Spike looked down at Carrot Top and gave her a small smile, passing her a light sack of bits in exchange for the produce. "Thanks for the carrots!"

"No problem!" Carrot Top beamed, not bothering to open the sack and count but instead tossing it onto the stall's counter. "Say hi to Princess Twilight for me!"

"Will do!" Spike nodded, nestling the small bag of vegetables between his underarm and chest as he began the stroll back through Ponyville's marketplace. A lone, juicy carrot poked out of the side of the bag, and he could feel his tongue brushing against the edge of his lips as he pushed it back in, casting the thought of indulgence from his mind.

The last few years had been trying for Spike. His body had changed immensely, and he now almost resembled Ember in stature, though he was still without wings. He found that his diet consisted of more gems than ever before, to the point that hunts with Rarity became more about amassing a stockpile for him than working on her dresses. He was even treated more like an adult, which in pony society, he supposed he was at his age, as he was a few months from turning twenty.

But there was something wrong with that, he reminded himself once more as he flashed a look at the bag and eyed the contents. It didn't matter if the veg looked tasty, it wasn't for him. In a dragons' eyes, he imagined he was still seen as a hatchling, though he couldn't be sure. When he went gem hunting with Rarity, the jewels they collected had to be spread out and kept in different places, rather than stacked up together, and Spike only knew where one heap was at a time.

Worst of all, with the physical changes came emotional ones of a similar proportion, and Spike was finding it more and more difficult to keep himself contained.

Everything he could have ever wanted seemed to have twice the hold on him now, some things more than that. He was in the firm clutch of hedonism; the attraction of anything that glimmered, shone, or caught his eye in any way caused him to stop and stare, to want to reach forward and grab it—it stirred something ancient and powerful in his belly, a feeling he recognised from his youth.

It was a yearning he attributed with a long forgotten rampage. Forgotten to most ponies, at least.

Of course, Spike still called himself a pony. It was what he considered himself to be, after all, even if most ponies would never quite agree with that assessment. It wasn't just that he lived around them, but that he was gentle like a pony, he was giving, and he was helpful, even if his selfish desires had a habit of impeding his judgment, now more than ever.

He had been surrounded by ponies that had taught him to be that way, after all. Spike was sure that if he had been raised by his own kind, he would have turned out to be immensely different. It was a strange and slightly scary thought to ponder, the idea that you could be so substantially shaped by your upbringing, so much so that it could make the difference between which species you chose to identify as later in life. But even with the acceptance of Ponyville, Spike had seen what the effects of an uncontrolled dragon could have on the town, and as such had endeavoured to keep himself under constant restraint for the sake of everypony, including himself.

He was never too greedy, even when he really, really wanted to be. He rarely indulged himself in new things because he knew he had an addictive personality, and he never, ever collected things, no matter what they might have been. He even had Big Mac keep hold of his fantasy hoofball cards when he wasn't using them.

Hoarding was in his blood, and it ran hot and bubbling whenever he collected valuables, the feeling so strong and pleasurable that he would lose himself in it if he wasn't extremely careful. He had no inhibitions in that state, and he regressed to a creature of desire—no intelligence, no morality, only the need for more.

Thinking about it brought a small frown to Spike's lips, but he chose to pay it no mind. His eyes passed over a small stream as he walked, a pair of mallard ducks effortlessly floating by as the sun hit the water; his eyes traveled to the shimmering refraction of silvery light from the stream, almost resembling rubies and garnets, diamonds and sapphires as the orange radiance entwined with the clear, crystalline blues of the water. With a small shiver, Spike shook his head, and the images of jewels and precious metals dispersed, leaving only a picturesque body of water and a shining sun, as it should have looked.

He knew the thoughts infected every facet of his day to day life now, like he was an addict in search of his latest fix, but he persevered despite it. It was difficult to talk to anypony about, but some days were better than others, and sometimes he could go entire days without wanting to snatch and take something for himself. Those days were rare, but it was a breath of relief when they came about, as those were the times that Spike felt the most self-assured and cleanest of mind.

Worst were the days when he saw Fluttershy. Even her name sent an ache of longing crawling up his spine, and despite how long he'd tried to acclimate to the feeling, he couldn't adjust that easily. She resembled none of his favourite gemstones, yet was more inviting than any of them, and above anything he wanted to have her, but not to hoard, not at all. What Spike wanted from Fluttershy he hadn't understood at first, for he felt the feeling even when he was convinced that he loved Rarity, but as he started to realise that his affection for Rarity was little more than a transient crush, the strange feeling for Fluttershy only grew.

There was something special about her, from the gentle quality of her voice to the sharp, impressive curves of her body, she was incredibly beautiful by nature, yet she carried herself with immeasurable poise and grace, never showing off her assets, not that she needed to. Spike grinned as he pictured her in his head, steadily becoming more lost in the thought as his mind's eye traveled from her withers to her barrel, moving further and further towards her soft, round plot...

Spike blinked as soon as he felt the low growl emanating from his chest, like the feeling he had when he was about to produce fire, and he quickly looked for a method to distract himself, looking at buildings, plants, trees in the distance, anything that was both palpable and readily available. Unlike the rumble from his belly, which he understood better, that was something that only seemed to happen when he thought about Fluttershy, but Spike knew it could only be bad, so he forced himself to never focus on her for too long.

Not that he didn't notice the feeling going all the way through his body when he thought of her, from his chest spanning all the way down to his cock, a little twitch of energy that he rarely felt otherwise. He wasn't too sure what to think of that, but he always worried what might happen if he allowed that feeling to really take over. Would he become a monster again? Would he try to hold her down and rut her senseless if he lost control? Would he hurt her?

Spike had no clue if Fluttershy even liked him, and even if she did, surely that could only be bad news for her. Spike hated to admit it, as he liked to think of himself as kind and tranquil, but he knew very well that he could be a danger to a pony if he was riled up, maybe even to an entire village, and to direct all of that onto Fluttershy, to unleash his inner cravings and allow himself to do whatever it was he prevented himself from doing whenever he saw her? It would consume him, and it would likely do the same to her, if not worse.

He felt ashamed of his thoughts. Fluttershy was his friend, and ever since she had met him eight years ago, she had always had a soft spot for him, he could see that much, but where Fluttershy was soft, with time Spike had become more and more hard in comparison, both in his appearance and in his loins whenever he was around her. It was a terrible thing, one that he hadn't even managed to talk to Twilight about, and while he hoped that it would fade in time, much like his infatuation with Rarity had, it only seemed to be getting more prominent as he aged.

The more time he spent with her, the more he noticed things that made her stand out from other ponies. It wasn't just her looks, she appreciated him as more than a dragon, but more than a pony at the same time. Spike thought that if it were up to her, there would be a special word just for him, the dragon with a pony's heart.

But Spike knew he couldn't just do things like that the same way a pony would. He couldn't just tell her how he was feeling, just the same as he couldn't walk through town without seeing gemstones in the stream, without the growing urge in the back of his mind to sit down and gnaw on the carrots he had bought for Twilight. Everything was a temptation to him, and temptation greeted him with a cheeky smile always, inviting him to forget his worries and indulge himself in whatever took his fancy.

Sometimes he wanted to give in, to start with a carrot, then graduate to gemstones, then bits, praise, mares... He would be ruled by gluttony, eating and fucking his way through life, having his fill and more, growing more deadly and fearsome with everything that he consumed until he stood on top, the most powerful dragon, the most intelligent, the most important, the ruler of everything he laid eyes on, the dominator of Equestria and the lands beyond...

And then he shook off the feeling like a cold fever and remembered the things he loved about being a pony. A good pony with love in his heart, the pony that had taught an entire race about the benefits of sharing over taking, the hypocrite he would never allow himself to be. It only took one slip to start down that path again, but Spike would never allow it to happen. He knew moderation led to overindulgence, so he didn't allow himself to have things. He knew the primal urge he felt when he looked at Fluttershy could only be something terrible, so he didn't let himself look at her. It was easier that way.

It was the price of living with a society of creatures unlike him. He would never be one of them, not completely, but if he was to try, he had to cast out those evil urges, to be the master of his own mind, to trust himself to be around others without wanting to be more than them. The true dragon inside him couldn't wake up, as it was ugly and feral, a creature that cared only for itself, and would do anything to get what it wanted.

It was his luck that thinking about Fluttershy would bring him walking past her doorstep. Past the stream to the right of him was her cottage, the gardens abundant with creatures of all shape and size as always, though the mare herself was nowhere to be seen, which was good for Spike. No distractions, he could just take his bag of carrots and head home.

A few more steps and Spike stopped dead right outside of Fluttershy's door, the shadow of an idea forming in the back of his mind, pulling a smile onto his face as it raced to the forefront, his smile becoming more and more prominent. "Hold on," Spike grinned, jostling the bag, "Carrots." With a short, conspiratorial glance either side of him, Spike opened the bag and made a quick count, finding there to be seventeen of the organic veggies inside. "Heh, surely Twilight won't miss one or two."

Spike called it 'being selfish to be selfless', and it was about the only time he broke his rule of not taking anything—unlike the awful feeling he got from sating his own desires, seeing someone else have something they want was an entirely different type of gratification, one he truly loved. So it was that he completely forgot about his need to avoid Fluttershy, gaily walking through the gate and past the critters that swarmed him, strutting up to the door and rapping a quick series of knocks against the wood.

"Coming!" an angelic voice rung, and Spike instantly realised his mistake, punctuated by a little twitch shooting through his body. Still, it wasn't too late, he could just leave a couple of carrots on the doorstep and leave, surely. Spike went to take a nice looking pair from the bag, but just as he took them in his claws, the door opened and he was met by Fluttershy's striking gaze, soft and mildly surprised as always. "Spike!" she smiled, instantly moving aside and gesturing for him to come in, "How nice of you to drop by, I've not seen you in so long. How have you been?"

Jeez, now he'd done it. All he had to do was keep on walking, but instead, now he was being invited to come and sit down with the mare that took up so many of his vulgar thoughts, one on one. "U-uh, sure, I mean, I'm in a bit of a rush, but—"

"Oh, do you need to be somewhere else?" Fluttershy blinked, offering a warm smile, "Because if that's the case, you're more than welcome to come back another time, of course."

Spike couldn't lie; from the quickened pumping of his heart to the slight tremble in his claws, there was nowhere else he would rather be, even if he did need to. Twilight wasn't expecting him back just yet anyway, he was only saying that to avoid being alone with her. "I mean, sure, I could come in for a little while, I guess. I only came by to offer you a couple of carrots for Angel, but—"

Even though Spike had witnessed it a few times, he could never get used to Fluttershy interrupting anypony. Especially not with a hug. As he felt Fluttershy's soft, firm body press around him, he had to seriously struggle to contain himself; visions flashed in his mind of him grabbing her in return, squeezing her, bending her over and running his claws down her body, kissing her, biting her, spreading her hind legs and—Angel, Spike. Think of Angel. That's why you're here, to give Angel some carrots. Calmly, like a stoic, he stood through the rest of Fluttershy's hug, though even then he couldn't hide the blood rushing to his cheeks, his body radiating warmth as she gently rubbed his back.

After all that, the thank you was surely implied, but she announced it anyway, a large smile on her face, her eyes tightly closed in joy, genuine emotion pouring from her for his spontaneous act of charity and thoughtfulness, as small as it was. The feeling that came with Fluttershy's gratitude was enough to keep Spike in good spirits for an entire day, but the hug was—Spike snuck a glance downstairs, and in a moment realised that his hardness was on the verge of visibly showing—the hug was definitely something, he knew that much.

Time to shake that off. Spike almost tripped over his own feet as he stumbled into the cottage, Fluttershy following close by with the leafs of the fresh carrots hanging from her mouth as she took them over to Angel's tray and deposited them. The bunny rushed over immediately to gorge on one, and Fluttershy beamed at the display as she sat on one of her sofas, patting the space to her side and inviting Spike to sit.

Spike hesitated, eventually pretending to ignore the invitation and heading to sit on the other side of the room, in a chair facing Fluttershy directly. The way she lazed in her chair, it was clear that she was glad for the opportunity to just sit for a while, but even laid there she exuded beauty, looking as if she was the subject of a life drawing class with her forelegs splayed, her wings neatly tucked, and her eyes settled on Spike, who was squirming in the comfy seat as if he was being scrutinised by her quiet presence, as unlikely as that sounded.

"So," Fluttershy started, leaning forwards on a dainty forehoof as she narrowed her eyes, "where have you been lately, Spike? I've barely seen you, is Twilight still keeping you busy?"

The question was a good distraction from her eyes. Not a perfect one, as he was still looking at them, but it at least gave him a chance to think, slowly rubbing the back of his neck from instinct as he struggled for an answer. It was true he had been busy, but he had been avoiding Fluttershy in particular for a completely different reason. "Y-yeah," he started, fully aware he was winging it, "Twilight's needed a lot of me these last few months, she's been so busy with princess duties that I've been having to pick up a lot of the slack for her in the castle, but I've also been sent away to changeling territories a few times by Celestia, turns out that Thorax puts a lot of value in my counsel."

Fluttershy's eyes seemed to widen in interest as she leaned closer to him; Spike was only glad that she couldn't bridge the gap between them without getting up. "That sounds really exciting," Fluttershy nodded, "So you're a changeling advisor, in a sense?"

Spike shrugged, hoping it would make him appear a little more humble. "Well, Celestia called me a diplomat, but I don't really care what label gets put on it. Really, all I'm doing is listening to Thorax when he's worried about something, and I'm happy to do that. He always comes up with the solutions himself in the end, but I think what he's looking for is someone he trusts to tell him honestly what they think, not some council member that'll nod along with everything he says because it's in their interest to. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, of course, you're saying that he needs a friend sometimes." Fluttershy's smile only seemed to grow at this realisation, and Spike felt that familiar craving beginning to resurface as his gaze remained affixed to her features, unable to think of a reason to tear it away, he was forced to be subjected to her gorgeous body and caring smile. "And you're right, there's no label that could ever compare to being a good friend, and that's just what you are, Spike."

There it was again, another vague response that he didn't know how to interpret. Did she like him as a friend, who smiled and chatted and gave him warm compliments, or did she like him as a 'friend' who gave him overlong hugs, dragging her fuzzy, luxurious fur over his scales and rubbing down over his chest as she brushed her hooves against his back, driving him wild? Were the two even mutually exclusive? Spike sat still, but inside, he was pacing and flipping on the spot, every conclusion only inviting another question, every assumption shaky at best. "Well, thanks, Fluttershy, you're a good friend too," he replied, lamely.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, though her smile remained. "Oh really?"

Somehow that one minuscule movement was enough to incite terror in the fully grown dragon; Spike had no clue how she did it. "Uhh, a great friend!" he corrected, trying to hide his rapidly forming blush with a hand. "The best out there, definitely."

"Well it's nice that you think so," she winked, instantly making Spike feel as if he had been coaxed into it, but also finding that he didn't care. "Oh, that reminds me, I've got something for you."

That caught Spike off guard, and he felt his tail shake under him as he snapped his head to where she was sitting. "You have?!" he breathed, fully aware that as usual, he was getting overly excited by the prospect of being given something, and that combined with his lust for Fluttershy currently threatening to take over, he really needed to keep that under wraps. "I-I mean, you have?"

"Don't get too excited," Fluttershy chuckled, waving a hoof in front of him, "It isn't much, but I saw it on the market last week and thought of you. I should have it in the drawers over there." Not waiting for a response, she rose from her seat, wandering to her cabinet in small, delicate strides, her tail softly swishing as it bounced over her large, voluptuous, squeezable plot.

Spike tried not to focus on the tasty scene he was being offered, but he couldn't help it. Fluttershy was torturously slow in her movements, and every step made her hips sway and her ass bounce, until finally, she stopped before the cabinet, her tail slightly lifted, barely covering her marehood.

Spike would have given a lot to lift her tail right then, to get a good view of what it hid, but he knew he could do nothing but silently want and wish, waiting as Fluttershy dug her hooves into the front drawer, her back arching as she pushed her ass out further, searching for whatever it was she wanted to give him.

Spike knew what he wanted to give her right then, and with her ass pushed out like it was, it would be so easy, but still he refrained from making an advance, even when every fibre of his body screamed at him to say something, to get up and touch her, to get a handful of that firm plot...

His blissful dreams were broken by a huff from Fluttershy. "Nope, not in there... Maybe I put it in the bottom?" With that, she closed the top drawer and opened the bottom section, dipping her head inside and rummaging around, this time with her ass pushed up even higher and in full, perfect view as she searched, her tail finally making way to expose her gorgeous little pussy, a sweet little slit, and a tight, puckered asshole, both begging him to come forwards and test them out.

If Spike had any hope of going through this meeting without a hard-on, it was gone now, and he found himself scrambling for a cushion as he felt his stiffness poking through, plopping it on his lap and doing his best to hide his cock, even as he felt it trying to bat away the soft fabric and expose itself. Spike was a simple dragon: he saw his best friend's pussy, he got hard. No amount of mental conditioning was going to change that.

Through his short period of hell, Spike couldn't help but wonder whether Fluttershy realised what she was doing, whether this was all intentional. He had lived with a mare for his entire life, and while he didn't go looking, he had never seen Twilight make that slip up with her tail, yet here Fluttershy was, exposing everything to him. It had to be a mistake, right? There was no way she wanted him to see her like that, was there?

If she did, she didn't realise what she was getting into, surely. Spike knew he was dangerous, he knew that Fluttershy wouldn't be able to take him, nopony would. Fluttershy might have been good with animals, sure, but Spike was no animal when he let himself out of his cage, he was a monster. He thought that with time, he could be the dragon he imagined himself as when he was young, strong, buff, knightly and fearless, but he had to resist, even when he saw something that he knew he wanted.

He wanted her right now, so so badly, he did, and with every second that passed, he felt his will to sit there and do nothing being sapped away by her small movements, her gyrations as she shifted around, the way her ass shook from the slightest movement as she shifted her hind legs in place... Maybe just a little feel wouldn't hurt, he could say he stumbled, or something. Anything to get just a grasp of that ass, and whatever happened afterwards, well, happened.

He didn't even notice the cushion slipping from his arousal as he felt himself beginning to rise from the chair, his breath becoming more and more laboured as he imagined holding her down with her head inside, making her unable to even see as he fucked her senseless. He didn't care if she was doing it on purpose anymore, he just wanted to fuck, and that was what he was going to do. Spike wanted to fuck her. Spike want—

"Aha!" Fluttershy announced, springing from the cabinet and turning to face Spike, who instantly collapsed back onto the sofa, scrambling for the cushion.

He placed it straight back on his lap, but considering Fluttershy didn't run a mile, he assumed she didn't notice what he was hiding. Still, her announcement perturbed him, and he could feel sweat building as she looked over at him. "...Aha?"

"I found it!" she announced, and all at once Spike remembered that she was, in fact, looking for something, not intentionally giving him a show of her body. At least, he was fairly certain that was the case.

Ever so slowly, gracefully walking over to him, she held on the tip of her wing two small string bracelets, each large enough to fit around a hoof, or in Spike's case, a forearm. Standing directly before him, Fluttershy raised one on the edge of her wings so he could see it more clearly. The first thing he noticed was the colours, pink, yellow, purple, and green, all mixed together, recurring over and over throughout the band in a repeating pattern. "Rarity thought the combination was utterly garish, like something you'd see at a rave, but I instantly thought of your colours, and, well, mine. What do you think?"

Spike was flabbergasted. Between Fluttershy's generosity and his situation downstairs, he didn't know where to look or what to say, and in the vice grip of his thoughts, settled on saying nothing, only sitting with a dumb smile. Apparently, Fluttershy took this as an invitation and promptly climbed onto the seat beside him, planting her posterior firmly on the cushion, wiggling a little as she raised one of Spike's forearms with a hoof.

If his cock had been restless before, it was now screaming for release. Between the relatively thin surface of the cushion and him was Fluttershy's squirming ass as she struggled to place the band on Spike with a pair of hooves, leaning into him and brushing a fluffy wing against his side as she breathed a contented hum. Everything about her was musical, from her mien to her breath to her movements to her voice, and she brought it all to bare with immeasurable sexiness, making him want to grab her by the mane, pull her forwards and unleash his still growing cock. Surely she could feel it by now, but she still made no comment on it, as if she didn't even realise there was anything there.

Finally, after what felt like decades of shifting, 'hmm'ing, and wrestling with the small band, she managed to get the band past his claws, moving it down his forearm with slow, tingling strokes until it sat firmly about a quarter of the way down. "There," she smirked, shifting a little to face him, still sat on his lap. "Now, do me?"

She didn't really just say that, did she? Spike must have misheard. But still, with her sat like she was, and his engorged prick struggling not to burst out from under her, there was a chance she had, and she had just been really nonchalant about it up until now? Spike was about to break through his confusion and ask when he noticed her jostling another identical band on the tip of her wing and realised what she had actually meant, struggling not to facepalm from the discovery. "Oh, yeah, o-of course," he panted, trying not to draw attention to the wonders the friction was working on him.

He reached out to grab the band but fumbled as it was barely in reach, getting a clawful of Fluttershy's primary feathers instead, evoking a sharp gasp. "Careful, Spike!" she giggled, fluffing her feathers and wriggling her body a little, "I'm sensitive there."

Oh jeez, he had completely forgotten that wings were erogenous zones. The last thing he needed to do right now was turn her on. At least, he was pretty sure that was the last thing he needed to do. Any other dragon would probably be jumping at the opportunity. Nevertheless, he reminded himself just why he was avoiding anything like that, just what he stood to lose from doing something so stupid, and once more grabbed at the band, which was now further out of his reach.

He had to press his chest against Fluttershy's to make the distance, holding another hand around her to stop her from falling off the chair, and as their bodies connected she seemed to inhale deeply, but this time he was victorious, grabbing the band in one smooth motion and reclining into the chair. Fluttershy's expression seemed more muted this time than it had been, and Spike wondered if she was disappointed with how easily he had managed to retrieve it. Unsure if the silence was awkward, he took the band and began to slide it onto Fluttershy's forehoof, being sure to be gentle but distinctly noticing the soft fur being dragged up her hoof with the band and flinging back the further it travelled.

It took a moment for Spike to realise that unlike his arms, which expanded the further the band went up them, Fluttershy's leg was the same width almost all of the way, and by now he had slid the band nearly halfway up, brushing his claws against her leg the entire way with the softest and gentlest of motions, being careful not to hurt her. Fluttershy hadn't said a word, and Spike began to worry that he had taken it too far up, or worse, that he looked like he was looking for an excuse to touch her. Halting in his motions—and swiftly being met with a small pout—he looked at her. "How far up did you want this? I don't know what I'm doing here."

Fluttershy glanced at her forehoof, finding the band sitting halfway, and moved it down until it sat closer to her hoof. "I think it looks nice there, what do you think?"

"Uhh, yeah! It looks great!" Spike stammered, trying to look everywhere but at Fluttershy as she shifted her hoof about, trying to catch the light as if she was trying on a new ring. "Definitely, uhh, complements your colour scheme!" Spike almost bit his tongue after that one, it had to be the most pathetic compliment he had ever given.

Luckily for him, Fluttershy didn't seem to agree, as her expression only became more joyous. "You really think so?" She said, lips parted as if it was some great shock to her.

"Well, of course!" Spike laughed, happy to feel back on his feet for once, "I mean, you are yellow and pink, after all, and at least half of this bracelet is the same, so—"

"And the other half is purple and green, just like you!" Fluttershy pounced forwards, embracing Spike once more. "Oh, it's perfect, isn't it, Spike?"

More fluff, more feathers, more curvy ass rubbing against Spike... He could barely take it; if she didn't get off of him soon, he wouldn't be responsible for his actions. "Pretty perfect..." he repeated, his mind anywhere but on the bracelets.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Spike, you must feel smothered," Fluttershy gasped, jumping up and flapping her wings once, landing on the sofa opposite him. "I've just been excited to see you for so long, I think I got a little carried away. Still, do you like your little present? I know it isn't much, but I thought it'd be a nice way to remember each other when we're all busy and stressed."

Spike felt like blurting out that there was no way he was forgetting Fluttershy, as she was on the forefront of his mind almost every day, but he still possessed half an ounce of sense beneath his near-desperate need, so he refrained. Mustering every last bit of self-control he still had and harnessing it, he made one last attempt at level-headed civility. "I think it's a lovely gesture, Fluttershy, and I'm really grateful. I'll definitely wear it often from now on. Thanks so much."

"It's honestly nothing," Fluttershy said, briefly shaking her head and relaxing into her seat, spreading her hind legs as her tail covered anything Spike might have wanted to see again. "I just saw it sitting there, being unloved, and I had to have it. You understand what I'm saying?"

Spike could feel his eyes affixed to the space between Fluttershy's legs. "I know exactly what you're saying."

"See, this is why I like you, Spike," Fluttershy said, her head tilted as if she was sizing him up. "You always understand what ponies think, it's pretty uncanny, really. Kind of like that bracelet I found, huh?" All through her speech, her whole body seemed to be buzzing with happiness, and her tail flounced from side to side where it was trapped beneath her spread legs, but Spike kept staring out of the corner of his eye regardless.

He wanted to shout at himself, tell himself to stop staring, go home, jerk off, and forget all about this, but something in Fluttershy's actions was so direct, so obvious that if it was anyone but the timid mare he knew he would have swore she was coming on to him. He knew it still might be the case, but there was that doubt in the back of his mind, that strong, very real possibility that she wasn't, and that even if she was, no good could come of it anyway, but none of that detracted from the cute little tail swinging like a clock before him, draped off the edge of the sofa as Fluttershy looked at him as if to say 'my eyes are up here'.

Spike couldn't take it anymore, he needed to leave. Turning and being sure not to face her directly—so as not to expose himself—he made a beeline for the door. "Anyways, Fluttershy, this has been great, but I really should be getting back to Twilight!" he said as he made his way, and try as he might, the panic and adrenaline inside made its way into his voice.

"Oh, that's alright," Fluttershy smiled, stepping over to let him out, and again Spike found himself twisting uncomfortably to make sure that she in no way got a peek at his groin. "But unless you've got any plans to take a train over to Thorax's place tomorrow, I would love to have lunch with you, maybe catch up a little more thoroughly." she pronounced this with a short bat of her eyelids. "Would you be up for coming over at three?" suddenly, a small flinch, as if she felt she had overstepped the mark. "...If that's alright with you, of course."

Spike could swear she had only put it on for effect, but it didn't stop the way it made his heart melt. "I-I'll see what I can do, but I've really gotta get going now. Thanks for the gift though, Fluttershy! I'll try and be back around soon, no matter what!" With that, he all but sprinted through the door and kept the momentum all the way back to the castle. By the time he arrived, he was panting, and after depositing the carrots on the kitchen table, he went straight up to his room, avoiding Twilight and especially Starlight, for fear that he'd fuck the latter into a coma if she—or any other mare—came too close.
As for Fluttershy? If he hadn't left when he did, she would have been walking funny for the next month. He was so close to letting go, to grabbing her and pumping her full of cum, but he had just barely managed to hold on, all in the name of preserving their friendship, of keeping himself sane.

Spike looked around his room and found it to be spartan, much like the castle had been when they first moved in. He had a modest amount of furniture, but little in the way of collectibles. All of it was an effort to keep him from giving in to his instincts, and right then his instincts were telling him to run back to Fluttershy's and fill her up, but he knew he couldn't just go and do that. One thing was certain, however, the urge had never been this bad, so difficult to control that he literally had to run away, and he couldn't deal with that forever.

Still, looking back on it, her body had been so perfect, and everything had been put forward and displayed in front of him, a stunning view that he couldn't get out of his head, even if it was paltry in comparison to the real thing, something he had imagined for so long but only finally witnessed today. She really might have been doing it on purpose, sitting on his lap, rubbing her ass against his hard cock, softly rubbing at his arm with her hooves as she 'struggled' to get the band on, giving him a show...

If Spike didn't have some time to himself right now, he might have been driven wild by lust with no outlet. He was very grateful for the soundproofing spells around the castle, he knew he was going to need them tonight. Above all, he needed to do something about Fluttershy, though. The bracelet on his wrist only served to remind him that there was unresolved tension there, and he had an invitation to her house tomorrow to try and work something out.

Maybe he should talk to Twilight first, lay his worries bare—or as bare as he could without completely embarrassing himself—and see what she suggested, or maybe he should just take the matter in his own hands and see what happens. After all, he got himself into this mess, spending all that time thinking, all that time staring, it was only right that he thought up a solution.

The solution might have been to simply talk to her about it. It was a scary idea, and he knew he would have to pick his words carefully, but if he was lucky, he could outline for good whether or not she was actually attracted to him, and if she was, work out a way of telling her that there was absolutely no way that he was good news for her.

Failing that, he didn't know what he could do. Still, his patience with rational thought was beginning to grow thin, so he concluded to beat off over Fluttershy's ass and call it a night. He wasn't sure what would come tomorrow, but with hope, it would at least bring them some clarity, and with any luck, a happy ending.