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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.