Silverware scrapped against plates and the sound of food being chewed echoed in the dinning room. Twilight looked over at Spike who was looking down and trying to hide the uncomfortable expression he had. She then looked over at Ember on the opposite side. She too was looking down. Twilight looked back over across from her to see Starlight and Matches each looking concerned.

An idea clicked in Twilight’s head and she turned to Ember. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

Ember said nothing and dragged a fork around the eggs.

“Anything new you want to show us? Some more of those magic crystals? Matches told me they are able to withstand extreme temperatures. Can you tell me more about that?”

Silence again.

Twilight frowned and looked down. She gasped as she saw a newspaper on the table and grabbed it. “Um...how about we find something interesting in the paper?”

She opened it and her eyes darted around frantically. Her eyes caught an article and she frowned again. “Oh! Listen to this! A pony was taken to the hospital after he had been attacked in the Everfree and robbed. It says the stallion had no idea who it was except for some red figure.”

Neither Spike nor Ember said anything. They ate their food silently and didn’t look up. Twilight looked back at Matches and Starlight and shrugged.

“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” said Matches. He got up and said, “Look, we all know about what happened yesterday. But let’s try to forget about it, okay?”

Neither Ember nor Spike looked up or said anything.

“Why don’t we try doing something to get your minds off of yesterday?” offered Matches. “There’s still some places in Equestria that we could take a look at. I’ve read up on Manehatten and some of its interesting landmarks. We could even try to go to Canterlot and see if the Royal Sisters will see us.”

Ember sighed and looked up at Matches. “You know what? I think you’re right.”

Matches beamed and looked at an equally happy Twilight and Starlight.

Ember got up from her chair. “I think I’ll just go to my room and just write a report I guess.”

Matches frowned. “Ember, you can’t be serious. We already made our report yesterday to the council.”

Ember walked past Matches and to the doors. She opened the doors and paused for a brief moment. “I’ll just think of something then.”

“Wait!”

The doors slammed and Matches sighed in defeat.

“I think Ember has the right idea,” said Spike in a solemn voice. “I think I’ll head for my room too. I got to clean it up.”

“Hold on, Spike,” said Twilight. “You can’t just hide what happened.”

Spike looked at Twilight with a blank look on him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He walked towards the entrance and slammed the doors like Ember did.

Twilight groaned and rubbed her head. “Great. Now what do we do?”

Starlight rubbed her chin and closed her eyes.

“Ember has been like this since last night,” said Matches. “When we made our report to the Dragon Council, she didn’t seem to care at all about that fake McCloud infiltrated the Wonderbolts’ Academy.”

“Spike hasn’t said anything to me since last night,” said Twilight. “I wanted to talk to him about yesterday, but he refused to speak to me.”

Starlight got up and looked at the princess. “I think I’ll go talk to him, Twilight.”

Twilight did a double take as her eyes widened. “What?”

“You heard me,” said Starlight. “I’ll go talk to Spike. I think with something like this, I can relate to him.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“I–I’ll tell you some other time,” said Starlight as her cheeks turned slightly red.

“I appreciate your desire to help, Starlight but maybe I should–”

The doors suddenly busted open. “Yo, Twilight!” a voice called out.

The group looked over and saw Rainbow walking in and removing the goggles covering her eyes.

“Rainbow, you’re back already?” asked Twilight in a surprise tone.

“Spitfire just released me,” she answered. “She said I earned the rest after I spent the whole night leading a squad through the mountains for that fake McCloud.”

“Any sign of him?” asked Matches.

“Not at all,” replied Rainbow. “It’s a good thing I was out on patrol anyway. Soarin told me that Spitfire has been chewing out all the security officers that were on duty. Her voice sounds so weak from all that yelling that it sounded like I was speaking to Granny Smith.”

Twilight winced. “Yikes. Remind me not to get on her bad side then.”

“There is some stuff we need to talk about though,” said Rainbow. “You got time?”

Twilight nodded. “I was going to try and talk to Spike again, but I think Starlight can handle it.”

The unicorn smiled warmly.

“I think I’ll leave you and Rainbow alone, Twilight,” said Matches. “I think it’s time I had my own talk with Ember. Something has been bothering me about her for a while, and I think it’s time I talked to her about it.”

“Alright. I’ll see you all as soon as I finish talking with Rainbow,” said Twilight.

Matches nodded and went out the door.

Twilight used her magic to close the doors, and then turned back to Rainbow. “So what do you need to talk to me about?” she wondered.

“It’s about that fake McCloud,” she replied. “I think you need to know about this.”

Twilight smiled. “Go on.”

Spike lied on his bed and let out a sigh. He reached over to the small table nearby and picked up the photo of him and Rarity. He frowned and put the picture back and stared at the ceiling. He let out a yawn and wanted to sleep, but his mind was still racing from yesterday. He looked over to the side and out the window to see a few pegasi moving the clouds around. Suddenly, the image of the heart and his head appeared before him. He gasped and shook his head. He looked back out and saw the clouds were gone. Spike groaned and rubbed his forehead for a minute.

A knock from the door made Spike jump a little.

“Spike?”

The drake recognized the voice and frowned. “Starlight, not now please.”

The door opened and Starlight came in. “No, I think we need to talk now.” She closed the door and walked over and sat on his bed. “Come on. You can’t just stay silent forever.”

Spike scoffed and turned away. “Watch me.”

Starlight narrowed her eyes slightly and sighed. “I think you’re overreacting a bit.”

“Well what exactly do you expect me to do?” demanded Spike. “After that yesterday, it’s kind of hard not to be shocked.”

“Let me ask you this then,” said Starlight. “You talked a lot about Ember and how you wanted to see her again. Why are you suddenly not wanting to talk to her? Don’t you like her?”

“As a friend,” said Spike irritably.

“You sure?”

“P–positive.”

“You hesitated.”

The drake didn’t respond. He turned away again and huffed.

“This isn’t helping and you know it,” said Starlight in a stern tone.

Spike said nothing.

Starlight thought for a moment, and then something clicked in her mind. “This isn’t just about Ember, is it?” she asked. “There’s another one you like.”

Spike gritted his teeth. “No there isn’t,” he said bitterly.

“Really now?” wondered Starlight with a smirk on her. “It wouldn’t happen to be a certain fashion unicorn, right?”

“No,” denied Spike. “Can you please go away? I just want some time to think.”

Starlight shook her head. “I can’t do that,” she replied. “You can’t hide your secret from me anyway. I already have proof about your other crush.”

Spike sighed and sat up, giving Starlight an irritated look. “Alright. Show me then.”

Starlight’s horn glowed, and something moved under Spike’s pillow. Suddenly, a familiar white plushie with purple hair came from underneath the pillow and was levitated in front of Spike.

“You’re not the best at keeping your love life secret,” said Starlight.

Spike snatched the plushie from the air and hid it back under the pillow. He looked at Starlight with a frustrated look. “Alright you got me,” he said with a heavy sigh. “What do you want for exposing a secret already known to Ponyville?”

“Just to talk to you,” said Starlight. “I’m sure that between your crush on Rarity and what happened at the Wonderbolts Academy, you’re feeling lost on what to do.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “I just want to think about this myself. Is that too much to ask?”

She put a hand on Spike’s shoulder. “You can’t just turn away from us like this. Besides, there’s actually something that you and I have in common.”

No response came from the drake.

Starlight took a deep breath and said, “I know what you’re going through, and have had this same problem before.”

Spike looked at Starlight with a shocked expression. “What!?”

“It’s true,” she said with a nod. “I actually know what it’s like to have two ponies wanting to be with you. Or, in this case, a dragon and a pony, love you.”

Spike narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “You’re lying,” he accused.

“Why would I lie about something like this?” asked Starlight.

“I just can’t really imagine you falling in love with some other pony.”

Starlight narrowed her eyes and snorted.

“Um...no offense,” said Spike quickly.

Starlight sighed and said, “I get what you’re trying to say. Back when I was still a well...crazed unicorn who thought cutie marks were evil and wanted to make everypony equal, I never really gave much thought to love. That all changed when I saw him again.”

Spike rubbed his chin and a thought clicked inside his head. “Sunburst.”

Starlight’s cheeks turned red. “Yeah. Even when we were foals, I thought he was pretty cute. He may be a bit weird and awkward, but he’s still pretty cute. We’ve been making time weekly to see each other.”

“Honestly, I’m not surprised you like him,” said Spike. “I remember after the Chrystaling I was watching you from the train window saying good bye to him and you were blushing. But I got to know; who is this other pony you like?”

Starlight’s face turned a darker shade of red and she looked down. “Well...that’s a little more complicated.”

“Can’t be any more complicated than this,” said Spike.

Starlight nodded slowly. “I guess you have a point. It’s just that this pony isn’t exactly on the best terms with all of you.”

Spike crossed his arms and smirked. “Try me.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Alright. It’s somepony who Twilight has trust issues with, and has had a rivalry with her.”

Spike nodded. “Go on.”

“She isn’t exactly a pony who isn’t well liked in Ponyville because of her past actions. Despite what she did, she’s a very close friend to me and we both know what it’s like to do something terrible and wanting to be better ponies.”

Spike rubbed his chin and thought to himself. Let’s see. A pony who isn’t liked a lot around her; especially by Twilight. Then, like a book hitting him in the head, Spike’s eyes went wide and he gasped. He looked over at Starlight. “You can’t mean her?”

Starlight nodded. “Yeah.”

Spike’s mouth dropped and he had to shake his head. “Trixie,” he said in awe. “What made you like her? Didn’t you like Sunburst more?”

Starlight held up a hand. “Hold on, Spike,” she said. “Let me explain. Yes, I know it’s a real shocker and that Trixie hasn’t exactly made the best impression for you or your friends.”

Spike nodded curtly. “So what happened then?”

“If you really want to know, Trixie really thought I was something special to her,” explained Starlight. “How similar we were, and how we had a hard time finding and making other friends.”

“Well you two did try to take over Equestria with dark magic,” said Spike.

Starlight shot a dirty look at him.

“It’s true,” he quickly said.

Starlight sighed. “Yes you’re right, but getting back on topic, Trixie apparently really took a liking to me after the battle against Queen Chrysalis.”

Spike shuddered. “Don’t remind me of that,” he said in disgust. “I spent three days just getting all that goo out of my scales.”

Starlight chuckled softly and continued. “Trixie thought not only was I somepony like her, but that I was smart and beautiful. She said she saw me in a way that wasn’t possible for her.”

“How did you hear about this?” wondered Spike. “Did she just tell you all that in a way to make you like her?”

Starlight shifted around uncomfortably. “In a way, yes and no.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that Trixie was intent on doing something like that,” replied Starlight. “She heard about my trips to the Crystal Empire, but never knew why I always went up there.”

Spike frowned. “I take it things really went bad fast?”

Starlight nodded. “Sunburst and I were on a date and walking around the park. When we took a seat on the bench, we both cuddled and he moved in to kiss me. Then, that’s when I heard a small yelp.”

“Trixie spied on you two?” inquired Spike.

“She did,” confirmed Starlight. “As soon as I heard the yelp, Sunburst and I looked over and saw Trixie stumbling from a nearby bush and dropping some flowers. She gave us a brief look and then ran off sobbing. I chased after her and eventually caught up to her at the entrance to the park.”

“I take it that’s when she confessed?” asked Spike.

“It took some coaxing, but I was able to get Trixie to tell me the truth,” said Starlight. “She admitted that she was going to wait until Sunburst left and then come up and tell me how much she loved me. It really shocked me to say the least.”

Spike took it all in and slowly nodded. “Okay, so what did you do? Did you just tell her simply you didn’t feel the same way?”

Starlight’s cheeks turned a dark shade of red. “That’s where things get complicated. In a way, I did admire Trixie too.”

Spike looked dumbfounded. “Wait. What!?”

“I know that’s a shocker, but in a way I kind of grew closer to Trixie than I thought. She was right that we were both similar in so many ways. Despite some of our differences though, I really grew to like Trixie myself. She was always doing her best for her shows and to be a better pony like me. And to hear how much she looked up to me and liked me so much really made an impact on me.”

Spike said nothing for a minute as he took in what he heard. He looked at Starlight with a puzzled expression. “So if Sunburst and Trixie both liked you, then what did you do? Weren’t you worried about breaking one of your friend’s heart?”

“I had a talk between Sunburst and Trixie about this whole thing,” answered Starlight. “I liked both in their own way, so I made a proposal to see about having an open relationship.”

“A polymorous one you mean?” asked Spike.

“Right. At first Trixie was really hesitant because she feared that I really liked Sunburst more than her. Sunburst thought that it wouldn’t work out and that it would become a fight between him and Trixie for me. I assured them that I wouldn’t forget either one of them, and that I would love both of them equally.”

“And how has that worked?”

Starlight shrugged. “It’s been about a week since then. Sunburst and Trixie took some time to get to know each other a bit more. When I was leaving from my recent trip, they were really starting to get along, and told me some ideas about what to do for our first date. When this visit from Ember is over, I hope to go back again and see where things go from there.”

Spike took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He said nothing for a minute as he tried to take in all he had heard. He lowered his head and placed his hands on it.

“Are you alright?” wondered Starlight.

Spike nodded. “This is just a lot to take in,” he stated. “So what am I supposed to do then? Do I just accept both Rarity and Ember as my marefriends?”

Starlight shook her head. “I can’t answer that for you, Spike. That’s something you will have to decide for yourself.”

“So what was the point of that story then?” he wondered. “If it was to make me feel better, I hate to say it but it made me more confused.”

“The point is that sometimes love isn’t just about being with one pony, or dragon, alone,” she said. “Sometimes, you may just like more than one pony so much, you can’t just choose to have one. I believe through compromise and understanding, you can make such a relationship worked out. While there’s still some disagreements between Sunburst and Trixie, and they both fought over me, they were able to find some common ground, and both seem to understand that I love both of them equally.”

“But I’m not sure I want a relationship like that,” said Spike. “Things were so much simpler when I just loved Rarity.”

“Then go with her,” suggested Starlight. “Since you really like her, just let Ember know that you aren’t interested in her.”

Spike frowned and shook his head. “I can’t just say that. Ember is my friend, and a great dragon. After everything we did together, I don’t feel right saying something like that to her.”

Starlight crossed her arms. “It sounds like you like her a lot too.”

“No! I mean yes! I mean I...I…” He placed both hands over his head and shook violently. “I...I don’t even know what to do at this point!” he cried out.

Spike slumped against the bed and groaned. He felt a hand touch his head and looked over at Starlight smiling at him.

“I understand you’re overwhelmed, Spike,” she said. “I admit that when I first suggested a polymorous relationship to Sunburst and Trixie, I was nervous and didn’t think it would work out. But a week later, and things are starting to look good.”

“But I–”

“I know you probably don’t want a relationship like that,” interrupted Starlight. “I can’t decide for you on who you should be with. That is up to you alone. What I can say is that sulking around isn’t going to do anything. You have to choose who you feel is the one perfect for you. When you make that choice, I hope you have no regrets.”

Spike sat up and closed his eyes. In his mind, he saw Rarity winking and smiling at him. Both Rarity and Ember are my friends, he thought to himself. But they’ve both had impacts on my life. Rarity, she showed me true generosity and was one of my first friends here in Ponyville.

The image of Rarity dissolved and was replaced by Ember smiling softly at him. I may not have known Ember for too long, but she quickly became one of my best friends. She may be a bit rough, but she’s come a long way in such short time. She even wanted to come to Ponyville to talk to me about my growth problem!

He frowned as a familiar thought crossed him. But what is Ember to me? Do I like her so much that I would give up on Rarity? Or do I stay with Rarity and hope she returns my feelings for her?

“Spike?”

The drake opened his eyes and looked over at Starlight. “I’m fine,” he assured. “I just needed some time to think is all.”

“So what will you do?” she wondered.

Spike shrugged indifferently. “I honestly don’t know yet,” he replied. “What I do know is that I can’t sit around doing nothing. I don’t know when, but when it’s time to choose, I’ll make the one I’m happy with.”

Starlight smiled. “That sounds like a good idea.”

Spike smiled back. “Thanks, Starlight. Never thought I’d get romance advice from you.”

“No problem,” she said. “You know since Twilight is busy right now, why don’t we both go hit Sugarcube Corner?”

Spike’s stomach groaned, and he gave an awkward smile. “I can’t argue with that.”

He and Starlight got up from the bed, and walked over to the door. Starlight put a hand over the doorknob and looked at Spike.

“Just remember, Spike,” she said. “When you make your choice, be sure it’s one you’re happy with.”

Spike nodded. “I understand.”

They both walked out of the room, and walked down the hallway.

The question is just will I hurt one of my friends by choosing one over the other? He wondered.

Matches walked down the hallway with a stern look on him. This has gone on long enough, Ember, he thought.

He walked up to the Dragon Lord’s door and knocked on it.

“Go away!” ordered Ember. “I’m busy right now!”

Matches crossed his arms. “Not gonna happen.”

“Matches?” asked Emer in a surprised tone.

The dragon nodded. “Yes, and since you claim to be busy maybe you can make some time to let me talk to you.”

He waited for a few moments and then heard the door unlocked. It opened and Ember stood there with a forced smile on her face.

“You’re just in time,” she said. “I need some help getting this report done.”

“Ember, that’s not why I’m–”

“We need to let them know about what we learned about the Wonderbolts,” she interuppted. “We didn’t put that in last night’s report.”

“Ember!” scolded Matches.

“Just help me find a new scroll and we’ll get started on it–”

“LORD EMBER!” boomed Matches.

The dragoness froze and stared at Matches, who looked furious.

He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. “You know exactly why I’m here, and there’s no getting out of this.”

Ember looked down and kicked her foot aimlessly. “I–I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said in a low voice.

“Ember, this isn’t getting us anywhere.”

“Can we please just drop what happened?” she asked in an irritated voice.

“Not until we talk about this. You can’t run away from this any further.”

Ember’s eyes darted around and she tried to say something, but words failed her. She let out a frustrated groan and collapsed into a red chair. She slowly looked up at Matches and sighed.

“So what are you going to do?” she asked. “Tease me some more about this?”

Matches shook his head. “Of course not. Ember, I was one of your first friends, and you trusted me to be your personal guard. Do you really think I’m going to tease you about Spike now? Especially after yesterday?”

Ember frowned and said nothing.

Matches sat down in the chair next Ember and put his hand on hers. “I know things have gotten a little crazy, but maybe it is time you talk to me about Spike. It’s obvious that stunt yesterday has really shaken you.”

Ember nodded. “I never meant for it to go that way yesterday,” she said. “That fake McCloud just talked to me about Spike, and thought I liked him. I told him that it wasn’t true though.”

“Then why those clouds yesterday?” asked Matches. “Princess Twilight and the others aren’t convinced of you seeing Spike as a friend only.”

“I don’t know!” she shouted in a frustrated voice. “I just was so distraced about what that fake McCloud said that I...I...I…”

“Wrote how you really felt subconsciously,” finished Matches.

Ember looked at him with an incrediolous look.

“It’s not that hard to figure out,” he said. “It’s obvious from what happened yesterday that you are hiding something about Spike.”

Ember’s eyes narrowed. “He’s just my friend,” she said.

“Is he?”

The dragoness’ expression softened and she looked away. “That’s what I keep telling myself,” she replied in a low voice. “Now I’m not even sure anymore. I don’t even know what to think anymore.”

“So what will you do now?” inquired Matches. “You can’t just hide from this. Eventually, you’ll have to talk to Spike about this.”

Ember shrugged and rubbed her head. “I don’t know anymore. I mean, where do I go from here? Romace is something I’ve never had to deal with.”

Matches nodded. “I understand, but I guess even dragons aren’t beyond the power of love.”

She looked at Matches with a worried look on her. “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course you can.”

“...I’m scared,” she muttered.

Matches raised an eyebrow. “Scared? Why would you be scared?”

“I just don’t know what to do anymore. Spike is important to me, but yet I don’t know what to even think about him anymore. I may have been Dragon Lord for only a month, but this already feels like the hardest decision I’ve had to deal with.”

“Well, hopefully this is as hard as it gets for you,” joked Matches.

Ember just frowned.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be,” said Ember. “I know you’re trying to cheer me up.”

Matches scratched the back of his head. “You know I never was good at this romance stuff. It’s not something that really interests me.”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Gee, that’s certainly going to help me.”

“But I do think I can tell you something,” said Matches.

“That is?”

“Spike is your first best friend,” he stated. “I know you really care about him. But maybe it’s time you started acting on whatever new feelings you have for him.”

Ember’s cheeks turned red and she looked shocked. “What did you say!?” she demanded.

Matches held up a hand. “Hold on. Don’t freak out on me. I was trying to say that maybe you should try being a little more open to him. He’s been freaking out himself over this, and maybe you should try to assure him about how you feel towards him. If you honestly have no feelings for Spike, and you let him know gently, I’m sure things will be okay.”

Ember moved around uncomfortably and nodded. “Got it. You mind leaving? I really need to think about this.”

Matches nodded. “Of course. Just please don’t shut me or any of us out okay?”

“I won’t,” she vowed.

Matches smiled and with a wave, walked out of the bedroom. Once she heard the door close, Ember sinked into her chair and let out a groan.

“Spike as a friend only?” she asked herself. “That’s what I want...right?”

She rubbed her head and closed her eyes. In her mind, she could see the familiar smile Spike would usually give her and all his friends. The glint in his green eyes. The way his spines were–

Ember slapped herself and shook her head. “No. Stop thinking like that already!” she told herself. “Remember what Matches told you. Just let Spike know that you’re not interested in him.”

Ember felt an empty feeling build in her. She clutched her chest and shivered as a chill ran down her spine.

“If it’s so easy, why is it so hard then?” she asked herself. “I’m sure he likes Rarity more than me.”

Ember’s blood boiled at the mention of the name. Rarity, she thought. The same bitch who’s been doing nothing but pushing me around. The same unicorn who likes to use Spike for labor. The same damn bitch who is trying to take Spike from me.

The memories of everything she had done to Ember raced through her mind. From her putting salt on her pancakes, to the accusations from Rarity when it was all a misunderstanding. Ember gripped her armrests tightly and smoke started coming out of her nose. An image then formed in her head of Spike carrying some gems and looking tired while Rarity was walking and not hearing Spike’s grunts.

She opened her eyes and her eyes had a fierce look on her. “No. Not again,” she said in an icy tone. “Spike is my friend, and regardless of how I feel about him, I won’t let that bitch Rarity take him away. If I have to, I’ll make sure she never uses him again for her own selfish needs.”

The door knocked again, and Ember turned around. “Is that you again, Matches?”

“It’s me,” came Twilight’s voice. “Can you come meet up in the Friendship Council chamber? There’s some news I need to tell you and the others.”

“Alright,” replied Ember. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“I’m going to go find Spike and Starlight while you get ready,” said Twilight.

The dragoness heard Twilight walk away, and she glared. “The others huh? That means Rarity will be there. I won’t let her use him anymore!” She marched out of the room with a determined look on her and snorted.

Ember entered the council chamber, and saw Twilight, Matches, and the others sitting around. Ember glanced over at Spike, who looked at her with a small smile. She waved at him, and then saw a white hand grab Spike’s shoulder. Ember looked up to see Rarity staring at her and frowning. Ember clenched her fist and glared at her.

Twilight stood up and smiled at everypony. “I’m glad you’re all here. Rainbow and I finished talking about what happened at the Academy. We have some good news about it.”

“The fake McCloud was caught?” wondered Matches.

“You know where this pony is?” asked Fluttershy.

“We’re going to have a party?” inquired Pinkie.

Everypony stared at her with confused expressions.

“What?” wondered Pinkie.

Twiligth groaned and rubbed betweeen her eyes. “No, Pinkie, that’s not what we’re doing. We found out something about this fake McCloud. The real one gave a few more details about him.”

“Like what?” asked Matches.

“We believe this pony may actually not be a pony at all,” said Twilight.

Everypony stared and looked at each other with shocked looks.

“Come again?” asked Applejack.

“Soarin found something interesting near where McCloud was attacked,” said Rainbow. She pulled out two photos and held them out. “Take a look!”

Everypony gathered around and looked at the photos. There were two sets of what looked to be footprints. The photo on the left had some large shoeprints near a dirt path. The other photo had shoeprints, but they were significantly smaller and leading away from a box.

“There are two different footprints?” asked Fluttershy.

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, and it got us thinking that maybe whoever it was wasn’t actually a pony, but something else.”

“A Changeling who hasn’t been reformed?” wondered Spike.

Twilight shook her head. “Not likely, Spike. Changelings always keep their prisoners in those coccoons. They wouldn’t leave them in boxes and easy to find.”

“True.”

“So where does that leave us?” inquired Applejack. “If it isn’t a Changeling, then who or what in tarnation is it?”

“We’re trying to figure that out now,” said Twilight. “They’re trying to figure out who the pony is, and what kind of magic was used to transform them.”

“So what’s this other news then?” asked Fluttershy.

“I’ve been thinking about this,” said Twilight. “I know that things have been stressful lately and that this visit has kind of gotten hetic for everypony here.”

“You can say that again,” muttered Applejack.

“So that’s why I was thinking that perhaps we could go down to Haytona Beach tomorrow!”

The group gasped.

“Haytona Beach!?” shouted Rainbow in a joyful voice.

“Wowie!” shouted an excited Pinkie. “I’ve always wanted to try and throw a party there!”

Ember and Matches looked at each other with puzzled expressions on them.

Twilight noticed the two dragons and raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Don’t you know what beach is?”

Ember shook her head. “We do. It’s just that it’s a bit sudden. Are you sure about this?”

Twilight nodded. “I think we can all use a break after everything that’s been going on. If you’re not feeling up to it, we can always do something else.”

“I don’t know.” Ember rubbed her chin.

Matches leaned in to her ear. “It’s probably not a bad idea,” he whispered. “It has been very stressful the last couple of days. Besides, we’ve been doing nothing but either teaching about our kingdom, or going on tours of military bases. I think we deserve a little fun in this trip.”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Well…”

Everypony leaned in with hopeful looks on them. Ember looked at the group and couldn’t help but smile.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

The group cheered and jumped for joy.

“But there is a problem,” interrupted Ember. “Matches and I don’t have swimsuits.”

Rarity stepped forward and smiled. “Don’t have swimsuits? I’ll be glad to make something perfect for both you and Matches, Ember.”

The dragoness froze in terror. A swimsuit by her!? After everything else she did and yesterday!?

She looked down and gasped as she suddenly saw herself wearing a one piece swimsuit that was maroon and purple dotted, and it was very frilly. She heard laughter and looked up to see everypony pointing and laughing at her. Her eyes fell upon Spike, who was laughing like a maniac and embracing Rarity who was smirking and laughing coldly.

“No!” she cried out.

“Ember, what’s wrong?” asked Spike.

She opened her eyes and everypony was staring at her with concerned looks on them. She looked down and saw she was wearing her clothes and let out a sigh of relef.

“What happened?” wondered Matches. “No what?”

Ember took a step back and held up a hand. “I...I mean no. No I can’t just accept that offer. I think I’ll just go buy my own outfit.”

“Darling, I just want to–”

“No thank you!” shouted Ember.

She turned around and ran out of the room before anypony could say something. They all looked at one another with confusion on them.

“I was just going to make her a swimsuit,” said Rarity. “Where’s the harm in that?”

Matches furrowed his brow. Ember, what’s going on in that mind of yours?

Outside the castle window, Garble smirked and flew off from the castle and towards the Everfree Forest.

Garble landed on the edge of the Everfree Forest and laughed to himself loudly. “This was all too damn easy!” he said in between laughs. “I didn’t think it work out this well. I got Ember and Rarity right where I want them.”

He let out a sigh of relief and walked a little further into the forest. “This has all been a blast. It’s getting a little boring though. There’s only so much fun I can take from all of this.”

He rubbed his chin and closed his eyes in concentration. “So they are heading for a beach tomorrow, huh? What can I do to finally bring this all to an end?”

He stayed silent for a couple of minutes as he thought to himself. Suddenly, something crossed his mind and he gasped. A sinister smile formed slowly on his face as he thought to himself. He opened his eyes and took off his backpack. He opened it up and dug through the uniform he stole and the red crystal buried within.

“As much as it has been to toy with these stupid ponies and that weak excuse of a Dragon Lord, I think playtime is over.”

He pulled out some apples and a couple of gemstones. He felt something hard at the bottom, and his smile widened. He pulled out the camera and held it up his face.

“I think the time has come to finally bring this alliance down,” he said to himself sinisterly. “If I play my cards right, then I’ll be sure to make Spike watch that his efforts were for nothing. He and Ember will pay for what they’ve done!”

Garble laughed loudly again. Loud enough for several small cretures to run off and a chilling breeze ran through the forest. The maddening laugh echoed in the forest for what seemed to be hours as it got darker.

Author's Notes:

First of all, Merry Christmas to all of you out there. I know I promised I'd try to get chapters out faster, but things have been a little hectic as of late. With my boss on maternity leave, some extra shifts, and overall being a lazy bum, it hasn't been easy.

I wanted to try out an experiment by having Starlight serve a purpose of being the one having some romance experience. Initially, I was going to have it just be about Sunburst only, but since this is technically looking at a harem type relationship, I decided to add Trixie to the mix so that Starlight and Spike could relate to some level. That, and I do like the idea of Sunlixie

Admittedly, this chapter isn't fully edited completely since my proofreader is currently busy with finals, but he did look at it and thought it was good. If there are flaws, they'll be fixed as it goes along.

With that all said and done, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas to all of you out there. Thanks for being so patient again.