As I reached the farm I spotted Spike chatting with the yellow filly about something or another as he sat on a fence rocking his stubby legs back and forth.

From what I picked up on the conversation, it was apparent that the filly had been curious about dragons, and Spike was all too eager to tell her everything he knew... about himself.

I smiled and chuckled at the thought.

It was nice to see that Spike was back to his old self—happy, proud, and confident in his own abilities.

I knew I was trying to work out just what the hay was going on with me, but I hadn't fully considered how it was affecting Spike until recently.

Well... I planned to change that.

My laughter seemed to have caught the attention of both the little dragon and the little filly. They both looked up, Apple Bloom looking somewhat disappointed and Spike looking somewhat anxious.

"It looks like Miss Twilight is back," Apple Bloom muttered, looking back to Spike with a pout, "ah guess that means ya gotta go now."

"Yeah, probably," Spike replied with a nod and a sigh. He hopped off the fence and gave the filly a friendly smile, "well, it was nice talking to you anyway, Apple Bloom."

"Yer gonna come back an' visit, right?" Apple Bloom asked, tilting her head with a slight frown, "I wanna hear more about that dragon fire of yours, sounds mighty useful."

"We'll make some time to come back before we leave," I interjected as I trotted over to the two with a friendly smile of my own, "but we're behind schedule as it is right now."

"Oh... a-alright then," Apple Bloom replied, taking a step back and looking from me to Spike, "well... ah guess ah'll see ya later then... maybe during the Summer Sun Festival?"

Spike looked back to me with a questioning frown, to which I chuckled and shook my head in return before looking over at a hopeful Apple Bloom.

"We'll both see you there, Apple Bloom," I replied, much to Apple Bloom's delight, "I did come here to make sure everything went smoothly after all."

"Great!" Apple Bloom cried happily, hopping over to Spike and pulling him into a quick probably-too-tight hug, "ah can't wait!"

"Yeah... me neither," Spike wheezed, "can't breathe... Apple Bloom..."

"Oh!" Apple Bloom pulled away, her face turning red as she chuckled sheepishly, "ah... sorry 'bout that."

Pulling my attention away from them for a moment, I looked around the farm and frowned in bemusement.

"Hey, Apple Bloom," I asked, turning back to the yellow filly, "have you seen your sister anywhere? I wanted to tell her we were leaving."

"AJ's helpin' the rest of the family set up fer the festival, she told me ta make sure ya knew where ta find us when ya came back, so we waited here fer ya."

"Ah... okay then," I replied with an understanding nod, "well, tell Applejack I said thanks for all the food, and that it was a pleasure to meet her and the rest of her family."

"Will do!" Apple Bloom replied with a mock salute, "see ya'll at the festival!"

With that, and a wave goodbye, she took off further into the farm. Spike and I watched her go for a moment before the baby dragon spoke again, turning to me and shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"So... are you... okay?" he asked haltingly, "I mean, did the walk help at all?"

"You have no idea, Spike," I replied with a reassuring smile, "I feel a lot better, and..."

My smile fell a bit, becoming slightly guilty.

"...I'm sorry for acting so strange, Spike. I don't really know how to explain it, but... I haven't been feeling like myself lately and I hadn't given too much thought about how it was affecting you."

"No it's... it's fine, Twilight," Spike replied, his expression also somewhat guilty, "it's not like you haven't acted weird in the past, and I should be used to it by now. It's just..."

Spike sighed and shook his head before giving me a tired smile.

"You know what? Don't worry about it," he said with a dismissive wave of his claw, "if you're feeling better, that's all I care about."

"Thanks, Spike," I replied gratefully. I pulled out the scroll containing the events and looked it over a moment before turning back to Spike, "now what do you say we go see this 'Rarity' mare?"

Spike nodded with a relieved smile and together we left the Apple Family farm and headed back to Ponyville.

As we made our way back into town, I got a few more nervous glances thrown my way, but I ignored them this time. Instead I used the opportunity to talk to Spike about one random thing or another.

We talked all the way to Town Hall and I began to feel more and more like myself with the conversation. By the time Spike and I actually entered the Hall, we were both laughing like idiots at a particularly funny memory involving Shiny.

Spike didn't seem nervous around me anymore, and I contributed that in large part due to my change in attitude. I also felt a lot more comfortable now that I had gotten an ample amount of interaction done with other ponies.

"...yeah no kidding!" Spike was saying, still chuckling, "remember how long it took the big guy to..."

Spike trailed off and slowed to a stop just inside the Hall, his stunned gaze locked on something ahead. I raised an eyebrow and turned to see the back of a white unicorn mare with a curly violet tail.

The mare muttered to herself, fretting over decorations as she moved about the large room. I watched her for a moment before looking back over to Spike, who was now giving the mare an odd look.

I had no idea what it meant.

"Spike?" I asked, leaning down and waving a hoof in front of his face, "you okay? Spike?"

"She's beautiful..."

Both my brows shot up at the dreamy tone in the drake's voice and I looked back over to the mare. She had finally turned enough to see her face, and that's when it hit me.

Spike was enamored with the mare.

It took me a moment to realize this, and I felt like the only reason I even knew that was because I had read about the difference between 'true love' and 'having a crush' in a book at some point.

I had never experienced either—at least, not that I could remember.

I cast Spike one more side glance before snorting in amusement and making my way over to greet the mare.

"Hello!" I called out jovially, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," I trotted up next to her with a slightly apologetic smile, "my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm here to—"

"Upupup! Not another word, darling," the mare interjected, waving a dismissive hoof in my face, "terribly sorry for the rudeness, but I'm in the middle of something positively vital to the success of this celebration."

"And... er... what is that?" I asked, completely caught off guard, "i-if you don't mind me asking? I heard there was supposed to be a pony here by the name of Rarity who—"

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, dear," the mare—apparently Rarity—replied distractedly, "now if you'll give me a moment, I simply must switch out these dreadful banners for something a little more..."

Her words died down into contemplative mutterings as she trotted away to inspect more decorations. I furrowed my brow and reluctantly made my way back over to where Spike still stood, my eyes remaining on the busy mare.

Spike, it seemed, hadn't once taken his eyes off of Rarity since we had entered Town Hall.

"Isn't she perfect, Twi?" he asked with a dumb grin, "so focused, so driven, so passionate, she's... well... perfect!"

I gave Spike a flat look and was about to retort when Rarity's voice suddenly rang out.

"Absolutely stunning!"

I looked back over to Rarity to see her taking a few steps back and scanning the room. A wide, satisfied smile broke out across her face as she admired her work.

"Oh, Rarity, you've simply outdone yourself this time," the eloquent mare said to herself with a nod, "why I doubt even the Princess could do better herself!"

I couldn't help but smile at Rarity's enthusiasm, and I giggled as I trotted over to finally get the mare's attention.

"It really does look amazing," I added, looking over the colorful banners and streamers lining the room, "you've done some very good work here, Rarity."

"Well I should think so," Rarity replied with a huff, "I do seem to have an eye for detail, and I'd simply be remiss as a designer if I didn't put that eye to good use... now then," she finally turned to look at me with a pleasant smile, "I hope you can forgive my—"

She yelped and stumbled backwards.

I winced and flattened my ears.

A strange sensation overwhelmed me for a moment. It was a familiar feeling, something I had felt not too long ago... and somehow I knew that if I gave into that strange sensation, something bad would happen.

I grit my teeth and tried to push the sensation back.

With a bit of effort, the feeling passed and I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked back up towards Rarity, ready to apologize, but my words froze into ice that shot through my veins.

That look.

Never had I been given a look like the one Rarity wore as she stared at me. It was one of such pure, unbridled fear that it made my heart stop dead in my own chest. It was more than just the fear, beneath it I saw something else in her eyes.

There was confusion.

There was... anticipation.

There was... longing?

Time seemed to stop for the two of us as we stared at each other. Her look of utter horror no doubt matched my own, but I had no idea why I was horrified.

Maybe it was due to her reaction, maybe it was something else... I didn't know. All I knew was that I had to leave, or something really, really bad was going to happen.

The sensation was coming back with a vengeance. It was all I could do to speak, the strain becoming too much to bear.

"S-Spike... we need to go," I said shakily, backing away from the still frozen mare before me, "we need to go... now."

"What? Why?" Spike asked in both bewilderment and disappointment, apparently oblivious to the crushing tension in the room, "Twilight, what's wrong? Why's Rarity acting like that? What happened?"

"Spike, please," I pleaded, shaking my head as I continued to maintain eye contact with, Rarity, "I don't know what's going on, but... you... need... to... leave... is that... understood... Spike?"

I turned to the dragon, waiting for him to obey my command. It took a moment, but his eyes glazed over and a look of understanding crossed his face.

He nodded slowly before promptly turning around and making his way out of Town Hall without a word. With the dragon out of the way I turned back to the shivering mare before me.

"W-What's... what's going on?" she asked, trembling like a leaf, "w-who on Equus are you? A-And why do I... d-do I... I don't..."

I don't know how long it took me to close the distance between myself and Rarity, but before I knew it, I had pressed a hoof to Rarity's lips, shushing the mare gently.

"It's okay, Rarity... you don't know me... and I don't know you... but I want us to be friends, and I think I know the perfect way to accomplish this little endeavor..."

I smiled and dragged my hoof across her face and down to her neck. The snow white mare did nothing more than shiver and stutter, unable to break away from my gaze. As I stared into those teary eyes, I could see it.

She knew what was about to happen.

I knew what was about to happen.

Things were going to be different between the two of us, and Rarity's life would change forever... but that was okay. There would be others—more friends to make, more ponies to communicate with, and when all was said and done... that's all that mattered in the end.

Friendship.

I let out a contented sigh as I heard the tell-tale snap, signaling the end of one life and the start of another.

Rarity fell over, her head twisted in a very unnatural position. I almost laughed at how ridiculous she looked, staring up at me with those milky white eyes.

I held back however, after all, there was more to be done.

Leaning over the body, I brushed my lips past one of her ears and smiled one last time before opening my mouth to speak—my voice coming out in a soft whisper.

It's time to wake up, Rarity.

The reaction was instant.

Her body jerked once and, with another snap, her head properly realigned itself. Her body jerked again before going still.

I straightened up and backed away a step, smiling as I waited for what came next. A moment of complete silence passed, and eventually Rarity shifted.

The mare began to rise with a sort of slow methodical grace, and it wasn't long until she stood tall once more, looking almost regal in her stance.

"Welcome back, Rarity," I greeted with a warm smile, "how do you feel? Are you okay?"

Rarity groaned and cracked her neck a few times before looking back at me—her eyes two swirling black pools and her smile almost beatific.

I found the sight rather striking... it was a good look for her.

She took a moment to answer, taking in her surroundings and nodding in satisfaction. She made her way over to me and once she got close, she pulled me into a brief hug before holding me at legs length, her smile widening slightly.

"I've never felt better than I do now, darling."

Author's Notes:

It begins...