anything for you, Twilight." Spike said happily and carefully made his way through the dark bedroom. While he was on his mission Twilight began her own, carefully removing her tank top and slowly spinning her body around. She managed to slide herself to the side of the bed and just rolled over to get it done as quickly and painlessly as possible. By the time Spike had returned Twilight was topless but resting on her stomach, all the naughty parts hidden. "Oh um... are you ready?"

"Mm hm, just be careful okay?" Twilight said, bracing for the possible pain of too much force from Spike's hands.

"Okay, I promise." Spike sat on the edge of the bed next to Twilight, she could hear him applying the ointment to his hands and rubbing them together. Even though she was getting this treatment due to her injuries she felt kind of lucky to be getting a personal massage. Soon Spike's hands were upon her shoulders and rubbing gently.

He was extra careful when touching her, probably more than he needed to be but the librarian didn't mind. Closing her eyes as she rested her head on the pillow and absorbed the gentle massage on her sore body. She had to admit that it felt really nice and the ointment didn't itch or irritate at all like she had feared. Instead it made her skin feel a little tingly and let Spike's hands glide along her skin with little resistance. "Does it feel okay?" Spike asked.

"It feels really good." Twilight admitted without hesitation as she absorbed the soft rubbing against her shoulders. "Don't forget my back and neck too." Spike made a noise in agreement and let his hands travel down her upper back as well, applying light pressure and rubbing along her shoulder blades and sides. Twilight started moaning a little in satisfaction over how good it felt. This was like heaven.

After some time at her back and shoulders and Twilight making appreciative noises (some involuntarily) Spike's hands worked their way up to her neck and began to touch even lighter. He was obviously scared of causing any pain here since it had been the place she'd been most abused. Though his gentle touch never caused her a moment of dissatisfaction and that ointment on his hands provided that soothing yet tingly sensation to her most pained areas. "Mmm... Spike."

"Yeah?" Spike asked sounding a little worried and breathless but Twilight didn't pay it any mind.

"Can you get the back of my head as well?" She had pulled her long hair to the side when they had begun but she was looking to see if a little rub into her scalp might feel just as good. When his fingers with their pointed nails slipped up into her long, purple hair and rubbed and scratched at her scalp Twilight was suddenly wishing that this kind of comfort would never end. At this rate she could pass out completely. Spike's hands began to move farther into her hair, rubbing her scalp and gaining only noises of satisfaction from her. "Mmm... Spike, just a moment."

"S-sorry." Spike said as he pulled his hands back. "Did I touch a painful spot?"

"No." Twilight whispered as she lifted her torso up off of the bed. "Just a sec."

"Twilight, what are you-" Spike didn't finish his sentence as Twilight slowly and carefully rolled her body over. Her mind was a little foggy from the massage before but she still knew that in this position she was essentially exposed to Spike. Not that it mattered she reasoned, he'd seen her topless before now so many times he must have been bored of her breasts by now. It was just skin after all.

"Can you rub the front of my neck too?" Twilight asked with a breathy voice that was more pleading than she had intended. "Please."

"Uh...y-yeah... of course. I forgot that your... your front was hurt too." Twilight watched him in the dark as he applied ointment to his hands again and rested his hands on her collar bone. Slowly his fingers moved up her neck and back down to her shoulders, trying to cover all the areas of her chest that had been injured. Twilight had been a little hesitant about asking him to do this part at first but when she felt the sweet comfort and relief his hands brought her those concerns melted away.

Her eyes closed as she absorbed the feeling and began to breath deeper. His hands traced over her collar, neck and shoulders but never went lower. It was fine though, it ws mostly the upper area of her torso that had been damaged. Her chest wasn't injured in any manner that it required the ointment. Still she wondered how that tingly and soothing sensation might feel against her breasts. Having those hands rub against her body and massage that sensitive area as well for her pleasure. Twilight took a deep breath as she felt her nipples grow erect at the idea of his hands tracing down her body farther. "Spike..."

"Yes, Twilight?" There was nervousness in his voice. She knew now she could ask whatever she wanted and he'd give it to her. He was devoted.

"You can stop." Twilight said. "I think you got everything."

"Oh. Yeah, of course. Sure." Spike said as he pulled his hands away from her body, sitting up off the bed and standing near by awkwardly. Twilight was half asleep at this point as she stretched as best she could and smiled at him in the dark.

"Thank you, Spike. I feel a lot better now. That medicine really worked wonders."

"Good, that's what I wanted." Spike said as he grabbed her blanket, pulling it up to cover the girl in bed. She wanted to hug him or give him a kiss good night but frankly after all of that she couldn't move.

"Will you be able to sleep?" Twilight asked lazily and Spike nodded in the dark.

"Yeah, don't worry about me. You just recover, okay Twilight. I just want you better." Twilight extended her hand and grabbed a hold of Spike's, giving it a squeeze. He squeezed hers in return and released shortly after. "I'm going to head to the bathroom real quick, you just focus on getting to sleep, okay Twilight?"

"Okay." The librarian agreed with a long yawn. "Night Spike, sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams Twilight." Spike returned with as much affection as he walked away from her bed, approaching the bathroom and closing the door behind him. Twilight thought about how fortunate she was to have someone so great near by all the time. She wouldn't have traded Spike for the world. Pondering about earlier she hoped he had some fun today putting that medicine together for her and her friends. Wondering where exactly that little project may have taken him. Maybe she'd ask Zecora the next time they got together for lunch.

Earlier that day when the sun was still high in the sky Spike had found himself once again off the beaten path through the Everfree Forest. Although this time he was really off as it had taken him a direction he'd never traveled before. The trees were spacious enough to allow him easy passage but the area was certainly wild and uneven. There was a lot of hopping over things and maneuvering around sharp bushes and plants. Thankfully no creatures had found him yet, though he was keeping an eye out. After a few minutes of travel and double checking his steps Spike finally came upon the object of his search; a pear tree.

Well it wasn't a pear tree exactly. The fruit dangling from the branches looked like pears but look twisted up as if someone had grabbed them from the bottom and spun them. The fruit had a chocolate and cream color spun within the grooves of the fruit and the whole tree had a sweet smell. Their swirled pattern and pear shape gave them the very entertaining name of "swears". Spike didn't know why whoever discovered them chose that name, they looked way too delicious for it.

Approaching the tree Spike found a low hanging fruit and thanked his good fortune. Reaching up he took the fruit in hand, the exterior feeling soft but firm in his grip. He pulled at the stem but found that it didn't give easily. Using both hands he tugged harder, pulling the entire branch as well. It took several hard tugs before the stem finally snapped away from the tree, whipping the branch back up and slap Spike on top of the head. "Ow! Son of a..." Grumbling Spike dropped the fruit in his shoulder bag and moved onto another branch, repeating the same struggle with the same outcome despite his best attempts to dodge on. "Freakin... Frackin... Ouch."

Okay he was done with that. Clearly the ones on the ends of the branches were a trap so Spike went to the trunk of the tree. He's just climb up the dumb thing and pull the ones closer in off the branches. Spike put his hands on the trunk and pulled them back quickly when his hands clasped onto something wet and sticky. "Ulk! What is this? It's like... some kind of sap." That must have been why the tree smelled so good. It made it nearly impossible for him to climb though, unless he wanted to get covered in a sticky substance and frankly he'd given that option up when he'd left Rarity's place earlier.

No big deal, he was smarter than whatever animal ate off this plant and had to deal with this pain in the butt on a regular basis. Coming to a brilliant conclusion Spike would just pull the branch down with his hand and then yank it off when he had it held securely. No more branches slapping him across the head today. When his hand clasped around the branch however he pulled it back quickly feeling a jabbing sensation. "Holy mother of... the hell!?" Using one of his clawed fingers Spike picked a leaf from a branch and looked it over. The edges of the leaf were like tiny, serrated blades of a steak knife. "What kind of horror show tree is this thing!?"

He was annoyed but not willing to give up. Stupid swirly fruit, looking all beautiful and delicious but really being this dangerous monster plant looking to mock anyone that wanted a taste. Swirling pears? Why not just twist right off if you like twisting so much? Spike grabbed a fruit and gave it a spin just out of curiosity. The fruit spun around on the end of the branch and popped right off onto the ground. He stared at it for a moment with a twitching eye. "That's all it took? You stupid, fucking..." He was starting to understand why these things were called Swears. Letting out a sigh Spike began to gather up the fruit he needed for Zecora's ointment.

It sure was good fortune that he knew Zecora and she had something for just the kind of problem his friends were facing. She'd even offered to make it for free for him as long as he was the one that got what she needed. Considering all the trouble it took in putting it together he wasn't surprised she sent him out instead of going herself. Who'd want to deal with all of this if they didn't have to? Spike checked his bag and found he had five fruits gathered. Just one more and he could get out of here. So naturally it turned out he'd picked all of the low hanging fruit that was available.

Spike circled the tree a few times and found a fruit that was just a bit lower than all the other higher ones. He pondered how to get it. Whacking it out of the tree would probably smash the fruit before that stem ever let go. He couldn't very easily twist if from how far down he was and jumping up to grab the branch would end with very painful results and a lot more swears than just the six he wanted. He tried to stand on the tips of his feet to grab the fruit but it was just too far up. So imagine his surprise when a black hand traveled up past Spikes and grabbed the fruit, twisting it and popping it off the branch. The owner of said hand lowered down behind him, pressed against his back. She put one arm around his waist as the other held the fruit before him. "Were you trying to get this?"

Spike swallowed a lump in his throat as the changeling held the fruit in front of him. He recognized her voice, he recognized her scent even when this close to the sap covered tree. Still he felt a quickening in his heart and a concern growing as she essentially had him in as vulnerable a position as she could want. Spike reached up and took the fruit from her hand. "Th-thanks." He said putting it in his bag. "Damselfly, I didn't think I'd see-"

"Eyes front." The woman said as she took his chin in her hand and forced him to look away from her. "You're not going to see me again if I can help it." Spike just nodded quietly in agreement and slowly her arms came up under his own, her hands resting on his chest. He could feel her body pressing against his back and it was hard not to have the excitement pass through him. "Turned on already? Haven't learned a thing from before, have you?"

"It's hard not to be when I can... feel you against me." Spike complained, her hands rubbing his chest lightly and he didn't know if it was to be endearing or teasing that she did it.

"Your issue, not mine." Damselfly responded with a lack of care or flirtation in her voice. "So why are you wandering through Everfree? Did you want to get something exotic to eat that badly you'd risk walking off the path?"

"I'm running an errand for someone." Spike said curtly. The fact that she could bite him again notwithstanding he just wasn't really sure how he should feel about her. Or even how she might feel about him. Their relationship wasn't common by any means and he wasn't sure if he should count her as a friend or an acquaintance that tolerated one another for what they wanted. She was the last thing he needed right now. "It's for something important."

"Oh really? Well then it's a good thing I was here to help you isn't it?"

"Yeah. I guess... yeah, it was. Thank you. I needed the help." What a jerk, here he was thinking about all the things they'd done wrong by each other and the first thing she did when she appeared was help him. What right did he have to think of her so poorly. He felt her finger tracing a circle over his heart curiously.

"Still confused about the world I see." Damselfly said. "Just because I was nice to you doesn't mean you should trust me. I could just be trying to get you to let your guard down."

"Maybe." Spike agreed thinking it over. "But I don't think so. If you wanted to bite me you'd just do it. Or you'd ask me if I wanted to do it. There's no reason for you to trick me anymore."

"That so?" She said sounding a little more devious. "What makes you think I'm actually your friend?"

"Because... because you help me." Spike confessed. "Despite all the things I do wrong you help me, even if you charge a price to do it. I'm not that dumb that I don't see that much." Spike said and leaned back against her a little. Maybe Damselfly was a changeling but in her arms there was an odd sense of comfort. Was it the effect of the venom still in his body from last time? He liked to think it was just that he knew her better than she'd like to admit.

"Oh really? But that's not what I'm asking." Damselfly said taking on a more threatening tone. "How do you know I'm actually who you think I am?" Spike's eyes widened due to the outright confusion he felt from the question.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm a changeling but maybe I'm not your changeling. Maybe I'm not who you think I am at all." Her arms tightened around his body and held him close. "Maybe I'm actually a different changeling that saw you in the woods, having your fun and giving yourself up for a quick fuck. Such an easy target, so easy to fool. All I'd have to do is get you to trust me for a second and then one. Quick. Bite." She poked his chest with her finger nail, over his heart. "And then you're mine."

Spike cocked his head to the side and leaned backwards. "So do it."

"Wha-what?" The changeling suddenly asked in surprise.

"If that's the case then do it. Bite me. Kill me, that's what you're here for right?" Spike was calling her bluff. He didn't know why she was trying to intimidate him into leaving but he didn't feel like being pushed around by her. If she wanted him gone she could just say so instead of trying to play games with him. "Go ahead. I'm waiting." Spike stood in confidence waiting for her to let him go or call him some name or just leave. Though he felt a creeping dread as the changeling's head came around, hovering over his neck where he'd been bitten once before. Her hands gripped onto the front of his shirt hard and he could feel hot breath against his neck as the fangs touched him. "Damselfly?" Then she bit.

"Ow." Right on the tip of his ear. "Ow! Ow ow ow! Ow that really hurts!" She didn't use her fangs but the rest of her teeth didn't feel any better. Mercifully she finally let him go and Spike raised a hand to feel the tip of his pointed ear. Thankfully it wasn't bleeding. "Geez, that smarts. What did you do that for?"

"You stupid idiot." Damselfly complained and held him tight so he still couldn't face her. "What if I'd actually been someone else?"

"I knew it was you. Ow. You didn't have to bite my ear you know."

"Shut up, you deserve it. Teasing a girl like that." If he didn't know any better he'd say she was pouting over him not falling for her trick. "You're too trusting. Everyone in that town is. If you don't all get smart soon you're going to find you'll have a lot more problems than you can handle."

"Like... what kind of problems?" He didn't like where this was going.

"Do you really think I'm the only changeling in these woods? By this town? Watching all of you?" Spike had never really thought about it before but Damselfly did mention that she went into town sometimes to "get a quick snack" for herself. If she was slipping through undetected then there was a chance other changelings might be as well. "You idiots need to get your act together like that witch in the woods if you want to survive."

"You act like we're on the verge of getting invaded. Don't call Zecora a witch, she's a friend of mine." Damselfly scoffed at the idea and Spike wondered why exactly she disliked Zecora so much.

"I'm sure, you make a habit of trusting dangerous things that can kill you after all." This was starting to get insulting and Spike didn't enjoy it in the least. Sure she was mad at him for teasing her but she didn't have to take it out on his friends.

"What? What are you saying, Zecora would never hurt anyone." She scoffed again behind him. "What do you know about her anyway to say things like that?"

"She lives out here Spike, do you think she survives Everfree by making friends with all the monsters within?" He... never really thought about that actually. Zecora was as skilled as Twilight when it came to magic as far as Spike could tell. He always assumed she just had ways of protecting herself. "You're way too naive for someone with hobbies like yours. You should know by now that everyone is hiding something."

"What hobbies are you referring to?" Spike asked a little concerned now about not just Damselfly's previous warning about the dangerous things lurking in the woods but the secrets Zecora might be hiding out here as well.

"You know full well. In fact lets see what you've been up to lately." Damselfly said as she nuzzled her face against the back of his head, her hands stroking his chest lightly. Spike wasn't able to hide the audible gasp or the shudder his body made when she caressed him like that. She was doing that thing again, where she looked inside of him to see his memories. In the past he'd been under the influence of her venomous bites when she did this but now in his right mind he couldn't help but feel a little invaded. Her touch made that invasion feel all the more welcoming though and he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"I-is this n-necessary?" Spike asked shakily.

"Well I can't trust you to tell the truth, can I?" He didn't lie! Well... he never lied to Damselfly anyway. All he ever did was hide a few things from Twilight. And Rarity. Sweetie Belle too. Pretty much everyone he knew... "See Spike, we all have things to hide." She leaned into him more as she started to speak. "Oh. It looks like you and that girl with the voice you like so much had something. Am I right?" She would find out about last night wouldn't she?

"Nothing really happened." Spike said though even without her powers it was obvious he wasn't being truthful. "We... we kissed is all."

"Oh, is that all?" Damselfly said taking on a mock curious tone. "Just kissing?"

"And... we sort of..."

"Fucked?" Damselfly offered.

"No! No we... we didn't take our underwear off and she... she didn't want to in the end anyway." She stayed near him silently for a while longer before letting out a breath.

"Spike you naughty Fire-Breather, what did I tell you about being a monster?"

"We didn't go through with it. I promise." Spike didn't know why he was trying to justify this to her. It wasn't like she was going to be telling anyone but still he didn't want her to think of him that way. That he was the monster that she'd warned him that he could become. "I almost did... I really almost did and I wanted to but before it could happen she... she started crying and I just couldn't do it. I promise." Her hands were no longer over his heart, instead they were around his waist now it what might have been a hug. He wasn't sure himself but he decided to welcome it as such anyway. "I don't ever want to be like that again. I promise you."

"What's a promise worth to someone like me? I'm not even human." She said softly.

"Neither am I." Spike offered and brought his hands up, resting them over hers. "I don't want to hurt anyone. Not Sweetie Belle, not Rarity, not Twilight. Not you. I want everyone to be okay." He squeezed her hands lightly and he felt her shudder, as if the act of comfort was alien to her.

"We don't always get what we want Spike. Sooner or later what you are... it catches up to you. No matter how far or how long you run." That... wasn't about him. Was she talking about herself? This was the first time she'd ever hinted anything to him about who she was outside of her confession she'd been part of the attack on the castle. But even then it didn't tell him much and shamefully he realized he'd never bothered to ask.

"Damselfly, who are you?" Her arms were hugging him a little tighter now. "I know you're a changeling but you don't look exactly like any other changeling I've ever seen. If I didn't know better I'd say you look a lot like Chrys-"

"Shut up!" She squeezed him very tight to stop those words in his throat. "No more. Not another word, you hear me?"

"I... I didn't mean to..."

"I said shut up." Her voice tone was angry, it reminded him of the last time she scolded him but this was different. There was something new in her voice when she spoke now; fear. "I'm a monster, one of many in this forest. Take your stupid fruit to your stupid witch and tell all your little stupid friends to stay out of this forest if they care at all about their stupid little lives."

"Alright..." Spike said quietly, not understanding just what it was that he'd done to make her so angry but knew not to press it further. "I'm sorry if I upset you, I didn't mean to."

"Whatever. Next time you get horny go find a tree to jack off behind instead of using one of your friends or coming out here looking for me. I don't want to look at your stupid face anymore."

"D-Damselfly I wouldn't..." He would. He had before, plenty of times now with all of them. But he didn't want to be the kind of person that did that sort of thing anymore. "Fine. I won't be a 'monster' again. I'll treat you, treat everyone with more respect from now on."

"I don't care." Damselfly said sharply.

"I do." Spike responded.

"You shouldn't, I don't give a damn about you. You're just food, I don't care about you in the slightest" It was hard to tell when she said these things to keep him out of trouble or if she meant them. Her words stung but he responded to her honestly.

"I care about you." Spike confessed.

"Well then stop!" She let go of his waist and pushed the boy hard, causing him to tumble forward and smack into the grassy floor of the woods. Spike stumbled up to one knee and turned to face the changeling but it was too late. Damselfly was already gone without a trace. As if she'd never been there before.

Spike got to his feet and looked around but wasn't able to find a trace of her. He hadn't expected to see her again but even after the things they'd done to each other, even the really bad things they'd done to each other, Spike still cared about her. He didn't think she was evil like the other changelings he'd seen before. Then again she wasn't like any other changeling he'd seen before except for one. The eyes, the hair, the way that she spoke. No other changeling during the invasion on the castle looked in any way like her except for one and apparently Damselfly was as fond of Chrysalis as the rest of them were.

"Take care of yourself." Spike said quietly as he walked back towards Zecora's hut. He was looking forward to getting this special medicine made and heading back home. After turning down Rarity's enticing offer this morning and having Damselfly cuddle up on his back he was feeling more than a little heated up. If he could get through the day without coming face to face with any other temptations then maybe he'd be able to sleep comfortably tonight.

An entire day later, well into the evening Spike found himself in the master bathroom of the library. Cleaning his hands of the ointment he'd just applied to Twilight's injuries at her request. He was taking long, deep breaths as the water ran the substance off his palms. Trying to focus on anything but what he'd just gotten an eyeful of. His efforts were failing rather spectacularly. If he'd known today would have turned out like this he would have made a little time for Rarity earlier when she'd asked him to stay.

As if that wasn't enough, the most beautiful woman he'd ever known outright asking him to share her bed. Deeming him worthy of being with her intimately in her own home. All the times before they'd done it as some sort of treatment for his wild reactions or to help them bond but today it was just because she wanted him. And he walked out on that. "Such an idiot." Spike said to himself.

But the fun didn't stop there. Damselfly teasing him with her nuzzling that was capable of disarming a grown man, Sweetie Belle literally throwing herself at him and nearly getting him off right there on Applejack's farm (she would have KILLED him had they been caught) and then ending the night rubbing what amounted to massage oil over Twilight's perfect figure. Spike was pretty sure after all of that he could have broken concrete with the hard on he had right now.

Walking away from Twilight being exposed like that was hard! Not that it mattered, even if Spike had wanted to do something with her (which he shouldn't because they totally agreed to that and he loves Twilight and isn't going to disrespect her either) he thankfully couldn't. With her injuries any sort of movement like that would probably have been painful for her. Just knowing she was out there though was turning him on after all that, he had to do something about this problem.

Actually, why couldn't he do something about this problem? Damselfly gave the simplest solution in the world to him earlier that day. It wasn't the back of a tree but he figured a private bathroom would do the trick just fine if not better.

It was kind of odd to think about but really Spike hadn't pleasured himself very much at all. Once he'd figured out how to do it and Twilight caught him the one time in the process she began to "help" him with it herself. After that he didn't ever have to do it for himself so he didn't think about it. But now it was time to take matters into his own hands! "Ugh, that sounded stupid even in my head."

A little assistance with the process couldn't hurt through.

Going into the used clothes hamper Spike found a pair of Twilight's white panties within. He pulled them out and held them in his hand, looking them over and remembering the last time he took these off of her and the two of them made love together. They felt soft against his skin and looked large enough to take care of the task he was considering. But... was this okay? It wasn't like these belonged to Rarity or even Sweetie Belle, this was the woman he lived with. Loved like a sister, even if right now all he could think about was how she looked during... don't think about that. Was it okay to do this with something that belonged to her, thinking about her?

Maybe not, so he thought of something else instead. Spike thought of the soft feeling of Rarity's ample breasts when she hugged him this morning, tempting him with those beautiful eyes. That was enough to convince him to go through with this as he removed his boxers and kicked them away from his feet. Taking a hold of the soft panties Spike gripped them around his hard cock and and stroked softly. It felt really good, the soft material sliding along him smoothly as his hand began to find a comfortable pace.

He hadn't seen her that day but he had felt Damselfly against his back. Her soft fingers touching his chest, her body squeezing against his own and her shapely breasts pressing against him from behind. Or the feeling of Sweetie Belle in front of him, pushing against him. Kissing him, moaning out in that cute voice.

Spike was taking deep, sharp breaths now as his hand stroked the soft fabric against himself. The sensation made him remember the feeling of Sweetie's panties when she encouraged him to grip onto her ass. That pressure, that desire pushed him harder as his hand speed up even more. He was coming closer to finally relieving all of this stress from today. All thanks to Twilight's panties and her soft, naked and supple skin. With her exposed breasts and beautiful eyes and- "Nnngh."

Spike hit his climax and slowed down, giving himself hard and slow strokes as he unloaded himself into Twilight's panties. When he felt he'd finally satisfied himself he pulled the panties off, keeping pressure on them to hold onto his load from that little session. He felt so much better.

Turning to the sink Spike lazily walked over and made sure to wash of Twilight's panties. If Spike had left them bunched up with his little present inside he didn't know how she would have reacted. Sure things were more "open" between them now but he wasn't eager to have the conversation of why he was using her panties to jack off in the middle of the night. Once they were as clean as he was going to get them Spike tossed them back in the hamper and buried them under some other clothes. Cleaning himself up Spike pulled his boxers back up and observed himself in the mirror; he was spent looking.

Turning off the light Spike trudged out of the bathroom feeling a lot less stress than when he had went in. He made his was to his bed and plopped down into it, that last release helping him realized just how tired he was after last night and all of today. "Good night Twilight. Sweet dreams." She didn't respond and Spike figured she must have passed out. Just as well, he was well on his way there too. Finally everyone could go to sleep satisfied.

In the dark of the quiet night there was still yet one person who hadn't received the satisfaction she desired. While the one she was thinking of had relieved himself of his stress earlier in some stolen undergarments she was still left in her bed unsatisfied from today's events. So it was that she found herself laying there exposed, nude and her legs apart. As soon as she was sure no sound she made would be heard her fingers had gone to work. Rubbing herself softly between her legs and slowly becoming coated with her excitement.

Spike was so mean. Leaving her unsatisfied. Maybe he had a good reason not to follow through with it today and maybe she did as well, even if she would have liked to ignore that reason. It didn't help relieve her of the frustration she felt in this moment as her hands tried to bring her satisfaction. Her right hand teasing her pussy lips and rubbing at her entrance. Her other hand stroking her breast and teasing her stiff nipple.

She leaned her head back and arched her spine, her legs spreading farther as her fingers explored her pussy. It felt good, she wanted to feel even better. She wanted what she felt earlier today, to have that need satisfied and was groaning louder as she tried to fulfill those desires. She licked the fingers at her breast and traded hands in their task, her fingers rubbing herself in small circles to try and stimulate herself.

As her breath became faster she focused her attention on bringing herself to climax with her fingers. Why couldn't Spike be doing this for her? That's what she wanted it, she didn't care about the problems between them she just wanted to have that feeling satisfied. Feeling herself build up she panted harder, groaning deep and clutching her pillow tight in her fist. So close. So close! So close...

Nothing. Nothing at all. Despite every way she touched herself she couldn't bring herself over the edge. Angry over yet another failure to enjoy herself she complained out loud in a high pitched voice. "What is wrong with me!?"

Sweetie Belle pulled her hand up from between her legs and laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling in frustration. No matter what she did, what position she tried, what she fantasized about she just couldn't have an orgasm. It was enough to make her cry. Ever since she found out about being able to do "that" to make yourself feel better she had been trying to it herself. While the build up was there, she became plenty wet and certainly enjoyed touching herself she just couldn't ever seem to have the kind of orgasm that she'd heard and read about. Wasn't it supposed to be great or something? The kind of thing that left you feeling wonderful about yourself? After every time she tried it she just felt more tense than before.

Except for that one time with Spike.

Sweetie sighed and rolled over onto her side, using her magic to pull up her blanket over herself. That night with Spike at the party he had done something to her, made her feel a way she hadn't before. It was intense and powerful and even a little bit scary. Scratch that, it was scary. Enough that she couldn't handle it and ended up running off like a scared girl. Spike said she shouldn't feel bad but she didn't feel good about it either.

Today in the orchard she'd felt it too, when she and Spike were together. Something about being with him, without even taking their clothes off got her closer than anything else ever had before. She didn't know what his secret was but she was yearning for that kind of feeling to satisfy her. But... she didn't want to be a slut.

Spike said he wouldn't do stuff like that anymore with her out of respect. She didn't know if he meant that or if he was just trying to get away from her. Maybe it was disrespectful of her to think he should do it just because she wanted to. It was all too confusing and embarrassing and even though she'd like to have someone help her with this she couldn't talk to anybody about him because wasn't sure what their relationship was. Did he love her? Did she love him? It was confusing and besides maybe it would look bad if the two of them were caught doing something together. Having rumors start up about her was the last thing she needed.

Maybe someone else could help her. She couldn't be the only girl that felt like this some nights. But who to bring this up to? She couldn't ask Rarity, even if she did love and trust her sister that was just too embarrassing. She was always so focused on behaving like a proper lady anyway she wasn't sure if Rarity would get mad if she brought that up. Talking to her mom about something like that would be just as weird so she scratched that off the list right away. That just left her friends.

Scootaloo had a lot of boys talking to her now it seemed, maybe she could ask her? But if she did Scootaloo might tease her about not knowing anything about that kind of stuff. If Scoots started asking questions about Sweetie and Spike's relationship too she didn't know how to respond with that either. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were both older than her so they may know something but she wasn't sure how much she trusted them yet with personal stuff. Dinky probably didn't know the first thing about sex and Ruby Pinch... well she didn't want to be seen talking to Ruby Pinch about things like that.

"Guess that leaves Apple Bloom." Sweetie decided aloud after eliminating everyone else on the list.

Well maybe that wasn't so bad. She could trust Apple Bloom with anything without worry of it getting out to all her other friends. She just hoped the girl had some idea of what to do in a situation like this. The odds weren't very good but she had to try something, it wasn't like she wanted to have to go through her whole life only being able to have an orgasm when she cornered Spike somewhere and forced it out of him. Stalking and trapping someone like prey wasn't a good step towards a healthy relationship.

So a sweaty Sweetie silent slumbered, hoping for better things in the days to come.

Preparations

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 13 - Preparations

It wasn't an everyday occurrence but when the opportunity arose Sweetie Belle would head over to the Carousel Boutique to join her sister for breakfast. She didn't dislike her mother's cooking but Rarity's had a different flavor and flair to it. Not to mention she also liked having the opportunity to spend her morning with her big sister. Somehow Rarity managed to be awake, clean and ready to start the day by the time Sweetie Belle would arrive before her school day began. She didn't understand how Rarity found the energy and dedication every morning to get herself together like that. It took everything Sweetie had to get out of bed some days. Especially after a night like last night.

She ate her spoonfuls of oatmeal with the tasty brown sugar stirred in carefully. Her body had of course calmed down since yesterday but she was still bothered by her lack of "fulfillment" in her endeavors. Maybe it wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things but it was something that bothered her and she wished she could do something about it. Even though she'd decided to talk to Applebloom today about her issues she wasn't sure what to say or how to start. How exactly do you approach your childhood friend and say "Hey do you make yourself cum when you masturbate? Because I sure can't." She grimaced just thinking about how crass and stupid it sounded in her head.

"Is everything alright darling?" Rarity asked from across the table. She was wearing a simple but pretty white dress today and her red work glasses as she looked over the newspaper. Sweetie herself was wearing a white and purple dress that complimented her hair color, both of which having been constructed by the seamstress at the table. "You don't seem to be your usual self this morning." Perceptive as always, Rarity had that knack for noticing the little things.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Sweetie fibbed. She was annoyed to be sure but she already decided that this was something she couldn't talk about with her sister. It was just too embarrassing for her. "I just had some trouble getting to sleep last night." That part was true at least. The details didn't have to be explained. Sweetie ate another spoonful of oatmeal and drank her juice before noticing her sister studying her as if she were a dress in the designing stages. Sweetie was quiet for a moment but eventually had to break the silence. "Is... something wrong?" Rarity smirked at her.

"Sweetie darling, are you having boy trouble?" Sweetie nearly coughed up her food at the question. As she swallowed some juice to regain her composure her sister just kept on smiling at her from across the table. How could she tell!? The girl tried to speak up but her voice was high pitched and squeaky as she replied. She hated it when that happened, it was a dead give away when she was flustered.

"I... um... no?" Sweetie sounded as if she was more confused about the answer herself than the woman asking the question. Rarity very calmly placed her newspaper and glasses down as she rose in her chair and moved to sit in the chair next to her sister. There wasn't any escape now, Rarity sights were set on Sweetie Belle for some juicy girl talk.

"Are you sure darling? I get a lot of young women in my shop that have that exact look on their face. The kind where they're trying to get some big lunk to notice them." Sweetie felt her cheek muscles alter themselves while she chewed to try and drop whatever look it was that was spilling the beans on her. Rarity held back a giggle watching the cycling expressions on her little sister's face. Sweetie wasn't even sure what her face had looked like originally anyway so she gave up the act and set her spoon down, feeling humiliated. Rarity was able to read that expression too and put an arm around her sister. "I'm sorry Sweetie, you just looked so troubled is all."

"Mm." Sweetie grunted in reply, not having been ready for this kind of talk.

"Tell you what; if you want me to leave it alone I will. But if you have anything that's bothering you then you know you can always talk to your big sister about it." Rarity's embrace was comforting and her words soothing. Sweetie leaned her head against her big sister and pondered what she should say, if anything. It would be nice to get something off her chest, all of this was weighing heavily on her little heart. Mustering up some courage she decided to talk about the one thing she couldn't tell her friends... though with a few details left out to protect the innocent.

"Rarity, how can you tell if a boy likes you?" She asked, her voice becoming softer now that she was able to relax as she spoke.

"Right to the heart of the matter I see." Rarity said as she prepared herself. "Well... that can be a tricky thing. Have you tried asking them directly?" Answering that question for her sister could be a tricky thing too, Sweetie thought.

"Yeah, sort of. He said he liked me but that he's not ready to be a boyfriend." Rarity was stroking her little sister's hair as she listened, not seeming any more fond of that answer than Sweetie had been the second time she'd received it. "I'm just... I don't know. I don't know if I'm ready to be a girlfriend either. But I like spending time with him."

"That is a problem. Tell me, what does it mean to be a girlfriend and a boyfriend to you?" It was funny but she hadn't given that question much thought. Sweetie had known that she enjoyed the attention from the boy she liked. She knew that when you date someone that the two of you give lots of attention to each other. At least that's what she had supposed dating was. There were of course the "adult" things that went on along with it. Now she was hoping that she hadn't been trying to make Spike her boyfriend just for that purpose without realizing it herself.

"Well... I guess when someone is your boyfriend then that's the person you go on dates with, right?" This was a subject that she'd always presumed her sister had a lot more experience in. She'd known Rarity to have romantic pursuits before but never really paid attention to anyone her big sister actually considered a boyfriend. Not that Rarity shared much about her romantic affairs.

"That is one part of it. Though most people go on dates with people to determine if they want to be their special someone. What else goes into it do you think?" Sweetie was pondering this more seriously now.

"Well I guess... they're the kind of person that you hold hands with and kiss?" Rarity's hand stopped its stroking motion and rested on Sweetie's side.

"Well, yes, I suppose that would be true. Sweetie darling, did you and this boy kiss?" Well if Rarity had only been slightly curious before she was certainly enthralled with the conversation now.

"...maybe."

"Sweetie."

"Yeah... yeah we kissed." Rarity took in a very deep breath and Sweetie Belle saw it as a sign when Rarity is preventing herself from going into one of her melodramatic flusters. Maybe she shouldn't have told her big sister anything.

"Okay. I see. No cause for alarm." She wasn't talking to Sweetie at this point. "You're growing up after all. At this age things like this are... bound to happen." Rarity swallowed a lump in her throat and kept a smile on her face despite her growing concern. "Sweetie, is that all you and this boy have done? Kiss and hold hands?" Oh no, so much more. So much more and even more than that if she got her way with how much she just wanted tear off her dress and feel some satisfying release in her-

"Yeah, that's all." The tension visibly diffused in Rarity's face. Sweetie didn't enjoy lying but Rarity didn't need to know any more than that. "But even if we did kiss I still feel like... I don't know, I'm not good enough."

"Brushing aside the near heart attack I just suffered, let's address that right now." Rarity said sounding more like herself. "Don't ever wonder if you're 'good enough'. You don't have to be 'good enough' for anyone. You are just perfect the way you are and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Rarity said with all the love and support Sweetie had come to know and expect from her. It felt good hearing those words but yet... "Not convinced? Don't tell me you're doubting my eye for quality now, are you?" Rarity asked with a little humor to the question.

"No, it's not that. I mean he said I was pretty and that he liked me but... he also said that he wasn't good enough for me. But I don't think that's true. I like him but he keeps saying that he'd be a bad boyfriend and I just wonder if maybe that's not what her really means." Sweetie was having a hard time phrasing exactly what she meant. She didn't want to think of Spike as a liar but at the same time she couldn't shake the feeling there was more he wasn't saying when they spoke.

"You're worried it's a lie so that he doesn't have to commit to you?" Rarity asked, hitting the nail on the head for her little sister. Sweetie Belle nodded in return. There was more that was unspoken there; the feelings of being dismissed for not being as good as someone else Spike might still love. The idea that now that he got what he wanted out of her he was trying to push her away, even if she wanted more from him. She couldn't confess all of that to Rarity but at least her sister had given voice to the root of her frustrations with Spike.

Her big sister sat with her for a moment as she seemed to think about what was going on with her little sibling and how best to approach it. Finally the seamstress spoke up again. "Do your friends like this boy?"

"Yeah... as a friend. They don't really know that we're 'not dating', or whatever you’d call it." She wasn't really sure how to describe what they were doing. Flirting almost sounded too casual for what her and Spike had done at this point. All in the course of just two days! Sure there had been flirting before that but it snowballed so quickly ever since that night in his bedroom.

"I see. I'm hesitant to pry but can I ask who it is?" Sweetie clasped her hands together and stayed silent on that subject. "I see." Rarity repeated with a more curious tone this time. "Well this is all I can say Sweetie Belle; I don't want to see my precious little sister have her heart broken by some dumb boy. So if he says that he doesn't want to be your boyfriend then you shouldn't exhaust yourself trying to convince him otherwise."

"But... I like him." Sweetie confessed. She felt childish again saying it so honestly but it felt okay to be open around her sister.

"I know you do, darling. Though you can't let boys play with your emotions. If he doesn't want to commit to you then don't give him the attention. If he misses it then make him earn it from you. If you want to spend time with him, without kissing and hand holding..." Rarity made it a point to put emphasis on that. "...then I say it's okay. Maybe after a while when you're both more comfortable with each other things won't be so confusing anymore."

"Okay." It wasn't the sure fire fix Sweetie Belle had been looking for in her relationship problems but it all made a lot of sense. But it was going to be hard. She really liked spending time with him.

"Don't get discouraged little sister, I know what it's like to deal with someone that doesn't appreciate you as much as they should. Or even at all at times. Your sister had to learn a few lessons the hard way about being appreciative of herself before trying to meet the approval of others." Rarity got up from the chair and returned to where her plate at the table was, continuing with her breakfast.

"Really? So guys you liked have outright ignored you before?" Rarity didn't look pleased at the way it was phrased but answered regardless.

"I'm afraid so. In an attempt to gain an admirer I've done some things that were less than flattering to get that attention. I'd be happy to help you avoid the same mistakes. Remember that awful mess with that fashion writer and the festival I was trying to throw together?"

"You mean the one where he was following Applejack around the whole time he was here?" Rarity just shook her head and ate some of her own oatmeal. That had been one of those special "lessons in friendship" that her and the gang sometimes had. The seamstress sometimes commented privately they'd been more like "Reminders in Common Sense" to her little sister. Ones that were apparently much needed at the time. In a way it kind of reminded Sweetie Belle of one of the situations that another of her friend's was experiencing. "Rarity, what do you do if more than one boy likes you at once?" Rarity coughed and nearly choked on her food at the question. She swallowed some juice to clear her throat and wore the expression she'd had earlier when Sweetie had hinted at what her and Spike were doing privately.

"Sweetie, please don't tell me you're kissing multiple boys at school." Rarity said almost pleadingly to her sister.

"What!? No! I'm not doing that at all. I'm just asking for a friend."

"A friend." Rarity said in disbelief. "Which friend?"

"I don't really feel like I should say. I mean it's none of my business..." The young woman looked like she couldn't handle another shock to her heart. "But it's not me, I swear! I just wanted to know in case it became a problem for her." Rarity took another deep breath as she regained her composure again.

"Well... when dealing with multiple boys, it's best to make things as clear as possible. Communication is always key in any kind of relationship. If a boy says he likes you but you're not sure if you like him, tell him. You don't have to be mean about it, but never let someone pressure you into doing something you're uncomfortable with. Ever." This felt like it was about to veer off into The Talk and Sweetie Belle didn't need to get that from her big sister after going through it with her mother already.

"I know, I wouldn't let anyone do that to me." Even though she kind of already did. Almost. Their underwear never came off but things went really far. But Rarity would be better off not knowing she'd dodged that bullet. "So what if it seems like my friend really likes the attention of multiple boys asking her out? Is that okay?"

"You're really hitting all the tough questions, little sister." Rarity said through an exhausted smile.

"I'm sorry." Sweetie apologized quickly but Rarity didn't seem bothered.

"Not at all. I'm happy you'd ask me these things." The purple haired woman thought over her next words carefully for this question as well. "It's not a bad thing to be admired. If your friend is enjoying the attention then that's okay too, but it can be dangerous to become too accustomed to that kind of thing. Especially if she leads any of these boys on." After another thought crossed her mind Rarity asked seriously. "Your friend isn't kissing all these boys either, is she?"

"No, I don't think so anyway." Considering how quickly Scootaloo had soared in popularity she didn't know where the girl would have found time to spend with any of these boys. "Have you ever had two boyfriends, Rarity?" The question seemed to strike a nerve as her older sister looked wide eyed for a moment and then broke eye contact.

"Well, no I haven't. It's not good to be involved with multiple people at once. I'm not sure I'd even consider dating more than one person at a time."

"Oh, okay. Are you dating anyone right now?"

"Goodness Sweetie, you are a curious one this morning." Rarity commented quietly. "Ahem... well if we're not naming names then I suppose I can share with my little sister."

"Really!?" It was Sweetie's turn to pursue the conversation as she got up and moved closer to Rarity in very much the same fashion the seamstress had not long ago. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend." Rarity put a finger to her lips to indicate that it was a quiet matter.

"As far as anyone knows, I don't. But there does happen to be one gentleman that I'm considering giving the role to when the time is right." Sweetie Belle wondered who it could be. She hadn't seen Rarity hanging around any boys as far as she knew. Well besides Spike coming over to help out around the boutique but she didn't really think her big sister was going to actually start dating a boy younger than herself.

"I can't believe it, that's so exciting. I can't wait to meet him!" Sweetie said cheerfully and her big sister smiled.

"Well when we're both ready we'll introduce our not-boyfriends to our sisters to make sure they're worthy of them. Deal?" Rarity put her finger up with the pinkie extended. Sweetie reached up and curled her pinkie finger around Rarity's to seal the promise.

"Deal!" Sweetie said as they shook hands and let go after. "Say Rarity, thank you for talking about all of this with me. I think I feel a little bit better about it now."

"Of course darling, any time you need me your big sister is here." They shared a hug and went about finishing their bowls. Sweetie wasn't completely solid on how to handle Spike but Rarity had given her a little confidence. Just because Spike wasn't ready to be her boyfriend with her didn't mean she had to hound him till he made up his mind or even that she had to force herself to be someone he'd want to date. She can just continue to be his friend, maybe even still flirt with him sometimes if she wanted to. She'd have to keep it a secret still from the other girls so as not to get any unwanted attention. But even when her and Spike had done more serious things together no one found out. Things would work out just fine.

Besides it didn't hurt that now she knew Rarity had a guy she was already interested in. Something like that would help keep Spike from chasing after her big sister constantly. Which meant eventually he'd focus all his attention onto herself! Now if only Applebloom could help her figure out a way from wanting to give into those feelings before that day came.

In the early morning the village was always lively but also quiet. People moving to and fro as they prepared to open their businesses, go to school or simply start their daily chores. Everyone was awake but they all moved as if to be sure not to wake up anyone else that may still be asleep. It was the same for the two boys standing together on the small bridge crossing over the little river that cut through the village. Watching and waiting, speaking in low voices as if to prevent disturbing a still slumbering friend.

"So how is Snips doing?" Spike asked as he leaned forward on the stone wall that guarded either side of the bridge, preventing anyone clumsy enough from falling over the edge. "I haven't seen him since that night."

"He's okay." Snails replied, his own voice nearly always the slow and casual pace they both adopted now. "His father was upset of course, but at the same time I think he was kinda proud? Like he didn't expect Snips was capable of something like that." It certainly was out of character for the boy but they both knew he wasn't actually to blame for what happened that night. That honor belonged to one of the two on the bridge this morning. "In any case he's still grounded and has to go home right after school."

"Yeah... that figures." Spike said in a sigh as he looked down at the water below them, staring at his own reflection. "I really screwed things up for him."

"Don't let it bug you." Snails said and sounding sincere in his words. "Snips got a lot more popular because of that party. I don't think he cares how long he's going to be grounded, you can't buy attention like that." Well at least something good came out of that mess. So many things happened that night Spike wasn't really sure how everyone felt after it was over. Though he'd been focused on his own endeavours. Snails had a little more to add about one of his other party guests for him. "He’s gotten almost as popular as Scootaloo has."

"Scootaloo?" Spike asked, sounding genuinely confused. "Why is she suddenly more popular?" Snails let out a sigh before replying, as if he didn't want to talk about this.

"Well... I'm pretty sure it had a lot to do with those guys fighting over her. Mostly with that one that punched you, remember him?" Did he ever.

"Rain Catcher, right? Just glad I got my twenty bits back outta that guy." Well half from him half from Rumble. Good enough as far as Spike was concerned. "What about him? Some guys fight over Scootaloo and she's suddenly the prettiest girl in school?" That was kind of weird to consider but Spike had never gone to a public school before. He didn't know what was considered popular or trendy or just plain cool with people his age. It sounded silly when he thought about it but he was kind of out of touch with his own generation. Human or Dragon-Blooded.

"It's not that she's prettier, it's just..." Snails was choosing his words carefully. Considering he always thought out what he was going to say his hesitation was even stranger. "Look, Rain Catcher is known for dating girls who have a reputation for being kind of... easy?"

"So... what? Everyone thinks Scootaloo is having sex with him?" If Spike hadn't been dealing with all the physical relationships he had currently he might have become angry at someone insinuating this kind of reputation on one of his friends. It still didn't sit right with him.

"Kind of. Basically any girl he's dating who's a virgin when he meets her isn't one by the time he’s done with them." Spike's eyes narrowed. He already didn’t like this kid and now it sounded like he planned to use Scootaloo and move on when he was done. "Or that's the rumor anyway. I'm not really friends with him so I can't tell you what's going on for sure."

"You mean like those rumors about Ruby Pinch?" It was Snails’ turn to look annoyed, something he didn't pull off near as well as Spike.

"That isn't nice to talk about, Spike." Snails was actually bothered by the topic, Spike had something of an idea why but he'd like to get more from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

"What's going on between you two anyway?" Spike stopped leaning forward on the bridge fence now to look directly at Snails.

"What's going on between you and Sweetie Belle?" "Touche" thought Spike.

"Nothing." Spike responded.

"Nothing here, either." Snails replied.

"That so? I'm not so sure." Spike said with a bit of cockiness.

"I could say the same, seeing as how we found Sweetie in your bedroom that night." For a guy that was regarded as being slow he sure was quick at observing what’s around him. Spike still had the upper hand though.

"I think what I found in my bedroom is stronger evidence." Spike reached into his pocket and produced the pink panties that had been left under his pillow the night of the party. He discreetly handed them over to Snails who pocketed them quietly, his cheeks becoming as pink as the fabric. "So... mind explaining how those got in my room?" Snails was quiet for a moment before looking down at the stone cobbling of the bridge.

"She was drunk and forgot she left them." Snails said sounding ashamed. "Listen, before you ask, it's true what they say about her. The rumors about her and... her getting around. They're true." Well that was a lot more honest than Spike was expecting him to be. At first he almost felt like congratulating Snails on having a good time at the party when no one else seemed to but there was something somber about his expression. It wasn't just that he got caught either. "Please don't spread this around to anyone. Not even Snips."

"Yeah... yeah I won't say a thing." Spike agreed now taken off his game. Instead he just went with the question that had been bugging him since that night. "Are you two dating?"

"No. Well... no. We spend time together but if you're asking if I'm her boyfriend, she made it really clear I'm not." This was a lot more complicated than Spike had thought it would be. "If I were her boyfriend then she couldn't do what she does with other guys without feeling guilty. So... I'm not her boyfriend."

"Um... whoa. Snails that's... a lot more than I was planning on hearing. Are you okay?" Snails nodded slowly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I knew what it was when I got involved." And Spike thought he had relationship problems. Well he did, but at least there was some kind of love and emotion attached to his own (minus Damselfly (maybe)). Here it seemed so mechanical that he couldn't grasp why the boy would want to be a part of it.

"Is it... no, never mind." Spike wasn't sure if he should continue with this kind of questioning. Was it okay for him to ask anything about this? Snails however didn't seem bothered.

"You might as well ask, man." Cat was out of the bag so to speak. Maybe Snails wanted to vent this out to someone?

"Alright then; why are you doing it? Is it just for sex?"

"Kinda." Snails admitted but didn't sound convinced in his own reason. "Maybe at first. I mean, yeah it was totally for the sex at first." Spike really couldn't blame him. Ruby was an attractive girl. "But now it's like, if it's not me it's going to be someone else. It just will, we both know it's going to be someone. She won't stop and I don't even know if she wants to stop." Snails sounded conflicted as he spoke. "So I figure if it's going to be someone, then it might as well be me. Because I won't talk to anyone about it afterwards and she can just... leave. Whenever she wants." That was a lot to digest. More than Spike had anticipated. What probably seemed like a heaven at first sounded like it was tearing Snails up inside. "Your turn; what's up with you and Sweetie Belle? Are you guys doing the same thing?" Ugh, he would bring that up.

"No." Spike said, half honestly. "We're not having sex." But they had tried. Oh how hard had they tried and both were nearly successful in breaking the other. "But we're not dating either, I don't think. It's really complicated." Or maybe he was just making it more complicated to avoid having to do any sort of simple solutions that could hurt her.

"I thought you liked Rarity?"

"I do." Spike admitted, though it was quite the understatement.

"So what, you're trying to get with both of them?" Having someone say it out loud like that made Spike sound like such a creep. It reminded him of when Damselfly tore him to pieces that day in the forest. Still in the end her tongue lashing had proven to help him confront the worst sides of himself. The first tongue lashing anyway... the second more literal one just added fuel to the fire.

"Look, let me ask you a hypothetical question. Let's say you get involved with a girl and you really like her and you want to do everything in your power to be with her. While you're trying to be with her another girl comes along and does everything in her power to be with you. At the same time the first girl, who previously hadn't accepted your advances, is starting to think otherwise. How do you get out of that without hurting anyone's feelings?" Snails pondered that one for a while. Tapping his foot slowly against the stone bridge and looking up at the clouds. It was kind of an art the way he did everything in slow motion.

"You don't date one girl when you want to date another." All that thinking and that's his answer? Argh!

"What if it's too late for that." Spike asks, hoping he wasn't giving too much away about his relationship with either Rarity or Sweetie. Though he doubted Snails actually believed Spike could be romantically involved with Rarity. Every boy Spike had ever heard speak of her agreed she was on another level of beauty and sexiness.

"And you still want to not hurt either one?" Spike nodded. "Then date both of them."

"That's really your answer?" Spike asked with a deadpan expression.

"Well you don't want to hurt either of them you said, right?" Snails asked as if he were weighing the values of this like an equation.

"Yeah, but isn't dating both girls already hurting them?"

"Only if they know about it." Snails said logically. "According to what you said they don't. So why not just keep them both from finding out?"

"That sounds like a terrible idea." Spike said feeling more depressed than before about this mess he was in. Maybe he should be more aggressive in his refusal of Sweetie Belle before she does something to come onto him again and get hurt.

"Well look, clearly in this hypothetical situation you want to protect the feelings of both girls. And both girls feelings are that they want to be with the person this question is about. So why not just give them both what they want?

"That... seems like it could back fire really easy." Spike reasoned.

"Only if you get caught. According to that scenario you gave me it sounds like it's possible to keep both in the dark. If so it's like you're protecting both of them." Was this really an okay way to think? It sounded awfully shifty but also like the answer Spike had been wanting to hear. That there was a way to keep from hurting anyone. Still... he wasn't sure.

"Hey guys!" A voice called out as the shorter and rounder of the party trio approached the bridge. Snips was walking with pep in his step and a smile on his face. Though it dropped when he actually got to them. "Whoa, are you guys okay? You look like you lost twenty bits in the river."

"Actually I got my missing twenty bits back." Spike said and Snips just looked at him confused. "You guys off to class?"

"Yep, you ready to go Snails?" Snails nodded and rose from his leaning position on the fence to his feet. The three boys parted and said their goodbyes, each with their own destinations to arrive at. As they moved towards the school Spike went the opposite direction towards the Carousel Boutique.

The revelation of Snail's relationship to Ruby Pinch was surprising for Spike, even if he had suspected something between them already. He just never thought it would be something quite so serious and even a little dysfunctional. Ruby had a reputation that was widespread enough that even he had overheard the girls mention it before. He just never thought there would be so much truth to it. Was it somehow worse than his own issues with the women in his life? Snails had seemed so sad when he talked about it. Did he love her? How do you know when you truly love someone, even if that love is hurting each other.

Spike cut between two houses as he worked his way in Rarity's direction. It was a tight fit but there was enough room for him to walk through comfortably. Besides it was a lot easier than having to go all the way down the street and then work his way back through another one. As Spike was nearing the middle of the path someone else darted into the small alley on the otherside. She was running his direction and fiddling with something in her backpack as she did, not looking up. Still there was no way, even with her face pointed downward, that Spike couldn't recognize who it was. "Sweetie Boof!" Spike gasped out as the girl ran into him.

"Oof! Sorry! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention!" The girl exclaimed loudly until she looked up to see who it was she collided with, her expression changing from concern to a bright (and very cute) smile. "Oh, Spike. Fancy meeting you here."

"Um... yeah, didn't think I'd run into you so soon again." Spike said, noting that he'd had more than a few run-ins with the girl since that night at the party. Three days in a row now and it seemed they were always coming across one another.

"So, where are you headed?" Even now, even after everything they'd talked about, that cute voice and those pretty eyes still made the heat in his chest rise. He thought he'd gotten over this after their last big talk with each other.

"I was off to Rarity's." Spike explained. "She just said she wanted my help, something to do with all those boxes she had yesterday I think." Spike said, mostly telling the truth. Rarity had openly suggested there were some things in those boxes she planned to wear for Spike to help him in the real task he was asked to complete.

"Oh, that so? You really are helpful Spike." Sweetie had those flirtatious eyes again, the dreamy kind as she looked into his own. Which she continued to do for a bit even after her sentence had ended and trailed off. Spike looked past her to where he was supposed to be and then back at the pretty girl staring his way.

"So uh, are you heading to school?"

"Hm?" Sweetie asked before his question hit her brain. "Oh crude, you're right! I need to hurry." Apparently she'd been running full tilt because she didn't want to be late. Considering this was a one lane path and she was the one on a time limit the next step seemed obvious.

"Okay, let me back up for you." Spike said as he got ready to turn around and let her out the other side.

"You don't need to, watch." Sweetie said as she put her backpack on and suddenly put her arms around Spike. Spinning them around in the close quarters so that she ended up on the side she desired. Though not without a little squeezing together to get there. She didn't seem to mind and Spike certainly enjoyed it, though he didn't plan to say as much out loud.

"Sweetie, I didn't mean to-" he was cut off by a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Relax Spike, you didn't do anything wrong. I have to go, but I'll see you later, okay?" Sweetie said as she waved to him, running off with a bright smile towards her school. Spike waved in return as she was off, unsure of how to process what had just happened. He'd gone out of his way to not do anything that would count as a romantic or sexual advance towards her. Yet just now, that brush together, it lit a fire in him again. While he was on his way to his lover's home no less.

Snails solution to the hypothetical question ran through Spike's mind again. He did his best to ignore the thought.

Back on track, Spike walked to Rarity's residence. Taking a few breaths Spike prepared himself before knocking on the door. The truth was he didn't know what to expect out of today. In the past when ever he went to Rarity's she had a special job for him to perform and they'd continue that way until they were done or they took a break for lunch. But today he wasn't here just to work. They'd scheduled time to be intimate together, almost like they were a real couple. He presumed anyway, he wasn't sure how a real couple was supposed to act together. Did they set time aside to be intimate? The questions quickly disappeared but the tension never left as the door opened.

"Spike, you made it." Rarity said happily, wearing a thick white bath robe around her body. Spike had seen her in that robe before, even before he'd seen what was underneath it. The robe covered Rarity from neck to toe and actually obscured her body more than her normal clothing. But somehow knowing that it was the thing she wore after finishing a bath or waking up in the morning made it so exotic to him. After Sweetie Belle had gotten him riled up the sight of the beautiful woman in the robe didn't calm him any further. "Do come in."

Spike walked inside the boutique, Rarity shutting the door behind him and locking it. That wasn't out of the ordinary though, he'd come over before she was ready to open her business in the past. Really Spike's concern was how does he approach a morning like this? Will she want him to help her with chores or a job before they actually got together? Maybe after yesterday she wasn't even in the mood anymore. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "Sorry if I took longer than you expected. So where would you like to get started?" Spike said looking to see where the remainder of all of Rarity's packages from yesterday were. It seemed more gentleman like to not expect her to want sex right away.

"Actually..." Rarity started as Spike turned to face her, Rarity's robe now open as Spike could see the see-through lace camisole and matching lace panties Rarity wore underneath. The lingerie was black in color and she had long black stockings that of course matched her outfit perfectly. "I thought you could come upstairs to help me with that job I requested yesterday." Spike was left speechless as he stared at Rarity's undergarments, the black lingerie against the white robe making them stand out even further. Rarity discarded her robe to the floor as she approached Spike, putting her arms around his shoulder and smiling seductively at him. "I trust there's no other pressing important matters to attend to?" Rarity pressed her important matters against him and Spike simply shook his head. "Very good, I have need of my Spiky-Wikey."

As the morning sun slowly made its way through the sky and the bustle of the town began to rise with it, others were finding their pace for the day as well. Though at a much more comfortable and relaxed speed. While they would have enjoyed pushing themselves further it simply wasn't an option with their injuries. So with their day limited the women took a brief moment to spend it together in Twilight's library. Pinkie Pie and Applejack sat at Twilight's table while she served them toast with jam and butter. The librarian carefully guided the plates onto the table with her magic, a thin cloud of pink energy coating each dish as it made its way there.

"It looks like yer recoverin' fast, Twi'." The farmer commented as she took a piece of toast and covered it in some zap apple jam that Twilight had received as a gift from the Apple Family. "Ah remember the doctor's sayin’ ya might be without yer magic for a few weeks."

"For whatever reason I guess I recover magic a lot faster than other people." Twilight couldn't explain it herself but even if her neck hadn't recovered as quickly as she liked her magic was nearly top form again. "It's really a blessing. I only wish we could do something to help you two get back to one hundred percent just as fast. Working in the library I can do most of my job without having to use my hands if I really have to."

"Don't worry at all, Twilight. After all I'm getting all these sick days and all the easy work since I came back from the capital. I didn't even know I was allowed sick days!" Twilight smiled at Pinkie's optimism. Somehow she was able to always bring joy out of every situation. "Speaking of which is it okay we're basically having brunch right in the library? What if someone comes in for a book?"

"Then I'll get them that book." Twilight answered confidently. "You may be surprised to hear this but I don't get a lot of early visitors in the morning. It seems most people are too busy to stop and pick out a book when the day begins." That wasn't always true. She'd had a few students come to her door the moment it opened in a mad dash to try and finish a school assignment. But other than extreme cases it seemed the people of the village had more on their plate when the day began. She didn't begrudge them for it, it gave her time to put away the returns she received from the night before. "I'm more worried about the two of you. I know neither of you are comfortable being forced off your daily schedules.

"Ah'm gettin' by." Applejack responded, though she did sound bothered by it. "Big Mac and Granny were pretty insistent ah take it easy 'til ah was all healed up. Said they'd be in a real pickle if ah got mahself worse off than ah was now." Applejack having a reputation of pushing herself past a normal person's limits made it unsurprising to Twilight to hear that the Apple Family was being firm with the farmer.. "Big Mac is doin' fine so far on his own. Apple Bloom is pitchin' in more around the house too."

"You know what I think?" Pinkie started and Twilight had an idea where she was going already. "I think when we're all better we can have ourselves a party to celebrate! With streamers and cake and punch and music and decorations and-"

"Pinkie." Twilight interjected. "Be careful you don't get too wound up, you know what happens." Pinkie's hand rose to her neck and rubbed the sore spot that rested underneath the bandages. She'd already managed to cause herself the most pain of all three of them with her tendency to become excited over every little thing.

"Yeah yeah..." Pinkie said pouting a little. Thankfully it didn't keep her down long. "So is anyone else coming to brunch with us?"

"Just us three today." Twilight answered. "Rarity's busy with... um... something. Spike's helping her. As for Rainbow and Fluttershy the first batch of those animals should be arriving for the Everfree Forest today. Rainbow Dash is helping her bring them in along with Zecora."

"Oh, Zecora! I forgot about her, we should invite her to the party too. Especially with that special goop she made to help us heal." Pinkie said now re-organizing the fantasy party she had going on in her head for another guest. "That stuff really did feel good, Mrs. Cake helped me get it on all the sore parts on my back."

"Ah gotta admit, Zecora really does know how to make a potent medicine. Thankfully Granny got it put on all the sore spots on my head and back too." Even though she'd only been punched the one time Applejack had taken the most physical trauma of any of them. It was a testament to just how strong she was that after having Devour striker her to the ground she was still able to move so naturally. "Sure is a good thing yer magic came back, huh Twi? What with only Spike being here ah'm guessin' you needed it for all those hard tah reach places." Twilight froze for a second as she thought back to the previous night when she received her own assistance with applying the ointment on her skin. She forced herself to swallow a piece of toast and respond before her friends caught wise to why she paused.

"Um, yeah! Yeah it really is a miracle. Otherwise that could have been really awkward." Twilight plastered a smile on her face as she drank some coffee. Twice before now Pinkie had nearly caught her in the heat of the moment with Spike and even Rarity. She was concerned there were enough dots now that Pinkie could connect them if Twilight gave away too much. Even though it wasn't like they even did anything lewd last night together. He just helped her with the pain and they had left it at that. Nothing sexual about it at all.

Even if she did know exactly why Spike took so long in the bathroom afterwards..

"You know who I'd like to have put some ointment on me?" Pinkie said as she nudged Applejack with her elbow. "That royal guard that gave us a lift to the castle." Pinkie giggled at the idea and Twilight frowned at the first memory that came to mind with that suggestion.

"You mean the one you whipped the moment you got into the chariot?" Twilight asked sounding annoyed.

"It's not like he complained." Pinkie said still smiling and only earning a glare from Twilight. Applejack seemed to be on the baker's side though.

"I'm not gonna complain about the view we had on the trip there. I ain't talkin' 'bout the landscape, either." Both girls were giggling between themselves but Twilight was leaving herself out of this conversation. The fact she was avoiding the subject wasn't lost on the other girls. "Ya don't agree Twi'?

"I'm just lucky neither of them complained to the princess." Pinkie scoffed and rolled her eyes when Twilight whined over her behavior, which didn't make the librarian any happier. "Well it's easy for you to laugh it off Pinkie but some of us have to answer to a higher authority."

"They weren't going to complain." Pinkie said with none of her levity leaving her tone. "They liked the attention, you know they did. Why wouldn't they, we're all hot stuff."

"That so?" Twilight asked with a deadpan tone. Pinkie certainly wasn't unattractive but she wasn't quite as slim as Twilight nor quite as toned as Applejack. Let's just say Twilight could tell Pinkie sampled her baked treats on a regular basis. She wore it better than most girls Twilight had to admit.

"You betcha. Why I sure wouldn't mind getting a beefcake like that in my oven." Pinkie smiled a little more deviously as she spoke to Applejack.

"Ah can say ah wouldn't mind harvesting some a that crop myself." The girls giggled between themselves and Twilight felt her cheeks flush red as they talked. She shouldn't have been so shy about this. After all she might have been involved in even more complicated affairs than either of her friends. Still talking this openly about it made her nervous.

"I'm sure glad there aren't any guests in here right now." Twilight said quietly to her coffee, looking down. Applejack nudged her shoulder and Twilight looked up to see both girls looking at her. "What? What is it?"

"Oh c'mon Twi', ya'll tellin' me ya never looked at any of them soldiers in their uniforms and felt somethin' rustlin' in ya?" Such elegant phrasing Applejack had.

"I... just focused on my studies." Maybe it was alienating her from her friends a little but Twilight was naturally on guard these days when it came to talking about attraction and potential partners. She'd already had enough confusing feelings when it came to her close friends and family with Cadence digging around in her heart.

Though uniforms were sexy.

"Oh, I just got a great idea!" Pinkie said suddenly. "If all those monsters are coming into Everfree today, then that means they have to have guards on the train with them to keep them in check." The girls were seeing where her logic was taking her as Applejack chimed in.

"Which means there's probably a few of them hanging around, bored outta their skulls. Lookin' ta chat it up with anyone to make their day more interestin’." Twilight was wide eyed.

"Applejack, I kind of expect that sort of thing out of Pinkie Pie, but you?" The librarian had always known the farm girl to be serious and well put together. She never really showed this side of herself in front of Twilight before.

"Twi', ah dunno 'bout ya'll but it's been a season since ah went ridin' bareback mahself. Be nice tah get inna saddle again."

"Wow." Pinkie said even more shocked than Twilight now. Applejack blushed and looked down at her toast, clearly embarrassed.

"S-sorry. Ah don't normally talk about this kinda stuff."

"All the more reason for us to go out and help at Fluttershy's place." Pinkie Pie said reassuringly. Twilight put forward the logical counter to that idea.

"I don't think any of us are in shape to help out with that kind of job." This statement didn't deter Pinkie Pie at all as she was ready for this argument.

"Exactly. We'll get there, offer a helping hand, they'll all see how hurt we are and tell us 'No no, you girls just stay there' and then we just keep everyone else company and provide moral support. Oh and check out any cute guys while we're there too." Twilight raised an eyebrow at Pinkie's rather forward plan. The look not lost on the baker. "Twilight, you gotta use what ingredients you have while they're still fresh for baking."

"Was that a cooking analogy for sex appeal?" Pinkie just smirked at Twilight's question.

"A baker knows her buns." By Celestia's beard, her jokes were starting to hurt worse than the injuries. "You in, Applejack?"

"I dunno..." Applejack replied, still embarrassed from her last outburst. "Ah was talkin' a tough game but goin' through with it's tougher than alla that."

"You don't gotta go through with anything, silly. We're just visiting our friends and maybe doing a little window shopping too. I'll be with you the whole time." Pinkie Pie put a hand on Applejack's shoulder and the farmer smiled at the words of support. "Twilight, you want to come too?"

"I think it's best I stay and watch the library." Twilight said, not really all that eager to go patrolling for guys when she wasn't even sure about the state of her own desires. It did sound fun though...

"Okay then, we'll go looking ahead for you and see if we can't spot a good one for tomorrow." Pinkie offered and Twilight just sighed, smiling and nodding in return. The girls moved onto different topics now as they kept eating their brunch. Twilight hoping that Fluttershy was at the very least having an easy time moving all of those animals into Everfree.

"Welcome to the Everfree Forest." A cheerful and kind voice said gleefully to the scaled monster that stood at the forest entrance. "Now I know you're concerned what with moving to a new home and all but I assure you this is the very best place you could be. You'll be able to roam free and eat whatever you want and no one will hurt you or put you in stone again."

The monster sniffed the ground and the air as it stood by the trees, looking between the pink haired girl and the dark woods before it. Fluttershy recalled that Celestia had said this creature was a Drake and she knew it had protected Applejack and Rarity when they were in the hedge maze. She wasn't sure what kind of environment it lived in before but the forest was deep and varied. Giving her confidence there was some kind of territory it could find for itself. The creature began to walk into the woods and Fluttershy used her magic wings to float along side it.

"You're doing great. Once you've taken the time to get to know the forest you'll be feeling right at home." As she floated next to the creature and they moved in several feet past the entrance and came across two other women were waiting just within the forest's rim. "Also this is my friend Rainbow Dash. She controls the weather in our village but not usually in Everfree. She's agreed to view the forest from time to time to make sure you're all doing well." Rainbow Dash had her arms crossed and a tough girl expression.

"Just make sure you don't try any funny business, got it? Celestia let me know why all of you were locked up and I don't want to see you hanging around Fluttershy's place." The beast let out an annoyed huff but that didn't ease Rainbow Dash off her angry expression. Fluttershy coughed nervously to try and take the attention off of the sins of the past.

"Thank you, Dash. Also this is Zecora. She lives in the Everfree Forest too in her hut. I'll ask that you be nice and not go near it, either. She likes to keep to herself most of the time when she’s home." The beast looked from Fluttershy to Zecora and the potions mistress smiled back at the monster. The drake kept its distance when it met her gaze, Zecora accomplishing the kind of intimidation Rainbow Dash was trying so hard to pull off with her posturing. "Very good! Now that that's settled it's time you went off on your own. Good luck out there."

The drake took a few more steps into the woods, looking at the new surroundings with hesitation and then back at the three women watching it. The creature thought about where to go next before breaking off into a run and speeding through the trees. Fluttershy waved excitedly as the monster went to live its brand new life amongst the other creatures of Everfree Forest. The pink haired girl seemed very satisfied with today's outcome. "I hope he finds a nice home."

"I hope he stays away from all of our nice homes." Rainbow Dash said with concern. "Zecora are you really okay with all of this? We sort of dropped this on you out of no where." The potions mistress shot Rainbow Dash the same mysterious smile she'd given all the creatures that had entered the woods today. Even the weather girl had to admit there was something about her gaze that suggested she was hiding something as mysterious as the woods themselves.

"I understand your concern but have no fear. My hut is no place monsters wish to be near."

"If you say so." Rainbow concurred not wanting to argue. Fluttershy had been worried about similar problems but Zecora had proven very resourceful. If anyone was more qualified to deal with these beasts than Fluttershy it was the woman from the woods. The pink haired girl flew back to where her friends were and landed daintily.

"That's all of them for this batch." Fluttershy said happily. "We should let the guards know that we're ready for the second train."

"It's not all of them." Rainbow Dash said with a glare as she looked at Fluttershy, or rather the creature perched on her shoulder. "Why is that thing still hanging around you? I thought all the monsters were supposed to go directly into the forest the moment they arrived. Or else there might be a danger if they got too curious about the village." The little imp grumbled in Rainbow's direction as it kept its spot with Fluttershy. Offended at the idea it would have to leave her.

"Come now Rainbow Dash, he's just a little one. There's no harm in him going in last. He doesn't even take up much space." Fluttershy gave the imp another biscuit that it had grown to enjoy, chomping away at it hungrily.

"Space isn't the issue, Fluttershy. Princess Celestia said all these creatures were dangerous and shouldn't be encouraged to hang around the edge of the forest. What if he gets into your home and starts causing trouble?"

"Oh, he wouldn't do that. Besides Angel would keep him in line even if he tried." Fluttershy argued but she felt timid trying to stand up to Dash. The little monster grunted in the weather girl's direction and taunted her into coming closer.

"You might have fooled Fluttershy but you haven't fooled me. I'm still watching you, you little creep." The imp stared back into Rainbow's rose colored eyes before reaching out and giving her nose a quick squeeze, making a "honk" sound as it scurried into Fluttershy's hair for safety. Rainbow Dash's hands came up over her face only seconds afterwards as she cursed at the creature. Zecora for her part couldn't hold back her amusement and laughed out loud at the little monster's prank. "You want to fight, come on out and let’s see if you try that again!"

"Rainbow Dash, please. You're just antagonizing him to act out more." Fluttershy protested as the monster peeked out of her hair with its little red eyes. Dash was upset she was the one being blamed for the creature’s naughty behavior and her magical wings popped out of her back suddenly.

"I'm going to tell the guards they can bring the next train in." Rainbow flew through the opening the the forest and out towards the train tracks. As she left Fluttershy watched her go for a while and let out a heavy sigh. Zecora in turn watched Fluttershy curiously until she had a knowing smile cross her lips.

"Rainbow Dash is angry at what she fears will be a pest. But I feel there is another weight upon your chest." The thoughts that had filled Fluttershy's mind broke after Zecora spoke up. She wondered if somehow she'd telegraphed her worries to the woman. Zecora was known for being perceptive, almost unbelievably so. Could she see Fluttershy's pain that easily?

"I... don't follow." Fluttershy fibbed.

"Your body is tense and when you speak it's in nervous mutters. As if someone has sent your heart and feelings a flutter. Though she's often rough and acts quite brash, I surmise you have feelings for Rainbow Dash?" Well there wasn't much point in hiding it anymore if Zecora could figure it out on the spot. She wished Rainbow Dash could be that insightful.

"Do you promise not to talk to anyone about it?" Fluttershy asked and Zecora assured her that her lips would be sealed in her own rhyming way. "Okay then, here it goes; you're right. I really like Rainbow Dash. I like her as my friend but lately I've been thinking about her a lot. 'A lot' a lot. I keep meaning to tell her but every time I try something happens or she doesn't want to talk or... I don't know. It's hard."

"If coming straight forward causes your confidence to crack perhaps it would be best to form a plan of attack." Zecora was right of course and Fluttershy felt a little pride in having considered the same thing.

"You're right, I should think it through. So I gave it a lot of thought and two days from now when the last train unloads the creatures for the Everfree Forest I'm going to invite Rainbow Dash over for dinner at my place. Then... I'll confess everything. For better or worse." It was scary. No, scratch that, it was terrifying. She didn't know how Rainbow Dash would react to something like her confessing her feelings. Dash already had enough of a problem when it came to talking things out. But for her own sake she had to try to and speak her mind. Zecora stood next to Fluttershy and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"For you Fluttershy I shall hope for the very best. Don't let your confidence waver and kindle it within your breast."

"Thanks Zecora, it felt good to talk to someone about this." The two women stepped out of the forest towards Fluttershy's home as they awaited for the train to return to the capital and come back with the next load of creatures. Rainbow Dash would be back soon as well. It wasn't just her feelings she had to sort, Fluttershy also had to clear the air about her and Rarity. It was so silly that Dash had even jumped to those kinds of conclusions. Fluttershy was fairly sure Rarity wasn't even involved with anyone else.

"Don’t stop." The seamstress begged as her lover pushed himself into her from behind. Rarity positioned up on her hands and knees as Spike leaned over her back, cupping her breasts in his hand and plunging his hard cock into her eager pussy. They were panting together now, letting out hot breaths with each thrust that plunged within her. Dripping with sweat, love, excitement and a few other things resulting from their lovemaking.

She hadn't needed to put on the lingerie to lure him to her bed. She hadn't needed to ask him a day before and entice him with the reward of this moment. She hadn't needed to offer herself to him in a submissive but commanding manner. She could have had him at nearly any time with a simple request and nothing else. But she did do all these things and because of them the resulting consummation made the moment that much sweeter. Rarity's fingers gripped the bed sheets as her pussy contracted around Spike's member. She felt so good, but she wanted so much more.

"Mmm! Spike... under me. I want you under me." It was a hard request to follow but the boy did so as he pulled out of the seamstress with an audible gasp. Just parting gave the lovers a shudder, but they wouldn't be separated for long. Spike laid on his back on the bed, breathing hard from all of their previous teasing and love making leading up to this point. Rarity slid over Spike and positioned her hips above his lap. Using her soft fingers she found his cock and guided it into her pussy again, sliding down on him easily. "Good, I didn't want you gone for long, my Spikey-Wikey."

Spike wasn't that good at pillow talker but Rarity made up for it enough for the both of them. She somewhat enjoyed being the voice in the room to be honest. It gave her a dominating presence even when she wanted to be the submissive one during sex. Slowly she bobbed her hips onto his lap, their bodies wet enough that the sound of their sex squishing together could be heard. Rarity's breasts shook with each drop onto him, her lingerie having been discarded a while ago along with all of Spike's clothing to allow access to everything about them.

"Rarity..." Spike gasped as the pace of her hips began to increase. "I love you... I missed you."

"I missed you, Spike." Rarity said as she leaned forward towards the boy and held him against her chest. "I missed you so much. You left me wanting for so much yesterday. Don't hold back anything." Spike's lips found themselves around Rarity's right nipple and she moaned happily at the feeling. Her legs locking around Spikes to allow her to increase the speed of her thrusts even easier.

"R-Raity... I'm going to..." She had to admit he'd held out far longer than she had expected with all her previous teasing leading up to this moment. While it would have been fun to deny him longer Rarity didn't want to keep him in pain. She whispered to him in a hot moan.

"Inside me." Rarity ordered. "Inside me, Spike. Fill me up." The request was too much for the boy as he came inside of Rarity, his hips pushing up hard as his cock pumped his hot load inside of her. Rarity shuddered as she felt his cock release all that pent up desire and her own body contracted again around him. She had to admit she'd been waiting eagerly for this feeling since being denied yesterday..

The two lovers laid together for a moment longer, panting hard and pressing against one another. When Rarity lifted her body up off of Spike's the sweat made their skin stick together. Rarity enjoyed the sensation, as if it were a sign they had been so close they were stuck to one another. As she lifted her hips off him Rarity turned her body around and carefully removed the condom around Spike's cock. Spike grunted a little when the material was finally removed and Rarity's other "Spikey-Wikey" was free.

"I know it probably didn't feel as good darling, but it does make things much safer and easier when we use one." Rarity put the condom aside in a readied waste basket by the bed. She had prepared for all of this in advance of course.

"It was great." Spike said through tired gasps as he laid on his back, admiring the form of the woman next to him. "It was great Rarity. It was with you, so it always feels great."

"Awww." Rarity said in a tone of admiration. "Well then my little gentleman, you deserve the best of care." Rarity suddenly mounted Spike again but this time it was in a reverse position. Her gentle hands took hold of Spike's cock which was still hard despite his recent release. She decided to have a little fun before he'd require some more rest.

"Rarity, I'm not sure I can OH!" Spike stopped short as he felt her tongue very gently glide up his shaft. Licking away the traces of his climax and their love making. "R-Rarity! It's sensitive!"

"I'll be gentle." Rarity said teasingly as she continued to lick his shaft, having quite a bit of fun doing so. "I can't leave you all dirty after you treated me so well, can I?" Her lips closed around his cock as she sucked him slowly, Spike groaning with each movement of her mouth.

"Th-then... I owe you, the same." Rarity gasped with her mouth still half way down Spike's shaft as she felt Spike's head rise up and lick over her pussy lips. The seamstress didn't want to give in but she had to admit he was good at his task. His tongue slipping inside of her and working around her pussy in slow circles. Rarity's head moved up and her lips came off Spike's cock with a small, wet pop as she gasped for air.

"Spike... this was supposed to be... for you." Her fingers curled around Spike's cock and began to stroke him softly, unable to concentrate and use her lips but wanting to feel it in her grasp.

"It is still for me." Spike said for a moment before moving his face against her sex again. Rarity's back arched and her fingers played around the head of Spike's cock as he continued to lick inside her and groan as he did. He must have still been sensitive after his last orgasm but Rarity couldn't focus on anything but the beautiful tongue inside her pussy and the delicious member in her fingers. The Dragon-Blooded boy's tongue searched around within her before finding the place it was looking for.

"There!" Rarity said out loud as his tongue teased her sensitive area. Rarity's body shaking as she felt herself building up towards another satisfying climax. "Spike, please. Spike... please. Spike please... please, right there!" Her head fell down against his lap as her hips pushed upward to his mouth before her thighs started to give out. "Spike!" Rarity shouted as the strength left her legs and she collapsed on top of the boy. After all that effort to make him feel even more pleasure he was still serving her.

Rarity rolled off Spike's body to keep from crushing him. She wouldn't have consider herself fat (and if you insinuated she was she'd give you a tongue lashing that wasn't of the pleasant kind), but she knew she was big enough that she didn't want to smother her lover. Besides she needed a kiss. Spike adjusted his position on the bed to lay next to Rarity, the two of them kissing each others lips through strained gasps of air. It felt great, wild and satisfying. It felt quite simply like really good sex.

It also felt desperate.

Rarity put her arms around Spike and he did the same, the two of them hugging each other tightly as if to prevent the other from escaping. Through the words of love, the passion and the sex there had been this fearful thing floating over them and Rarity was desperately trying to push it away. She understood what it was. It was symbolic in that diamond bracelet that was currently sitting in the bottom drawer of her vanity. Even buried underneath her other possessions the jewelry was haunting her. As if to saying that she'd done wrong by him before and was going to again. She hated it.

This was foolish though, one kiss in a garden with Blueblood wasn't a serious affair. She'd even stopped it before anything could become more of it. So what was it then that gnawed at her? The secrets? Secrets upon secrets upon more secrets. In the past she had felt a pride in the honesty with which she ran her business and treated her friends. But now all the things that couldn’t be said felt smothering around her.

Maybe that's why when she looked in Spike's eyes she felt like she saw the same confusion. Did he hate her? He said he loved her, she was sure he meant that, but did he also hate her? When they laid on the bed staring at one another Rarity found she had to close her eyes before too long. She couldn't take the emotions building up within. "Rarity?"

"Yes Spike?" Rarity responded, sounding more drained than she intended.

"It's not the same, is it?" Spike asked. Rarity's eyes clenched tighter as she pulled Spike into her breast. She couldn't look at his eyes but she had to feel him close by.

"It's fine Spike. Everything is fine." But it wasn't, they both knew it. Why was he the only one brave enough to voice it? She should have been the more mature one of the two of them.

"It's not. It's my fault."

"No. Spike it's not your fault." Rarity stroked his hair as she held him against her.

"I shouldn't have asked you to marry me." Spike said with a somber tone. It was as if their positions were reversed from the last time they made love. Rarity was having a hard time keeping her emotions in check as he continued. "I was wrong to put you in that kind of position. I just... I really do love you."

"I love you too Spike." Rarity sniffled as she felt some tears escape her eyes.

"Rarity... are you crying?"

"I'm sorry darling, I'm just a bit emotional right now." Rarity's tears were always the first thing to give her away. She had many different types of crying; over-dramatic tears, sad story tears, afraid tears, tears of despair, fake tears and finally quiet and emotional tears. Spike lifted his head from the comfort of her breasts and looked into her purple eyes to see those last type falling down her cheeks now. "Oh dear, I've ruined the mood." She tried to wipe them away discreetly as Spike watched her silently. After a moment Spike broke free of her embrace and Rarity was afraid he was going to leave the room. Maybe... maybe somehow word of her shameful behavior in the garden had gotten back to him and this was just his final ride with her. Using her up before he was done.

Instead Spike got onto his knees and Rarity sat up on the bed. Spike took her hand in his and inhaled deeply. "Oh boy. Okay... Rarity, I haven't been treating you correctly."

"You haven't?" Rarity asked completely taken off guard by this confession.

"I haven't. I haven't been a good boyfriend to you." Spike said the word boyfriend as if it were caught in his throat. What their relationship was was indeed awkward and Spike seemed confused as to how he should look at himself when it came to the two of them. Rarity hadn't helped matters in that regard. "So in light of that I need to say this to you."

"Oh... okay." Rarity said now a bit dumbstruck as to what Spike was going to let her know.

"Rarity, will you share a date with me?"

"...a date?" Rarity asked, not expecting that at all.

"Yes, a date. I realized that all we've done, other than work together and be friends, is have sex. I mean, I like having sex with you. That's... that's not even true. I LOVE having sex with you. It's amazing, but I feel like that's all we're doing. So I should do more for you." Rarity took a moment to process this, a dozen thoughts going through her head at this revelation. Yes it was true that all they'd really done as a couple was be intimate together and maybe Rarity never expected to do anything more than that. That was easy to keep a secret and in a way it kept her safe. A date somehow made this so much more real.

"Spike, I can't go out with you. People will see us."

"No no, I thought about that. We don't have to go out. I'll cook us something here and pick up a dessert from Sugarcube Corner and I can also borrow the projector from the library to watch a movie right here and we can do all sorts of... other stuff. I don't know what exactly yet but I want to try and do something for you, like a real boyfriend would." Rarity nervously bit her bottom lip as she listened to him go on and on.

"Do you really want to do all of this for me? That's... it's so much trouble for..." For the woman you're fucking that will probably be too old for you when you come of age. That was one of the other fears that lingered over her this morning. The thing she kept out and away while they enjoyed each other's company.

"Rarity, it's not trouble. I mean, I'd do a thousand times more than this. I love you, that's why I want to." Rarity couldn't hold the tears back any further as she pulled Spike into a strong hug. Spike was caught off guard but soon hugged her back tightly, enjoying each other's warm embrace.

"I love you too Spike. I love you." It felt good to say it with confidence. "Now come here, I need snuggling." After some readjusting of the somewhat damp and disheveled sheets Rarity and Spike found themselves under a thin blanket and cuddled next to each other. Rarity pressed her back up against Spike and pulled his arm over her and held it there.

"So is two days from now going to be okay?"

"For our date?" Rarity asked with a little bit of excitement at the idea of him wanting to spend that kind of time with her. "It will be perfect."

"Good. I won't let you down. I promise, I'll make it as enjoyable as I possibly can.

"I never doubted you for a moment, Spiky-Wikey." Rarity said as she moved her body to press closer to him. Even though they had just made love not that long ago she could feel his cock growing erect against her ass when she had moved. "Getting excited again?"

"It's not my fault, you do that to me. Sometimes on purpose I think." Rarity smiled confidently and enjoyed their position together as they spooned.

"Good, because I'm going to require more of you after I feel sufficiently snuggled."

"Really?" Spike asked half excited and half amazed.

"That's what happens when you leave a woman in waiting for you."

Author's Notes:

Chapter Edited by Bennet001

Solutions

This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This story contains content of an adult nature and is an Alternate Reality take of the character Spike as a human (who I do not own). Please support the official release.

Twilight's Treatment Volume 2 - Chapter 14 - Solutions

She'd been carefully planning when to make her move all day. The beginning of school didn't allow her enough time, only a few minutes with her target. During class would be worse, even with notes there was both the risk of getting caught and leaving evidence. But lunch was the perfect opportunity to seclude her target and complete her objective. There might be some collateral damage if she couldn't isolate the situation, but it should be minimal at worst. As everyone else filed out of the room she took a breath and prepared herself.

"This is dumb." Sweetie Belle said out loud to herself once she was sure everyone had exited the class room to retrieve their lunches from their lockers. She was making way too big of a deal out of a simple conversation. It was true that the topic was sensitive and she certainly didn't want anyone else to hear them discuss it. But the only person she had to worry about overhearing her was Scootaloo, who even if she heard would keep it a secret. All Sweetie had to do was get herself focused on the task at hand and complete it. No sweat.

Walking to her locker and grabbing her pink lunch box the young lady proceeded outside to where most everyone enjoyed their lunch. It was rare for anybody to eat inside when the weather was as nice as today. Even the less social kids didn't want to be cooped up in the school if they didn't have to. Scanning the school yard Sweetie searched until she located Applebloom, sitting under a tree eating a peanut butter and apple jelly sandwich. If you had to ask how Sweetie knew the exact flavor of the sandwich then you must not have known the Apple family very well. Surprisingly Applebloom was sitting alone, which while good for Sweetie in this moment the situation was uncommon. Applebloom was a girl that had a good share of friends and got along well with a lot of people.

Sweetie approached her friend and waved about half way over when she was spotted. The young farm girl motioned her over and Sweetie daintily sat next to her friend. "Howdy, was wonderin' when ya were gonna come on out."

"Sorry." Sweetie apologized even though there wasn't a reason to. "I had to get something before I could leave the classroom." Like her courage. Thankfully she found it somewhere, now she just had to use it. First she had to work her way up before just hitting Applebloom with the big stuff. "So I noticed you weren't eating lunch with Scootaloo."

"Ah would..." Applebloom said as she glanced across the school yard. "But ah didn't feel like fightin' fer mah chance tah." Sweetie followed Applebloom's line of sight to find Scootaloo sitting at one of the outside picnic tables, next to her newest fixation Rain Catcher. "So ah'm just here people watchin'."

"Oh, anything good to see?"

"There's a whole show goin' on." Applebloom guided Sweetie along to see off to the side Rumble was sitting by the school yard fence and watching Scootaloo. Along side him were Snips and Snails. While Snips seemed to be listening to Rumble talk Snails had his eyes over on Ruby Pinch, who was chatting it up with some other boy Sweetie never really talked to but knew was on one of the sports teams. On the opposite side of that was Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara who were sitting with Dinky Doo, oddly enough. Silver and Dinky seemed to be talking but Diamond looked like someone shoved a stick up her posterior. Sweetie could only guess why and it seemed to be the focal point of this little line of people.

There were enough kids that if you didn't know everyone you'd never see all the little details. Sweetie wouldn't have caught on as well as she did had Applebloom not pointed it all out. "Wow. Is this really all over Scootaloo hanging out with a new boy?" To think that little thing had caused such a big chain reaction.

"Ah doubt it." Applebloom said calmly, enjoying her lunch. "Ah bet everyone's just got a seed stuck in their teeth over somethin' and it's all just comin' out right now. Oh, that reminds me. Silver Spoon asked if we wanted tah go have a sleep over at Diamond Tiara's house."

"Whoa, really?" Sweetie asked amazed. Still it was true the two former bullies were trying to make amends for their past behavior. Silver Spoon seemed more sincere in this effort than Diamond in Sweetie's opinion. But she didn't think they'd ever invite them to hang out.

"Yeah, said it was gonna be a pool party while the weather is still warm. Ya wanna go?"

"I guess, sure. But uh... did they invite Scootaloo?" There seemed to be the most tension between those two and that fact wasn't lost on Applebloom either.

"Asked her the same thing, said she'd talk to her after askin' us first." Well that seemed to settle that. Maybe Silver Spoon wanted to test the waters with her and Applebloom first before trying to invite the most unstable element. Besides getting to Scootaloo right now meant going through Rain Catcher and all his friends.

"I guess that makes sense." Sweetie said and opened her own lunch box to start eating as well. There was a bit of silence between the girls as they ate and Sweetie Belle pondered how to bring up the subject she wanted to talk about while there was still time to discuss it. Just breaking into it felt too forward but she couldn't think of anything that would let her transition to the topic easily. Thankfully after the silence got to both of them Applebloom broke the ice.

"So, what's goin' on with you?" It was very open ended. The girls spent nearly every day together so it wasn't like they didn't know what each other were doing most of the time. But Sweetie gladly took any opening she could find after the frustrations of last night plaguing her all the way up to this moment.

"Well um... actually Applebloom I wanted to ask you something." Her tone changed and Applebloom picked up on it immediately. "But listen it's kind of personal so I'm going to ask you not to share it with anyone else, okay?" Applebloom nodded. "And you can't laugh either." Applebloom nodded in agreement again. "And if you don't want to talk about it that's fine but just don't think I'm weird or that there's something wrong with me or-"

"For goodness sakes Sweetie, ah ain't gonna talk about it with no one!" Applebloom's outburst got some attention from a few of the tables closest to them and the girls smiled sheepishly while they waited for the group to return to their previous conversations. "Ah mean yer fine, ya'll know ah'd never say nuttin' bad about any of ya." That was true, Sweetie had nothing to fear when it came to her friends. This was why she picked Applebloom in the first place.

"Okay then, so there's no reason we can't be mature about this."

"None whatsoever." Applebloom said as she drank from her thermos.

"Okay then, here it goes; have you ever masturbated?" Applebloom's eyes lit up as she suddenly spit her apple juice out across the grass like a very startled and backed up fountain. The farm girl coughed a few times and looked back to her friend, who was blushing red and looking down at the grass. "Sorry I asked..."

"No! No no, ah... ah promised ah'd be there tah talk." Her dedication was admirable if nothing else. The farm girl took a moment to catch her breath and ponder the question, blushing a bit as well. "Ah guess it just caught me by surprise."

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Well, geez Sweetie, it's not like ah haven't done it before." Applebloom said trying to sound reassuring but still coming off a bit nervous. "Ah mean hasn't everyone at least once?"

"I guess so. I never really thought about what other people do." Sweetie admitted honestly. Even though she'd been rather focused on her own sexual exploits recently she never thought about anyone else in that context unless it was someone she was interested in.

"So ah'm guessin' since ya asked that ya tried it yerself a few times?" Sweetie nodded shyly. "Well there ain't nuttin' weird about it far as ah know. Least not what anyone has ever said tah me." Sweetie let out a sigh of relief, this was actually going better than she had expected. She didn't think Applebloom would accuse her of being a slut or anything like that but she was scared that maybe no one else had tried it yet besides her. Knowing Applebloom had experimented too made her feel at ease.

"So um, when you do it, do you like... finish?" Applebloom was trying to see if she could get through drinking out of her thermos again and thankfully this time she managed not to impersonate a sprinkler.

"Ya mean like... 'finish' finish, right? Not just using a towel to clean up?" Sweetie Belle nodded. "Well yeah, ah mean isn't that the point?" Sweetie sighed again but this time it wasn't in any kind of relief. Just a continued disappointment. "Sweetie?"

"I can't do it." Sweetie said as the tone in her voice lowered to match her emotional state.

"Ya can't do it?" Applebloom asked.

"I just can't. No matter how many times I've tried I just can't... well, 'finish'. I haven't even gotten close." Well, there was two times in particular, with a partner who helped out. But she couldn't mention that even to her best friends.

"Not once?" Applebloom asked in disbelief, as if the thing being described to her couldn't be real."

"Applebloom I've never had an orgasm, ever." Sweetie said as she turned to face her friend and got a little closer to talk. "Not ever, and before it wasn't that big of a deal. Because... y'know, whatever. Who cares? But now it's just driving me nuts and I'm feeling really really... pent up." This part was even harder to describe. At the moment Sweetie Belle wasn't aroused or eager or any of those emotions that always lead to the disappointment. She was just fed up with her problem and it was weighing on her mind.

"Well... horse feathers that's a mess right there." Applebloom said and took a swig of her apple juice like a hard cider drinker. "Well... so when ya... do it... what are ya doing when ya do it? How are ya...?"

"I'm just using my hand to... y'know. You do it too, right?"

"Well yeah, ah do but it's just every time ah do it, it works fer me. So how are ya doing it with yer hand?"

"Well okay, it's like this." The two girls spent the next few minutes having a very interesting but embarrassing conversation as they described how exactly they spent some of their nights in their rooms. Complete with examples of the way the used their fingers, at what curves and where they went. By the time they were done all Sweetie seemed to really learn was that for the most part the two girls managed to have similar techniques and Applebloom was taking it to completion. Aside from the fact she liked to get up on her knees sometimes to reach underneath and pleasure herself. Which while pertinent information to the discussion it did cause Sweetie's face to light up red like an apple as she pictured it in her mind. Somehow they were both exhausted just having talked about all of this.

"Well... shoot, ah just dunno what tah suggest, Sweetie. Sounds like yer doin' it all correct tah me."

"Yeah..." Sweetie said sounding tired. "Sorry to put you through that."

"Nah, it's okay. Sorry ah couldn't be of more help." So that was the end of that. Unless Sweetie wanted to take the same gamble on Scootaloo she was back at square one. Or so she thought anyway until a voice spoke up from behind the tree they were both sitting under.

"Have you ever tried uthing toyth?" There was a moment of confusion and panic on both girls parts as their eavesdropper made themselves known from behind the tree. Somehow they'd gone completely unnoticed the entire time they'd been back there.

"Wha-what!?" Sweetie Belle asked in a panic now that someone else knew about her problem. The last thing she needed was for this to get out to everyone.

"Hey, wait a sec. Ah know that voice." The other person made themselves known as they rounded the tree to where the two girls were. She had thick, purple rimmed glasses and red frizzy hair that seemed to flow off of her head. She was also easily a lot taller than both Sweetie and Applebloom but only a little older. Thankfully it was someone they both recognized. "Twist!"

"Hiya Applebloom. Hiya Thweetie Belle." Even though Twist had grown quite a bit it seemed she hadn't yet mastered that lisp of hers. Thankfully deciphering her words wasn't any harder than talking to Applebloom. The girl in the glasses sat down with them as well to join in the conversation. Sweetie sighed.

"You've been listening the whole time!? How come you never said anything?"

"I thought it would be rude to interrupt." Twist answered calmly and Sweetie couldn't think of an argument against that. "I didn't even realithe Applebloom wath thitting here till you two thtarted talking. By then I thought I'd let you girlth finish and keep working on my own thtuff." Sweetie supposed that was reasonable enough of an explanation. She still didn't like her private life being in the hands of someone she didn't intend to share it with.

"What were ya doin' back there anyway?" Applebloom asked, not nearly as upset as Sweetie seemed to be. Applebloom was a lot closer to Twist than Sweetie or Scootaloo so it made sense she was more comfortable with her knowing secrets about them. Sweetie just hoped Applebloom didn't make it a habit of sharing all their private lives with her.

"I was jutht working on one of my thtorieth. Thometimeth it can be difficult for me to get relaxthd enough to focuth on them tho I take any chance I can get."

"Wait a sec, yer writin's stories now? Ah thought you were all about making candies." Applebloom asked curiously.

"Oh I'm thtill making peppermint thtickth and all other thorth of thingth. But I like to do thith thometimeth too jutht ath a hobby. It can be fun writing your own thtorieth with a bit of a twitht in them."

"That so, ya'll got a lot of 'em?" Applebloom asked as she tried to peek over the note book Twist had been writing in, but the girl in the glasses closed it shut with a grin before Applebloom could get a peek.

"No peeking till the work is finithhed." Twist said pleased with herself. "But I'll be glad to thhare anything I have done with you if you want. Would be nithe to get thomeone to give me an opinion on what I'm doing to get better. Thweetie you can too if you want, I'll even bring thome thnackth if we want to make a thing out of it." Twist seemed really pleased with the idea of sharing her stories. It kind of reminded Sweetie of how Rarity loved to show off a dress when it was finally done. Must have been an artists' pride that she simply wasn't familiar with yet till she could find her own style to share.

"Yeah, I think it might be fun." Sweetie agreed, seemed she was getting invited to a lot of things today. "...so um, what did you mean by 'toys'?" It was another awkward transition into the original subject but to be fair it was Twist that brought it up.

"Oh yeah, that problem you thaid you had. Have you ever thought about uthing toyth to tholve it?" Sweetie and Applebloom both looked on with complete confusing as if Twist was speaking another language. Applebloom tried to reason things out.

"Somehow ah don't think an old doll or toy train is gonna solve this particular issue, Twist." Twist giggled a bit at Applebloom's response.

"No thilly, not thothe kindth of toyth. I mean like thex toyth, the kind that help with Thweetie's exact problem." The girls were still completely baffled by the suggestion. "You've never heard of them before?

"No way." Sweetie said sincerely.

"Like... where would ah even have heard of 'em?" Applebloom said genuinely confused how Twist had such confident knowledge on the subject.

"Oh, I gueth you girlth don't read the thame kind of bookth ath me. They talk about them a lot in certain romanthe novelth. Actually they go into a lot of detail about a lot of thingth depending on who the author ith." It was dawning on Sweetie both how fortunate she might be that Twist came along having such knowledge readily at hand and how interesting it was she was getting these kinds of books. Which prompted her to ask about it.

"These are just available to read for free, any time we want in the library?" Twist nodded in response. "And Twilight has never once asked why your checking out books with... that sort of stuff in them?"

"I don't think thhee knowth." Twist answered. "Or thhee ithn't paying attention. I think thhee just tho happy thomeone ith checking out a book that thhee doethn't care what they're about. Thhee hath never even read the titleth far ath I can tell, just thtampth them and letth me go." Well there's you answer, blame a lack of adult supervision if you have a problem with it. Not that it appeared to be a problem, Twist seemed completely comfortable and self-confident in what she'd read about. "Anyway there'th all thorth of thingth you can get. Toyth thhaped liked penitheth, toyth thhaped like jutht thmooth thtickth, thome thhaped like eggth. Thome of them even vibrate to help you out."

"Should we be talkin' about this so publicly!?" Applebloom asked clearly uncomfortable with where this was going but Sweetie Belle was seeing a guiding light as she got closer to be more involved in the conversation.

"Do you think one of those might really help me?" She didn't want to sound desperate but she was at her wit's end.

"Maybe." Twist answered. "I mean you'd have to buy one and I'm not thure exactly where you'd even get it." Sweetie felt her heart sink for a second time. Another dead end. "I gueth you could alwayth jutht uth a pillow."

"A... pillow?" Sweetie asked confused. Applebloom was even more confused.

"They make pillows for that? How does that even work?" Twist giggled a little bit again and seemed to be having fun with their ignorance in the subject. Even if she was at least she was sharing with them and not making fun or talking down to them.

"No no, it'th not a thpecial one... least I don't think. Thomeone probably does make one..." She trailed off a bit before getting back on topic. "But I mean any old pillow can do ath long ath it'th not too thoft. Or a thtuffed animal, or an arm chair. Heck you could uthe another friend'th leg."

"A friend's leg..." Sweetie said as she was suddenly taken back to her adventures with Spike and was suddenly getting an idea of what Twist was talking about. Applebloom kept things going forward.

"Lets just focus on the first one, okay?" The farm girl asked as her cheeks were clearly flushed with embarrassment.

"Okay." Twist agreed without missing a beat. "All you have to do ith get it nice and firm and put it between your legth. You don't even have to take your underwear off if you don't want to. Then you jutht kind of rub."

"Rub?" Applebloom asked.

"Yep, kind of like you're riding a horthe."

"An ya'll have tried this?" The farm girl asked again.

"Oh yeah!" Twist said happily. "I mean it'th not my favorite way to do it but it doeth work pretty good. I thought if Thweetie Belle hadn't tried it out yet then it might help her with her problem." Maybe it could she thought. She hadn't even considered trying anything other than what she'd done in the past. She just figured there must have been something wrong with her. Which reminded her...

"Oh Twist, this is probably pretty obvious but please please please don't go telling anyone about this conversation." Sweetie asked as sweetly as she could.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't go talking about my friendth behind their backth. Bethideth thith ith important girl talk, am I right?" Sweetie smiled and nodded, feeling a little relief in the knowledge there just might be a solution for her problem after all. Applebloom on the other hand looked as if she were currently a lot more bothered by all of this than when they started. "You okay Applebloom?"

"Yeah yeah, ah'm fine. No need tah fret." The farm girl said. "Ah just don't... y'know, normally talk about stuff like this."

"No problem, I gueth people don't uthually. But I'm glad I can with you girlth. It maketh me feel better knowing we can talk about adult thtuff and it doethn't get all immature and giggly the moment someone says puthy or clit." Both girls were left wide eyed as up until that point no one had been saying things like that. Twist's lisp making the situation even more surreal. "Well lunch ith gonna end here thoon tho I'm gonna head back. I'll thee you girlth later." The girls said goodbye to their friend as they were currently stewing in the information she'd given them while collecting their trash from their meal. Sweetie didn't know if this was actually going to solve her problems but she had hope now. Maybe after solving this issue she could finally figure out what to do about the other things that were bothering her as of late. If nothing else she was eager for tonight to come.

The rest of the school day proceeded as normally as any other. Students took their classes, were given homework by their teachers and once it was over every one of them was ready to head home. Scootaloo fiddled with her locker combination as she planned which books to leave behind and which to take with her. She'd need the math book without a doubt as she had more than enough homework of it. She wasn't looking forward to having to do any of it, she hated math. Even the numbers on her locker were a pain as she finally got it open after the second try.

Still not everything was bad today; she got to talk with Rain Catcher a lot more at lunch and thankfully Applebloom and Sweetie Belle weren't upset over it at all. Though they did seem kind of weird after lunch, like there was something going on that she had missed. She'd have to catch up with them later when she'd get the chance to ask them what was going on. As she loaded up her backpack and closed the locker door a familiar face appeared next to her before she could make her way towards the club house. Silver hair hung over spectacles that gazed at her eagerly. "Hey Scootaloo, getting ready to head home?" Silver Spoon asked with a bit of joy to her voice.

"Uh... actually I was going to head to the club house with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo answered hesitantly. Even though the two bullies from her childhood seemed like they were trying to act less like jerks she still wasn't sure about their motives. Any minute she figured they could switch back to their old selves and Scootaloo didn't want to be the target if it happened.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I thought you would and the girls would tell you then but I wanted to let you know first." The girls? She didn't realize all of them were so familiar with each other now. Not that she trusted the girl in glasses.

"Let me know what?"

"Well two days from now Diamond Tiara is going to have a party at her place-"

"Not interested." Scootaloo said quickly and began to walk away before Silver Spoon cut off her escape route with he own body.

"Let me finish!" She said insistently and it managed to stop the purple haired girl in her place. "Thank you, as I was saying; she's having a private party at her place two days from now. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom have already agreed to come."

"They did?" Scootaloo asked in complete surprise. She knew Applebloom had been making an effort to be nicer with the two but she hadn't though her and Sweetie Belle would willing walk into one of their homes like this.

"Yes, under the condition that you wanted to come too. We'll have a sleep over and pizza and her dad can even break out the projector to watch a movie if we want. Also we're planning to use the pool so you should bring your swim suit." Scootaloo thought about this carefully before answering. She did like the idea of all of those things, it sounded like a lot of fun.

"Didn't we all just go to a party and it ended really badly?" The bad taste of everything blowing up at Spike's place was still fresh in her mouth. Including her argument with Diamond Tiara.

"It'll be just the five of us this time, no one else showing up. No boys, just us girls."

"And Diamond Tiara really wants me there?" Silver Spoon looked like she was getting tired of trying to seem pleasant during this conversation. Scootaloo didn't feel bad though. Maybe this was some kind of peace treaty they were putting together but after everything she'd seen in the past it could easily be just a set up.

"Look, I get that you guys are fighting. I think you know why too." Scootaloo smirked confidently.

"Cause she's jealous of me."

"You are not even close to right." Silver Spoon said, dropping her smile and getting serious now. "Did you know Rain Catcher and Diamond Tiara dated?"

"I... what?" She actually hadn't known that. Frankly she didn't think to ask if he'd been involved with anyone else before. "So, what does that matter?"

"Try asking him some time why they broke up and see what he says. Cause I'm telling you right now Scootaloo, Diamond was just trying to protect you." Scootaloo wasn't sure how to respond to that. When it came from Diamond Tiara she was more than ready to fight but now someone else was giving her the same story. Sure it was Tiara's sidekick but still it caught her off guard.

"S-so what, you're saying I should just stay away from him too?" She felt herself get defensive but it was Silver Spoon's fault for bringing it out in her.

"I don't know, doesn't matter to me." Silver pulled out a small envelope and handed it to her. "Maybe he's changed, maybe he's still a jerk. I don't like him myself and I think you should be careful around him. Party time is on the invite, you're still welcome to come if you want. Diamond Tiara really doesn't want a fight and she's trying hard to show it. Please respect that." Just like that the older girl said her good byes and went on her way home. Scootaloo was left dumb struck after the conversation. It was like being reprimanded by a parent for acting like a brat.

Looking the invite over she thought the situation through. If Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were really going then it was probably for real. Silver had even given her a chance to ask them herself later and Scootaloo doubted she would be setting up some kind of trick if she knew they could check out her story with each other. Scootaloo put the envelope away in her backpack and got ready to head out and meet the girls. She wasn't sure what to think but she hoped at least if they wanted to go to this party that everything would work out okay.

The idea that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were reforming messed up her expectations of things involving them. But worse was the thought that if they were really turning over a new leaf then that might have meant they were being honest about Rain Catcher. Now that a boy was actually paying attention to her she didn't want to believe those things could be true. Best to just not think about it right now. They could still be acting nice and be wrong about him. That had to be it. She hoped it was it. Otherwise the alternative was too depressing.

Hours later as the sun was starting to descend, Spike was on the road making his way back home. While spending time with Rarity had been enjoyable he still had his responsibilities to Twilight. Rarity understood of course, she'd have him all to herself in a few nights after all. Spike didn't know how he planned to phrase that to Twilight but he figured being direct was the best way to go. As she'd stated before she wasn't ignorant to what was going on between them.

Even though the better part of the morning was spent together under and over Rarity's bed sheets the two had eventually found their way out of the soft embrace of her bed and into the shower. Spike hadn't bathed with anyone since he was very small and needed the supervision. Let alone with a woman he was attracted to. It was nice. Being together in the hot water and helping each other get ready for their day had felt like the sort of thing they'd been missing. A connection outside of just the physical. He'd always suspected but it was great to confirm that even before Rarity had done herself up with makeup and clothing she was always beautiful in every stage of preparation.

Once they were clean Spike actually did help her around the boutique for a while. Carrying things, assisting her when needed and making tea so she didn't have to leave her work station or client's attention. In the way that things had felt different in the bedroom things suddenly felt different in public as well. Spike still admired her to be sure but there wasn't the feeling of the puppy dog following behind her every step. It was like there was a mutual respect now between them and it felt reassuring. When they parted she'd given him a kiss and let him know she was looking forward to their date together. Spike was too, bursting at the seams with excitement actually. But not spouting fire anymore, funny enough. He hoped that was a good sign.

"I'm home." Spike called out as he walked in through the front door of the library. Much like yesterday Twilight was leaned over a book with a cup of tea within easy reach. No one else was in the library besides them and with dinner approaching he figured it was unlikely anyone would show up.

"Hey Spike, welcome back." Twilight responded with a kind smile. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah, it was nice. I did some work around the boutique but it wasn't very difficult. Mostly running errands. Did you have lunch with everyone else?" He recalled before he'd left that morning Twilight had mentioned getting together with the girls to eat. He was glad that she was still making time to visit with her friends.

"It was just Pinkie and AJ that came over. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were busy with bringing those monsters into Everfree today. We were like a group of veterans trading war stories of our injuries." They shared a laugh over the interesting bond the trio had after their encounter at the capital. Bringing up her injuries would have made Spike sad but all the girls were apparently happy with Zecora's ointment and seemed in good spirits. He couldn't have asked for a better ending to that situation. "Were you hungry?"

"I was just about to suggest I make some stuffed peppers for us if you want them?" Twilight agreed to the idea right away, Spike knowing it was one of his better meals that he put together and she enjoyed. As the boy got himself ready in the kitchen he also plotted how to approach the subject of his big question. He knew she wouldn't refuse him but he didn't want to be brash or rude about letting Twilight know of his plans.

"How is Rarity doing?" Twilight asked, catching Spike off guard. It was weird to report that back to her, as if he was somehow a wedge between the two just by being present. The girls didn't spend every today together of course but he didn't want to give them a reason to not see each other.

"She's good." Spike answered and tried to sound casual while doing so. "She has her own things to work on tomorrow so I'll be staying home to help around the library." Twilight nodded and made a noise of agreement. "She said you're welcome to visit whenever you want." That last part was thrown in by Spike himself as the subject of Twilight had never come up the entire time he was visiting Rarity. Thankfully it was an accepted statement without any kind of drama or objection.

"Okay, I might do that if I'm feeling up to leaving the house tomorrow." Spike let out a breath he'd been holding back. Gauging her reactions Twilight was both feeling better herself and didn't seem to have any conflict with her friend. Things were sailing smoothly so far. "Applejack and Pinkie asked me to come out tomorrow too so I might keep plans with them."

"Oh, okay. What are you guys going to do?" Spike was getting into the full swing of preparing dinner now with his concerns alleviated.

"They wanted to go by Fluttershy's to check out the beefca... er, um, beasts. To check out the beasts. Boy, what was I saying?" She laughed a little at her slip of the tongue but Spike hadn't caught whatever it was she'd nearly uttered. He was trying to remember the right spices for the sauce.

"I guess that would be a good chance to get up close and study them. Not like you can see a bunch of monsters like that every day without risking your neck." Spike was getting the cutting board and vegetables ready by this point, all his ingredients gathered. "Do you want another cup of tea while I'm up?"

"Don't worry, I've got it." Twilight raised her hand and the tea pot near her lifted off the table, coated in magical power. Spike watched as the tea leaves for the pot were replaced, hot water was added to it from the kettle she'd kept on stand by and all of it was returned to her to fill her cup. Twilight took a sip of her drink and turned a page of her book. She hadn't lifted her head up once in the entire action.

"W-wow. Your power is back that much?" Spike asked in amazement.

"Yeah, I can use my magic again, thankfully. My neck and arms are still beat up though. Did you want some help in the kitchen?"

"No, I'm good." Spike responded, still awe struck at her amazing recovery. Magical exhaustion was a taxing condition on a human body, but Twilight shrugged it off as if it had been no worse than a stubbed toe. He wondered sometimes just how much Twilight could accomplish if she pushed herself to the limit. "Say Twilight, did we have any important plans coming up in the next few days?"

"Not that I remember, why do you ask?" She still sounded casual when she replied. Spike took that as a sign to make his move.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe the night after next I might spend the night at Rarity's." Spike let the thought hang in the air for a while to see if their was any verbal reaction. He had his back to the librarian while he was working on the food so he couldn't see her face to know what she was thinking. "I guess that would mean you'd have to pick up dinner somewhere that night instead of me making it if it's okay with you?"

"Okay." Twilight answered calmly.

"Yeah?" Spike asked as he glanced over his shoulder. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but the sight he got wasn't it. She didn't look upset or sad or teary eyed or even angry. Just the same calm exterior she'd had since he entered the library. "You'll be okay on your own?"

"Of course. I'm a big girl, Spike. I can get myself something to eat if I have to." She smiled a little to herself as she responded and Spike felt his tension slip off his shoulders. She was fine with him spending the night at Rarity's. If that date went well then maybe Spike could finally figure out some way to make things normal between everyone again. "So you better work extra hard tomorrow and have your chores done for both days."

"No escaping the ever present list and jobs written on it." Twilight's obsession with cataloging and completing assignments was ever present to this day in her life. Still he didn't mind it. It was just one of the things that made Twilight Twilight. "No worries, there's no job too great that I can't handle."

"I never doubted for an instant." Twilight said with a happy tone.

It was almost too good to be true. Everything seemed to be coming together for once. His plans with Rarity were approved and on track, Twilight was healing quickly and looking like her old self again. Sure there were still some things to iron out but he was feeling confident that it was possible to make everyone happy. They ate dinner together that night and shared pleasant conversation. He could only hope all his friends were doing this good.

She'd been thinking about the subject all day since it got put into her head; a pillow to help you masturbate. Something as simple as that could make you feel really good in a different way than you'd felt before. It was like some kind of weird witch craft that she hadn't been aware existed previous to today. Twist had spoken of the action highly and as far as she could tell Twist wouldn't lie. She'd been so eager to help after all. But was this something she could really go through with? Did doing this sort of thing make her a pervert or a weirdo? As long as no one knew about it that was fine, right? Feeling good was owed to her just as much as it was to everyone else. She sighed sitting on her bed and looking at the comforter.

"Ah'm ah really frettin' over this?" Applebloom asked herself quietly. It wasn't even like this was a problem for her, it was Sweetie that had the issue. She didn't understand how her friend couldn't hit the high notes during her alone time. The farm girl hadn't had a problem with it since she learned how to do it. But this was like something different entirely using a "toy" as Twist had referred to it. Reaching behind herself she grabbed one of her pillows and hugged it against her chest. Dressed in just her panties and a large, yellow nightgown she sat there hugging her pillow tightly and leaning her head on it for support.

"Well... yer gonna do it anyway." Ever since the subject of masturbation had been brought up she was aware she was going to do it tonight. It was like the thought had been subliminally planted in her mind after Sweetie Belle asked. She hadn't even felt all that aroused until they began talking about it. Afterwards it had been sitting in the back of her head, waiting for the chance to fulfill itself. Touching herself wasn't something she did very often but when she had the urge she always took care of it and was happy to do so. Just the idea of introducing a new element was exciting and scary at the same time. Deep down she worried a little that she might be boring as a lover when she finally did meet a man she wanted to be with.

"If we're gonna get it done lets get it done." The girl said and put the pillow on the bed in front of her, staring at it for a moment. There wasn't really a plan of attack on this. Other than saying it could be used as an aid in her pursuits Twist hadn't mentioned a lot on how to go about it. Applebloom looked at the head cushion with frustration before grumbling and pulling her other pillow behind her to lean back on. To Tartarus with this, she was too horny to be this frustrated. Pulling up her nightgown she slipped off her panties and tossed them off the bed, needing to get down to business.

Using her mouth to wet her fingers Applebloom slid her right hand down between her thighs and began to rub herself gently. She let out a satisfied little moan as she began to apply pressured against her pussy and rub in slow circles. A whole day's worth of frustration being massaged away by her slender fingers. Spreading her legs apart wide the farm girl readjusted herself a few times before she was leaning back comfortably on her bed and stroking herself with pleasure.

Applebloom felt herself become moist with excitement as she slid down from her leaning position, lifting her nightgown up to rub her breast with her left hand and massage her clit with her right. Her mouth hung open as she let out quiet moans with hot breath, her fingers rubbing herself between her legs in quick motions to help her come along faster. Body arching a little as the intensity between her legs grew and the grip on her breast increased. She hadn't realized just how much she had wanted to do this. It made her feel energetic, hungry and even a little sexy. Also more adventurous. She suddenly had an idea of how to use that pillow.

Removing her nightgown entirely Applebloom grabbed hold of her pillow and curled it in on itself to make it more firm. Mounting it on her knees she made sure she had a firm grip so it wouldn't go anywhere and began to move her hips in a thrusting motion. "Oh! Oh ah git it now." The farm girl said as her pace increased with her hips. It was similar to how her fingers had been bringing her to orgasm before the pillow was doing the same. Only it hit her over every sensitive spot below her waist. With her position on the pillow it kind of reminded her of horse back riding which only made this more fun for her thinking about it combined with another activity she liked. "Ah can't believe ah never thought of this before." She gasped as her hips moved more quickly. She was close, she was going to climax and it was going to be so good!

That was when the door opened.

"Applebloom, can ya'll help me with this ointment, granny's OH MAH STARS!" There was this moment at that very point where time seemed to slow down for Applebloom. As the creak of her bedroom door began to sound the warning of an intruder, followed by her big sister barging in without even a knock. During this point right before hitting that orgasm that wouldn't be happening tonight Applebloom realized this act was ruined for her forever. She wouldn't ever be able to do this again without thinking of this very moment for the rest of her life. When time started to return to normal speed during Apple Jack's shout of surprise the words "BAIL OUT!" ran through her mind in big red letters as the farm girl dived down to the floor to hide herself on the opposite side of the bed. Not that it mattered, Apple Jack had already seen everything.

"Apple Jack, shut the door!" She shouted at her sister as she took cover. The blonde farmer did as requested but forgot one implied detail. "Ah didn't mean with ya'll still inside!"

"Applebloom, wha... what the heck are ya doin!?"

"What'd ya think I was doin!?" For as much desire as she'd had going into this situation it had all turned into frustration and rage with the flip of a switch. "Why are ya in mah room!?"

"Ah just... ah just need a hand is all. Ah'm sorry ah'll just uh..." Applebloom let out an irritated growl.

"Just gimme as sec." Well there was no point in hiding it now. Standing up Applebloom slipped on her nightgown with her back to her sister and turned around. Apple Jack was wearing her own two piece, flannel pajamas herself and her cheeks looked just as red as the colored portions of her clothing. "What do ya need help with?" There was this awkward pause as her big sister seemed completely confused as to what to do next. Applebloom however didn't really care so much as long as they got it done quickly so she could go to bed and forget this horrible night happened.

"Ah um... ah just need help." Applebloom stared forward in annoyance before the farmer realized there was more to it. "Oh, uh, ah needed help with mah medicine. Granny usually does it but she fell asleep so uh... if ya don't mind? Ah can't reach all the spots mahself." Applebloom let out another frustrated grunt.

"Fine, okay. Just knock next time, alright?" Apple Jack nodded, still completely embarrassed over everything that had just happened. There was an odd exchange of power in this situation as Applebloom felt righteous in her anger over having her privacy violated and her big sister knew she was in the wrong. Not to mention Applebloom was doing her a favor! Well Apple Jack had better appreciate it after what she did. How rude to just barge in on someone without even a knock.

Apple Jack quietly sat on the edge of the bed and began to unbutton her pajama top. She set the gourd Zecora had prepared for her on Applebloom's night stand as she did. "Ah just need ya tah put 'em on the sore spots and then ah'll be outta yer hair." Her voice was embarrassed and disappointed. It was an accident to be sure but it was all her fault and she had ruined a really good session Applebloom was enjoying.

"Okay, ah can handle it. Where do ya need it put exactly?" She knew her sister had been hurt the last time she went to the capital in some kind of fight against a monster. Though Apple Jack had reassured her that the injuries were minor. The doctor was just being careful with her so she wasn't allowed to do a lot of manual labor on the farm just yet. So she needed the medicine for a while. Sooner it was done the sooner Applebloom could help herself get to unwind.

"Ya'll know when ya see it." The farmer said as she lowered her pajama top. Apple Jack wasn't wearing a bra underneath but it wasn't a big deal. Honestly the sisters had seen each other naked before. Not often mind you but when you're in the same house all the time you just sort of run into each other coming out of the shower or getting dressed and who really cares? Usually it isn't a situation like the one a few moments ago.

"Alright." Applebloom put some ointment on her hands and got them coated up. Getting behind Applejack on the bed she got ready to apply it to her back. Before her hands could touch though she managed to see just why the ointment was needed. "What... Ah don't understand."

"What's the matter?"

"Ah don't... what happened? Ya said ya weren't hurt that bad." There were bruises everywhere. All over her upper back and on her shoulders. It was amazing Applejack could move at all without being in pain. "Ya said ya weren't hurt this bad but there's... ah thought ya only got hit once?"

"Yeah, well, ah hit the ground too after he walloped me good. So ah guess it was more like two hits. Applebloom?" The farmer turned around to see her little sister shaking as tears formed in her eyes. "Sugar Cube it's okay, it looks a lot worse than it feels." When Apple Jack talked tough like that she couldn't hold it in and started crying. Apple Jack readjusted herself on the bed and held onto her little sister with her arms. "What's the matter darlin'? Ah'm gonna be alright."

"Ah yelled at you." Applebloom said through her tears as she leaned into her big sister's hug, feeling like the worst human being on the planet. "Ah yelled at ya and ya came to me fer help and ah didn't know ya were hurt so bad!"

"Shh, it's alright." The farmer held her little sister against her chest and she cried hard despite the comfort. How could she have been so selfish? How could she have been angry when all her sister wanted was help with such terrible pain? Even now Apple Jack still wasn't mad at her for being such a spoiled brat and it just made the red head feel worse about herself. "Hush now, it's alright. Ya didn't know. Ah promise ya it's not as bad as it seems." Applebloom lifted her tear stricken face from her sister's embrace and looked up at her sibling who was smiling with comfort at her.

"Honest?"

"Of course." She said and gave the top of Applebloom's head a rub. "It is a tad sore though and ah really do need help if ya don't mind?"

"Ah don't." Applebloom sniffed and her big sister wiped her tears away for her since Applebloom's hands were still covered in ointment. Getting back into position behind her, Applebloom began to very carefully rub the medicine onto her sister's skin. Wincing at just how awful the bruises looked.

"Ah'm a bit tougher than that, ya'll can put it on without worryin' about hurtin' me."

"Okay." Applebloom said quietly as she worked her hands up from Apple Jack's back and onto her neck. She could feel her body relax as the ointment made contact with her skin. More ointment was needed before they were done as she applied it to Applejack's collar and her head to try and give her the most relief from the place she'd been struck. Thankfully that punch hadn't hit any harder or broken Applejack's nose when it landed. Her sister really was incredible to walk away from that and still be so strong.

"Thanks Sugar Cube." Apple Jack said as she put her top back on and rose to her feet. Applebloom did the same and looked down at their bare feet still feeling ashamed of herself. "Hey now, everything's alright, ya hear?" Apple Bloom nodded but she didn't feel that way. "Ah want tah hear ya say ya know it."

"Ah know it." Applebloom mumbled. "Do yz want me tah help ya tomorrow night too?" Apple Jack smiled warmly and gave her sister a hug which Applebloom returned gratefully.

"Be happy tah have yer help. In two nights yer gonna be at that sleep over at yer friend's right?" Apple Bloom nodded. "Alright... there ain't gonna be boys at this sleep over, right?" Apple Bloom shook her head. Oh Celestia please don't let Apple Jack try to have "The Talk" at this moment. She couldn't take much more emotional stress today. "Alrighty then, ah'm gonna head tah bed. Ah'll see ya in the mornin' little sis. Love ya."

"Love ya lots, big sis." Apple Jack left the room quietly, Applebloom laying down on her bed afterwards. Well she certainly wasn't in the mood to try and entertain herself anymore. That little game with the pillow was out the window as far as she was concerned. Associating it with her sister walking in on her and further more with herself being a selfish monster for yelling at her when she needed help just ruined everything about it. She let out a sigh and shut off her lamp next to her bed. "Hope Sweetie Belle's having a better night of it than me."

"Nngh! Yes!" She was sweating hard, moaning into her comforter and moving her hips in a lewd fashion. But she didn't care about that or how it might have looked to anyone. All she cared was how close she was to the satisfaction she'd been craving for so long. Laying on her side Sweetie Belle's hips ground against the edge of her pillow, one hand holding it tight while the other gripped onto her bed sheets. She wanted to shout with how good this felt but settled for talking quietly into the muffling of her bedding. "Yes yes yes yes yes!"

Twist had been so right about this that it was unbelievable. The pressure from the pillow was enough that it hit everything Sweetie had been missing on her own. She hadn't even taken off her bra or her panties when she began. It would have been embarrassing to say but she was just so eager to feel good for once after the end of one of her "sessions" that she didn't stop to do so. She could feel it ready to happen, ready to fulfill her pent up desires. It would feel so good. But she could make it feel better.

Keeping the pillow between her legs Sweetie rolled her body so that she was on all fours now. She reached back to unclasp her bra and discarded it onto the floor. It felt good to have the restrictive garment off and expose her breasts to the air. Her panties stayed on though, she felt sexier with them on for this. Like she had those two times she'd been this close before. "Spike... make me feel good."

She cooed to herself as she leaned forward and thrust her hips against the cushion between her legs. Closing her eyes she thought about the time in the bedroom with him, the first time she'd felt this way. Back then she had been scared of what they were doing. Unsure if it was right or not. She'd panicked in the heat of the moment and ran away. He said he wasn't mad at her about it but the memory was a bad one. Sweetie pushed it aside.

Her ass moved back and forth as she rubbed herself slowly again, thinking of the day in the orchard together. She'd pushed him up against a tree, made him surrender to her despite how much bigger he was. For a brief moment she was in power and he belonged to her. It had felt good when she did. Better when they kissed. The desire to kiss now was very strong. Her mouth opened and her tongue slid out as she remembered the joy of having another mouth there to greet her. He'd wanted her then... back then she was wearing a dress with her panties pressing against his body.

Her hand reached backwards and pulled up her blanket over her hips. She wanted to remember that day differently right now. Wanting to think of him giving her that joy and that feeling of satisfaction. He'd held her in his arms tightly and it had made her feel hot, so she pulled the blanket up farther around her shoulders to help with the memory. He'd put his hand on her ass and gripped it, so she reached down with one hand and squeezed her hip herself. He'd kissed and licked at her neck, so she licked her other hand's fingers and rubbed her neck lightly. It was embarrassing even for her to do this but it was the only good sexual encounter she'd ever had before in her life. Let her enjoy the fantasy.

"Make me cum." She whispered into the bed. She heard him reply that he wanted to in her mind. "Make me yours." His alone, no one else. "Be just mine." Of course, he belonged just to her. "I love you so much." He loved her too, more than any other woman he'd ever met. As he spoke in her mind her hips ground harder against the pillow. "I can feel... I can feel how hard you are." He was that way just for her. She'd made him that way with how much he wanted her. "I want you too..." That was good. He wanted her to feel it. He wanted to put it inside of her. Did she want that?

"Yes!" Sweetie Belle's hips shook as she rolled over onto her side, her body still rubbing against the pillow as the action brought her to her first orgasm. She was gasping loudly now for air as her body shook her with emotions and pleasure that she'd been trying to achieve for so long now. Gripping hard onto the pillow for a moment after before the strength in her body gave out and she lay on the bed, completely tired. Finally she'd be able to go to bed without feeling frustrated.

Sweetie rolled onto her back and panted hard, her chest rising up and down as she stared at the ceiling. She was covered in sweat and felt sticky and hot but overall wonderful. Maybe she could feel this good every night now? Tossing the tangled mess of blankets off of herself she sat up with her hands and looked herself over. "Whoa." Her panties were soaked. It wasn't a complete surprise since she'd often become very damp before when playing with herself but she hadn't noticed just how bad it was this time. Inspecting the pillow it had taken just as much of the brunt of it as her under garments. "Well, guess I'm not sleeping on this tonight." She tossed the pillow off the bed onto the floor and laid back down with a sigh. Hopefully she could clean that up without her mom noticing. She needed a special towel... and a special pillow.

"I guess Twist was right, they do need pillows just for this." Sweetie said a little amused with herself. She yawned loudly and tried to find a comfortable spot on the bed after abandoning her panties to the floor as well. Pulling up her towel from when she showered earlier Sweetie cleaned herself off and got ready to pass out. It was a wonderful feeling compared to the forced sleep she'd put herself into the other night. To think she owed it all to Twist and Spike for providing her the two ingredients she needed.

She briefly wondered what it was like sleeping next to someone after sex. With how sweaty she'd gotten was cuddling okay or is it better to leave the other person alone? Did Spike even like sleeping next to another person? She wanted to know. She wanted to know what sex was like. Before, during and after. But now at least she could take her time with it. Even if she couldn't have the boy she liked right now he could still satisfy her in her fantasies. Until it could be a reality. She fell asleep smiling, wishing him the same peace of mind tonight.

After this morning Spike had been under the impression that his night was going to be pretty uneventful. Without the very random encounters of his journey from yesterday he had been feeling satisfied and focused. Even happy for once instead of the ugly brooding feeling that crept in every so often. When Twilight had acknowledged his plan to spend the night at Rarity's with her approval he was sure they were finally on a path to some form of a normal routine finally. He had however forgotten about Twilight's medicine.

"Be gentle, okay?" The librarian said quietly in the dark.

"O-okay..." Spike agreed as he placed the ointment on his hands and prepared to apply it to her skin. When the two of them had gone up to their room to go to bed for the night Spike had changed into his pajamas and gone right to bed after cleaning his teeth. He wasn't sure if Twilight had wanted the bathroom for a while tonight so he had made sure to stay out of her way just in case. What he hadn't expected was for her to ask him to come to her bed to apply the ointment once more. Even less expected was to see her on her back with her chest exposed before him. Despite all of the lights being snuffed out he could still see her curves clearly in the darkness. His hands fell upon her soft skin as she had requested of him.

Spike had made it a point to never let his hands drop down too far below her collar. She was injured around her neck but he did his best to avoid even grazing where her collar ended and her breasts began. After all he was just doing a service to help his friend recover. A doctor or a masseuses would be doing the exact same thing and maintaining a professional level. No reason he couldn't be a man and do the same out of respect for someone so important to him. It didn't help that Twilight's moans of satisfaction were nearly erotic in tone. Letting out a warm breath he pulled his hands up. "I think I got everywhere." He whispered to her in the dark.

"Okay... just a moment." Twilight responded as she turned her body around on the bed, everything below her hips covered by her blanket with her bare back visible. "Okay."

"Okay." Spike said and let out a sigh of relief as he massaged her upper shoulders, back and under her hair against her scalp. She'd expressed how good it felt last time and he was happy to give it to her again. Even after seeing her exposed breasts earlier having her laying this way with everything out of sight made it much easier on him. When he was done he could just escape back into the bathroom again and relieve any tension he still had with a personal massage of his own. After everything that had happened this morning with Rarity, Spike was surprised he even had the urge to do that much.

As his hands were rubbing under Twilight's shoulder blades she spoke up from her place on the pillow. "Spike, can you get my lower back too? It's been sore."

"Not a problem, Twilight." Spike said happily and rubbed farther down her lower back to massage her. She did feel a little tense there. Spike didn't know if the ointment treated stressed muscles the same way it did injuries but he figured it couldn't hurt to try it. As his hands came down lower on her back Twilight moved one of her own hands down and pulled the blanket down a little farther. Even if she was still technically covered Spike could tell she wasn't wearing any panties with how much skin was exposed. He took another deep breath and kept on working.

"Don't be afraid to keep going lower." Twilight said in a tone of voice that was a bit unlike her but still held the sound of lecture and education she always had. As if she were a teacher trying to seduce a student in a classroom. Odd picture to get in his head considering he'd never gone to school, Spike thought. Spike followed along with her instruction and suddenly the blanket was tugged down farther by a pull of magical energy, exposing Twilight's ass and thighs to Spike. Her hips moved slightly and rose her ass into the air a little. The direction seemed clear... though Spike wasn't sure if he should follow through. Weren't they supposed to be avoiding this sort of thing? Was it still just a healing touch at this point?

Slowly, almost fearfully Spike's hands dropped down past Twilight's waistline and rubbed against her ass. The librarian let out a satisfied moan as her body was massaged further. Spike tried to not think about this as anything more than helping a friend but it was getting harder to see things that way. His fingers were gripping her ass lightly and rubbing each side in small circles. Pressure being applied against her soft skin and her groaning in appreciation for it. After what felt like an eternity she finally spoke again. "Thank you Spike, that was very relaxing."

"Y-you're... you're welcome Twilight. Anything for you." He swallowed a lump in his throat and prepared to make his way to the bathroom to find some private relief of his own so he could sleep tonight. Before he was able to get off the bed though Twilight stopped him.

"Spike, you don't have to go to the bathroom tonight."

"...what?"

"I know what you did in there last time." She turned her head to look at him now, her purple eyes seemed to shine even in the dark. She was so pretty. She was always so pretty. Why did she have to look so pretty even now? He felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. "It's okay, I'm not mad at you or anything. It's totally natural, just like the first time I told you that."

"Y-yeah, I guess so." That felt like a hundred years ago. The moment she'd caught him pleasuring himself that one time had led to her helping him in the first place that lead to everything else. How had that one simple embarrassing moment snowballed into all of this? Was that how all of life worked? Small moments growing so big they consumed your life?

"You can do it here with me, it's okay. It'll be easier for you to." While it was certainly true being next to the beautiful woman in the room would help him reach that climax faster he was under the impression that he wasn't supposed to do that anymore.

"Twilight, I thought that... we weren't supposed to?"

"I won't touch it myself." Twilight said. "I won't even look, okay?" She turned her head to face the other direction again. It seemed like her mind had been made up and Spike didn't have it in himself to argue with her over this. He began to undress next to her and Twilight stayed laying on the bed calmly. Even after he'd discarded all of his clothes though something felt off. "Having trouble?"

"It's just... I never did something like that. When someone else was nearby."

"Hm." Twilight said in a thoughtful tone before coming to a solution. "I know, just use this, okay?" Twilight said and reached around to tap her behind, raising it in the air a little.

"Use... but... use... but..." He wasn't sure if he was confirming or arguing against it.

"Just don't go inside, okay? If you just rub against me that should help you." Spike wasn't even sure how this was better than what they used to do before when Twilight took care of him herself with her hands. However with his clothes off and her laying nude before him it was too hard to resist. Besides, deep down Spike didn't want to tell her no whenever she asked him to do something. Climbing over her Spike positioned himself at her hips and pressed down, his cock sliding between her ass.

"Ooh." Twilight said with a cute giggle that just shook through Spike's body. "There you go. Just move back and forth until you cum on me. Don't worry about anything else, okay? Just enjoy it."

"O-okay." Spike said as his hips started to move. Even though he'd done quite a bit more with Twilight in the past this still felt really exciting. Just the contact with her skin against his cock was like a whole other feeling from doing it by himself with her panties. The ointment he'd rubbed on her skin before made slipping between her that much easier as he rubbed back and forth. "Oh wow."

"Does it feel good?" Twilight asked sounding very pleased she was making him happy.

"Y-yeah... it feels great."

"I'm glad, don't hold back okay?"

"Uh-huh!" Spike agreed and leaned forward into her, pressing against her ass harder. Twilight responded by lifting her hips and clenching herself together to offer him a firmer surface to rub against. Her willing participation in this was enough to bring Spike closer to the edge than he expected despite never actually entering her. He breathed hard and leaned over her body, now on all fours but being sure not to lay onto her upper back for risk of hurting her. Seeing his hands at either side of her head, Twilight placed her own hand on top of his and held it gently. Her fingers locked between his own and held him firmly in place over her. That one motion with her hand was enough to shackle him in place. He'd never leave now unless she released him, as if she was holding onto his very heart. "Twilight... I can't..."

"I said don't hold back." Twilight corrected. "Go ahead Spike, I'm ready." Spike's hips increased in speed, Twilight letting out a little groan with each thrust before Spike finally moaned and came onto Twilight's back. She gasped at first feeling his sticky cum shoot onto her but held Spike's hand to keep him in place. Eventually letting out a happy moan as well. "Very good. That's all of it, right?"

"Y-yeah... yeah it is." Spike said though heavy breaths, feeling amazing after something so simple but pleasurable.

"Very good." Twilight said as she raised her other hand, using her magic to float her bath towel to them. Giving it to Spike and telling him to clean the both of them off. She finally released his hand so that Spike could fulfill the request, carefully wiping off the excitement he'd spilled onto Twilight's back. She seemed almost proud of having made him give it to her in the first place "Okay, now that we're clean we should go to bed."

"Alright, just give me a moment." Spike said and collapsed on the opposite side of Twilight, panting hard from having relieved his tension. Twilight rolled over to face him and used her magic to pull the covers over them both.

"You don't need a moment silly, you're already in bed."

"But, my bed is over there..."

"Well tonight it can be here." Twilight leaned forward carefully and gave Spike a kiss on his forehead. "Good night Spike, sweet dreams." Spike wasn't sure if he should argue but when it seemed he would protest again he felt her hand rest on his. That was enough to stop him in his tracks; this was his bed tonight. She'd made it so and he would oblige. Anything for her.

"Good night Twilight. See you tomorrow." His eyelids grew heavy as sleep began to take him. Things had been intense but he figured it was okay. After all Twilight said it was and she was the one that had set the boundaries in the first place. He never went inside, she never even touched him herself with her hands. The rules they broke before were unbroken as of now. Sleeping in her bed wasn't new or uncommon so no rules were broken there either. He could love her like this because he'd always loved her like this.

In fact he could love her like this and still love Rarity the way he loved her. Maybe... maybe he could even love Sweetie Belle as he had up until now. Possibly Damselfly too, in secret, like he had until now. As Snails had said there really was an option to make everyone happy if he just tried to do it. His love was strong enough. He was strong enough. For Twilight he would do anything and for everyone else maybe he could do the impossible and love them all. There was hope.

Author's Notes:

Chapter Edited by Bennet001

Looming

Sunlight poured into the bedroom slowly through the drapes, gradually brightening her vision as she laid on the bed and stared upward at the ceiling. Twilight Sparkle had awoken in the early hours of the morning from a dreamless sleep and with little movement. Her mind coming out of a cloudy haze and slowly beginning to register everything around her. When she was aware of how early it was the librarian decided to simply lay in the comfort of her bed. Her muscles ached slightly but the pain had been lessening with Zecora's medicine applied to her body. All with the help of the person that laid beside her.

Spike was sleeping quietly, both of them naked from the previous night. When he was asleep like that he had such an innocent expression, one she always enjoyed being able to witness. A comfort from being reminded of the strong bonds of love and friendship between them. It made her heart swell and ache all at once in a ball of confused emotions. She wanted to cuddle up against him, hold him close against her chest like a little girl with a stuffed animal or a mother with her child. Though she didn't move for fear of waking him. Neither were in a state of dress that made her think an embrace like that would lead to anything innocent.

She'd removed the sheet from her body and laid exposed to the air. Wondering when exactly things had gotten so confusing with their relationship. At what point did physical contact become something she had to fear instead of enjoy? How did she get to the point where she was inviting the boy she loved like family into her bed at night, naked and pleasuring himself with her body? Twilight Sparkle had always been in control of things, even things that were chaotic in nature. Directing their flow towards positive ends all in an effort to help and protect the people who were important to her. But now she was capable of making mistakes that filled her with shame and she did them repeatedly. Why was that?

Was it for sex?

That seemed like the most logical answer at face value. She was using Spike to fulfill her physical desires because he wouldn't refuse her when she asked for it. But with the question posed to herself Twilight felt like it was wrong. It was true she'd enjoyed their one real time making love in the heat of the moment but something about it had still felt wrong. Or at the very least as if she'd rushed into something they shouldn't have done so soon. If not for Rarity's encouragement they probably wouldn't have done it at all.

Rarity. She'd been the spark where things had gotten out of hand. It was true Twilight had pushed the boundaries herself as she'd become curious, using her mouth to pleasure Spike and kissing him when he started talking about his interest in other girls. But to her at least there was still a line that hadn't been crossed. Using her hands to give him relief at night had become just another task to make him feel better and she'd rarely thought anything more of it after she'd help him get to sleep. When Rarity had decided to take things to the next stage Twilight panicked and began questioning everything about herself. Which lead to a three way with two of her closest friends in her bedroom. Which lead to Spike sleeping in her bed, naked, with her. But did all that start with Twilight's need for sex? She didn't even feel that much of a need to be honest. The acts they'd taken up to this point were more for his satisfaction than her own.

Was it jealousy?

It was scary to consider but this one felt more accurate than the previous reason. Up until Spike began showing his signs of maturity with that impulsive fire he would exhale she'd never considered her old fashioned hand remedy to be something he wouldn't want. When Spike had turned her down that night and instead asked for the medicine something went off in her mind. Something that scared her enough to make her lie to Spike and make him pass up the medicine for her own treatment. She'd even become aroused when he was forced to accept her over the medicine. An act that had felt strange even to her at the time but she'd embraced it regardless.

Believe it or not the idea of Spike having a girlfriend didn't bother her. Spike dating a girl his own age actually excited her when he first began to explore those options for himself. She wanted him to be happy and if dating someone made him that way then as long as they didn't do anything inappropriate she didn't mind. But then Rarity ended up being the one to take both Spike's heart and his virginity. Twilight didn't think Rarity would hurt him and she didn't wish ill on her friend but the idea of the two of them together scared her. So much could go wrong and frankly it already had. What if things get worse? On top of that when Rarity had taken this action on her own Twilight had felt completely betrayed. Was it that she was jealous of her beautiful friend or just scared they'd end up hurting each other and her eventually? She didn't want anyone to feel pain.

Was it for power?

This was even worse to consider, making Twilight curl up on the bed as she processed it in her mind. Spike was loyal to her, now and forever. He was his own individual and had his own likes and dislikes. They even argued at times but rarely ever fought seriously. Still no matter what if she had asked Spike for something he would do it for her. It was a terrifying power to have over someone, especially one that you loved. Making a person follow your wishes against their will didn't sit well with her.

She would never force Spike into something that would hurt him. Twilight wanted to believe that in any case. That she'd sooner sacrifice herself than let harm befall any of her precious friends. So she didn't believe that the events that had taken place between them were motivated by anything as vile as a desire to have power over another. Perhaps at times she was a bit too heavy handed and arrogant in what she thought was right, but outright forcing someone to do something against their will didn't make her feel good. Besides if what she remembered last night was any kind of an indicator Spike wasn't unwilling to feel pleasure when she was involved.

Was it for love?

That was the question that put the most stress on her heart. Twilight's hand clutching over her chest as she questioned this of herself. Yes she did love Spike. She loved him so much she couldn't even think of a life without him in it. But was this a lustful love as Rarity had proposed? A desire to use Spike as a replacement for a romantic love she yearned for like Cadence had suggested? Or was there something more to it beyond all of this?

Despite all the sexual acts between them Twilight still thought of him as her baby brother. As the little one in her life she needed to protect and keep safe. Of her constant companion she could turn to him for help with the many things that she wasn't skilled at herself like house work, cooking or cleaning. The mind that she could speak to and get an honest answer back from. Yes she loved him but he wasn't who she thought of when she thought of a husband or a boyfriend. He simply was love in a pure form to her. So why had she done the things she'd done before? A hand job at night to put him to bed wasn't the issue, neither of them had given it much thought past the first time. It was all the things that had built up from a certain point.

From the time he'd been with Rarity? It seemed likely. From the time he'd begun to show his issues with his fire breathing problem? That was a clear point of Twilight's weakness beginning to show. From the night they'd first kissed? That seemed so insignificant and so long ago. Most would probably call that act taboo but Twilight didn't feel like that was the moment that changed their relationship. Though... she'd decided to give him a blow job directly afterwards. Why take things that far? Why feel so threatened by Rarity when she wanted Spike to find happiness with other girls?

Was she scared of being left alone?

She looked at Spike's sleeping face in the morning light and studied it. He looked so much older than when she thought about him in her mind. They'd lived in the village for years but she never stopped to consider how much time had passed since they day she first arrived and made all of her wonderful friends. They were all so young back then but now they were older, getting older still, growing up. Spike wasn't an exception and he was going to become a man one day that would have his own life to live. Would that life have her in it? That question alone scared her and she didn't want to know the answer. She wanted to reach out and hug him. To wrap her arms around him and press his face to her breast so she could feel his warmth. Feel the security of him always being there with her.

But she refused herself that comfort. She couldn't ask that of him while she was in this kind of emotional state and off the cusp of what they'd just done the night before. Twilight had to determine something for herself if she was ever going to be at peace with the way their lives were headed. Raising her hand Twilight used her magic to find a shirt to throw over herself and sat up slowly in bed. Spike had seen every part of her more than once now but she wanted to retain a little modesty if she could. Getting out of bed and onto her feet she heard Spike grumble a little and roll around towards her. "Twilight?" He asked in a tired voice, eyes still closed which the girl appreciated since she couldn't locate any shorts to cover herself.

"Morning Spike." Twilight said and found she sounded just as tired despite having been awake for a while now. "I'm going to take a shower first, okay?"

"Okay." Spike said and yawned. After a moment he spoke up again. "Do you want me to start breakfast?"

"No, I'll get that too. You just rest up, okay?"

"Okay, if you're sure..." Spike said leaving it open for her to accept his offer still if she desired. But she'd made up her mind.

"Yeah, I want to get cleaned up and I'll get it ready while you're showering. No worries." Her voice became a bit cheerier and Spike relented to her energy, still not awake enough to argue who should do the chores for the other. Twilight managed to get into the bathroom without Spike seeing the show she'd put on below the waist and threw the shirt off for all the good it had done her. Turning the water on to give it a chance to heat up she looked over her back. There was still some bruising around her shoulders and neck but it wasn't the horrible blacks and purples it was just days ago. She really owed Zecora a lot for helping Spike get that medicine for her. With any luck Applejack and Pinkie were having just as rapid results.

Stepping into the shower she let out a relieved sigh feeling the hot water hit her skin. There were a lot of hours until tonight when she needed that medicine applied again. By that time she needed to figure out how to approach the situation with her assistant. With him going over to Rarity's tomorrow she didn't have another opportunity to figure this mess out in her own head before he was off to spend the night in another woman's bed. It was an uncomfortable situation to be sure but like all past problems they'd faced Twilight would make sure to solve it.

Spike had laid in bed long after he was truly awake but kept his eyes shut and still as it was just too comfortable to get up. Not that there was a reason to, Twilight was still using the bathroom and he might as well stay where he was till she was done. Thankfully the drapes kept the sun out just enough to let him enjoy the remaining darkness left of the morning to be lazy in. When he heard the shower stop and Twilight come out of the bathroom Spike kept still and laid in place. Predictably she went back inside to get dressed, most likely in her robe when she had emerged. After some more time had passed Twilight came out of the bathroom again and walked by the bed, petting Spike's hair. "Okay, it's all yours."

"Don't you know it's dangerous to wake a sleeping dragon?" Spike asked and he felt Twilight ruffle his hair more. Not that he minded, her fingers felt great against his scalp.

"Last I checked you were only Dragon-Blooded." Twilight said happily. "I'll see you downstairs."

"Okay, thank you Twilight." Spike yawned out as she exited the room and closed the door behind her. He figured it was about time to start moving if she was already up and around so Spike forced his body up and swung his feet around to the edge of the bed. His body felt like he'd been laying there for close to four years now with how little it wanted to do anything. Still he fought the powers of laziness to make his way to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Using a towel to clean off the steam on the mirror to get a look at himself. "Oh yeah... I'm naked."

He'd kind of forgotten that he'd spent last night completely in Twilight's bed after applying her medicine and then applying some of himself to her back. It was kind of hard to believe that all of that had happened so casually. Maybe it shouldn't have been shocking with everything they'd been through up to this point but he was constantly off balance as to what he was supposed to be doing with the women around him. Their encouragement usually swaying him towards where ever it was they wanted him to be. Was he weak willed or just that confident what he was doing was the right thing? The fact he kept most of it a secret from everyone didn't seem to indicate it was the latter of the two options. Regardless he got in the shower and dressed himself quickly to follow Twilight downstairs.

"About time sleepy head." Twilight said as she was preparing some pancakes for their breakfast. He could see the glint of small gems in the one she was making and licked his lips at the sight.

"You added some gemstones for me?" Spike asked happily.

"Well that is the way you like them." Twilight answered and used her magic to easily transport the pancake to a plate. Carrying both over to the table she sat with Spike as they ate breakfast. "Hope I cooked them all the way through. I don't think I can actually burn gems of their flavor."

"Nah, I can smell it. They're great, thanks Twilight."

"My pleasure." After passing around some syrup and jam for the toast she'd already brought to the table and the two began to settle in and Spike decided to start the morning conversation.

"Going to go see Pinkie and Applejack today like you were thinking?" Spike asked curiously.

"You know I think I will." Twilight answered. "It's not till after lunch so I'll stick around here until then with you if that's okay."

"Well yeah, you live here too." Spike answered with a laugh. "I'll head out at that time too, I'm gonna go out to eat for lunch."

"Oh? Did you want to join us?" Twilight offered and while hanging around those three pretty girls was usually fun he had something else to take care of.

"I would but I want to make a stop somewhere else on the way back, so I'll be fine on my own. Don't want to be a third wheel... or is it fourth in that case? I guess then it's just a normal set of wheels so that wouldn't be a problem? Unless it was a tricycle that-"

"It's okay, I get it." Twilight answered with a smirk. "Alright then, sounds like a plan to me." The librarian answered and Spike kept eating happily. Despite the odd but pleasurable night before things were going really smoothly this morning. She seemed so relaxed and even happy. This was exactly what he'd been wanting to see ever since the madness had started forever ago. Things returning back to normal in some way no matter how much they had changed.

"Ah just wish everything could go back tah normal." Applejack said out loud as she held her face in her hands. "Apple Bloom was mah sweet, darling, pure lil' sis'. Completely innocent and naive tah the world."

"Well I wouldn't say completely innocent, darling." Rarity replied as she poured her some coffee at her table. The two sharing an impromptu breakfast get together when Applejack had shown up on her door this morning looking for someone who could give her advice on a very unusual and delicate matter. "I mean if she was trying that then I'm sure it's not her first time enjoying herself." Rarity reasoned and she heard Applejack make a sound somewhere between disgust and despair as she pondered that. "You're very worked up over something that's completely natural. I mean you've done it before too, haven't you?"

"Well... yeah, ah reckon ah have." Applejack admitted as she lifted her head up. "Ah just never thought about... y'know..."

"Someone else in your family doing the same thing?" Rarity asked as she sat across from her friend and delicately ate at some fruit she'd assembled on their plates.

"Crikey Rarity, ah walked in on it. She fell off the bed she was so spooked." Rarity covered her mouth and did her best to hold back a laugh at the idea. Applejack gave her a stare and she cleared her throat quickly.

"Sorry! I'm sorry it's just picturing it was too funny." Applejack sighed and Rarity regained her composure. "Well it seems like this behavior is unavoidable at her age. Has anyone had a talk with her about these sorts of things yet?"

"Granny gave 'er the run down on the birds and the bees if that's what yer askin'." Applejack replied, making a face that showed she remembered that talk herself and how uncomfortable it was. Thought that didn't quite strike what Rarity was trying to get at.

"Well it's good that she's educated but I was referring more to, let's see how to phrase it? The relationship between a boy and a girl and what it should be?"

"Oh, well ah guess we've never really talked about anything like that before." Applejack admitted as she considered it.

"Apple Bloom is a smart girl but she's still young. It might be a good idea to really talk to her about sex and what to avoid in case some boy decides to swoop in on her and convince her to try something like a roll in the hay." Rarity watched Applejack's eyes changed from wide eyed fear to horror to anger at the idea of some boy taking advantage of her little sister.

"Positively, absolutely not gonna happen!" Applejack declared out loud for all it did to help the situation.

"All the more reason to have the talk with her." Rarity replied and Applejack grumbled, looking away still upset. "I know it's not comfortable but it might go better than you think. I already talked with Sweetie about this and she responded to it more maturely than you'd think."

"Really? So it was that easy?"

"Well... easy isn't the word I'd use." Rarity replied remembering that morning. "In fact she hit me with a lot of questions that nearly knocked me out of my chair. But we at least covered what was proper behavior. Not too soon either, apparently there's a boy that fancies her and she's been wondering what to do about him."

"You don't think Apple Bloom has a boyfriend too do ya!?" Applejack asked with more concern than was probably warranted, but Rarity tried to stay sensitive about the subject despite how amusing her overreactions were.

"Well it's possible..." Rarity noticed Applejack's eye twitch a little at the suggestion. "Or not. Has she expressed any interest in boys to you?"

"Not a once. Ah can't remember her ever talkin' 'bout anything like this before." Applejack said with a sigh. "Ah dunno, ah'm not cut out fer this kinda stuff. But ah can't leave it alone now, y'know?"

"Well... considering she's already 'active' so to speak there's always something you could do to possibly head off any future behavior with boys." Rarity suggested but was trying to hide the hesitation in her voice. Not sure how Applejack was going to respond to what would come next.

"Ah could try hosin' her down but ah don't think that's the best way to handle things before school every day." Applejack suggested and Rarity couldn't tell if it was a joke or not. Instead she just pressed forward.

"Well rather than try to quell the behavior it might be best to re-direct it in a way that's more appropriate. You said that when you caught her in the act she was using a pillow?"

"Certainly wasn't practicing her rodeo skills, ah'll tell you that." Applejack said looking down at the table, not pleased to recall that image.

"Okay, that thought aside, she's obviously experimenting to try other things. Maybe getting her a toy that's meant for this will keep her satisfied before she decides to turn to a boy for her desires?"

"A... toy?" Applejack asked looking confused. "Rare, ah think Apple Bloom's a little old for me buyin' her toys and just forgettin' all her problems."

"No no no, not that kind of toy. I mean... Applejack, have you never used a 'personal assistant' to please yourself?" Rarity asked genuinely surprised and the farmer blushed and pulled her hat down over her face.

"Now we're gettin' in tah what ah do in the bedroom?"

"Well it is a little surprising you don't know. Then again I guess you are a little innocent yourself. It's really an adorable trait you have." Rarity complimented and Applejack just kept hiding behind her hat.

"Well ah might not be as worldly as yerself but ah know stuff!" Applejack said in a fluster.

"Just a moment, deary." Rarity said and left the table, heading upstairs. When she was gone Applejack gulped down some of her coffee and looked to get a grip on herself. It was embarrassing but Rarity was right, Applejack really wasn't that good when it came to sex or relationships. That kind of stuff was just so alien to her considering she spent so much of her time on her work and her family. She wasn't completely ignorant of it but of the few times she'd ever gotten "physical" with another man they often didn't stay together for long. She was just too busy for a relationship and so many boys were so needy. When Rarity returned she was carrying something in her hand that was both a familiar in shape to her and not at all with how she was holding it. "Here we are."

"Well uh... that's.. er..." Applejack looked for the words to describe the purple phallic shaped object in Rarity's hand. It was translucent so when the sunlight hit it through the window it had an almost pretty glow to it.

"This is a dildo, Applejack." Rarity said clearly. "Mine to be precise. Can't say I ever expected to show it to anyone but here we are."

"And... you're showing it to me because?" Applejack asked grasping at straws here.

"You should get one for Apple Bloom."

"Do what now?" Applejack asked, her eyes completely wide from the shock of the words she was hearing and the things that were in front of her.

"I'm serious. Sit her down, have a talk with her about boys and let her have one. It's a lot safer than letting her use any object she can find around the house or looking for another person to experiment with."

"Hoo boy. I mean... you're suggesting I really give something like that to my little sister?" Applejack asked completely flustered, her eyes transfixed on the object in Rarity's hands. The seamstress began to slowly move it back and forth, watching her friend's green eyes follow along. When Applejack noticed the huge smile on Rarity's face she looked away to her coffee and grumbled.

"Oh my goodness I am so glad you came over this morning." Rarity said nearly laughing out loud.

"Ah'm startin' tah regret it." Applejack responded but sobered up. "Maybe you're right. Ah can't just ignore what's goin' on. She's my baby sis but she's a growin' woman too. Just... she's gettin' too big too fast."

"I understand completely. The same thoughts about Sweetie Belle go through my mind these days too." Rarity agreed, putting the toy under the table so it wasn't so present during their morning meal. "But as big sisters we have to do our best to help them through it. Give them guidance where we can."

"Yeah, yer right. Thank you for talkin' 'bout this with me Rarity. Ah really needed a friend's ear to bend on a tricky subject."

"Of course, any time! After all as a fellow big sister there isn't many other girls I can talk to about Sweetie Belle either." Getting up from the table again Rarity went to get a piece of paper and pen, writing something down and bringing it back for Applejack.

"What's this?"

"The address for a store that has the kind of item you need and is very discreet about who they sell them to." Applejack noted it was a place where she'd shopped before for all sorts of knickknacks and she'd never seen anything like this in there before.

"Wait a tick, are you sayin' they sell those things there!?"

"That's right."

"Granny shops in there all the time!" Applejack said in shock as if that was supposed to mean something.

"Well a lot of people do, though I doubt they shop for those kinds of products. Just ask the girl at the counter for what you're looking for and she'll help you. Also I'd look into getting one for yourself."

"F-f-fer me!?"

"Oh certainly, it really helps during those dry spells." Rarity said with a smile that let Applejack know she knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Well... ah guess ah could." Applejack said with a blush. "And they fer sure won't go blabbin' about it?"

"If they did you'd have known about mine a long time ago." Rarity said with a wink. "Mind helping me clean up? I'll need to open the shop soon."

"Sure thing, ah'll be headin' out myself." Applejack and Rarity got up from the table and took their dishes to the kitchen to clean up. "This has been one heck of a morning."

"I bet it'll be one heck of a night too." Rarity said with a giggle.

"Ah didn't say ah was gonna get one fer me!" Applejack said with a blush as red as any apple.

"Didn't say you wouldn't either." Rarity remarked and the farm girl grumbled but didn't dispute her.

After a mostly uneventful morning of returning books to their places on the shelves and helping a handful of people in the library Twilight and Spike were finally out of the building for their lunch break. As promised Spike broke off from Twilight about half way to her destination and headed towards Sugar Cube Corner instead. She wasn't sure what Spike had planned to get there but maybe he had a sudden craving for sweets? Twilight just hoped he didn't plan to spend his entire lunch in the bakery as that would lead to an upset stomach tonight and he was old enough to know better than to eat himself sick.

Stopping for just a quick nibble at a sandwich stand the girls enjoyed they were all soon off towards Fluttershy's place for the welcome wagon of exotic creatures. By the time they had arrived Fluttershy and Zecora were already welcoming in monsters that were being unloaded from steel cages that had been rolled in off the train and into a caravan of carts. It was an unusual system of delivery and one that had attracted a lot of attention from the locals but thankfully nothing had gotten out of hand so far. All of the monsters behaving and waiting their turn to be unleashed and escorted to the forest entrance. When Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie had arrived Zecora and Fluttershy were seeing off a giant snake that had been part of the parade of monsters Fluttershy had gathered to battle King Devour. Pinkie was understandably afraid and kept her distance while Twilight was taking the time to admire the creature before it was sent on its way.

"So you've been doing this all morning with each individual monster?" Twilight asked Fluttershy and Zecora.

"Oh yes, it's important to let them all know the rules before we let them go into the forest. I don't want any of the monsters to misunderstand things and get in trouble again." Fluttershy explained happily, seeming right in her element with this work.

"I find it isn't too much to be asked. We both live in the forest so it is a necessary task." Zecora replied, having just as much reason to be here as Fluttershy did if not more. The next cage coming up next had a wolf like monster in it with a large snout and long fangs hanging past its bottom jaw. The two guards that were moving the cart forward that held the cage let down the back door of the cart and unlocked the cage door to swing it open, allowing the creature the freedom to exit. Standing at attention at either side of the cart they kept a close eye on the creature as it exited and looked around cautiously before being called over by Fluttershy's voice. As if magically drawn it ignored everyone else and approached her first.

"What is that thing?" Twilight asked curiously of the monster.

"It's a Chupacabra." Fluttershy explained at the beast came closer and sniffed her hand. "He was one of the first monsters I met in the maze. Aside from this little one." Fluttershy said as she motioned to the imp on her shoulder, her hand now petting the beast. "There should be some wild rams near the mountains for it to feed on so I do think he'll want to stay close to the village."

"Fascinating." Twilight said as she watched the monster. "Wait I just realized, Rainbow Dash isn't here."

"Our weather controlling friend got called into work." Zecora explained. "By the look on her face she seemed very irked."

"It's okay though." Fluttershy said. "I'll be seeing her tomorrow to spend some time with her. I think she was more worried about something happening than actually seeing the monsters. But there's nothing to be concerned about." The young lady explained as she motioned for the beast to go off into the woods, the creature smelling the ground and air as it took careful steps forward and past them both. "I'm happy you all came by to visit too. It's nice you're willing to be here when they leave for their new lives." She was praising them for their group support but Twilight wasn't sure if Fluttershy understood everyone's motives. Truth be told all the girls had agreed to come out here to see more than monsters but really only two were making good on that group decision.

Pinkie Pie was chatting up the guard that Twilight remembered was named Spearhead. In fact both the guards that had flown them to the castle during the incident involving these monsters being freed from stone were here. As far as Twilight could remember Pinkie had made quite a first impression by giving the guards some of her delicious muffins for breakfast. Now she was currently showing off her "muffins" with about the lowest cut tank top Twilight had ever seen the girl wear. When questioned about it at lunch Pinkie had just replied that if you wanted to bake a cake with someone you had to show you had the right ingredients. Seemed like it was working for her.

"Soooo you bring in all these monsters by hand?" Pinkie asked as she kept step with Spearhead, looking up at him as he and his partner were pushing the cart back to the road to get the next one. "That's really impressive, it must take a lot of strong muscles to push and pull all these carts by hand."

"Well it was by order of the Princess Celestia herself." Spearhead said, doing his very best not to look at the cleavage that Pinkie was very proudly displaying. "So we're simply following our orders, nothing really out of the ordinary for us guards." He said trying to sound as professional as possible. His partner less concerned with that sort of appearance.

"Are you trying to be humble or bragging?" Iron Guard asked his friend as they pushed the cart back, Applejack walking along next to him. They were almost the reverse of the other two, the farm girl not really sure what to say but trying her hardest to engage socially with someone of the opposite sex for once. Thankfully Iron Guard seemed to enjoy talking so it made it easier for her. "I have to say having you ladies accompany us is a real pleasure. I never thought we'd get to meet the elements of harmony more than once in our lives. Outside of Miss Twilight that is."

"Aw shucks, we're really nothing special in our day to day goin' on's." Applejack explained trying to stay humble but confident. "Ah'm just a regular old farm girl when ya get down to it."

"Nothing regular about it. You and families like yours are what keep this whole kingdom fed." Iron Guard replied as he and Spearhead finally got the cart back to the road. "My uncle's a farmer in another village to the south. I know how hard of work that can be." Applejack seemed pleased with his appreciation for her craft but tried not to let it show too much. Pinkie and Applejack backed away as they spun the cart around to rejoin the caravan of cages that had been half emptied by now, most of the monsters laying down and resting as they awaiting their turn to come next. Spearhead and Iron Guard worked together to attach the empty cart behind the one in front of it. "If I remember right your friend there was a baker, correct?"

"Thaaat's right!" Pinkie said happily as she bounced over on her feet and bounced again with her pink curls of hair and then for a third time with the contents of her shirt as well. The act even catching Applejack's glance and making the farm girl roll her eyes with such a blatant display for attention. "I made the muffins last time! Did you like them?"

"Oh yeah, they were great." Iron Guard said then looked at his partner with a smirk. "Matter of fact Spearhead here couldn't stop talking about them after we dropped you ladies off. Seems he was really interested in getting another taste."

"What!?" Spearhead asked in surprise as his partner left him with a knowing smirk and Pinkie approached him with a smile of her own.

"Oh really? Sooo you like my muffins a lot?" She asked with a big grin.

"Uh... y-yes. Yes I did. They were very delicious."

"Great! When you're all done you can come over to Sugar Cube Corner and I'll make you some more. A special treat from me to you." Pinkie said with a wink that left the guard completely at a loss for what to do next. The baker really seeming to enjoy her flirting catching him off guard. Applejack wasn't able to be as smooth about this as Pinkie but at least Iron Guard was easy to talk to and seemed nice. He began unhooking the next cage on his own while Pinkie chatted up his friend.

"Did ya want a hand?" Applejack offered and Iron Guard declined.

"I appreciate it as I'm sure you're more than capable to help us out with labor as easy as this, but it would be against the rules for me to allow a citizen to perform this task." Iron Guard explained. "Though your company has been a real treat."

"Oh! Well... glad tah help." Applejack said shyly. "Don't want ya gettin' bored on the job."

"No way I could with someone like you near by." Iron Guard complimented. "So if I've heard right your family is the one that supplies the Zap Apple Jam?"

"Well holy horse feathers ya'll just caught me by surprise." Applejack exclaimed. "Ya'll know about Granny's Zap Apple Jam in Canterlot?"

"Are you kidding, that stuff is the best!" Iron Guard said as he moved to the back of the cage and unhooked it from the caravan. The two tailed cat monster inside the cage rather disinterested with their conversation as he was just happy that things were moving along and watching them lazily. "We make sure to pick some up every year for the castle. I can't ever get enough of it."

"Well now there's something tah be proud of, knowing we're making the royal guard happy with our wares. Say now since ya'll have helped us out twice here in town ah reckon ah could get ya a jar of yer own." Applejack said proudly and Iron Guard stopped what he was doing.

"You're being serious?" The guard asked in amazement.

"We'll ah'm the element of honesty y'know." Applejack said with a smirk and Iron Guard leaned on the cage for support as if he might fall over. "Uh... ya'll alright?"

"This is the best day!" Iron Guard exclaimed. "Miss Applejack, that would mean the world to me. I'd gladly pay double the price for a jar of my own from you." His appreciation caught Applejack off guard and somewhere in the back of her mind she was realizing that maybe she was landing this flirting thing pretty well.

"Well... shucks, it ain't no trouble. And fer you, ah'll get it at half price." She tried to give that cute wink that Pinkie did earlier. She wasn't sure if she nailed it or not but Iron Guard seemed to appreciate it.

"Honest and generous, this town has some amazing women living in it." Iron Guard said happily, looking back at Applejack's green eyes. Things seemed to stand still for a moment before a voice brought them back to reality.

"Ahem." A man spoke up as both Iron Guard and Applejack turned their heads to see Spearhead and Pinkie Pie were staring at them. "So did you get the back lock undone yet?" The guard asked and even the cat monster in the cage seemed to be staring at them waiting for this show to get started. Applejack backed up with a blush as Iron Guard went back to work and unhooked the cart from the others to pull it with his partner towards a waiting Fluttershy. As they moved forward Pinkie hung back to talk to her friend.

"Looks like you froze him for a second there." Pinkie said with a giggle.

"All ah did was offer him some Zap Apple Jam when we make it this year." AJ admitted. "Is that flirtin'? Ah feel like ah'm just bein' friendly."

"Coming from you I think that's enough to make a guy feel like he's being flirted with." Pinkie complimented.

"How 'bout ya'll two talkin' with each other?" Applejack asked motioning to the other guard and Pinkie giggled again in a more devious way.

"Oh he's gonna get a cupcake later. Real sweet." The way she said it AJ couldn't figure out if she was being literal or not and decided to leave it at that. The guards were hard at work opening the cage again and letting the occupant out, the monster glad to finally be free after the delay. The leopard sized cat stretched out its legs and yawned, showing off the claws and fangs on display as it did. Lazily it approached the other three girls by the forest entrance and stopped, sitting down for Fluttershy to give her speech.

"Welcome to the Everfree Forest." Fluttershy began in her cheerful and calming tone. "Now I know you're concerned what with moving to a new home and all but I assure you this is the very best place you could be. You'll be able to roam free and-" Her words were cut off however as the cat beast suddenly jumped up to its feet and raised its tails as if it were to pounce. The guards at the sight of this drew their swords in an instant but no one moved as the monster wasn't looking at them or Fluttershy. Instead it was facing away from them all at another spot of the forest. "Is... something the matter?" Fluttershy asked as she placed a hand gently on the cat beast's back and looked the same direction. Twilight couldn't see what it was responding to, maybe one of the other monsters hadn't left like it was supposed to when it was released? However the one thing she did notice was that when the cat's head had turned Zecora's head moved at the exact same time to the exact same place. As if they had both sensed something.

"I can go check it out." Twilight offered but Zecora put her hand up.

"Please everyone remain where they are. I shall go inspect but not travel far." Zecora explained and walked forward, the cat monster walking with her as if it understood what needed to be done. Fluttershy watched from a distance and suddenly her black imp friend chirped into her ear from her shoulder.

"Is he saying something?" Twilight asked Fluttershy curiously, everyone watching Zecora and the monster inspect the edge of the forest for something no one else seemed to be able to sense.

"It's still a little hard to understand him but... he says there's something dangerous." Fluttershy explained to Twilight.

"One of the monsters we let out?" Twilight asked and the imp chirped again as if to answer her.

"No." Fluttershy answered. "Whatever it is, it wasn't something we brought here." That was more concerning than Twilight would have thought. They'd already unleashed dozens of monsters into the Everfree Forest that Celestia herself had deemed too dangerous to let wander free. What would be out there that even they were concerned about? After some time had passed Zecora returned with the cat monster, explaining that while they shouldn't stop what they were doing it was best everyone stay on their guard. No one ever really understood what had caused her to react this way but somehow they all knew if she was concerned they should all be.

Scootaloo never really thought she'd be the kind of girl to get a guy's attention before a few days ago. Aside from trying to impress Rainbow Dash and keep up with her grades to make her mom happy she usually didn't think much about anything other than spending time with her friends. She couldn't be blamed for feeling out of place in the position she was in now. Back up against the wall of a fast food restaurant she'd visited with Rain Catcher while he was over top of her and kissing her lips. Her own arms around his shoulders as she tried her best to keep up with the passionate exchange.

It wasn't that she disliked it. In fact kissing a boy felt really good and she sort of enjoyed the feeling of his body pushing against her own. But it was scary at the same time and she kept wondering if he was going to tell her she was doing something wrong or decide that this wasn't working for him. Instead his hands seemed to keep moving around on her. Sometimes on her back, sometimes down onto her butt. Feeling his fingers grip her was exciting too but she wasn't sure if she should be allowing this. Her body was reacting but her mind was telling her this might be dangerous. Every time his hand seemed to brush between her legs or over her chest she tried to redirect him somewhere else. When the kiss broke she was looking up at his eyes and they seemed almost predatory with hunger.

"You taste better than the dessert here." The line was corny but she liked the compliment. He complimented her a lot, sometimes too much it felt like. As if he wanted to be sure she was happy being with him. Scootaloo's friends didn't trust him but they didn't understand how much she liked that someone was giving her attention. Giving her compliments like this. Even if he made her feel a little uncomfortable sometimes that was okay, wasn't it? This was the sort of thing boyfriends and girlfriends did together.

"So do you." Scootaloo said shyly, trying to sound sexy but feeling out of her depth. Not that it deterred Rain Catcher as he leaned in to kiss her again, this time his lips trailing away from her lips and onto her neck. She took in a gasp of air as she felt his lips on her skin. It was really good and made her body shake, the feeling of desire building up inside her in an intense and hot way. Like something she could fall victim to at any moment. His hands were moving over her body again, gripping her ass and trying to slip between her legs. Pressure there would probably feel really good. But they were in public, she was being stupid just letting him do this to her out in the open. "Rain... we shouldn't."

"Why not?" He asked against her neck as his body pressed her more against the wall of the building.

"Because... someone will see." Scootaloo said.

"So?" He replied not stopping in any way. Her hand reaching down and grabbing his wrist that was trying to explore further along her body.

"Rain, stop please." He didn't, in fact his hand seemed to move forward with a greater strength. "Rain, please." Scootaloo pleaded but it didn't deter him as he slipped a finger up against her thigh. "I said stop!" Scootaloo shouted and used her arms to push him hard off of her, Rain Catcher backing up and looking completely shocked. "Didn't you hear me!?"

"Well... Yeah but... I thought you were just playing?"

"Just playing!?" Scootaloo said in disbelief. "I said stop so you should stop. Why would you think that doesn't mean what it means?"

"I thought we were having fun together is all." Rain Catcher said, still smiling and looking like he wasn't bothered at all.

"Well I wasn't." Scootaloo said as she leaned over to pick up her book bag and began to walk away from him feeling upset that he didn't understand her feelings. She only got a few steps down the alley between the buildings that had taken them to their little back area secret spot before Rain Catcher caught up with her and grabbed her by the wrist.

"Hey hey, hold on." He said, still keeping a hold of her arm. "Look I'm sorry, okay? I just thought you were as into it as I was and wanted to make things seem more... kinky or exciting."

"When a girl says no she's not being kinky or exciting." Scootaloo explained.

"Sometimes she is. I mean you've never played around before like that?" He asked her with that same confident stance, Scootaloo feeling small and out of place in this conversation.

"You know I haven't. I told you that you're my first boyfriend." Scootaloo said in a quiet and unsure voice. Was she really the one in the wrong? Did she lead him on somehow?

"I know, you're right. Maybe this was all too much for you. I'm sorry. If you don't want to do things like this anymore then I guess we don't have to." Rain Catcher said letting the grip on her arm go. The tone of his voice sounded like a warning. Scootaloo recognized it the moment he said he was sorry. He was letting her know that she wasn't keeping up with him and she understood what that meant.

"I... I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want to..." She didn't know what to say to make it better.

"Well if you're just not ready for stuff like this then... I guess we can stop it all." There it was. He was going to break up with her. She just got a boyfriend and he was already going to dump her because she was too much of a kid. She dropped her book bag on the ground and ran up to him, taking his hand in hers.

"Wait, it's not that! I just... I just need to go slower. I promise I won't make things confusing again." Scootaloo said, trying to appeal to him. She didn't want to be broken up with. To be left behind and alone like she was before. Ever since Rain Catcher came into her life she was suddenly more accepted and desired by her class mates. If he left what if all of that left with him? What if no one would ever want her again because she was too much of a kid to be taken seriously. Or worse yet some kind of burden. "I'll be totally clear about everything from now on, I promise."

"Well, okay. I guess maybe I was in the wrong a little too." Rain Catcher said and put his arms around her. Scootaloo sighed in relief against his chest, the fear of rejection leaving her now that he was holding her. She put her arms around his body as well and savored the hug more than everything else they'd done previously together a moment ago. It felt so good to be embraced and feel wanted.

"It's my fault, I let Diamond Tiara get into my head." Scootaloo said as if to find some way to take the blame off of him and her. As long as he wasn't unhappy with her then there wasn't any risk of him leaving.

"Diamond Tiara? What do you mean?" Rain Catcher asked suspiciously, their hug breaking so he could make eye contact with her.

"She told me that... that you two dated before. That you were going to hurt me." Scootaloo answered, not looking him in the eye. "That's silly. Right?" She asked as she swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Sheesh, for real? I guess she's still mad from back when we broke up." Well that confirmed things for her right there. Turns out both Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were telling the truth about them having dated in the past. It was the other part that concerned her.

"So... why did you break up with her?" Scootaloo asked cautiously. Not that Rain Catcher seemed upset by the question.

"She was just so jealous all the time. I mean she's been mean to you ever since we were kids right?"

"Well... yeah, that's true."

"So you know how she is. She'd get really demanding of me and if I ever even talked to another girl she got all upset. So I just had to end it."

"That's all it was?" Scootaloo asked trying not to sound too suspicious. It was true that in the past Diamond Tiara had been nearly unbearable to be around but when her and Silver Spoon talked it made Rain Catcher sound like the villain. This story didn't match with that at all.

"Yep. I guess it's too bad but I'm not really upset. After all I'm dating a real cutie now." Rain Catcher said and put his hands on Scootaloo's hips, making her shiver a little from the intimate touch. He leaned in for a kiss and she gave him one in return. It was a small peck on the lips, something that felt much more comfortable to her. "How come you were talking to her in the first place anyway?"

"Oh, she invited me to a pool party with the other girls."

"Really?" Rain said sounding intrigued.

"Yeah, Silver Spoon said she wanted to make up for everything from before. I just hope that's true." She wasn't really sure who to believe on what anymore. But at least Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would be there to support her if things went wrong.

"So when's all of this happening?" Rain Catcher asked seeming intrigued by the idea.

"Oh it's just tomorrow night since we still have nice weather. Nothing fancy, just all of us getting together."

"Cool. Cool." Rain Catcher said as if he was pondering something with this information. "Hey uh, thanks for coming out with me after school. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with you."

"Me too." Scootaloo replied, even if things had gotten a little intense for a minute there. But everything was good now so she didn't think any more of it. They said their good byes with another kiss and hug, the two teenagers exiting the alley by the restaurant and heading their separate directions back to their homes. So preoccupied with themselves that somehow they never noticed the other duo right near alley way they'd been talking in, just standing by themselves completely still holding milk shakes in their hands.

"So... that was something, huh?" Snips said to his friend after Scootaloo and Rain Catcher were long gone.

"Yep. Pretty amazing how you can just fade into the background if you don't move or speak." Snips replied taking a sip of his dessert.

"You heard what they said though, right?" Snips asked excitedly.

"Yeah, kinda sounded scummy. Like he was forcing himself on her or something."

"Oh... yeah, I guess that's true. But that's not what I meant." Snips replied. "Scootaloo said tomorrow night there's going to be a girls pool party and Diamond Tiara's place."

"Yeah?" Snails answered. "But neither of us are girls so what's it matter?"

"It matters because if we can get close to that pool we'll see all the girls in their bathing suits." Snips said as he imagined in his mind a variety of bikinis that were completely unlikely for any of these girls to wear casually while hanging out together.

"But we're not invited, how exactly are we going to do that?" Snails asked. "Besides if her dad catches us who knows what's going to happen after that. You're already grounded for that party at Spike's."

"Yeah, that's true. BUT! If we do go and we don't get caught we'll see a bunch of really cute girls in swimsuits together at a slumber party." It was hard to deny that such an event was the pinnacle of every teenage boys dream short of being invited to attend such a thing. "You in?" Snips asked, Snails thinking about it for quite a while before giving a long sigh and nodding.

"Yep." He said as if he were resigned to his fate. "This is going to end terribly."

"Or amazingly!" One thing was certain to them both, there was no middle ground on those two possible options. They were all in for whatever would come next.

Watching Out For Us

In the late evening of Friday night the red headed farm girl was laying on her bed reading a book she'd been meaning to return to the library for a while but still hadn't simply due to having not finished it yet. She was surprised Twilight Sparkle or Spike hadn't gotten after her for keeping it out so long but she figured they were collecting late fees so maybe that was their plan anyway. It wasn't that she didn't like reading, she just usually had something else she'd rather be doing or had to get done. Late nights in bed were her reading hours in the past but after she'd found other, more physical pass times to occupy her when she was still awake that had started taking its place. Not that she expected to be doing much of that activity tonight. Her soon to arrive late night visitor and the reminder of what happened last time keeping her from considering it for a while. When there was a knock on the door Apple Bloom placed a book mark in the pages and closed the novel. "Come in."

"Evenin'." Applejack said as she entered her sister's bedroom. "Ah remembered tah knock this time."

"Thanks sis." Apple Bloom said, glad she remembered but not upset anymore about the last time Applejack barged in on her. It wasn't a great memory by any means but she was well over it now. "Ready for that medicine?"

"Yep, let me know if it helped at all back there." Applejack asked and sat on the edge of Apple Bloom's bed, setting down a paper bag on the floor. That was an odd detail Apple Bloom noticed, considering last time Applejack had just come in with the container for the ointment. But when she pulled Zecora's gourd out of the bag and handed it to her sister Apple Bloom didn't think on it any further. The flannel pajama top Applejack was wearing came off and her sister looked over her back.

"It looks like they might have gone down a little." Apple Bloom said, still hating the sight of seeing so many bruises on her sister. "It's kind of hard to tell cause there's... y'know, so many of them." She said sadly.

"Okay, no reason tah fret over it. We'll just keep at it till the suckers are gone." Applejack said and her sister agreed, applying the ointment carefully to the damaged areas. The first time Applejack had asked for this she'd been irritated having her night interrupted. But now she was happy to be the one to do it. If anything she wanted to keep tabs on the progress of her healing to be sure she didn't over work herself or do anything to make them worse.

"Y'know ah'll probably have tah go and ask fer a refill of this here medicine from Zecora before you're done." Apple Bloom said. "Even if it's workin' ah bet we'll run out first."

"Oh, yeah, that's right. Listen ah'd like tah ask ya to steer clear of Everfree Forest fer a while."

"That's weird, Spike said the same thing. That Zecora told him that." Apple Bloom recalled, having planned to listen to her wise shaman friend but still not understanding why.

"There's a whole bunch a stuff goin' on round them parts with monsters that her and Fluttershy have been workin' with. Might be dangerous tah go in all alone."

"Oh, okay. So how do we get a hold of Zecora if we wanna talk to her?"

"Just lemme know and ah'll ask one of the girls tah pass the message along. Fluttershy and Twilight talk to her a lot already." Applejack let out a sigh of relief. "Tarnation that feels a lot better. 'Bout wrapped up?"

"Yep, that should cover all of it." Apple Bloom said as she corked the hollow gourd and Applejack put her top back on, taking the medicine bottle and placing it back into the paper bag. "Gonna head to bed?"

"Well... in a minute. Ah kinda wanted tah... talk about something else." Applejack said sounding nervous which got Apple Bloom nervous.

"It's not about last night is it?"

"Well... yeah it is." Applejack answered confirming the red head's worst fears.

"Ah'm not mad or anything so it's okay sis. Was an accident an nothing got hurt."

"Heh, thanks sugar cube. I do feel better hearing you say that." Applejack admitted. "But there's still something else more to it. Uh... well... gosh this is harder than ah thought it'd be." Applejack said clearly struggling to bring the subject up. This didn't sound like anything Apple Bloom wanted to talk about but she didn't like seeing her sister struggle so instead of looking for a way out the farm girl sighed and sat next to her big sister, leaning on her.

"Well ya might as well spit it out since ya brought it up." Apple Bloom said preparing herself for the worse. Applejack smiled and put an arm around her little sister, the hug making Apple Bloom feel comfortable despite the soon to come discomfort.

"Ya got a point. Alright, here it goes. Apple Bloom, do ya got a boy yer seein'?" Apple Bloom's eyes blinked in surprise.

"Nope." She said matter-of-factly. "Was that all?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well... no but I had to ask that first." Applejack said, Apple Bloom preparing for more. "Okay so is there a boy you've been like... eyein' or... jees how do ya say it?"

"Ah'm not dating anyone right now if that's what yer askin'." Apple Bloom answered.

"Okay... that's okay, ah just was wonderin' cause... yer growin' up fast is all." She felt her sisters arm around her shoulders hug her a little tighter. "Ah still think of ya sometimes as my sweet little innocent sis' but yer not just a little kid anymore. Almost a woman in a couple years."

"That is how it works." Apple Bloom said with a smirk at her own joke. "Look sis' ah'm not like doin' stuff with boys or anything like that. Ah don't even know who ah'd like to date."

"Okay then." Applejack said, letting out a breath she'd been holding in. "Really, there ain't a boy that's been chasin' after you? Kinda hard tah believe."

"Ah think they're scared of me. Or scared of you and Big Macintosh." Apple Bloom said. "Ah dunno why but just haven't been asked out and haven't asked any boys out."

"That a fact?" Apple Jack asked. "Well it's not a big deal, but y'know, it's gonna happen one day. Ah just wanted tah be sure that no boy did anything that would... take advantage of my lil' Apple Bloom."

"If they did ah'd knock 'em out." Apple Bloom said and made a fist, the sisters laughing together. The conversation was still awkward but it wasn't as bad as she had expected it to be. In fact it was kind of nice. Applejack was just making sure that her sister was being taken care of and not being seduced by some boy looking to get a taste of some fresh apples.

"Alrighty then. Ah won't keep you up all night with this but just know that if ya wanna talk to yer sis' about this stuff then ya can ask me. Ah'll be open to anything ya wanna know." Applejack assured.

"Never doubted it." Apple Bloom answered and her sister kissed the top of her head.

"That's my sweet lil' sis." The farmer said and got ready to stand up, feeling her foot hit the paper bag by her feet. "Oh... um... that's right. There was one more thing." Apple Bloom looked down at the bag curiously. "We uh don't have tah talk about it. Don't wanna make things anymore awkward than they are. But a woman has needs and y'know... can't ignore 'em." Standing up from her seated position on the bed Applejack took the bag that no longer had Zecora's medicine in it and placed it on Apple Bloom's night stand. "So uh ah got a recommendation from a friend as tah how tah... safely deal with that kinda stuff. Don't gotta tell Granny 'bout this neither, keep it between us girls." Applejack explained, her cheeks almost as red as the apples she harvested. Picking up the gourd of medicine she headed for the door and said good night to her sister, leaving her with the mysterious package.

"Well now that was weird." Apple Bloom said as she looked at the bag on the night stand and wondered what exactly she could have been left with. Standing up and walking over to it she opened up the top of the bag and looked inside. "What the... heck is that?" Reaching inside Apple Bloom pulled up a small cylinder shaped object that was completely red, the top was curved and the bottom was flat. She looked it over a little bit wondering what exactly it was for before finding that the bottom portion had a small little switch on it. Turning it on she felt the object suddenly start to hum and vibrate, making her let it go in surprise and drop it on the bed where it continued to hum pleasantly. Seeing it laying on her bed vibrating suddenly made it click in her head what this was for. "Holy Horse-Feathers."

Picking the vibrator up again Apple Bloom switched it off and looked it over. She couldn't believe it, her sister that was shy when it came to talking about just dating went out and bought her a sex toy. A real one, not just some improvised item from around the house. It was a little weird getting it from a relative. Maybe though she could separate that kind of thought apart from what she was intended to do with it?

Flipping the switch again and feeling it hum lightly in her fingers the farm girl let out a sigh. "These is too much to deal with for one night." Turning it off Apple Bloom put the toy back in the bag and wrapped it up, sticking inside one of her dresser drawers. She wasn't going to rule out trying this new toy but for right now she needed a good night's sleep to clear her head. Maybe later when she was more in the mood and needed something more than a book to sleep.

After getting back to her room Applejack let out a breath she'd been holding in and put her hand over her eyes. "Thank Celestia that's finally over and done with." Even though she'd resolved to have this conversation with her sister tonight AJ didn't feel any less stressed going through with it. Especially that ending. "Good golly, what's she gonna think when she opens that bag up? Maybe I should have stayed and explained myself?" Making sure Apple Bloom understood what was acceptable and wasn't with a woman and her body was the point of their talk but she felt like she'd barely scratched the surface. If anything her little sister had more control during the conversation than she did. Walking over to her bed Applejack fell onto the mattress and stared at the ceiling in the dark. "Ain't no goin' back now. Guess if she wants tah grill me on it further she can do it tomorrow."

Mission accomplished she supposed. The invitation was out there that she was okay to talk to about these sorts of things, even if she was terrible at it. Worse came to worse she could always ask Rarity to step in for her. She somehow seemed able to handle these things better than AJ herself. Not that she wanted to admit she couldn't deal with whatever her sister might require but she was certainly not an expert on the subject. Speaking of which, Applejack opened up the drawer of her night stand and pulled out the orange vibrator she'd purchased for herself. "Can't believe ah went and did something this crazy."

This whole thing had been because she was worried Apple Bloom was struggling with her emotions and desires but maybe Applejack had to admit she was also having the same problem. It had been a long time since she'd been on a date with a boy, even longer since she'd done anything as physical as kiss one. To call her out of practice would be an understatement. Even trying to be flirty with Iron Guard earlier today had felt like she was stumbling through the process and they only found common ground because he was related to a farmer. Without that she would have been this awkward farm girl trying to chat it up with a man from the city. Pinkie seemed to think she had done fine but Applejack wasn't so sure. She didn't have the confidence that her baker friend seemed to emanate with every word and motion.

Did Pinkie actually invite that guard back to her place tonight? She wondered how that had gone down and if she had the confidence to bring a man back to her home. Sure Applejack was living in her family's place and having a man over would be decidedly more difficult for her than Pinkie. Not that Pinkie wasn't living with a family too but it wasn't her own and she had her own space to live in apart from them. Applejack wanted that kind of confidence in dealing with the opposite sex. Having men over wasn't really her goal but if she couldn't manage a conversation how was she ever going to have a family of her own in the future? Besides a wife should be able to perform her duties in all areas of the home, including the bedroom.

She'd switched the toy on somewhere in her train of thought, feeling the vibrations in her hand. It was kind of intimidating despite wanting to try it out. Turning it back off Applejack let out a breath and moved her body around on the bed to be more comfortable on her back. Not easy with the bruises but she'd learned to manage so she could sleep at night. Letting her legs lay apart she rubbed the toy between them and just got used to the feeling of it against her clothes. The pressure was good as she let herself relax and just rub the length against herself. Her fingers were usually enough to satisfy her when she needed that private attention but this did feel more natural, like what her body really wanted.

She thought about Iron Guard as she rubbed herself, but that was a little embarrassing to even imagine. A guy she just met that was attractive but who she had little connection with. Putting the two of them together wasn't easy in her mind and she had to let the thought go if she wanted to continue. Maybe it was a worse thing to imagine but instead she thought about Pinkie and the guard she'd been flirting with, Spear Head. How they seemed to be more naturally compatible than she had with anyone. She'd mentioned that she planned to give him a cupcake later. One that was "real sweet". Did that mean she was planning to go all the way with him? Applejack let out a breath as she realized she was applying more pressure to herself with the toy.

This was working for her even though it was shameful to admit. Not that she had to admit such a thing out loud to anyone. Besides her body was already telling her she wanted this physical satisfaction and she was too far along to deny it. Feeling warm Applejack took a moment to undo the buttons on her pajamas and expose her chest to the air, rubbing herself with the toy again. It made her recall how Pinkie had gone to the effort of wearing such a revealing top when they went out. She was clearly more prepared to speak to a man that day, Applejack having dressed the same as she always did. Spear Head hadn't missed any opportunity Pinkie had made to display her low cut shirt either. If she had invited him back she was sure they were getting attention.

Her left hand rose up to her breast and began to rub it gently, squeezing it with her palm and pulling her fingers up to her nipple. Her fingers squeezing and pulling upward to simulate what it might feel like to have them sucked. She let out a little breath and applied the toy harder between her thighs. Her legs spreading apart further as she fantasized about two other people having sex. Of her friend having her breasts sucked and played with. Applejack wet her fingers and used them again on her breast, moving to the other to pull and moaning lightly.

It wouldn't stop there, right? They'd do more, wouldn't they? Probably... probably get even closer with their bodies. Putting the toy down Applejack used her hands to remove her pajama bottoms down to her thighs, using her feet to help pull them off further. It felt good to have her legs exposed to the air and she spread them apart again, pressing the toy against her panties now as she played with her breasts. Her mind going back to what the two imaginary lovers with faces she knew would do next. Moving the toy around with her hand she pressed the tip against her panties and rubbed it further. Mouth open as she pictured Pinkie being teased by the guard's cock in her mind and threatening to go inside of her. Such a passionate and naughty thing to do together. It wouldn't stop there though, they'd have to feel what it was like inside. To experience that level of closeness.

Pulling her hand from her breast Applejack moved it down to her panties and pulled them to the side, pushing the toy against her pussy and teasing the entrance. She was so close to pleasure that if she went too fast she felt like it would overflow. Closing her eyes she went back to her fantasy, seeing the man in her head penetrate her friend. It looked good, she could picture their faces enjoying it. Wanting to feel that pleasure too Applejack slowly pushed the toy inside of herself and let out a gasp. The vibrator felt larger than she had expected. His cock was bigger than she had anticipated. Still it didn't stop her from enjoying the slow thrusts into her body. Applejack letting out little moans as she pushed the toy in and out of herself.

It was so much better than her fingers. Different in the way it hit her inside but she loved every inch of it. The farm girl laying her head back and panting as she slid the toy in and out of her wet pussy, picturing the two lovers fucking in her mind. Having a man inside was such a great feeling, so warm and comforting and exciting. They'd go all the way wouldn't they? Pinkie was brave, she wouldn't let herself be held back by anything. She'd enjoy every bit of love making that she could get. With this image in her mind Applejack's head laid to the side as she moved faster and faster into herself. She wanted to feel a climax, not just hers but his too. Wanting to feeling him release everything into her. Pushing the toy inside deep Applejack flipped on the switch and let the vibrator move inside of her.

She had to let go of her panties and cover her mouth to prevent the shout that came from the orgasm running through her body. Her muscles a mixture of pleasure from the sudden jolt between her legs and the pain of her back muscles clenching up from the feeling. Keeping her hand over her mouth she used the toy against herself until she felt that the climax had passed, slipping it out of her pussy and letting it lay on the bed next to her thigh. Pulling her hand away she stared up at the ceiling for a while, catching her breath from the wave of pleasure she'd desired for a long time now. Once her breathing returned to normal she smiled to herself. "Might have to thank Rarity for this one." Applejack whispered as her body relaxed on the bed. Pinkie was owed some thanks too for making her come out today to visit the guards and giving her what she needed to see it through to the end. Though she'd keep that part to herself.

A handful of tissues and some rearranging of herself on the bed later, Applejack was on her way to pleasant dreams. Hoping everyone else was as happy as she was with today's strange events that lead to this night.

In the dark of the upstairs bedroom of the library pleasant sounds of comfort could be heard as Twilight felt Spike's hands massage her shoulders and back. The invitation to her bed to apply the medicine didn't surprise him after the last few times he'd done it. In a way he was happy to be the one to apply to her. To bring her comfort and help relieve the pain she felt was a blessing to provide. Sure it also involved seeing her nearly naked every time he did it but that was just an additional requirement of the job. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her this way before. Tonight the were even both wearing their underwear below the waist so it was a bit more calm than before.

"Thank you Spike, I think you got everywhere." Twilight said calmly on the bed, her faithful assistant plugging up the gourd that contained the medicine and putting it aside.

"Okay, do you feel better?"

"Much." Twilight answered, stretching out her arms and legs on the bed with a yawn.

"Glad to hear it. Um... if you need anything else, I can get it for you okay?" Spike offered, not really sure what she might request of him after last night. Though he'd already resolved to himself that it was okay to do whatever was asked of him. As long as he was making the ones he loved feel happy then it was all okay.

"Actually... can you lay down on the bed Spike?" Twilight asked, sounding a little hesitant. He didn't know what she was planning but Spike did as he was told, Twilight turning to face him when he did. She stared at him in the dark for a while. "You're growing up into a fine young man."

"Uh... thanks?" Spike answered, not sure what she meant by that. He wasn't that old really, just a little bit more than most of his friends in the village that weren't older than him already. The compliment was nice though, especially from her. So when her arms reached out and pulled him closer Spike didn't hesitate. Instead going where her hands guided him gently. Which had his head resting against her breast. "Twilight?"

"I used to hold you like this when you were little." Twilight answered and pet his hair. "Back when it was Celestia that was mostly taking care of you. But sometimes it was me and we'd just cuddle like this." He wasn't sure what she was talking about but the feeling of being pressed to her chest made him feel warm and comfortable. The sound of her heart against his head. His own arm going around her lower back to carefully avoid the bruised areas he'd just treated. "Do you remember?"

"I dunno." Spike answered honestly. It sounded right to him but he was probably too young. "I guess so... we're always together so yeah. It feels right."

"It does feel right." Twilight answered and nuzzled her cheek against the top of his head. She made him feel so relaxed so quickly. "I just wanted to feel it again. While I still could."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked, though kept his position against her not wanting to leave it.

"You're going to grow up one day then... well, you won't need me like you do now anymore." Twilight admitted, still petting his hair.

"Twilight, I'll never stop needing you." Spike said lazily against her. "You're the most important person in my life."

"Thank you Spike." Twilight said and kissed the top of his head, Spike unable to hold back the smile that came from it. "But you're going to get older and eventually you'll have a wife. Children as well. We won't be able to live like this forever you know."

"Maybe..." Spike said, feeling his hand tighten around her back. "But even if... even if we can't you'll still be part of my life."

"I don't know about that Spike." Twilight said solemnly. He didn't understand why she was thinking this way. Was it because he was going on a date with Rarity? She seemed fine with that before so why all of this now.

"I do." Spike said, keeping his head against her chest now as if this was needed to keep their connection. "I do because no matter how old we get and even if you get married and I get married and we all do to people we've all never met before it doesn't matter. Because I'll still always be there when you ask for me."

"I don't own you Spike." Twilight said sadly. "You don't have to be there at my beck and call. I want you to be your own man."

"Well then... as my own man, I'll always be there. Because no matter what happens you're the closest family I have." Spike said and hugged Twilight tighter. "I don't care what it's called but you're still the person that I have to have in my life. Otherwise I... I don't know what I'd do without you!" After a while they laid there together in the darkness, Twilight still stroking his hair and Spike holding her as if letting her go might mean letting her go forever.

"Alright. I guess no matter what I don't have to worry about losing my faithful assistant." Twilight said and nuzzled his head.

"You bet." Spike said feeling relieved. "Why would you even worry about that at all?"

"I've just been thinking about... a lot of things. The future. The present. What the world is like, what it'll have in store for us. I just don't want you to be hurt if not staying by my side is better for you."

"There's no way that could be better for me. I'll always be there for you Twilight. Anything for you."

"Anything... for me." Twilight said carefully, wrapping her arms around him gently. It was the kind of embrace he could stay in all night. "Thank you Spike."

"You're welcome Twilight." Spike said, feeling proud of himself. He didn't understand what was going through her mind but if she felt better than he felt better.

"Well I suppose before we go to bed we should take care of that little problem." Twilight said and moved her thighs to rub against the erection that was currently pressing against them. Spike let out a surprised noise from the touch and Twilight giggled a little.

"Oh, that again. If you don't want to we can... just ignore it?" He had mostly been doing that himself. Though even with how comfortable she was making him it was difficult not to become aroused pressed against her body. It made things all the more awkward after declaring they were family but when it came to physical things they weren't really, were they?

"No no, it's better to take care of it. Just lay on your back." Twilight said and Spike did as he was told.

"O-okay but... weren't you not supposed to touch it anymore?" Spike asked, wondering where the line on this sort of thing fell anymore.

"Maybe. But I was touching it before with just my hands the first time so I don't think it's such a big deal, right?" Twilight asked, unbuttoning his boxers and pulling out his cock. It was true that she was helping him sleep before like this and neither of them had thought it was wrong so why would this be worse than what they did last night?

"Well... if you think so." Spike said, enjoying the feeling of those soft hands on him. Maybe she was right.

"Just lay back and enjoy yourself okay. Faster it's over the sooner we can go to bed." Twilight said up to him with a wink. He felt himself twitch in her hands at that wink in the dim light and Twilight seemed to notice it too. Her slender fingers coasting up and down his cock slowly as she smiled and watched him move while her hand worked. Spike's breathing grew heavier and his eyes were moving between her hand, her exposed chest and her face. "Feeling good?"

"Y-yeah." Spike answered, Twilight looking his way while her hand continued to stroke him. "Wh-what... about... you?"

"Oh I'll be fine." Twilight assured him. "I don't need help sleeping tonight." She assured him, still smiling in that lovely way that made his body shiver under her touch. "Maybe you could cuddle with me in my bed tonight? I'd like the company."

"It's... it's good! It's good by me." Spike answered, feeling himself come closer to his climax from the sound of her voice and the feeling of her touch.

"Okay then. We better make sure you don't make a mess of the bed then." Twilight said and lifted her other hand up. Effortlessly with her magic she brought over her towel from the bathroom and laid it on his lap. "There we go."

"Twilight..." Spike moaned, feeling himself get closer.

"That's good Spike, right on time." She leaned closer to him and kissed his cheek. That was all it took for Spike to take in a deep breath of air and groan, cumming against her hand and the towel. Twilight watched as she squeezed his seed out, feeling it drip around her fingers but still smiling all the same. Her hand continued well after he was done and then pulled it away to look at his work. "Well looks like you were ready to go tonight."

"Maybe, yeah..." Spike said sleepily as Twilight cleaned up the mess with the towel, being sure to get every drop off of his erection and her fingers (some of which took her lips to lick clean, a detail he didn't ignore). When it was all done she floated the towel to the floor with her magic and pulled Spike into another hug. Spike returning it as he was happy to be in this comforting position again. Though one question was on his mind. "Say Twilight?"

"Yes Spike?"

"What about your medicine tomorrow night?"

"Oh don't worry, I can just use my magic and a sponge."

"Oh... okay." Spike closed his eyes resting against her breast. Not questioning why she hadn't done that previously instead of having him apply the medicine all the nights before.

There's a saying about those that prefer to hide in the dark. That what goes on under the moon only Luna knows. It was meant originally as a warning for those that dare tread around in the night without protection, away from the safety of towns and cities. In the dark anyone could be robbed, killed, eaten or who knew what else. However over time it was eventually adopted as a phrase meant for those that preferred to get up to mischief when they didn't want to anyone else to see what they were doing. As far as Ruby Pinch was concerned if Luna was watching what went on at night she was either into some kinky shit or just didn't actually care what humans did to each other. Her bet was on the latter.

At this time of night the park in the village was abandoned aside from the occasional teenagers who were hanging out well past the hour they should have been in bed. Lucky for Ruby the teenagers that were getting up to mischief were herself and the boy she'd come here with. It wasn't a school night anyway so staying out late wouldn't have much in the way of consequences for her later. Not that she would have said no if it was the middle of the week, she'd done this so many times she understood where things were going. After spending the evening with a boy and having him suggest they go for a walk they'd usually end up some place like this. He was attractive at least, one of the jocks at school that she'd been with before. Even though she'd come all this way, to the point she was sitting on one of the family sized tables for outdoor dinners while he was pressed up against her and kissing her neck in that hungry way boys do when they really want to fuck, she just wasn't into it.

"You ever wonder if she's really watching us?" Ruby asked out loud, her voice a little hazy from some of the drinks she'd had earlier tonight.

"Someone's watching us?" The boy asked in surprise, looking around himself.

"No. You think I'd be like this if I knew someone was watching?" Ruby said, feeling annoyed he didn't get what she was saying. "I meant Princess Luna."

"Princess... Luna?" He asked, really confused about why she'd stopped him for this.

"Yeah like, they say under the moon only she can see what you're doing. Do you think that's true?" It was kind of an odd question. The boy looked up at the moon and back at her again, only to shrug at the idea of it.

"Probably not. That's like a thing people made up to advertise going out to bars and stuff like that. Why would she watch us?"

"Yeah... I guess no one really is watching out for us at all." Ruby said, her voice trailing off at the thought of it. He seemed to take that as an invitation and moved back to kissing at her neck, his hands slipping down to feel beneath her skirt. It was obvious he wanted sex and she knew with how she was feeling right now it wasn't going to feel good. Still if she just gave in to him maybe he'd leave and then she could be out here alone. Nothing was worse when someone you didn't really like stuck around afterwards to pretend like they wanted to talk with you. Only thing worse than that were the ones that did leave when you wanted to talk to someone.

His fingers started to hook into her panties and she didn't resist it, letting him pull them towards himself over her hips.

"You kids having fun?" A female voice suddenly said spooking both the teenagers as his hands left her skirt at lightning speed, turning to see who spoke. "Looks like I interrupted something, didn't I?"

"Mom!?" Ruby shouted in surprise seeing the raspberry pink haired woman who was standing so close to them it was amazing she'd snuck up without either noticing. Her arms were crossed and there was a bottle of open wine in her hands as she looked at them. Slipping off the table and sneaking in a hand pull through her skirt to pull her panties back up, Ruby looked on in a mix of astonishment and anger. "What are you even doing out here!?"

"Walking my daughter home, what else?" Berry Punch replied to her Ruby. "Looks like I arrived just in time too. Is this really the guy you're spending your night with instead of going to bed?" She said as she looked the boy over unimpressed. The guy on the other hand seemed much more shocked than Ruby had been, caught in the act by her own mother. Even though Berry had a reputation for being a woman that both enjoyed drinking and spending her evenings with men she didn't know as well. She could see the debate going on in his face as he was trying to decide the best course of action.

"You know... I can walk her home myself." He said in reply to Berry's insult of him earlier. "Don't you have a bar to be at right now?" There was a cocky tone to his voice and he earned a glare from both Berry for his words and Ruby from the insult to her mother. She wasn't exactly proud of the things her mother did either but she wasn't going to let someone else bad mouthing her like that.

"Who are you to- !" Ruby began in anger but her mother raised her free hand up to stop her daughter from talking. Berry Punch smiling in a way that was uncommon to her daughter. It was both very sober and very certain.

"Oh, so you're lecturing me on where I should be at this time of night?" Berry said with a smirk. "Okay kid, I've had about enough. So let's just cut to the chase. Literally." With a sudden swing of her arms Berry's hand smashed the end of her wine bottle against a metal trash can she'd been standing near. The glass pieces falling away inside and leaving the jagged bits attached to the neck of her bottle with her. "Now I'm either going to leave this park with my daughter. Or I'm going to leave this park with my daughter and your balls. I'll let you decide how it'll work out." She said, twirling the bottle neck in her fingers while the light of the moon made the edges sparkle. "Three... two..."

"I'll see you at school." The boy said to Ruby as he put his hands in his pockets and walked away with his back to them. Clearly trying to hide any fear after his sudden bold display earlier. Once he was gone Berry smiled pleased with herself and tossed the rest of the bottle into the trash.

"Looks like he finally started thinking with the right head. Shall we go?" Even as she was asking Ruby was charging past her mother, arms crossed and not looking her way. "I guess so." Berry answered herself and followed behind her daughter, the two walking out of the park and threw the nearly abandoned roads together back to their home. Ruby was quiet for a long time during the trip, not looking up or around. Just keeping her eyes on the dirt before her. Letting out a sigh Berry broke the silence. "You're not really upset I ran him off, are you?"

"What do you care?" Ruby asked, not hiding the anger in her voice.

"A lot." Berry answered, making Ruby grit her teeth hearing that.

"First time I've noticed." Ruby snapped, still keeping her eyes away from her mother. Before all she had wanted was to leave that park, or at least be there with someone else other than the person she got. Now that she was leaving she was furious that her mother had been the one to come get her like she was a lost child.

"Don't pretend you're upset about that boy. You didn't even remember what his name was, did you?" While that might have been true it didn't give her mother any right to get in the way.

"I don't need you watching out for me. I can take care of myself!" Ruby said, ignoring the question. "Why did you even come out here tonight anyway? Shouldn't you be sleeping it off at home?" Maybe she wasn't going to tolerate someone else accusing her mother of being a lush but she wasn't afraid to say it herself.

"I... deserve that." Berry said, looking away from her daughter. "I know I'm not the best example for you. For anyone really. But that doesn't mean I don't care." Despite her words Ruby didn't want to say it was okay. Because honestly an apology wasn't enough right now. It was years too late and words couldn't fix what was wrong with the both of them.

"I'm sorry I turned out to be a disappointment." Ruby said with bitterness. They were words meant to hurt but it was also a mask to hide her own shame at being caught in the act by her mother.

"You've never been a disappointment to me." Berry replied and Ruby scoffed out loud but was holding back tears. She didn't want to have this conversation with her mother, she never thought they would. It exposed too much of themselves to each other and confronting their shame was never something her family was good at. "I've been a disappointment to you and that's not acceptable for a parent."

"Better than dad. Least you're here." Ruby said, gulp back her tears. "Can we stop talking about this?"

"Not yet." Berry said, stopping right before their house. If they had walked into the door Ruby could retreat to her room and just forget about this night ever happening. Her mother must have known that, which was why she was keeping her outside. "I need you to understand something important." She walked up to her daughter and placed her hands on her shoulders, Ruby feeling a sudden rush of emotion at the physical contact. It was unexpected and there were tears escaping her eyes that she'd been trying to hide but it was becoming so much harder. "Ruby I love you. I love you so much. I should express it more but I'm just so bad at saying things like this. I've made mistakes... I've made a lot of mistakes but you were never one of them. Please remember that. In the worst times when things are hard that no matter what you're the reason I get up in the morning. Because I love my daughter."

"Mom, don't!" Ruby said as she hugged her mother tightly to hide her face against her chest to stop the tears. "Please stop, I don't want to talk about this!"

"We have to sometime. It's better now than later." Berry continued and hugged her daughter in return. "I'm going to keep making mistakes I'm afraid. But I'll keep working hard too so that I can take care of you. That's what I think about every day. Because I'm so thankful you're in my life." Ruby kept crying and Berry let her, stroking her daughter's hair with one arm and holding her tight with the other.

"I'm sorry." Ruby said through her tears. "I'm sorry I've been a bad daughter and that I'm mean to you sometimes and... and..."

"Shh, that's enough. You don't need to apologize." Berry comforted and Ruby pulled her head back to look up at her mother. Her eyes had such clarity to them, as if she could see through every paper thin wall Ruby had put up to protect her own emotions. "Just try not to stay out too late anymore, okay. I worry about you."

"Okay..." Ruby said, hugging her mother again.

"Also please tell me that chicken-shit wasn't your boyfriend." Berry said and Ruby actually laughed through her crying, hugging her mom tight.

"No, he's not. I don't really have a boyfriend."

"Really? No one?" Berry asked, poking around looking for gossip.

"Well... there's this one boy that I think likes me. But he's kind of a dork."

"Do you like him?"

"I don't know... maybe? He's nice to me."

"But he's a dork."

"Yeah..." Ruby said, realizing that was pretty shallow but knowing what little reputation she had could be sullied by dating a boy that was lower than her on the popularity scale.

"Well if you like him then you can invite him over sometime. As long as he's polite."

"Maybe." Ruby said, thinking that it was really unlikely she'd ever bring a guy actually to her home. But if he was nice and it was for like... school or something. Not sex stuff, then maybe. "Maybe."

"Okay then, maybe it is." Berry said and kissed the top of her daughter's head. "I'm going to get the trash cans together to be picked up tomorrow. You can head inside, okay?"

"Okay." They broke their hug and Ruby felt the rush of emotions seem to pass when they were separated. It had felt good to get it out of her, to actually talk with her mom for once. Maybe things could be better going forward? She didn't really expect either of them to change. That felt like too much of an unrealistic wish to be achieved, despite what they both might want to change about themselves. But at least things could be better between them. Maybe. Walking into the house Ruby proceeded directly up the stairs, looking to head to her bedroom and crash for the night. That outburst had taken way too much out of her.

She would have made it to bed and passed out aside from the noise she heard in the house. It wasn't from downstairs, it was from the hall she was standing in. A sound faintly coming from her mother's room. The door was closed but there was certainly something in there... or someone. Looking around herself Ruby found the closest object she could grab and unplugged a table lamp, carrying it with her to her mother's door. Sometimes creeps that got too attached to her mom had followed her home in the past. Berry Punch usually dealt with them without much of a problem but if one of them had snuck in while they were both out she wasn't going to let this guy get away with anything. Opening the door Ruby snuck into the room and searched for the cause of the noise.

It was her mother. She was laying in bed and already asleep, snoring away without a care in the world. Ruby set the lamp on the floor and walked closer to the bed, not understanding what it was that she was seeing. But even through the dark she could make out the shape of her mother's face on her pillow, lightly snoring and clearly having been in bed for a while. She put her hand to her head and shook it as she couldn't understand what was happening. Did she hallucinate everything that had happened on the walk home? No, that was impossible! That boy had been run off in the park. So... what was going on right now? There was no way her mom got upstairs before she did.

There was a metal sound outside as a trash can was moved. Eyes wide Ruby moved to her mother's window and opened it, sticking her head outside. Sure enough the trash cans had been put out in front of the house like her mother said she was going to do, except she wasn't down there with them. Whipping her head around Ruby eventually spotted a woman with long green hair walking down the street. She was wearing black clothing and seemed to be moving at a brisk pace. Though when Ruby found her the woman stopped for a moment and turned to look back.

Her green eyes seemed to shine in the night, even from how far away she was. Eyes locked Ruby could feel there was something about this woman that was familiar, despite having never seen her before in her life. Ruby's mouth began to open to call out to the lady on the street. Wanting to confirm something for herself to be sure she hadn't imagined everything from before. However a familiar voice spoke up first.

"Ruby, is that you?" Berry Punch said groggily as she sat up in bed, Ruby looking over to confirm that it was indeed her mom. "Is everything okay, honey?" Turning her head to look back outside the green haired woman was gone. She'd somehow slipped away while Ruby was distracted in that instant.

"...yeah, everything's okay mom." Ruby said as she closed the window carefully.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Her mother asked concerned and not knowing how to answer Ruby just nodded her head. "I'm sorry, if you want you can sleep in my bed tonight."

"Okay." Ruby said and crawled into bed with her mother. She was still in her clothes from being out tonight but she didn't care, instead wanting to rest as soon as possible as well as be close to her (real) mother. "Hey mom."

"Yes Ruby?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, honey." Berry Punch said as she kissed the top of her daughter's head. "Sleep in her as long as you want, okay? I'll make us breakfast tomorrow."

"Okay, I'd like that." Ruby said, feeling a little safer being home now. She didn't understand what happened tonight but felt like whoever she'd met didn't want to hurt her. If anything it had helped her get out some feelings she had been holding in for a long time. The kinds of feelings she didn't think her and her mother were able to really talk about earnestly without it breaking out into an argument. Maybe in the night there were those that were watching out for them? Princess Luna? Something else entirely? She didn't know who or what but she thanked them as she drifted off into a much needed slumber.

Pool Party

With the weekend finally having arrived Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom had also arrived in front of Diamond Tiara's home at the set time for her pool party. Each girl carrying what they'd be needing for the night. While Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had a bag full of a change of clothes and some hygienic products for the next day, they noted with some amusement that Sweetie Belle's bag was larger. Not unlike her big sister over packing for every occasion. Despite her apprehension of going into the "lion's den" of her past bullies, Apple Bloom reassured Scootaloo that things would be fine. If they weren't all three of them could still just leave and go spend the night in their tree house if it came to it. Confidence shaky but assured through friendship the three girls went past the metal gates into the front yard. The rest of the property surrounded by a brick wall that was just tall enough that you could look over it if you wanted to but would make it kind of obvious you were peeking in on someone's home.

Apple Bloom took point in the team and knocked on the door, waiting a few moments before it opened not by a butler or maid like they were all expecting but instead by Silver Spoon. "Oh, you guys are right on time. C'mon in." She said in a friendly tone as all the girls walked into the house in single file, taking in the interior as they entered. It was a two story home and very well furnished and decorated. No way to tell if it had been by Diamond's parents or if they'd hired someone to do it for them. Such was the mysteries between the common people and the wealthy, Scootaloo thought. While she was looking around she glanced upward to note a woman staring down at the girls with an expression that could only be described as disdain. As if she were watching someone let in filthy animals into the house. Scootaloo was about to comment until Diamond Tiara showed up from the next room.

"Everyone's here, thank you all for coming. Feel free to enjoy my home as much as you like." Diamond Tiara said almost too joyfully for her personality. "While you're here I consider you to be my personal guests. Anything you require I can provide."

"Even apples?" Apple Bloom asked jokingly but was startled when Diamond Tiara produced an apple from her pocket and tossed it to the girl, the farm girl fumbling to catch it and everyone looking wide eyed at their host. "What in the... how did you...?"

"C'mon Apple Bloom, I could see that coming even before you walked in the door." Diamond said with a smirk, feeling pretty proud of herself. "Anyone want anything to drink or snacks or something?"

"I'm okay, I'm really curious to see this pool we're going to party in." Sweetie Belle said happily, the apple joke doing something to dissipate their fears of things being uncomfortable with Diamond Tiara.

"Right this way." Diamond said as she guided the girls towards the back of the house, Scootaloo looking up again to notice that the woman who had been watching them was gone now. Not thinking much of it the girls traveled from the large front portion of the house to the living room and then through the kitchen all the way out to the back yard. It was hard not to be impressed by the size of her home, Apple Bloom noting it was bigger than her own house even with her having more people living in it. Tiara was happy for the compliment on her family's "humble home" as she put it. Then finally displayed the reason they'd all come over. "So, here's the pool."

"Whoa!" Apple Bloom said. "It's big!"

"You even have a hot tub!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed noticing it not far off from the pool itself.

"Those are some interesting bushes." Scootaloo said noting the tall plant life that surrounded the pool area. They were a bunch of dark colored shrubs with a hint of red in the leaves that all lined around the sides of the pool. Grown even taller than the brick wall around the house and trimmed flat at the top by the gardeners to keep them looking stylish and matching the rest of the very large back yard. Diamond was going to answer but another voice spoke up from behind them all before she could.

"Ah yes, the bushes were added in some time later after we built the pool." Diamond's father Filthy Rich said from behind the girls. "My dear wife wasn't comfortable with having so much "exposed" area in our back yard when she was sun bathing. So we were fortunate to find a decorative solution for her to have some privacy."

"Hello Mr. Rich!" Apple Bloom greeted happily. "Thank you so much for having us over."

"Why think nothing of it. Silver Spoon visits all the time and I'm glad to have more of my daughter's friends over to keep her company." While everyone seemed cheerful about this Diamond Tiara looked a little uncomfortable from having her father around in front of everyone.

"Um, Mr. Rich?" Scootaloo asked quietly. "Is Mrs. Rich okay with us being here? I thought I saw her earlier and she didn't look happy."

"Oh, well... Spoiled is just a little under the weather tonight. So she won't be able to come out and say hello. However don't you worry, you all have our blessing to be here. Just so long as there won't be any boys visiting this party, right?"

"Yes, Daddy. Like I said earlier it's just us. No boys." Diamond Tiara answered sounding like she'd had to address this point more than once already.

"Alright then, you girls have fun. I'll try to stay out of your way but don't be afraid to ask for anything if you need it. Have a good night." The girls all wished Filthy Rich a good night together as he went back into the house to leave them to their own entertainment. After he was gone all attention turned towards Scootaloo and the girl looked around surprised.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" She asked nervously.

"So you saw my mom, huh?" Diamond said with a bit of gruff to her voice. "Don't worry about her. She can be cranky all she wants about me having people over to visit. Probably just jealous she never has parties like this herself." That statement seemed like it was loaded with a lot of baggage that none of the girls knew how to even begin to unpack. Thankfully Silver Spoon was on top of things as she directed them to the next event.

"So shall we all get ready to swim? I know the sun's going down but we have lights out here for when it gets dark." Silver explained.

"Wow, this place really does have everything." Apple Bloom said in amazement as if she were just noticing the lamps around the pool. "Ah guess ah'll use yer bathroom tah change if that's okay?"

"Oh, I'll go after Apple Bloom." Sweetie Belle said. "Unless you want next, Scootaloo?"

"I kind of came ready for it." Scootaloo explained and lifted up her shirt to show the tight halter top swim wear she had on underneath. "So you guys can do what you want."

"Scootaloo's a girl that's ready for action." Silver said with a smile that made the girl blush and put her shirt back down. "I'll go change in Tiara's room after she's done."

"Okay, everyone can leave their bags and clothes in the living room for when we're ready to change into our pajamas later. Let's go." Diamond instructed and the girls decided it was best to fall in line with her decree. Scootaloo only had to drop her bag off herself, leaving her shirt and shorts laying on top of it as she went back outside. Now sitting her swimsuit top and matching swim shorts underneath. Both a deep purple color with a white stripe along the sides. She watched the sun going down out on the horizon as she sat on one of the beach chairs, wondering if she shouldn't have brought up Diamond's mother earlier. It seemed like a touchy subject for both her and her father. At least no one yelled at her for speaking out of turn so she was grateful to that.

"Ya'll thinking up a storm out here." Apple Bloom said as she came back outside, wearing an orange one piece swimsuit and sitting on the same chair and Scootaloo. "Not still nervous are ya?"

"A little. Do you think I shouldn't have asked about her mom?" Scootaloo asked and Apple Bloom shrugged.

"She seemed kinda bothered by it but ah don't think it was ya'll. Maybe she's got some issues there, y'know? We should probably just avoid it so she can have fun."

"Yeah, you're right. I just don't want to start a fight."

"Hey now, lighten up. We're all hanging out at a party to have a good time." Apple Bloom said. "Just sit back and enjoy yerself. After all you were ready for the party before any of us."

"Yeah, I guess so. You've got a nice swimsuit by the way. Mine is just a hand me down from my mom when she was little." Scootaloo complimented.

"Shucks, mine ain't no different. This belonged to mah big sis' before she grew outta it. Don't really got money to throw around for new clothes if ya got old ones." Apple Bloom explained, echoing something familiar for Scootaloo as they talked and making her feel more comfortable. They stopped when the glass door to the house slid open and the next person stepped out to show off their swim suit. Gaining an eyeful from the girls. "Good golly."

"What?" Silver Spoon asked as she closed the door behind her. "Everything alright?"

"Wow, Silver." Scootaloo said as she took in what she was seeing. "That's your swimsuit?"

"It is! I got it specially ordered from a designer in the capital." The girl smiled. Though it wasn't the quality of the suit or the designer name tied to it that caught the girls eyes. More that the swimsuit could best be described as a series of small silver triangles that were doing their very best to cover the girl as much as they could. "Do you like it?"

"It's certainly eye catchin'." Apple Bloom said out loud. "Good thing we got them bushes around to keep us hidden."

"I don't normally get to wear this one so I wanted a chance to try it for a special occasion." Silver said happily, not seeming at all bothered by her suit's lack of coverage in comparison to the other girls. In fact after taking off her glasses and leaving them on a nearby table she went right for the pool and jumped in. The girls seeing things were getting started both smiled and joined her in the water, finding it a little cold but nice enough that once they adjusted it didn't bother them any. Plus there was lots of room to swim around in. They were having so much fun they didn't notice the next person to come outside.

"Glad to see everyone's enjoying the party." Diamond spoke up and actually took a moment to pose. She was wearing a rather flashy one piece that was pink in color and had openings on the sides that showed off her body between her hips to her chest, the fabric held together by a loop in the middle. Not only was the suit flashy but she had a matching pair of sunglasses and a sun hat to go with it.

"I see you went with the designer piece too." Silver Spoon complimented from the water.

"Well it would be a waste not to show off the finest swimwear I have." Diamond said with a bright smile, happy to get the compliment.

"It really is purdy." Apple Bloom complimented as well. "But do ya need the hat when the sun's goin' down?"

"Or the sunglasses?" Scootaloo asked alongside her. Diamond thought about this for a moment and slowly took off both the hat and glasses and set them on one of the chairs near the pool. Scootaloo was a afraid she might get angry with being questioned but instead Diamond seemed to regain her confidence.

"Well... be a shame not to show it all off, don't you think?" Diamond asked.

"Guess ah can't argue with that one." Apple Bloom said, finding her reasoning amusing but not wanting to take away her pride.

"Fine taste just comes naturally to me after all." As she was lapping up the praise she was getting for her decisions in fashion Sweetie Belle came out next. Wearing a two piece swimsuit that was not only as fancy as Diamond's but seemed to stand out even more. The white fabric embroidered with purple flower designs and the strings around her hips and shoulders had small jewels embedded into the cloth. Sweetie even had a small skirt wrapped around her waist that was equally matched with designs and gems. When she stepped out Diamond got a look at her outfit and swallowed a lump in her throat. "M-my that's... some very impressive swimwear."

"You like it?" Sweetie asked, taking the skirt off as she felt it really wasn't necessary and setting it near Diamond's hat. "Rarity made it for me. I think it's a little over board but it looks pretty, right?"

"Your sister made that?" Diamond Tiara said as she pondered it.

"It's incredible!" Silver Spoon said in amazement. "Better than anything I've ever seen in a shop."

"Sure puts our's to shame." Apple Bloom agreed.

"Well... I'm sure if you ever wanted we could ask if Rarity could make some for you guys too?" Sweetie offered, feeling a little nervous with all these eyes on her.

"Yes, I have to get one for myself!" Diamond Tiara declared. "If I wore a custom piece like that to the beach while on vacation it would make all the other girls jealous in their store bought outfits." Feeling some joy in proving her superiority in the future Diamond gently entered the pool by using the steps, Sweetie Belle following after her as she didn't really get what she was talking about but was just happy everyone else seemed happy. At least things seemed to be going well for everyone tonight and the girls were all grateful for that.

"That's one order of Tiramisu Cheesecake. Specially packaged, just as you asked."

"Thank you Mrs. Cake. I really appreciate it." Spike said as he took the decorated box containing the small cake inside.

"Oh it's quite alright, Spike. After all it's what we do here and I'm glad to help you." The baker said with a smile, Spike having put the order in early yesterday for the decorated cake tonight. He knew it was one of Rarity's favorite desserts and wanted to surprise her with it on their little in home date. Kind of a tall order to ask for in a single day, especially when he was trying to keep it out of Pinkie's sights. But the Cakes were masters of their craft and came through as always. "So who's the lucky girl?"

"E-excuse me!?" Spike asked suddenly feeling flustered.

"Well I can see you're dressed up very nice." Mrs. Cake commented at Spikes clothing, the boy having chosen his best to wear to try and make an impression. "And there wasn't any gem stones included in that dessert request, so I'm guessing it's not all just for you."

"I... uh... um..." Spike wracked his brain for a good response, not expecting to be seen through so easily like this. "It's... aaaaaa girl?" Spike offered and felt as dumb as his answer. Mrs. Cake just laughed a little to herself.

"Well you don't have to tell if you two are keeping it between you for now. I was just curious, not every day we see someone come in with a request like this." Mrs. Cake replied with understanding, Spike letting out a sigh.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cake. Is it okay if you don't tell Pinkie either?"

"Don't worry about at thing, deary. We'll keep it between us for now. Go out and have a good time, shouldn't keep a lady waiting after all."

"You're right, see you later Mrs. Cake!" Spike said happily and headed out the door, letting out a breath of relief that he was outside and loosening the collar of his shirt to breath easier. "Didn't think I was so obvious with what I was doing. Maybe I should get going before anyone else sees me." Last thing he wanted to do was explain why he was dressed like this and carrying a gift box to anyone else that he knew. Since it was early evening there was less chance of him running across anyone randomly but that didn't mean the risk wasn't still there. So Spike made his way directly to Rarity's home without delay to prevent any more problems from happening.

It would have been all smooth sailing if he hadn't caught sight of what was going on next to the Rich family home.

Their house was big and the property around it even bigger. The whole thing lined with a brick fence and a metal gate in the front to keep anyone who wasn't welcome out of their home. Not a lot of house had such imposing structures to keep guests away but Spike figured when you had a lot of expensive stuff you'd want to keep it safe from potential thieves. Thing is the front gate wasn't the only entrance. There was also some back gates big enough for just a single person to walk through so that it was easier to get in and out if you were in the back yard. It was there that Spike noticed three boys standing near the metal door to enter the yard, all of which he recognized.

"Okay, the plan is simple." Snips explained to the other two. "We'll just let ourselves in calmly, find a nice spot to watch near the pool, and leave before anyone notices us."

"So we're peeping toms?" Snails asked.

"Not exactly. We're just enjoying the view without disturbing their party. It's like bird watching." Snips rationalized.

"Sounds like peeping to me." Snails countered.

"What if we get caught?" Rumble asked nervously.

"Well maybe they'll be happy to have more guests over? So we just let them know we wanted to hang out too." Snips answered.

"Even though we're supposed to make sure we're not noticed?" Snails countered.

"Right." Snips answered. "To be polite."

"I'm having second thoughts." Rumble said. "This feels like it's wrong."

"Pretty sure it's frowned upon." Snails agreed.

"Pretty sure it's called trespassing and that it's illegal." Spike said, making all three boys nearly jump out of their skin. "Did I just hear you guys say you were going to go and peep on Diamond Tiara?"

"No!" Rumble blurted out, completely freaked out they'd already been caught. "I mean... I'm not looking to see Diamond Tiara."

"Yeah, there's a whole pool party of girls in there. It's not just her." Snips countered and Spike sighed and shook his head at the response.

"You three can't be serious with this?" Spike asked. "Do you know what her father would do to you if he caught you spying?"

"That's why we're not supposed to be seen. So everyone's happy." Snips reasoned and Spike shook his head again.

"You know you're really making this sound worse every time you talk." Rumble replied starting to get cold feet.

"I should just knock on their door to let them know this, you know." Spike offered. "Diamond Tiara might be mean but that doesn't mean she deserves to get spied on."

"She's not really that mean." Snips argued. "Just... under a lot of pressure. Besides Spike, you owe me! I took the heat for that party of yours."

"The party you insisted that I have for you?" Spike countered.

"Well you had fun and didn't get in trouble, right? I was the only one that did."

"Yeah! And you got caught there too! What makes you think this will go differently?" Spike argued. He felt pretty strongly about his position on this but someone had a question to knock him off his game.

"Say Spike." Snails said. "Why are you dressed up anyway?" Spike's eyes went wide at the question and the other boys suddenly noticed his unusual clothing too.

"Yeah, that's a good point." Snips said. "You've got a present with you too."

"Uhh..." Spike began, finding he was really bad at this lying on the spot thing. "You see..." Struggling to find a good answer Spike was left with six eyes on him and no words in his mouth. By lucky chance though someone else broke the attention off of him when they showed up.

"Whoa, is everyone here for the party?" Rain Catcher asked as he approached the other four boys. "I thought only I was invited."

"What are you doing here?" Rumble asked in annoyance seeing the unexpected visitor.

"Scootaloo invited me to her party, what are YOU doing here?" Rain asked Rumble, looking like they were about to get into another fight.

"Yeah right, it's an all girls pool party. Why would you be invited?" Rumble countered.

"Well she told me about it so she obviously wanted me to come." Rain Catcher reasoned. "Who wanted any of you to show up?"

"I don't think Diamond Tiara wanted you here." Snails replied not seeming near as bothered as Rumble. "And it's her house."

"Well Scootaloo's MY girlfriend." Rain Catcher said, really driving that point home to Rumble. "So she can invite who she wants."

"Don't think that's how it works." Snails said, still just sounding calm about the whole thing. "Not that it matters, you're way behind."

"How do you mean?"

"Snips already went in while everyone was talking." Snails answered, everyone just realizing the shorter boy was no where to be seen.

"How the heck did he get past me!?" Spike blurted out. "Okay, look, no one else is going in there! I'm going to go in and get him back without anyone seeing us."

"I don't think that's going to work out." Snails said to Spike.

"Why's that? You think I won't be able to find Snips in there? Only so many places he can hide." Spike said confidently.

"No, I mean Rain Catcher hopped the fence while you were focusing on Snips." Snails replied, noting that it was just the three of them out there now.

"Okay, so no one else is going to-" By the time Spike had gotten his thoughts together the gate was swinging open as Rumble had already made his way onto the property.

"So while you were saying that, Rumble went and-"

"I got it! I got it." Spike grumbled to himself. "You guys are really trying my patience. I should just let you all get caught on your own."

"I mean that's probably what's going to happen, but Sweetie Belle's in there too if you don't mind them spying on her." Snails could see Spike's face contort into a number of expressions that were all various degrees of rage and internal conflict before making his decision.

"I hate you guys." Spike grumbled as he prepared to trespass on Diamond's property.

"Why are you wearing that suit, anyway?"

"Cause I look pretty in it, dammit!" Spike snapped and made his way past the simple swinging gate. Snails shrugged and trailed along after, looking to see how this was all going to end up.

As the night had gone on the girls had been moving between the house, the pool and the hot tub as they all chatted with each other. Apple Bloom had brought some squirt guns with her but having only three it left two out. Deciding they wanted to just rest up anyway Silver Spoon and Scootaloo remained together in the hot tub while the other girls were having fun shooting each other inside the pool. Everyone seemed to be having a good time letting themselves cut loose except one girl. Silver Spoon taking a moment to address that issues herself.

"So you still seem like you're nervous." The silver haired girl commented, sitting across from Scootaloo in the bubbling water. "Are you not having fun?"

"Oh, it's not that I just... I feel like any moment things could fall apart, you know?" Scootaloo confessed.

"Because of you, Diamond Tiara and Rain Catcher?" Silver Spoon asked and the other girl nodded. "You don't have to worry about that, Diamond isn't going to say anything about it unless you bring it up."

"You really think so?" Scootaloo asked.

"I know so. It's important to her this party goes well. It's why she wore her best swim suit for just swimming at her own house. Mine too." Silver said being pleased with her outfit. "I think it might have more to do with her mom than you or Rain Catcher."

"I felt like I never should have brought up that I saw her." Scootaloo confessed again. "She doesn't like us, does she?"

"Sometimes I think she doesn't even like me." Silver said. "Her dad is nice though so it's okay. I don't ever see her mom spending time with anyone but she puts a lot of pressure on Diamond to be perfect. This might be her getting back at her in some way."

"That sounds pretty complicated." Scootaloo said, looking over at Diamond who seemed like she was enjoying herself a lot more than she'd ever seen in the past. "It's weird to think that having friends is something that would make her mom upset."

"If you're not as rich as Mr. Rich than she doesn't think you're worth being around. Thing is no one in town is as wealthy as they are." Silver said sounding melancholy over the subject. "Even my family doesn't compare. It's a weird thing."

"I can't even imagine having all of this around me all the time." Scootaloo said looking at Diamond's house. "You guys sure are lucky."

"It's okay I guess." Silver said, not feeling very impressed with all the fancy things around them. "It can get kind of lonely with no one around but us. That's not a problem anymore I hope." Silver Spoon said with a smile at Scootaloo, sliding over in the tub to sit next to her. "It's nice having it be just us girls, right?"

"Uh... yeah, sure is." Scootaloo answered, not really understanding the question. She was usually around girls all the time. It was boys that were the odd exception.

"Don't you two look chummy." Diamond said, the girls suddenly noticing her standing near the hot tub after exiting the pool. "A couple of daiquiri's in your hands and it would be a summer photo shoot."

"A daker... what?" Scootaloo asked feeling lost all of a sudden.

"It's a mixed drink." Silver answered. "Do you think we could get two over here?"

"Well I do know where daddy keeps the key to his liquor cabinet." Diamond said smiling a little mischievously. "Though I don't think I could get the chef to mix them for us."

"I could do it." Silver Spoon said cheerfully. "We could make this a real party."

"Are you guys talking about drinking!?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well yeah, I mean unless you don't think you can handle it." Diamond asked a little teasingly.

"I... I can do it! I can take anything you throw at me." Scootaloo said not wanting to back down from a challenge.

"That sounds like all I need to hear." Silver Spoon said as she exited the hot tub. "If you can really get those bottles for me I can whip them up for us."

"Are we really doing this!?" Scootaloo asked, feeling both nervous and exited at the idea. "I mean I've never drank before."

"Sure you have, Spike's punch was spiked at his party." Silver explained, seeing a wide eyed look in Scootaloo's eyes. "You didn't know? Diamond Tiara and you both drank plenty of it." She said and Diamond looked away a little annoyed.

"I didn't know at the time. Otherwise I wouldn't have had so much." Diamond grumbled.

"Well we can enjoy it properly now. I'll just get some juice and-" Silver stopped as all three girls heard a rustling noise and Silver saw some movement in the bushes that froze her in place. "Uh... guys. I uh... I'm not wearing my glasses but I think I saw something move." All three girls stopped talking now as they turned to look at the bushes, Scootaloo climbing out of the water to see what was happening. As they approached she noted that both Diamond and Silver were staying behind her. Not wanting to get much closer either Scootaloo motioned to Diamond to hand over the plastic squirt gun. She waited until she saw the bushes move again and threw it as hard as she could when they did.

"Ow!" A male voice said as a boy tumbled out of the bushes onto the pool's cement surroundings. "Jeez, that really hurt." Snips complained rubbing his head.

"Snips?" Scootaloo asked in surprise.

"Uh... hi there Scoots. How's the party?" Snips said trying to sound casual but was confronted by the scary (but still welcome) sight of Diamond Tiara moving past her to confront the boy.

"You!" Diamond said sounding as harsh as ever. "What do you think you're doing here!?"

"Oh... hey there, Diamond. You are... just looking beautiful tonight, let me say first. Really stunning."

"Hmph. You're right, of course." Diamond Tiara said, not letting an opportunity for a compliment to pass her up. "But that doesn't explain why you're in my yard."

"Well I... kinda heard you girls were having a party. So... y'know..." Snips trailed off, no good answer coming to his mind.

"Decided to spy on us?" Silver asked, also staring him down. Though when she saw his expression at seeing her swimsuit Silver excused herself to go find a towel to wrap around her body.

"You're a dirty peeping tom!" Diamond accused louder than Snips was hoping for which caught the attention of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle in the pool. "I can't believe you'd be so disrespectful!"

"Wait, I wasn't trying to be disrespectful! I just wanted to join the party with you girls."

"This is a PRIVATE event." Diamond said with a tint of rage to her voice. "Now I know why mother demanded these bushes get planted. As for you..." Tiara continued but her attention was taken off Snips as the sound of more bushes rustling caught her attention. "Another one!"

"Got 'em!" Scootaloo shouted and chucked the squirt gun like a fast ball at the target.

"Ow!" The boy shouted in pain as he also came tumbling out of the bushes, holding his face in pain. "My head..."

"Rumble?" Scootaloo asked in surprise. "You're here too?"

"Aw heck no." Apple Bloom said as her and Sweetie Belle approached along with Silver Spoon who was covering herself with a towel wrapped around her chest. "Gotta couple of peepin' toms here?" Rumble didn't say a word to the girl, just looking up embarrassed at being caught.

"Who even are you?" Diamond asked.

"That's Rumble, he was at Spike's party." Silver reminded Diamond Tiara. The boy waving at the girl weakly and Silver waved back rolling her eyes. "You know this isn't what I meant when I said you should be more forward with girls."

"What a couple of jerks!" Sweetie Belle shouted, covering her chest with her arms. "I can't believe I thought better of you two."

"It's not just us." Rumble said and pulled one of his legs up, kicking hard into the bushes and causing another boy to fall out. "See!?" He said motioning to Rain Catcher who had hit the ground hard not expecting to fall like that.

"You!" Diamond shouted.

"Rain?" Scootaloo asked in disappointment. "You're spying on my friends?"

"See, this is what I was talking about." Silver Spoon said. "Can't trust these boys at all."

"I'll say, how dare you come to my house!" Diamond shouted at Rain Catcher, but pointed at Snips who had been trying to wiggle back into the bushes. "Snips, don't you move, I'm not done with you yet either." The boy stopped his attempted escape and just relaxed on the ground.

"You know I should be more worried by you saying that but I'm just happy you remembered my name." Snips said with a smile on his face.

"As for you!" Diamond shouted at Rain Catcher who was looking at Rumble like he planned to kill him. "What made you think you could come here uninvited?"

"I was invited." Rain Catcher said confidently. "Scootaloo invited me." All eyes turned to the purple haired girl who was looking at Diamond with panic.

"I... I never... I didn't..." Scootaloo stammered.

"She told me all about the party and implied she wanted me to visit." Rain said finding that Diamond's wrath was moving from himself to her. Though before a fight could start Apple Bloom walked up.

"Pile a horse feathers if ya ask me." The farm girl said as she stared at the boy. "Bet she just mentioned she was going to a party and ya invited yerself, didn't ya?"

"Sounds like him." Silver said, backing up the red head. "Putting blame on Scootaloo is such a low move, you're all a bunch of scum bags."

"There isn't anyone else spying on us is there?" Sweetie asked looking around the rest of the pool. As if to answer her question another boy burst through the bushes over top of Rain Catcher and Rumble, grabbing them both by the back of their shirts.

"Grrratcha!" Spike growled through clenched teeth that were holding the string that kept his package together. All the girls screamed in surprise at his sudden arrival and Spike looked up wide eyed to see an audience. "Errm... Urrr... Hrri?" Spike said in confusion.

"Spike, you're a peeper too!?" Sweetie shouted in disappointment.

"Least he brought a present." Apple Bloom said half jokingly.

"Why is he dressed up like that?" Silver Spoon asked in confusion.

"You know, I was wondering the same thing." Snips offered, still laying on the ground where Diamond Tiara told him to. "Never did get an answer."

"This is so dumb." Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Snails, are you out there too?"

"Right here." A hand waved from behind the bushes.

"Well there's the last idiot." Diamond Tiara said in frustration. "What am I supposed to do with all of you!?"

"Don't worry about that sweet heart. Daddy has it taken care of." Everyone looked up at the man who was approaching the group at the back of the pool, holding a pipe in one hand and wrapped up in a fancy robe. "I was wondering what all the shouting was about. None of it sounded like the kind of fun I'd expect from a party." Filthy Rich was eyeing the boys calmly as they all looked up at him in a panic. "Diamond, I take it these guests weren't invited."

"No Daddy. We've established that nobody here was invited." Diamond said, glaring at Rain Catcher with a look that could kill.

"Well that makes you all trespassers. I'm afraid we can't have that now." Each boy began speaking (except for Snails) trying to offer an explanation as to why they were here, even Spike through his gritted teeth. But the crowd fell silent when Filthy Rich put his hand up. "I'm sure you've all got a good excuse but it's late and I'm not eager to hear them. So let's make this quick. Mr. Biceps, if you would?"

"YEAH!" Another man's voice shouted from behind the bushes as huge hands reached through the leaves and pulled each of the boys out of the pool area. The girls watched as the boys were piled up onto Bulk Biceps shoulders and carried off, Sweetie Belle waving to Spike as he left.

"You girls just keep having fun, I'll show the boys the way out." Filthy Rich said with a wink and nod as he left his daughter to her party, Diamond Tiara rubbing her forehead as her father walked around the house with their hired guard.

"I can't believe that happened." She grumbled to herself.

"Ah can. Them boys are hungrier than a pack of wolves."

"I wonder who Spike brought that present for?" Sweetie asked out loud, not seeming very bothered that he showed up at all. Apple Bloom wasn't taking it all as well as her though.

"Who knows. My guess is Snips was the ring leader though with how much he's crushin' on Tiara."

"Wh-what!?" Diamond asked in surprise. "Why... why would you think that... I don't even think he's cute or nice at all! Especially after this."

"No one said you did." Apple Bloom said with a smirk and jumped back into the pool. Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle following after her now that their trespassers were taken care of. Diamond Tiara was left a little stunned until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey." Scootaloo said. "I'm sorry if... they showed up because I told Rain Catcher about the party. I didn't think he'd ever do something like that."

"Hmph... well, it's his fault not yours." Diamond said. "Lets forget about that idiot and just let Daddy take care of them." Scootaloo was surprised Diamond Tiara was able to let it go like that so easily. She thought for sure that she'd want to lay into her for letting the news about the party out at all. But thankfully she was able to agree and followed after her, looking to enjoy the rest of the night with her friends.

"Let's be clear I completely understand where you boys are coming from. I was young once myself after all." Filthy Rich explained as he walked to the front of his house, the other boys carried by their collars like a bunch of cats in the mighty grip of Bulk Biceps. "You hear of some girls having a party and you want to be present. You want them to notice you. It's only natural for boys to feel this way." He continued, looking over the box Spike had brought and examining it. Having taken it himself while his hired muscle did the heavy lifting. "However it's exactly because I understand your intentions that I cannot allow you to bother these young ladies while they're under my care. Ah, here we are." Filthy said as he set Spike's box on top of the brick fence surrounding his home and opened the gate. "Mr. Biceps, if you would?"

"YEAH!" The large man shouted as he tossed the boys out of the property. Literally tossed them, through the air and letting them fall into heaps on each other of the road before the house.

"Thank you. Now boys." Rich said as he turned back to face them. "If we leave it at this I'll simply have you go on about your night. But if I see any of you near my home again I will contact your parents and inform them that their sons are being arrested for trespassing. I hope there's no confusion on this matter." Closing the front gate and locking it Filthy Rich waved to the boys from behind the other side of the iron bars. "Have a good evening." With that the two men turned and went back into the house, the boys picking themselves up off the ground and brushing the dust off themselves. Rumble tried to get to his feet but was kicked back down to the ground by Rain Catcher before he could. Stumbling and pulling himself up again.

"What's your problem, jerk!" Rumble shouted and raised his fists up.

"That's for tripping me earlier you stupid nerd. I wouldn't have gotten caught if it wasn't for you!" Rain Catcher shouted back looking like he was ready to fight too.

"It's not my fault, Snips fell out of the bushes first!" Rumble shouted and pointed at Snips who just shrugged.

"Hey that was just me. I didn't trip anyone or sell the rest of you out." Snips explained. "Not that I'm really upset. Did you see Diamond Tiara? That was one heck of a swimsuit wasn't it?" Snips said to Snails, still feeling pretty happy she remembered his name from the party before.

"I didn't really see anything." Snails said. "Stayed behind the bushes the whole time."

"You dumb dorks ruined everything. If I'd gone in there alone this never would have happened." Rain Catcher complained to them.

"We didn't exactly invite you in the first place." Snips retorted.

"From what I could tell back there no one invited you." Rumble said mockingly. "Scootaloo made that pretty clear."

"You asking to get your teeth knocked in?" Rain Catcher threatened.

"SHUT UP!" Spike shouted, spewing fire up into the air. He turned to face them with glowing green eyes. "I should burn all four of you alive! What in Tartarus name were any of you thinking!? Now they're all lumping me in with you peepers!"

"No one said you had to follow us." Rain Catcher said back and Spike could feel fire burning in the back of his throat. He took a step forward and three of the boys took a step back, all except Snails who was looking elsewhere.

"Hey guys? Guys? What the heck is that thing!?" Snails asked more excited than normal as he pointed at the top of Filthy Rich's fence. Everyone turned to see a black figure with red beady eyes staring back at them. It was small and unnatural looking, the black body blending in with the night so well it was difficult to see.

"That is one freaky looking rat." Snips said trying not to sound afraid.

"That's... not a rat." Rumble said fearfully of the monster.

"Is that an imp!?" Spike exclaimed. "But where would something like that..." Before they could dwell on it further the little monster picked up Spike's dessert for Rarity above it's head with the tiny arms and scurried away down the fence with it. "Hey, what do you think you're doing!? Give that back!" Spike shouted, giving chase to the monster. The other four boys watching as Spike ran off into the night after the creature. There was silence for a while until Snips broke it.

"So uh... was anyone else surprised that Sweetie Belle is that stacked?"

"Yeah she's even bigger than Diamond Tiara." Rain Catcher replied.

"I thought Apple Bloom looked pretty cute with that one piece on." Rumble chimed in. With that they boys walked away from the Rich family home, discussing the various female figures they'd seen tonight as best as their memories could recall.

Later into the night after the girls had their fun splashing about in the pool they all found themselves in Diamond Tiara's room. Having her own bathroom made it easy for them to take turns showering off and changing into their pajamas for bed. Not that anyone was ready to sleep, everyone just chatting casually as they settled in. Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara were sitting on her bed together sharing some apple slices the farm girl had brought with her. Silver Spoon and Scootaloo were currently sitting on Silver's bed, one that had been added in much earlier than the party for her so she'd have a place to sleep when she stayed at Diamond's house. Sweetie Belle was currently on a roll out cot that had been provided by Diamond's parents for the party.

"Gotta say this is the biggest bedroom ah've ever seen." Apple Bloom commented looking around. "Way bigger than anything in my place."

"Well Daddy wanted me to have enough room to do as I pleased." Diamond said as she munched on one of the apple slices.

"You've even got enough room for an extra bed." Scootaloo said as she leaned with her back against the wall. Silver's bed pressed to the side of the room while Diamond's sat in the middle. "It's a nice one too."

"With how often I've spent the night Diamond was kind enough to ask for it for me." Silver explained trying not to sound too pampered. "It was generous of them."

"Speaking of that how are we going to do the sleeping situation tonight?" Sweetie Belle asked, hugging her pillow against her chest and letting her chin rest on it.

"Why not where we are now?" Silver offered. "You don't mind do you Diamond?"

"Depends." Diamond asked looking at Apple Bloom. "You're not a kicker, are you?"

"If ah was, how would ah know? Ah'd be asleep the whole time ah was doin' it." Apple Bloom asked and the other girls giggled at the response. "Ah don't think ah am."

"Good enough I guess." Diamond replied. "Sweetie, you don't mind having the cot to yourself, right?" Sweetie Belle shook her head to indicate she was fine where she was. "Guess as long as you and Silver don't mind sharing a bed. It's a little smaller than mine." She said to Scootaloo but before she could answer Silver Spoon was already replying.

"It'll be fine, we can make it work." Silver said and put an arm around Scootaloo.

"Uh, yeah, I guess we can make it work." Scootaloo replied. "Softer than a sleeping bag on the floor of the club house."

"Sleeping at the club house, what a night that was." Diamond grumbled to herself. Sweetie Belle noting the disappointment in her voice and speaking up to address what she felt should be fixed.

"You're not still mad at Spike, are you?" Sweetie asked her and Diamond just munched on another apple slice. "He wasn't himself that night. He's normally a really good guy."

"He was in the bushes with the other peeping toms." Silver Spoon corrected Sweetie. "Though honestly I never would have expected that from him."

"Seemed kinda odd, don't ya think?" Apple Bloom pondered. "He only showed up after the others got there. First thing he did was go after them too."

"So what? You think he was trying to stop them?" Silver asked curiously.

"Maybe? I dunno, but he sure looked surprised when he saw all of us."

"Didn't he have a present or something?" Scootaloo offered. "Why was he carrying that in the first place?"

"Might have been an apology gift." Sweetie Belle said. "To say he was sorry about what happened last time?"

"Funny way to deliver it." Tiara replied. "You sure are defending him a lot. What's going on with you and him?"

"Us!?" Sweetie asked nervously. "Nothing! There's nothing going on with us. Why would there be?"

"Weren't you in his bedroom at his party?" Silver Spoon asked trying to think back on that night.

"Another night I'd like to forget." Diamond Tiara said. "He sure is at the center of a lot of problem events."

"All the boys from tonight were at that party." Sweetie Belle said in defense of herself, trying to get off the subject of her and Spike.

"Then they tried to crash ours." Silver Spoon replied. "Never thought that would happen."

"Boys sure are a lot of trouble. Wish I had Mr. Biceps around all the time to carry them off when they're annoying me." Diamond said feeling rather happy remembering that part of tonight.

"Ah'd like tah disagree but ah gotta admit there's times ah coulda used some muscle power like that too." Apple Bloom said finding an odd subject to bond over with Tiara. "We've even had some of them visiting the club house after school."

"Jeez, I'm guessing they were hungry for more than apples." Silver Spoon said, but noted that both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were quiet on this subject. Wanting to keep things friendly for everyone Silver Spoon shifted the conversation slightly. "Not like we need boys anyway. They're not offering anything we can't do for each other or ourselves."

"Ah reckon gonna probably need me one when ah'm ready tah have a family of my own though." Apple Bloom countered.

"Only when you actually want the family. He can be out working otherwise. Besides then you'd want a man, not an annoying boy." Silver Spoon replied, making sure to note the difference in her voice between a man and a boy to the other girls. "Other than that we don't need any boys."

"What about when you want a hug?" Scootaloo asked and as if to answer her Silver Spoon put two arms around the girl and gave her a hug out of the blue. "Oh... okay then, what about when you want to kiss?"

"Well I can offer that if you'd like." Silver said with a wink which made Scootaloo blush and Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom laugh at the sight.

"Kissing is over rated anyway." Diamond Tiara said. "Not like there's anything really special about it."

"I can't agree with that. What about when it's with someone you really like?" Sweetie Belle said and Diamond turned to look at her with a bored expression. "What?"

"Okay, fine then." Diamond Tiara said. "Everyone who's actually kissed a boy raise their hand. Then you can tell me what's best." After her decree Tiara raised her hand high into the air, shortly there after followed by Scootaloo. "Well... can't say I'm surprised there."

"Is there a problem with it?" Scootaloo asked defensively.

"Hey, you can kiss who you want. But then I have to ask, was it really special feeling?"

"I'm... not sure." Scootaloo said as she put her hand down, thinking back to that day where her and Rain Catcher were kissing together. It had felt exciting in the moment but there were bad memories tied to it too. Now there was what happened tonight, making it all the more mixed up.

"See, that's what I was afraid of." Diamond Tiara said seriously. "If kissing is really special you shouldn't feel that way, right?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Silver said as she pointed at Sweetie Belle who was hiding her face against her pillow and had her hand shyly in the air.

"No way!" Scootaloo said out loud.

"Are ya yanking my chain all the way to the capital!?" Apple Bloom asked as she turned to face Sweetie. "Ya all really kissed a boy?" Sweetie Belle nodded her head with her face still hidden. "Well... who!? Who was it!?" Sweetie Belle shook her head against the pillow. "Aw c'mon now, you can't leave me in suspense like that."

"Sweetie Belle, you can't drop a bomb on us like this and not tell us who, this is huge!" Scootaloo agreed with Apple Bloom but their friend just kept shaking her head and hiding her face. "Well... alright, but wow I didn't think you'd ever kissed anyone before. Like really kissed them, not just on the cheek or something."

"Can we just let it go?" Sweetie Belle asked in a muffled voice from the pillow. "I never should have said anything." Diamond Tiara mercifully moved the subject on for her.

"Alright so I'm not the only one that's kissed a boy. Doesn't mean they're worth the time of day. I want to go out somewhere, I can ask Silver Spoon to come with me. I want to eat a nice meal I don't even need the company, can eat it all on my own. I want to feel good, I already got something to help make myself feel good. Nothing they can do that I can't do or ask someone better to help me with." That last one caught Apple Bloom's attention considering the talk she'd just recently had with her sister the previous night.

"Say now, when ya said ya'll got something that makes ya 'feel good', ya'll don't happen to mean uh... y'know... something meant for that specifically do you?" The farm girl asked carefully.

"Well... yeah, it is just for 'that'. Not a lot of other things it could be for." Diamond replied back, surprised Apple Bloom caught on to what she was talking about.

"Excuse me?" Scootaloo asked. "What the heck are you guys talking about?" When posed with the question so bluntly both girls on the opposite bed seemed to lose their nerve in describing what they'd been discussing. "Is it something bad?"

"Scootaloo?" Silver Spoon asked. "Have you never... you know? Pleased yourself before?" Scootaloo stared around the room blankly as all the girls looked at her in surprise.

"No way." Diamond Tiara said. "How in the world have you never done it before?"

"How should I know, you guys won't say what you're talking about!" Scootaloo shouted back frustrated. Apple Bloom tried to get in the middle of this before a confrontation broke out between the two girls.

"Y'know Scoots like... when yer feelin' frisky and ya just gotta... ya know?" Apple Bloom struggled and she turned backwards. "Sweetie can you help me out on this one?" Sweetie Belle was surprised to hear her called in for this but she was just glad the focus was off her and who she had kissed. Remembering the talk she'd had with her sister she tried to approach the subject as best she could.

"It's like... when you feel really eager? Like you would for a boy? So you use your hand to um... you know, take care of what you need to do?" Sweetie described and Scootaloo still stared on blankly. "I can't take this anymore. Masturbating, Scootaloo. They're talking about masturbating."

"For a sweet voice she can sure be sharp, can't she?" Silver Spoon said in surprise. Scootaloo's eyes wide with realization as she finally put it all together. "Seriously though, Scootaloo, you've never once tried it?"

"No, I haven't. You all have!?" She asked in shocked and the girls looked just as surprised at her at this revelation. "Am I weird or something?"

"I mean maybe." Diamond said teasingly and Scootaloo gripped the sheets under her with her fingers tightly. "Here, look at this." She got up from her bed lazily and walked over to one of her drawers, pulling something out and tossing it to Scootaloo. The girl picked up the clear phallic object and looked it over confused, Diamond returning to her spot on the bed.

"What is it?" Scootaloo asked surprised.

"Geez you're awfully innocent, you know that? I can't tell if it's cute or annoying." Diamond replied. "That's my sex toy, it's what I use when I need to feel better."

"Wait a minute... this was inside you!?" Scootaloo asked and Diamond nodded, Scootaloo tossing the dildo into the air and having it land in Silver Spoon's hands. "Why did you hand it to me!?"

"Well I clean it off after I was done." Diamond Tiara said. "You're such a tomboy I never thought you'd be this uptight about sex stuff." While Scootaloo didn't know how to reply to that Silver Spoon was looking the dildo over.

"I've never actually seen it before even though I knew you had it. It's a little more than I think I'd be comfortable with using for myself." Silver said nervously and tossed it over the beds into Diamond's hand. She offered it to Apple Bloom who shook her head and declined holding it next.

"Thanks but uh ah'll pass on that. It's not mah first time seein' one a these myself."

"Wait a minute, you have one too?" Diamond asked and it was Apple Bloom's turn to look embarrassed.

"Ah just got it. Like ah JUST got it recently and ah haven't even used it yet." The farm girl confessed.

"You're in for a treat." Diamond Tiara said with a grin and turned around on the bed, offering it to Sweetie Belle who also declined to take it. "C'mon it's not going to bite. You might even like it, seeing how you kissed a boy already."

"Can we just forget I ever admitted that?" Sweetie Belle grumbled. Though Apple Bloom had other ideas herself.

"Y'know Sweetie ya might wanna consider it with ah... yer thing you were talkin' 'bout with me before?" Apple Bloom offered and the other girls looked on confused. Sweetie Belle sighed and realized she'd have to confess more than she wanted to tonight.

"It might have helped but I found a solution of my own already. The one that Twist gave us before."

"You tried it?" Apple Bloom asked. "Ah gave it a go too but uh... didn't really work out fer me ah'm afraid."

"So what are we talking about now?" Scootaloo asked, not liking how much she was lost in this conversation with her own best friends.

"Actually I'd like to get filled in too." Silver Spoon asked. Seeing the cat was already out of the bag Sweetie decided to share her issue.

"Well up until recently whenever I tried to... y'know, make myself feel good. Whenever I'd do that I never actually finished."

"You never finished?" Silver Spoon asked in astonishment. Diamond Tiara looking on with just as much surprise.

"That sounds awful. I've had nights were it's rough but never like that! This one over here doesn't even do it and I don't know how she's getting by every day. I'd go nuts." Tiara confessed. "So how'd you solve it."

"I used my pillow." Sweetie Belle answered. The girls looked on in confusion and Sweetie began to explain the mechanics of bunching it up and riding over top of it to give her the necessary pressure for the rest of it to work out. After she was done there were some very educated and surprised expressions around the room.

"Well... I might have to try that." Silver Spoon said with a smile.

"Think I'll put this guy away." Diamond said as she walked back to her drawer and stuffed her personal assistant among her undergarments. "Anyone else tired?"

"Ah'm beat." Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"I'm worn out just from this conversation." Sweetie Bell admitted.

"Same." Scootaloo said feeling drained from having to keep up with everyone.

"I'm actually pretty good but we can go to bed if you want." Silver Spoon said sounding just fine despite all the emotions that had rushed around the room.

"Okay, let's go to bed. I'm gonna take the right side." Diamond explained as she turned off the light and crawled into bed, pulling the covers back for both of them. The other girls did the same with their beds, Scootaloo and Silver Spoon having to squeeze a little tight together but otherwise doing fine. As everyone was settling it there was one question that was still lingering in one of the girl's minds. "Hey Sweetie Belle?"

"Yeah Diamond?" She asked from her bed.

"When you said you kissed a boy... you didn't mean your pillow, right?"

"...are you kidding me right now?" Everyone laughed out loud at the answer, Sweetie Belle eventually assuring that no she hadn't been kissing her pillow but that still didn't mean she was going to confess any time soon. The girls chatted in the dark for a little bit till eventually the stress from the day weighed on them and drifted them off to sleep.

It's Over Now

"How is something so small so dang fast!?" Spike shouted, panting hard as he chased down the imp that had stolen Rarity's dessert back in front of Diamond Tiara's home. He didn't have any idea where this thing had come from or how it was in the living world. As far as he was aware imps were held in Tartarus along with the other monsters that had either passed from the living or were exiled to the other realm. Maybe it escaped somehow? Was summoned by a dark magic? Not that it mattered to him in the moment as he was just focused on getting that box back. Even while holding it over the monster's head its little legs were outpacing him. "Are you just messing with me?" Yelling out the last of his breath Spike stopped to let himself rest. Running non-stop like that took a lot out of him and it wasn't easy in these shoes or this outfit.

When he looked up he saw the monster had stopped too, holding the box and watching Spike to see what he'd do next. "What you... huff... gotta rest too?" Spike asked but to answer the little imp bounced from one foot to the other. Despite how dark the monster was in the night Spike could easily make out the mocking dance the creature was doing. "You're really asking for it here, pal." He said and took to his feet again, the monster running off ahead of him. It was odd though, if the creature just wanted the dessert for itself it could have ran off in any direction to escape him. They were getting farther away from town and closer towards the woods. Yet with all the trees and bushed around the monster just stayed on the path, leading Spike after him.

He was still panting hard but the monster must have been tired too as it was slowing down along with him. There was hope of catching it yet, though it finally made a move he didn't expect and ran off the road onto a dirt path. It was darker this way without the lanterns lining the street but Spike could tell where it was still thanks to the coloring of the box it carried. Crossing over a small bridge and winding around the dirt path the monster ducked inside of a familiar house. "What the... huff... this is... Fluttershy's place." Time to take in his surroundings wasn't available to him during the chase but now that he stopped he could see the monster lead him all the way to her home by just about the fastest route to get there. "I dunno what it's doing in there but I'm gonna stop that thing before it can cause any more trouble." Normally Spike wouldn't barge in on someone's home but her door was already open, which allowed the monster to sneak right in before him. Swinging the door wide Spike got ready to confront the creature.

"You're not getting away so... easily... from..." Spike began but was stopped in shock at the sight before him. There was indeed a black monster waiting for him but it was much larger than he anticipated. Standing tall like a human the black figure turned to face him, insect like wings on its back and glowing green eyes that lacked any pupils. It was naked before him, not a scrap of cloth on its body. Not that it needed any as there wasn't any genitals on the monster to determine a sex. Mouth opening in a sneer to reveal sharp teeth, two pronounced fangs in the front as it looked at him. "A changeling?"

It was indeed a changeling. Not like Damselfly who was clearly a female or Queen Chrysalis who not only shared many human traits in appearance but also looked much more like a woman. This thing was one of Chrysalis' army, a creature devoid of unique appearance from its brethren yet able to take the shape of anyone it wanted. There was movement past the first monster and Spike could see another changeling rising from the ground, kneeling over a woman's body that was collapsed on the floor behind them. Long pink hair pooling out around her as she laid still. "Fluttershy!" Spike cried out and moved forward but was toppled by the two swift black figures that charged at him.

Falling to the ground himself Spike groaned as hands held down his arms, shoulders and head. The monsters staring down at him with contempt. "He's seen us." One of them hissed.

"We can't allow it." The other agreed.

"We'll have to kill it now before it can speak." The first changeling spoke, opening its mouth and pinning Spike's head against the floor. He'd been bitten by Damselfly twice now and knew what the venom could do. You lost yourself when it entered your body, forgetting almost everything. It made it easier for the changelings to subdue and confuse their prey which would make it very simple to kill Spike afterwards. He struggled to get up but somehow couldn't find the strength to fight them. Panic setting into his mind as he seemed to be helpless at their advance.

Fortunately for him they weren't alone. Two small black and white figures leaped up from who knew where and latched onto the faces of his attackers. The monsters shouted in frustration and let Spike go, pulling at the small bodies that were clawing their faces. With the monsters off of him Spike rolled onto his hands and knees and crawled over to Fluttershy. "Hey, Fluttershy! Are you okay?" Spike asked but got no reply, she was in such bad shape. Naked on the floor and puncture wounds in her neck from where the changelings had bit her. In the past Spike might have been flustered even now to see her this exposed but he was too afraid to think of anything but their safety. "Fluttershy, oh... oh no! Please, you gotta get up. You have to be okay. We need to leave." Fluttershy's mouth moved ever so slightly, a thankful indicator that she was still alive. However nothing else about her moved, her eyes staring off into space as if she wasn't able to hear or see anything around her. "Listen we can't stay, we have to get up and leave now before they get us."

The pair of changelings had managed to pry their attackers off their faces, Spike able to see now that it was Fluttershy's strong willed pet rabbit Angel and the little imp that had lead him here in the first place fending the monsters off. He didn't know why they were working together or helping him but he was thankful for it, standing up to face the monsters once more. They bared their teeth at him again, the wings on their backs making an unsettling buzz as they squared up against him. He was outnumbered, but Fluttershy needed his help. His two rescuers needed him now as well, clearly unable to fight off the big monsters by themselves. Now was the time for him to be scarier than the monsters despite being more afraid than he could imagine. They moved forward and Spike summoned up every scrap of bravery he had inside himself.

"LEAVE!" Spike bellowed as green fire flowed out of his mouth towards the changelings. It was enough to shock the monsters as they both stepped away from him when the flames licked at their outstretched hands. That gave him confidence as Spike let out another scream of fire and walked towards the changelings.

"Fire Breather! It's a Fire Breather!"

"Flee it! Flee it!" The changelings shrieked as they turned to run out the door, wings carrying them up and off into the night sky. Spike stood wide eyed for a while, surprised they turned to run so quickly. He thought for sure they'd continue their attack with how easily they'd pinned him before. Letting the fire run out of his breath and cease Spike looked off into the night to make sure they weren't coming back before feeling a tug on his pant leg. Looking down the little black imp was trying to get his attention, pointing at Fluttershy who had a very concerned Angel sitting nearby her.

"Fluttershy!" Spike said suddenly remembering what he'd seen of her. Running to her side Spike put a hand against her head and felt the heat coming off of her. "Fluttershy, can you hear me? Can you talk?"

"Ng." Was all the girl was able to manage, her eyes still looking off into the distance unaware of the world around her. Spike looked around the room but could only breath in a panic.

"I... I... I don't know what to do! Help! HELP! Someone please help!" Spike lifted Fluttershy into his arms, getting her to sit up and watching her head roll to one side as all the strength had left her body. "Oh no. Oh please don't... please be okay." He stammered, holding her close to his chest as he panicked. "Help me... please."

"Since you said please, I guess I will." A woman's voice spoke as Spike's head snapped towards the door to see a familiar face.

"Damselfly!" Spike shouted in surprise, though Fluttershy's other two friends were less welcoming of her as Angel and the imp took defensive positions in front of their owner. "Why are you here?"

"I could hear you screaming all the way out the door into the woods. Not to mention smell all the fear you were giving off." Damselfly said and approached but found her path cut off by Fluttershy's defenders. "You two mind?" She asked in annoyance but they didn't move from their position.

"Guys, it's okay. She's a friend." Spike said, the two critters looking between each other and seeming to communicate in some unique way Spike couldn't comprehend. After their debate they decided to relent to Spike's request and let the changeling girl pass.

"About time." Damselfly said and leaned down near Fluttershy on the opposite side of Spike. "So... this is one of the Elements of Harmony, isn't it? I remember her somewhat from your visits." She placed a hand against the girl's chest and closed her eyes. "Oh, this one is Kindness. I recall now, she was the one you got rough with back in the woods when you wanted to blow off some steam on me."

"Can we not talk about that now?" Spike asked desperately. "Please... she's hurt. I don't know what to do. They did something to her."

"Looks like they fed off of her energy. A lot of it at that." Damselfly scowled. "Those idiots, I told them to stay away from the town."

"Wait, you knew them?" Spike asked, feeling anger rise from his chest at the sense of betrayal.

"I knew of them, didn't I tell you to stay out of the woods? It's dangerous in there Spike, I'm not the only one hiding in the dark." Damselfly explained. She pushed Fluttershy's hair back and looked at her neck. Turning her head over she looked at the other side as well. "Two bites..."

"What does that mean?" Spike asked, not liking the look that came over her face when she saw the puncture wounds.

"Spike I'm sorry, your friend is going to die."

"No! NO!" Spike shouted, hugging her tightly and feeling tears come to his eyes. "That can't... it can't happen! We can save her! Fluttershy can't die."

"Everyone can die, Spike. Your friends aren't excluded just because your ruler thinks their magic is special." She put a hand on her forehead and her eyes softened. "This poor girl, they really did their best to ruin you didn't they? Two bites is more venom than a human can normally survive. I don't think her heart will last much longer."

"Damselfly... I don't... I don't know what you are." Spike said, trying to figure out his words. "But you're different, right? You're different from the other changelings." She watched him carefully, analyzing his face as he spoke. He couldn't understand what she was doing. Truth was he almost never understood why she did anything since he met her, other than feed on his energy when the opportunity was given to her. Right now though it was as if he was uncovering something about her she wanted kept quiet and she was afraid to let him continue.

"Yes. I'm... different." She said simply.

"Do you know how to save her? Any way at all?"

"Spike she's-

"Anything at all!? Please I'll... I'll give you whatever you want! I don't care what it is but if you can save her I... I'll do anything. Just please. You're the only one that can help me." Spike pleaded, tears coming freely now and he did nothing to stop them. Everything else was out of his mind. His previous plans he'd had with Rarity, the ruckus at Diamond Tiara's, his ever changing relationship with Twilight. It all faded in this moment where he could feel just how fragile life was as it was slipping out of his fingers. "I'm begging you."

"Sit her up straight." Damselfly instructed, Spike quickly moving his body around to do as she asked. Sitting behind Fluttershy and holding her body up to keep her from slipping down. She was heavy in his hands. He never knew how heavy a body could be when it couldn't move on its own. Was this how it felt like to hold a corpse? The body of a dead friend, so loose and powerless it was just weight bearing down on your hands and your heart. "Good, now move her head to the side so I can see her neck." Spike pulled her long hair aside to expose her neck to Damselfly, the changeling woman leaning over Fluttershy's body and petting her hair. "Brace yourself sweetie, this is going to hurt." With that Damselfly sunk her teeth into Fluttershy's neck.

"What!?" Spike asked, looking at her in shock but not moving from his position. Angel and the imp were closing in on Damselfly but kept their distance when Spike shot them a look.

"Nng... Nggh!" Fluttershy murmured through her haze. "Ahh... AHH!" Her body didn't move, she didn't have the strength but despite the numbing venom in her system she was able to feel whatever it was Damselfly was doing to her. After what felt like ages of the naked girl groaning in pain Damselfly finally pulled her head away from Fluttershy's neck.

"Did... did that-?" Spike began but didn't get far as Damselfly ripped off part of her dress from the edge of her skirt and put it over Fluttershy's neck, her other hand covering her own mouth. Spike somewhat got the idea and positioned his hand to hold the fabric over the wounds in her place. "You did it?"

"Blargh!" Damselfly retched as her body bent over and she vomited a black bile onto the carpet. The sound was loud and painful as she coughed out the black and red mixture of venom and blood from her stomach, body shaking in pain. Hunched over and gasping, she spit out the last bits that still remained on her tongue.

"Damselfly, are you okay?"

"Shut up!" She shouted back at him. "Move her head... move her head!" Spike was shook by her shouting but did as instructed, tilting Fluttershy's head to the other side as Damselfly weakly knelt over her again and bit into her wounds once more. This time Fluttershy shouted almost immediately, crying out in pain as she felt the venom forcibly pulled out through her veins. He wanted to do more to help them both but realized this was all he could do, just hold onto Fluttershy as Damselfly put them all through pain to save her life. When she was finally through extracting the venom she didn't have a moment to hold it back. Fall onto her hands and knees while vomiting the black and red mixture into another dark puddle on the ground. She coughed and gagged, then finally fell onto her side. "Uh... oh... hurts..." Damselfly mumbled.

"I think it's working." Spike said, noticing that Fluttershy's breathing was increasing from the very faint breaths she'd been taking before. Though now from all the crying in pain she'd done he could see her sweating and panting from the intensity of Damselfly's treatment.

"Hospital..." Damselfly muttered.

"Yeah, I'll go... I'll go and get you both to a hospital."

"No! You... stupid idiot." Damselfly scolded as she propped herself up on her arms, black liquid lining her lips and chin from her body painfully rejecting the venom. "They find me they'll... kill me. Take her. Go."

"But... but I can't just leave you after you saved her." Spike protested, unsure what to do yet again. How was it in a time of crisis like this he could be so useless? Everything was happening faster than his mind could properly process to make the right decisions.

"You can't take me... you know that. Just go, take her now. Just because the venom's out doesn't mean she'll live." Those words were enough to get Spike to finally spring into action. Locating one of Fluttershy's blankets on her couch he covered her body so nothing would be revealed and hoisting her up into his arms. Walking towards the door Spike stopped for a moment and turned back to the changeling laying on the ground. The one that had put herself through so much to save the life of someone she considered an enemy.

"Damselfly, thank you. I owe you for everything you've done for me."

"Shut up." Damselfly spat at him angrily. "Go already!" Spike nodded, not expecting any kind words in return but not wanting to leave her without expressing them himself. With that he was out the door and into the night. After he'd left Damselfly slowly pulled herself to her feet, stumbling as she made her way to the door. "This isn't good... what was I thinking helping that brat?" Leaning on the walls for support she stumbled towards the exit, noting the two small creatures watching her as she left. "Don't you two go thanking me now either. If you're smart you'll forget you ever saw me." Angel and the imp just watched silently as the changeling woman exited the house, her body transforming into that of a green haired human in black clothing. "Just... leave me alone... everyone."

Damselfly took her leave, disappearing into the dark. Leaving the two small creatures alone to await the fate of their owner.

Some nights in town you managed to run into everyone bustling about, all with a place to go or a night to enjoy with friends and family. This wasn't one of those kinds of nights. That or somehow Spike had managed to avoid every living soul on his run to Fluttershy's place and now back from it. Sometimes random luck was truly against you and this was a time he could have used someone more capable than him to appear. Even with running as fast as he could and holding Fluttershy tightly against his chest the hospital was a long ways off. He could have ran the whole distance himself despite his lungs begging for him to stop and catch a breath. However he knew somebody smarter and more capable than him who also had the ability to magically teleport. Thankfully she wasn't as far away as the hospital either.

"Twilight!" Spike shouted as he entered the library, leaving the door open behind him as he charged in. "Twilight, I need you! Twilight!" After looking around the main floor frantically he could hear foot steps approach in a hurry from the bedroom. Twilight Sparkle showing up at the top of the stairs in her pajamas and looking down at Spike.

"Spike!? What's wrong?" Seeing who he was holding in his arms Twilight raced down the stairs to see her friend laying in his embrace. "Fluttershy?"

"Ng." The girl managed with a grimace, her face having changed from the blank expression Spike had seen when he first came across her to a that of someone dealing with a great amount of pain.

"Oh no, Fluttershy... Spike, what happened!?"

"She was attacked. By two changelings." Spike watched as Twilight's body physically trembled at the news. He didn't know if it was fear or anger but that didn't matter right now. What they needed was the scholar Twilight Sparkle and all her magic, knowledge and focus. "Twilight, she lost blood and I don't know what else they did to her. We need your help."

"Right... right! Okay, take her upstairs and lay her on my bed."

"Will do!" Spike did as he instructed, Twilight's hands raising into the air as books floated off the shelves and hovered before her, flipping open for her to read. He didn't have time to see which ones as he laid Fluttershy down gently on the bed, being sure to keep the blanket covering her modesty. Spike took her hand in his but he didn't feel any grip back. The only sign she was still alive and aware being the painful look on her face followed by the occasional weak groan. "Fluttershy... please be strong. We need you to make it. All your friends love you so much."

"I've got it." Twilight said as she entered the room. "They would have injected her with their venom to subdue her before attacking. I can use a spell to remove it but it may take a while as it's a delicate process. After that we can-"

"The venom's already out." Spike said. "We can do whatever you have to next."

"It's... Spike that's not possible. Move aside and I'll begin the spell."

"No really, it's all out of her. I made sure of it before I brought her over." Twilight was looking at him curiously, trying to process what it was he was telling her. Using her magic she levitated the book aside and set it on the table, walking over to Fluttershy and looking at her neck.

"She was bit twice... by Celestia, they bit her twice. Why would they even do that?"

"Maybe it was... revenge? For what happened back at the capital?" Spike suggested, thinking that must have been their motivation. When he met Damselfly that was one of the first things she had brought up to him. How thanks to the Elements of Harmony their plan to take over the kingdom had been ruined.

"Maybe." Twilight said, putting a hand against Fluttershy's forehead and looking her face over. "We'll need to take her to a hospital then."

"Right, okay, I can carry her if you want or we can use magic if you think it's faster to-"

"But I have to know something. How did you get the venom out?" Twilight asked, her voice even and calm. Not a bit of the panic she'd shown earlier. Standing up and turning to look at Spike.

"I... uh... I had some help."

"Some help?" Twilight asked, her eyes narrowing. "You found someone that could use magic on the way here that was able to extract changeling venom from someone without harming them?" Her question was piercing and while it might have been easy to just have lied and say he sucked it out himself somehow Spike couldn't do it. Trying to navigate a lie with Twilight while their friend's life was on the line was more than he could manage after everything that happened tonight.

"No, I... it wasn't a magic user. Well it was but... it wasn't on the way. They just sucked the poison out of her." Spike fumbled, not making eye contact with her. Twilight approached him, standing over him now and looking down ever so seriously. "We were really lucky. She said that Fluttershy would have died if she hadn't been there."

"Oh, 'she' said that did she?" Twilight replied. "Spike, do you know what it takes to suck out a changeling's venom?"

"Um... a lot of painful effort from what I saw."

"It takes another changeling's fangs. If we'd had that day together to study them like you wanted I could have taught you that." Twilight answered, her arms crossed. Spike could feel a chill run down his spine, he'd never seen her like this before. Sure Twilight had been angry over things in the past, so upset it had him scared for her. But this was something different as she was staring right through him like he was made of glass. "What was this person's name that helped you?"

"..."

"Spike! What. Was. Her. Name?"

"Damselfly..." Spike whispered. "She... she helped us when no one else was there to. She saved Fluttershy's life." Twilight didn't reply, instead she held up her hand and produced a bright light of magic in her palm. Putting her other hand on Spikes cheek she pushed his head to the side and looked at his neck.

"No." Twilight whispered, seeing the healed marks from where Damselfly had bit him so long ago. Turning his head the opposite way Spike could feel tears forming in his eyes again as she saw the other healed wounds from the second time he'd visited her in the woods. "No... no no no... no!" She backed up from him suddenly as if he were dangerous to the touch. "Spike... you! You let one of them get to you!?"

"Twilight, it's not what it seems..."

"The marks! The marks on your neck. Spike, those marks on your neck. Did she bite you? Did that Damselfly changeling bite you!?"

"...yes." Spike revealed, feeling shame well up inside of him. Twilight took a step back to sit on the bed but missed it completely, falling to the floor as she looked at her beloved assistant in horror.

"You let them get to you. Let them get in your mind. You lied... you lied to me!"

"I never lied!" Spike protested. "I never lied I just... I didn't mention it because it wasn't important."

"Wasn't important? Wasn't important!?" Twilight shrieked, finding her strength again as she pulled herself to her feet. "You let one of those things feed on you and you didn't think it was important to keep that from me!?"

"She wasn't evil!" Spike shouted back. "She wasn't evil, she didn't hurt me. She saved Fluttershy!"

"Spike are you insane? That's what they do! They get into your mind, play tricks on you. Fool you into trusting them."

"She's not... she didn't. She saved Fluttershy..."

"What if she sent the others to attack Fluttershy in the first place!?" Twilight shouted and Spike trembled at the idea, never considering the entire thing might have been a ploy to fool him.

"No... no it couldn't... she wouldn't do that!"

"How long?" Twilight asked, putting her hands on his shoulders, holding him with a grip that felt stronger than he could ever break free from. His shame making him weak. "How long did you know about her?"

"I... I don't know? A month maybe? Maybe longer?"

"A month... maybe longer..." Twilight repeated, her hands leaving his shoulders as she walked away from him and back to look at Fluttershy. "All this time. For so long."

"Twilight she never did anything wrong. It was just me that she bit."

"I trusted you." Twilight said, tears running down her cheeks. "I loved you, I trusted you. More than anyone in my life. But you lied and... Spike you may have brought them all into our homes without us realizing."

"No that... that can't be."

"We could have stopped this before it happened. Fluttershy is like this because you didn't say anything!" Twilight shouted, her arms shaking as they were balled up into fists. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"She helped me!" Spike spat back at her. "She helped me when none of you did, when none of you could or would help me!"

"What are you saying?" Twilight asked in desperation, trying to understand everything that had come of tonight.

"You were all using me! You and Rarity... I was like... your toy to play with. Because you knew no matter what I'd never talk. No matter what we did together I'd never say anything to Celestia or Luna or anyone else because I love you so much that I'd rather suffer than see anything bad happen to any of you!" Spike shouted, finally getting it off his chest. That despite the sex and the intimacy he always knew there was a reason they were with him and not someone else they could have a relationship with publicly. He was someone they could all use as much as it satisfied them and even if he was also using them in return for that physical enjoyment it never made any of it right. Because... "Anything for you, Twilight. Always for you. No matter what."

"Anything for me... except when it was convenient for you." Twilight replied. "You're right Spike, we've treated you wrong. I loved you with all my heart and I used you when I knew you wouldn't say no. But you lied to us all and now Fluttershy is paying the price for that sin." Twilight raised a hand and the door to her bedroom closed tight, the lock turning. "You can't be trusted." Her other hand raised and closed the window to her bedroom, locking it as well with her magic. "I can't let you roam free."

"Twilight I... I'd never do anything to hurt any one of my friends."

"Until I know which friends you're talking about, I can't take chances anymore with you Spike." Twilight placed a hand on Fluttershy and the two women disappeared in a flash of light as they were teleported away. Leaving Spike alone in the locked room. He walked towards the door and tried to turn the latch but found it was stuck in place. She truly meant to keep him locked up until she got back. Like some kind of dangerous animal. Or a monster.

Leaning with his back against the door Spike slid down to sit and looked at the floor. Realizing nothing was going to go back to being what it was before after this. "I guess... it's over now."

Rarity considered herself a patient woman. She often took time to make sure one of her works was crafted in a way that was just right. Would approach every task she intended with calm and clear intention so as not to rush through things. However when it wasn't her own actions she was waiting on but those of another her patience could run thin rather quickly. Sitting in her reading chair and wearing one of her more decorative and revealing dresses she had both her legs and her arms crossed as she was watching the clock and awaiting her date to arrive.

"Spike there's fashionably late and then there's keeping a girl waiting." Rarity grumbled. She still wanted this evening with him. To enjoy an actual date together where they could practice being a couple and getting to know each other on an intimate level that wasn't just physical. Not that she didn't intend for things to also get physical later but the build up was often even more sweet than the execution. Still having to wait this far past their intended time for their get together was starting to get insulting. "It's not like him to be late. I hope everything is alright."

Rarity doubted Twilight would have done anything to halt this evening. She was already aware of their date and according to Spike didn't mind that he intended to spend the night over with her. Whether that was completely honest of Twilight or not Rarity couldn't say but it was a step towards progress if she was letting him go like this so she could pursue her own romantic feelings elsewhere. If Spike kept her waiting much longer though she was about to warn him he'd have to look elsewhere too as Rarity wasn't going to accept being stood up. Even if it was by someone she loved. So the relief was overwhelming when there was a knock on her door. "Finally, that boy sure kept me in suspense." Getting up and walking to the door Rarity made sure her hair was in place and her dress wasn't wrinkled from her sitting. Despite being upset she still wanted to look her best when he saw her. However after opening the door there was a guest she didn't plan on. "Applejack?"

"Rarity!" The farmer said though heavy panting. "Ah... ah came... fast as ah could."

"Darling, what's the matter? Do you need to come in?"

"No time! Gotta git. Gotta git to the hospital." Applejack panted. "It's Fluttershy."

"Fluttershy!?" Rarity's previous annoyance was replaced by a panic.

"Twilight... sent word tah me. Ah already told Pinkie, she's gonna look fer Rainbow. We gotta git."

"Right, right! I just... there's no time!" Rarity decided, closing the door behind her. She figured if Spike wasn't here then he was probably with Twilight and Fluttershy. Taking her high heeled shoes off Rarity carried them as she jogged her best to keep up with Applejack. "What happened to her? Is she okay?"

"Twilight said she was attacked. Dunno what happened but she ain't awake." Applejack explained and the panic became an icy fear that gripped at Rarity's heart. "Didn't sound good, we're all waiting tah find out what the doctors say. Lookin' tah get back fast as ah can."

"Of course, let's go then!" Rarity agreed as the two women rushed through the streets to the hospital. Rarity earned a few glances with the outfit she was wearing as she passed by but didn't have time to think about it. More pressing matters at hand as she followed Applejack into the hospital and the two were directed to the waiting area. When they got there Twilight was sitting on some chairs with Pinkie who was leaning against her and fighting back tears that were threatening to spill out.

"Did they say anything?" Applejack asked when they arrived, Twilight looking up and Pinkie keeping her head down.

"Not yet." Twilight explained. "They've got her in intensive care right now and are doing what they can to treat her. The doctor said not to worry but... I don't know..." Twilight confessed, looking down now as well and hugging Pinkie a little harder. Applejack looked around the room for more people but aside from two other individuals that were in the hospital for their own reasons there was no one else.

"Where's Rainbow Dash?" Applejack asked.

"I couldn't find her." Pinkie explained. "I went to her house and looked everywhere else I could think she'd be but she wasn't anywhere to be found."

"I'm sure she'll turn up." Rarity stated confidently. "Once word gets to her that something happened she'll be here before any of us realize it.

"You're probably right." Pinkie said and wiped some tears from her eyes. "Sorry I just... I'm scared."

"We all are darling." Rarity assured her and placed a hand on her shoulder, Pinkie's hand raising up to give it a grip for the additional comfort it provided. Her eyes moved from Pinkie to Twilight who wasn't looking up at all. Just staring straight down at the floor without making eye contact with anyone around her. "Twilight? You were the one that brought Fluttershy in, correct?"

"Yes." She responded weakly.

"I... I need to talk to you. If it's okay?" Twilight didn't respond for a while but nodded her head eventually, giving Pinkie another big hug as she broke off from her and stood up. Applejack taking her seat to provide their pink haired friend with someone else to lean on for comfort. The two magic users walked away to speak in private while Applejack and Pinkie sat in wait for the doctor to return.

"Rarity sure is dressed pretty." Pinkie said as she leaned her head on Applejack's shoulder.

"Yeah, she was like that when I went to her place, dunno why though."

"Maybe she was going to go on a date tonight?" Pinkie asked, trying to think about anything other than the concern she had from somewhere else in the hospital.

"Maybe... can't say I've heard her talk about dating anyone lately. Bit out of character for her to keep a secret like that." Applejack pondered but didn't think on it too much. There were other pressing matters that demanded her attention.

Once Twilight and Rarity were out of eyesight and earshot of their friends they stopped to have a conversation where they were sure no one was around to overhear them as they spoke. "Spike never made it tonight." Rarity explained to Twilight.

"I know. He's at the library right now." Rarity looked at her in confusion. "I wasn't the one that found Fluttershy, it was Spike. He didn't say why he was over at her house but he brought her to me."

"Spike found her." Rarity pondered that, trying to understand why he'd have found her instead of Twilight. "Well I'm happy to know he's safe, but why isn't he here with you right now?"

"Rarity... Spike is... he..." Twilight struggled, put a hand to her head and sniffling as tears were threatening to come again.

"Darling, what is it!? Is he hurt?" Twilight shook her head. "Then... why?"

"He lied." Twilight managed to get out through the sobs she was fighting back. "He lied to us. To all of us."

"Lied? But Spike wouldn't lie to us."

"Fluttershy was attacked by changelings." Twilight explained and saw the shock in her friends face. "Two of them. They tried to kill her. She was in such bad shape when Spike brought her to me I wasn't sure if she-"

"Shh. None of that." Rarity said, somehow managing to keep her composure despite all of this. "We won't think that. Our friend is going to pull through because... she will." There wasn't any logic or reasoning behind it. Just hope in their love and Fluttershy's own strength. "I don't understand, what did Spike lie about?"

"He's been seeing a changeling." Twilight explained. "I don't know how long... he said a month. Maybe it was longer. Said she was his friend and that he trusted her." As Twilight explained it Rarity was trying to wrap her head around what Twilight was saying. Not able to put the words together in any way that made sense for her based on what she believed she knew of Spike.

"That can't... be the truth."

"He had bite marks on his neck." Twilight said gravely. "They were healed, on both sides. She bit him and must have done so a while ago."

"I don't understand this." Rarity said, hugging herself and trying to come to grips with what Twilight was telling her. "I don't understand."

"I don't know how or why, but he told me it was because of us. Because we used him. Because... because I used him." Twilight said unable to keep eye contact with Rarity anymore. "It was me, I drove him into the arms of a monster. I made this happen. If it wasn't for me being a... a freak that wanted someone who was like my own brother this wouldn't have happened. We wouldn't have lost him."

"Twilight, don't say things like-" Rarity began, reaching out to her but Twilight backed up away from her touch, her arms shrinking into her and holding her own shoulders tightly.

"I locked him in my room. We don't know what that thing did to him, it might be controlling his mind. This all could have been some plan for them to sneak into the town and take it over. I'm sorry Rarity. I'm so sorry." Twilight said and ran back to where her other friends were, unable to continue this conversation. After she had left Rarity stood silently trying to process everything she'd been told. That the man she'd been falling in love with not only was seeing someone else besides her but was going to a monster for comfort because of her and Twilight. Rarity touched her cheek and felt tears falling down her face.

"Oh Spike, please, for our sake let this all be some misunderstanding. Don't shatter my heart after I gave it to you. All our hearts." Despite her tears Rarity returned to her friends. Even if everything was very confusing right now they needed her most of all tonight. Fluttershy more than anyone.

Rainbow Dash had spent the better part of her night in the skies trying to make her head as clear as the air was around her. Gathering up her courage to face something she hadn't expected to tackle head on. It was tonight that Fluttershy had asked her to come by and visit and she'd been putting it off as much as possible to avoid having any sort of conversation about possible relationships with her friends. But didn't that make her a coward? Last thing Rainbow Dash ever wanted to feel like was someone too afraid to confront a situation but this wasn't like fighting a monster or performing daring maneuvers. Admitting she was terrible when it came to emotions and relationships was something she'd never say outright but even she wasn't so dense that she couldn't see it. Especially when it was right in front of her face.

Deciding that it couldn't be avoided forever Rainbow Dash made her way towards Fluttershy's home. She was expecting either her or both Fluttershy and Rarity to be present when she arrived and was strengthening her nerve to deal with whatever would come next. It was stupid that this was making her nervous at all and she didn't understand why her heart and mind were so conflicted on the subject of her two friends being in a romantic relationship. Rainbow Dash loved them both as some of the closest people in her life but that image of seeing them in bed together was burned into her brain. Each time she recalled it the nervousness returned and she didn't know how to deal with it or where the source of that uncertainty was coming from. So she had to confront it once and for all.

Flying downward and landing on the ground in front of Fluttershy's home her magical blue wings disappeared behind her back. Rainbow took in a deep breath and walked across the bridge to Fluttershy's place but stopped before she even got to the building. "That's weird... why is the door open?" Sometimes Fluttershy left her house open for the animals to come and go as they pleased but never at night as far as she knew. There was no sound coming from inside either, voices or movement. Approaching carefully Rainbow Dash opened the door further to look inside and take in what was before her.

The house looked like it had been exited quickly. She saw two plates set up at Fluttershy's dinner table with food in bowls on the counter tops in her kitchen. As if she'd been getting ready to make dinner for visitors. While that was odd enough the more shocking sight was the sign of shredded clothing laying on the ground next to two black puddles in the carpet. "What... what is this?" Rainbow moved to the shredded cloth and pulled it up, recognizing it as one of Fluttershy's dresses. There were tear marks all over it as if it had been ripped right off her body, her undergarments discarded on the floor along with them. Dropping the torn dress to the floor she knelt down to inspect the black stains on the ground.

"Is this blood?" She asked, making out traces of dark red among the black. Her fingers touched against it and felt it was still wet. Hands shaking as he stood back up and looked around for any sign of life, not able to comprehend what could have gone on in her friend's home. Though one sight stood out as there was a decorated box on the floor as well, the design she recognized from Sugar Cube Corner. Rainbow Dash picked it up and pulled at the ribbon around the box, opening it up to see the dessert inside. "Tiramisu Cheesecake..." Rarity's favorite. Something really weird was going on and she was having trouble putting it together. That's when she felt a tugging on her pant leg and looked down to see a black and white pair staring up at her. "You guys!"

Angel and the black imp creature were standing nearby, watching her as she put the cheesecake box on Fluttershy's table and knelt down again to talk to them. "Hey, what happened here? Did you guys see anything?" The imp and bunny nodded their heads. "Great! Listen I need to know if Fluttershy is in trouble." The two creatures exchanged a glance with each other and nodded again to Rainbow Dash. "Okay... Okay! Listen, do you know where she went? I need to find her right away. Rarity might be in trouble too." They looked at each other again and communicated in small squeaking noises. Rainbow Dash looking between them but not understanding a single chirp of what they were saying. "Guys I... I don't understand you when you talk! I'm sorry but if you can't tell me then I'll just have to go out on my own." She stood up again to leave but before she could the imp tugged at her leg again. "What is it? I can't just stay here."

The imp creature crawled up the table leg where Rainbow had set the dessert box and crawled to it. Using one of its sharp claws the imp cut out a plus symbol into the side of the package and pointed to it. "A... plus? Like math?" Rainbow Dash asked confused but the imp shook its head and pointed again. "A... cross... like a hospital! She's at the hospital!?" The imp nodded it's head and Rainbow Dash smiled brightly. "Gotcha, I'll head right over. Thank you guys so much!" Running out the door Rainbow's wings sprouted from her back and she took to the sky. On foot it would have taken a while to run the distance necessary to get to the hospital in time but with her wings Rainbow Dash was able to cut through the sky faster than anyone else could ever hope to keep pace with. When she spotted the building she needed her body flew straight down and angled forward to let her break off from her flight into a sprint right through the front doors.

"Nurse!" Rainbow Dash called out as she ran to the receptionist desk. "Nurse please, did a girl named Fluttershy come into here tonight?"

"Your friends are all waiting for you over that way, sweetie." The nurse explained kindly and Rainbow thanked her for the help, running to the waiting area where she came across her four friends all sitting together. When she came in they all got to their feet and embraced Rainbow Dash into a hug.

"Is she okay!?" Rainbow shouted. "Is she going to be okay!?"

"She's in there right now with the docs." Applejack explained as they broke off from their hug. "They ain't came back out yet since they took her in. We're all just waitin'.

"I'm not too late..." Rainbow Dash said through heavy breaths. Pinkie suddenly hugged her tightly nearly knocking the girl off her balance.

"Where were you!?" Pinkie asked. "I went to your house but you weren't there. I got scared when I couldn't find you." Rainbow gave her a hug in return and separated herself from the baker.

"I was out flying, I didn't have any idea what was going on until I stopped by Fluttershy's house. Angel and that little black monster thing were the ones that told me to come here." Rainbow Dash explained, looking around everyone. "Can someone explain what happened?" All eyes turned to Twilight who after the group hug had broke off was folding her arms tightly over her chest.

"I brought Fluttershy into the hospital. She was attacked by two changelings." Twilight explained and Rainbow's eyes widened with horror. "The changelings got away but the doctors said it was good I brought her in when I did. We're all just... just hoping for the best." Twilight choked up a little and turned away. "Sorry... I need to sit down." As the scholar left the huddle to return to her seat as the other girls stood in silence, no one able to say anything that could make them feel better about what was happening. Rainbow Dash noted that Applejack and Pinkie Pie were both in their normal clothing but Twilight was in her pajamas. Which seemed odd that she was dressed like that but found Fluttershy before any of the others. Also odd was Rarity who was dressed up in a gown that was much more flashy than anything she'd normally see her wear.

"I need to talk to you." Rainbow Dash declared and took Rarity by the wrist, pulling her away from the rest of the group. She looked back to the others who were all just as confused as herself. Once they were far enough away Rainbow Dash spun on her heels to face Rarity. "Where were you tonight?"

"Me?" Rarity asked in shock. "I... I was at home. Applejack came to my door to let me know about Fluttershy then I immediately came to the hospital."

"That a fact? Cause something doesn't add up." Rainbow began. "Everyone looks normal here except you and Twilight. Why is that?"

"Well, Twilight was resting for the night before she had to bring Fluttershy into the hospital. And I was... trying out a new dress." Rarity said, her eyes casting downward.

"Really? So you were just trying on some dress in your house by yourself and Twilight happened to be at Fluttershy's place in her PJ's to save the day?" Rainbow asked as her tone began to grow angrier.

"What are you insinuating?" Rarity asked in return, her eyes rising up and meeting her with equal amounts of aggression.

"I was there, Rarity. I saw her house. She had a set up for two people to have dinner tonight."

"I'm... not surprised. She was expecting company. Your company." Rarity replied.

"Yeah, but Fluttershy never mentioned anything about a dinner to me. Which means she was having it with someone else. Along with a Tiramisu Cheesecake from Sugar Cube Corner that was in a gift box. Your favorite dessert, Rarity."

"I... don't follow." Rarity said, trying to piece together what it was that Rainbow Dash was trying to say.

"There's no way Twilight just showed up at Fluttershy's place by herself. Someone had to go and get her. A person that was already there and left Fluttershy behind after she got attacked." Rainbow said through gritted teeth. "Rarity... did you leave her for those monsters to save yourself?"

"What!?" Rarity asked, raising a hand to slap Rainbow across the face before stopping herself. "How... how dare you!? Suggesting I'd let her be hurt to save myself. I'd sooner die than let anything harm Fluttershy!"

"Then how did Twilight get to Fluttershy tonight! Explain that to me!"

"Because Spike brought Fluttershy to her!" Rarity snapped back, both girls breathing hard from the emotions that were running through their bodies.

"I... that... doesn't make any sense. Why would he..."

"I don't know how he got to her house, but Spike was the one that carried Fluttershy to Twilight. Twilight used her magic to teleport Fluttershy the rest of the way."

"But... but then, why was there a dinner for two? Weren't you two together tonight?" Rainbow Dash asked, feeling her entire understanding of this night begin to crumble.

"I told you, I was at my home."

"Then that dessert... wasn't for you?"

"It might have been." Rarity said with a sigh and rubbed her eyes with her hands. She looked like she'd been crying a lot tonight and was trying to keep from doing it again. "It might have been for me, but Fluttershy wasn't the one that bought it."

"I can't follow this." Rainbow Dash said unable to keep her own tears from coming now. "I don't get what's going on."

"I wasn't never meant to be in Fluttershy's house tonight. You were." Rarity explained.

"But, the dinner settings and the dessert and that dress you're wearing it's... isn't it because you two are together?"

"For goodness sake I can't keep this secret any longer, especially now. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy is in love with you." Rarity said which stopped Rainbow in her tracks, her mouth opening but unable to speak. "The dinner she set up, inviting you over. It didn't have anything to do with me. Fluttershy is simply my beloved friend, just like you. You were the one she wanted to spend her evening with."

"Me?" Rainbow Dash asked again, completely shocked by this revelation.

"Yes, you. I promised to keep it a secret but I couldn't let it go on like this any longer. You were the one she was waiting for tonight." Rarity said as she turned to leave, though Rainbow Dash had one more question.

"Then why are you dressed like that?"

"I... will explain it tomorrow." Rarity said and left Rainbow alone to return to the others. Rainbow Dash leaning against the wall of the hospital and slumping down to the floor as she put her head in her hands.

"It was me... she was waiting for me." She repeated to herself. "She was waiting for me and I didn't show up because I was scared and now... and now... she's like this because I didn't show up in time. It's all my fault."

Fault

Hours later, well through the night and into the morning's sunrise the waiting room of the hospital was occupied by five sleeping young women who had all stood their ground to be there when news about their friend would arrive. Each of them leaning upon one another for support in what little comfort they could get in the situation they were in as they were piled onto the uncomfortable chairs. Twilight Sparkle eventually awoke from the soft touch of a woman's hand on her shoulder and moved from her sleeping position. Causing a chain effect down the line as each of the girls slowly came around to the waking world. "Nurse Redheart?"

"Hello, Ms. Sparkle." The kind pink haired woman said, thankfully smiling. A good sign out of a night of horrors. "I came to let you know that your friend is going to be all right."

"Oh... thank goodness." Twilight said and fell back in her chair again, leaning on Pinkie for support. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"There's more though that I need you girls to hear." The nurse said, sound more serious now and getting their full attention. "Fluttershy is in stable condition but she hasn't woke up yet. We can't be sure yet when she will." There was audible gasping from Rarity and Rainbow Dash as they were taking her words in. "She's on an IV feed to help her recover but we don't know the full extent of the damage. To be honest we've rarely ever seen someone come in from a changeling attack before. Certainly no doctors working here now have ever encountered it."

"I understand." Twilight said quietly.

"I know you girls are all worried for her but I think it's best if you go home for now and rest. We'll be sure to send word to you all when Fluttershy recovers."

"Thank you, Nurse Redheart. I appreciate everything you've all done for her." Twilight said and shakily got to her feet, the other girls doing the same.

"You're welcome dear, it's what we're here for. We'll watch over your friend." Nurse Redheart reassured her but as the girls began to leave one stayed behind.

"Guys." Rainbow Dash said, getting everyone's attention. "I'm staying here with Fluttershy." Her words stopped everyone in their tracks, Applejack the first to speak up out of the sleepy daze they were all in.

"Dash, ya heard Nurse Redheart. There ain't nuthin' we can do fer her just sittin' round here."

"I know that but I was thinking, if she does wake up she should have someone nearby right? One of her friends? I can't just walk away now while Fluttershy is laying there still fighting for her life. She doesn't even have any family in town. We're the closest ones to it!"

"Rainbow Ah... well..." Applejack was at a loss for words on this, understanding her feelings. She looked to the nurse for help who approached Rainbow Dash to take over the conversation.

"Normally we only let family members into a recovering patient's room. But as you said, you five are the closest family Fluttershy has here in town. I'll ask the doctor to make an exception for you."

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked and smiled brightly. "Thank you, Nurse Redheart! I promise I'll be quiet and not do a thing to bother her while she recovers."

"I know you won't dear." The nurse said and stepped back to let everyone say their good byes and give Rainbow a hug before leaving the hospital. The weather girl staying behind to hold the fort while the rest of the girls slowly made their way out of the hospital doors and into the daylight.

"I don't even feel like I slept." Pinkie admitted.

"Ah understand how ya feel." Applejack agreed and looked to Twilight who was staring at the ground as she walked. "Say Twi', what we gonna do about this situation?"

"Hm?" Twilight asked, suddenly breaking off from her daze.

"Y'know, the changeling thing. We can't leave it like it is." Applejack said, her tone growing serious. "Shouldn't we warn the town?" At her question the expression on Twilight's face was that of a woman who was trying to solve a problem that she knew lives depended on. Her eyes wide as she was staring at the ground again and thinking of difficult matters to address.

"Word will get out." Twilight said. "There's no doubt about that. Even if we tried to solve it ourselves to avoid a town wide panic word is going to get out about Fluttershy's condition. We'll have to deal with it head on. I need to go home and deal with... I mean, I need to prepare."

"Where's Spike anyway?" Pinkie Pie asked. "He's been gone all night. I thought he'd come to the hospital to find us."

"He's at home. I asked him to stay." Twilight answered sharply. "Listen you... you should all go home. Tell your families to be careful. Rest up. We'll meet again later on tonight." As she spoke it was as if she was speaking from outside herself. Issuing orders instead of reassuring her friends. There was clear worry on all their faces and Rarity decided to interject.

"Twilight what are you planning to do?" The seamstress asked and Twilight shook her head.

"I don't know yet for sure. We'll need Zecora's help, she has to be told about this too. I'll see you all later." Twilight said and walked off towards the library, the other three girls looking at each other in confusion.

"Ah'm worried." Applejack said. "Ya don't see Twi' that shook up every day, even in bad situations like this."

"Should we really just go home?" Pinkie asked, feeling like that was not the right action to take with everything at such high stakes.

"I'll follow her." Rarity said. "I'm going to try and help deal with what's making her on edge. I think it is best if you two head home to let your families know what's going on. After I go to Twilight's I'm heading to my parents place to let them know to be careful too."

"Alright." Applejack agreed with reluctance in her voice. "Ah don't like waitin' when there's a problem tah solve but ah do wanna make sure Apple Bloom got home okay from her friend's slumber party."

"I'll go back home too and tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake what's happening." Pinkie Pie said, sounding about as drained as she'd ever been. "I'll let them know we're trying to solve it so that if anyone says anything in the store they don't panic."

"That's a good idea." Rarity complimented. "Well... I guess until later tonight?" The three girls agreed and all hugged each other tight for comfort, going their separate ways to follow through with the rest of their day. Rarity wished she had time to go home and get out of this dress but emergencies didn't really allow for such conveniences. Instead she followed behind Twilight to go to the library, having to move a bit slower than her due to her high heels. She got several glances from people that past by that normally she would have enjoyed but the situation wasn't a pleasant one. Instead she ignored anyone that wasn't immediately of her concern and approached the door for Twilight's home, opening it to find it wasn't locked. "Twilight?"

Entering the building there wasn't a sound. She didn't know what to expect but after the description Twilight had given of Spike's situation she thought there might be shouting or at least someone talking. Instead everything was terribly quiet and Rarity walked in slowly, locking the door behind her so there wouldn't be any unwanted visitors. Despite not locking the door Twilight had left the "closed" sign up in the window to let everyone know she wasn't open for work today. Seeing no one on the ground floor Rarity walked up the stairs to the living area and found that the bedroom door was still shut. Putting her hand on the knob she found it turned easily instead of being locked and opened it slowly to see what was inside.

In the middle of the room on the ground Twilight sat, holding the photo album they'd been looking through together the first time Rarity had come over after they'd had that fight forever ago involving the two of them and Spike. The book wasn't open though, closed and hugged tightly against her chest as Twilight stared at the wall. She was still in her pajamas and looked as if she hadn't moved from that spot since she arrived. Rarity searched around the room but found that she was the only one here. Walking closer Rarity put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Twilight?"

"It's all my fault." Twilight said quietly. "All my fault."

"Twilight?" Rarity asked and knelt down on the carpet with her. "Darling, what's going on? Where's Spike?"

"Gone." Twilight answered simply.

"Gone!? What... what do you mean gone?" Rarity asked, her hand gripping Twilight's shoulder a little tighter.

"He's gone. He left. Out the window." Twilight said, causing Rarity to look up to see it was wide open.

"He left?" Rarity asked in surprise.

"I don't know. None of his things are gone. Maybe... maybe that changeling came and took him away? I left him here trapped and defenseless and she may have stolen him." Twilight was shaking now as tears were coming down her cheeks, something she didn't think she had left in her. "Or maybe he just couldn't stand me anymore."

"No. I won't believe that." Rarity said and hugged Twilight against her. "Spike is... Spike is strong. He's young but he's strong, he can protect himself. There's no way he was kidnapped."

"I left him here alone..." Twilight repeated. "I'm so stupid. I made this happen, if only I'd been better to him."

"Twilight Sparkle!" Rarity shouted which made the librarian nearly jump off the carpet. "He is out there, somewhere. No matter how much I care about him you are the one he loves more than anyone else in the world."

"But-"

"No, none of that. Maybe Spike got upset and left after last night. You two had a fight, right?" Twilight nodded her head. "Spike is a young man and they're prone to acting out when they're upset. We're going to believe he's okay and find him. I'm going to look at my place first and I want you to clean up and get dressed so we can work on this together, okay?"

"Okay." Twilight agreed weakly and Rarity stood up, swallowing the lump in her throat. She didn't understand exactly what was happening either but she wanted to be strong for Twilight so they could both be strong for Spike. He deserved that much from them. Rarity turned to leave but was stopped before she could exit the room. "What do we do if he was taken?"

"We get him back." Rarity said solemnly and Twilight nodded her head. After she exited Twilight's room Rarity had to catch herself on their table downstairs and pressed her hand over her eyes. "No crying... no hysterics right now. You have to be a strong woman for everyone." Taking some deep breaths to calm her nerves Rarity exited the library and headed home.

The walk back was much the same as the one to Twilight's with new awkward looks at her appearance. She was beginning to wonder if it was the dress getting these glances or the mess her hair and face must have been after everything that happened. A shower and a change of clothes would be appreciated and with any luck Spike would be there hiding out. A glimmer of hope still remained for her that after all the terrible events that had happened to Fluttershy she didn't have more to be concerned about with Spike as well. Walking into the Carousel Boutique Rarity found she wasn't alone but it wasn't the company she had been looking for.

"Morning sis!" Sweetie Belle shouted from the kitchen, Rarity taking a moment to try and remember why her little sister was there.

"Morning, Sweetie Belle." Rarity said as she wandered into the kitchen, seeing a simple breakfast laid out for them both on the table. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you came in."

"That's okay, I just wanted to surprise you with something to eat." Sweetie said happily as she poured some orange juice into the two glasses on the table. The rest of the breakfast was just toast and jam with cereal but it wasn't burned which was an advancement for Sweetie's level of cooking. "I actually thought you were upstairs sleeping still, I didn't think you were out."

"Yes, I had to go take care of something. It was... very important." She wasn't sure how much she should say to her sister, not wanting to panic the girl but knowing it was better coming from herself than letting her hear it through rumors about everything from last night. "You haven't been upstairs have you?"

"Nope, just been down here since I came in."

"Okay... I'm going to shower and get changed."

"Alright, that is a really pretty dress you're wearing by the way."

"Thank you Sweetie." Rarity said, trying to keep herself together for her sister's sake so she didn't realize anything was wrong yet. Climbing the stairs to her bedroom Rarity took a moment to search around and see if Spike may have been hiding out somewhere. If he was down stairs it was likely Sweetie would have come across him by now. Though after a full search of her closet, under her bed and anywhere else she thought Spike might have been able to fit himself there was still not a hair of him to find. "Well... I guess he didn't run to me." She said sadly, really hoping that after everything he'd simply be here waiting for her. Instead she was left with an empty bedroom and memories of who once shared it with her.

Putting her dress away and getting in a quick shower Rarity dressed herself in something that would be easier to move around in. She expected to be doing a lot of walking today before it was all over. Coming back downstairs Rarity joined her sister at the table so they could share breakfast together. "Thank you Sweetie, I have to say I was surprised to see you here."

"You're welcome. Sorry if I was intruding."

"Never darling, it's actually very good to have your company." Rarity admitted, happy to have this small piece of untainted perfect comfort and family love through her little sister. "Did you enjoy your slumber party?"

"Oh yeah, it was great. Diamond Tiara has a really impressive house."

"I can imagine, the Rich family is known for having quite the extravagant tastes." Not that Rarity was one to talk but even she couldn't compare to Filthy Rich and his funds or Spoiled Rich and her desire to prove her wealth through her property.

"Diamond Tiara really liked the swimsuit you made me too, I think she might want to buy one from you some time later."

"Is that a fact? Well I'd be happy to help her out." Rarity said feeling pleased with herself and her sister. "I'm also proud of you girls, I know you and Diamond didn't get along well for a long time."

"Yeah, I'm not sure if her and Scootaloo are all okay yet. But Silver Spoon and her seem to be getting along really well. No one got into any fights at the party either."

"Some good news for the morning." Rarity said, enjoying some toast with strawberry jam. "Here I was worried it might end in a big argument between all of you or something crazy would happen like some boys trying to sneak into the party." At that last statement Sweetie Belle's smile seemed to go away and she went right to eating her cereal quietly. An obvious tell to her big sister if there ever was one. "Sweetie... no one had an argument, right?" Sweetie Belle shook her head as she kept crunching her cereal. "And there were no boys over, right?" The crunching stopped and Sweetie swallowed it down, then went right to drinking some orange juice. "...Sweetie?"

"Yeah?"

"Were there boys at this party?"

"Well... none that were invited?" Sweetie could see the look in Rarity's eyes make a sudden shift from tired and soft to serious and stern at that suggestion.

"What does that mean?" Rarity asked putting her food down to stare across at her sister.

"Okay so... some boys tried to sneak into the party while we were at the pool. But Mr. Rich had them kicked out almost immediately after." Rarity let out a little breath of relief at Sweetie's explanation.

"Good to know Filthy is on top of things in his own home. All right then, as long as they were stopped. I take it that it was some boys from your class?"

"Yeah... mostly."

"Mostly?" Rarity asked as she started to take more bites of her cereal.

"Well for some weird reason Spike was there too." There was a loud clinking noise as Rarity dropped her spoon onto her bowl and looked at Sweetie Belle in shock.

"Spike was there!?"

"Um... y-yeah, I mean I think he was trying to stop the other boys but they all got thrown out together." Sweetie admitted. "Please don't tell Twilight, I don't think he meant anything bad by it. He just got caught up with the other guys is all."

"So he was there." Rarity said thoughtfully. "Sweetie Belle, this is important. What time was it at night that you saw him?" Her little sister looked surprised by the question but she tried to recall it carefully.

"I don't really remember. We were all in the pool already so it was before we went to bed. I guess it was kind of early at night." Sweetie Belle answered. "He was carrying a box too, it looked like some kind of present."

"So it was earlier and he still had the box." Rarity thought carefully. "Have you seen him at all since last night?"

"No... Rarity, what's going on? You're freaking me out a little bit. Did something happen to Spike?" Sweetie asked looking concerned and Rarity sighed as she worked up her courage to let her know the truth. "Rarity?"

"Sweetie Belle, listen. Spike is missing."

"Missing? What do you mean missing!? How could he be missing!?" Sweetie yelled which caught Rarity off guard. She knew it would upset her to know something bad had happened but didn't think she'd get so excited.

"Calm down. We just... we don't know where he's at right now."

"Well shouldn't we be out looking for him? I mean... where was the last place you saw him at?"

"He was at Twilight's house the last time we saw him." Rarity explained.

"Then... how come Twilight doesn't know where he's at right now? Are they both missing?"

"No, just Spike. You see Sweetie Belle, Twilight left Spike alone at home because she had to go to the hospital. I'm afraid that..." Rarity swallowed a lump in her throat again to fight back the tears. "Fluttershy is in the hospital right now." Her sister was reeling from all of this information, staring up at Rarity trying to process everything she was being told.

"Why?" Was all the girl could mutter in confusion and concern.

"She... she was attacked. By changelings." Sweetie's fingers were gripping the table cloth now as her mouth opened and her jaw shook. "She's okay at the moment The doctors said she'll recover but she hasn't woken up yet." Rarity had to cover her own mouth to keep from crying and Sweetie got up from her seat to come over and hug her sister, the two sharing some comfort in their embrace. "I'm sorry to have to tell you all this."

"It's okay Rarity, I'm sorry too. I... I hope she's going to be okay." The two sisters shared a hug for a while, both dealing with a wave of emotions that were overcoming them. "I want Fluttershy to be okay. I like her."

"I like her too. She's a great friend." Sweetie nodded and the two hugged each other tighter. "That's why I was out last night and so was Twilight, we both stayed there until they told us she was out of danger."

"Okay, that makes sense." Sweetie Belle said, feeling sad and wanting to do something, anything at all to help fix the situation. But an idea occurred to her. "Wait a minute, I know! Spike was wearing like... nice clothes for some reason and he had that present. Maybe he went somewhere special?" She offered feeling this had to be a clue. "If we went to the same place he did to deliver that gift then I bet we could find him!"

"That's good thinking." Rarity said and petted her sister's hair. "But I'm afraid it's not going to help us."

"But why? Did you know who he was going to see already?" Rarity nodded her head, steeling herself for where this conversation was going to lead. "Well why don't we just ask them? Maybe they can give us a clue to where he went."

"Because... because he..." She could lie. She could just lie about this one little thing. There was no reason to involve her sister into the mess that was her love life along with the rest of the bad news that was coming out this morning. But if she did that and Sweetie found out later would she ever trust her again? Rarity didn't want to keep things from her but didn't think this would help either. What was the right choice?

"Rarity?"

"Because Spike was... coming to see me." Rarity admitted, realizing just now that this would have all been revealed anyway this morning if Sweetie had shown up and Spike had come downstairs instead of her.

"You?" Sweetie asked, sounding shocked. "But... why would he be coming to see you last night?"

"Well... you see Sweetie, remember when we talked about how we both had a guy we were secretly interested in?" Sweetie Belle took a step away from her. "Spike was coming to see me because we were... we were going on a date together. He was my secret boyfriend. Just like how you had one but weren't sure how yours felt about you I was seeing what I felt about him. So I guess my secrets finally out." Rarity said but saw that her sister was looking at her with tears streaming down her face. "Sweetie Belle... what's wrong? Why are you crying."

"No... NO! Not you Rarity!" Sweetie Belle sobbed. "Anyone else... anyone else but you! Not my sister!" Sweetie fell to her knees and covered her eyes, crying hard. "Not my sister! Why!?"

"Sweetie, what's wrong darling?" Rarity asked and knelt down next to her. "What are you so upset about? I don't understand." She put her arms around her and Sweetie let out a yell, pushing them away and making Rarity fall back in surprise. Realizing what she did Sweetie cried harder on the floor.

"It's all my fault, I was bad. I was a bad girlfriend so he... so he found a better one." Sweetie sobbed. "He found someone better than me because I wasn't good enough." Through her sobs Rarity was beginning to put the pieces together and the additional horror was sinking in of the reality the two of them had been living.

"Sweetie Belle, don't tell me you and Spike were..."

"I tried to be a... a proper lady. Like you said. I tried and tried and I thought that... that maybe eventually he'd like me too. Like me as much as you... but he was never going to like me as much as you!" Sweetie sobbed. "I was never able to be as good as you. I'm so stupid!"

"No, you're not." Rarity said and moved to her little sister, hugging her tightly. "You are not stupid."

"But-"

"You are not! You are a precious, sweet young lady and you were deceived." Rarity said petting her sister's head. "I was too."

"What?"

"I didn't know Sweetie. Oh my precious little sister I had no idea." Another horrible thought occurred to Rarity and she had to confirm it now. "Sweetie Belle, you didn't have sex with Spike did you?"

"No... we... we did some stuff. I took off my dress in front of him. I..." More tears threatened to come. "Rarity I don't want to talk about it!"

"Okay. It's okay. We don't have to right now." Rarity said still hugging her tightly.

"Am I bad?" Sweetie asked shakily.

"No you're not darling. You're not bad at all. Things are just confusing right now but you're not bad at all and this isn't your fault."

"...is Spike bad?" Sweetie asked, not sure of anything anymore. The boy in their life that they thought was solid and strong like a pillar was starting to show the cracks all over.

"I don't know." Rarity said. "But I'm going to find him and get to the bottom of this."

It was still early in the evening and everything was perfect. The food was assembled in the kitchen for her to cook and clean up easily, the table was already set for company and there was lots of time to prepare. She had worn a nice dress for the event, nothing to forward but something a little colorful to catch the eye. Her pets were eating their own dinners already so they'd be content when the guest arrived and not cause a fuss. Tonight had taken some time to come but she was finally prepared for it. An evening to be remembered.

That was when Fluttershy heard the knock on her door.

"Who could that be?" The pink haired girl wondered as she removed her apron and moved to the door way. Opening it to find two familiar faces she hadn't expected tonight. "Oh, Mr. Spearhead. And Mr. Iron Guard?" Fluttershy asked in confusion. As she understood it these men were in charge of bringing the monsters to her to release into the Everfree Forest, but their job was done and they'd already head back to the capital. It was very odd they'd be here now. "Is something the matter?"

"May we. Come in?" Spearhead asked Fluttershy in a way that made her pause. Something about his speech felt off. Broken. But it might have been her imagination.

"I suppose so." Fluttershy said as she let the two guardsmen into her home, stepping aside so they could enter. "What is this all about?"

"Monsters." Spearhead said, looking around the house.

"Monsters?" Fluttershy asked confused. "You mean the ones we brought to the forest today? They all left when we saw them off. None of them returned."

"Check. Be sure." He said again in that odd broken speech that was beginning to make her skin crawl. She didn't like how this was going and was starting to regret inviting the men into her house. Spearhead was searching around in areas she wasn't comfortable with and she stepped forward to intervene.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I can assure you no monsters are here. If you don't mind I'm expecting-" Fluttershy wasn't able to continue as she felt strong arms grab around her shoulders and something sharp pierce her neck. Gasping in surprise she tried to pull away but found she wasn't able to break free. "What... what's... what's..." It hurt, whatever was biting her hurt badly but she couldn't stop it. Spearhead caught sight of Fluttershy's pet rabbit angel leaping towards her and caught the animal before it could take another action.

"Put away. This one." He said and walked over to Fluttershy's bathroom, throwing the rabbit inside and closing the door afterwards. Her arm lifted up towards her precious pet but she couldn't escape. In fact it was getting harder to move by the second. Soon after Spearhead stood before her and Fluttershy whimpered.

"P-please... please... help me." To her horror he simply smiled, showing off a pair of fangs that she knew had never been on him before. Reaching up he tore her dress off across her chest and bit into the other side of her neck, Fluttershy crying out in pain at the sensation. She couldn't fight anymore. "Rain...bow... Dash." Fluttershy whimpered, feeling the aggressive teeth plunge into her neck further until finally they released her, letting her body fall to the carpet below.

Her body was burning inside, as if there was fire itself flowing through her. She tried to move but could only manage to shake as her body refused to obey and her mind seemed to be slipping away. Was this death? Was she going to die here? Turning her eyes up she could see the two guards standing over her. "Will suffer like that. Die soon."

"Not too soon. Have fun first." They were laughing, a horrible laugh that didn't match their voices anymore. Her eyes turned downward to see the imp she'd rescued from Celestia's garden maze hiding under her couch and watching what was going on. They'd caught Angel but hadn't seen him. Her last hope.

"Run." Fluttershy whispered to him, the little creature scurrying away and out of sight from her and hopefully her attackers. She didn't know if he understood her and would run to get help or just run to save his own life but it didn't matter much anymore. They were upon her and she could feel her dress being torn away from her body. Fabric ripping and sliding away roughly as she couldn't move. Tears began to fall as she was losing consciousness. Numbing darkness was welcome to what was coming next for her.

When her eyes opened again her body hurt all over but not like before. Her veins no longer burned as if they'd been filled with poison, instead her muscles ached as if she'd used all of her strength in every part of her body. Shifting around Fluttershy felt a small pull and looked down to see an IV sticking into her arm that was leading into a bag above her. Head moving around the room she could see that this wasn't her house. By the looks of the window it wasn't even the same day as there was sunlight pouring into the room. Groaning her eyes adjusted to the light and she was able to make out a single figure sitting in a chair across from her. "Who's there?"

"Fluttershy!?" A familiar voice said as the figure rose up and got closer to her. "Fluttershy! You're awake!"

"Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked. "Why... why are you here?"

"Silly question, I'm here for you." She said and leaned down next to her bed. "Everyone was but I decided to stay behind till you woke up. They're going to be thrilled to see you."

"Everyone was?" Fluttershy asked. "Why am I here?"

"Well you're... you're recovering. We had to bring you to the hospital."

"The hospital?" Her memory was fuzzy but she slowly reached up and touched her neck, feeling the bandaging there. "I... I was brought to the hospital. I was attacked..." Her hand began to shake. "Oh no, it's not a dream."

"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash took her hand from her neck as her pink haired friend began to cry.

"It wasn't a dream. Oh no it wasn't... they hurt me. They bit me and they-"

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash said and she turned to look at her friend. "It's okay, I'm here now." Despite trying to reassure her Fluttershy wasn't able to hold back the tears and Rainbow Dash reached over to gently hug her friend. "I'm here now... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't there sooner."

"I'm scared." Fluttershy said. "I'm scared, I don't know what's going on. They hurt me."

"I know... I know they did and I'm... we're not going to let them get away with it." Not that it mattered in the long run. The damage was already done. Even if Rainbow Dash herself caught both of the attackers what then? Nothing would ever be able to take away the pain her friend was feeling.

"I let them in my house. I could tell. I knew something was wrong but I let them in anyway and then they-"

"I know. I know." Rainbow Dash said trying her best to reassure her and wishing she was better at it. All she could do was repeat the same things like a fool instead of saying the right words when she needed them. "I should have been there. I should have been there sooner. If I was then it wouldn't have happened. I'm sorry Fluttershy, it's all my fault." Rainbow said wanting to take some of this away from her but Fluttershy shook her head.

"You couldn't have known. No one could... but you rescued me." Fluttershy said trying to hold her tears back now with her hero in sight.

"It was more than me." Rainbow Dash admitted. In reality it wasn't her at all, she was the last one to the hospital. The last one to be by her side. For a woman that was obsessed with coming in first somehow she'd managed to fail at it each time it counted. "Listen I'm going to get the doctor, okay? They'll want to see you now that you're awake. We need to be sure you're okay." She got up to leave the room but once again was too slow because the words were said that she couldn't outrun.

"I love you." Fluttershy said from the bed. "I wanted to say it sooner but... I guess this is the worst time."

"No, it's not." Rainbow Dash said, looking back at her with a smile. "It's never a bad time to say it." With that she exited the room and walked down the halls finding Nurse Redheart shortly after. Explaining the situation the nurse thanked her and went off to get the doctor, leaving Rainbow Dash alone in the halls to think about what had just happened back in the room. Poor Fluttershy remembered it. She didn't know how much she remembered but it was enough that even Dash could see it was painful for her. That was why she couldn't have stayed in the room any longer than she did.

"I ran away." Rainbow Dash said to herself. "I ran away... all because I couldn't say it back." How do you tell someone you care about so much, someone you'd fight and die for that you do love them. But not in the same way that they loved you. "Fluttershy, I'm sorry. I just couldn't say it back."

Hours later the sun was setting over the horizon and six young women were no closer to their objective than where they had began the night before. Rarity had lived up to her word and went searching with Twilight after she got her sister home safely to let the girl rest for the day. A new fire burning in her heart as she had many reasons to find her former lover now. After a short rest Pinkie Pie and Applejack had joined them on the hunt and using her teleporting magic Twilight had also recruited Zecora's help without having to walk through the Everfree Forest where their potential attackers were now living. Even if Spike hadn't been missing Twilight needed to let her friend know what was happening so she could also defend herself from possible threats near their homes.

Word of course got out about Fluttershy being injured and while there were many kind words given to her friends to console them thankfully the changeling incident was being kept quiet by the hospital staff. A panic wouldn't help anyone but the girls were aware it couldn't be kept a secret for long if just to keep the rest of the town safe. Worse yet it seemed no one had seen Spike since last night as he somehow had escaped his bedroom without notice and snuck away in the dark. Either with or without help he'd successfully disappeared and the way he vanished without a trace was weighing heavily on Twilight as she couldn't help but suspect the worst. After a fruitless search they had all met back at the library to consider their next actions, Twilight passing tea around to everyone.

"Ah can't believe nobody has seen anything fishy goin' on after everything that happened." Applejack complained, holding her tea but not really drinking it. "All of that and no one seen a thing?"

"I've questioned the monsters and animals of the Everfree Woods." Zecora added, emptying her own tea cup nearly as fast as it was given to her. "Unfortunately none of them had any news that was good."

"Even with all of Fluttershy's new friends that came into the forest not a one caught the changelings either." Pinkie sighed. "I know we asked them not to stay near the town but I was hoping they might help us."

"Well find them yet." Twilight Sparkle said seriously. "Once they've been captured I'll make them lead us to Spike. We'll put an end to this. Especially this Damselfly he was so attached to." Rarity noted the hard grip Twilight had on her tea cup and thought it may threaten to break in her hands.

"I've... a different theory on Spike." Rarity offered. "I don't think he necessarily was captured by the changelings." Her tone was even but it didn't sit well with Twilight at all and she was ready to voice her opinion.

"After everything that's happened you really think those monsters won't make another move against us?" Twilight asked, hiding the anger in her voice as best she could.

"They may, which is why I'm glad Rainbow Dash stayed by Fluttershy's side. If one of them was to try and silence her she's the best one to be near her aside from Applejack."

"Reckon with how beat up mah shoulders and back still are ah'd be more a hindrance than help. Dash made the right call stickin' with her." Applejack admitted. Zecora however was still curious as to where Rarity was going with all of this.

"You seem to have some knowledge we do not, Rarity. Perhaps you can provide us with some more clarity?" Zecora asked and Rarity let out a sigh.

"I do. You see... everyone, I was involved with Spike. Romantically." Rarity paused for a moment to let it sink in before going further. "And... sexually." She said lowering her eyes to avoid the looks coming her way.

"Well... ah'll be danged." Applejack said in shock.

"You and Spike were..." Pinkie asked pushing her fingers together. Zecora opened her mouth to speak but just shut it again, unable to think of what to say in this situation.

"We were. It wasn't proper... I know it was far more than improper but we were together and in love. So I may be the reason Spike ended up in this 'Damselfly's' hold to begin with. He kept it a secret because I asked him to and it upset him but he did it anyway."

"Rarity... you don't have to say all of this." Twilight spoke up but Rarity didn't stop there.

"The thing is... Spike wasn't just involved with me." Twilight's eyes grew wider as Rarity continued to talk.

"Rarity!"

"He was also dating my sister."

"He... he what!?" Twilight asked in astonishment.

"I don't know when it started but he was involved with Sweetie Belle too." Rarity said feeling ashamed and the other girls were still reeling from the last revelation let alone this one.

"Now just hold on." Applejack said standing up at the table. "Ya'll are telling me Spike's been... been knockin' boots with you and little Sweetie Belle!?"

"I don't think he and Sweetie Belle went that far from what she said, but I know it was more than just kissing." Rarity explained and her eyes narrowed in anger. "My own sister..." Rarity said dwelling on her memory of this morning but it still left the table confused. Pinkie the first to bring it up.

"So... okay, so I thought Sweetie Belle liked Spike but I didn't think that they were doing more than kissing." Pinkie said remembering how she taught the girl how to make those gemstone cookies. "But even if he did all of that why would it be your fault he met this changeling?"

"Because I complicated his life." Rarity said feeling ashamed. "What else could it be? An older woman he idolized was using him and making him be quiet about it. How would that not drive someone a little crazy? Especially when he was trying to have an innocent romance with another girl." Through her confession Twilight was gripping her tea cup harder and harder as she listened. "So because of me I think it became too much." While everyone was taking this in quietly Zecora still wasn't satisfied.

"Even if everything you've said is what made him upset, I do not understand why he'd choose to be this Damselfly's pet."

"I don't think he left with this Damselfly, I think he just left." Rarity said. "Shame, guilt, anger... whatever the motivation I think Spike may have abandoned us after I drove him too far."

"Enough." Twilight said through gritted teeth. "Rarity, I can't accept that."

"What, you'd rather he'd been kidnapped by those monsters?" Rarity asked angrily.

"At least then... at least then he would have been taken and not abandoned us." Twilight rationalized. "I'm not going to accept Spike left because he had to get away from us that badly." She was shaken and it was clear to everyone at the table Twilight was taking all of this the hardest. Her friends did their best to diffuse the situation as Pinkie spoke out to her.

"Twilight, I know you're sad but... maybe we should listen to Rarity."

"No... none of you should because it's not her fault." Twilight said and Rarity looked away, not wanting to make eye contact with her. Pinkie Pie looked around the table for help and was only able to find it in one other person. Applejack sat back down at the table and tried to get them focused.

"Listen, Twilight, I know this is Spike we're talkin' bout and he's like yer family. But we should take into account what Rarity is telling us cause if Spike was motivated to run away from town we'll have to look elsewhere besides here. This whole thing's a shocker to all of us but ya can't go being angry at her over this while there's still so much to consider."

"I'm not angry at Rarity... I'm not angry at Rarity because... because I'm angry at myself!" Twilight shouted and a shock of magic ran through her arms, breaking the tea cup that she'd been holding. Her hands shook but steadied when another hand rested on top of them. She looked up to see Rarity staring at her with understanding and Twilight hugged he friend tightly. "I'm not mad at you."

"I know you're not darling." Rarity said, holding her gently and trying to keep it together from all the stares they were getting from their friends.

"It's not your fault, it's mine. They should know."

"Twilight, no. That's not necessary." Rarity argued her but her friend wasn't willing to let it go so easily.

"They should know. I can't let you do this for me."

"Don't." Rarity tried to say but it wasn't any use as Twilight pulled away from her friend and stood up at the table.

"It was me. I did it." Everyone was looking at each other around the table now completely confused, Pinkie the first one to ask.

"I don't get it. What did you do?"

"I'm the one that drove Spike away because... I was using him too." Twilight said and the words hung in the air for a while, Rarity looking down at the table now that it was all out in the open. "I had sex with Spike. We were involved together."

"That can't be true." Applejack said in shock. "Ya'll... I can't imagine that."

"Are you serious?" Pinkie asked wide eyed, looking between Rarity and Twilight who she was realizing were both hiding such serious things. "This isn't a funny joke."

"I do not believe they are being humorous." Zecora answered Pinkie, looking just as surprised as the rest of the girls. "I could never have imagined Spike's partners to be so numerous."

"I didn't either." Twilight answered Zecora. "I knew about Rarity. I gave my consent. But Sweetie Belle and this changeling... who knows who else now. I should have been better. I should have been better for him. Like the sister I was pretending to be. But I wasn't. Now there's only one thing left to do." Twilight said as she moved back, away from the table and her friends.

"Now hold on a second, ah don't like the sound of that." Applejack said and approached Twilight. "What are ya talkin' 'bout doin'?"

"Spike is the ward of Princess Celestia. If he were to be captured by an enemy of the kingdom they could use him as leverage against her. It was my responsibility to watch out for him and I failed so... I have to face the consequences." At that statement everyone stood up from the table and began to approach Twilight but it was too late, she was already being encompassed in a glow of pink magic. "I'll be seeing the Princesses now, I'll get us help. No matter what it costs. Everyone, I love you all."

"Twi'!" Applejack shouted and reached out for her but only got a handful of air as their friend vanished in front of them, Applejack looking back to the others now that she was gone. "She... she's going to see Celestia?"

"Is that good or bad?" Pinkie asked. "Princess Luna and Celestia like Twilight, right? Her sister is a princess too. It's going to be okay, isn't it? Isn't it?" No one had an answer for her though. The room hanging with a deafening silence left behind by Twilight.

Author's Notes:

Yes, this is the final chapter for Volume 2.