The following week, in the staff locker room, Pinkie Pie was staring intently at her cell phone when Spike asked her what she was watching. It was a music video of a beautiful woman with long eyelashes and a long, white ponytail that brushed the ground with every step she took. She was dressed in leather and her face was hidden behind a veil.

“Time for the spectacle. Time for the show. The lights are bright and the colors glow. I’m not just anybody, I think you know. The time is now, it’s about to BLOOOWWW!!! Razzle dazzle, glitz and glam! Turn it all up! It’s a spectacle! Razzle dazzle, glitz and glam! Turn it all up! It’s a spectacle! Give me more razzle dazzle! Glitter eyes, big surprise, lights, cameras...!”

The woman in the video jerked her body around as her auto tune kicked in.

“Razzle dazzle, glitz and glam! Turn it all up, it’s a spectacle! Hear the applause, here to impress... not just somebody, I am the Countess!!”

“Countess Coloratura just happens to be one of Equestria’s greatest entertainers,” Pinkie said. “You have no idea the effect she has on people.”

“You seem to know a lot about her,” Spike assumed.

“She was born just outside of Manehattan in 1986, she owns ten dogs and seven horses, and she loves doing charities for children,” Pinkie replied.

Spike knew a bit about the Countess, too. She had caused a cultural riot across Equestria. People would lose control of their bodily functions when she was on stage, and every one of her music videos had over three hundred million views online. Needless to say, she was a big deal.

“By the way, I found my other roller-skate,” Pinkie told him. “So you can disregard the text I sent you last night. You’ll never guess where I found it.”

“And I never will,” Spike stated.

“It was in my bubble bath,” she shared with a smile.

After they finished changing into their uniforms, Discord came in, dressed in long flowing white robes. He carried two stone tablets in one hand and a big wooden staff in the other.

“Who does he think he is?” Spike whispered. “One of the prophets?”

“Listen up, slackers!” Discord began. “Today, your work lives change!”

“We’re all getting raises?” Zephyr Breeze asked.

“New uniforms?” asked Rarity.

“A new boss?” Rainbow Dash smart-mouthed.

“Wrong, wrong, and infinitely wrong!!” Discord yelled. “Now, before I go on, I have a special announcement. Pinkie Pie here is a true hero. She threw herself in the line of fire to save the Prince of Yakyakistan from a slow and painful death.”

“I just stopped him from eating a yogurt parfait,” Pinkie said modestly.

“A parfait that was made with yogurt two-weeks expired -- potentially lethal!” Discord shouted. “In recognition of this deed, I will now remove Pinkie’s one strike from her employee record. Bow your head, strike-burdened one!”

“Oh for the love of--” Rainbow Dash started.

“Silence is mandatory at all strike-removal ceremonies!” Discord shouted. “Foul dark mark on this woman’s record, come out!!”

“Dork,” Spike coughed into his hand.

“Silence!” Discord commanded. “Arise, Pinkie Diane Pie! You are clean!”

The rest of them gave a half-hearted round of applause.

“Now, the important announcements,” Discord said. “One, employee breaks will now be timed by the second, not the minute. Two, I’m instituting a strict, new ‘all buttons to be done up’ policy on employee shirts.”

Soarin and Zephyr Breeze grumbled.

“Three, talking out of turn is a strike. That includes, and is not limited to, grumbling, sighing, and girlish shrieking!” Discord went on. “And finally, for the unimportant announcements, some woman is coming to perform at the hotel Friday night. I think her stage name is Countess Coloratura.”

They all gasped.

“Countess Coloratura?” Pinkie asked.

“The Countess Coloratura?” Fluttershy added.

“The famous singer?” Rarity inquired.

“The famous pop star?” added Rainbow Dash.

“The famous pop star singer?” Zephyr reiterated.

“Seriously?” Applejack finished.

Discord nodded.

“As you all know, entertainment is crucial to the success of a resort,” he told them. “So, we are putting on a performance extravaganza. A talent contest, if you will. You all have the opportunity to compete with all original talents. That means no juggling, no comedy routines, and no party cannons!”

Discord was eyeballing Pinkie in particular as he said that, and her hair slightly deflated.

“There better be something good for the winner,” Spike put in, “otherwise, what’s the point?”

“The prize is a four-day weekend and a chance to sing with the Countess onstage for the grand finale,” Discord said flatly. “But until then, all employees will maintain V.I.P. distance from the Countess. That means no coming within 20 feet of her unless it involves room service!”

“Don’t worry,” Spike told Discord. “I won’t come within 20 feet of her.”

“Not unless I want to be in the middle of an Applejack-Coloratura sandwich,” he added in thought. “But what are the odds of that happening?”

“Good,” Discord said. “Now, as for the rest of you strike-ridden losers, be more like Spike and Pinkie and get to work!”

They complied.

“Hey, Applejack,”

“Yeah, Spike?” she replied.

“I know you’re free this afternoon, so would you like to have lunch with me?” he asked as he pulled out a shiny silver dollar. “Loser of the coin toss pays. If it’s heads, it’s me. And if it’s tails, it’ll be you. What do you say?”

“Okay,” she said.

Spike tossed the coin and caught it in his hand.

“Come on. Please,” AJ thought. “Heads, heads, heads, heads, heads!”

“It’s heads,” he said. “Looks like you win. Lunch is on me.”

And they exited the locker room arm in arm while Discord (accompanied by Twilight) followed the Dazzlings into the Midnight Lounge.

“Ladies, I need to talk to you,” he said. “I know you’re exempt from the talent contest this week, but there’s nothing in the rules that says you can’t act as somebody’s backup if said someone were to, oh, I don’t know, sing--”

“Discord, we know where you’re going with this,” Adagio began.

“And we would be happy to help you out,” Sonata added.

“But Iron Will asked us first,” Aria finished.

“What?!” Discord exclaimed.

And speaking of Iron Will, the aggressive motivational speaker entered the Lounge with a big grin on his face.

“I didn’t know about the contest until this morning,” he said.

“The Tartarus you didn’t!” Discord shouted. “That’s it! I challenge you to a song throw down -- my performance versus yours!”

Iron Will laughed. “You had me worried for a moment. Then I remembered you can’t sing!”

“I’m going to win!” Discord promised.

“Win?” Twilight asked. “What makes you so sure you’re going to win? I’m in the contest, too!”

“Go ahead. Try to win. I don’t care,” Discord replied.

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do!” she shouted.

“Well, that’s fine,”

“Okay, the winner, if he wins, gets to sing with Countess Coloratura,” Iron Will said, “and the loser has to perform the dreaded Funky Chicken Dance!”

The Dazzlings gasped.

“The Funky Chicken, the witless oom-pah played at almost every wedding?” Adagio asked.

“Well what do you say, Discord?” Iron Will taunted. “Are you chicken?”

“You are going down!” Discord stated.

And the two men shook hands on it.

Fluttershy telling the other girls that she saw Spike and Applejack kissing in the garden the other night was just as much of a bad thing as it was a good thing. Spike and AJ would have told them eventually, but they wanted to be the ones to do it. That’s why they sat in the Sweet Snacks Café that afternoon, talking about their relationship.

“And now that we’re dating, I will try to stop getting heat from other women,” Spike told Applejack.

Pinkie roller-skated over with their food.

“Here you go, lovebirds,” she said. “Double bacon cheeseburger and a double chocolate milkshake for the lady,” she told Applejack, “and for you, sweetie,” she said to Spike, “a triple bacon cheeseburger and a triple chocolate shake with three scoops. I asked the chef to make it a triple because I know how you love everything three times.”

“You are not wrong!” Spike replied. “Thank, Pinkie.”

Applejack gave Spike a curious look as Pinkie winked at him and roller-skated away.

“I can’t turn it off!” he told AJ.

It was a sad truth—Spike could not turn off his swagger button.

At one of the nearby tables, Midnight Radiance asked, “Is it just me or are Spike and Applejack trying to set a new Public Display of Affection record?”

“Trust me, it’s not just you,” Sassy Saddles replied.

Spike chuckled as he said, “Oh, you have got the most adorable little chocolate mustache. No, don’t clean it off. I’ll do that for you.”

He licked AJ’s lips clean and they kissed again.

Twilight, who was sitting at a table on the far side of the Café, gagged.

“Oh, barf,” she said as she heard Applejack giggle into the kiss. “Every day for the past week...”

“Oh. You’re here. Clearly the bullet train to and from Tartarus is back up and running,” Spike retorted.

That’s when he saw to familiar faces enter the Café.

It was Indigo Zap and Diamond Tiara!

And Indigo was carrying a cake box.

“We come bearing gifts,” she said as she opened the lid.

Pinkie Pie gasped. “That’s a quintuple chocolate peanut butter Bundt cake!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t think they really existed!”

“Is this your plan now?” Sunset Shimmer (who was working as hostess in the Café that day) asked. “Kiss up to Spike so you can find some dirt on him and get your place at the table back? Kind of pathetic.”

“No, of course not,” Diamond Tiara replied. “We’re just here to make amends with a peace offering, I swear!”

Spike, Applejack and Sunset all gave them unconvinced looks.

“Okay, fine, you got us,” Indigo said. “We might as well cut the crap. This time, we’ll tell you everything.”

She and Diamond Tiara each pulled up a chair, sat down, and started talking.

“My father is a stern and practical man,” Diamond Tiara said. “When we came to Las Pegasus, he told me to develop some connections. That’s the whole reason I came here. If I can’t do that, then my grandmother will disown him!”

A bit of a discrepancy there between Filthy and Spoiled Rich. Had it been her (the wife and Diamond Tiara’s mother, or the husband and her father) who had undergone the Jekyll-to-Hyde transformation that had scuttled the marriage... and the family unity?

Then Indigo told Spike about Garble’s attempted power play the other night. Such a move indicated that Impossibly Rich’s employees were turning on each other in light of their recent losses.

“Spike, is it true that you’re trying to become the Mayor of Las Pegasus?” Indigo asked at last.

Everyone in the Café within ten feet of their table gasped.

“That’s the rumor that’s going around the city,” Indigo explained. “The people, all kinds, especially the casino employees, are all hoping that it’s true. They think that because you’re still one of them, one of us, even though you won against Diamond Tiara—that you’re choosing to stay a dealer—is because you want to challenge Impossibly Rich to a Gate Battle and not only take her down, but win her Gate cards and empire as your prize... and take yourself even further!”

“I don’t know if it’s true, but if there’s even a chance that it is, there’s only one path for us to take,” Diamond Tiara added. “Indigo, Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet, Sunny Flare, Lemon Zest, and I will help you end my grandmother’s tyranny... and then hope that you will let us join you. I swear we will do whatever it takes to make that happen! And that’s the truth! I promise, no matter what you might believe! That’s all. I can only hope that you will let me and my friends join you...”

“Why are you telling us all of this?” Spike asked.

He knew that Diamond Tiara and Indigo Zap were both miserable living under Impossibly Rich’s thumb. The lifestyles were great, but without friends to share them with, it all meant nothing. Spike helped them to see that.

“That’s it!” he thought. “That’s why they’re doing this! I helped save them from that Tartarus! Now, they believe it’s their turn to help me!”

Spike was right, but Applejack knew another truth: Spike gambled because he wanted to see justice served each time he won.

They didn’t know when it happened, but at some point the whole city started to revolve around Spike.

“I don’t know how my grandmother got her hands on all of those Gates, but I can tell you she didn’t earn them herself,” Diamond Tiara went on. “I’m not even sure what she’s thinking anymore. Nothing she told me really made much sense.”

“Like what?” Sunset inquired.

“She just said that I had to challenge Spike and win. She also said that once she has every Gate, she’ll see a rainbow,” Diamond Tiara recalled. “I don’t care about anything she says anymore... I’m useless to her now that I’ve lost.”

“We thought we’d gain our freedom if we did what she said,” Indigo added. “I’m such an idiot.”

“We were both idiots,” Diamond Tiara corrected her.

They both flushed and tears started to form in their eyes as they spoke.

“We’ve both made mistakes,” Diamond Tiara admitted. “Spike, we’re begging you. Please, let us help you. There’s no other way!”

“Huh?” Sunset and Applejack replied.

“Didn’t you hear her?” Indigo sobbed. “We’re begging!”

The tears began to stream down her cheeks.

“I’ll even throw in my virginity!” Diamond Tiara pleaded.

“Damn!” Spike thought.

He took their hands in his and said, “Of course, you’re more than welcome! I don’t know about becoming Mayor of Las Pegasus, but we shared a special time together, and you put your trust in me... that’s enough to make us friends, right?”

Indigo and Diamond Tiara gasped and blushed harder.

“Thank you,” Indigo said.

“Has he always had such a strong sense of justice?” Diamond Tiara thought. “I love it!”

At her table across the room, Twilight had a piece of chicken in her mouth, and when she drew in to take a breath, she pulled it down her throat.

She gagged again. Then she began to claw her neck.

“Oh, my Faust, she’s choking!” Diamond Tiara cried.

“Do you know the Heimlich Maneuver?” Indigo asked Spike.

“Yes...” he sighed indifferently.

Just as Twilight’s face started turning the same shade of purple as her dealer’s uniform, Spike positioned his fists against the bony arch of her midsection where her ribs came together. After three hard jabbing attempts, Twilight coughed up the chicken and it popped out of her mouth like the cork from a Champagne bottle. It flew nearly four feet, then she passed out, face down, in her salad.

“I’m not doing it,” Spike thought. “And I’ll be damned if I do!”

But, sure enough, Sunset asked him, “Do you know mouth-to-mouth?”

“This is not my day,” Spike thought.

Spike pulled Twilight’s head back, out of the lettuce. Her mouth hung open, arms at her sides. He stared down at her for a moment. Then he pressed his mouth against hers.

It wasn’t as bad as Spike feared; it was worse. Her lips were bitter with the taste of chicken, and there was a stink of something else in her mouth—Spike recognized it as the hard boiled eggs she’d had for breakfast. He got a good seal though, pinched her nostrils shut, and breathed down her throat. He did that six times before she started breathing on her own again. Tartarus must have been full that day, was all Spike could figure.

Spike wasn’t aware that he and Twilight were hemmed in by a growing circle of people, and Spike certainly wasn’t aware that he was being photographed no less than a dozen times while his mouth was still on Twilight’s, including a shot by Photo Finish that would wind up on the front page of the Las Pegasus Journal a few days later. As soon as the paramedics arrived and made sure Twilight would be okay, Spike went to into the nearest washroom and rinsed his mouth again and again. It was a long time before he got rid of the taste of those damn eggs.

The gang spent the next few days getting ready for the talent contest, and on the morning of said contest, Spike sat in the Midnight Lounge, telling his mother and the Dazzlings about how he’d saved Twilight from choking to death.

“So I restored Twilight’s breathing, and... she was fine,” he concluded.

Nobody said anything for five whole seconds.

Then Adagio broke the silence with, “What were you thinking?”

“Heimlich and mouth-to-mouth?” Aria added. “You had two cracks at not helping!”

Then Sunburst and Stellar Flare came in.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Stellar said, “but I just came by to tell you that we are going to be two of the ‘celebrity’ judges for the talent contest tonight.”

“Well, I’d say your second favorite guy is practically a shoo-in,” Sonata said to her.

“Spike? Why do you say that?” Stellar asked. “What happened?”

“He saved Twilight’s life,” Aria replied.

“Why?” Sunburst asked.

“I don’t know,” Spike answered. “The upshot, though, is that Diamond Tiara thought I was quite heroic. I’m taking her out to dinner tomorrow night.”

Adagio spat back into the fruity drink she had been sipping from.

“You mean Filthy Rich’s daughter?” she coughed.

“The very same,” Spike smiled.

“And Applejack’s okay with that, even though you two are going steady?” Sonata asked.

Sonata asked because after his little romp with them during initiation, she and her sisters imagined that Spike had a vigorous love life. And after Fluttershy told them that he and Applejack had started dating, they confronted Applejack about it... and told AJ that she had their support.

Adagio knew that if Spike were her man, she wouldn’t want some footloose single gals swaying around in tight pants, putting moves on him. So she told AJ that she and her sisters would happily back off.

Spike nodded. “Saving Twilight’s life may have been neither here nor there, but rubbing salt into her open wounds is very satisfying.”

The Dazzlings, Sunburst and Stellar Flare smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Well, I am proud of you,” Celestia told her son. “You were in the right place at the right time and you knew exactly what to do.”

Just then, Spike got a text message... from Human Resources.

“Huh. Miss Harshwhinny wants to see me,” he said.

Spike went directly to the H.R. office, gave a courtesy knock, went in and stood before Miss Harshwhinny, who was wearing a bad-news face.

“A sexual harassment complaint!?” Spike shouted. “Against me?!”

Spike quickly ran through the last few days in his mind, trying to think of anything he had done that would account for this, but nothing crossed his mind.

“That is absurd! Who was it?” he demanded.

“Hello, Miss Harshwhinny, sorry I’m late,” said a voice from behind him.

“You!” Spike growled.

“Hello, Mr. Drake,” Twilight acknowledged him as she walked in and sat down. “Harshwhinny, would you mind leaving the door open?” she asked. “I don’t feel safe around the predator. And before we begin, may I say that, according to Paragraph 9, Subsection 4 of the company handbook, as long as there is an open harassment complaint against an employee, they are forbidden from interoffice relations,” she added.

“That is correct,” Miss Harshwhinny said.

Spike tried to not look at Harshwhinny’s frown as she hunted down the sexual harassment forms. It didn’t matter, because Spike knew he had done nothing wrong.

“Okay, let’s get started,” Miss Harshwhinny said. “Miss Sparkle claims you put your lips on hers for no less than 20 seconds.”

“What, no one’s heard of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?” Spike retorted.

“I’m sorry, but I’m legally required to go through this process,” she told him. “She also claims that you came up behind her, put your arms around her, and made several thrusts.”

“He was an animal,” Twilight said.

“You disgust me,” Spike stated.

“Obviously, there’s no basis for complaint here,” Miss Harshwhinny stated. “But clearly, the two of you have a very dysfunctional relationship.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Spike thought.

“In fact, I am going to recommend to the Flimflam Brothers that Miss Sparkle be fired and, if necessary, forcefully removed from these premises,” Miss Harshwhinny concluded.

Twilight’s eyes widened with shock. Then Spike asked, “Could you put that in writing?”

“If you want, I’ll give you a few minutes to discuss,” Harshwhinny said.

“I have no desire to ‘discuss’ anything with her,” Spike answered. “As far as I am concerned, the solution is as you have said: either she goes... or I will go. And speaking of going,” he added, “I hate to cut this short, but if I don’t leave now, I’ll be late for the talent contest.”

“You’re free to go, Mister Drake,” Miss Harshwhinny said. “And I apologize for calling you in the first place.”

She handed him her business card (which had all of her contact information, including her private cell number), and she gave him wink, which went completely unnoticed by Twilight. Spike couldn’t help but smirk; even the woman in charge of H. R. was on his side... and wanted to get into his pants.

Spike nodded to Miss Harshwhinny. And with that, he started for the door. He was almost there when he heard Twilight speak in a whispery voice that was very similar to her ill-tempered muttering. She still refused to look at him. She even turned her body away from him. Spike didn’t know what Twilight was saying, and he never would know what she said, mostly because he didn’t care. Her voice kept fading out midsentence every time she opened her mouth.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of you stroking your ego,” he said. “And if you were a dude, by ‘ego’, I would have also meant, ‘your balls.’ You didn’t even thank me for saving your life. The girls were right, every single one of them. I should have just let you die!”

Spike stormed out of Harshwhinny’s office, slamming the door behind him. His temper cooled when he returned to his suite to find his tuxedo hanging on his bathroom door. It had been dry-cleaned, which was odd because Spike didn’t recall ever having it sent to the cleaners.

“They really know how to treat the high rollers around here,” he thought with a smile. “Well, I guess that’s Las Pegasus. It never stops giving.”

“What’s this?” he asked aloud.

There was something tucked into the chest pocket of the coat. It was a small note with his name on it... and a single ticket to see Countess Coloratura in concert later that year.

“Spike, please wear this tonight. - Rara”

“‘Rara’?” he thought out loud. “Who’s Rara?”

Anytime a celebrity was in the house, it always brought publicity... and Countess Coloratura was no exception. She had been booked in Las Pegasus by her manager, Svengallop, and she more or less went along with what he said. She thought Svengallop was a genius, and he was, in his own right. Svengallop was a very smart businessman, but he knew he needed to expand Coloratura’s appeal as much as possible. He didn’t trust all those teenagers, not even the members of her fan club, to keep coming to see her. The only way he believed Coloratura could make a career was for her to get her established audience to continue to come and see her. Her appeal was obviously her raw sexuality, her beauty, and her ability to not only sing, but to dance as well.

But Las Pegasus was a very different crowd; mostly middle-aged men in suits and tuxedos, and women wearing gorgeous gowns. She was used to young people standing up, she wasn’t used to a crowd sitting at tables, having dinner and drinks. She went from kids screaming to an audience that sat there with their arms folded, so she was very much a fish out of water.

Of course, there will still those crazy fans that would pay anything for a little memento. And Svengallop was dealing with one at that moment.

“Was that Countess Coloratura?” he asked. “I’ll give you ten bucks for the pen she used! Twenty bucks! Fifty bucks!!”

“Sold,” Svengallop said.

After he’d finally managed to get away from them, Svengallop made his way to the Green Room backstage, which had a table fully stocked with twenty glass bottles of water (with straws) imported from Rainbow Falls, floral arrangements from the Royal Gardens in Canterlot, chocolate éclairs made by Gustave le Grand, the hotel’s chef; freshly-picked cherries from Cherry Jubilee’s farm separated red from yellow, and top-of-the-line Appleloosan oats.

Svengallop locked the door behind him and drowned his hands in sanitizer before slamming his fists down on the table.

“I am sick of her smiling for those brats!” he shouted. “It can’t just be concerts. It’s meeting each fan one-on-one, relating to them on a personal level, that’s what makes them die-hard fans! It’s fine,” he said, trying to calm himself. “It’s a small price to pay if it helps me achieve my goal. This is nothing more than a step on the road. What would I be if I couldn’t get through this?”

Suddenly, Svengallop heard a knock at the door.

“I’m coming!” he said.

Svengallop unlocked the door and came face to face with Applejack and Spike. He stepped out to meet them, pulling the door closed behind him as he did.

“I hope we’re not interrupting anything,” Applejack said professionally. “I’m the head of security and we’re just checking to make sure everything was all right. Would it be all right if my associate, Mister Drake, accompanied me in to Countess Coloratura’s dressing room?”

“I don’t see why not,” Svengallop replied.

“Thank you,” Spike said.

Svengallop led them to Coloratura’s dressing room, and as Spike reached for the door knob, Svengallop put himself between Spike and the door.

“Wait! Miss Smith will have to pat you down first,” he said. “I normally wouldn’t ask, but people have tried to set up hidden cameras and bugs in the Countess’s dressing room in the past.”

“Of course,” Spike replied.

He held his arms out and away from his body as Applejack slowly ran her hands up, down, and all around him... taking her time as she did.

Once Svengallop was completely satisfied, he opened the dressing room door for them and they saw the Countess applying her makeup. She looked exactly like she did in the music video, and was totally unconscious of the effect her body was having on Spike. No matter how careful she might be about bowing too low onstage, wearing the décolleté gowns, very aware of the hungry stares of the ringsiders and not liking them; she hadn’t the least idea that Spike’s eyes were hungrier than any of the fifteen-year-old fanboys who were at her concerts. Spike was practiced in hiding his hunger, keeping from saying or doing anything that might let her know and frighten her.

“It’s been a long time, Rara,” Applejack said to her.

“‘Rara’?” Spike echoed.

He remembered the name that was signed to the note inside his tux (which he was currently wearing). Now he knew who paid his dry cleaning bill and sent the ticket.

Coloratura gave a yelp of genuine consternation. “AJ?”

“I’m amazed you remember me,” Applejack replied.

“I remember the names and faces of every one of my fans and my best friend,” Coloratura smiled. “I could never forget you!”

“Wait, you two know each other?” Spike asked.

“We were childhood friends at summer camp,” Coloratura explained. “AJ here was the one who gave me the nickname ‘Rara’. And who are you?”

“I’m Spike Drake. I’ll be the one singing with you after the show,”

“Whoa, let’s not jump the gun on that one!” Applejack said.

“Well, I admire your confidence,” Coloratura told him.

Her smile was warmer than her professionalism called for; it was something a lot more personal, even wistful. Suddenly, Sunset Shimmer appeared in the doorway and knocked on the frame.

“Sound check, Miss Coloratura,” she said.

The Countess nodded as she stepped out of her dressing room and the door swung behind her, but didn’t close all the way.

“It must be stressful managing a pop idol,” Spike said to Svengallop. “How do you do it?”

“I don’t know,” Svengallop replied. “But the why, that’s simple: for the smiles of her fans.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Applejack growled. “The truth is you hate Rara’s fans, especially the kids, don’t you?”

“What are you talking about?” Svengallop replied. “That’s ridiculous!”

“Is it?” Spike asked. “Then what, pray tell, is this?”

He reached into his tuxedo jacket and pulled out a piece of paper that had been torn up... and pieced back together with tape.

“Mind if I read a little?” Spike asked. “‘To my beloved Countess Coloratura, thank you so much for your fun concerts! You are always so incredible and you do a great job! You’ve been incredibly popular lately, and I am very proud to be the head of your fan club. But as a long-time fan, I’m actually a little sad. I’ve been so busy studying, but when I see how hard you’re working...’”

“Enough!” Svengallop stated. “I admit it; I’ve been using the Countess to intimidate others to get what I want. So what? I deserve everything I get!”

“But even though you hate her fans, you continue to manage her, which means you must have some other kind of ulterior motive... and that you’re determined to see it through,” Spike said. “Of course, I don’t know what that is, so I can hardly hold it against you, can I?”

Svengallop looked like he was ready to fight Spike, tell him to keep away from the Countess, even label her his property. But Svengallop kept his composure because he never knew who could be listening.

“I want to be an agent to a famous Applewood star,” he stated. “That’s why I became a manager. It’s because of me that Countess Coloratura rose to the top of the charts faster than any other singer in Equestria’s history! But it was still taking too long. Even if everything kept going well, there was no guarantee she would make it to the very top. If I wanted to manage a major player in Applewood, then I’d need a different approach. The solution was Las Pegasus... and managing a famous pop idol! With the power of Las Pegasus behind her, Coloratura could easily become the most popular icon ever! And then, at the peak of her popularity, surprise everyone by switching to becoming an actress! With that kind of fame behind her, it would be easy for her to star in an Applewood movie!”

“That’s a truly splendid plan,” Spike admitted. “And that’s why you do this, even though you hate Coloratura interacting with her fans?”

“That’s right,” Svengallop confessed. “They’re pathetic, but I don’t care. All that means is that they’re spending their money on her instead of themselves. But still... why do they have to scream like lunatics at the shows? Can’t they just sit quietly and listen? It’s absolutely sickening!”

“Dedicating your every breath to a job that demanding... It sounds like you’ve sold your soul,” Spike commented. He turned his head to look at the door and asked, “Don’t you agree?”

The door opened... and Svengallop’s jaw dropped as Sunset and Countess Coloratura walked in.

“So that’s why you’ve been managing me?” Coloratura asked him.

“I honestly didn’t think the torn up fan letter would be enough proof,” Spike said as he put it back in the envelope, “so Applejack here took the liberty of recording this scandalous conversation.”

AJ reached into her jacket, pulled out a tiny tape recorder, and hit “Play”.

“...why do they have to scream like lunatics at the shows? Can’t they just sit quietly and listen? It’s absolutely sickening!”

Svengallop gave Coloratura a frantic look. His very reputation was on the line because Spike now had a voice recording to use as a bargaining chip.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t do anything as crude as make copies,” Spike told him. “But as a concerned citizen, I feel rather compelled to let this go public. If it does, your life as a talent agent will be over. So, I’ll be betting this against fifty billion dollars... and Coloratura’s freedom. If I lose, I’ll give you this recording but I guarantee the Countess here won’t want you as her manager anymore. But should I win and end up singing with Coloratura for the finale, you give me the money and your reputation goes down in flames. As long as I get to see you lose something, that’s more than enough for me.”

“If that’s how you want to play, fine then!” Svengallop thought. “You are going to regret crossing me!!”

“I understand how you must be feeling,” Spike added. “Anger, rage, despair... You’re ready to yell right now. I can’t help but sympathize... that being said, wait until after the show is over, and then let it all out, because I can tell you right now, the odds of me winning are one hundred percent.”

Svengallop was enraged.

“Normally, I wouldn’t have the slightest hope in Tartarus to win this type of contest,” Spike went on. “But that’s not how this is going to go down. You chose to make this exciting; I can respect that. It’s no wonder you’re managing Equestria’s top pop icon. Thanks to you, I have an absolute guarantee of winning this ‘game’. As long as I continue to bring down pieces of scum like you, I will always be the winner.”

Spike turned to leave with Applejack close behind.

“I really am looking forward to singing with you, Rara,” he said.

And Coloratura threw Svengallop out of her dressing room.

A few minutes later, Spike stood in his own dressing room with Applejack and Sunset when there was a knock at his own door.

“You better stop saving people or you’ll have to make a career out of it,” said a familiar voice.

Spike turned to see a man in a black suit and tie standing in the doorway... and he was carrying a box in his arms, wrapped in a flaring, slightly lopsided crimson bow like a present.

“Shining Armor, what are you doing here?” Spike asked.

“Getting a call, at my place of work, that my sister filed a sexual harassment complaint against the same guy that saved her from choking to death scared me. So I thought I should check and see if the guy in question was okay,” he explained.

“And not see your sister?” Spike replied.

“I don’t really want to see her,” Shining confessed. “There’s no point.”

“Makes me wonder why she still calls you her ‘Big Brother Best Friend Forever’,” Spike commented. “Well, if it was her intention to make sure that you would come, it worked.”

“It’s the sort of thing she usually pulls when she wants to see me,”

Shining never said Twilight’s name, he just kept saying “she” and “her”. And whenever he said those, there was a certain amount of sadness, an ache that would normally have made Spike cringe.

Sunset and Applejack left the two men alone to talk.

“Why did you come if you knew it was a stunt?” Spike asked gently.

“I have something for you,” Shining said, trying to smile.

Spike warily looked at the box in Shining Armor’s hands, as though he expected it to tick. His emerald eyes flashed up to meet Shining’s, then dropped to the package again.

Spike hesitated before he tugged on the end of the ribbon with his fingers. Shining Armor had spent time getting that bow as nearly right as he could; he had labored to make this package pretty (or he had paid someone else to do so, Spike didn’t know which), so Spike didn’t just rip it apart. He took the time to appreciate it... especially since it was from a guy he hardly even knew. All Spike’s life, people had ripped apart things in thoughtlessness, including (and especially) little things that meant life itself to Spike.

Spike blinked as he opened the lid and held up the black jacket of a marching band uniform, with scarlet cuffs, oversized gold buttons and matching epaulettes on the shoulders.

“It’s my old uniform from when I was in a rock band,” Shining chuckled. It was the most honest, carefree laugh Spike would remember coming from Shining Armor. “Consider it a symbol of my appreciation... and loyalty. Try it on.”

Spike did as Shining walked over to the nearby table and poured them both a Scotch. Spike took it and sipped slowly.

“Five hundred boys and girls attend Celestia’s School for the Gifted and Twilight had to pick the one to make a double of,” Shining said. “Why did she have to meet Moon Dancer?”

“It happens a lot,” Spike muttered. “An upper class kid makes a buddy of a lower class kid and the lower class kid goes haywire trying to keep up.”

“That wasn’t good enough for Twilight, just keeping up: she had to pass Moon Dancer in everything—clothes, cars, gambling and, of course, men. Now, it seems that Moon Dancer’s been replaced by you,” Shining hesitated and added dully, “I really am sorry for the trouble Twilight’s caused you. I would like to straighten her out.”

The bitterness in his voice was no more than a trace.

“I hate to break it to you, Captain, but she’s the only one who can do that,” Spike replied. “What happened to her, Shining? I know she ran into a little bad luck when I arrived, but I can’t imagine she was all bad before she came out here.”

“She was stuck in the same, old, familiar past and I didn’t want to be stuck there with her,” Shining said. “She didn’t take it very well when I got a job with the Secret Service.”

As Spike looked at Shining Armor, he agreed that the Captain had done all right for himself. He had spent ten years in the Equestrian Army, six months with the Canterlot Police Department’s vice unit where he made the rank of Sergeant, then six more months in the SWAT team where he was promoted to Lieutenant (the youngest to lead it in 20 years). Then he left it all, including a beautiful million dollar three bedroom condo, to do freelance work for the Equestria Bureau of Investigation. Thank Faust for a trust fund and appreciation.

After that, he accepted a position with the Equestria Secret Service and a shiny new gold Captain’s shield to go with it. Good career, great job, new two million dollar home—a former high class safe house and sting operation base that, with the budget cuts and change in operational mandates, they were forced to liquidate. He was able to get the house for half a million. Shining really hated selling the condo, but he really couldn’t pass up the deal. He even had enough to left over to buy a Maserati convertible.

“A little later, Twilight tried to steal Queen Novo’s priceless pearl and Mom and Dad disowned her,” Shining added in a low voice.

The Captain masked the fleeting look of pain and disappointment with his hand holding his drink as he took another swig.

“How did she feel about that?” Spike inquired.

“She’s worse than she ever was. She’s so gone on high living that it might as well be heroin. She has to have more and more of it all the time. She’s heading for a big crash, one that’ll either cure her or kill her,” Shining said grimly. “You’re right. I’ve known her long enough that I should know by now that nothing I say, can say, or do is going to make a difference. She’ll do what she’s got her mind set on. I just have to sit back and wait.”

Spike nodded.

“And in spite of all that, you still love her,” he said.

“She wants to come back, but not enough to give me or my parents what we want: a life that doesn’t depend on the color of a card or the length of a horse’s nose. I used to think that a little bad luck might have made her realize what things can mean when you earn them. She didn’t have a home, Spike, she had a floating blackjack felt. That’s no life, that’s a way of running away from it. Her luck is going to run out one of these days. And when it does, if she still wants to come home, I’ll be around,”

A part of Spike wanted to say, “Twilight will never come around. Not in this lifetime.” But Shining knew his own sister better than Spike ever would, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

But deep inside himself, Spike cursed the woman who had done this to Shining Armor, this Twilight Sparkle who fastened people to her with her strange power of demanding loyalty and love despite the fact that nobody who gave her this loyalty and love earned a second’s consideration when Twilight had to choose between them and something she wanted. It was more than just plain selfishness with Sparkle: it was a compulsive need to grasp and devour the here and now, and she didn’t care who she had to hurt to get it.

“Well, I better get going,” Shining said. “I have a job to get back to. Knock ‘em dead out there. And you can keep the uniform.” He gave another brief laugh. “I think it looks better on you than it ever did on me.”

Once Shining Armor was gone, Svengallop barged his way into Twilight Sparkle’s dressing room and “offered” her his help in winning against Spike. Twilight tried to brush him off, but Svengallop grabbed her by the throat and threw her against the wall.

“You don’t have a hope in Tartarus of beating him without my help!” he stated. “If a pathetic amateur like you really wants to defeat that boy, then you are going to help me in squeezing every last drop of life out of him! Otherwise, I will personally see that you go back to your life as a porn star, sleeping with executives just to stay off the streets and begging for handouts like a common whore!”

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she tried to gasp.

“Oh, I know all about you, Twilight Sparkle,” Svengallop said darkly. “You think that changing your appearance and dying your hair hid the stupidity of your past, but you’re wrong! You are going to help me, or it won’t just be this contest you’ll lose!”

Twilight slowly nodded as he let go of her neck.

“You’re going to regret trying to shatter my dreams, Spike Drake!” Svengallop thought.

Later that night, many guests and several staff members gathered in the Midnight Lounge for the show that was about to begin. No less than 100 people were in the audience! And Diamond Tiara, Indigo Zap and Rainbow Dash sat right in the front row.

“Do we seriously have to stay until the end of this thing?” Dash asked.

“Yeah, we do!” Diamond Tiara replied.

“But feel free to leave, because we don’t need you here anyway,” Indigo added. “The only reason Diamond Tiara got enough tickets for all of us was because Spike insisted on it.”

“I had to work super hard to get them from a fan club member!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “Tickets don’t grow on trees, you know!”

“All right, all right, I heard you the first time,” Dash groaned.

The house lights dimmed as Cheese Sandwich, the master of ceremonies for the evening, appeared onstage and spoke into a microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the fabulous Flimflam Hotel is proud to present Equestria’s greatest singer, the one, the only, Countess Coloratura!”

The curtain parted a bit to reveal the Countess dressed in a beautiful silver gown with a slit up the right leg all the way to her thigh. She sang “Lovin’ You” followed by “My Guy”, and the crowd applauded when she was done.

“Thank you. You’re a magical group of people,” she told them. “Welcome to the Flimflam Resort’s talent show!”

They cheered again as Stellar Flare, Sunburst and Cheese Sandwich took their places at the judges’ table off to the side of the stage.

“Here’s how the contest will work,” Coloratura explained. “As well as our judges’ votes, they have had applause evaluator apps installed on their smart phones so that they can measure the strength of your clapping after each performance based on a total score out of one hundred.”

“That’s fairer than I thought it would be,” Rainbow Dash thought.

“The funds secured for this show amounts to 50 billion dollars, and it’s winner take all!” Coloratura went on. “The winner will not only get the money, but also the right to sing with me for the grand finale!”

“YEAH!!!!” the crowd roared.

“Which contestant will emerge victorious?” Rara asked. “There’s only one way to find out: let the competition begin!”

Sunset Shimmer kicked things off by performing some original moves on a skateboard. Then Pinkie did a mime routine with gags from being trapped in an imaginary box to picking flowers and climbing a mountain; and Fluttershy did an interpretive dance in a cute bumblebee costume.

Iron Will went on after Fluttershy. He was dressed in a bright yellow Zoot suit with a feather in his wide-brimmed fedora and he started singing “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” while the Dazzlings provided backup vocals. He even pulled a trumpet out of his suit’s coat and played it between verses.

Throughout his performance, Iron Will couldn’t help but flex his muscles and strike a few poses, which made his act even better. Unfortunately, his horn blowing was so strong that it cracked the glasses of several people in the audience... as well as Sunburst’s, which did not do him any good. When Iron Will was done, he blew on the end of his horn like it was the smoking barrel of a recently fired gun and the judges’ evaluator apps measured 38 out of 100 points.

“Next up is, Discord!” Cheese Sandwich announced. “Come on down!”

A western theme played and the crowd heard the sound of rattlesnakes’ tails as the Lounge went dark again and Discord appeared onstage, front and center, wearing a brown cowboy hat and matching chaps. Then, when he reached into his long coat and pulled out a long shape, everyone thought he had pulled a rifle.

They were wrong when the lights came up and the sequins on Discord’s red shirt reflected their light. He had pulled out a guitar and started playing... and yodeling! The audience did a double take when the Dazzlings started singing the backup, and they sounded like a couple of guys that had just come off a cattle drive. The crowd felt hypnotized as Discord sang, and when the time came for him to make his big finish, he did it a la the famous water bucket scene from Flashdance... which won him a total of 63 points.

Coloratura returned to the stage after a wardrobe change. Instead of her silver gown or one of her leather ensembles, she was now wearing a translucent black gown that really showed off her legs, and her dark hair was no longer concealed under her white wig.

“Now, here’s a real treat,” she said into her microphone. “A lady who comes to us directly from a sensational run around the blackjack tables, your very clever and charming dealer—let’s make her welcome—the lovely Twilight Sparkle!”

“Spike Drake, you are going down!!!” Svengallop thought.

Spike knew that Twilight couldn’t dance (at least not well), and she didn’t play any kind of instrument; she had virtually no musical talent whatsoever, so he wasn’t too worried when he stood off in the wings with Svengallop and watched her walk onto the stage. Her hair was wild, and her smoky eye shadow greatly contrasted her already pale face. She wore hoop earrings, a form-fitting leather jacket, tight black pants, and steel-toed boots. But when she stepped up to the microphone and the sound of an electric guitar played over the loudspeakers, she began to sing and Spike’s confidence was a little shaken.

Her song of choice had been “I Hate Myself for Loving You”, one of Spike’s personal favorites, and she sang it surprisingly well. The audience was roaring after the first verse and after the second verse, she cast off her jacket and threw it out to the crowd, revealing her steel gray tank top underneath, but she kept on singing. When the song ended, the judges’ applause evaluation apps totaled...

“Eighty-five points,” Cheese Sandwich said. “That’s quite a high score.”

Spike kept his cool as he whispered to Svengallop.

“Isn’t the suspense killing you?” he taunted him. “In just one more minute, my performance will determine which one of our lives will end.”

Coloratura stepped onto the stage again.

“Looks like you’re the winner so far,” she told Twilight. “And now, here is someone I am honored to introduce to you. Maybe you’ve met him already? He’s made quite a name for himself since he started working here last month. He’s Equestria’s foremost dancer, but he may be Las Pegasus’s next mayor! Help me welcome from amongst yourselves, the Duke of Dance, the Lucky Prince himself, the one... the only—Spike Drake!”

Sunset, Pinkie and Fluttershy stood with Coloratura in one wing of the stage while Svengallop and Twilight stood in the opposite wing, all their eyes on Spike. The girls and women all flushed and their jaws dropped as Spike appeared onstage. His hair green hair was done up so that it looked like something out of an anime and his leather ensemble flattered him greatly. He looked so good in his rock star uniform. All except Twilight, who felt betrayed that her own brother gave Spike his old jacket, which fit Spike like a glove.

“That outfit is the hottest thing I have ever seen!” Fluttershy gushed. “It’s amazing!”

The spotlights rose as Spike held his electric guitar and softly breathed into his headband microphone (which wrapped around the back of his head and hooked over his ears). On stage with him, Thorax and Ocellus each held guitars while Cornicle stood at a grand piano, and Pharynx was on drums, which bore their band’s name: “Spike and the Hive Four!”

Spike started singing “You Give Love a Bad Name” as the spotlights changed positions, and fireballs (via pyrotechnics) burst from the stage floor as he leapt off the platform where Pharynx’s drum set was, and he (Spike), Thorax and Ocellus started playing and singing together.

Even before they finished the first chorus, Spike had every woman in the audience eating out of his hand... especially the ones in the first two rows. He went between them and his band mates so that almost everyone within his reach got a chance to sing along with him, if for just a few brief moments; even Pharynx, who tossed his drumsticks high into the air, and caught them when they came back down again.

Spike finished his song and the crowd and the other performers broke into thunderous applause. Spike had to grin: most of them had heard him sing and play a dozen times and they still couldn’t help but give him a hand when he finished a number, he was so good.

“Ninety-eight points!” Coloratura shouted. “There is no doubt about it! The winner of the Flimflam Resort’s talent contest is Spike Drake!”

Twilight had taken the lead by singing about a guy that she was hung up on and Spike topped her by singing about a girl who was really bad for him... and once again, Spike carved his way to victory. What’s more, Sour Sweet, Sunny Flare, Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest all sat in the back of the Lounge, and they all bore witness to Twilight’s newest defeat.

Svengallop joined Spike and Coloratura onstage.

“That was so much fun,” Spike said to him. “Now then... time to pay up!” he added ominously. “Hand over my winnings!”

Svengallop clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides before he handed a big silver briefcase over to Spike.

“The fifty billion is inside,” he said. “There’s more where it came from, if you want it... and play the recording,” he added. “I don’t care anymore. My life has no meaning whatsoever. And without that, I can never win against you. I’m done.”

The audience started wondering what was happening onstage. Coloratura’s and Spike’s microphones were off and none of them could make out what Spike and Svengallop were saying.

Spike pulled out the tape recorder, held it close to his mic, and let it play.

“...why do they have to scream like lunatics at the shows? Can’t they just sit quietly and listen? It’s absolutely sickening!”

The Midnight Lounge was so quiet Spike swore he heard a pin drop.

“That’s the real me you just heard,” Svengallop confessed. “That’s what I really think about you. That is who I really am. But I want to thank you all for cheering Countess Coloratura on... until now.”

That did it. It was all over for Svengallop. His dream, his goals, his aspirations, his lifestyle, everything he had built as Coloratura’s manager... it all went up in smoke. No one said or did anything for ten whole seconds.

Then Pinkie Pie stepped out from the wing and shouted, “We still love you, Coloratura!”

Spike, the Countess, her former manager, and everyone else stared at her in shocking disbelief.

“We don’t care if that’s how your manager feels about us!” she went on. “We’ll always love you! We didn’t start listening to your music to make you love us back! We just love you for you, Coloratura!”

Then Indigo Zap stood up and cried, “I’ll keep rooting for you!”

“So will I!” Diamond Tiara added.

“Me too!” Rainbow Dash joined in.

“Don’t give up, Coloratura!” the audience cheered. “You’re the best!” Then they started chanting, “Encore now! Encore now! Encore now! Encore now!”

Coloratura wiped away tears as she said, “Thank you! Thank you, everybody! When I came to Las Pegasus, I had forgotten who I really was... but now I know! I know who I really am! And as long as you keep cheering me on, I will strive to become a better role model!”

Caramel and Lucky Clover escorted Svengallop off the premises as Spike ducked into his dressing room to change back into his tuxedo, and when he returned to the stage, Coloratura led him by the hand as she walked over to the grand piano. He sat beside her on the piano bench, squared his shoulders and put his fingers to the keys as she started to sing.

“I’m here to show you who I am... Throw off the veil, it’s finally time! There’s more to me than glitz and glam, oh-whoa... And now I feel my stars align... For I had believed what I was sold, I did all the things that I was told...”

The men in the audience started pulling out their cigarette lighters, lit them, and started swaying them back and forth as they held them over their heads. The women and children did the same, but with their cell phones and glow sticks.

“But all that has changed, and now I’m bold, ‘cause I know... That I am only human... I make mistakes from time to time... But now I know the real me... And put my heart out on the line. And let the magic in my heart stay true, whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa... And let the magic in my heart stay true, whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa... Just like the magic inside of you...”

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo all smiled as one of the men seated in the row behind Rainbow Dash leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

“We’re very lucky,” he said. “I’ve been on every one of the Countess’s tours for the last five years and I’ve never seen her do anything like this.”

“And now I see those colors right before my eyes... I hear my voice so clearly, and I know that it is right! They thought I was weak, but I am strong! They sold me the world, but they were wrong! And now that I’m back, I still belong, ‘cause I know that I am only human! I make mistakes from time to time, but now I know the real me, and put my heart out on the line!”

“Now you,” Coloratura told Spike.

“And let the magic in my heart stay true, whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa! And let the magic in my heart stay true, whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa! Just like the magic inside of you...”

Spike caught a glance of Applejack sitting with her sister in the audience and she cried happily when he and Coloratura sang the final bar together.

“Just like the magic inside of you...”

There wasn’t a single dry eye in the house and the audience cheered so hard and so loud it felt like the roof was being lifted right off the building. Spike and Coloratura stood together, side by side, and took their bows.

“Good night, Las Pegasus!” they proclaimed.

An hour later, Spike was summoned to the Flimflam Brothers’ office.

“Sit down, Spike,” Flim said. “Can we get you anything; a drink, a cigar?”

“No, sirs, thank you,”

“We’ll be perfectly blunt with you, Spike,” Flam went on. “We wanted to thank you in private. That was amazing what you did. You gave us no less than twenty million dollars’ worth of good publicity this afternoon, and infinitely more this evening with your performance, as well as exposing Svengallop... and we still can’t believe that Miss Sparkle filed that complaint against you.”

“We don’t want you to leave, and as much as we would love to fire Twilight, we can’t, but only because she’s one of the few moneymakers left in this place,” Flim said, his voice full of regret. “Although, what we can do is give you these...”

He reached into his desk drawer and drew out the Keys to the Kingdom: three master keys on a ring that opened everything in the resort. Full access.

“... and owe you a favor,” he added. “If you need anything, ask. We’ll grant it if it’s in our power. Will that do?”

Spike smiled and said, “Absolutely.”

“And would you be willing to make a public appearance Saturday afternoon?” asked Flam.

“We’ll put up a platform in the center of the lobby, in front of the statue of us, and we’d invite the press,” Flim said. “It would be an excellent thing for us... entirely your call, of course.”

“Happy to,” Spike replied.

The Brothers each offered him a hand (not the same one), he shook both of them, and they thanked him again. They didn’t think Twilight Sparkle would be causing anymore problems anytime soon, and if she did, she would not be coming back for a long time—if at all.

When Spike stepped out of the Brothers’ office, the entire team—Applejack, Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, Trixie, Moon Dancer, Adagio, Aria, Sonata, Soarin, and Zephyr Breeze—was there. Even Discord had come. Applejack beamed as she stepped forward and gave Spike a big kiss on the mouth... with tongue.

“My hero,” she said.

“Savior of ungrateful women, not to mention savior of getting his own ass sued off and possibly having to leave us,” Discord added.

Everyone cheered.

“Okay,” Discord said when it died down. “We can all agree that he’s a knight in shining armor. He’s also not the first guy to save a woman from popping off on a restaurant floor. Now, could we maybe all go to bed? We still have jobs to do in the morning!”

Spike was good with that. Being famous was fun, but the don’t-get-a-big-head message was not lost on him.

“I’ve never heard you sing like that before,” Applejack said as they rode the elevator down to his suite.

“Don’t worry, AJ,” Spike reassured her. “You have nothing to fear from Countess Coloratura. She’s... unattainable.”

“Spike, you didn’t see the way she was staring at you?” Pinkie asked.

“Bite your tongue, Pinkie Pie!” Rarity cut her off.

“I think I’m going to take a shower,” Spike told them. “And then go to bed.”

He and Applejack got off on his floor and they bid their friends good night. Once they were inside his room, Spike dropped his polite façade.

“Spike, are you okay?” Applejack asked.

“The one who set Svengallop up still hasn’t been identified,” Spike said as he took the torn up fan letter out of his pocket. “That entire show was a farce built on an argument over this. The creep who sent me this anonymously is still hiding out there somewhere... unpunished,” he went on. “Through her own great personal strength, Coloratura decided to continue with her career as a pop idol, so no harm, no foul. But because of her manager’s misstep, she was almost forced to retire early. There’s no way I can forgive the person who arranged for Svengallop to try and take me down. But he failed, so... who would have had reason to sell him out to me? Applejack, can you think of anyone who would have it out for Coloratura?”

“Svengallop spilled his guts, and Rara’s fans lapped it up like milk,” AJ replied. “Still, Rara’s dream is the same as her pride. And this is a matter of pride!”

“There’s only one person who could have made it fall apart for Svengallop,” Spike said. “His original plan was to have Coloratura perform at the Rich Casino and Resort, right? So why move her to perform here instead? I’m not saying it was definitely Impossibly Rich, but I’d like to hear what she has to say.”

Spike wore his best suit that Saturday, on the makeshift stage at the center of the lobby. Saving Twilight had upset him in many ways, and his nerves were jangling. It wasn’t unhappiness he was feeling, and it wasn’t sorrow. It was an unfocused anger that had something to do with the foul taste of hardboiled eggs that still seemed to linger in his mouth. But he smiled as he shook hands with the Mayor of Las Pegasus and they appeared on the front page of the Las Pegasus Journal together with a headline that read FLIMFLAM BROS. EMPLOYEE SAVES COWORKER’S LIFE. Spike thought it was an exaggeration, and he didn’t take much (if any) credit.

Next time: Chef le Grand caters a lecture at the resort by visiting author A. K. Yearling, but when his help does not show, the girls have to fill in as Bunny Girls while Spike tends the bar once more.