Chapter 17

Rarity’s smile stretched from ear to ear as she placed the bracelet over her hoof “it’s a little loose but we can get that fixed”

Dave got to his feet ‘We won’t have that fixed because it is for Celestia!’ he thought angrily in his head ‘I can’t say I’m with Celestia, she is a princess, what would that do to her reputation?’

Rarity walked over to Dave, still admiring the bracelet “where did you get the money to buy this?”

“The chests I got from the cave near Appleoosa” Dave stretched down and reached for the bracelet “can I have that back please?”

Rarity took a step back “Give it back?” She gasped “but didn’t you get this for me?”

Dave swallowed his pride and all common sense “I got that for somepony else” he looked at Rarity’s hurt face “The thing I bought for you is loads better”

Rarity raised an eyebrow “Better you say?” she passed the bracelet back to Dave reluctantly “well I am perfectly happy with this though”

Dave took the bracelet before Rarity could take it back “Trust me you will love the other thing that I bought for you”

Rarity gave a reassuring smile as Rainbow Dash landed next to them “Hey Dave why did you run away?”

Dave had to resist yelling at the Pegasus about almost losing him the bracelet “I dropped something when you pulled that prank”

Dash smiled innocently at him “Yeah sorry about that” her smile faded “so is Pinkie”

Dave looked up the long slope at sugarcube corner “where is Pinkie anyway?”

Dash rubbed the back of her neck “She thinks you hate her now”

Dave placed the bracelet on his wrist with his watch on “Damn it, I didn’t mean to yell at you both”

“Yeah I know but…” she avoided looking at him directly “you looked like you really hate our guts”

‘Well what did you expect from what you did?’ he thought angrily “I don’t hate you or Pinkie, I should go apologise”

Dave began to walk up the street with Rarity and Dash following closely alongside him, as he reached the front door he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder

Dave walked in and saw a confused baker “Um do you know where Pinkie is?” he asked the short plump mare

“She went upstairs to her room” she said worriedly “I’ve never seen her this sad before”

Dave left Rarity and Rainbow Dash downstairs as he walked up a curved set of stairs to the top floor, the door had the name Pinkie Pie written in pink letters across the front

As Dave got closer, he could hear quiet crying from the other side ‘Ah crap’ he thought as he knocked

“W-w-who is i-it?” Pinkie asked as she took her head out of her pillow

“It’s Dave” he sighed loudly “Can I come in?”

Pinkie grabbed her pillow “no you hate me” she then slammed her head down again

Dave rested his head against the door ‘Damn it Pinkie what do I have to do to show I’m sorry’ Dave walked back down into the shop area and found himself staring at a cake being decorated

“Is she ok?” Rarity asked as Dave reached inside his bag

“She will be in a minute,” Dave said determined as he dropped a handful of gold onto the shop counter “I need a cake with a message” he commanded the confused mare

Meanwhile upstairs…

Pinkie cradled her pet alligator in her hooves “I just don’t get it Gummy, he seemed to like me before but now…”

Gummy just stared at her blankly and snapped some of her strait, dull pink hair between his toothless jaws

“I want to go talk to him but he obviously never wants to see me again” a few tears landed on Gummy’s belly “I-I d-don’t want him t-to hate me” she sobbed as she hugged Gummy

Suddenly her bedroom door burst open and Dave slid into the room on his knees, holding out a large white cake whilst wearing a party hat “SURPRISE” he called as he stopped in front of her and showed her the cake

Pinkie brought her head from Gummy and read the top of the cake “I’m sorry I was a silly filly” she giggled slightly at the cake

“I’m sorry I yelled at you Pinkie” Dave held out a party hat to her “Do you want to be involved in my short apology party?”

Pinkie placed the party hat on her head and beamed happily at him “I never miss a party” she smiled

Dave placed the cake down, cutting it a few times and handed her a slice “so I’m forgiven?” Dave asked as he placed a party blower into his mouth

Pinkie took the cake and let Dave sit next to her on the bed “Yes” she laughed as Dave blew the small instrument and it squeaked a loud noise

Dave looked around Pinkie’s room, it was decorated as if a party happened every other minute, there were balloons tied around the bed and streamers coated every available surface

Pinkie took a small bite of cake before looking back at Dave “So we are friends?”

Dave nodded with a smile and Pinkie’s natural colour began to reappear

“Am I one of your super duper best friends?”

Dave chuckled and nodded again

Pinkie’s hair bounced up so quickly that it shot the party hat off like a rocket “YAY!” she screamed as she bounced onto Dave and hugged him tightly “At last nights party we got on so well and you seemed really lonely so I thought that you needed cheering up so I thought I should try and make you happy FOREVER!”
Dave avoided dropping his slice of cake on the floor “that’s good to know”

Pinkie smiled as she placed an entire piece of cake into her mouth “friends forever?”

Dave chuckled as he swallowed his slice of cake “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” He laughed along with Pinkie as the two other girls from downstairs came up to join them

Meanwhile…

Celestia was sitting in her quarters just finishing some royal letters she needed to send, a knock came from the door

“You may enter” she called as she turned to face the door

Strong Shield stepped in carrying a scroll “Your majesty, the guards have completed their sweeping of the cave near Appleoosa” he passed the scroll over to the princess “The seismic activities have stopped so the cave is now being used for the various gems in the depths”

The princess nodded as she read the report “Thank you Strong Shield for all your help recently”

“I’m merely doing my duty,” Strong Shield said in a proud voice with his head high

“You’re too modest” Celestia smiled “You took all of Shining Armour’s tasks as well as your own” she placed the scroll on a pile next to her “I must ask one question”

Strong Shield stood to attention “Your majesty”

“Why do you push yourself like this?”

Strong Shield gazed at the floor briefly before standing strait again “Doing my duty”

Celestia shook her head “It’s because of your eye isn’t it?”

Strong Shield winced “I don’t want to be seen as weak”

Celestia looked at her guard curiously “You’re worried that somepony is going to replace you because you have gained a… weakness”

Strong Shield did not even blink “Doing my duty” he repeated again

Celestia looked at a calendar on her desk “Captain Shining Armour and Princess Cadence should be returning from their honeymoon in Haywaii soon” she looked over at the stone faced guard “So you should be able to relax then”

Strong Shield saluted “Thank you your majesty but I can’t relax until my duties have been performed”

Celestia nodded as the guard turned to leave “One last thing sergeant”

The guard turned and saluted again “Your majesty?”

Celestia stared out of her window at towards the sky “What do you think of Dave?”

Strong Shield rested his hooves on the ground “He is the most physically able creature I have met, protective of his friends and is certainly a valuable asset to us”

Celestia shook her head “Enough with the formalities Strong Shield, what do you really think?”

Strong Shield frowned in concentration “he is… good, not perfect due to him not being a pony but… good”

Celestia smiled “I’ve kept you long enough, you may go” she heard the sergeant begin to leave “how does he try and let anypony close to his heart?” she muttered to herself

“I don’t” Strong Shield stated as he closed the door behind him

Celestia worried about that guard but if he wanted to work rather then relax that was his choice, she levitated a large brown book over to her as she sat down

“Right now let me see if I can find that annoying spell,” she groaned as she began to flick through the pages

Back with Dave…

Dave walked out of sugarcube corner and began to head home, he wanted the place to be ready for when Celestia came over

As he happily bounced out of town he took the chance to think to himself “I’m sure she will love my bracelet… well I hope she does” he began to doubt himself “She has all that fancy jewellery already”

‘Yes she does and stop being so ridiculous’ his mind butted in

“Oh crap not you again” Dave rubbed his face with his hands “I am definitely going mad”

‘Yes you are’ it growled angrily ‘why are you wasting your time with this princess that is only using you when you have six mares that want to love you?’

Dave stroked the bracelet on his wrist “Because I want to try and make something special… hell I love Celestia” he cheered to himself

‘And you don’t love the others?’

“Well… a little, including Luna but nothing like Celestia” Dave held his head up as he marched down the road

‘Forget Celestia and Luna’ his mind ordered ‘you said you would go into a relationship with Twilight remember?’

“Oh crap yeah” Dave scratched his chin “I’ll let her down easy tomorrow”

‘The others all care about you so much’ his mind’s voice turned angry again ‘Celestia will only use you for your powers and she will probably move onto a nice stallion prince or something’

“Yeah but she said that…”

Dave was cut off ‘YOU said you were not a pony so does that mean you do not have a chance with her?’

“Well it’s a small chance but…” he was cut off again

‘But nothing, she is using you, mark my words she will twist you around her hoof’

Dave’s mind fell silent as he entered the front door “Stupid brain, why does it now seem to have its own opinion on things?”

Dave pushed his problems aside as he took the day’s shopping up into his bedroom and began to count a hundred coins into each of the little bags, he pinned the large map of Equestria to one of his walls and place the smaller maps in a draw nearby

“Right that is now done so…” Dave walked downstairs and into his living room, sitting down in a large armchair “now we wait,” he sighed as he placed his feet onto the table

A few hours later…

Dave awoke as a bright flash of light appeared in his living room and Celestia appeared from the light

“Hello Dave how are you?” she asked as she trotted happily over to him

“I’m better for seeing you” Dave smiled at the blushing princess “Oh by the way I got you something”

Dave took the bracelet of his wrist and offered it to Celestia

“Oh my” Celestia took the bracelet between her hooves and stared at the deep blue sapphire “its beautiful Dave, thank you”

She placed the bracelet on and it rested perfectly on her right hoof, Dave smiled as she admired the gift “Do you like it?”

Celestia shook her head and Dave’s face fell “I love it!” she smiled and Dave began to chuckle at his paranoia

“Well are you going to stand there all night?” Dave asked leaning back into his chair

Celestia looked at the sofa but walked over to Dave “If you don’t mind” she sat on his lap and rested her back across Dave, he wrapped her arms around her so they both could feel each other’s hearts beat in unison

Celestia held her hoof up to the light to admire the bracelet and rested her head against Dave’s head

Dave chucked slightly as his hands gently stroked Celestia’s stomach “So how was your day?” Dave asked

Celestia hummed quietly “Normal business… Strong Shield came to see me today about the cave you went into”

“Oh, is Strong Shield alright?”

“He is doing well” Celestia rested her hoof back down and shuffled more comfortably into Dave “He should have it easier in a few days once Shining Armour returns”

Dave smiled to himself “It’s good to know he is doing well with the guards so far”

“I worry about him though, he is a bit of a… workaholic” Celestia nuzzled her head into Dave’s chin “That reminds me, if you want I can find some more work for you to do”

‘I told you’

“Umm… what kind of work?” Dave asked nervously

“Safer than what you did at the cave near Appleoosa” she rested her eyes as she listened to Dave’s breathing “just some things that the Strong Shield thinks you could do better than his guards”

‘See she is already trying to use you!’ Dave’s mind roared ‘Put her in her place and go and find one of the others!’

“I need to go use the toilet” Dave lied and Celestia allowed him to stand before sitting down in his spot

“I’ll keep this warm shall I?” Celestia winked

Dave smiled all the way into his upstairs bathroom “Ok what the hell is with you?” Dave quietly yelled as he slapped his forehead

‘I am trying to protect you, that filth downstairs can not be trusted’

“That ‘filth’ is Celestia,” Dave growled “And who are you to decide what I should do?”

‘I am the one that has kept you alive you worthless insect’

“What do you mean?” Dave lowered his voice

‘THINK, ever since you arrived here you have been stronger, courageous and better in every imaginable way’

Dave scratched his head “Yeah and my mind got a voice of its own” Dave’s face began to seize up as his arms burned with pain, he raised his hands to see them slowly burn away “What’s happening?”

‘I am simply showing who is in control here, that is the wound you received fighting the dragon and this is when you dislocated your arm’

As Dave’s mind spoke angrily, Dave’s left shoulder dislocated, Dave opened his mouth to scream but his throat was also being slowly burnt

“What… are… you?” Dave struggled to say as he stood and looked at the mirror, watching as his skin burn from his face

Dave’s reflection smiled at him ‘Now that would spoil the surprise’ his reflection laughed as Dave lost consciousness

Downstairs…

Celestia heard a loud thud from upstairs and she sat up alertly “Dave?” she called out

When she heard no reply, Celestia got out of her chair and walked to the bottom of the stairs “Dave?” she called out again

She climbed the stairs cautiously and stopped outside the bathroom door, she placed a hoof on the door and pushed

The door did not budge so she placed both hooves on the door and pushed as hard as she could, the door remained motionless

She looked down and saw blood seeping out from the bottom “DAVE!” she yelled in fright as she placed her horn to the door and used her magic to push it

The door remained still, Celestia began to panic as she heard screaming from the other side and fired a blast at the door, shattering it into small shards

She ran in to see Dave curled in a ball on the floor, flesh burnt, bruised, and the large cut in his stomach had also returned and was pouring out blood

Celestia hardly recognised the creature before her “Dave?” she collapsed next to him, falling into the blood “Dave?” she began to cry, as he did not respond and his body lay silent

‘Now you will do two things’ Dave’s mind whispered to him ‘You will never speak of me to anypony or anything for that matter, especially the princesses, if you do we will both suffer’

Dave managed to open a burnt eye, he saw a mix of black and red smoke

‘And you will continue as you normally have… until I say other wise’

Dave’s vision slowly returned as the black fog faded and he was left staring at Celestia’s blood stained hooves

Celestia had her head rested across Dave’s charred shoulder “Please come back Dave” she cried quietly

Dave rolled his eye to look at the alicorn, he tried to speak but his body didn’t cooperate and he remained silently on the floor

Celestia slowly began to hear a quiet breathing noise and she pulled her head back “Dave?”

Dave’s body punished him with pain as he turned onto his back “Hey” he whispered weakly

Celestia hugged him and he cried out in pain “Oh Dave I’m sorry”

Dave attempted to smile but his lips were almost completely gone “You have something on your hooves”

Celestia looked down at her bloodstained hooves “That is not important right now”

Dave chucked slightly and coughed up droplets of blood “You clean this up and I’ll fix myself”

Celestia quickly used her magic to remove the blood from herself and the floor “Now heal… please” she begged as she sat down close to Dave’s head

‘I will heal you as normal and allow you to use your powers but… don’t mess me around’ Dave’s mind warned as his body arched back in pain

Dave screamed loudly as all the injuries were removed once again and he was left staring up at Celestia “Hi” he sighed quietly

Celestia smiled “Hi”

Dave reached out and stroked the side of her face before passing out once again